Parametric sensitivity in transesterification of waste cooking oil for biodiesel production—A review

Methods of pretreatment and transesterification of waste cooking oils (WCOs) to yield fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) qualitatively comparable with fossil diesel fuels have been discussed. The effect of different operating and processing variables viz. reaction temperature, molar ratio of alcohol to oil, the type of alcohol used, type of catalyst used and its concentration, reaction time, presence of moisture and free fatty acids (FFA) content on transesterification and different pretreatment procedures have been thoroughly reviewed. The recent advancements involving both esterification and transesterification for enhancing the overall yield of biodiesel have been discussed.