Biodiesel: Sustainable energy replacement for petroleum based diesel fuel - A review,
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Green Wave Publishing of Canada
Abstract
Biodiesel is a sustainable and renewable source of fuel. It has been considered as a comparable substitute to petro‐diesel, which is a fast depleting resource. Many studies have been undertaken on biodiesel production from various feedstock as a result of its importance. The differences between the physico‐chemical properties of biodiesel and petro‐diesel were considered with the aim of justifying the applicability of biodiesel in compression ignition engines (CIE). It was established that biodiesel has relatively close BTE (brake thermal efficiency) and BSFC (brake specific fuel consumption) values with petro‐diesel, hence, is suitable for CIE operation without any modification. The exhaust from CIE using biodiesel was lower compared to petro‐diesel and this confirms the environmental friendliness of biodiesel. The catalyst being an important substance in the transesterification reaction of vegetable oil/animal fat to produce biodiesel was comprehensively discussed, and heterogeneous catalysts were established to be preferred due to several advantages over homogenous catalysts. This paper reviews biodiesel production, prospects, benefits and challenges as a replacement for petrol diesel.
Description
Keywords
Biodiesel, Fossil fuels, Renewable resources, Transesterification
Citation
ChemBioEng Reviews, 2(3): 145-156