3 Biotech (2018) 8:245

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-018-1264-5

REVIEW ARTICLE

Recent development on sustainable biodiesel production using

sewage sludge
Neha Srivastava1 · Manish Srivastava2 · Vijai Kumar Gupta3 · Ambepu Manikanta1 · Kajal Mishra4 · Shipra Singh1,5 ·
Sangram Singh6 · P. W. Ramteke7 · P. K. Mishra1

Received: 8 February 2018 / Accepted: 25 April 2018

© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
Biodiesel as a renewable energy is an important alternative to biofuels in current scenario to explore green energy sources.
It is well known that the major cost involved in biodiesel production technology is dependent upon the used feedstock. This
review presents an overview of biodiesel production using municipal sewage sludge as a cost-effective substrate. Munici-
pal sewage sludge which possesses high lipid content with zero cost availability can meet the characteristics of a potential
feedstock to produce biodiesel. Different types of substrates based processes to produce biodiesel have been also explored
in brief. In addition, limitations of the existing process technology for biodiesel production with sustainable solutions have
been also discussed.

Keywords  Biodiesel · Biofuels · Sewage sludge · Transestrification · Pyrolysis

Introduction

Increasing concern with environmental pollution due to the

combustion of conventional fossil fuels is receiving huge
attention towards the development of sustainable alternative
* Neha Srivastava energy sources. Additionally, fossil fuels are non-renewa-
[email protected] ble source of energy, but a potential source of pollutants
* P. K. Mishra that causes global warming and change in the climate pat-
[email protected] tern. Alternative renewable energy options can be helpful
1 in overcoming the limitation of fossil fuels, specifically for
Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology,
Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, the transportation sector. Transportation sector covers ~ 30%
Varanasi 221005, India total world’s demand among all industrial sector based on
2
Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, fossil energy consumption (Atabani et  al. 2011, 2012).
Delhi 110007, India Based on the report of United Nation Inter-governmental
3
Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, ERA Chair Panel on climate change, 23% energy related to green house
of Green Chemistry, School of Sciences, Tallinn University gas is emitted by the transportation sector and about 45%
of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia of it is due to the passenger vehicles (International Council
4
School of Chemical Technology, G.G.S.I.P.U, on Clean Transportation, ICCT 2011). Further, demand of
New Delhi 110078, India fuel has increased from 85 million barrels of liquid fuel per
5
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru day in 2006 and is likely to further increase up to 107 mil-
University, New Delhi 110067, India lion barrels of liquid fuel per day in 2030 (Revellame et al.
6
Department of Biochemistry, Dr. R.M.L. Awadh University, 2010). Moreover, oil is known as one of the biggest sources
Faizabad 224001, India of energy on the earth, but its share is expected to decline
7
Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Higginbottom from 35% in 2007 to 30% in 2035 (US Energy Information
University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, Administration 2010; Atabani et al. 2012). Based on the
Formerly Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad, report of International Energy Agency (IEA) (2007), there
Uttar Pradesh 221007, India

