|
Ashli E. Brown,
ab506@msstate.edu1, Emily R. Easterling, easterling@che.msstate.edu2,
Elizabeth C. Rogers, ecr2@ra.msstate.edu3, William E.
Holmes, wholmes@ra.msstate.edu3, Rafael Hernandez2,
and W. Todd French2. (1) Department of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 9650,
Mississippi State, MS 39762, (2) Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical
Engineering, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 9595,
Mississippi State, MS 39762, (3) State Chemical Laboratory,
Mississippi State University, Box CR, Mississippi State, MS 39762
|
| High prices for petroleum have enhanced interest in
alternative fuels such as biodiesel. Currently, the majority of
biodiesel is produced from the transesterification of soybean and canola
oils resulting in fatty acid methyl esters and glycerol, an unwanted by
product. Feedstocks which do not compete with food crops and the
development of alternative uses for glycerol is needed for biodiesel to
become an economically feasible energy source. We examined Hesperis
matrinalis, a winter planted annual and Rhodotorula glutinis,
an oleaginous yeast, as two potential lipid sources. The yeast cells
were cultivated on medium containing glycerol alone and in combination
with a variety of sugars. The oils were extracted from both sources,
transesterified, and analyzed by GC/MS to identify the free fatty acid
content. H. matrinalis generated 23% oil and R. glutinis
generated between 16% and 34% oil depending on the medium. The following
were identified by GC/MS as the major components of the fatty acid
profile: palmitic (C16:0), steric (C18:0), oleic
(C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), and linolenic (C18:3). |