Catalytic process for the production of bio-jet oil from schizochytrium sp. microalgal oil

Abstract

Depleting fossil fuels and increasing environmental concerns on global warming have accelerated extensive efforts and research for the development of biorefinery technologies that are known to be sustainable and carbon neutral. Among various types of biomass, microalgae are now the most promising candidate as they show very high lipid productivity per land area and raise no environmental or ethical issues. However, the high processing cost remains the biggest obstacle for its industrialization. In this study, two different highly efficient process options for the production of bio-jet oil from Schizochytrium sp. oil were proposed and demonstrated. The first process included 3 steps of catalytic reaction to convert Schizochytrium oil to bio-jet oil. In this process, entire oil was converted to bio-jet oil, and the yield was maximized. In the other process, firstly docosahexaenoic acid, a high value-added omega-3 oil was separated as byproduct, and then the remaining part of the oil was converted to bio-jet oil through 2 steps of catalysis. Finally, produced bio-jet oil samples by both processes were tested for the key specifications designed for bio-jet oil (ASTM D7566).