Composition and structure of biodiesel

Biodiesel refers to fatty acid monoalkyl esters obtained by transesterification of animal and vegetable fats (fatty acid triglycerides) with alcohols (methanol or ethanol), and the most typical one is fatty acid methyl ester. Compared with traditional petrochemical energy sources, it has low sulfur and aromatics content, high flash point, high cetane number and good lubricity, and can be partially added to fossil diesel oil.

80% of biodiesel in EU uses double low rapeseed oil (low glucosinolate and low erucic acid). The United States and Brazil mainly use soybeans, while China mainly uses woody oil, gutter oil and microalgae oil as raw materials. China started the demonstration project of microalgae carbon fixation bioenergy in Inner Mongolia, and also started the demonstration project of Jatropha curcas biodiesel industrialization in Sichuan, Guizhou and Hainan.