Evaluation of single cell oil (SCO) from a tropical marine yeast Yarrowia lipolytica NCIM 3589 as a potential feedstock for biodiesel

Gouri Katre, Chirantan Joshi, Mahesh Khot, Smita Zinjarde, Ameeta RaviKumar

Single cell oils (SCOs) accumulated by oleaginous yeasts have emerged as potential alternative feedstocks for biodiesel production. As lipid accumulation is species and substrate specific, selection of an appropriate strain is critical. Five strains of Y. lipolytica, a known model oleaginous yeast, were investigated to explore their potential for biodiesel production when grown on glucose and inexpensive wastes. All the strains were found to accumulate > 20% (w/w) of their dry cell mass as lipids with neutral lipid as the major fraction when grown on glucose and on wastes such as waste cooking oil (WCO), waste motor oil (WMO). However, amongst them, Y. lipolytica NCIM 3589, a tropical marine yeast, exhibited a maximal lipid/biomass coefficient, YL/X on 30 g L-1 glucose (0.29 g g-1) and on 100 g L-1 WCO (0.43 g g-1) with a high content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids similar to conventional vegetable oils used for biodiesel production. The experimentally determined and predicted biodiesel properties of strain 3589 when grown on glucose and WCO, such as density (0.81 and 1.04 g cm-3), viscosity (4.44 and 3.6 mm2 s-1), SN (190.81 and 256), IV (65.7 and 37.8) and CN (56.6 and 50.8) are reported for the first time for Y. lipolytica and correlate well with specified standards. Thus, the SCO of oleaginous tropical marine yeast Y. lipolytica NCIM 3589 could be used as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production.