Ultrasound-intensified biodiesel production from algal biomass: a review

• Published in: Environmental chemistry letters Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 209 - 229
• Main Authors: Patle, Dipesh Shikchand, Pandey, Ashutosh, Srivastava, Sameer, Sawarkar, Ashish N., Kumar, Sushil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.02.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algae; Analytical Chemistry; biodiesel; Biodiesel fuels; Biofuels; Biomass; Biomass energy production; Catalysts; Cooking; Cooking oils; cost effectiveness; Diesel; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Edible oils; energy; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Feasibility studies; feedstocks; Geochemistry; Microalgae; Nuclear fuels; oils; Phytoplankton; Pollution; Raw materials; Renewable fuels; Review; Ultrasonic imaging; ultrasonic treatment; ultrasonics; Ultrasound; Ultrasonication; Microalgae; In situ method; Transesterification; Biodiesel
• ISSN: 1610-3653; 1610-3661
• DOI: 10.1007/s10311-020-01080-z

Energy needs and environmental concerns are leading to the search for alternative renewable fuels such as biodiesel. Biodiesel from microalgae has recently gained attention due to the drawbacks of other feedstocks such as edible oils. Recent research is focussing on techniques to convert feedstock into quality biodiesel in a cost-effective way. Here, we review conventional and in situ biodiesel synthesis from microalgae. We present the various catalysts and ultrasonic reactors. We found that biodiesel production through ultrasonication assisted in situ processing of wet microalgae is at least three times more expensive than biodiesel production through conventional mechanisms from feedstocks such as waste cooking oil. Finally, we discuss the feasibility of ultrasound-intensified biodiesel production from microalgae.