Comparison of cell disruption methods for extracting lipid from Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris

Biodiesel production processes from microalgae include biomass harvesting, lipid extraction and transestrification. Undoubtedly, selection of a high-quality cell disruption method increased the efficiency of lipid extraction and so biodiesel production. Various methods, including autoclaving, freezing, bead-beating, microwaves, sonication and high pressure homogenization, were tested to identify the most effective cell disruption method. The total lipids from Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris were extracted using standard method. The total lipid contents from the tow species were 7.2-18.2 and 18.3-43.1 %DW respectively. Both microalgae showed the highest total lipid contents when the cells were disrupted using the microwave oven and autoclaving method. Thus, among the tested methods, the microwave oven method was identified as the most simple, easy, and effective for lipid extraction from microalgae.