New Mexico State University Chlorella Negative Collection - Mass Spectral Peaklist/Chlorella Negative Class Graph

We illustrate a detailed compositional characterization of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) oils derived from two biochemically distinct microalgae, Nannochloropsis gaditana and Chlorella sp. (DOE 1412), for a range of reaction temperature as observed by high-resolution electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS). The unique capability to unequivocally derive molecular formulae directly from FT-ICR MS-measured mass-to- charge ratio (for several thousand compounds in each oil) shows that lipids are completely reacted/converted for any reaction temperature above 200 degrees C and reveals the formation of non-lipid reaction products with increasing temperature. Specifically, lipid-rich oil is obtained at low reaction temperature (less than 225 degrees C) for both microalgal strains. For positive ion mode, the major lipid components in Chlorella sp. and N. gaditana HTL oils are betaine lipids and acylglycerols, respectively. Acidic species in the HTL oils (observed by negative ion mode) are dominated by free fatty acids (FFA) regardless of reaction temperature. HTL oils obtained at higher-temperatures (ge 225 degrees C) are comprised of a variety of basic nitrogen- and oxygen-containing compounds that originate from protein and carbohydrate degradation at elevated temperature. Similar structural features are observed for the abundant nitrogen heterocyclics between the two strains with slightly lower carbon number for Chlorella sp., overall.