Biodiesel from vegetable oils

Biodiesel is gaining acceptance in the market as fuel and lubricant. It is expected that biodiesel industries will rapidly grow worldwide in the coming years and information on biodiesel feedstock, production, and characteristics will be crucial than ever especially for those using vegetable oils as feedstock as these are currently the major sources for making biodiesel. In the present paper, a comprehensive review is reported on feedstock, production technologies, and characteristics of biodiesel. More specifically, selected available vegetable oils are explored as feedstock for biodiesel production. Production technologies including latest catalyst developments are discussed. Finally, biodiesel characteristics and parameters influencing the corresponding properties are revealed. Since this paper covers a wide range in biodiesel area, it serves as a general public education medium as well as a research reference for biodiesel production from vegetable oils. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.