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will be 50% more increase in demand for energy in 2030 environmental impact as compared to the petroleum-based
than today, of which the maximum amount (~ 45%) will be diesel (Daud et al. 2015). Composition of biodiesel includes
consumed by the two highly populated countries, i.e., China fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), obtained from reacting
and India (Atabani et al. 2012). To fulfil the energy demand, lipids with alcohol supported by catalyst (Qi et al. 2016). At
biofuels are one of the most potential options among cur- industrial scale, production of biodiesel is carried out via
rently available renewable energy sources (Agarwal et al. transesterification process using triglycerides and methanol
2017). Besides, among various existing technologies of in the presence of homogeneous base catalysts (Atadashi
biofuels production, biodiesel production is one of the et al. 2013). In this context, high lipid content of the feed-
promising and sustainable options (Mahmudul et al. 2017). stock such as sludge can be a promising substrate for bio-
Biodiesel offers several benefits for the environment like diesel production (Qi et al. 2016).
capability to reduce CO emissions, particulate matter and Although, traditional food crops have been utilized as the
unburned hydrocarbons (Daud et al. 2015; Churchill and substrate to produce biodiesel, they are not suitable due to
Srinivasan 2017; Mardhiah et al. 2017). Though biodiesel the food verses fuel concept (Khan et al. 2014; Mardhiah
has several advantages, lack of suitable substrate and process et al. 2017). Hence, non-foody substrates have been started
technology are the major bottlenecks to make the process to explore as the feedstock to produce biodiesel (Haas et al.
economically viable (Fig. 1). Being non-food and lipid rich 2006; Daud et al. 2015). Figure 2 represents a flow chart for
in nature, secondary sludge waste has enormous potential for the overall biodiesel production technology. As discussed
biodiesel production. Biodiesel production from secondary above, sewage sludge is a promising non-edible feedstock
sludge waste may also contribute strongly in environmental offering substantial potential to produce biodiesel at low
remediation. Therefore, the objective of this review is to cost (Mondala et al. 2009; Qi et al. 2016; Mulchandani and
provide an overview to enhance biodiesel production using Westerhoff 2016; Arazo et al. 2017) yet, its disposal is the
secondary sludge waste as a potential substrate. Moreover, biggest challenge for waste water treatment plants. Neverthe-
limitations and possible approaches to improve biodiesel less, the cost involved in biodiesel production will be low as
production have been also discussed. compared to seed oils when sewage sludge will be used as
feedstock (Fonts et al. 2012; Mulchandani and Westerhoff
2016; Arazo et al. 2017). Additionally, sludge is rich in lipid
Biodiesel content because triglycerides, diglycerides, monoglycerides,
phospholipids and free fatty acids are easily adsorbed onto
Biodiesel production is considered as one of the potential the sludge (Kargbo 2010). Thus, use of sludge as the feed-
options among existing biofuels production technologies stock will not only promote bioremediation, but also help to
due to its renewable nature, low toxicity and has a low produce low-cost biofuels in an eco-friendly manner.

Fig. 1  Advantages of biodiesel
production using sewage sludge

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Fig. 2  Overall biodiesel production scheme

Feedstock for biodiesel production for rich or food for the poor (Khan et al. 2014). It also led to
major environmental problems such as forest encroachment,
The biggest advantage and increasing interest towards the destruction of soil quality and the availability of arable land
biodiesel production is mainly due to its ability to use unlim- (Lim et al. 2010; Daud et al. 2015). Additionally, increasing
ited range of feedstocks (Shahid and Jamal 2011; Janaun and cost of edible oil has drastically affected the economy of bio-
Ellis 2010; Atadashi et al. 2010). The most considerable diesel engine, resulting in preference of biodiesel production
features of ideal feedstocks are low production cost and high using non-edible oil and was regarded as second generation
yield. Generally, the cost of raw material involved in the pro- (Soccol et al. 2017). They are easily available, and the merit
cess of biodiesel covers ~ 60 to 80% of the total production of non-edible oil as feedstock is that they can be cultivated
cost of biodiesel (Juan et al. 2011; Silitonga et al. 2011a, b; on waste land; less expensive than edible oils and cultiva-
Ahmad et al. 2011; Atabani et al. 2012). Oil percentage and tions do not require extra fertiliser and moisture conditions.
yield per hectare are the significant factors which ensure Non-edible oils combine jatropha oil, neem oil, caper spurge
economic feasibility of the process. At first time, biodiesel oil, rice bran oil, honge oil, oleander oil, mahua oil, crambe
from vegetable oil came into limelight in the year 1890 and oil, tamanu oil, linseed oil, castor oil, rubber seed oil,
referred as the first-generation feedstock to produce biodiesel tobacco oil, argemone oil, azedarach oil, etc. (Atabani et al.
(Daud et al. 2015). At present ~ 95% biodiesel production is 2012; Khan et al. 2014; Mahmudul et al. 2017; Kamel et al.
carried out from edible oils around the world (Atabani et al. 2017). However, productions of biodiesel through non-edi-
2012; Mardhiah et al. 2017). Edible vegetable oil which ble oils has some technical challenges and require multiple
are used in the form of substrate for biodiesel production chemical processing because of high free fatty acid contents,
are rapeseed, palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower, cottonseed, are relatively wild and more importantly there is a lack of
peanut, coconut, groundnut oil, sesame seed oil, olive oil, knowledge about many species (Mardhiah et al. 2017). Addi-
canola oil, poppy seed oil, safflower seed oil, walnut oil, tionally, they have higher amount of impurities, therefore,
and Chinese tallow tree oil (Atabani et al. 2012; Daud et al. additional purification step is required which adds more cost
2015; Churchill and Srinivasan 2017; Mahmudul et  al. in the production process. Besides non-edible oil, biodiesel
2017). Figure 3 shows various types of feedstocks utilized production was also reported from microalgae and macroal-
in biodiesel production (Atabani et al. 2012; Silitonga et al. gae and referred to as the third-generation feedstock (Daud
2011a, b; Friday and Okano 2011; Masjuki 2010; Kumar et al. 2015; Piloto-Rodríguez et al. 2017; Wu et al. 2017).
and Sharma 2011). Moreover, the excess use of edible oil They exhibit high photosynthetic rate which leads to greater
leads to the food crisis and a big controversy erupted on fuel productivity per cultivation area and also absorbs a large

13
 245   Page 4 of 11 3 Biotech (2018) 8:245

Fig. 3  Main biodiesel feed-

stocks: a edible and b non-
edible (Adapted from Atabani
et al. 2012)

amount of ­CO2 from the atmosphere (Piloto-Rodríguez et al. 2017). Although the process has no fight with the land and
2017). It produces oil 25-fold higher than that of palm oil cultivation techniques, it requires advanced bioreactor for its
and 250-fold than that of soybean. They are easier to culti- pre-treatment which increases the production cost.
vate and also have the capability to meet the global demand, A research study conducted by Kligerman and Bouwer
offering a sustainable environment (Piloto-Rodríguez et al. (2015) elaborates that microalgae have potential to play

13
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dual role like bioremediation of waste water and biomass production. Henceforth, researches are focusing on to
for biodiesel production. Further Kligerman and Bouwer increase the yield and lower the production cost of bio-
(2015) have reported that using waste water from only 40% diesel (Hegde et al. 2015; Soccol et al. 2017; Ishak et al.
of Brazil municipalities for microalgae production would 2017; Kamel et al. 2017; Piloto-Rodríguez et al. 2017).
enhance the biodiesel production by 21.4% in Brazil. Hence, In this regard, sewage sludge is a striking substrate for
there is much scope in this area to explore the utilization of biodiesel production due to rich amounts of organic matter
microalgae as the feed for biodiesel production. (e.g. lipids) and are easily available (Boocock et al. 1992;
Waste cooking oil as well as animal fats are also consid- Willson et al. 2010; Siddiquee and Rohani 2011; Olkie-
ered as important feedstock (Mahmudul et al. 2017; Kamel wicz et al. 2012; Zhu et al. 2014; Mulchandani and West-
et al. 2017) to produce biodiesel. However, increasing popu- erhoff 2016; Qi et al. 2016; Arazo et al. 2017; Demirbas
lation and urbanisation are leading tremendous increase in 2011). Furthermore, being a waste source, sewage sludge
the consumption of cooking oil. Biodiesel is formed due to is economically viable and their eco-friendly transforma-
high heating of edible vegetable oils. In this process, chemi- tion not only leads to develop biofuels, but also treats pol-
cal reactions like hydrolysis, polymerisation and oxidation lution problem. The summary of various types of method
take place, leading to the formation of toxic compounds to produce biodiesel has been provided in Fig. 4. Melero
which are not suitable for the environment. Therefore, its et al. (2015) investigated different approaches [one step (in
utilization as a biodiesel feedstock can help from being dis- situ and two-step (ex situ)] for biodiesel production using
charged into the drainage system and blocking it, but the sewage sludge which was dewatered by centrifugation and
higher content of free fatty acid in them leads to an improper dried in an oven. One step process involved simultane-
transesterification step (Yaakob et al. 2013). ous extraction and conversion of lipid fraction present in
Further, advanced technologies and various researches sewage sludge whereas two-step process involved lipid
have given birth to microbial oil and genetically engi- fraction extraction followed by conversion in to biodiesel.
neered plants (Hegde et  al. 2015; Soccol et  al. 2017). Further, these authors noticed that FAME yield in one step
Microbial oil can be extracted more easily as they have a process was 15.5 wt% for primary sludge and 10.0 wt%
shorter life-cycle, are less influenced by climate, have no for secondary sludge whereas in two-step process FAME
need of larger area for production and last but not the least yield was less than 6 wt% for primary and negligible for
require nearly no labour, though production cost is very secondary sludge. Moreover, it was suggested that hetero-
high (Soccol et al. 2017). Genetically engineered plants, geneous acid catalyst (Zr-SBA-15) has a high potential
for example, poplar, switch grass as well as big bluestem for the biodiesel production from low-quality oleaginous
have been also added to the list of feedstocks for biodiesel feedstock such as sewage sludge.

