1. Introduction
Renewable biofuels are increasingly sought as alternatives to
fossil fuels because of their higher levels of sustainability and their
contribution to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Currently,
biofuels account for approximately 1.5% of global transportation
fuels (International Energy Agency, 2010). Duckweeds (aquatic
plants of family Lemnaceae) have been proposed as a potential
feedstock for biofuel production, because of their high proportion
of carbohydrate, low lignin content (Jarvis et al., 1988) and high