The current scenario and challenges of biodiesel production in Asian countries: A review

This paper reviews the current status of biodiesel and discusses the challenges and prospects of biodiesel in Asian countries. Despite the benefits by biodiesel, the widely used biodiesel in Asian countries was still low compared to petrodiesel because of several issues including high feedstock cost, insufficient feedstocks, high viscosity of biodiesel, and high emission in nitrogen oxides (NO_x). It was found that Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand used palm oil as the main feedstocks for biodiesel production, suggesting the need for other alternative resources. In the future, intensive studies are recommended to explore the fourth generation biofuel since it has the potential to modify existing biological pathways to improve biofuel both quantitatively and qualitatively, potentially providing better economic performance and yield production rate.