Jeff Lorenz U. Booc JC Neal P. Villanueva Patrick Andrew G. Bayona (February 2009)
Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus – Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PSHS WVC), Brgy. Bito-on, Jaro, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines
ABSTRACT
Biodiesel is biodegradable, less CO2 and NOx emissions. Continuous use of petroleum sourced fuels is now widely recognized as unsustainable because of depleting supplies and the contribution of these fuels to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the environment. Renewable, carbon neutral, transport fuels are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. Algae have emerged as one of the most promising sources for biodiesel production. It can be inferred that algae grown in CO2-enriched air can be converted to oily substances. Such an approach can contribute to solve major problems of air pollution resulting from CO2 evolution and future crisis due to a shortage of energy sources Spirogyra is a filamentous alga which is common in freshwater habitats. It has the appearance of very fine dark-green filaments moving gently with the currents in the water, and is slimy to the touch. The slime serves to deter creatures which otherwise attach themselves to underwater plants, so Spirogyra under the microscope is usually spotless This study determined if biodiesel could be produced from the oil extracted from microalgae, Spirogyra spp.
The algae were cultivated and harvested in a natural pond. The methods of extraction used were a combination of the Hexane Solvent method and ultrasonication. The algae were mixed with hexane and sonicated for 30min. To separate the oil from the hexane, a rotary evaporator was used.
Oil extracted from the algae used were minimal in amount and thus cannot be transesterified and turned into biodiesel.
Therefore oil in microalgae, Spirogyra spp., cannot be turned into biodiesel. This may not be true if very large amounts of Spirogyra spp were used. This may also not be true for all species of microalgae.