Why the term “biodiesel” rather than a specific, scientific chemical name?
Biodiesel is produced from the fatty acid molecules found in numerous feedstock oils such as plant, animal, and recycled cooking oils. The chemical reaction that yields this biofuel is relatively similar between the use of various oil feedstocks and whether methanol or ethanol are used as a co-reactant. The chemical composition of the biodiesel produced, however, is much different. For example, cuphea (koo-FEE-uh) oil has short-chain esters and as a result, the biodiesel produced from this feedstock has shorter chains and reduced viscosity as compared to biodiesel made from soybean oil. Of equal importance, biodiesel chemical composition will be different based on which type of alcohol the oil reacts with: methanol or ethanol. When analyzing all the different types of oil from which biodiesel can be made, the potential use of either methanol or ethanol, and even the subtle variety of chemical composition of the fatty acid molecules within one specific feedstock, it is not possible to i