Fig. 4  Methods for biodiesel

production (Adapted from Khan
et al. 2014)

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 245   Page 6 of 11 3 Biotech (2018) 8:245

Biodiesel production process But this process leads to incomplete combustion and high
amount of carbon deposits.
Because of the availability of various types of feed-
stocks to be used for biodiesel production, a big demand Pyrolysis
to develop such types of process which is well suitable
for the feedstock to achieve high yield of the product is Pyrolysis is a process where conversion of a substance into
raised (Daud et al. 2015). Therefore more researches have another form is carried out by heat treatment (Mahmudul
focussed on finding out various processes to enhance the et al. 2017). It can be done in the presence or absence of a
yield and reduce the cost of the process. In the series of catalyst, but in the absence of oxygen. This process is also
various available processes, four processes are being used termed as thermal cracking. Biodiesel obtained from this
for the biodiesel production including (Vyas et al. 2010; process is suitable for diesel engines, but due to the absence
Siddiquee and Rohani 2011; Atadashi et al. 2013): (1) of oxygen low-value materials are produced (Abbaszaadeh
direct use or blending, (2) micro emulsions, (3) pyrolysis et al. 2012). This process is effective, easy and pollution
and (4) transesterification. free (Singh and Singh 2010), but requires expensive equip-
ments. According to Ito et al. (2012), this method is applica-
ble for waste cooking oil. Pyrolysis of vegetable oil leads to
Direct use or blending biodiesel production consisting of high cetane number, low
viscosity and acceptable amount of sulphur, water, sediment
Direct blending is the process in which vegetable oils are content, and copper corrosion values, although, ash content,
directly diluted with diesel, therefore, it is also known as carbon residues and pour pints are below the acceptable limit
dilution (Mahmudul et al. 2017). It is used to reduce the (Sharma et al. 2008).
viscosity and enhances the performance (Abbaszaadeh Recently, Capodaglio and Callegari (2017) have discussed
et al. 2012). There is no requirement of chemical process- that pyrolysis, in particular microwave assisted pyrolysis, has
ing (Balat and Balat 2010; Chauhan et al. 2010) and a the capability of producing biodiesel from sewage sludge
ratio of 1:10 and 2:10 is found to be most suitable for with high efficiency compared to other methods. But still,
this process; however, it is not suitable for long-term use. the quality of produced biodiesel does not meet the required
The major disadvantage of this process is the high vis- characteristics of diesel for commercialization.
cosity, free fatty acid content, acid composition and gum
formation. Transesterification

