Glycerol is a byproduct of biodiesel synthesis by transesterification of triglycerides with short-chain alcohols in the presence of solid base catalysts. Because hydrotalcite is a potentially useful basic catalyst for the transesterification reaction, the interaction of glycerol with hydrotalcite is the focus of this work. Glycerol was intercalated into Mg-Al hydrotalcite with a Mg/Al molar ratio of 4 under elevated temperatures of 4432/503 K in the absence and presence of NaOH. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and N2 adsorption. The amount of glycerol incorporated into hydrotalcite increased with increasing temperature of intercalation. However, the brucite-like sheets of hydrotalcite partially decomposed during the intercalation process at the highest temperature. The presence of NaOH stabilized the hydrotalcite layers against decomposition under high temperature (503 K). The intercalated materials exposed large surface areas ranging from 142 to 663 m2 g−1, depending on the preparation conditions. The glycerol-intercalated hydrotalcites were less catalytically active than hydrotalcite with OH− counterions for the transesterification of tributyrin with methanol. The lower reactivity of glycerol-intercalated hydrotalcite was probably the result of a strong interaction between the intercalated glycerolate (HOCH2-CHOH-CH2O−) and the partially decomposed brucite-like sheets.

The spray characteristics significantly affected the combustion performance. The injection pressure and fuel properties are factors that affect the spray cone angle, penetration, and droplet distribution. Although substantial research has been conducted on spray attributes, understanding the complex biofuel spray dynamics in real nozzles and injectors is crucial. This study examines hydro-processed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) spray characteristics of used cooking oil and palm oil biodiesel in a constant-volume chamber. The study was performed by varying the injection pressures ranging from 30 to 120psi for pure fuels and Jet A-1 blends. Experiments were conducted at standard sea-level atmospheric pressure and an ambient temperature of ±297K using an airblast fuel injector. The initial fuel temperature was set at ±302K. Jet A-1 was used as the baseline fuel for the comparative analysis. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was employed to visualise the microscopic and macroscopic characteristics of the fuel spray. The results revealed a progressive increase in the penetration length corresponding to an increase in the injection pressure. Lower pressures yielded non-uniform particle distributions across the spray area, whereas cone angle augmentation stabilised at elevated pressures. A blend of 60% Jet A-1 and 40% HEFA closely matched Jet A-1 characteristics, indicating alternative aviation fuel potential. These real-time insights into spray behaviour are critical for enhancing the fuel efficiency and mitigating the generation of particulate emissions resulting from spray combustion.

We disentangle the effects of biodiesel incentives and shale oil expansion on the long-run equilibrium price relationships among biodiesel feedstocks and crude oil in the United States (US) and European Union (EU). We find that the 2005 Energy Policy Act in the US substantially increased the responsiveness of soy oil, canola oil, and corn oil prices to crude oil price movements. However, in recent years, expansion in the global supply of crude oil from shale oil extraction has offset the effects of US biodiesel incentives and blending mandates. In the EU, the Indirect Land Use Change Directive of 2015 substantially reduced the responsiveness of biodiesel feedstock prices to crude oil price movements.

The main physico-chemical properties of a new smectitic clay containing large amounts of amorphous material are reviewed and potential industrial applications of this type of clay are discussed. Due to a 34% amorphous material content (natural silica gel), the investigated clay has very high porosity and can be used as it is or in acid-impregnated form for oil bleaching or phosphate reduction in edible oil. In the field of biodiesel purification, the new clay can be used to remove, in particular, mono-, diglycerides and glycerol. The natural silica-smectite mixture is also suitable as a carrier for liquid ingredients, for example in animal feeds, and might serve as a partial or complete substitute for synthetic precipitated silicas. In the field of bioseparation processes, the clay can be used as an adsorbent for protein separation by means of cation exchange. Due to the suppressed swelling (compared with smectite alone), it can be packed in columns which can be regenerated.

The present work deals with the synthesis of kalsilite using material from a kaolinitic rock outcrop in Romana, Sassary Province, Sardinia, Italy.

The hydrothermal synthesis method required the dissolution of kaolin and Al(OH)3 in a KOH solution at a temperature of 190°C and 1.013 bar. Crystallization of kalsilite was confirmed at 12 h in association with kaliophilite H2 as a metastable phase.

