Two step (Acid) rapeseed

New process for catalyst-free biodiesel production using subcritical acetic acid and
supercritical methanol is investigated by Shiro Saka, et al. [1]. The production of glycerol as a
by-product is unavoidable in the current conventional biodiesel manufacturing processes. Since
biodiesel production is expected to increase in the near future, effective utilization of glycerol
will become an issue of interest. In this study, therefore, a process consisting of subcritical acetic
acid treatment to convert rapeseed oil to fatty acids and triacetin followed by conversion of the
obtained fatty acids to their fatty acid methyl esters in supercritical methanol treatment was
investigated. The obtained results clearly revealed that this two-step reaction could proceed
effectively at a high reaction rate, and that fatty acid methyl esters and triacetin could be obtained
under milder reaction condition than the one-step process utilizing supercritical methyl acetate
and supercritical methanol.

Catalyst Free ( rapeseed)

Transesterification reaction of rapeseed oil in supercritical methanol was investigated by
Saka, et al. [2] without using any catalyst. An experiment has been carried out in the batch-type
reaction vessel preheated at 350 and 400 0C and at a pressure of 45±65 MPa, and with a molar
ratio of 1:42 of the rapeseed oil to methanol. It was consequently demonstrated that, in a
preheating temperature of 350 0C, 240 s of supercritical treatment of methanol was sufficient to
convert the rapeseed oil to methyl esters and that, although the prepared methyl esters were
basically the same as those of the common method with a basic catalyst, the yield of methyl
esters by the former was found to be higher than that by the latter. In addition, it was found that
this supercritical methanol process requires the shorter reaction time and simpler purification
procedure because of the unused catalyst.

Catalyst free (Soyabeen oil)

Transesterification of soybean oil in supercritical methanol has been carried out in the
absence of catalyst by Weiliang Cao, et al. [3]. A co-solvent was added to the reaction mixture
in order to decrease the operating temperature, pressure and molar ratio of alcohol to vegetable
oil. With propane as co-solvent in the reaction system, there was a significant decrease in the
severity of the conditions required for supercritical reaction, which makes the production of
biodiesel using supercritical methanol viable as an industrial process. A high yield of methyl
esters (biodiesel) was observed and the production process is environmentally friendly.
Furthermore the co-solvent can be reused after suitable pretreatment.

Rapeseed oil
Effect of CO2/N2 addition to supercritical methanol on reactivities and fuel qualities in
biodiesel production is studied by Hiroaki Imahara, et al. [4]. Addition of the third component
to supercritical methanol has been studied in the literature for biodiesel production in order to
reduce reaction temperature without deteriorating the reaction rate. However, effect of pressure
had often been neglected in the discussion. In this paper, therefore, effect of pressure was
examined with hexane, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2) as one of the third components,
using batch-type and flow-type reactors. As a result, it was found that an addition of the third
component did not contribute to better product yield at constant reaction pressure. Furthermore,
the reaction rate was found to be determined by pressure and concentration of the reactants
involved in transesterification, not by the function of so-called co-solvent. Additionally, N2
addition was found to contribute to improvement in oxidation stability and reduction of the total
glycerol content, thus offering high-quality biodiesel production.

Biodiesel synthesis from vegetable oils with supercritical methanol is experimented by

Anikeev, et al. [5]. Transesterification reactions of sunflower, rapeseed, cottonseed and cameline
oils in supercritical methanol were studied in a flow reactor under equal conditions. It was found
that the oil type produced insignificant effect on the product composition (fatty acid esters) and
oil conversion value.

Homogeneous catalysts (sun flower oil)

A comparison study of different homogeneous catalysts systems for the biodiesel
production is carried out by Gemma Vicente, et al. [6]. The most common catalysts for
biodiesel production are homogeneous basic catalysts. In this paper, a comparison is made of
different basic catalysts (sodium methoxide, potassium methoxide, sodium hydroxide and
potassium hydroxide) for methanolysis of sunflower oil. All the reactions were carried out under
the same experimental conditions in a batch stirred reactor and the subsequent separation and
purification stages in a decanter.
The analytical methods included gas chromatography and the determination of fat and oil
conventional parameters. The biodiesel purity was near 100 wt.% for all catalysts. However, near
100 wt.% biodiesel yields were only obtained with the methoxide catalysts. According to the
material balance of the process, yield losses were due to triglyceride saponification and methyl
ester dissolution in glycerol. Obtained biodiesel met the measured specifications, except for the
iodine value, according to the German and EU draft standards. Although all the
transesterification reactions were quite rapid and the biodiesel layers achieved nearly 100%
methyl ester concentrations, the reactions using sodium hydroxide turned out the fastest.

