Journal of Energy & Environment

Journal homepage: www.uniten.edu.my/jee

Biodiesel Production from Macro Algae as a Green Fuel for Diesel Engine

A.S. Ahmed1*, S. Khan1, S. Hamdan1, R. Rahman1 , A. Kalam2, H.H. Masjuki 2, T.M.I. Mahlia2

1
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan,
Sarawak, Malaysia
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

KEYWORDS ABSTRACT
Algal oil Plant oils or triglycerides are converted through the transesterification reaction with
Biodiesel methanol and base catalyst to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) or Biodiesel.
Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) Production of biodiesel from plant oil is a renewable, sustainable and alternative of
Triglycerides petroleum based fuel. Algae oil from macroalgae has the potential to become a sustainable
Transesterification fuel source as biodiesel. Macroalgae are produced through photosynthesis by utilizing
sunlight, carbon dioxide, water and other nutrients. The lipid contents or oil in algae, once
extracted and purified, represent an excellent sustainable feedstock for biodiesel
production. Three different species of macroalgae (Spirogyra, Cladophora and Gracilaria)
were used for algal oil extraction in this study. The algal oil was extracted by physical and
chemical extraction method. The transesterification reaction of algal oil with methanol and
base catalyst was used for the production of biodiesel. In engine performance test, the algal
biodiesel blends showed slight increase in specific fuel consumption but biodiesel blends
showed higher brake power. The emission of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC)
and nitrogen oxides (NOx) reduced as biodiesel blend percentage increased over engine
speed range.
© 2010 Universiti Tenaga Nasional. All rights reserved.

1. INTRODUCTION popular. Algae have the capability to convert carbon dioxide

On the gradual reducing of fossil fuels, it is now more
vital than ever to explore for fuels that can be used as
alternatives to crude oil-based fuels such as gasoline and
diesel fuel. The conversion of oils into chemicals is identified
as long chain mono alkyl esters, or biodiesel. Biodiesel can be
formed from a variety of fats and agricultural commodities
which consist of oilseeds such as canola and soybeans,
rendered animal fats, used restaurant cooking oil, and palm
oil. It can also be made from biomass such as from algae
blooms. Biodiesel can be utilized in internal combustion diesel
engine in its pure form or in any concentration with
conventional diesel. The use of its pure form (B100) may
necessitate certain engine modifications to avoid maintenance
and performance problems. However, it is most frequently
found mixed at a ratio of 20% biodiesel to 80% normal diesel
[1]. The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine
results in significant reduction of unburned hydrocarbons,
carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Biodiesel has no
sulfur or aromatics. In addition, biodiesel is non-toxic, readily
biodegradable and increase lubricity of diesel fuels. This
means biodiesel is compatible with the next generation of
diesel engine pollution reduction appliances.
The recent investigation of the use of alternative, non-
food related feedstock such as oil from algae is becoming
to biomass that can further be processed downstream to
produce biodiesel, fertilizer and other useful products [2]. The
truth that algae grow in aqueous suspensions enables algae for
more efficient access to water, carbon dioxide and other
nutrients. This enables the potential for the making of more oil
per unit area than other crops presently used [3]. Biodiesel
manufacturers can decide to efficiently take care of
wastewater while at the same time produce biodiesel. The
chemical composition of algae differs based on species. Thus,
algae have several characteristics that enable them to be a
feasible biodiesel feedstock that deserves further research.
Macroalgae are large multicellular plants that are similar to
vascular plants but lack the complex array of tissues used for
reproduction [4]. Macroalgae usually grow and attach to solid
substrates such as coral skeletons, shells and rocks. They can
be divided into three groupings: green algae- Division
Chlorophyta, brown algae – Division Phaeophyta and red
algae – Division Rhodophyta. Microalgae have high oil
content but are hard to be cultivated and harvested in a cost-
efficient way. On the other hand, macroalgae provide low-cost
cultivation and harvesting potential [5].
Biodiesel, a nonpetroleum-based fuel defined as mono-
alkyl esters of long chain fatty acid derived from vegetable
oils or animal fats with alcohols of lower molecular weights

