Biodiesel – An Integrated Approach for a Highly Efficient Biofuel

There are two clear and pressing drivers for the development of renewable fuel sources: peak extraction of fossil fuel oil and global climate. Biofuels, including biodiesel, can help manage both. While ethanol from sugar (largely sugar cane) and from starch (largely corn) can provide an important fuel source for light surface vehicles, it is not suitable for long-haul heavy transport or the aerospace sector. Although oil content is a complex trait, marker-assisted plant breeding and focused molecular genetics can increase the oil yield per hectare and could lead to development of plants producing hydrocarbons directly utilizable in biodiesel, in addition, the development of low-input systems, able to rely on bio-inputs (biofertilizers and biochar) and less on energy-intensive chemical inputs, can improve the energy ratio of biodiesel production (yield of bioenergy per unit input of fossil fuel energy) and allow production of biodiesel feedstocks on what are currently poorer soils. The development of improved chemical or biological methods for converting the oils produced can lead to more efficient production of biodiesel. Although properties such as cloud point and the emissions from engines utilizing biodiesel must be better understood, biodiesel can be used as an effective transport fuel.