Biodiesel production from Chlorella Vulgaris microalgal-derived oil via electrochemical and thermal processes

Chlorella Vulgaris microalgal as a renewable and economically feasible oil feedstock is used in this study for producing biodiesel through electrochemical and thermal processes. The effect of operating parameters on non-catalytic and catalytic biodiesel production from the derived-oil is investigated and compared in a wide range of condition. According to the revealed data, during non-catalytic processes, electrochemical process proposed higher biodiesel production yield in comparison to thermal process with relative biodiesel production yield of 25% and 18%, respectively. According to the experimental results, although biodiesel production is restricted in presence of water in thermal process, electrochemical method enables biodiesel production in presence of water. Addition of H2SO4 in the range of 1-15 wt% through electrochemical process at the obtained optimum condition results in gradual increase in the biodiesel production yield to 95%. The optimum operating condition in electrochemical process are as follows: methanol to oil molar ratio of 20:1, tetrahydrofuran (THF) to methanol molar ratio of 0.25:1, reaction time of 2 h, voltage of 20 V/cm, water content of 2 wt% and H2SO4 loading of 15 wt%.