Biodiesel can be produced from oils or fats through transesterification in the pres­ence of catalyst and alcohol. However, this conventional method faced several dif­ficulties. This includes the use of excess alcohol to push the chemical equilibrium of transesterification towards fatty acid alkyl esters formation and extreme operating conditions, especially for those involving heterogeneous catalyst.

Advances in processes and technologies are studied to address these barriers to ensure more sustainable and enhanced production efficiency. The development of advanced technologies to improve the processes and contribute towards more effective biodiesel production is discussed in the following subsections.

Figure 9.6 shows some of the novel processes that have been applied for improv­ing the efficiency of biodiesel process.