Fatty Acids, Hydrocarbons and Terpenes of Nannochloropsis and Nannochloris Isolates with Potential for Biofuel Production
Alan Rodrigo López-Rosales,
Katia Ancona-Canché,
Juan Carlos Chavarria-Hernandez,
Felipe Barahona-Pérez,
Tanit Toledano-Thompson,
Gloria Garduño-Solórzano,
Silvia López-Adrian,
Blondy Canto-Canché,
Erik Polanco-Lugo,
Ruby Valdez-Ojeda
Affiliations
Alan Rodrigo López-Rosales
Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Katia Ancona-Canché
Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Juan Carlos Chavarria-Hernandez
Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Felipe Barahona-Pérez
Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Tanit Toledano-Thompson
Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Gloria Garduño-Solórzano
Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM. Tlalnepantla, Edo. de México 54090, Mexico
Silvia López-Adrian
Facultad de Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Mérida, Yucatán 97288, Mexico
Blondy Canto-Canché
Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Erik Polanco-Lugo
Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Unidad Sureste, Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Ruby Valdez-Ojeda
Unidad de Energía Renovable, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Parque Científico y Tecnológico del Estado de Yucatán, Carretera Sierra Papacal-Chuburná Puerto, Yucatán 97302, Mexico
Marine microalgae are a promising feedstock for biofuel production given their high growth rates and biomass production together with cost reductions due to the use of seawater for culture preparation. However, different microalgae species produce different families of compounds. Some compounds could be used directly as fuels, while others require thermochemical processing to obtain quality biofuels. This work focuses on the characterization of three marine microalgae strains native in Mexico and reported for the first time. Ultrastructure and phylogenetic analysis, suggested that they belong to Nannochloropsis sp. (NSRE-1 and NSRE-2) and Nannochloris sp. (NRRE-1). The composition of their lipid fractions included hydrocarbons, triacylglycerides (TAGs), free fatty acids (FFAs) and terpenes. Based on theoretical estimations from TAG and FFA composition, the potential biodiesels were found to comply with six of the seven estimated properties (ASTM D6751 and EN 14214). On the other hand, hydrocarbons and terpenes synthesized by the strains have outstanding potential as precursors for the production of other renewable fuels, mainly green diesel and bio-jet fuel, which are “drop-in” fuels with quality properties similar to fossil fuels. The validity of this theoretical analysis was demonstrated for the oxygenates of strain NSRE-2, which were experimentally hydrodeoxygenated, obtaining a high-quality renewable diesel as the reaction product.
