Production and characterization of biodiesel from algae

•Evaluation of the feasibility of microalgae for biodiesel production.•Comparative studies conducted for biodiesel production with three algae species.•Algae biodiesel found comparable with that of karanja biodiesel.

The feasibility of biodiesel production from microalgae as third generation biodiesel feedstock was studied in the present investigation. The studies were conducted to evaluate the growth patterns of the algae species i.e. Spirulina, Chlorella and pond water algae. The oil was extracted from the algae biomass and then transesterified. Simultaneous extraction and transesterification were also studied using different solvents. Maximum biodiesel yield was obtained using simultaneous extraction and transesterification using hexane as a solvent. The systematic characterization of algae biomass, algae oil and algae biodiesel was carried out to establish the potential of microalgae for biodiesel production.