Biodiesel fuel is made from vegetable fats and oils; and animal fats. The vegetable fats and oils are obtained from oilseed plants such as rapeseed/canola and soya bean; jatropha (in India); palm oil seeds. Animal fats are rendered tissue fats obtained from animals.

The oil seeds are crushed and squeezed, taking out the oil and disposing off the press cake. The canola or soya oil is then mixed with methanol and yeast to produce biodiesel and glycerin.

Environmental Events

From Wastes:

Biodiesel can also be obtained from reuse of wastes meant to be discarded, ordinarily, such as:

waste vegetable Oil (WVO),
agro-industry residues/wastes (such as slaughterhouse waste)
non-food-grade virgin oil
agricultural surplus
tall oil (derived as a by-product of pulp and paper processing) and
fish oil.

Biodiesel production from recycled wastes are common for small scale productions. For large scale or commercial productions, vegetable oils obtained from oilseed plants are used.

For in-depth discussion on ethanol feedstock, we recommend that you get a copy of Clean Energy Fuels a book written by Dr. Dele Morakinyo one of the contributors to EnvironBusiness.com.