ABSTRACT
Biodiesel production has experienced an unprecedented slowdown worldwide over the past decade 2006 to 2017. The slowdown of biodiesel production is mainly due to the tone-down policy in major biodiesel countries in the EU, Germany, and France. Germany and France had been the two leading countries in biodiesel production in the world until 2010. Both countries produced 3.5 and 2.3 billion liters per year in 2010 whereas the US and Indonesia produced mere 1.3 and 0.75 billion liters per year, respectively. While the production in Germany and France has leveled off since 2010, the biodiesel productions in the US and Indonesia have exceeded the two leading countries in the EU to 5.9 and 3.7 billion liters per year. Current status of biodiesel policy is more or less unfavorable, and the production prospects are more limited due to the debate on the indirect land use change (ILUC) and the controversy of vegetable oil-based biodiesel’s impact on food security. However, as the demand for hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), of which waste and residue feedstocks account for a significant share, is expected to grow, the overall production of biodiesel is expected to grow worldwide including Germany and France.
This chapter presents the characteristics of biodiesel policy in different countries, development of biodiesel policy over the past decades, analysis of general trend, challenges and issues in biodiesel policy in the US and other countries in relation to the production of biodiesel.
