Current Trends and New Perspectives in Biodiesel Production: A Focused Review on Interesterification Reaction
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineering Held at Eko Hotel
Abstract
The consumption of energy has risen to 12 billion tons/year due to the ever-increasing population and urbanization
which has directly led to more energy demand. Hence, there is an obvious need for an alternative source of fuel
energy. One of the best alternatives is the use of renewable fuel energy. Biodiesel is an example of a renewable fuel
energy which is produced from biomass by different technologies such as direct blending of oil, emulsification,
pyrolysis, and transesterification. However, the drawback of these methods has propelled research experts to
persistently search for better technologies. Over the years, transesterification reaction methods have been globally
identified for in biodiesel production. Nonetheless, its by-product named glycerol has limited its utilization in
biodiesel production. Therefore, it has been reported that the integration of glycerol into biodiesel composition may
be a better option. In this review, the latest biodiesel production technology discussed is the interesterification
reaction. This method integrates the by-product (glycerol) by producing a glycerol free Fatty Acid Methyl Esters
(FAME), triacetin which is a useful fuel additive is produced instead. After the production of biodiesel and triacetin
through the interesterification reaction route, there is always no need to separate both products which makes this
process interestingly more sustainable and economical. The current trends of this production technology are also
expounded.
Description
Keywords
Energy, FAME, Fuel, Interesterification, Triacetin