Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TRAKYA UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF NATURAL SCIENCES, cilt.27, sa.1, ss.1-9, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
Microalgae offer significant advantages for thirdgeneration bioethanol production due to their rapid growth rates, high photosynthetic efficiency, and ability to accumulate substantial amounts of carbohydrates. Unlike agricultural food crops, microalgae can be cultivated on non-arable land using saline or wastewater resources, thereby avoiding competition with food crops. Moreover, their low lignin contained cell wall structure enables milder pretreatment requirements and more efficient enzymatic hydrolysis, which ultimately leads to improved sugar production and higher ethanol yields. In addition, microalgae-based bioethanol production contributes to carbon dioxide mitigation through CO2 fixation, enhancing the overall environmental sustainability of the process. For the mentioned reasons Chlorella vulgaris biomass was used as a feedstock for third-generation bioethanol production in the present study. The aim of this study is to develop a sustainable and integrated process for third generation bioethanol production by utilizing domestic food waste. Specifically, the research focuses on: investigating the effects of ZnO nanoparticles on the fermentation process; evaluating the performance of C. boidinii yeast in the presence of nanoparticle catalysts; optimizing cultivation conditions to achieve efficient microalgal growth and enhanced bioethanol production by C. boidinii; and examining the influence of key parameters, such as pretreatment methods (1% H2 SO4 and 1% NaOH), biomass loading (50, 100, 200 g/L), and media composition, on the ethanol yield. In this study, C. vulgaris was used as a feedstock for bioethanol several key parameters were optimized, including microalgal cultivation conditions (photoautotrophic, photoheterotrophic with glucose, and photoheterotrophic with carrot pomace), pretreatment type (1% H2 SO4 and 1% NaOH), biomass loading (50, 100, and 200 g/L), and nutrient supplementation (Medium 1 and Medium 2). Candida boidinii exhibited the highest bioethanol production and productivity at 3.29 ± 0.14 g/L and 0.26 ± 0.01g/L.h, respectively. When Medium 1 was applied, bioethanol concentration and productivity further increased to 4.54 ± 0.18 g/L and 0.38 ± 0.01 g/L.h, respectively. These findings demonstrate that fermentable sugars derived from C. vulgaris can be effectively converted into thirdgeneration bioethanol by C. boidinii.