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Use of Phagotrophic Microalga Ochromonas danica to Pretreat Waste Cooking Oil for Biodiesel Production
Author(s) -
Hosseini Majid,
Ju LuKwang
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/s11746-014-2578-z
Subject(s) - biodiesel , chemistry , food science , biodiesel production , pulp and paper industry , raw material , sugar , pulmonary surfactant , chromatography , organic chemistry , catalysis , biochemistry , engineering
In this study, the feasibility of pretreatment and/or upgrading of waste cooking oil (WCO) using the microalga Ochromonas danica was investigated. Two WCO samples with initial acid values (AV) of 10.7 mg KOH/g (~5.4 % FFA content) and 3.9 mg KOH/g (~2.0 % FFA content) were examined. The algal cells engulfed oil droplets and grew rapidly on both WCO samples. The cell growth rates on WCO were compared with the rates on olive oil, with or without surfactant addition to make the oil droplets smaller and easier for algal ingestion. Comparison was also made with the growth rate in a sugar‐based medium. More importantly, contacting the WCO with the phagotrophic O. danica cells was found to decrease the acid values of the remaining oil by 2.8 and 2.4 mg KOH/g WCO, respectively. The O. danica ‐pretreated WCO, with lower acid values, are potentially better feedstock for biodiesel production.