Egg shell waste catalyst (mustard oil)

Egg Shell Waste-Catalyzed Transesterification of Mustard Oil: Optimization Using
Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was investigated by Ali Jazie, et al. [7]. The suitability
of mustard oil (low grade edible oil with high production rate in India) for biodiesel production
using waste of egg shell as a cost-effective and environmental friendly process was investigated.
Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in combination with Central Composite Design (CCD)
was used to optimize the biodiesel production parameters. A quadratic polynomial equation was
obtained for mustard oil methyl ester yield by multiple regression analysis. Interactions between
the variables were validated statistically. The optimum conditions of the independent variables in
the present work were 9:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, 3 wt% eggshell catalyst (calcined at
900˚C, 2 hr), 60˚C reaction temperatures at reaction time of 3 hr. The predicted mustard oil
methyl ester yield was 94.89% under the optimal conditions. Verification experiment (95%)
confirmed the validity of the predicted model. Reusability and effect of calcination temperature
on activity of eggshell catalysts were also investigated. The results indicated that the egg shell
can be repeated use for 14 times with no apparent loss of activity.

Two step reactions with alkali and acid catalyst (used canola oil)
The feasibility of using recycled canola oil as raw material to produce ASTM standard
biodiesel is evaluated by Xiaohu Fan, et al. [8]. Two-step reaction, acid-catalyzed esterification
followed by alkali-catalyzed transesterification, was performed. The high level of free fatty acids
( FFA) in the recycled canola oil was reduced to less than 1% by acid-catalyzed esterification
with 40/1 molar ratio of methanol to FFA in the presence of 5% (v/v, based on FFA) sulfuric
acid. Further alkali-catalyzed transesterification was carried out at 6/1 molar ratio of methanol to
oil and 1% (wt%, based on oil weight) potassium hydroxide. The characterizations of produced
biodiesel showed that it met the ASTM D 6751 with respect to the kinematic viscosity at 40 ºC,
acid number, flash point, water and sediment, cold soak filtration test, oxidation stability, free
and total glycerin etc. At the same time, the properties of by-product crude glycerol, such as flash
point, moisture by Karl Fisher, ash, glycerol content, were also characterized, which can
facilitate further glycerol purification and expand its applications, thus enhancing the overall
profitability of the biodiesel production process.

Characterization of crude glycerol from biodiesel Production from multiple feedstocks

was investigated by Thompson. [9] Glycerol is the principal by-product of biodiesel production.
For each gallon of biodiesel produced, approximately 0.3 kg of crude glycerol accompanies.
Such crude glycerol possesses very low value because of the impurities contained. As the
demand and production of biodiesel grow exponentially, the utilization of the glycerol becomes
an urgent topic. The Make-up of crude glycerol varies depending on the parent feedstock and the
biodiesel production process. Before the crude Glycerol could be considered for possible value-
added utilizations, it is necessary to characterize it on its physical, chemical, and nutritional
properties. This article reports the characterization of crude glycerol obtained from different seed
oil feedstocks of mustard, rapeseed, canola, crambe, soybean, and waste cooking oils. Batch
processes of biodiesel production were used as the means of crude glycerol preparation using
unrefined vegetable oils, methanol, and sodium methylate as the Catalyst. After separation from
biodiesel, the crude glycerol from each of the oils was analyzed using ASTM and other standard
test methods. Elemental impurities, nutritional value, and other chemical properties were tested.
 Two genus of the Jatropha family: the Jatropha gossypiifolia (JG) and Jatropha curcas L.
(JC) were studied Jefferson, et al. [10] in order to delimitate their potential as raw material for
biodiesel production. The oil content in wild seeds and some physical–chemical properties of the
oils and the biodiesel obtained from them were evaluated. The studied physical–chemical
properties of the JC and JG biodiesel are in acceptable range for use as biodiesel in diesel
engines, showing a promising economic exploitation of these raw materials in semi-arid regions.
However, further agronomic studies are needed in order to improve the seed production and the
crude oil properties.