Transesterification is regarded as the most suitable process

Micro emulsion and so applied in the majority of industries (Mahmudul et al.
2017). It is highly popular because of its low cost and sim-
Micro emulsions are defined as thermodynamically stable plicity and it reduces the viscosity of oil, making it suitable
isotropic liquid mixtures of oil, water and surfactant, com- for engines and equipment (Abbaszaadeh et al. 2012; Kout-
monly in a blend with a co-surfactant. This process was souki et al. 2016). Transesterification derived biodiesel has
developed to resolve the problem in reference with high lowest viscosity compared to biodiesel produced from other
viscosity of vegetable oil (Abbaszaadeh et al. 2012; Mah- methods (Capodagilo and Callegari 2017). Transesterifica-
mudul et al. 2017). It is made by mixing vegetable oil with tion is the process of converting triglyceride and alcohol to
solvents such as methanol, ethanol, butanol and hexanol. fatty acid alkyl ester and glycerol (Koutsouki et al. 2016)
(Fig. 5).

Fig. 5  The general form of

transesterification reaction
(Adapted from Siddiquee et al.
2011)

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3 Biotech (2018) 8:245 Page 7 of 11  245

The process of transesterification can be categorized as et al. 2017). Disadvantages of the lipase catalyst are higher
catalytic and non-catalytic process. The catalytic process, as reaction time and high production cost for large-scale indus-
the name suggests, involves the use of a catalyst to enhance trial production (Aransiola et al. 2014). Now researchers
the reaction rate and course of the time. The non-catalytic have been involved on lipases and developing cost-effective
process, on the other hand, does not involve the use of any enzymes. Although these shortcomings are failed to see in
catalyst. The catalytic method can be further divided into case of non-catalytic transesterification methods. Moreover,
homogenous catalysts and heterogeneous catalyst on the supercritical methanol process applies a lower amount of
basis of the type of catalysts used in the production process energy and the reaction completes in a couple of minutes
(Atadashi et al. 2013; Mardhiah et al. 2017). Homogenous (Bharathiraja et al. 2014). It can overcome the demerits of
catalysts can be either acid or alkaline catalysts (Bharathi- the catalytic process in the way, it involves no use of catalyst
raja et al. 2014; Mahmudul et al. 2017). Examples of acid and the purification step of biodiesel and glycerol recovery
catalysts include sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, ferric is quite easier (Karmakar et al. 2010; Atabani et al. 2012;
sulphate, phosphoric acid, etc. (Atadashi et al. 2013; Aran- Aransiola et al. 2014). However, technologies used in the
siola et al. 2014; Bharathiraja et al. 2014; Ishak et al. 2017). process makes it costly and there is increased consumption
Acid catalysts are more suitable for the feedstocks having of methanol (Shahid and Jamal 2011; Deng et al. 2011; Ata-
high amount of free fatty acids and water contents as it is bani et al. 2012).
helpful in lowering the free fatty acids content (Mardhiah In situ transesterification needs single step for extraction
et al. 2017; Ishak et al. 2017). But the main demerits of followed by conversion of algal lipids to biodiesel for simpli-
using acid catalysts are that, they consume much time and a fying the processing (Qi et al. 2016; Koutsouki et al. 2016).
large amount of water is required for washing the biodiesel Olkiewicz et al. (2014) studied that liquid–liquid extraction
