Biodiesel: An Overview II

Abstract

The crescent number of scientific articles published per year shows that research on biodiesel continues to play an important role to support the growing demand for this biofuel. The second edition of Biodiesel: An Overview presents the worldwide research in the last 15 years. Microalgae biomass is the most studied raw material alternative in this period and several studies have been carried out to develop basic heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production. Concerning to production technologies, supercritical conditions and intensification process have been extensively investigated. The development of new antioxidants additives has focused mainly on biomass-derived formulations and there are few studies on biocide candidates. In terms of pollutant emissions, in general, the studies showed that the addition of biodiesel generates lower concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), CO and n-alkanes pollutants, but carbonyl compounds, major ions and NOx are emitted in a higher concentration compared to pure diesel.