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Direct Acid Methylation for Extraction of Fatty Acid Content from Microalgae Cells

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Abstract

Direct acid methylation was examined as a means for both analysis of fatty acid content in microalgal cells and biodiesel production without pretreatment. Microalgal cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Dunaliella tertiolecta were prepared and examined. It appeared that direct acid methylation extracted higher fatty acid content than the solvent-based Soxhlet extraction process. It also revealed that the latter was prone to extract a significant amount of nonlipid hydrophobic impurities, including hydrophobic proteins and phytol-type compounds, while direct methylation produces essentially pure ester product. This work demonstrates that direct acid methylation provides superior fatty acid extraction, promising an efficient process for either quantification of lipid content or production of biodiesel.

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  1. Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, and Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, 2008 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Benjamin D. Frigo-Vaz & Ping Wang

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  1. Benjamin D. Frigo-Vaz
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  2. Ping Wang
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Correspondence to Ping Wang.

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Frigo-Vaz, B.D., Wang, P. Direct Acid Methylation for Extraction of Fatty Acid Content from Microalgae Cells. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 173, 1581–1586 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-014-0881-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-014-0881-7

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