Nannochloropsis and biofuels

Oil accumulation in Nannochloropsis cultures. In red the chlorophyll, in yellow the oil. In the majority of the cells of this culture oil represents a substantial fraction of the cell volume. The picture was shot using a confocal microscope by Elisa Corteggiani Carpinelli and the method used is the same described in Corteggiani Carpinelli, E. et al., (2013)

Nannochloropsis is a genus of alga within the heterokont line of eukaryotes, that is being investigated for biofuel production. One marine Nannochloropsis species has been shown to be suitable for algal biofuel production due to its ease of growth and high oil content (28.7% of dry weight), mainly unsaturated fatty acids and a significant percentage of palmitic acid. It also contains enough unsaturated fatty acid linolenic acid and polyunsaturated acid (>4 double bonds) for a quality biodiesel.[1]

  1. ^ Gouveia, L; Oliveira (4 Nov 2009). "Microalgae as a raw material for biofuels production". J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 36 (2): 269–74. doi:10.1007/s10295-008-0495-6. PMID 18982369.