The limitation of available sources for petroleum exploration is a strong motivation to focus on renewable energy.

An alternative to fossil diesel is the production of environmentally friendly biodiesel. According to European Commission regulations, by 2010 at least 5.75 percent of the annual fuel consumption in Europe will have to be substituted by renewable fuels like biodiesel. Biofuels have a great potential to decrease environmental pollution and improve emission behavior of engines.Only a small, well-informed public realizes that this alternative fuel can also be produced from other feedstocks, such as nonedible oils (or seed oils), used cooking oils, and animal fats. This aspect will become more and more important when seen in context with the latest developments on food and feeding safety. The fact is that the usage of biodiesel produced from used cooking oils is well-known to the public and its advantageous emission behavior compared to fossil diesel .

Biodiesel could be an excellent renewable fuel for diesel engines. Biodiesel is composed of long-chain fatty acids with an alcohol attached, often derived from vegetable oils. As the name implies, it is similar to diesel fuel except that it is produced from crops commonly grown in including oil palm, canola, soybean, sunflower and safflower. These crops are all capable of producing several gallons of fuel per acre that can power an unmodified diesel engine. It is produced through the reaction of a vegetable oil with methyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol in the presence of a catalyst or medium. Animal fats are another potential source for biodiesel. Commonly used catalysts are potassium hydroxide (KOH) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The chemical process is called transesterification which produces biodiesel and glycerin. Chemically, biodiesel is called methyl ester if the alcohol used is methanol. If ethanol is used, it is called ethyl ester. They are similar and currently, methyl ester is cheaper due to the lower cost for methanol. Biodiesel can be used in the pure form, or

blended in any amount with diesel fuel. After washing and filtering it is usable as an alternate renewable fuel.

The main differences between diesel fuel, ester fuel, and vegetable oil are the viscosity, cetane number and heat of ignition. The viscosity of a fuel is important because it affects the fuel being injected into the engine combustion chamber. A small fuel drop is desired to complete combustion. A high viscosity fuel, such as raw vegetable oil, will produce a larger drop of fuel in an engine combustion chamber which may not burn as clean as a fuel that produces a smaller drop. Unburned oxidized fuel will build up in the engine around valves, injector tips and on piston sidewalls and rings. Biodiesel has a viscosity much closer to diesel fuel than vegetable oil. This helps produce a much smaller drop, which burns cleaner.

Some vehicle manufacturers are positive about the use of biodiesel, citing lower engine wear as one of the benefits of this fuel. However, as biodiesel is a better solvent than standard diesel, it cleanse the engine, removing residue in the fuel lines, and this may cause blockages in the fuel injectors. For this reason, car manufacturers recommend that the fuel filter is changed a few months after switching to biodiesel.

Research sponsored by petroleum producers has found petroleum diesel to be better for car engines than biodiesel. This has been disputed by independent bodies, including for example the Volkswagen environmental awareness division, who note that biodiesel reduces engine wear. Biodiesel has also been noted to be linked to premature injection pump failures.

While many vehicles have been using biodiesel for many years without any effect, the connection between several cases of pump failure and biodiesel cannot be refuted. However pure biodiesel produced at home is in use by thousands of drivers who have not experienced failure. Biodiesel sold publicly is held to high standards set by national standards bodies and many conventional diesel car models have been certified to run on biodiesel.

Biomass plays a unique role in the dynamics of carbon flow in our biosphere. Carbon is biologically cycled when plants such as soybean crops convert atmospheric carbon dioxide to carbon-based compounds through photosynthesis. This carbon is eventually returned to the atmosphere as organisms consume the biological carbon compounds and respire. Biomassderived fuels reduce the net atmospheric carbon in two ways. First, they participate in the relatively rapid biological cycling of carbon to the atmosphere via engine tailpipe emissions and from the atmosphere -via photosynthesis. Second, they displace fossil fuels. Fossil fuel combustion releases carbon that took millions of years to be removed from the atmosphere whereas combustion of biomass fuels participates in a process that allows carbon dioxide to be rapidly recycled to fuel. The net effect of shifting from fossil fuels to biomass-derived fuels is thus to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Primary energy resources can almost completely be substituted by biodiesel production. Also, carbon dioxide balance is neutral for biodiesel from animal fat and plants, thus no major contribution to the greenhouse effect could be stated. Concerning emission behavior, the amount of particulate matter and concentration of carbon dioxide in the exhaust gases is even better for biodiesel than for fossil diesel . For all other evaluated criteria, biodiesel is at least comparable with fossil diesel.

Biodiesel can be distributed using today's infrastructure, and its use and production are increasing rapidly. Fuel stations are beginning to make biodiesel available to consumers, and a growing number of transport uses it as an additive in their fuel. Biodiesel is generally more expensive to purchase than petroleum diesel but this difference may diminish due to the increasing cost of petroleum and government tax subsidies. In some countries, biodiesel is generally cheaper than normal diesel at gas stations that sell both products.

Manufacturing diesel fuel from vegetable oil, recycled cooking grease or animal fat reduces the dependency on petroleum based oil, however, because of the number of variations in feedstock oils, their chemistry and the controls used in the manufacturing process, it costs more to produce biodiesel then regular diesel fuel. The chemistry involved in manufacturing biodiesel is uncomplicated and entails a single step transesterification reaction. Chemicals such as methyl alcohol and sodium hydroxide are used to convert the oil or fat feedstock to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). The major by-product glycerin is more polar and higher in density than the fatty acid methyl esters. This causes the glycerin to readily separate during the reaction. Glycerin can be easily removed from the biodiesel or fatty acid methyl esters once the reaction is complete. Because the process is relatively simple, numerous entrepreneurs all over the world make various biodiesel type fuels in their back yard and there are manufacturers of salad oils who have found it convenient to produce biodiesel as an added capability to their processes.

New jobs are created as a consequence of increased economic activity caused by biodiesel production. The increase in gross output (final demand) resulting from ongoing production and construction of new capacity would support the creation of new jobs in all

sectors of the economy in the future. These also include more jobs in making ethanol from grain produced by the farmers.Increased economic activity and new jobs would result in higher levels of income for Malaysian households. The production of ethanol will put an additional income into the pockets of farmers and consumers in the near future.

The biodiesel industry will more than pay for itself in 2020. The combination of increased output and GDP and higher income would generate tax revenue for government at all levels. The full impact of the annual operations of the biodiesel industry and spending for new construction will generate billions of tax revenue for the Federal government. In addition the biodiesel industry will generate billions of dollasrs of additional tax revenue for State and Local governments as well. Biodiesel could reduce our dependence on imported oil and trade deficit. The production and use of biodiesel displaces crude oil needed to manufacture gasoline. According to the government, our crude oil supplies and oil imports are the largest component of the expanding trade deficit. The production of biodiesel means that Malaysia need not to import barrels of oil in the future and the money possibly will stay in the Malaysian economy. In conclusion, operating diesel equipment on biodiesel is good for the environment and Malaysian economy. Biodiesel characteristically reduces engine friction and heat, and is biodegradable. Engines fueled with biodiesel blends will emit lower carbon dioxide , particulate, filth and hydrocarbons.

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