Process for biodiesel production from Cryptococcus curvatus

The objective of the current report is process optimization for economical production of lipids by the well known oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus and conversion of the lipids to biodiesel. A high cell density fed-batch cultivation on low cost substrate viz, crude glycerol resulted in a dry biomass and oil yield of up to 69 g/L and 48% (w/w), respectively. The process was scaled up easily to 26 L The oil extraction process was also optimized using environmentally safe solvents. The oil profile indicated a high oleic acid content followed by palmitic acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid. The oil was trans-esterified to biodiesel and thoroughly characterized. This is the first end to end report on production of biodiesel from the C. curvatus oil. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.