Use of the dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum as a sustainable source of biodiesel production

• DOI: 10.1007/s10295-009-0602-3
• Publication Date: 2009-06-17T16:57:30Z
• Authors: Claudio Fuentes-G...; Esther Garcés; Sergio Rossi; Jordi Camp
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Bioelectric Energy Sources; Fatty Acids; Biodiesel; Dinoflagellates; Karlodinium veneficum; Lipids; Microalgae; Biotechnology; Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology; Eukaryota; Dinoflagellates; Lipids; Culture Media; 03 medical and health sciences; Karlodinium veneficum; 13. Climate action; Microalgae; Dinoflagellida; Animals; Biodiesel; Biomass; Biotechnology

Microalgae are microscopic heterotrophic-autotrophic photosynthesizing organisms with enormous potential as a source of biofuel. Dinoflagellates, a class of microalgae, contain large amounts of high-quality lipids, the principal component of fatty acid methyl esters. The biotic characteristics of the dinoflagellate species Karlodinium veneficum include a growth rate of 0.14 day(-1), a wet biomass of 16.4 g/L, a growth period of approximately 30 days, and an approximate 97% increase in fatty acid content during the transition from exponential phase to stationary phase. These parameters make K. veneficum a suitable choice as a bioresource for biodiesel production. Similarly, two other species were also determined to be appropriate for biodiesel production: the Dinophyceae Alexandrium andersoni and the Raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo.