ABSTRACT
The world petroleum reserve is nite. The current price for crude oil stays high because world demand for this limited resource is increasing. Petroleum is mostly used for producing fuel oil. However, approximately 10% to 15% of petroleum, by volume, is utilized as raw material for manufacture of lubricants, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, plastics, and other chemicals. Because petroleum is a nonrenewable resource, there is an urgent need to search for alternative and sustainable sources for these petrochemicals. Vegetable oils can be produced in a large scale with reasonable costs and have structures similar to petroleum. Therefore, plant seed oils represent the most promising resource (green oleochemicals) to replace petrochemicals.
