ABSTRACT
The majority of the world's energy needs are supplied through petrochemical sources, coal, and natural gases; these sources are finite and at current usage rates will be entirely consumed sooner or later. The high energy demand in the industrialized world as well as in the developing countries and pollution problems caused due to the widespread use of fossil fuels make it increasingly necessary to develop renewable energy sources of limitless duration and with smaller environmental impacts than the traditional ones. Despite the widespread use of fossil petroleum-derived diesel fuels, interest in vegetable oils as fuels in internal combustion engines was reported in several countries during the 1920s and 1930s, and later during World War II. Throughout the 1990s, plants were opened in many European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany, and Sweden. Biodiesel can be produced from any material that contains fatty acids, either bonded to other molecules or present as free molecules.