The products of synthesis were fully characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance. The amorphous phase in the synthesis powders was estimated with quantitative phase analysis using the combined Rietveld and reference intensity ratio methods. Cell parameters and density were also calculated for the kalsilite. A potential application of kalsilite was investigated as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel synthesis from sunflower oil used for frying.

Peanuts are not often used as a true oilseed crop, especially for the production of fuel. However, peanut could be a feedstock for biodiesel, especially in on-farm or small cooperative businesses, where producers can dictate the cost of making their own fuel. Field studies were conducted in 2005 and 2006 to assess low-cost weed-control systems for peanuts that would facilitate the economic viability of peanut biodiesel. Four preselected herbicide costs ranging from $25 to $62/ha and two application timings were compared with nontreated ($0/ha) and typical ($115/ha) herbicide programs for weed control and peanut oil yield. A peanut oil yield goal of 930 L/ha was exceeded with multiple low-cost herbicide systems in 3 of 4 site–yr. The main effect of application timing was only significant for a single site–year in which oil yield increased linearly with cost of the PRE and POST weed-control system. An herbicide cost of $50/ha, using PRE and POST applications, was consistently among the highest in oil yield, regardless of site–year, exceeding the typical (high value) programs in 3 of 4 site–yr. Use of reduced rates of imazapic (0.5× or 0.035 kg ai/ha) was detrimental in 2 of 4 site–yr. Weed control, and thus oil yields, were most dependent on species present at each location and not on input price. Data from this series of studies will allow researchers and entrepreneurs to more accurately assess the viability and sustainability of peanut biodiesel.

Two seemingly unrelated topics are discussed—an outlook for biofuels in the southern United States, along with an overview of the important role that information technology is playing in the fuel ethanol industry. The outlook discussion is limited to issues involving the two principal biofuels, fuel ethanol and biodiesel, and their respective feed stocks, corn and soybean oil. The two topics are linked with a description of how information technology (IT) has enabled the development of the fuel ethanol franchise and a discussion of how IT is changing the very nature of biofuel operations.

Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are useful molecular markers allowing for efficient conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of plant species. Development of SSR marker system for new species is a very expensive task and time consuming. Cross-species amplification of microsatellite loci is considered as a cost-effective approach for developing microsatellite markers for new species. The aim of this work was to examine the transferability of some SSR markers of two Arecaceae species (Astrocaryum aculeatum and Elaeis oleifera), in Acrocomia aculeata. Out of the total markers analysed 44% of the markers successfully amplified the genomic DNA in A. aculeata, of which 26% were polymorphic detecting a range of three to eight alleles with an average of 4.5 per locus. High average percentage of polymorphic loci (P= 71.2%) per provenance was obtained within a range of 57–100% detecting genetic variation in A. aculeata germplasm collections. The polymorphic markers detected a positive inbreeding coefficient (F>0) per locus revealing heterozygote deficiency in the accessions that were analysed. As the cross-amplification was at family level, in which the taxonomic distance is relatively wider between the sources (A. aculeatum and E. oleifera) and the target (A. aculeata) species, the amplification success was relatively low. However, the results are promising and implicated that high cross-amplification success could be achieved at species or genus level in A. aculeata. The markers will contribute towards the domestication of the potential macaw palm through realizing various studies such as population genetics, germplasm characterization, genetic improvement and conservation.

This article presents current investment and operating costs of ethanol and biodiesel plants for alternative prices of feedstock. The price of these two fuels is estimated for alternative prices of crude oil with the existing renewable fuels policy. The excise tax credit, currently $0.51 per gallon of ethanol and $1.00 per gallon of biodiesel, is a major contributor to the fuel price and profitability of these industries. The analysis demonstrates how the crude oil price, feedstock price, and excise tax credits interact to impact profitability of these industries.

Analysis of the potential to supply 25% of projected 2025 U.S. transportation fuels indicates sufficient biomass resources are available to meet increased demand while simultaneously meeting food, feed, and export needs. Corn and soybeans continue to be important feedstocks for ethanol and biodiesel production, but cellulose feedstocks (agricultural crop residues, energy crops such as switchgrass, and forestry residues) will play a major role. Farm income increases, mostly because of higher crop prices. Increased crop prices increase the cost of producing biofuels.

