Synthesis of Biodiesel by usingmarine Macro-algae of Karwar Region, Karnataka, India

In response to the world energy crisis, global warming and climate change, algal biodieselproduction has received much interest in an effort to search for sustainable development. Usingalgae as a biofuel feedstock holds many advantages in relation to the environment, foodsecurity and land use. The lipid contents or oil in algae, once extracted and purified, represent an excellent sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production. In this study three different species of macroalgae(Dictyota,Cladophora and Gracilaria) were used for algal oil extraction. The algal oil was extracted by physical and chemical extraction method. The transesterification reaction of algal oil was carriedout with methanol and NaOH as a catalyst for the production of biodiesel.The percentage of oil obtained per gram of biomass was measured.Burning test was carried out by using different blends algal oil ,It was shown that the burning rate of B100 was much lower compare to conventional diesel and B20.Physicochemical properties of algal biodiesel, such as, flash point, kinematic viscosity, water and sediment, density, cetane number, cloud point, acid value, free glycerin, total glycerin, sulphated ash, pour point, carbon residue, sulphur, copper strip corrosion, distillation temperature and phosphorus were examined using the American Standard Test Methods (ASTM D 6751-06)