Biodiesel: Sustainable Energy Replacement to PetroleumBased Diesel Fuel - A Review

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 petrodiesel 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.