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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/FWSH/20
Assessing the lipid and carbohydrate contents of microalgae feedstocks for potential
renewable energy production

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1
1
1,2
Abdullahi Balarabe Inuwa , Qaisar Mahmood , Muhammad Irshad , Usman Irshad ,
1*
3
Muhammad Azeem , Rashid Nazir
1 Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) –
Abbottabad Campus.
2 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, College of Natural and Pharmaceutical
Sciences, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria
3 Department of Biochemistry, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) – Abbottabad Campus.
Correspondence: rashidnazir@cuiatd.edu.pk

Abstract
Environmental concerns and possible depletion of fossil fuels have fueled interests in alternate
energy sources. Among these, microalgae biomass remains at the top of third generation
feedstocks with potentials to meet the world’s energy demands, if properly harnessed. It has
been established that lipids of microalgae origin are amenable to biodiesel production, while
the carbohydrates of the same organisms are fermentable into bioethanol and biogas. This
implies that strains abundant in these energy-rich macromolecules will be prioritized for these
purposes. This work reports the investigation of the lipid content, carbohydrate content and
growth rate of selected microalgae strains for possible consideration as energy feedstock
source. A total of seventeen microalgae strains were studied for the above parameters under
photoautotrophic mode in a batch culture mode and over the course of three weeks. The highest
values recorded were; 35.10 ± 0.0092 DW % (strain AY1), 48.56 ± 0.5742 DW% (strain AY4)
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and 0.286 ± 0.0227 day (strain LY2), for lipid content, carbohydrates content and specific
growth rate respectively. Notably, AY1 is the only strain that ranked among the top 30% in all
the three parameters, showcasing it as an ideal feedstock for the simultaneous production of
both lipid-based and carbohydrate-based fuels. Overall, the strains collection contained
individual strains with potentials to serve as candidate feedstocks for microalgae-based fuels
production.
Keywords: microalgae; biomass; biofuels; lipid; carbohydrate

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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