Petrobras considers producing biodiesel from microalgae

Petrobras has been working on the development of pioneering technology for the production of biodiesel from microalgae—an alternative to oil-derived fuels used in cars or any other diesel-powered vehicles.

Collection of microalgae cultures. Image credit: CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

The biodiesel produced has been subject to laboratory testing for quality under the standards set by the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP), and the preliminary results proved promising.

Produced from renewable sources (among which soybean oil, animal fat, and cottonseed oil), this biofuel emits less pollutants than diesel does. Biomass is produced from microalgae which is used to extract the oil, which then serves as the raw material.

A major advantage when it comes to microalgae is the fact that it is not seasonal and its production does not depend on specific conditions, like soil properties. It allows “virtually weekly” harvests, with a productivity rate up to 30 times as high as the biomass made from land vegetables.

Microalgae have a productivity rate considerably higher than that of soybeans and sugarcane.

The production of biodiesel from microalgae brings along with it ecological benefits that contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide in the air—one of the causes of greenhouse effect, one of today's biggest environmental concerns.

Each ton of microalgae used for the production of biodiesel may remove up to 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide from the air, a much higher rate than that of other plants normally used for the production of biodiesel—be it from soybeans or sugarcane.

Also under research is the use of microalgae in the production of aviation biokerosene (BioQAV) in partnership with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). (Agência Brasil)

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