Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee have come up with a new method for production of biodiesel from microalgae, which they claim is low-cost and more effective. Elaborating on the research, professor BR Gurjar, head of centre for transportation systems of the institute said, “Microalgae are considered to be one of the […]

Scientists from US have discovered a way to make algae better oil producers without sacrificing growth. They identified a mutation in the green alga Chlamydomonas which substantially removes a constraint that is widely observed in micro-algae where the highest yields of oil can only be obtained from starving cultures. They found that there was a […]

A consortium of six R&D centres in Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and France are participating in European CYCLALG project to develop an algae based biorefinery and validate technological processes designed to obtain biodiesel through algae cultivation. Apart from coordinating the project, NEKER will be responsible for establishing optimum, sustainable, cost-effective conditions for algae biomass production. […]

Production of biodiesel from microalgae still have constraints owing to high cost and energy consumption of biomass cultivation and lipid extraction. Now scientists have performed an experiment to produce cost effective biodiesel from microalgae using protic ionic liquids. The use of protic ionic liquids was assessed for lipid extraction using Scenedesmus obliquus and compared to […]

Aviation community has signed a memorandum of agreement with Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC), Airbus Group, University of Malaya, University Malaysia Terengganu, The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, and University of Kebangsaan Malaysia for offshore cultivation of tropical macroalgae for the production of aviation jet fuel. While the universities focus on different technologies of algae […]

Researchers funded by the Energy Department have developed algal flow ways or algal turf scrubbers to manage nutrient loading and improve fresh water, marine and estuarine communities. In these systems, filamentous algae are installed near stormwater or wastewater runoff sites and harvested with mechanical farm equipment. The highly productive, easily harvested, dewatered turf algae is […]

Researchers from Iran have conducted an experiment to use starch extracted from microalgae to produce biodiesel. Starch present in microalgae is the basic substance in fermentation process to produce biodiesel. In this process, a new method called gravity based enrichment was followed for screening the microorganisms based on cell density. Various starch and lipid producing […]

Scientists at the University of Melbourne have developed a new method for making biofuel that is inexpensive and eco-friendly. The new method enables the researchers to deliver carbon di oxide to microalgae which can be used to produce biodiesel. The new technique purifies carbon di oxide from the power station flue gases by absorbing it […]

6th International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts 26 – 29 June, 2016 Paradise Point, San Diego www.algalbbb.com Abstract submission deadline: 5 February, 2016 Themes: Algal Biology – Molecular Traits of Microalgae for Biofuels Algal Biology – Metabolic Regulation of Microalgae for Biofuels Algal Biology – Biodiversity and Bioprospecting of Microalgae for Biofuels Algal […]

Scientists from Bangladesh performed an experiment to produce biodiesel from coastal macroalgae Chara vulgaris using an integrated method. Box–Behnken design based on response surface methods (RSM) was used as a statistical tool to analyse the suitable performing conditions for the production of biodiesel. Results showed high calorific value and yield of the biodiesel and thus […]

Researchers from Taiwan have developed a synthetic magnetic nanoparticle which helps to extract oil from microalgae. The nanoparticles produced from iron oxide and silicon dioxide could produce biodiesel from the magnetically extracted oil using an alkaline-based catalyst The new method could extract 97.1 percent of fats for the conversion into biodiesel compared to the existing technology. […]

Researchers from Michigan State University have built a molecular ‘Swiss Army Knife’ which makes the production of biofuels and other green chemicals from algae more feasible. They created a synthetic protein that improves the assembly of the carbon-fixing factory of blue-green algae. The new protein replaces four gene products yet still supports photosynthesis. By reducing […]

Researchers from China conducted an experiment to enhance FAME productivity of Scenedesmus obliquus by combining nitrogen deficiency with sufficient phosphorus supply in heterotrophic cultivation. Scenedesmus obliquus NIES-2280 was cultivated heterotrophically in a nitrogen deficient and phosphorus rich medium. Acetate was used as a carbon source. Results showed that the productivity of fatty acid methyl esters […]

