High-Resolution Lipidomics Reveals Influence of Biomass and Pretreatment Process on the Composition of Extracted Algae Oils As Feedstock for Sustainable Aviation Fuels

TL;DR

This study uses lipidomics to analyze algae oils for sustainable aviation fuel, showing how biomass and pretreatment affect oil quality and yield.

Contribution

The study introduces a low-concentration sulfuric acid pretreatment that improves lipid extraction efficiency and oil purity from algae.

Findings

Pretreatment increased oil yield and purity, with high-lipid algae showing >90% extraction and >85% FAME purity.

Low-lipid biomass extracted 70–80% of available lipids, but non-fatty acid co-extractants exceeded 40% of the oils.

The work provides critical quality metrics for evaluating algae oils as feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel production.

Abstract

The increasing demand
for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) creates
a need for innovative biomass and lipid sources with compositions
that are compatible with refineries. Algae-derived oils present an
opportunity to supply a process-compatible lipid feedstock at yields
higher than those of conventional oilseed crops. With few documented
reports on chemical composition, the process readiness remains elusive.
We present data on extraction efficiency, yield, and purity of lipids
from algae with and without the application of a low-concentration
sulfuric acid pretreatment of the biomass. The pretreatment process
increased the oil yield and positively impacted the quality of the
extracted oils. Results from fatty acid and lipidomics analysis revealed
that the low-lipid biomass sources extracted 70–80% of the
available lipids, and the non-fatty acid co-extractants exceeded 40%
of the extracted oils. For a high-lipid algae sample, derived from
a genetically engineered strain, we show >90% extraction yield
with
>85% FAME purity. This work provides insights into the composition
of algae-derived oils and quality metrics that are essential to determining
the viability of lipid hydroprocessing to SAF.

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