Closer Look at Biodiesel Production (eBook)

Biodiesel is considered a viable alternative to the use of fossil fuel, as it is a renewable and biodegradable fuel, providing many environmental benefits. A Closer Look at Biodiesel Production describes new prospects of biodiesel production and updates the different researches on raw materials for the production of new sources of biofuels. The book contains thirteen chapters that are divided into five sections for a better understanding for the reader. The first section presents an extensive and profound review of the fundamentals of biodiesel production and the application of heterogeneous catalysts in this process. The second section assesses the influence of the raw material and provides insight into non-conventional raw materials that can be used for biodiesel production, such as Macroinvetebrate Larvae and Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge. The third section aims to present an extended discussion on biodiesel production from microalgae to feedstock. The third section shows the importance of the implementation of a biorefinery, using all microalgae products to make the processes economically viable. The objective of the fourth section was to apply modeling and simulation techniques that can assist in the design and assisted development of catalysts and methods for obtaining sustainable and ecological biofuels and to develop new separators of the co-products of the biodiesel production process. The last section is about the microbial conversion of crude glycerol to bioplastics and their building-block molecules. This book aims to provide an in-depth analysis and discussion of the basics of biodiesel production, developing new value-added biofuels and their biorefineries of possible products from an improved raw material. The target audience includes researchers, engineering design and biodiesel production facilities and graduates seeking a benchmark in biodiesel production.