Microalgae are photosynthetic unicellular microorganisms
capable of converting sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to algal
biomass. Their high photosynthetic rates enable microalgae to
serve as an effective carbon capture platform while rapidly accumulating
lipids in their biomass. Even in a conservative scenario,
microalgae are predicted to produce about 10 times more biodiesel
per unit area of land than a typical terrestrial oleaginous crop [1–4].
Since microalgal species can be cultured on non-arable land, the
production of algal biomass does not place additional strains on
food production [5]. For these reasons, microalgae are currently
considered some of the most promising alternative sources for biodiesel
feedstock [3].
Traditionally, lipids have been extracted from biological matrices
using a combination of chloroform, methanol, and water through Bligh and Dyer’s method [6]. Indeed, this method has been
used as a benchmark for comparing solvent extraction methods.
However, it has several disadvantages when used on a large scale
because it generates significant quantities of waste solvent.
Organic solvent is costly to recycle and can be unsafe to handle
in large amounts [7]. Therefore, although Bligh and Dyer’s method
has proven effective for the majority of microalgal lipid extractions,
an alternative organic solvent extraction method is needed
for larger scale use [8]. Hexane is the most common solvent of
choice for large-scale lipid extractions due to its cost-effectiveness.
When extracting lipids from microalgae, hexane is less toxic than
chloroform, has minimal affinity towards non-lipid contaminants
and has higher selectivity towards neutral lipid fractions that can
be converted to biodiesel using existing technology [9,10]. The
use of hexane alone for high yield lipid extractions from microalgae
would be a more economical and environmentally friendly
process for biodiesel production. Unfortunately, hexane has been
reported to be less efficient than chloroform-based solvent mixtures
for microalgal lipid extractions [9–11].
When the temperature and pressure of fluids are raised over
their critical points, fluids enter the supercritical region and demonstrate
unique properties of both the liquid and gas phases. A
supercritical fluid possesses a density close to that of a liquid and
has the ability to dissolve many components. Simultaneously, the
high diffusivity and low viscosity of supercritical fluids enable
them to behave in a manner similar to gas. Due to these advantages,
supercritical fluids appear well suited for use as extraction
media. Indeed, lipid extractions using supercritical carbon dioxide
have recently been studied extensively for biodiesel production
from microalgae [8,12,13]. Based on these considerations, in this
work lipid extraction from Scenedesmus microalgae was evaluated
using hot compressed hexane (HCH) in sub- and supercritical conditions.
Crude lipid yield and the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME)
yield obtained from HCH extracts were compared with those
obtained using hexane extraction at ambient conditions and with
the Bligh and Dyer extraction method. Soxhlet extraction, which
is considered a baseline for the comparison of lipid extraction
methods, was also tested near the boiling point of hexane