Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Experimental Protocol for Biodiesel Production with Isolation of Alkenones as Coproducts from Commercial Isochrysis Algal Biomass
Published on: June 24, 2016
Extraction of hydrocarbons from microalga Botryococcus braunii with switchable solvents
Chiara Samorì1, Cristian Torri, Giulia Samorì
1Interdepartmental Research Centre for Environmental Sciences (CIRSA), University of Bologna, via S. Alberto 163, 48123 Ravenna, Italy. chiara.samori3@unibo.it
Abstract:
Lipid extraction is a critical step in the development of biofuels from microalgae. Here a new procedure was proposed to extract hydrocarbons from dried and water-suspended samples of the microalga Botryococcus braunii by using switchable-polarity solvents (SPS) based on 1,8-diazabicyclo-[5.4.0]-undec-7-ene (DBU) and an alcohol. The high affinity of the non-ionic form of DBU/alcohol SPS towards non-polar compounds was exploited to extract hydrocarbons from algae, while the ionic character of the DBU-alkyl carbonate form, obtained by the addition of CO(2), was used to recover hydrocarbons from the SPS. DBU/octanol and DBU/ethanol SPS were tested for the extraction efficiency of lipids from freeze-dried B. braunii samples and compared with n-hexane and chloroform/methanol. The DBU/octanol system was further evaluated for the extraction of hydrocarbons directly from algal culture samples. DBU/octanol exhibited the highest yields of extracted hydrocarbons from both freeze-dried and liquid algal samples (16% and 8.2% respectively against 7.8% and 5.6% with n-hexane).
More Related Videos
11:44Qualitative Characterization of the Aqueous Fraction from Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Algae Using 2D Gas Chromatography with Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry
Published on: March 6, 2016
09:08Separation of Aldehydes and Reactive Ketones from Mixtures Using a Bisulfite Extraction Protocol
Published on: April 2, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Biofuels
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons
Green Algae
Hydroboration-Oxidation of Alkenes