*Corresponding author
E-mail address: A.S. Ahmed <aasaleh@feng.unimas.my>. 1
 A.S. Ahmed et al./ Journal of Energy & Environment, Vol. 2 (2010), No. 1, 1-5
(primarily, methanol) in the presence of catalyst. The
transesterification reaction can be catalyzing either using
homogeneous catalyst (acid or base) or heterogeneous
catalyst. The use of homogenous catalyst especially sodium
and potassium hydroxide provide higher reaction rate and
conversion than acid catalyst for the transesterification of
triglycerides (TG) to biodiesel. These alkali (sodium and
potassium hydroxide) catalysts are more popular and most
preferred in the commercial production of biodiesel for their
low cost and availability [6]. Major problem with the use of
heterogeneous catalyst such as solid metal oxide and
enzymatic catalysis in the production of biodiesel is the higher
cost of the catalyst.
Diesel engines are widely used as power sources in
medium and heavy-duty applications. It is because diesel
engines have lower fuel consumption and lower emission of
carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) compared with
gasoline engines [7]. In 1930s and 1940s fresh vegetable oils
were used as diesel fuel when petroleum supplies were
expensive or difficult to obtain. As the fossil fuels have been
exhausted rapidly nowadays, there is a need to find out an
alternative fuel to fulfill the demand of the world. Biodiesel as
an alternative diesel fuel has recently attracted huge attention
worldwide for its good exhaust emission, sustainability and
biodegradability.
Global air-pollution is a serious problem. The use of
vehicles all over the world especially in big cities and towns
contribute the most in generating gaseous emission, hence
cause the pollution of environment. These gaseous referred to
greenhouse gases (GHG) that cause global warming. GHG
such as carbon-dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO),
nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur oxide (SOx) causes
environmental pollution.
Exhaust emission of diesel engines operating on neat
biodiesel and its blends with diesel fuel have been reported in
numerous studies. Many researchers investigate that
increasing of biodiesel percentage in the blend will reduce the
CO, SOx, HC and particulate matter (PM) emission and
smoke. However, the emission of NOx depends on the
biodiesel sources.
In this study algal oil was extracted from macroalgae,
algal oil from macroalgae was used to produce biodiesel
through transesterification reaction. The biodiesel conversion
yields of different sources were compared. The engine
performance and trace formation form the exhaust tail gas of a
four-cylinder, four-stroke indirect injection (IDI) diesel engine
were compared using different biodiesel blends. The engine
performance at different engine speeds was compared between
biodiesel blends and ordinary diesel. The formation of CO,
NOx and HC were also investigated and discussed.
2. MATERIALS AND METHOD
The feedstock for biodiesel in this study was macroalgae.
The selected macroalgae species were Spirogyra, Cladophora
and Gracilaria are shown in Fig. 1.
To extract the oil from macroalgae, hexane solvent
extraction was used along with the expeller method. The algae
were mixed with hexane and preceded to the grinding process.
The ground algae were put into a container for settling for 24
2
hours. The oil was extracted by using the cloth filter which
functioned as expeller. The extracts were kept into a beaker
for 24 hours at room temperature to let the hexane evaporate.
The residual crude algal oil was refined by washing with
water. The amount of algal oil extracted was measured and
recorded. The algal oil from macroalgae was converted into
biodiesel by using the base-catalyzed transesterification
reaction (Fig. 2).
Fig. 1. Macroalgae species-a) Spirogyra, b) Cladophora and
c) Gracilaria
In this reaction one molecule of each triglyceride in the
algae oil reacted with three molecules of methanol to form
three molecule of methyl esters (biodiesel) and one molecule
of glycerol. The process was done separately for two samples
of 50 ml algal oil so that comparison can be made. The
catalyst used in this process was potassium hydroxide (KOH)
and the alcohol used was methanol. The amounts of methanol
used were 2 to 7 times of 50 ml of algal oil. The amounts of
potassium hydroxide (KOH) used were 0.2 to 1.2
weight/volume (w/v) % of the feed algal oil. The mixture of
alcohol and catalyst was then added to the algal oil. The
reaction was carried out at the temperature below the boiling
point of methanol (60°C) with continuous stirring for 40
minutes. After shaking the solution for two hours in orbital
shaker, it was put into the separating funnel and was kept for
24 hours to settle the biodiesel and sediment layers clearly.
Once the reaction was completed, two major products existed;
glycerin and biodiesel. The biodiesel was collected and the
glycerin was removed. The biodiesel was purified by washing
gently with warm water to remove residual catalyst or soaps.
Finally the biodiesel was dried by heating.
Fig. 2. Transesterification reaction
The biodiesel was measured and stored in an aluminum
foil sealed container for analysis. Physical properties of
biodiesel from macroalgae were measured and compare with
ASTM (D6751) standards in Table 3. Horiba exhaust gas
analyzer was used to measure the emissions. Biodiesel test
was carried out to compare the properties and performance of
algal biodiesel with the conventional diesel. The tests were
included the burning test and the performance test using a
diesel engine. The engine used in this study was ISUZU-
 A.S. Ahmed et al./ Journal of Energy & Environment, Vol. 2 (2010), No. 1, 1-5 3

