**Part 1**

**Feedstocks for Biodiesel Production** 

**1** 

 *Italy* 

**Non Edible Oils:** 

*Università degli Studi di Milano,* 

R1OCOCH3

R2OCOCH3

R3OCOCH3

ester) BIODIESEL

C.L. Bianchi et al.

**Raw Materials for Sustainable Biodiesel** 

In EU directive 2003/30/EC biodiesel is defined as "methyl ester produced from vegetable or animal oil, of diesel quality, to be used as biofuel". The more recent EU directive 2009/28/EC has set the targets of achieving, by 2020, a 20% share of energy from renewable energy sources in the EU's overall energy consumption and a 10% share of energy from renewable sources in each member State's transport energy consumption. In this context special consideration is paid to the role played by the development of a sustainable and

Nowadays most biodiesel is produced through triglycerides transesterification of edible oils with methanol, in the presence of an alkaline catalyst (Lotero et al., 2005). The so obtained product has low viscosity and is a biofuel (fatty methyl ester) that can replace petroleum-based diesel fuel with no need of engine modifications (Suwannakarn et al., 2005). Furthermore, if compared to fossil fuel, the formed ester fuels are non-toxic, safe to handle, and biodegradable

OH

Triglyceride Methanol Glycerine FAME (Fatty alkyl methyl

OH

OH

responsible biofuels production, with no impact on food chain.

OCOR2 3 CH3OH

Fig. 1. Transesterification of a trygliceride.

(Krawczyk, 1996). Glycerine is also obtained as by-product as shown in Fig. 1.

NaOH or KOH

or CH3ONa

 C. Pirola1, D.C. Boffito1, A. Di Fronzo1, G. Carvoli1, D. Barnabè2, R. Bucchi2 and A. Rispoli2 *1 Università degli Studi di Milano – Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica ed Elettrochimica, Milano, Italy,* 

**1. Introduction** 

OCOR3

*2 Agri2000 Soc. Coop., Bologna, Italy.*

 

OCOR1

*Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica ed Elettrochimica, Milano,* 
