Cost-cutting strategies, production, and characterisation of microalgal-based biodiesel using a locally designed photobioreactor

Cost-cutting strategies, production, and characterisation of microalgal-based biodiesel using a locally designed photobioreactor | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Cost-cutting strategies, production, and characterisation of microalgal-based biodiesel using a locally designed photobioreactor Abideen A. Adekanmi, Abiodun Onilude, Emmanuel Garuba, Taoreed Muraina, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8492335/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Commercialisation of biodiesel is hampered by the high costs of the upstream and downstream production processes in microalgae-biodiesel refineries. Although closed photobioreactors are effective at producing biomass and lipids on a large scale, which are crucial for the amount and quality of biodiesel produced, the high cost of biodiesel commercialisation is exacerbated by the expenses associated with purchasing it and some of its components. The goal of this study is to solve the high expense of purchasing a photobioreactor by designing and constructing a 30-liter stirred tank stainless steel rectangle shaped photobioreactor (STSSRSP) for the production of biodiesel. The photobioreactor was constructed locally with premium, cost-effective materials. Lipid extraction, quantification, and biomass concentration were ascertained by filtering, solvent extraction, and gravimetric techniques. Sulphuric acid was utilised as a catalyst to transesterify lipids into biodiesel. For biodiesel characterisation, techniques from the American Society for Testing for Materials, Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and predictive models based on fatty acid content were employed. Scenedesmus obliquus OSC and Chlorella vulgaris UIA showed the maximum biomass concentrations (21.85 ± 0.03 and 18.62 ± 0.02 g/L), lipid contents (89.30 ± 0.06 and 84.95 ± 0.08%), and optimal biodiesel yields (99.49 ± 0.01 and 96.46 ± 0.02%) after day four of cultivation. Biodiesel's physical and chemical characteristics met acceptable international criteria, and it’s saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acid composition and percentages are excellent. Chlorella vulgaris UIA and Scenedesmus obliquus OSC are highly promising and perfect for producing biodiesel, while the built STSSRSP is creative, affordable, and effective, as seen by the outcomes obtained. Scenedesmus obliquus OSC Chlorella vulgaris UIA STSSRSP Transesterification biodiesel characterisation Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8492335","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":573596911,"identity":"91261af9-e89a-4853-85cc-396a1a1f4b8b","order_by":0,"name":"Abideen A. 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photobioreactor","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Scenedesmus obliquus OSC, Chlorella vulgaris UIA, STSSRSP Transesterification, biodiesel characterisation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8492335/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8492335/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCommercialisation of biodiesel is hampered by the high costs of the upstream and downstream production processes in microalgae-biodiesel refineries. Although closed photobioreactors are effective at producing biomass and lipids on a large scale, which are crucial for the amount and quality of biodiesel produced, the high cost of biodiesel commercialisation is exacerbated by the expenses associated with purchasing it and some of its components. The goal of this study is to solve the high expense of purchasing a photobioreactor by designing and constructing a 30-liter stirred tank stainless steel rectangle shaped photobioreactor (STSSRSP) for the production of biodiesel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe photobioreactor was constructed locally with premium, cost-effective materials. Lipid extraction, quantification, and biomass concentration were ascertained by filtering, solvent extraction, and gravimetric techniques. Sulphuric acid was utilised as a catalyst to transesterify lipids into biodiesel. For biodiesel characterisation, techniques from the American Society for Testing for Materials, Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and predictive models based on fatty acid content were employed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScenedesmus obliquus OSC and Chlorella vulgaris UIA showed the maximum biomass concentrations (21.85 ± 0.03 and 18.62 ± 0.02 g/L), lipid contents (89.30 ± 0.06 and 84.95 ± 0.08%), and optimal biodiesel yields (99.49 ± 0.01 and 96.46 ± 0.02%) after day four of cultivation. Biodiesel's physical and chemical characteristics met acceptable international criteria, and it’s saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acid composition and percentages are excellent.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChlorella vulgaris UIA and Scenedesmus obliquus OSC are highly promising and perfect for producing biodiesel, while the built STSSRSP is creative, affordable, and effective, as seen by the outcomes obtained.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Cost-cutting strategies, production, and characterisation of microalgal-based biodiesel using a locally designed photobioreactor","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-14 15:27:05","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8492335/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ddcc2b7e-214e-42ed-a2d5-bb485dae05cf","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 14th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-15T02:07:12+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-14 15:27:05","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8492335","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8492335","identity":"rs-8492335","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}