Despite these characteristics, biodiesel presents certain disadvantages like a major
consumption due to a less calorific power and less stability than diesel, making no
possible to store it for a long time.
The biodiesel is obtained through the transesterification reaction between biological renewable sources such as vegetable oils, animal fats, and microalgae oil
with an alcohol (Ma and Hanna 1999). The biodiesel production can be developed
using different alkaline and organic catalysts as well as lipases obtained from
animals, vegetables, or microorganism sources (Shahid and Jamal 2011). The
microalgae are photosynthetic organisms that have the ability to grow very fast and
live in adverse conditions. These microorganisms are present in all existent
ecosystems, representing a great species variety (Shahid and Jamal 2011).
It is estimated that 50,000 microalgae species exist (Richmond 2004). Species
like Chlorella vulgaris have aroused a major interest, due to its high protein, lipid
(14–22% dry basis), and other products (Becker 1994). This specie has the ability to
accumulate a great lipid quantity in absence of nitrogen, generating a fatty acid
profile that can be used for biodiesel synthesis (Converti et al. 2009; Fradique et al.
2013). An advantage of microalgae is the capacity of growing in different conditions of cultivation due to its different types of growing: autotrophic, heterotrophic,
and mixotrophic.
The microalgae growing includes the adaptation of its metabolism to different
cultivation hostile mediums (Bumbak et al. 2011). Desmodesmus gene, for example
has demonstrated an ordinated reproduction that exposes morphological changes in
response to environmental changes like the nutrient availability, temperature an
illumination (Trainor 2009).
In the present work, the use of Chlorella protothecoides in the biodiesel production was analyzed. For this, four steps were considered: culture and harvesting
of microalgae, oil extraction and biodiesel production. To carry out the simulation
of this process was used the Aspen Plus to obtain the mass and energy balances
(Cerón-Salazar and Cardona-Alzate 2011), which was used in the energy, exergy,
and economic and environmental analysis to understand the real viabilities of this
process.
1 Microalgae Today: Applications and Uses
Microalgae have been used by indigenous populations to supply their food needing
2000 years ago. Microalgae species like Nostoc, Arthrospira (Spirulina), and
Aphanizomenon were used with that aim (Spolaore et al. 2006). An example is the
Azteca culture, which used microalgae like a high important food source
(Venkataraman 1997). Due to the high protein content of various microalgae species, they are a non-conventional source of these proteins that can be used in foods
to increase its nutritional value (Guil-Guerrero et al. 2004).
One of the markets reason for microalgae is as a source of carotenoids, being
used mainly as natural food colorants and as additives for animal feed. Although the
182
D. L. Restrepo-Serna et al.
consumption due to a less calorific power and less stability than diesel, making no
possible to store it for a long time.
The biodiesel is obtained through the transesterification reaction between biological renewable sources such as vegetable oils, animal fats, and microalgae oil
with an alcohol (Ma and Hanna 1999). The biodiesel production can be developed
using different alkaline and organic catalysts as well as lipases obtained from
animals, vegetables, or microorganism sources (Shahid and Jamal 2011). The
microalgae are photosynthetic organisms that have the ability to grow very fast and
live in adverse conditions. These microorganisms are present in all existent
ecosystems, representing a great species variety (Shahid and Jamal 2011).
It is estimated that 50,000 microalgae species exist (Richmond 2004). Species
like Chlorella vulgaris have aroused a major interest, due to its high protein, lipid
(14–22% dry basis), and other products (Becker 1994). This specie has the ability to
accumulate a great lipid quantity in absence of nitrogen, generating a fatty acid
profile that can be used for biodiesel synthesis (Converti et al. 2009; Fradique et al.
2013). An advantage of microalgae is the capacity of growing in different conditions of cultivation due to its different types of growing: autotrophic, heterotrophic,
and mixotrophic.
The microalgae growing includes the adaptation of its metabolism to different
cultivation hostile mediums (Bumbak et al. 2011). Desmodesmus gene, for example
has demonstrated an ordinated reproduction that exposes morphological changes in
response to environmental changes like the nutrient availability, temperature an
illumination (Trainor 2009).
In the present work, the use of Chlorella protothecoides in the biodiesel production was analyzed. For this, four steps were considered: culture and harvesting
of microalgae, oil extraction and biodiesel production. To carry out the simulation
of this process was used the Aspen Plus to obtain the mass and energy balances
(Cerón-Salazar and Cardona-Alzate 2011), which was used in the energy, exergy,
and economic and environmental analysis to understand the real viabilities of this
process.
1 Microalgae Today: Applications and Uses
Microalgae have been used by indigenous populations to supply their food needing
2000 years ago. Microalgae species like Nostoc, Arthrospira (Spirulina), and
Aphanizomenon were used with that aim (Spolaore et al. 2006). An example is the
Azteca culture, which used microalgae like a high important food source
(Venkataraman 1997). Due to the high protein content of various microalgae species, they are a non-conventional source of these proteins that can be used in foods
to increase its nutritional value (Guil-Guerrero et al. 2004).
One of the markets reason for microalgae is as a source of carotenoids, being
used mainly as natural food colorants and as additives for animal feed. Although the
182
D. L. Restrepo-Serna et al.