Biofuels from Microorganisms

Biofuel as a renewable energy, can be produced from many resources, but the easiest, safest, and most economic resources used are organisms—natural materials like algae—especially microscopic organisms. Microalgae are characterized by their ability to be grown both naturally and quickly, and represent a source of carotenoids, lipids, and polysaccharides. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Dunaliella salina, and various Chlorella species permit the extraction of about 5–7% biodiesel from their cells. Producing bioethanol to a higher concentration of 60% can be obtained using Chlorococum sp. The best technique for using microalgae to produce biofuel as biodiesel and bioethanol is a biochemical technique, that is, the photo-fermentation technique used to produce biohydrogen. The biochemical technique uses a process known as pyrolysis in which biomass is heated, in the absence of air, to temperatures above 500 ℃ for short periods (a few minutes). Also, C. reinhardtii can generate high condensation levels of biohydrogen. To produce biohydrogen, a quick fermentation process is required using non-sulfur bacteria, with light as an energy source, to produce organic acids by dark fermentation.