COMPARISON OF LIPID EXTRACTION METHODS FROM THE MICROALGAE Scenedesmus sp.

Microalgae have been studied for the production of bioproducts and as a renewable energy source. Among the bioproduct are lipids, which can be applied in the energy and food sector. The production of lipids through microalgae can be limited by the cellular disruption step, since lipid is an intracellular product, in addition to problems associated with extraction and purification. This manuscript aims to study the influence of some factors that influence the cellular lysis and lipid extraction processes for the Scenedesmus sp. Microalga. Two types of pre-treatment (ultrasound and thermal) were evaluated in the process using to solvent systems (EC - Chloroform / ethanol and CM - Chloroform / methanol) and two methods of extraction (ultrasound and Soxhlet). Both solvent systems were found to provide higher extraction yields when using the thermal pre-treatment had higher efficiency. However, Bligh and Dyer (1959) method, adapted to use ultrasound and a chloroform / ethanol solvent system, obtained higher yield (19.27%). The method also had lower cost than the Soxhlet method and yielded 15.71% of lipids.