Biodiesel production through the use of different sources and characterization of oils and
their esters as the substitute of diesel: A review was done by singh, et al. [11]. Several methods
available for producing Biodiesel, transesterification of natural oils and fats are currently the
method of choice. The purpose of the process is to lower the viscosity of the oil or fat.
Researchers focused mainly the edible oils to produce the Biodiesel because of easily availability
and familiarity. Very few researchers concentrated on Non edible oil for the same purpose.
 Non-edible oils can also be utilized for making Biodiesel fuel. For the production of
Biodiesel fuel, an alkali-catalysis process has been established that gives high conversion levels
of oils to methyl esters. Enzymatic processes using both extra cellular and intracellular lipases
have recently been developed. The cost of lipase production is the main hurdle to
commercialization of the lipase-catalyzed process; several attempts have been made to develop
cost-effective systems. In terms of production cost, there also are two aspects, the
transesterification process and byproduct (glycerol) recovery. A continuous transesterification
process is one choice to lower the production cost. The foundations of this process are a shorter
reaction time and greater production capacity. The recovery of high quality glycerol is another
way to lower production cost. Land may be a cost increasing factor for Biodiesel production,
because of more and more land required to live the growing population. To overcome the land
problem, the high yielding Biodiesel plants (non edible producing plants) should be grown in
marginal and waste land areas.

Two step (rubber seed oil)

Biodiesel production from high FFA rubber seed oil was experimented by Ramadhas, et
al. [12] The difficulty with alkaline-esterification of non-edible type oils and fats oils is that they
often contain large amounts of free fatty acids (FFA). These free fatty acids quickly react with
the alkaline catalyst to produce soaps that inhibit the separation of the ester and glycerin. A two-
step transesterification process is developed to convert the high FFA oils to its mono-esters. The
first step, acid catalyzed esterification reduces the FFA content of the oil to less than 2%. The
second step, alkaline catalyzed transesterification process converts the products of the first step
to its mono-esters and glycerol. The major factors affect the conversion efficiency of the process
such as molar ratio, amount of catalyst, reaction temperature and reaction duration is analyzed.
The two-step esterification procedure converts rubber seed oil to its methyl esters. The viscosity
of biodiesel oil is nearer to that of diesel and the calorific value is about 14% less than that of
diesel. The important properties of biodiesel such as specific gravity, flash point, cloud point and
pour point are found out and compared with that of diesel. This study supports the production of
biodiesel from unrefined rubber seed oil as a viable alternative to the diesel fuel.
 Canakci, et al. [13] gave some specific results that are based on the process development
portion of biodiesel production from Oils and fats with high free fatty acids. The acid–catalyzed
pretreatment reaction decreased the acid value of the synthetic mixture to less than 2 mg KOH/g
with a 2–step process. Increasing the acid catalyst amount is very effective in decreasing the acid
value of the mixture. Ethanol decreased the FFA level of the synthetic mixture faster than
methanol. With KOH as the alkaline catalyst, it was found that the acid value of the feedstock
needed to be reduced to 1 mg KOH/g (0.5% FFA) in order to get good ester conversion.
The two–step acid catalysis pretreatment process was successful in decreasing the acid
value of yellow and brown grease to less than 2 mg KOH/g but a higher molar ratio and more
time were required than was expected based on the work with the simulated high FFA feedstock.
It was observed that the alkaline catalyst amount and type affect the transesterification reaction
completeness and yield. NaOCH3 is more effective than KOH.

