menuBiodiesel feedstock types
A variety of biolipids (Biolipds are lipids from biological sources. Lipids are a class of organic compounds essential for the structure and function of living cells, fats are a subset of lipids, belonging to a subcategory of lipids called triglycerides) can be used to produce biodiesel. The main plants whose oils have been considered as feedstock for bio-fuel are: soybean oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil & jatropha oil. Others in the contention are mustard, hemp, castor oil, waste vegetable oil, and in some cases, even algae. There is ongoing research into finding more suitable crops and improving oil yield.
A complete list of oils that appear to have the potential for biodiesel is provided below ( in alphabetical order of the plant name):
See separate sections for many of them:
Algae Oil, Artichoke Oil, Canola Oil, Castor Oil, Chinese tallow tree oil ,Coconut Oil, Corn, Cottonseed Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Hemp Oil, Jatropha Oil, Jojoba Oil, Karanj Oil, Kukui Nut Oil, Milk Bush, Pencil Bush Oil, Mustard Oil, Neem Oil, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Peanut Oil, Radish Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Safflower Oil, Sesame Oil, Soybean Oil,Sunflower Oil, Tung Oil, WVO, Waste Vegetable Oil
Algae as Bio-diesel
The production of algae to harvest oil for biodiesel has not been undertaken on a commercial scale, but working feasibility studies have been conducted to arrive at the above yield estimate. In addition to a high yield, this solution does not compete with agriculture for food, requiring neither farmland nor fresh water.
Artichoke & Biodiesel
Artichoke has been only mainly as a forage crop for many years, but in recent years new applications have been discovered. The seeds of the artichoke plant can be used to obtain edible oil, while paper and pulp can be obtained from the stalks.
Artichoke oil is similar to the oils from sunflower and safflower in its composition. The approximate oil composition is as follows: 60% linoleic, 25% oleic, 12% palmitic and 3% stearic acid. While experiments are still on for this crop, initial experiments and analysis appear to show that this crop has potential for producing biodiesel.
Canola Oil as Biodiesel
Canola is a cultivated variety of rapesee, and canola oilseeds are rich in oil content ( 40%). The interest in canola oil as feedstock for biodiesel appears to be gaining ground. A small group of farmers in Australia have started producing biodiesel from canola oil for local use, and a company in North Dakota (USA) in investing significantly to produce biodiesel using canola oil.
Castor Oil as Biodiesel
Castor oil has quite a few characteristics that can make it a suitable candidate for biodiesel. One aspect that could queer the pitch for castor oil is its viscosity. Castor oil in its straight vegetable oil form is about 100 times as viscous as diesel fuel, and while trans-esterification does reduce the viscosity significantly, it is still being researched whether the final viscosity for castor oil biodiesel is within acceptable limits for use in diesel engines.
Coconut Oil as Biodiesel
Coconut has an oil content of about 70%, and has a yield of about 2500 liters per hectare. The Cetane Number (60) and Iodine Value (10) of coconut oil/copra oil are within acceptable limits for use in diesel engines. Its viscosity after trans-esterification is also in the acceptable range. It thus appears to be a good candidate for biodiesel.
Coconut oil is one of the least viscous of plant oils
Corn Oil as Bio-diesel
There is a significant interest, especially in the United States, to experiment with corn oil as the feedstock for biodiesel. Till a few years ago, corn was not favoured as a feedstock because the extraction process was not suitable to produce a grade of oil that was suitable enough for producing biodiesel. However newer extraction processes have overcome this problem.
Cottonseed Oil as Biodiesel
Cottonseed oil has energy per unit volume than diesel fuel. This means that more than one gallon of cotton seed oil will be required to replace one gallon of petro-diesel. The current production volumes are quite low ( 0.5 million T per annum in the US) when compared with even reasonable requirements of biodiesel.
Flax Oil as Biodiesel
The oil from linseed/flax plant can also be considered for biodiesel. Research is ongoing in this area.