Microbial oil is a triglyceride

Triglyceride

A triglyceride is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. There are many triglycerides, depending on the oil source, some are highly unsaturated, some less so....

 (lipid

Lipid

Lipids constitute a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others...

) produced by a microbe, and is similar to vegetable oil, another biologically produced oil. Some species of yeast are able to convert food into triglycerides and accumulate the produced lipids when fed carbohydrates. Production of microbial oil has been researched for production of biodiesel

Biodiesel

Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....

, because impure carbohydrates such as agricultural residues, e.g. waste molasses can be used as a feedstock for production of oil.