NIT Trichy Scientists Developing Formula for Producing Biofuel from Micro Algae

The group will develop a road map through which biodiesel can be produced commercially and can be placed on the energy market sustainably, the institute said.

A team of researchers from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Tiruchirappalli has isolated predominant strains of marine microalgae species for their potential for biofuel production. While different types of biofuels have been explored recently, the use of microalgae has been strongly considered for biofuel production since it presents a number of advantages over other biofuel feedstocks and this route to sustainable fuels inspired by T Mathimani from NIT Trichy, according to the statement.

T Mathimani's submission on techniques to enhance the content of triacylglycerol in marine microalgae for economic biodiesel production was received by the Science Pursuit Innovation for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Faculty of Fellowships established by the Department of Science and Technology, NIT Trichy said in a statement.

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'In his research supported by this award published in the journal 'Chemosphere,' Mathimani and his team isolated predominant strains of marine microalgae species, namely Picochlorum sp., Scenedesmus sp., Chlorella sp., from the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, for their potential in terms of total organic carbon content, and Triacylglycerides (TAG) content for biodiesel production,'

They are now focusing on other microalgae candidates for their multiple biotechnological potentials and lipid-based switchable polarity solvent (SPS) system. SPS is an energy-efficient switchable solvent that can be recovered without any thermal processes and can be reused as a green solvent for algal lipid extraction without any environmental impact, it adds.

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The group will draw up a road map by which biodiesel can be produced commercially and can be placed on the energy market sustainably, the statement added.