Recovery of liquid fuel from hydrocarbon-rich microalgae by thermochemical liquefaction

Liquefaction of Botryococcus braunii, a colony-forming microalga, with high moisture content was performed with or without sodium carbonate as a catalyst for conversion into liquid fuel and recovery of hydrocarbons. A greater amount of oil than the content of hydrocarbons in B. braunii (50 wt% db) was obtained, in a yield of 57–64 wt% at 300 °C. The oil was equivalent in quality to petroleum oil. The recovery of hydrocarbons was a maximum (>95%) at 300 °C.