4FB1. The important engine specifications are given in Table Table 2. Algal oil and biodiesel produced
1. A variable speed range from 800 to 3600 rpm with 50% Macroalgae Algal Algal Biodiesel % of
throttle setting was selected for performance and emissions weight (gm) oil oil % (gm) Biodiesel
tests. (gm) produced

Table 1. Specification of diesel engine Spirogyra 200 6.03 3.01 5.57 92.4

Engine ISUZU Cladophora 200 4.96 2.48 4.58 92.3

Model 4FB1 Gracilaria 200 17.74 8.87 16.39 92.4

Type Water-cooled, four stroke

Combustion Indirect injection (IDI) and naturally
aspirated
Number of cylinders 4
Bore × Stroke 84 × 82 mm
Displacement 817 cc
Compression Ratio 21 : 1
Nominal Rated Power 39 kW/5000 rpm
Maximum Torque speed 1800 – 3000 rpm
Dimension ( L × W × H ) 700 × 560 × 635(mm)
Weight (dry) 185 kg
Fig. 4. Effect of CH3OH/ Oil ratio on the production yield
Combustion Chamber Swirl Chamber
Nozzle Type Throttle Fig. 4 shows that the biodiesel production highest yield was at
Governor Type Mechanical, variable speed, min-max speed
1.0 wt% of KOH to oil. From the figure, it may be concluded
that the optimum CH3OH to oil ratio was 4:1 because it
Cooling System Pressurized circulation allowed maximum yield of biodiesel production to be
achieved.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The algal oil had extracted from the selected macroalgae
species and continued to the conversion process to produce
biodiesel. The diesel engine test was also conducted to study
the engine performance by using the biodiesel from
macroalgae. The comparison of the oil content for the selected
three macroalgae species are shown in Table 2. Gracilaria
had higher lipid content (8.87%) as compared to Spirogyra
(3.01%) and Cladophora (2.48%): because of the lipid
contents of macroalgae are varied. The conversions of algal oil
to biodiesel are also shown in Table 2 and Fig. 3.

Fig. 5. Effect of KOH on the production yield

Fig.5 shows the effect of concentration of KOH on the

Fig. 3. Algal oil and Biodiesel production from Macroalgae
production yield from macroalgae oil at CH3OH/Oil ratio of
4:1. As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the reaction yields were
maximized when the ratio of KOH/oil ranges from 0.6 ~1.2
wt% at CH3OH/Oil ratio 4:1.
Burning Test: Burning test was conducted to examine the
difference between biodiesel blend (Table 4) of B100, B20
and B0. It was shown that the burning rate of B100 was much
lower compare to conventional diesel and B20. The
conventional diesel burned vigorously because the energy
density of conventional diesel is higher than the biodiesel.
 A.S. Ahmed et al./ Journal of Energy & Environment, Vol. 2 (2010), No. 1, 1-5 4

Table 3. Fuel properties of Algal Biodiesel and Conventional

diesel
Diesel Biodiesel Algal Oil
Fuel property Biodiesel
(ASTM-975) (ASTM-6751)
Heating Value (Btu/gal) ~129,050 ~118,170 117,780
TAN (mg/gm KOH) ~ 0.10 0.20 0.18
Kinematic Viscosity 4.31
1.3~4.1 4.0~6.0
(cSt) @ 400C
Flash point 0C 60~80 100~170 147
Sulfur content, wt % 0.05 Max 0.0 0.0
Cetane Number 40~55 48~65 57