(Aransiola et al. 2014; Bharathiraja et al. 2014). Alkali cata- of lipids from acidified sewage sludge using hexane as sol-
lysts like sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide are vent reflects considerable enhancement in lipid efficiency.
the widely used catalysts (Atadashi et al. 2013; Bharathi- Also, these authors concluded that the liquid–liquid extrac-
raja et al. 2014; Churchill and Srinivasan 2017). It has been tion applying hexane is viable compared to the other drying
reported that this is the fastest and most economical method methods like thermal treatment which is not cost effective
for biodiesel production (Siddiquee et al. 2011). Though and further suggested that the left over sludge after lipid
the conventional catalysts used in the production process extraction can be used for energy production through anaero-
of biodiesel are cheap, sensitive to free fatty acids as well bic digestion.
as water content in oils (Aransiola et al. 2014; Bharathiraja Olkiewicz et al. (2015) investigated the effect of pre-
et al. 2014), the presence of water in oil leads to its hydroly- treatment (ultrasonic and mechanical disintegration) on
sis into free fatty acids and if the free fatty acid content primary, secondary and blended sewage sludge with and
exceeds 3%, the performance of the catalyst decreases (Ata- without previous acidification for lipids extraction by Sox-
dashi et al. 2013; Aransiola et al. 2014; Ishak et al. 2017). hlet using hexane. Through the above investigation, it was
The other drawback of using alkali catalyst is soap formation found that pretreatment methods (ultrasonic and mechanical
that creates hindrance in the separation process of glycerol disintegration) did not increase the lipids extraction signifi-
and methyl ester thus reducing the overall yield (Atadashi cantly. Moreover, earlier sludge acidification exhibited lower
et al. 2012; Aransiola et al. 2014; Mardhiah et al. 2017; yield of lipids from primary, secondary and blended sludge,
Ishak et al. 2017). Similar to acid catalysts they are also a though the amount of saponifiable lipids was higher and
bit slow in operation. hence keeping the whole biodiesel yield remained (Olkie-
Heterogeneous catalysts, on other hand, include enzymes wicz et al. 2015).
and other catalysts like titanium silicates, alkaline earth
metal, amorphous zirconia, titanium and potassium zirconias
(Atadashi et al. 2013; Bharathiraja et al. 2014; Mardhiah Physicochemical properties of biodiesel
et al. 2017). Unlike alkaline catalysts, enzymes do not form
soap. Enzymes are substances that increase the rate of reac- Biodiesel is fatty acid alkyl esters, produced by base or
tion without altering any overall chemical change. Lipase acid catalysed transesterification of lipids using alcohol.
catalysts like diazomethane ­CH2N2 have high forbearance FAME is said when methanol is used as the alcohol. It has
for the free fatty acid level of substrate (Aransiola et al. no sulphur content and its lubricating property is also high
2014). It tends to attack on the long-chain fatty alcohols (Aransiola et al. 2014; Kamel et al. 2017). Its physical prop-
which are better than on short-chain fatty alcohols. In this erty can vary based on the feedstock implemented. It has
reaction, there is no involvement of complicated processes a higher flash point than that of a petroleum diesel (Aran-
for the retrieval of glycerol with removal of catalyst and siola et al. 2014; Mahmudul et al. 2017). Its calorific value
soap (Aransiola et al. 2014; Bharathiraja et al. 2014; Ishak is ~ 37.27 mJ L−1 (Aransiola et al. 2014). The variations in

