The dependence of fossil fuel as a primary source of energy for domestic and industrial application by most countries of the world has lead to global climate changes, environmental degradation, and human health problems. Fossil fuels are the largest contributors of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere due mainly to their large use in transportation, electricity and thermal energy generation. The environment becomes more negatively impacted as a result of increased global consumption of fossil fuel. These gases are responsible for global warming and other negative effects to the ecosystem such as the reduction of dissolved oxygen in oceans, melting of ice caps and glaciers, the death of coral reefs and drought.
Worldwide concern and effort have, however, begun in the development of renewable and more economically viable alternative fuel sources in order to cut down dependence on fossil fuel as a primary source of energy for domestic and industrial uses. Some of these alternative and renewable sources of energy include solar energy, hydroelectric power, fuel cells, wind power, and biofuels.
Bio-ethanol and biodiesel are the two well-known biofuels derived from agricultural crops and product. Although bio-ethanol is made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates, biodiesel fuels thaare made of a mono-alkyl ester of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats. Biodiesel is nontoxic, biodegradable, produced from renewable sources and contributes a minimal amount of net greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and NO2.Thus biodiesel may be considered as a very good and promising alternative source of energy.
The current feedstock of biodiesel production is a vegetable oil, animal fat and microalgal oil. Vegetable oils currently being used as sustainable commercial feedstock oil for the production biodiesel includes sunflower oil, soybean oil peanut oils, coconut oil, palm-kernel oil and fried oil. Most of these oils used so far for the production of biodiesel are edible oils, expensive and may thus be counterproductive if used in large scale for the production of biodiesel. Thus a dependence on the production of biodiesel from edible oils expensive and may thus be counterproductive if used in large scale for the production of biodiesel.Thus a dependence on the production of biodiesel from edible oils will result in a scarcity of food for man and livestock. This consideration has necessitated the use of non-edible oils from cheap sources such as waste.
