Biodiesel is a low-carbon and environmentally friendly green energy
Biofuel mainly includes fuel ethanol, biodiesel, aviation biofuel, etc., with an average annual compound growth rate of 4.1%. Biodiesel is divided into fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and hydrogenated oil (HVO/HEFA) according to the structure. In a narrow sense, biodiesel refers to fatty acid methyl ester/ethyl ester. (PME), rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME), waste edible oil methyl ester (UCOME), microbial fatty acid methyl ester, etc. The main producing areas of biodiesel are the United States, the European Union, Brazil, Argentina, and Indonesia.
Generalized biodiesel is divided into fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO)
According to the preparation process, it can be divided into the first generation biodiesel (FAME) with fatty acid methyl ester as the main component and the second generation biodiesel (HVO) obtained after hydrogenation and isomerization. The first generation of biodiesel has mature technology and low cost, currently accounting for more than 85%. According to the characteristics of the reaction, it can be divided into acid or base catalysis, biological enzymatic and supercritical methods, among which acid or base catalysis is currently used more commonly. . Overseas, vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil and soybean oil are used to prepare biodiesel. The content of free fatty acids is very low. One-step alkali-catalyzed esterification is mainly used. The main components of domestic waste oils are the mixture of fatty acids and glycerides, and the fatty acid content is between 5% and 80%. %, the fatty acid must be removed or pre-esterified with an acidic catalyst, and then transesterified with a basic catalyst to produce biodiesel. The main component structure of the second-generation biodiesel is basically the same as that of ordinary diesel. It has similar viscosity and calorific value as diesel, lower density, higher cetane number, lower sulfur content, good stability, and is in line with the development of clean fuels. direction. But the cost and price are higher than the first generation biodiesel.
Rapid growth in global biodiesel demand
In 2020, the global biodiesel production was 42.9 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%. In terms of origin, the European Union is the world's largest biodiesel producing region, accounting for about 30% of its output, while Indonesia is the world's largest producer, accounting for about 19% of its output. From the perspective of raw material structure, palm oil is the largest raw material source of biodiesel, accounting for about 39%, soybean oil and rapeseed oil account for 25% and 15% respectively, and waste oil and fat biodiesel only accounts for 10%.
