Lipid composition and FAME content were analyzed as previously de­scribed [24], using an HPLC (Surveyor LC Pump and Autosampler Plus, Thermo Finnegan, USA) coupled to both ELSD (Sedere Sedex 75) and quadrupole mass spectrometer (Thermo Finnigan MSQ) using a 10:1 line splitter (Analytical Instruments, USA). Xcalibur software controlled op­eration of the autosampler, pump, and mass spectrometer. ELSD analog data was acquired through an A/D data acquisition box (Agilent Technolo­gies, SS420X) and RS232 PCI data acquisition card (Sea Level Systems, 7406S). Lipid standards and extracts were resolved using a YMC Pack PVA-Sil-NP column (250 mm x 4.6 mm I. D., 5 pm bead size) protected by a Waters Guard PakTM guard column containing Nova-PakTM silica inserts. The solvent program is given in Table 1. ELSD was run at 30 °C at gain setting 8. Mass spectrometer was run in APCI positive mode with probe temperature of 400 °C.

8.2 CONCLUSIONS

Anion exchange resins can be used as a simple and inexpensive support for one-step algal harvest and biodiesel generation. The yields of FAME are greatly improved over methods that first isolate the TAG fraction since polar lipids also contribute to the FAME pool. Both the resin and the trans­esterification reagent can be reused for numerous cycles with the resultant FAME collected during each cycle. Although the basic principles have been demonstrated there is much room for improvement, especially in the design of resins. Although resins bind to algae based on surface charge, there are clearly additional issues that impact binding capacity, fouling and FAME conversion that are specific to different species of algae.