TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred System: The bioreactor includes oxygen introduced into the head space above the inoculated liquid culture. The oxygen in the head space is used to oxygenate the inoculated liquid culture. The bioreactor further comprises at least one ramp that causing a portion of the liquid phase to flow up the ramps and fall back into the bulk inoculated liquid culture, to entraining oxygen from the head space into the bulk inoculated liquid culture. The system further comprises a drying system having a drying section and a sterilization section, the drying system configured to dry the microbial biomass. The drying section includes at least one perforated drying screens for holding the microbial biomass and a low-humidity air or inert gas source for drying the microbial biomass. The sterilization section includes a biocidal liquid that sterilizes air or inert gas from the drying section. The sterilization section includes an ultraviolet radiation source that sterilizes air or inert gas from the drying section. The system further comprises an extractor coupled to the bioreactor, where the extractor collects the fuel components. In the system, extracting the fuel involves: exposing the biomass to an nonpolar organic solvent and a polar organic solvent; where extracting the fuel further involves exposing the biomass to a heptane-petroleum ether solvent comprising mixture of heptane (50 vol.%) and petroleum ether (50 vol.%) to produce crude triacylglyceride (TAG); exposing the crude TAG to an acid and washing the crude TAG with a water wash; exposing the washed crude TAG with sodium hydroxide to produce purified TAG and soap; and separating the TAG from soap. The system further comprises: an agitation unit for physically agitating the biomass in the solvent at a temperature at or below the boiling point of the solvent. The controller is in communication with the bioreactor via a network. The controller is in communication with a user interface, such that a user may alter operating instructions for the bioreactor at the user interface. The produced fuel components include at least one lipid or aromatic compound.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The liquid culture is inoculated with microbes in a bioreactor. The method further involves: oxygenating the inoculated liquid culture by mixing oxygen present in the head space of the bioreactor with the inoculated liquid culture. The oxygenation of the inoculated liquid culture is achieved by introducing rotary agitation and at least one physical structure into the bioreactor, where the rotary agitation and the physical structures cause a fraction of the liquid to flow up the physical structures and fall back into the bulk inoculated liquid culture. The method further involves: removing the microbial biomass from the inoculated liquid culture; drying the microbial biomass by exposing the biomass to a gas; and sterilizing the gas. The microbial biomass has a filamentatious structure, the removing the microbial biomass from the inoculated liquid culture by using mechanical separation to remove the microbial biomass. The gas is low-humidity air or inert gas; and the sterilizing the gas includes exposing the gas to a biocide. The sterilizing the gas includes exposing the gas to ultraviolet radiation. The step of extracting the lipids involves exposing the microbes to a nonpolar organic solvent and a polar organic solvent, where the solvent comprises mixture of ethanol (10-30 vol.%) and hexane (70-90 vol.%). The method further involves: exposing the microbes to a heptane-petroleum ether solvent comprising mixture of heptane (50 vol.%) and petroleum ether (50 vol.%); and physically agitating the microbial biomass in the solvent at a temperature at or below the boiling point of the solvent until a portion of non-polar lipids have been extracted from the microbes. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.