A review on supercritical fluids (SCF) technology in sustainable biodiesel production: Potential and challenges

In this review, the potential of supercritical fluids (SCF) as a sustainable route for biodiesel production was discussed and compared with conventional catalytic reactions. Although the advantages of catalyst-free SCF process are apparent, there are concerns regarding the huge energy required to conduct supercritical reaction at elevated temperature and pressure. Hence, there are challenges facing SCF process which need to be addressed before it could be a sustainable technology in the future. Therefore, in this article, the challenges were elaborated thoroughly and subsequently a few constructive recommendations were proposed which could improve the process and overcome these limitations. Consequently, SCF technology will become a sustainable technology for biodiesel production and ensuring energy security in the future. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.