Production of Bio-Diesel from marine macro algae

The world is entering a period of declining non-renewable energy resources popularly known as “Peak Oil”. Climate change is therefore more than a problem with a feasible solution based either in science or markets on which we are likely to reach rapid consensus. Since the mid-20th century it has projected continuation. Earth is already showing many signs of worldwide climate change. One of the greatest challenges facing energy crisis is to replace the petroleum based diesel obtained from crude oil with more environmental friendly Bio-Diesel. Bio-Diesel is made from renewable resources, is bio-degradable and non-toxic and has a higher flash point than normal Diesel. Another significant advantage of Bio-Diesel is its low emission profile and also provides a means to recycle carbon-dioxide, thereby not contributing to global warming and climatic changes. Algal oil is an interesting sustainable feedstock for Bio-Diesel manufacturing. It is an alternative to popular feed stocks like soybean, canola and palm. Algae are the highest yielding feed stock for Bio-Diesel because of its high lipid content. Macro algae are multi cellular organisms which, like plants, use photosynthesis to convert the sun's energy into chemical energy. The viscosity of the raw oil has to be brought down by a suitable chemical process called transesterification, so that it can be used as an automobile fuel. It would be concluded that usage of Bio-diesel from algae would be a sustainable way to control of emission of green house gases in the atmosphere and there by controlling the drastic climatic changes. In this research, two macro algal species Gracilaria coticata and Chaetomorpha Antennina were studied for bio-diesel production and their results indicate that bio-diesel can be produced from both the species.