The production of biodiesel from castor oil as a potential feedstock and its usage in compression ignition Engine: A comprehensive review

Nowadays, energy consumption is growing increasingly in all sectors due to population growth and lifestyle enhancement. The increase in demand of petroleum-based fuels depends on need for energy consumption. The decreasing characterization of petroleum fuels and the growing nature of energy consumption have led to the researchers for finding alternative source of energy. Considering this, the use of alternative fuels such as biodiesel can be one of the possible solutions for future energy demand. The production of biodiesel is yet another solution for researchers in this context. Biodiesel is a non-toxic, biodegradable and renewable fuel which can be produced from animal fats, edible oils and their wastes by applying different methodologies. Contrary to the benefits, the cost of feedstock is the biggest disadvantage of biodiesel. Though it has the nature of the food, castor oil can be used as a feedstock for biodiesel production. This review paper has presented a detailed overview of castor oil, the physicochemical properties of castor oil and its biodiesel, the performance, emission and combustion characteristics of the castor oil biodiesel used diesel engine. The results of the review showed that the production of biodiesel from castor oil is possible, and literature observations have resulted in comparable fuel properties, engine performance and emission parameters with those of diesel. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Future Generation Functional Materials and Research 2020.