Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
8184056 
Journal Article 
Concentration and Partial Purification of Essential fatty acids as Co-products of Biofuels from Microalgal Consortium 
Kokkiligadda, S; Srinivasa, RR 
2017 
1 
Research Journal of Biotechnology
ISSN: 0973-6263 
Research Journal of BioTechnology 
12 
5 
25-34 
English 
The life cycle analysis of biofuels from microalgae shows a feasibility to recover essential fatty acids (EFA) as co-products from polar lipid components. Lipid fractionation of Spirulina platensis and Nannochloropsis gaditana showed 86 and 78% of γ- linolenic acid (GLA) and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) distributed in glycolipid (GL) and glycolipid + phospholipid (PL) fractions respectively. Optimized solvent recovery of total lipids from the consortium and subsequent treatment with amphipolar solvent resulted in the selective separation of triglycerides and polar lipid components (PL+GL). FT-IR spectroscopic studies confirmed the partition of triglycerides and polar lipids exhibiting their respective characteristic peaks in the IR region. The EFA's when concentrated from these organisms following winterization at +5, +10 and -20°C with 10% w/v, showed petroleum ether and hexane as ideal solvents at 20oC for effective concentration of GLA and EPA. The weight ratio optimization of EFA to the solvent showed 5% w/v at -20oC in petroleum ether followed by hexane and dichloromethane as suitable conditions for concentration and recovery of GLA and EPA fatty acids. 
Eicosapentanoic acid; FT-IR; Microalgae; Triglyceride; Winterization; γ-Linolenic acid