ISSN 1656-8818

Policy Brief Series

2011 - 3

Tropical Marine Microalgae for Biodiesel Production1

Zeily Nurachman, Ph. D.2

Table 1. Comparison of
some sources of biodiesel3
Crop
Oil yield (l/ha)
Corn
172
Soybean
446
Canola
1,190
Jatropha
1,892
Coconut
2,689
Oil Palm
5,950
Microalgae
136,900

One type of renewable energy that is

increasingly being used worldwide is
biodiesel. It is a biodegradable and
non-toxic fuel that has a low emission
profile, making it less harmful to
the environment compared with
petroleum-based fuels. Current
feedstocks of commercial biodiesel are
soybean, canola oil, animal fat, palm
oil, corn oil, waste cooking oil, and
jatropha oil. Biodiesel may be directly
used in existing diesel engines or
mixed with petroleum diesel to create a
biodiesel blend.
Despite its advantages, the current
and projected production cost of
biodiesel is two to three times higher,
making it a less competitive alternative
to petroleum-based fuels. Besides,
biodiesel production from plant oils
is limited by land competition with
agricultural plants.
The government of the Republic
of Indonesia has recently stated its
intention to support the development
of alternative energy sources, including
biofuels. The commitment is
manifested in Presidential Instruction
No. 1/2006, to pursue the use of
biofuels for vehicles. This policy opens
opportunities for the development
of biofuels, including biodiesel from
microalgae in Indonesia.

Photo courtesy of www.bday.net

photosynthetic organism that contains
a large amount of fatty acids, may be a
promising source for biodiesel. Studies
have shown that it gives the highest
yield per hectare compared to oil crops
(Table 1), has rapid growth rates, and
could easily double their biomass
within 24 hours. The following are the
other benefits of using microalgae for
biodiesel production:

Advantages of Microalgae
Recent advances in bioresource studies
show that microalgae, a single-celled

Some microalgae grow quickly in

mineral rich waters with doubling
time as short as 3.5 hours. Their
dry biomass contains up to 70%
lipid. This makes microalgae a
more efficient oil producer than
terrestrial plant sources.
As an aquatic species, algae do not
require land for cultivation and
will not compete with agricultural
commodities for growing space. In
fact, algae cultivation facilities can
be built on marginal land that has
few uses.
Water used in algal cultivation can

be fresh
f sh water or saline
li with
ith salt
lt
concentrations up to twice that of
seawater. This means that algae need
not compete with other users of
fresh water.
Algae have a greater capacity to
absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) than
land plants, and are not prone to
photosynthetic inhibition under
conditions of intense sunlight.
After oil extraction from algae, the
remaining biomass fraction can
be used as a high protein feed for
livestock. This gives further value to
the process. It also reduces wastes.

While biodiesel from algae has many

advantages, its application on a
commercial scale is still limited because
of the very few references on the most
suitable algal strain for efficient biodiesel
production. This study was conducted
to screen and identify the productivity
of local marine microalgal strains most
suitable for producing biodiesel.

Ch
Sk
Me
Ni
Th
Na

Biodiesel Productivity of Microalgae

Seven strains of microalgae were
collected and used in this study. These
were activated and then cultivated
in a Walne seawater medium using a
simple photo-bioreactor. Of the seven
marine microalgal strains screened, only
Thalassiosira sp. and Nannochloropsis
sp. were able to adapt under the
experimental medium. To calculate
biodiesel productivity, Thalassiosira sp.
was used as a model because the cell
culture was relatively easy to handle and
inexpensive, thus, its modified growth
medium can be developed easily.
The biodiesel productivity of
Thalassiosira sp. is defined by the total
amount of ester (l) produced from one
liter of microalgal culture (l culture)
for seven days (d). In this experiment,
the average Thalassiosira sp. density
for seven days was 4.36 g/l, while the
biodiesel product was 241 l esters/g
biomass. The experiment showed that
biodiesel productivity of Thalassiosira
sp. was 150 l ester/l culture/d. When
this is extrapolated to a large-scale
calculation with the assumption that
this relationship is linear (although
in reality there are other factors that
must be considered), the theoretical
biodiesel productivity of Thalassiosira
sp. is equivalent to 547,500 l/ha/year.
This is much higher than the biodiesel
productivity of a palm tree (5,950 l/
ha/year). This shows the potential of
algae to compete with palm tree for oil
production.
Policy Recommendations
This research shows that tropical marine
microalgae can potentially produce
biodiesel in a large scale. However, more
research still needs to be done in order
to achieve a competitive commercial
algae-based biodiesel production
particularly in the following areas:

Table 2. Adaptability and productivity of microalgae strains

Species

Fatty Acid
Adapted Specific
Biomass
Content
in
Growth
Concentration
Walne
Free Air Air/CO2
Rate
(grams/liter)
Medium
Bubbling Mixture

Chaetoceross sp.

No

---

---

---

---

Skeletonemaa sp.

No

---

---

---

---

Navicula
la sp.

No

---

---

---

---

Melosira
ra sp.

No

---

---

---

---

Nitzchia
ia sp.

No

---

---

---

---

Thalassiosiraa sp.

Yes

0.17

0.49 g/l

51.4%

41.2%

Nannochloropsiss sp.

Yes

0.19

2.63 g/l

65.5%

53.9%

Indonesia and other ASEAN

For a comprehensive discussion on the screening
countries should look into
of local marine microalgae for biodiesel
developing their coastlines as
production by Dr. Zeily Nurachman, please
potential places to cultivate marine
see SEARCAs Agriculture and Development
microalgae for biodiesel. This could
Discussion Paper Series (DPS) No. 2010-3.
be the best location for growing
highly productive algae because it
does not compete with arable land
and water resources. Furthermore, 1A SEARCA Seed Fund for Research and
requirements for cultivating
Training (SFRT) Supported Study from
microalgae, such as sunlight,
January to December 2009
CO2, water, and minerals, are in
2
Associate Professor, Biochemistry Department,
great abundance in these tropical
Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia
countries.
3

This study did not look into the

economics of producing biodiesel
from microalgae in a large scale.
To meet the requirements of
commercial production, more
research should be focused on
cultivating highly productive
microalgae in large quantities and
developing low-cost and rapid
harvesting techniques.

Finally, to fully harness the benefits of

using algae for fuel and other potential
feedstock, more government and/or
private investment on research in this
area should be appropriated.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN REGIONAL CENTER

FOR GRADUATE STUDY AND RESEARCH
IN AGRICULTURE
College, Laguna 4031, PHILIPPINES
Tel +63 49 5362290 | Fax +63 49 5367097
www.searca.org | post@agri.searca.org

Krawczyk, T. 1996. BiodieselAlternative

Fuel makes Inroads but Hurdles Remain
INFORM, 7: 801829.