Green microalgal strain Chlorella vulgaris isolated from industrial wastewater with remediation capacity

Abstract

The present work primarily focused on isolation of Chlorella vulgaris from industrial wastewater, and use as an effective feedstock for producing renewable biodiesel. Post isolation, the lipid was extracted from Chlorella vulgaris using Soxhlet’s extraction method; and the extracted lipid was converted into algal oil biodiesel, which was then characterized using GC–MS spectral analysis. From the optimized reaction parameters: reaction temperature (45 ◦C), methanol/ C. vulgaris bio-oil ratio (4:1), catalyst concentration (300 mg) of synthesized lipase immobilized magnetic nanoparticles, and reaction time (6 h) under continuous stirring, the highest yield of C. vulgaris biodiesel was recorded as 87.6%. Besides, the lipase immobilized nano-bio catalyst used in the production process, was found to be highly efficient for about 5 to 6 cycles without any significant loss in the conversion efficiency. Finally, the evaluated fuel properties of the produced C. vulgaris biodiesel were in good agreement with ASTM D6751 standards.