Botryococcus braunii for biodiesel production

This paper presents a review on microalga Botryococcus braunii (B. braunii) with an emphasis on lipid production for possible industrial commercialization in biodiesel production. Summarizing the nature of this alga is fundamental to establish the detail environment conditions for optimal biomass growth and the production of lipids, as well as upstream processing technologies for biodiesel production. This study focuses the attention on identifying possible avenues for further investigation in the design of cultivation systems and the integration of process technologies at industrial scales. The advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel production processes based on these algal lipids are also analyzed. A particularly promising process involving B. braunii combines flue gas and wastewaters to produce lipids, converting them to biodiesel by supercritical (SC) direct trans/esterification (esterification followed by transesterification). We conclude that such processes using B. braunii have considerable potential for the production of cleaner and more efficient biodiesel than current methods, reducing the environmental impact of fossil fuel use.