The Production of Biodiesel and Related Fuel Additives

The discovery of the diesel engine by Rudolf Diesel in the mid-19th century is where the origin of what finally came to be known as “biodiesel” lies. Since then, numerous approaches have been suggested to utilize pure or blended, straight vegetable oils or their derivatives for the production of biodiesel. The availability and viability of biodiesel, as well as its relevance, history, technical properties, and prospective replacement for diesel fuel in internal combustion engines including various types of biodiesel fuel additives, are all discussed in this chapter.

The necessity for clean, green, and renewable energy resources has gained tremendous attention from industries and academia. This is due to the alarming depletion of fossil fuels and the growing environmental concerns associated with their extensive use. Petroleum reserves are on the verge of extinction, and biodiesel is a promising alternative with better fuel properties compared to petroleum diesel. Various oils and fats have been employed as feedstock to produce biodiesel. Soybean oil is highly regarded as the most appealing feedstock due to its extensive cultivation for oil production as well as its widespread use as an animal meal. In previous years, various studies have been carried out to produce biodiesel with the use of various technologies and methods. Among the number of methods, transesterification is the most common method of biodiesel synthesis. This paper typically reviews the catalytic transesterification of soybean oil for biodiesel production and its fuel quality. This review also explores the effectiveness of various catalysts in converting soybean oil to biodiesel. Several reactors have been utilized by numerous researchers to optimize reaction parameters, which is also thoroughly highlighted in this review.

Biodiesel from palm (Arecaceae) oil, is a fuel that can be useful in compression start motors and, further, in diesel-based motors without any mechanical modification. It is an effective and promising feedstock to produce biodiesel for advanced generations. It also contains different phytonutrients that can be isolated earlier for biodiesel generation. So far, Arecaceae biodiesel transformation using the catalytic pathway has been well investigated. Among these catalysts, homogeneous base catalysts are the most commonly used, even though they face serious issues when FFA (Free Fatty Acid) content becomes high as observed in the case of CPO (Crude Palm Oil). The alternative tactic to produce Arecaceae biodiesel eco-friendly is using advanced catalysts such as heterogeneous (acid and base), enzymatic, and supercritical processes. However, these strategies have never been promptly accessible at the industrial site as the catalysts get deactivated easily, and thus such strategies demand extra high efforts. This chapter reviews the generation of biodiesel from Arecaceae oil, offering an eco-friendly pathway.

In biodiesel production, first-generation fuel faces the problems of using food as a feedstock which has its limitations like the destruction of vital soil resources, deforestation and negative impact on biodiversity, and the use of much of the available arable land. At the same time, the high cost of feedstock also restricts its widespread use. Keeping all those points in mind, researchers are focusing their attention on the production of biodiesel from non-edible vegetable oils such as Jatropha curcas L. The present chapter deals with the harvesting methods of Jatropha curcas L, extractions, and properties of the blends used in detail.

The expeditious increase in population has led to prioritizing the use of biological sources as biofuels. The biofuels have been converted into different fuels by the virtue of green and sustainable approach. Other than the conventional sources of raw materials, specialized energy crops, some varieties of algae, seaweed and microalgae have been reported to be potential sources of biofuels. In recent years, various methods of conversion of organic matter into biofuels have been reported. High energy investment along with the added cost of solvent or catalyst is included in the thermochemical methods. Meanwhile, the biochemical route suffers from the drawbacks of lengthy cycle period and comparatively reduced efficiency in the bulk breakdown of the recalcitrant biomass. Hydrothermal routes have been employed to improve the overall efficiency of the biochemical process. The integration of thermochemical and biochemical routes also may lead to inhibition of microorganisms by the catalysts or mediated solvents. This review paper focuses on the recent catalytic methods for the conversion of biomass into biofuels namely biodiesel along with the pros and cons of the methods. 

Algal biocrude, derived through hydrothermal processing of algal biomass, is a drop-in feedstock and can be processed in the refining and petrochemical infrastructure developed for fossil crude. Algal biomass, the raw material for algal biocrude, has lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates as main constituents. It does not have lignin/cellulose. The presence of lignin/cellulose in non-algae biomass makes downstream processing difficult in the existing fossil-based infrastructure. Algal bio crude has the potential to be the source of biogenic feedstock, not only for making green fuel but also for making numerous chemicals. The research work on algae for food products and energy by fuel began as early as the 1940s. However, even after years of efforts, the algal technology for low-value, high-volume commodity products, such as fuel, is not yet commercialised mainly due to economic reasons. This chapter provides insight and a balanced perspective on commercialization of the algae-based pathways for green fuel and green chemicals.

 One of the prospective alternative sources of energy is biodiesel, which is obtained from conventional and substandard sources via various methods. One of them is transesterification in the presence of a catalyst. The catalyst may be either harmonized or varied. This chapter will give detailed information about the various catalysts used in biodiesel synthesis. The chapter focuses on the efficiency, limitations, and advantages of all kinds of catalysts and their properties, and appropriateness in the transesterification method. An extensive study has been carried out on the usage of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production. The data reviewed reflects that those homogeneous catalysts are proficient in converting oil with low FFA and feedstock that contains water. On the other hand, heterogeneous catalyst gives a range of selectivity on high FFA content and water adaptability. It is known that the numbers of acidic or basic sites control the properties of heterogeneous catalysts. Zirconia and Zeolites-based catalysts by some modifications, can be used as both basic and acidic catalysts. Heterogeneous catalysts derived from waste have received an important role in biodiesel production. Lately, high catalytic activities under optimum operating conditions have been recognized of Nanocatalysts. This review article gives elaborated information on various materials used as catalysts.

