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Integral Approach for the Evaluation of Sugar Cane Bio-Waste Molasses and Effects on Algal Lipids and Biodiesel Production

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Abstract

Industrial waste molasses is one of the major soil pollutants. This waste increasingly affects land fertility, human health, and the environment. Hence, this study proposes an efficient method for the disposal of sugar cane residue and reutilization of value-added components from molasses juice. Algal strains (Oedogonium sp., Ulothrix sp., Cladophora sp., and Spirogyra sp.) are grown in several molasses concentrations. Their subsequent effect of molasses on algal growth, metabolite accumulation, lipid profiling, and biodiesel production are investigated for the first time. It was noticed that 0.5% molasses increase biomass production of all algal species. Compared to the control, the highest accumulation was 38% in Oedogonium sp. and 46% in Ulothrix sp. after 5 days. Total chlorophyll, carbohydrates, and protein were also increased in all species. Similarly, lipid content was increased from 21–43%, with suitable changes in the fatty acid profile C16 to C18 as a prerequisite for optimum biodiesel production. The efficacy of biodiesel was further verified by the biodiesel standards such as EN 14,214 and ASTM D6751 iodine value, saponification, cetane number, cold filter plugging point, density, kinematic viscosity, oxidative stability, long-chain saturation factor, and higher heating value are in the range of standards; all of these fuel properties were significantly improved in the molasses media. Molasses can stimulate algal species growth and metabolites synthesis, which ultimately produce higher lipid yield and better biofuel quality and quantity.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

ASTM:

American Society for Testing and Materials

CCD:

Central Composite Design

CFPP:

Cold filter plugging point

CN:

Cetane number

C.V.:

Coefficient of Variation

D:

Number of double bonds

Di:

Number of double bonds in a given fatty acid

DU:

Degree of unsaturation

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl ester

GCMS:

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

HHV:

Higher heating value

IV:

Iodine value

KV:

Kinematic viscosity, υ

LCSF:

Long chain saturated factor

MUFA:

Mono unsaturated fatty acid

Mwi:

Molecular weight of a fatty acid

Ni:

Percentage of a given fatty acid

PUFA:

Poly unsaturated fatty acid

ROS:

Reactive Oxygen Species

RSM:

Response surface methodology

SV:

Saponification value

Wt %:

Weight percentage

ρ:

Density

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Acknowledgements

Authors are also thankful to the management and team of JDW group of sugar mills Pakistan for provision of resources and technical support for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan

    Maria Hasnain & Neelma Munir

  2. Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan

    Zamin Shaheed Siddiqui

  3. Department of Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering, University of Southern Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Faraz Ali

  4. Department of Applied Biology, College of Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, UAE

    Ali El-Keblawy

  5. Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan

    Zainul Abideen

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  1. Maria Hasnain
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  4. Faraz Ali
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Contributions

Maria Hasnain, Neelma Munir: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Methodology. Maria Hasnain, Faraz Ali: Writing – original draft. Supervision, Conceptualization and review & editing: Zamin Shaheed Siddiqui, Ali El-Keblawy and Zainul Abideen.

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Correspondence to Zainul Abideen.

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Hasnain, M., Munir, N., Siddiqui, Z.S. et al. Integral Approach for the Evaluation of Sugar Cane Bio-Waste Molasses and Effects on Algal Lipids and Biodiesel Production. Waste Biomass Valor 14, 23–42 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-022-01864-0

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