We report on identification of core collection from 192 accessions collected from 12 Indian states and five other countries based on 109 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Pairwise Jaccard's similarity coefficient for accessions varied from 0.25 to 1 with a maximum genetic distance of 0.75 obtained between accessions Jc428 (from Mexico) and J204 (from Madurai, Tamil Nadu). Both UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method of Arithmetic Averages) clustering and principal coordinate analyses showed similar grouping of accessions in three major clusters in which Mexican accessions clustered separately from Indian, Chinese and African accessions. Results obtained from analysis of molecular variance indicated that 59% of the genetic variation was distributed among the populations, while 41% of variation was within the populations. A total of 16 (8.3% of the entire collection) core accessions were identified, which contained the entire allelic diversity of 192 accessions with respect to the sampled AFLP loci. The core accessions would be highly useful for future genetic improvement of Jatropha. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on identification of core accessions in Jatropha.

Five Euphorbiaceae species (Jatropha macrocarpa, J. hieronymi, J. excisa, Cnidoscolus tubulosus and Manihot guaranitica) were analysed for seed oil content and fatty acid profiles in order to evaluate their potential as sources of biodiesel. The five species are perennial shrubs adapted to arid and semi-arid environments of north-western Argentina. The seed oil content for all species ranged from 27.9 to 38.7% by dry weight. Fatty acid composition consisted mainly of linolenic, myristic, palmitic, stearic, arachidic, oleic and linoleic acids, with linoleic and oleic acid being the most abundant. Among the five species analysed, J. macrocarpa has the best potential to be used as a biodiesel source. The average total seed oil content (35.8%) and a high value of oleic acid (27.3%) together with the lowest values of linoleic acid (55.8%) make this species a promising crop as a source of biodiesel in arid and semi-arid regions.

Ethanol production started in the late 1970s in Brazil and some years later in the USA. In contrast to these two countries, EU member states concentrated on biodiesel production because of lower diesel prices and the constantly increasing number of diesel-engine-driven cars. After several years of moderate growth rates, biofuel production began to increase rapidly. This resulted in an increasing demand for arable land on which corn and oilcrops are cultivated for ethanol refineries and biodiesel plants. Perspectives of future biofuel production in the USA, the EU, Brazil, China, India, and several other countries in Southeast Asia show that the demand for arable land will further increase. This will not only lead to higher feed costs for the livestock and poultry industry but also to higher food costs. At the present moment, bio-energy production is not yet a threat to the egg industry, but it can be expected that the recent scenarios of a possible climate change until the end of this century will lead to a fast expansion of the bio-energy industry.

Meals prepared from low glucosinolate rapeseed screenings (SCREEN) and from seed which had heated during storage (HEAT) were compared against commercial rapeseed meal (COM) for feeding value. Oil, crude protein (CP) and acid-detergent insoluble nitrogen contents in SCREEN, HEAT and COM, respectively, were (g/kg): 118, 246 and 13; 227, 315 and 436; and 17, 64 and 21. in situ dry matter (DM) and protein disappearance rates, soluble protein fraction and effective rumen degradability of protein (EDCP) were lower (P < 0·05) in HEAT than in SCREEN or COM. Comparing oil-extracted meals in situ, EDCP of HEAT was lower (P < 0·05) than EDCP of SCREEN or COM but protein and DM disappearance rates of HEAT were only lower (P < 0·05) than those of SCREEN. Four isonitrogenous barley-based diets (150 g/kg CP, DM basis), containing SCREEN, HEAT, COM or COM supplemented with rapeseed oil (OIL), were given to lambs. For DM, organic matter and neutral-detergent fibre apparent digestibilities, the diets ranked SCREEN > HEAT = OIL > COM (P < 0·05). Digestion and retention of nitrogen were lower (P < 0·05) in lambs given HEAT than in lambs given other diets. Food efficiency of lambs given HEAT was improved (P < 0·05) as compared with lambs given SCREEN or COM. Dressing proportions were higher (P < 0·05) with HEAT, SCREEN and OIL diets than with COM. Other than minor changes in fatty acid composition of subcutaneous fat with HEAT and OIL, carcass traits were not altered by treatment. Feeding SCREEN or HEAT did not adversely affect animal performance or food utilization.