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A process for extracting lipids from microalgae; the process involves pretreating a quantity of non-homogenized microalgae with an aliphatic alcohol for a predetermined period of time. The pretreatment liberates a substantial portion of lipids from the microalgae without requiring energy intensive c

A process for extracting lipids from microalgae; the process involves pretreating a quantity of non-homogenized microalgae with an aliphatic alcohol for a predetermined period of time. The pretreatment liberates a substantial portion of lipids from the microalgae without requiring energy intensive cell membrane disruptive technologies. The liberated lipids are then treated with a transesterification reagent to form fatty acid methyl esters. The fatty acid methyl esters are separated from the resulting mixture and may be further purified to remove remaining solvents or other impurities. The fatty acid methyl esters produced by the process are suitable as a green energy biodiesel product.

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1. A low energy process for extracting lipids from microalgae comprising: pretreating a quantity of generally non-homogenized microalgae with propanol for a predetermined time for liberating lipids from the microalgae; separately treating the liberated lipids with a transesterification reagent to fo

1. A low energy process for extracting lipids from microalgae comprising: pretreating a quantity of generally non-homogenized microalgae with propanol for a predetermined time for liberating lipids from the microalgae; separately treating the liberated lipids with a transesterification reagent to form fatty acid methyl esters within a resulting mixture; separating the fatty acid methyl esters from the resulting mixture; wherein said process has a low energy requirement. 2. The process of claim 1 further comprising: substantially dewatering the quantity of generally non-homogenized microalgae prior to pretreating with the propanol. 3. The process of claim 1 wherein the fatty acid methyl esters have a carbon backbone principally in a range of C16-C18. 4. The process of claim 1 wherein separating the lipids from the resulting mixture comprises adding by mass: 4 parts water and 2 parts n-hexane to the resulting mixture. 5. The process of claim 1 wherein separating the lipids from the resulting mixture further comprises adding by mass: an additional 2 parts n-hexane to the resulting mixture comprises for extracting additional fatty acid methyl esters therefrom. 6. The process of claim 1 wherein the predetermined time for liberating lipids from the microalgae is at least 15 minutes. 7. A low energy process for extracting lipids from microalgae comprising: pretreating a quantity of non-homogenized microalgae with 2-propanol for 0.25 to 1 hour to liberate lipids from the microalgae to form a first mixture; separating the liberated lipids from the first mixture with a biphasic solvent; treating the separated liberated lipids with a transesterification reagent to form fatty acid methyl esters in a second mixture; separating the fatty acid methyl esters from the second mixture; wherein said process has a low energy requirement. 8. The process of claim 7 wherein the biphasic solvent comprises: n-hexane and water. 9. The process of claim 7, wherein: a. five parts propanol by volume relative to said microalgae are added to said algae and allowed to sit for about fifteen minutes when pretreating the quantity of non-homogenized microalgae;b. four parts water are added by volume relative to said microalgae is added to the first mixture;c. two parts hexane by volume relative to said microalgae are added to a mixture from step b. and decanted;andd. step c. is repeated and the decanted hexane is added to the mixture. 10. The process of claim 7 further comprising: purifying the separated fatty acid methyl esters. 11. The process of claim 7 wherein the genus of microalgae is predominately Dictyosphaerium. 12. The process of claim 10 wherein the transesterification reagent is sodium methoxide. 13. The process of claim 7 further comprising: substantially dewatering the microalgae prior to exposure to the 2-propanol. 14. A low energy process for extracting lipids from microalgae comprising: pretreating a quantity of non-homogenized microalgae with an effective amount of 2-propanol for a predetermined time to liberate lipids from the microalgae formed in a first mixture; separating the liberated lipids from the first mixture with a biphasic solvent, the biphasic solvent comprising effective amounts of n-hexane and deionized water; treating the separated lipids with a transesterification reagent to form fatty acid methyl esters formed in a second mixture; separating the fatty acid methyl esters from the second mixture; wherein said process has a low energy requirement. 15. The process of claim 14 further comprising purifying the separated fatty acid methyl esters from any residual biphasic solvent or 2-propanol by thermal evaporation or vacuum vaporization. 16. The process of claim 14 wherein the microalgae is derived from at least one of domestic, municipal and agricultural wastewater. 17. The process of claim 14 wherein transesterification is performed at elevated temperatures of at least 50 degrees centigrade.