Catalyst-free biodiesel preparation from wet Yarrowia lipolytica Po1g biomass under subcritical condition

Conventional biodiesel preparation either requires the use of catalyst such as potassium hydroxide and sulfuric acid or carries out methanolysis under supercritical methanol condition without the need of catalyst. In this study, a new method for biodiesel production was proposed. Biomass of the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica Po1g was reacted with methanol and a small amount of water under subcritical condition (175°C, 23bar) without the presence of acid or base. The proposed method was able to give high biodiesel yield in reasonably short time. The possibility of using this method for biodiesel preparation from wet biomass with high acid and water contents as feedstock was discussed. •Biodiesel was produced successfully from wet Y. lipolytica Po1g biomass.•Subcritical water was used to catalyze reaction between lipid and methanol.•Traditional acid/base catalyst was not required.