Effects of Fe2O3, MnO2, MgO and ZnO additives on lipid and biodiesel production from microalgae

Khalifa, Amany A.; Faried, Maryam; Abdelsalam, Essam M; Attia, Yasser Attia; Moselhy, Mohamed A; Yousef, Rania; Samer, Mohamed

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2021.82155.4051

Effects of Fe2O3, MnO2, MgO and ZnO additives on lipid and biodiesel production from microalgae

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Laser in Meteorology, Photochemistry & Agriculture (LAMPA), National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt

² Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt

³ Laser Applications in Metrology, Photochemistry and Agriculture, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University.

⁴ Department of Laser in Meteorology, Photochemistry &amp; Agriculture (LAMPA), Nation

⁵ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

⁶ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt

⁷ Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University

10.21608/ejchem.2021.82155.4051

Abstract

At present, the major body of research is focused on weaning the world from fossil fuels. The problem is that the world is running out of fossil fuel. Therefore, an alternative source must be identified. The biofuels are promising alternatives. In the case of petrodiesel, a promising alternative is biodiesel production from algae. The ability of microalgae to generate large quantities of lipids with a fast growth rate made them superior biodiesel producers. An important factor of determining optimal microalgal activity is the bioresponse to changes in trace metal concentration and quantity. The effects of the addition of the following chemicals were investigated: ferric oxide (Fe2O3) with a concentration of 1.2 mg/L, manganese dioxide (MnO2) with a concentration of 1 mg/L, magnesium oxide (MgO) with a concentration of 7.3 mg/L, and zinc oxide (ZnO) with a concentration of 5 mg/L. Further treatment is a mixture of all additives with the same listed concentrations. According to the results of this study, it was found that iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc concentration have great influence on the algal growth and lipid production. Furthermore, the mixture of all additives yielded the highest lipid and, therefore, the highest biodiesel production among all treatments.

Keywords