(683d) Extraction of Microalgae Using An Ionic Liquid Co-Solvent System

This work evaluates the applicability of ionic liquid based co-solvent systems to extract bio-oils from microalgae. This is in contrast to traditional co-solvent systems, comprised of a volatile organic solvent and a polar covalent molecule (PCM), that both dissolve and extract the bio-oil within a single phase. In our approach the volatile organic solvent is replaced with an ionic liquid (IL) to create a co-solvent system that both dissolves and extracts the microalgae, but also auto-partitions the extracted lipids into a separate immiscible phase. We also evaluate this co-solvent system for its capacity to support the direct transesterification of the bio-oils to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). In both cases we propose that the action of the PCM is largely to disrupt the cell wall and to improve the efficiency at which the lipid is extracted from the microalgae. As ionic liquids possess as extremely strong ?self-associating? ionic bonding that dominates their solubility properties, we propose that the action of the ionic liquid is to rapidly push the lipids to the surface interface where they auto partition into a self associating and separate phase. The capacity of this system to co-extract protein is also discussed.