Isolation, Characterization, and Biofuel Potential of Marine Microalgae Discovered From the Bay of Bengal

The rising global demand for renewable energy and dietary sources has brought about rekindled interest in recent years in marine microalgae as a prospective feedstock for next‐generation biofuels. In this research, a novel marine microalgal strain Picochlorum sp. PQ504913.1 was isolated and characterized from the Sonadia Island of Bangladesh for its suitability as sustainable biofuel in a preliminary laboratory‐scale evaluation. The isolate was morphologically and molecularly identified based on 18S rRNA phylogeny. The isolated species was cultured in Conway medium at a controlled temperature (24 ± 1 °C), light intensity (152 µE/m 2 /s), aeration (4.55 ± 0.58 mg/L), and salinity (25 ppt). The maximum cell density and specific growth rate (SGR) of the strain were found to be 32.2 × 10 6 cells/mL and 0.61 ± 0.03 mg/day, respectively. The strain exhibited a favorable biochemical composition with a higher protein content (30.22 ± 0.47 %) along with moderate lipid (14.56 ± 1.18 %) and carbohydrate (12.42 ± 0.32 %) levels. The fatty acid profile comprised of high proportions of C16:1 (29.19 ± 0.15 %), C14:0 (20.36 ± 1.34 %), and C18:0 (19.34 ± 0.7 %). Moreover, the FAME profiling revealed that saturated fatty acids (SAFAs) were the dominant group of the lipid fraction. Furthermore, the most abundant essential amino acid was leucine (7.87 ± 0.55 %), while aspartic acid and glutamic acid excelled the nonessential amino acids (NEAAs). The biodiesel properties of the investigated Picochlorum sp. were adhered to the international standards of ASTM D6751‐02 and EN 14214. Based on biochemical composition and biomass yield, this strain can be considered as promising strain for biodiesel production. This study highlights the potential of this marine microalgae as a sustainable bioresource in aspect of environmental and commercial value, contributing to energy crisis mitigation and acceleration of bioresource development in the global context.