Recent developments of downstream processing for microbial lipids and conversion to biodiesel

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2018-05, Vol.256, p.515-528
• Main Authors: Yellapu, Sravan Kumar, Bharti, Kaur, Rajwinder, Kumar, Lalit R., Tiwari, Bhagyashree, Zhang, Xiaolei, Tyagi, Rajeshwar D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiesel purification; Biomass harvesting; Cell wall disruption; Lipid recovery; Transesterification; Wet biomass
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.01.129

[Display omitted] •Biomass harvesting using centrifugation and flocculation.•Applications of efficient cell-disruption methods.•Lipid recovery and mechanism using organic solvents and their effects.•In-situ transesterification from wet biomass slurry.•Purification techniques to meet quality standards of ASTM and EN. With increasing global population and depleting resources, there is an apparent demand for radical unprecedented innovation to satisfy the basal needs of lives. Hence, non-conventional renewable energy resources like biodiesel have been worked out in past few decades. Biofuel (e.g. Biodiesel) serves to be the most sustainable answer to solve “food vs. fuel crisis”. In biorefinery process, lipid extraction from oleaginous microbial lipids is an integral part as it facilitates the release of fatty acids. Direct lipid extraction from wet cell-biomass is favorable in comparison to dry-cell biomass because it eliminates the application of expensive dehydration. However, this process is not commercialized yet, instead, it requires intensive research and development in order to establish robust approaches for lipid extraction that can be practically applied on an industrial scale. This review aims for the critical presentation on cell disruption, lipid recovery and purification to support extraction from wet cell-biomass for an efficient transesterification.