Optimization of Process Parameters for the Production of Biodiesel from Carbon dioxide Sequestering Bacterium

Abstract

In the study, the process of in-situ transesterification for biodiesel production from a carbon dioxide sequestering chemolithotrophic bacterial strain Serratiasp. ISTD04 was optimized. The optimization of process parameters was carried out in order to enhance the yield and reduce the cost of biodiesel production. Serratiasp. ISTD04 was grown in MSM in the presence of sodium bicarbonate as the sole carbon source. The bacterial biomass harvested after 48 hours was utilized for biodiesel production. Box–Behnken design and Response surface methodology were used to optimize the in-situ transesterification, by carrying out the optimization study on three process parameters- Temperature, Duration and Catalyst concentration. Under optimized conditions of- 40.52°C, 22.93hrs and 2.04% v/ v of methanol, a biodiesel yield of 41.47% was obtained. The characterization of biodiesel was further done by GC–MS, FT-IR and NMR (H1 and C13) .