Current World Environment Vol. 10(3), 912-919 (2015) Fuel Property of Biodiesel Made from Microalgae (Chlorella sp.) S.V. KELAIYA 1 , P. M. CHAUHAN 2 AND S. H. AKBARI 3 1 Department of Bio Energy, College of FPT and BE, AAU, Anand (Gujarat), India. 2 Department of RE and RE, CAET, JAU, Junagadh(Gujarat),India. 3 Department of PHET, College of FPT and BE, AAU, Anand (Gujarat), India. http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.10.3.21 (Received: September 06, 2015; Accepted: December 01, 2015) ABSTRACT Microalgae chlorella is an organism capable of photosynthesis that is less than 2mm in diameter. The biodiesel extracted from algae using chloroform/methanol extraction solvent system then undergone three different transesterification processes based on three different catalysts viz. Alkali catalyst, Acid catalyst and Enzymatic catalyst with two temperature (50°C and 60 °C) and with 1:5 methanol to bio-oil ratio. After transesterification using different catalysts, the fuel properties were measured. All the properties were compared with standard value of ASTM D 6751 standards. Alkali catalyst yield highest biodiesel (92 %) at 60 °C temperature. Also, the closest value of different fuel properties found at par with standard value of ASTM D 6751 standards viz. moisture content, carbon residue, calorific value, specific gravity, acid value, flash point, viscosity, density, viscosity were found to be 0.01%, 0.04%, 40.41 MJ/kg, 0.83, 0.23 mg KOH/g, 143.67 °C, 5.16 mm 2 /s, 0.83 g/cm 3 respectively in the biodiesel which was yield by transesterification done using Alkali catalyst (0.56 % NaOH) at 60 °C temperature. Key words: Microalgae, Chlorella sp., Biodiesel, Transesterification, Fuel properties. INTRODUCTION Algae (macro and micro) have been taken in consideration as a residual biomass ready to be used for energy purposes. Algae, especially microalgae, were found to be the only source of renewable biodiesel that is capable of meeting the global demand for transport fuels 1 . The idea of using algae as a source of fuel is now being taken seriously because of the increasing price of petroleum and more significantly, the emerging concern about global warming that is associated with burning fossil fuels 4 . This work aimed to process development for production of biodiesel from microalgae, using two different extraction solvent systems to get the best result in oil extraction. Biodiesel is produced by trans-esterifying the parent oil or fat with an alcohol, usually methanol, in presence of a catalyst, usually a strong base such as sodium or potassium hydroxide or increasingly, alkoxides, acids and enzymes. The resulting product therefore can contain not only the desired alkyl ester product but also unreached starting material (TAG), residual alcohol, and residual catalyst. Glycerol is formed as by-product and separated from biodiesel in the production process, however, traces thereof can be found in the final biodiesel product. Since transesterification is a stepwise process, MAG and DAG formed as intermediates can also be found in biodiesel 6 . With the increasing interest and use, the assurance of fuel properties and quality has become of paramount interest to the successful commercialization and market acceptance of biodiesel. Accordingly, biodiesel standards have been established or are being developed in various