4. Using micro-organisms to produce custom lipids, for example biokerosene

For some thirty years, the use of micro-organisms such as bacteria, microalgae and yeast has been considered for lipid production. The first oil from a micro-organism (the fungus Mucor circinelloides) was marketed in 1985 and was sold for its high content of γ-linolenic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid (C18:3, n-6), but the process was not economically viable .

The use of micro-organisms frees us from the soil constraints associated with the use of field crops (rapeseed, sunflower)....