The potential of restaurant waste lipids as biodiesel feedstocks was examined by Mustafa
Canakci [14]. Waste cooking oils, restaurant grease and animal fats are potential feedstocks for
biodiesel. These inexpensive feedstocks represent one-third of the US total fats and oil
production, but are currently devoted mostly to industrial uses and animal feed. The
characteristics of feedstock are very important during the initial research and production stage.
Free fatty acids and moisture reduce the efficiency of transesterification in converting these
feedstocks into biodiesel. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the level of these
contaminants in feedstock samples from a rendering plant. Levels of free fatty acids varied from
0.7% to 41.8%, and moisture from 0.01% to 55.38%. These wide ranges indicate that an efficient
process for converting waste grease and animal fats must tolerate a wide range of feedstock
properties.

Three principal variables, molar ratio of methanol to oil, amount of catalyst, and reaction
temperature, affecting the yield of acid-catalyzed production of methyl ester (biodiesel) from
crude palm oil were investigated by Edward Crabbe, et al. [15]. The biodiesel was then used
as an extractant in batch and continuous acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation, and its fuel
properties and that of the biodiesel–ABE (acetone–butanol–ethanol) product mix extracted from
the batch culture analyzed. The optimized variables, 40:1 methanol/oil (mol/mol) with 5% H2SO4
(vol/wt) reacted at 95°C for 9 h, gave a maximum ester yield of 97%. Biodiesel preferentially
extracted butanol, and enhanced its production in the batch culture from 10 to 12 g. l-1. The fuel
properties of biodiesel and the biodiesel–ABE mix were comparable to that of No.2 diesel, but
their cetane numbers and the boiling points of the 90% fractions were higher. Therefore, they
could serve as efficient No. 2 diesel substitutes. The biodiesel–ABE mixture had the highest
cetane number.

Michael [16] investigated the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME; biodiesel)
from soapstock (SS); a byproduct of edible oil refining that is substantially less expensive than
edible-grade refined oils. The most effective method involved the complete saponification of the
soapstock followed by acidulation using methods similar to those presently employed in
industry. This resulted in acid oil with a free fatty acid (FFA) content greater than 90%. These
fatty acids were efficiently converted to methyl esters by acid-catalyzed esterification. The fatty
acid composition of the resulting ester product reflected that of soy soapstock and was largely
similar to that of soybean oil.

Supercritical methanol has a high potential for both transesterification of triglycerides

and methyl esterification of free fatty acids to methyl esters for a Diesel fuel substitute. Ayhan
Demirbas [17] was observed that in the supercritical methanol transesterification method, the
yield of conversion increases to 95% in 10 min. The viscosity values of vegetable oils are
between 27.2 and 53.6 mm2/s, whereas those of vegetable oil methyl esters are between 3.59 and
4.63 mm2/s. The flash point values of vegetable oil methyl esters are much lower than those of
vegetable oils. An increase in density for vegetable oil methyl esters or biodiesels increases the
viscosity.

An environmentally benign process for the production of biodiesel from Vegetable Oils
using heterogeneous catalyst was developed by Hak-Joo Kim, et al. [18]. Na/NaOH/ ᵞ-Al2O3
heterogeneous base catalyst was firstly adopted for the production of biodiesel. A study for
optimizing the reaction conditions such as the reaction time, the stirring speed, the use of co-
solvent, the oil to methanol ratio, and the amount of catalyst, was performed. The Na/NaOH/ ᵞ-
Al2O3 heterogeneous base catalyst showed almost the same activity under the optimized reaction
conditions compared to conventional homogeneous NaOH catalyst. The basic strength of
Na/NaOH/ ᵞ-Al2O3 catalyst was estimated and the correlation with the activity towards
transesterification was proposed.

Currently, alkaline bases are used to catalyze the reaction. These catalysts require
anhydrous conditions and feedstocks with low levels of free fatty acids (FFAs). Inexpensive
feedstocks containing high levels of FFAs cannot be directly used with the base catalysts
currently employed. Strong liquid acid catalysts are less sensitive to FFAs and can
simultaneously conduct esterification and transesterification. However, they are slower and
necessitate higher reaction temperatures. Nonetheless, acid-catalyzed processes could produce
biodiesel from low-cost feedstocks, lowering production costs. Better yet, if solid acid catalysts
could replace liquid acids, the corrosion and environmental problems associated with them could
be avoided and product purification protocols reduced, significantly simplifying biodiesel
production and reducing cost. Edgar Lotero, et al. [19] research was related to biodiesel
production using acid catalysts, including solid acids.

