Biodiesel Production: Technologies, Challenges, and Future Prospects

Sponsored by the Biodiesel Production: Technologies, Challenges, and Future Prospects Task Committee of the Technical Committee on Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Engineering of the Environmental Council of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of ASCE Biodiesel Production: Technologies, Challenges, and Future Prospects presents approaches, technologies, and source materials for biodiesel production, as well as socioeconomic and political impacts of biodiesel applications. As industrialization and population increases, the need for energy is also increasing. Petroleum diesel is a major fuel source worldwide that possesses many disadvantages including decreasing fossil fuel reserves and increasing atmospheric pollution. These pollutants have significant negative impacts on the global environment and human health. Thus, it is imperative to develop alternate fuels and renewable sources of energy that are environmentally sustainable, with biodegradability, low toxicity, and renewability, and are less reliant on petroleum products. This book presents a detailed overview of the benefits, impacts, and production of biodiesel. Topics include • History, composition, physicochemical properties, and standards; • General methods and applications of raw materials; • Extraction of lipids from the oil-bearing materials; • Nanotechnology and genetic engineering; • Conventional methods and use of resins and adsorbents for purification; • Management of coproducts; • Economic evaluation and environmental impacts; and • Socioeconomic and political considerations. Researchers, scientists, engineers, students, policy makers, and government officials will find this book to be an essential reference of comprehensive information on biodiesel production.