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Fuels, especially combustible volatile oils are derived almost exclusively from fossil deposits. World resources of these oils are being rapidly depleted. Since the worldwide energy shortage of the 1970’s, many countries are now investigating alternative approaches to the production of fuels and chemicals. Government laboratory in the United States have concentrated on several promising possibilities for alternative fuels including: fermentation of wood to alcohol, methane production from anaerobic digestion of organic wastes and photosynthetic production of oil by plants. Oil production by plants is attractive because it can lead to production of CVO that can be used in conventional engine (Barolay et. al, 1988).

In 1979, the US Department of Energy established an Aquatic Species Program to investigate the potential of producing liquid fuels from algal biomass. Since 1982, the primary focus of this program has been the production of lipid oils from microalgae. Microalgae were selected because they can accumulate up to 60% of their ash- free dry weight as lipid oils. These oils can be readily transformed into diesel fuel through transesterification processes or into gasoline through catalytic procedures (Barolay et. al, 1988).

In order to lessen the negative environmental impacts of fossil fuel combustion, steps are already been undertaken to formulate possible sources of cleaner alternative and renewable fuels and energy. One form of biofuel is the ethanol fuel, mostly known as bioethanol, which has increased its potential as alternative to petroleum- based fuels in recent years.

Ethanol fuel is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It can be used as a fuel, mainly as a biofuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. Because it is easy to manufacture and process and can be made from very common crops such as sugar cane and corn, it is an increasingly common alternative to gasoline in some parts of the world.

While a number of bio-feedstock are currently being experimented for biodiesel (and ethanol) production, algae have emerged as one of the most promising sources especially for biodiesel production, for two main reasons: (1) The yields of oil from algae are orders of magnitude higher than those for traditional oilseeds, and (2) Algae can grow in places away from the farmlands & forests, thus minimising the damages caused to the eco- and food chain systems. Futhermore, algae can be grown in sewages and next to power-plant smokestacks where they digest the pollutants and give us oil (www. Oilgae.com, retrieved Oct. 23, 2008).