Catalytic upgrading of biorefinery oil from micro-algae

Micro-algae are seen as one of the major future fuel sources. Culture and growth of oil rich micro-algae and catalytic process for the conversion of their crude oils or biomass is reviewed here. While there is a significant literature on growth and extraction of oil from the resultant biomass the literature on the problems of refining these oils is diverse and needs collation. It is clear that previous work has been focused on the two green algae Botryococcus braunii and Chlorella protothecoides containing terpenoid hydrocarbons and glyceryl lipids as their major crude oils, respectively, both of which will need different refinery technology for upgrading. Studies show a number of conventional catalysts in the petroleum refining industry including transition metals, zeolites, acid and base catalysts can be used with variable effect. These have been employed for cracking, hydrocracking, liquefaction, pyrolysis and transesterification processes to produce diesel, jet fuel and petrol (gasoline). However there is strong evidence that new nano-scale materials containing a high number of active sites and high surface areas may offer more potential.