A review on the recent application of dimethyl carbonate in sustainable biodiesel production

Abstract

Major environmental concerns associated with climate change due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions have mandated the utilization of non-fossil fuels for a more sustainable environment. One of the widely recognized non-fossil fuel is biodiesel which has numerous advantages over fossil fuel. Major issues arising with biodiesel production is the expensive nature of the process which has hindered its sustainability. A suitable way of maximizing the economics of the production process is to avoid glycerol production which has become of low economic value due to its being over-surplus in the chemical industry market. The use of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) makes this possible with the production of glycerol carbonate (GC) which ensures a profitable biodiesel production process. This review discusses the various ways in which DMC has been used in biodiesel production, starting from its usefulness in in-situ transesterification and extraction processes to its application in supercritical and non-supercritical transesterification processes. It also investigates the recent coupling transesterification reaction and glycerol carbonate production processes involving DMC. There is the need for a detailed technoeconomic analysis of DMC-biodiesel to validate its economic potential in terms of production cost as well as ascertaining the efficiency and quality of the DMC-biodiesel in diesel engines.