The B race produces polyunsaturated and branched C3O--C37 terpenoid hydrocarbons referred to as polymethylated botryococcenes and are promising as a renewable energy source as they are known to be accumulating in very high levels (30--40% of algal dry weight). Botryococcenes are extracted from the total lipids as the hexane-soluble component and can be converted into useful fuels, such as gasoline by catalytic cracking [7]. In natural populations, the botryococcenes content varies from 27 to 86% of the dry cell mass [2]. However, under cultured conditions the hydrocarbon content varies with th~ species, the race to which it belongs and physiological conditions from 2 to 86%.
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