Abstract
The concerns on climate change, the high energy prices and the dwindling oil reserves and supplies have necessitated a strong interest in the research for alternative fuel sources. Biodiesel is an alternative renewable fuel that has gained massive attention in recent years. Studies on the physical properties of biodiesel have shown that it is completely miscible with petroleum diesel. Since the combustion of biodiesel emits particulate matter and gases which is lower than Petro diesel, combustion of biodiesel and biodiesel blends have shown a significant reduction in particulate matter and exhaust emissions. In this review paper, the use of pure biodiesel or biodiesel blends in terms of performance and exhaust emissions has been studied in comparison to petroleum diesel.
Keywords: biodiesel, transesterification, performance, exhaust emissions, Petro diesel.