Algae
The use of microalgae can be a suitable alternative feedstock for next generation biofuels
because certain species contain high amounts of oil, which could be extracted, processed and
refined into transportation fuels, using currently available technology; they have fast growth rate,
permit the use of non-arable land and non-potable water, use far less water and do not displace
food crops cultures; their production is not seasonal and they can be harvested daily.
Luisa Gouveia, et al. [20] experimented with Neochloris oleabundans and
Nannochloropsis sp. and these algae proved to be suitable as raw materials for biofuels
production, due to their high oil content (29.0 and 28.7% respectively). Both microalgae, when
grown under nitrogen deficient culture medium, show a great increase in oil quantity (e.g.
Neochloris oleabundans can reach 56%, results not shown). If the purpose is to produce
biodiesel from one algal species, Scenedesmus obliquus presents the most adequate fatty acid
profile, namely in terms of linolenic and polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, Neochloris
oleabundans, Nannochloropsis sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta can also be used if associated with
other microalgae oils and/or vegetable oils.
solid base catalyst (edible soybean oil & wco)
Masato Kouzu, et al. [21] was experimented with solid base catalyst for biodiesel
production with environmental benignity, transesterification of edible soybean oil with refluxing
methanol was carried out in the presence of calcium oxide (CaO), -hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), or
-carbonate (CaCO3). At 1 h of reaction time, yield of FAME was 93% for CaO, 12% for
Ca(OH)2, and 0% for CaCO3. Under the same reacting condition, sodium hydroxide with the
homogeneous catalysis brought about the complete conversion into FAME. Also, CaO was used
for the further tests transesterifying waste cooking oil (WCO) with acid value of 5.1 mg-KOH/g.
The yield of FAME was above 99% at 2 h of reaction time, but a portion of catalyst changed into
calcium soap by reacting with free fatty acids included in WCO at initial stage of the
transesterification. Owing to the neutralizing reaction of the catalyst, concentration of calcium in
FAME increased from 187 ppm to 3065 ppm. By processing WCO at reflux of methanol in the
presence of cation-exchange resin, only the free fatty acids could be converted into FAME. The
transesterification of the processed WCO with acid value of 0.3 mg-KOH/g resulted in the
production of FAME including calcium of 565 ppm.

Enzyme (mixture of oils)

Candida antarctica lipase is inactivated in a mixture of vegetable oil and more than 1:2
molar equivalent of methanol against the total fatty acids. Yomi Watanabe, et al. [22] revealed
that the inactivation was eliminated by three successive additions of 1:3 molar equivalent of
methanol and have developed a three-step methanolysis by which over 95% of the oil
triacylglycerols (TAG) were converted to their corresponding methyl esters (ME). In his study,
the lipase was not inactivated even though 2:3 molar equivalent of methanol was present in a
mixture of acylglycerols (AG) and 33% ME (AG/ME33). Then his finding led to a two-step
methanolysis of the oil TAG. When two-step reaction was repeated by transferring the
immobilized lipase to a fresh substrate mixture, the enzyme could be used 70 cycles (105 d)
without any decrease in the conversion. From the viewpoint of the industrial production of
biodiesel fuel production, the two-step reaction was conducted using a reactor with impeller.
However, the enzyme carrier was easily destroyed, and the lipase could be used only several
times. Thus, they attempted flow reaction using a column packed with immobilized Candida
lipase. Because the lipase packed in the column was drastically inactivated by feeding a mixture
of AG/ME33 and 2:3 molar equivalent of methanol, three-step flow reaction was performed
using three columns packed with 3.0 g immobilized lipase.

