Using wet microalgae for direct biodiesel production via microwave irradiation

To address the large energy consumption of microalgae dewatering and to simplify the conventional two-step method (cellular lipid extraction and lipid transesterification) for biodiesel production, a novel process for the direct conversion of wet microalgae biomass into biodiesel by microwave irradiation is proposed. The influences of conventional thermal heating and microwave irradiation on biodiesel production from wet microalgae biomass were investigated. The effects of using the one-step (simultaneous lipid extraction and transesterification) and two-step methods were also studied. Approximately 77.5% of the wet microalgal cell walls were disrupted under microwave irradiation. The biodiesel production rate and yield from wet microalgae biomass obtained through the one-step process using microwave irradiation were 6-fold and 1.3-fold higher than those from wet microalgae obtained through the two-step process using conventional heating.