Power Dissipation In Microwave-Enhanced In-Situ Transesterification of Algal Biomass

The main objective of this study was to investigate the power controlled effect on microwave-accelerated simultaneous extraction and transesterification (in situ transesterification) of dry algal biomass. Experimental runs were designed using a response surface methodology and the process parameters such as dry algae to methanol ratio, reaction time and catalyst concentrations were optimized for power controlled process. The major benefits of this microwave-accelerated process are rate enhancement, increased yield and improved purity of the product.Proper application of microwave energy may result in greater benefits in terms of energy efficiency and reaction product quality. It was observed that this direct conversion technique has the potential to provide energy-efficient and economical routes for biodiesel production from algal biomass. The algal biomass characterization and algal biodiesel analysis were performed using ATR-FTIR, SEM-EDS, TGA and GC-MS. Nile Red method has been implemented for Lipid identification in microalgae using Confocal Microscopy and Fluorescence Spectroscopy.