Types of Biodiesel

Some types of biodiesel are manufactured from specifically grown crops that would otherwise serve no purpose. Other types of biodiesel raise certain ethical issues because they are made from crops that are used as a food source. Alternatively there is biodiesel made from waste oil that has already been used in the manufacture of a product, normally food like crisps or from restaurants that use oil in fryers.

In Europe, the main source of biodiesel is rapeseed. Oil from jatropha (Jatropha curcas) nuts has been an increasingly important biodiesel oil source in tropical climates (Openshaw, 2000). Jatropha plants tolerate poor, degraded soils and are resistant to pest and disease. Jatropha plantations for biodiesel production have been started in India and in some African countries.

Palm (Elaeis guineensis) oil is one of the most cost effective biodiesel feedstocks. Palm oil biodiesel has been increasingly produced in Southeast Asia (in Malaysia and other countries) and in South America. Biodiesel from different sources show certain differences in properties caused by different chemical composition, for instance by a higher degree of saturation in animal fats. Most of existing biodiesel experience has been accumulated with Soya and Rapeseed (Majewski, 2005).