Fig. 6. Fuel Consumption Rate of different Biodiesel Blend in

The burning rate for B20 was higher than B100 due Diesel Engine
to the large percentage of conventional diesel. The Fig. 7 shows the variation in brake power output between
conventional diesel produces more smoke in black color and ordinary diesel (OD) and biodiesel blend B10. The brake
the B100 only emitted small amount of smoke in white color. power outputs of biodiesel blends are slightly higher than
At B20, there was a noticeable reduction in odor and smoke. ordinary diesel. The increase in brake power of biodiesel
That was due to the reason that biodiesel improve the blend is due to the better combustion efficiency of biodiesel.
efficiency of combustion in blend with conventional diesel. Maximum brake power was obtained at 1600 rpm for OD and
Table 4. Biodiesel blend B10 were 10.3 kW and 11.2 Kw respectively
No Fuel Biodiesel blend (% vol.)
1 B0 100% conventional diesel
2 B5 5% biodiesel + 95% conventional diesel
3 B10 10% biodiesel + 90% conventional diesel
4 B20 20% biodiesel + 80% conventional diesel
5 B30 30% biodiesel + 70% conventional diesel
6 B100 100% biodiesel

3.1 Engine performance

The biodiesel blends for engine performance test are
shown in Table 5. The fuel consumption versus biodiesel Fig. 7. Brake power at different speed of ordinary diesel (OD)
blends from B0 to B30 is shown in Fig. 6. The specific fuel and 10% biodiesel blend (B10)
consumption increased as the percentage of biodiesel blend
was increased. This was happened due to the lower energy
content in biodiesel compared to the conventional diesel. 3.2 Exhaust emission
Fig. 8 shows the variation of CO produced by running
Table 5. Engine performance Data for Biodiesel blend. diesel engine using ordinary diesel (OD) and biodiesel blend
B10. Maximum CO was produced as 0.049% for OD and
Fuel Fuel Speed Time Fuel Engine Specific Fuel
flow (RPM) (sec) consumption Power Consumption 0.028% for fuel B10 at 1200 rpm. At this speed, the decrease
(ml) rate (ml/100 Output(kW) (ml/Watt) was determined as 42.86% between OD and B10. As shown in
sec)
Fig. 8, increase the biodiesel percentage in blend will decrease
B0 20 1436 134 14.9 1.709 11.7 the CO emission due to the oxygen content in biodiesel. The
B5 20 1436 133 15.0 1.709 11.7 oxygen content helps to complete the oxidation of carbon
B10 20 1435 133 15.0 1.693 11.8 species during combustion [8].
B15 20 1434 133 15.0 1.682 11.89 Fig. 9 shows the variation of NOx emission with engine
B20 20 1433 132 15.1 1.682 11.89 speed by running diesel engine with different fuels. Maximum
B25 20 1432 132 15.1 1.671 11.97 NOx was produced as 250 ppm for OD at 1200 rpm. At the
B30 20 1430 131 15.2 1.665 12.01
same engine speed, B10 produced 149 ppm. The reduction in
NOx during optimum emission was 40.4% for fuel B10, as
compared to OD.
 A.S. Ahmed et al./ Journal of Energy & Environment, Vol. 2 (2010), No. 1, 1-5
Fig. 8. CO emission vs. engine speed
Fig. 10 shows the emission of HC against engine speed
for ordinary diesel (OD) and biodiesel blend B10. As shown in
the figure, OD produced the most HC compare to fuel B10.
On average, 45-60% reduction in HCs was obtained by
running fuel B10 in diesel engine compare to OD. Higher
oxygen content in biodiesel caused HC species oxidize better
than in OD. Thus, increase the biodiesel percentage in blend
will decrease the HC emission.
Fig. 9. NOx emission (ppm) vs. engine speed (rpm).
Fig. 10. HC emission (ppm) vs. engine speed (rpm).
4. CONCLUSIONS
In this work algal oil was extracted from different species
of macroalgae, the biodiesel was produced from algal oil by
using base-catalyzed transesterification reaction and the diesel
engine performance test was also carried out for different
blends of biodiesel from B0 to B30. Gracilaria showed higher
5
lipid content as compared to Spirogyra and Cladophora.
Overall, the fuel consumption increased as the percentage of
biodiesel blend increased. The reason is the lower energy
content of the biodiesel as compared to ordinary diesel. In
addition, the blend of 5% by volume of the biodiesel with the
conventional diesel (B5) does not affect the performance of
the engine. The brake power of biodiesel blend was slightly
higher than that of normal diesel due to better combustion
efficiency of biodiesel. Also the biodiesel had a lower
emission of CO, NOx and HC than the ordinary diesel. The
reason of emission reduction is the increase in oxygen content
of fuel blend when biodiesel blended with petro diesel and
thus less oxygen is needed for combustion. This indicated that
the addition of biodiesel to the conventional diesel was
suitable for use in diesel engine.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Department of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia. This
work was also supported by Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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