Pyrolysis ( Wco)
The production of biodiesel using waste triglycerides as feedstock offers economic
advantages over its production from edible oils. However, because of its high acidity and
chemical complexity, many problems arise in the production of biodiesel. To facilitate the use of
waste oils as a feedstock of biofuels, there is an alternative method to obtain pyrolytic oil by
thermal_chemical conversion. Junming Xu, et al. [23] discussed the observations on the
production of biofuels by a pyrolysis reaction from high-acid-value waste oil. It was found that
the pyrolytic products consisted of hydrocarbon compounds accompanied by undesired products,
such as carboxylic acids. These pyrolytic oils were further reacted with an alcohol to decrease
their acid value. The results showed that the acid number of the pyrolytic oil decreased
dramatically from 28.8 to 2.0 mg of KOH/g after esterification. The results of gas
chromatography_mass spectrometry (GC_MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopy analyses indicated that the pyrolysis of waste oil generates fuels that have chemical
compositions comparable to that of petroleum-based fuel.

WCO (KOH)
Arjun, et al. [24] was experimented with waste cooking oils and KOH catalyst to
produce biodiesel. He characterized the biodiesel by its physical and fuel properties including
density, viscosity, acid value, flash point, cloud point, pour point, cetane index, water and
sediment content, total and free glycerin content, diglycerides and monoglycerides, phosphorus
content and sulfur content according to ASTM standards.

Enzyme ( soyabean with methanol)

Enzymatic transesterification of soybean oil with methanol and ethanol was studied by
Hossein Noureddini, et al. [25]. Lipase PS from Pseudornonas cepacia resulted in the highest
yield of alkyl esters. Lipase from Pseudornonas cepacia was further investigated in immobilized
from within chemically inert, hydrophobic sol-gel support. The gel-entrapped lipase was
prepared by polycondenzation of hydrolyzed tetramethoxysilane and iso-butyltrirnethoxysilene.
Using the immobilized lipase PS, the effects of water and alcohol concentration, enzyme loading
enzyme thermal stability, and temperature in the transesterification reaction were investigated.

Calcium ethoxide( soyabeen oil)

Calcium ethoxide is proposed as a catalyst for the transesterification of soybean oil to
biodiesel with methanol and ethanol by Xuejun Liu, et al. [26]. First, calcium ethoxide was
synthesized through a calcium reaction with ethanol. Then, its physical and chemical
characteristics were determined using instrumental methods such as Brunauer-Emmett-Teller
surface area measurements, scanning electron micrographs, and particle size distribution
measurements. The effects of the mass ratio of catalyst to oil, the molar ratio of methanol to oil,
and the reaction temperature were studied to optimize the reaction conditions. The experimental
results showed that the optimum conditions are a 12:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, the addition
of 3% Ca(OCH2CH3)2 catalyst, and a 65 °C reaction temperature. A 95.0% biodiesel yield was
obtained within 1.5 h in these conditions, and the activation energy was 54 149 J/mol. It also
indicated that the catalysis performance of calcium ethoxide is better than that of CaO. Besides, a
91.8% biodiesel yield was obtained when it catalyzed soybean oil to biodiesel with ethanol.

The manufacture of biodiesel is undertaken as a case study by Gerardo, et al. [27] to

demonstrate and describe this achievement. Results from this study show the positive features of
this process and identify opportunities for sustainability improvement in the areas of material and
energy use, environmental impacts, and economics during the production of this important
biofuel. Therefore, GREENSCOPE is proposed as a fundamental tool for evaluating and
designing more sustainable chemical processes.

Hydrocracking of vegetable oils is a prominent technology for the production of biofuels.

Stella Bezergianni, et al. [28] compares the product yields and quality of hydrocracking fresh
and used cooking oil under nominal operating conditions. Cracking, heteroatom removal and
saturation reaction mechanisms are evaluated for both feedstock types and for three typical
hydrocracking temperatures. The assessment of both feedstocks indicates that they are both
suitable for high diesel yields with smaller kerosene/jet and gasoline/naphtha yields. As
temperature increases, diesel selectivity increases for both feedstock types. However, the used oil
feedstock exhibits higher kerosene/jet and naphtha selectivity at low temperatures (350 °C) and
lower at the highest hydrocracking temperature (390 °C).

