ARS | Publication request: Biodiesel production, properties and selected alternative oilseed feedstocks: Camelina and field pennycress

Submitted to: Biofuels
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: February 7, 2012
Publication Date: March 8, 2012
Citation: Moser, B.R. 2012. Biodiesel production, properties and selected alternative oilseed feedstocks: Camelina and field pennycress. Biofuels. 3:193-209.

Technical Abstract: Biodiesel, defined as mono-alkyl esters derived from plant oils or animal fats, is an environmentally attractive alternative to conventional petroleum diesel fuel (petrodiesel). Produced by transesterification with a monohydric alcohol, usually methanol, biodiesel possesses several technical advantages over petrodiesel, such as inherent lubricity, low toxicity, positive energy balance, derivation from renewable and domestic feedstocks, superior flash point and biodegradability, negligible sulfur and aromatics content, and lower overall exhaust emissions. Important disadvantages include high feedstock cost, inferior storage, and oxidative stability, lower volumetric energy content, inferior low temperature operability and, in some cases, higher NOx exhaust emissions. This review covers biodiesel standards, production of biodiesel and optimum reaction conditions, the influence of free fatty acids on production, the influence of composition on fuel properties, and traditional feedstocks. A particular emphasis is placed on the alternative feedstocks camelina (Camelina sativa) and field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) as promising non-food candidates with high oil contents that would not displace existing agricultural production and would flourish in temperate climates.