Otimização de cultivo e produção de biodiesel in situ utilizando cepa da microalga Scenedesmus sp.

Abstract

In the search for new renewable sources of energy, biofuels appear as a promising alternative compared to fossil fuels, making biodiesel one of the most viable biofuels to reduce the use of diesel. Thus, obtaining biodiesel from microalgae oil emerged as one of the most promising sources, due to its high growth rate, high lipid yields and no large areas for cultivation or arable land. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that use solar energy associated with water and carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce biomass. Photosynthesis is the primary process for transforming solar energy into forms of energy available for all organic life in the environment. Thus, the work aimed to study and optimize the cultivation of microalgae of the species Scenedesmus sp. in order to increase the lipid yield it presents aiming the production of biodiesel in situ. From the results obtained by the 25-1 factorial design, for a higher lipid yield using the Folch method for lipid extraction, the horizontal photobioreactor was used, with CHU medium, maximum light intensity, i.e, 3 “type” lamps daylight, with the 30-day cultivation time, presence of the aeration system, no added vitamins and temperature control. Regarding the production of esters (biodiesel), it was possible to identify the conversion of organic material to ethyl esters, being the most dominant precursor fatty acid, C: 18 Keywords: Optimization Microalgae. Biodiesel in situ.