Researchers from Malaysia conducted an experiment to produce biodiesel and bioethanol from Scenedesmus bijugatus cultivated in vertical tubular photobioreactor.  The alga was cultivated in the photobioreactor in a semi-continuous mode and harvested by a combined process involving coagulation and flocculation. Maximum biodiesel yield was obtained using acid base catalytic process. Further, the lipid extracted residual […]

Scientists from Taiwan have developed a unique system to cultivate algae for the production of biofuels.  Microalgae were cultivated by coupling wastewater treatment process with algal photobioreactor for nutrient removal and production of biomass, using enriched CO2 from industrial exhaust gases. This technology not only helps in biodiesel production but also other health supplements such […]

Researchers from Brazil have conducted an experiment to synthesize renewable biodiesel via insitu transesterification of Chlorella algae. Catalytic deoxygenation was followed to covert the biodiesel to renewable diesel. The results showed that biodiesel from Chlorella exhibited slightly lower oxidation and thermal stability compared to soybean biodiesel. Hydrodeoxygentiaon of biodiesel showed that Ni-HY-80 could be used […]

Scientists from Adhiparasakthi Engineering College, Tamil Nadu, have produced biodiesel from algae oil using nano calcium oxide as a catalyst. Nano calcium oxide was produced by calcinating egg shell powder with sonochemical reactor. Transesterification experiments were carried out using algae oil and hexane as a solvent. The results showed that CaO catalyst derived from egg […]

Researchers from Malaysia have produced a high grade biodiesel by using lipids derived from the microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata. The production was done via transesterification process with methanol and using calcium methoxide as a catalyst. The biodiesel produced by this method had a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids as thus was suitable as a winter […]

A team of researchers from Taiwan synthesised core-shell Fe3O4@silica magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with a strong base, triazabicyclodecene (TBD) for harvesting and conversion of microalgae to biodiesel. Under optimal conditions, the biodiesel yield was upto 97.1%. In addition, these TBD-Fe3O4@silica nanoparticles were found to act as efficient algae harvester due to their adsorption and magnetic properties. […]

A team of researchers from Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), India, has isolated microalgae capable of producing biodiesel. The microalgae named Prymnesium parvum has high content phosphates and nitrates, and is found in the backwaters of Cochin. The Prymnesium parvum contains 26% of lipids, and can be grown in mass production systems without […]

The world’s first electric Grand Prix series will power its cars from algae glycerin. This attempt promises to promote the zero emission technologies. The generators will be powered by glycerin, which is a byproduct, in the production of biodiesel by salt water algae. The obtained fuel is nontoxic; and can also be used to power […]

Researchers at New Mexico State University devised a method for “Direct conversion of Algal biomass to biofuel”. This technology is announced to receive a United States patent. The underlying concept of the invention is that, under supercritical methanol conditions, the wet algae can be directly converted into crude biodiesel. The funds for the research were […]

Extreme Biodiesel, a wholly owned subsidiary of BookMerge Technology, a US-based alternative fuel and recycling company is going to produce algae biodiesel (A100) for SunEco systems. SunEco is now finalizing the ‘million mile test’ with J.B. Hunt Trucking with fuel produced by Extreme Biodiesel. BookMerge and SunEco are planning for the next step to bring […]

Research team under Johannes A. Lercher of Technische Universität München has introduced a new catalytic process that allows the effective conversion of biopetroleum from microalgae into diesel fuels. Traditional methods for refining oil from microalgae suffer from various disadvantages. The resulting fuel either has too high an oxygen content and poor flow at low temperatures, […]

Although presently a small biofuel farm with only a small wind turbine, solar panel and a container of algae floating on water, Pennsylvania-based BEAR Oceanics envisions a fleet of tiny robots that could harvest the sea for algae which can then be converted to biodiesel. Six microbial genera will be used for the production of […]