METHOD FOR PRODUCING FATTY ACID ALKYL ESTERS USING MICROORGANISMS HAVING OIL-PRODUCING ABILITY

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for producing fatty acid alkyl esters using microorganisms having an oil-producing ability, and more particularly to a method for producing fatty acid alkyl esters which comprises: culturing microorganisms having an oil-producing ability and accumulating oil in large amounts; degrading the produced oil to produce free fatty acids through autolysis in the microorganisms; and performing an alkyl esterification of free fatty acids. The method according to the present invention can convert oil accumulated in microorganisms such as triacyl glycerol which is an oil generally produced by microorganisms to fatty acid alkyl esters with high conversion efficiency through a metabolic engineering approach. Therefore, the present invention is useful for the industrial production of fatty acid alkyl esters which have recently been identified as a biodiesel.