The purpose of this study was to develop a method for rapid quantitative and qualitative determination of the oil from microalgae lipid fraction obtained from Nannochloris sp biomass. The lipid fraction was first refluxed with 4% KOH in MeOH (60, 90, 120 min), followed by reaction with 20% BF3 in MeOH, using different times of reflux (90,120, 150 min) for each time of reflux with 4% KOH in MeOH. The FAME samples were analyzed by GC-MS analysis. 120 min reflux with 4% KOH in MeOH, 90 min with 20% BF3 in MeOH and a ratio lipid fraction: 4% KOH in MeOH: 20% BF3 in MeOH=1:20:27, were required to obtain the higher percent of oil in the microalgae lipid fraction. The relevance of the method developed was proved by TGA analysis and by transesterification of a sunflower oil sample in the same conditions.
A Method for the Determination of the Volatile Oil Content of Citrus Fruits.