Augusto César Estrada, a member of the biofuels research group, Grubioc, said that microalgae are capable of producing oil at a high yield rate, 23 times that of palm oil: the crop used to produce more oil than any other in the world.
"While the palm produces about 6 tonnes per annum, taking into account that it reaches this level of production from the seventh year, the same hectare of microalgae produces 100 to 180 tonnes during the same period and from the first year," he said.
"The country has great potential for the production of this biofuel, which has 58% protein in its molecular structure and, depending on the strain, may contain between 10% and 70% oil," explained Estrada.
His team is working to identify at least one strain of microalgae capable of producing between 0.5 and 2 g/l of dry biomass, and lipid concentrations of between 21 and 40% in a 1,000-litre photobioreactor, in addition to defining at least a method with a minimum efficiency of 80% of extracting lipids and biodiesel of a quality that can be used in internal combustion engines.
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