Ultraviolet induced random mutagenesis in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (MF 510169) for improving biodiesel production

The present study aims to mutate Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (MF 510169) randomly for improving lipid accumulation towards green and efficient transformation of bacterial oil into biodiesel. The cellular lipid content of wild type Bacillus strain is improved by exposing the strain to ultraviolet light at 254 nm (UV-C) and 365 nm (UV-A) wavelengths for different time intervals from 20 to 380 s. A remarkable increase in lipid content is noted with increase in cell dry weight when exposed to UV-C with 320 s exposure time. The accumulated lipids are extracted and transesterified through acid catalyst (H2SO4, 1.52%) by various means for biodiesel production. The chemical profiling of thus obtained biodiesel has been done by employing various spectroscopic techniques. The physical and chemical properties of thus transesterified biodiesel are well-matching 86-90% with International ASTM standards. The antioxidant stability of produced biodiesel tested with an addition of synthetic antioxidants remains stable for 25 d.