Environmental Impacts of Production of Biodiesel and Its Use in Transportation Sector

The world is presently confronted with the twin crises of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. The search for alternative fuels, which promise a harmonious correlation with sustainable development, energy conservation, efficiency and environmental preservation, has become highly pronounced in the present context. The fuels of bio-origin can provide a feasible solution to this worldwide petroleum crisis. Gasoline and diesel-driven automobiles are the major sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission [3 5]. Scientists around the world have explored several alternative energy resources like biomass, biogas [6] primary alcohols, vegetable oils and biodiesel. These alternative energy resources are highly environment-friendly but need to be evaluated on case-to-case basis for their advantages, disadvantages and specific applications. Some of these fuels can be used directly, while some others need to be formulated to bring the relevant properties closer to conventional fuels. Environmental concerns have increased significantly in the world over the past decade, particularly after the Earth Summit-92. Excessive use of fossil fuels has led to global environmental degradation effects such as greenhouse effect, acid rain, ozone depletion and climate change. So there is need to develop or find alternative ways to power the world’s motor vehicles. There are two global biorenewable liquid transportation fuels that might replace gasoline and diesel fuel. These are bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol is good alternate fuel that is produced almost entirely from food crops. Biodiesel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits. Transport is one of the main energy consuming sectors. It is assumed that biodiesel is used as a fossil diesel replacement and that bioethanol is used as a gasoline replacement. Biomass based energy sources for heat; electricity and transportation fuels are potentially carbon dioxide neutral recycle the same carbon atoms. Due to its widespread availability, biorenewable fuel technology will potentially employ more people than fossil fuel based technology [7]. The term biofuel is referred to as solid, liquid or gaseous fuels that are predominantly produced from biorenewable or combustible renewable feedstocks [8]. Liquid biofuels are important for the future because they replace petroleum fuels. Biofuels are generally