By-products from the vegetable oil industry as a feasible source for biofuels production and pollution reduction

Abstract

Biodiesel produced from by-products and waste materials can be an economical way for reducing the traditional oil consumption and environmental problems. The by-products from the refining vegetable oil industry such as soapstock, acid oil and fatty acid distillates are suitable for producing biodiesel. The present work is an approach to the use of these by-products to obtain biodiesel covering the traditional and most widely used acid/base catalysis. The advantages and drawbacks of the different methods are mentioned and analysed. The synthesis and use of by-products from the vegetable oil refining industry are covered in this work.