Oil Extraction From Microalgae by Pulsed Power as a Renewable Source of Energy

Biofuel production as a sustainable source of green energy is considered a promising complement to petroleum in order to prevent environmental problems such as global warming. In this regard, microalgae can be one of the best options, since other plant resources may be used for human consumption and utilizing them for producing biofuel may cause an increase in their price. However, there are several challenges to extract oil from microalgae, e.g., high energy consumption, chemical solvents, and algae culture destruction, which should be addressed by new approaches. In this paper, we suggest nanosecond pulse electric field as a physical method for hydrocarbon extraction from microalgae. Botryococcus braunii with high hydrocarbon production potential was used as the microalga model. To obtain an effective extraction, nsPEFs with 87.5-kV/cm electric field, 200-ns pulse duration, 0.3-J/pulse energy, 1-Hz pulse repetition frequency, and 1–50 pulses were applied. Microscopic observations with image processing and chemical assessments were performed for analyzing the samples, understanding the extraction mechanisms, and comparing the outcomes. According to the results, 50 pulses with 16.7-J/mL energy consumption were sufficient for oil extraction, showing that the pulsed power approach can be used as an appropriate physical method for extracting oil from Botryococcus braunii .