With the rising cost of non-renewable petroleum fuels, growing environmental concerns, and energy shortages, industrial-scale production of biofuels and their additives using readily available resources has gained a lot of attention. The cost-effective and commercial development of clean energy sources is expected to be aided by various renewable biomasses for the synthesis of biofuels or fuel additives. Microwave techniques with various precursors could be one of the strategies for the synthesis of biofuels or gasoline additives, with advantages such as being very energyefficient, less time-consuming, high selectivity, a greener approach, and high-yield producing procedures. This microwave effect is caused by microwave radiations interfacing with the molecules of solute, solvents, or catalysts throughout the reaction.

This book chapter covers a broad spectrum of scientific and instrumental aspects of microwave radiation methodology in chemical synthesis, the practical approach of the microwave reactor design, the production of different biofuels and additives using microwave techniques, and the advantages, and several limitations of this methodology.

The production of biofuels has a great impact on the economy and society. Biodiesel is a sustainable liquid fuel used for partial or full replacement of standard diesel fuel, and its production generates valuable by-products. The use of ultrasound in biodiesel production has a growing interest due to several advantages; it significantly reduces the reaction time and avoids the use of heating, reaching similar or higher FAME yield. The application of ultrasounds in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis processes is reported to be technically feasible, but several issues are to be considered such as the corrosion effect on sonotrodes, and the effect of ultrasounds waves on solid catalyst surface and pores. Combining it with microwave irradiation might be an effective procedure for the intensification of biodiesel production, especially with heterogeneous catalysis. Technical challenges are associated with the design of large-scale reactors in which both types of energy could be applied concurrently with cost reduction. This chapter explores the basis of ultrasounds and their use in the production of biodiesel, its main features, and challenges. 

The phrase “Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil” refers to a broad wide range of unconventional fuels generated from different kinds of oils and fats. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) defines biodiesel as “monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acids,” which can be produced by the transesterification of vegetable oil, animal fat, or recycled cooking oil. The key factor leading to fossil fuel reserves being depleted is the increasing demand for these resources. Increasing the development of biomass fuels like biodiesel might help get us out of this jam. Oil molecules are reacted with alcohol and a catalyst to produce methyl esters in the transesterification process during biodiesel production from cooking oil. In Colombia, palm oil and methanol are used to produce biodiesel and it shares the second place with Colombia as Latin America's top ethanol producer.

Waste cooking oil disposal causes several environmental issues. In addition, sewer overflows and the subsequent spread of illness might be the consequence of years of pipe wear and tear. As a renewable and biodegradable biofuel, biodiesel has the potential to reduce environmental damage by displacing the need for fossil fuels. Palm biodiesel, either on its own or blended with diesel fuel, is effective in lowering carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, respectively.

This chapter discusses the transesterification process as a method of creating biodiesel. It consists of three sequential and reversible reactions. It begins with a conversion from triglyceride to diacylglycerol, then continues to monoglyceride and glycerin. In particular, this chapter provides an in-depth analysis of several cooking oils, including their salient qualities and the most common pests. Most biodiesel originates from oilseed plants, such as palm, rapeseed, canola, sunflower, soy, and animal fats. The creation of biodiesel, however, may utilize anything that includes triglycerides. Used oil from the kitchen may be recycled into biodiesel at a low cost.

Due to its eco-friendly and renewable characteristics, biodiesel has become a promising alternative to energy sources. However, the issue associated with traditional biodiesel production is the expensive production cost on the industrial scale, which is primarily caused by raw materials. Thus, the catalyst plays a crucial role with the objective to speed up the overall biodiesel production rate and lower the production cost. Recently, numerous studies on different kinds of catalysts used in the production of biodiesel have been carried out. Therefore, this chapter offers a detailed overview of biodiesel production by analyzing the latest trends that utilize biomass waste-derived catalysts. 

To overcome the problem associated with conventional fuels and the need for alternative fuels, the production of biodiesel increased and was promoted by government policies and air pollution-controlled laws. The by-product glycerol produced from the biodiesel industry is in massive quantity and all of its quantity is not utilized by the pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies, therefore a huge amount of it is discarded as waste which is a disadvantage of biodiesel production. Hence this led the researcher to find a new path to utilize it in an environmentally friendly manner and therefore glycerol is being used to produce solketal which are fuel additives and enhance the properties of the fuel. Therefore, glycerol is employed as feedstock for the production of solketal. Generally, batch and continuous processes are used to synthesize solketal in which the continuous method is the most promising one. Various catalysts are also employed to increase the yield of solketal from glycerol. Thus, the reaction of glycerol with dimethyl ketone using various catalysts (homogeneous and heterogeneous) in different reactors takes place. This chapter gives insight into the development of biodiesel production and increased usage of propane-1,2,3-triol (glycerol) into more valuable product solketal using various advanced catalysts. The synthesis of solketal using continuous process is a vast area and one can find many more environmentally friendly methods to synthesize it with low cost at industrial and commercial scale.

Biofuels, a promising form of renewable energy, have the potential to replace fossil fuels and mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. In the presence of a catalyst, biodiesel, which is a biofuel, is produced through the process of transesterification by combining vegetable oils or animal fats with methanol or ethanol. The use of appropriate catalysts can improve the production efficiency of biodiesel, shorten the production time, and reduce the occurrence of side reactions. This chapter introduces different kinds of solid acid catalysts in the catalytic production of biodiesel, especially the advantages of the simultaneous catalytic esterification and transesterification reaction to produce biodiesel. This chapter introduces various solid acid catalysts used in the catalytic production of biodiesel, especially the advantages of simultaneous catalytic esterification and transesterification to produce biodiesel, as well as the challenges faced by current research.