CURRENT TRENDS AND NEW PERSPECTIVES IN BIODIESEL PRODUCTION: A FOCUSED REVIEW ON INTERESTERIFICATION REACTION

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. Keywords: Energy; FAME; Fuel; Interesterification; Triacetin