13
 245   Page 8 of 11 3 Biotech (2018) 8:245

biodiesel energy density differ greatly because of different the cost of raw material (feedstock), multi-step production
feedstocks used rather than the production process (Aran- process, high amount of water consumed in the washing pro-
siola et al. 2014; Mahmudul et al. 2017). Biodiesel can be cess, resulting in huge amount of waste water (Mahmudul
used as a substitute in different engines without its modifi- et al. 2017; Wu et al. 2017). The major segment is grabbed
cation as it is much attuned to the engine (Mahmudul et al. by the cost of feedstock that alone implies for 70–80% in
2017; Soccol et al. 2017). Majority of the countries use a the production cost and the rest by above-indicated factors
system termed “B” factor to declare the amount of biodiesel (Siddiquee et al. 2011). Increasing population is also leading
in any fuel mix. Around 20% or lower can be used in diesel to decrement in the free land area as much of them are con-
equipment with no or minor modifications (Mardhiah et al. sumed for housing purposes, industries and other purposes
2017). Biodiesel can also be used in its pure form (B100), that add comfort to their lives. Therefore, switching over
using certain engine modifications to avoid any technical to non-edible oils and other sources such as sewage sludge
problem (Mardhiah et al. 2017). Additionally, biodiesel may can be advantageous and may be helpful in cost reduction
be mixed with mineral diesel up to 20% (w/w) and named as and certify sustainable development of the environment
B5, B10, B20, B100, where 5, 10, 20, and 100 indicate the (Zhu et al. 2012; Arazo et al. 2017). Feedstock selection is
percentage amount of biodiesel in petroleum diesel (Janaun the foremost important process in determining the price of
and Ellis 2010). Since it is highly biodegradable with less biodiesel produced (Mardhiah et al. 2017). The multistep
toxicity; it may be substitute diesel fuel for many different production process that includes pre-treatment of the raw
applications like in boilers and internal combustion engines material, extraction of lipids, production of biodiesel and
without major modifications (Ahmad et al. 2011; Silitonga the wet washing process is time and cost consuming (Kout-
et al. 2011a, b; Kamel et al. 2017; Soccol et al. 2017). The souki et al. 2016). Sometimes the efficiency and capacity
properties of biodiesel can be characterized on the basis of of the appliances may be significant and lead to a tremen-
physicochemical properties such as calorific value (MJ/kg), dous decline in its production. Transesterification is the
cetane number, density (kg/m3), viscosity (­ mm2/s), cloud process which can elevate production and is also a short-
as well as pour points (°C), flash point (°C), acid value (mg term process. Further, in situ transesterification is gaining
KOH/g-oil), ash content (%), copper corrosion, carbon resi- much attention as it is merely a single step process and also
due, water content and sediment, distillation range, sulphur production amount varies to a great extent (Koutsouki et al.
content, glycerine (% m/m), phosphorus (mg/kg) and oxida- 2016). Use of high-frequency ultrasound treatment also
tion stability (Mahmudul et al. 2017). The physicochemi- helps in minimisation of cost (Koutsouki et al. 2016). Recov-
cal properties of biodiesel is highly rely on the type and ery of glycerol after the production of biodiesel should also
fatty acid composition of feedstock (Murugesan et al. 2009; be kept in mind as it also helps in minimization of cost and
Atadashi et al. 2010; Lin et al. 2011; Jena et al. 2010; Ata- balancing the input output ratio (He et al. 2017). High-qual-
bani et al. 2012). Biodiesel having a flash point greater than ity glycerol production that can be used in cosmetics labo-
93.3 °C makes it easier to handle, use and store and hence ratories and lubrication of machinery should be produced.
safer to use. In addition, its energy content, i.e. the heating Researches on biodiesel production should be endorsed and
value is like petroleum diesel. But some demerits like fuel technologies such as one step process should also be used to
pumping problems, cold storage, poor low temperature flow reduce the time factor as well as the cost. Thus, biodiesel can
and the higher copper strip corrosion can be faced by the be more effective if used as oil for diverse energy sources.
people (Yaakob et al. 2013; Mahmudul et al. 2017). High
cost due to expensive feedstock is the main hurdle in the
development and smooth implementation of biodiesel (Mah- Environmental issues
mudul et al. 2017).
Use of biodiesel has remarkable impact to decline global
warming by reducing green-house gases. It also claims in
Limitation in cost‑effective biodiesel reducing the particulate matters from the atmosphere and
production also reduces smoke due to the presence of free soot. But,
it failed in reducing the concentration of N­ O2 due to the
Unavailability of sustainable feedstock and process presence of a greater amount of oxygen (Daud et al. 2015).
Biodiesel made from waste products or unwanted materi-
Prices of biodiesel are currently higher than the price of fos- als helps in managing the huge amount of waste collected
sil diesel thus it is of low significance (Mardhiah et al. 2017). in one way or the other, e.g., sewage sludge, microalgae
The biggest hindrance for biodiesel production is its high (Mulchandani and Westerhoff 2016; Agarwal et al. 2017;
production cost and limited availabilities of oil resources. Arazo et al. 2017). Nevertheless, it is very safe regarding
The major factors acting as a challenge in its production are the environment and human health.

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Socio‑economic issues Compliance with ethical standards 

When the technology was not much advanced and the only Conflict of interest  Authors of the manuscript declare there is no con-
flict of interests.
means to produce biodiesel was through the edible oils, it
had a negative impact on the livelihood of common peoples.
Excess use of edible oils leads to their excess supply and
thus raised the price. The increased cost of edible oils leads References
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