The effect of lipid content on the elemental composition and energy capacity of yeast biomass.

Oleaginous yeasts (18 strains) were grown in ethanol media under various cultivation conditions (33 biomass samples). It was found that lipid and lipid-free fractions of dry biomass have elemental composition and biomass reductivity very close to values which can be considered as biological constants. The energy content of dry biomass strongly depended on the total lipid content. When the lipid content was 64%, the energy value of dry biomass reached 73% of diesel oil; therefore, oleaginous microorganisms can be a promising source of biodiesel fuel. The approach used in this work makes it possible to determine the energy value of biomass by its elemental composition without application of laborious and expensive calorimetric measurements of combustion heats.