Algae Cell Oil Content

The term cell oil content is the portion of the [algae] cell that can be refined into a usable biofuel. A theoretical maximum value is not yet known for a cell’s oil content, and oil content is highly specific to species and growth conditions. Most values reported in the literature are total lipid content of dry cell weight (DCW). Chisti presented a summary of algal lipid contents ranging from 15% to 77% DCW. Rodolfi et al. presented cited values as high as 70% and 85% DCW, but also note that lipid accumulation often corresponds with reduced biomass productivity, so the high-growth requirement of production systems may necessitate species with lower lipid content and higher growth rates. A recent comprehensive survey by Hu et al. showed an average total lipid content for oleaginous green algae of 45.7% DCW under stress conditions. However, while the oil extracted from algal biomass can readily be converted into a usable biofuel, it is not yet clear how much of the remaining cellular lipids can also be converted. An additional overestimation may be introduced because most of the values reported in the literature are based on gravimetric analysis, which may overestimate total lipid content by co-extracting some non-lipid components such as proteins, carbohydrates, and pigments.

Source: Kristina M. Weyer & Daniel R. Bush & Al Darzins & Bryan D. Willso, 2009, Theoretical Maximum Algal Oil Production <http://www.springerlink.com/content/778667h6747540t5/fulltext.pdf>