Abstract
In order to reduce fossil fuel consumption, renewable energy sources such as algal biomass have attracted more interest for the production of biodiesel as an energy source. In the current study, marine microalga Dunaliella parva was mainly assessed for higher biomass productivity, lipid content and productivity by the optimization of growth medium with Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for production of biodiesel. Other biochemical compounds such as carbohydrates, proteins and free amino acids content and productivity were also evaluated by RSM. Maximum biomass productivity, lipid content and productivity (48.59 mg/L/day, 39.08 % and 19.91 mg/L/day, respectively) was attained by RSM optimized medium containing 0.63 g/L nitrogen, 0.02 g/L phosphorus and 1.61 M NaCl, which are 1.2, 1.5 and 1.4 folds, respectively, higher than normal growth medium and agreed well with the predicted value (49.85 mg/L/day, 37.51 % and 19.49 mg/L/day). In addition, saturated fatty acids increased from 42.8 % to 59.7%, polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased from 54.9% to 40.3% and the biodiesel properties almost complied with international standards, ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 under optimized conditions. Thus, D. parva has potential as an alternative source for the biodiesel production of excellent quality.
•Media optimization by RSM increased biomass and lipid productivity by D. parva.•Fuel properties of D. parva agree with the International Standards.•D. parva is a promising feedstock for biodiesel production.