The optimal production of second-generation biodiesel using waste cooking oil and algae
oil was simulated by Mariano Martin, et al. [29]. They consider five different technologies for
the transesterification of the oil (homogeneous acid- or alkali-catalyzed, heterogeneous basic-
catalyzed, enzymatic, and supercritical uncatalyzed). They formulate the problem as a mixed-
integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem where the models for each of the reactors are
based on surface response methodology to capture the effects of the variables on the yield. The
aim is to perform simultaneous optimization and heat integration for the production of biodiesel
from each of the different oil sources in terms of the technology to use and the operating
conditions to apply. Furthermore, a process network is designed to minimize the freshwater
consumption. The optimal conditions in the reactors differ from those traditionally used because
the separation tasks are taken into account in this work. For algae oil, the optimal process
employs alkali as the catalyst and has a production cost of 0.42$/gal, an energy consumption of
1.94 MJ/gal, and a freshwater consumption of 0.60 galwater/galethanol. For cooking oil, the
optimal process is the one with the heterogeneous catalyst and has a production cost and energy
and water consumption of $0.66/gal, 1.94 MJ/gal, and 0.33 galwater/galethanol, respectively.

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel conventionally prepared by transesterification of pre-

extracted vegetable oils and animal fats of all resources with methanol, catalyzed by strong acids
or bases. Bo Liu, et al. [30] reports on a novel biodiesel production method that features acid-
promoted direct methanolysis of cellular biomass of oleaginous yeasts and filamentous fungi.
The process was optimized for tuning operation parameters, such as methanol dosage, catalyst
concentration, reaction temperature and time. This integrated method is thus effective and
technically attractive, as dried microbial biomass as feedstocks omits otherwise tedious and time-
consuming oil extraction processes.

Sharif Hossain, et al. [31] used common species Oedogonium and Spirogyra to compare
the amount of biodiesel production. Algal oil and biodiesel (ester) production was higher in
Oedogonium than Spirogyra sp. However, biomass (after oil extraction) was higher in Spirogyra
than Oedogonium sp. Sediments (glycerine, water and pigments) was higher in Spirogyra than
Oedogonium sp. There was no difference of pH between Spirogyra and Oedogonium sp. The
results indicate that biodiesel can be produced from both species and Oedogonium is better
source than Spirogyra sp.

The objective is to convert waste sunflower oil used for domestic purposes such as
cooking oil into biodiesel using an alkali catalysed transesterification process.
Thirumarimurugan, et al. [32] reports experimental data on the production of fatty acid methyl
esters from sunflower oil using sodium hydroxide as alkaline catalyst. The variables affecting the
yield and characteristics of the biodiesel produced from these vegetable oils were studied.

Deshpande, et al. [33] planned to produce methyl ester fuels based on non edible oils
like castor oil by using different catalysts like NaOH and H2SO4. The effect of various
parameters like temp, residence time, and catalyst concentration investigated on yield of
biodiesel and physical properties like Viscosity, Specific gravity, Acid value.

Transesterification of waste fryer grease (WFG) containing 5–6 wt.% free fatty acid
(FFA) was carried out with methanol, ethanol, and mixtures of methanol/ethanol maintaining the
oil to alcohol molar ratio of 1:6, and initially with KOH as a catalyst was investigated by
Titipong Issariyakul, et al.[34]. Mixtures of methanol and ethanol were used for
transesterification in order to use the better solvent property of ethanol and rapid equilibrium
using methanol. Formation of soap by reaction of FFA present in WFG with KOH instigated
difficulty in the separation of glycerol from biodiesel ester. To untangle this problem, two-stage
(acid and alkali catalyzed) method was used for biodiesel synthesis. More than 90% ester was
obtained when two-stage method was used compared to ∼50% ester in single stage alkaline
catalyst. In the case of mixed alcohol, a relatively smaller amount of ethyl esters was formed
along with methyl esters. Acid value, viscosity, and cetane number of all the esters prepared from
WFG were within the range of the ASTM standard. Esters obtained from WFG showed good
performance as a lubricity additive.

Biodiesel processing and quality are closely related. The processes used to refine the
feedstock and convert it to biodiesel determine whether the fuel will meet the applicable
specifications. Jon Van Gerpen [35] described the processing and production of biodiesel and
how this determines fuel quality. The emphasis will be on processing as it is conducted in the
United States, where most biodiesel is produced by reacting soybean oil or used cooking oils
with methanol and the standard for fuel quality will be ASTM D 6751-02.