The current status and perspectives of biofuel production via catalytic cracking of edible and non-edible oils

Biofuel development has gained the attention of researchers in recent years owing to the rate of depletion of fossil fuels. Several processes are currently employed in the conventional production of different biofuels: the production of biodiesel is catalytically performed either through the transesterification of triglycerides using alcohol or the deoxygenative ecofining of triglycerides in a nonalcohol environment; bio-oil is produced by the pyrolysis of biomass; bio-ethanol is produced by the fermentation of sugars obtained from starch or cellulosic based biomass, while bio-gasoline is produced from the catalytic cracking of triglycerides. Owing to the enormous dependency of transport vehicles running on gasoline engines, the development of bio-gasoline may well reduced the dependence of the fuel market on fossil fuels. The present article summarizes recent progresses and future prospects of biofuel production via catalytic cracking technology. This technology can be implemented in current petroleum refineries with minor modifications. However, reactor design and catalyst choice are important issues and have to be addressed before successful implementation of this technology in commercial ventures. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.