Journal of Energy Bioscience 2024, Vol.15, No.6, 368-377 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/jeb 368 Research Insight Open Access Optimizing Rapeseed Oil Yield for Sustainable Biodiesel Production Wenzhong Huang - Biomass Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding email: wenzhonghuang@gmail.com Journal of Energy Bioscience, 2024, Vol.15, No.6 doi: 10.5376/jeb.2024.15.0031 Received: 17 Oct., 2024 Accepted: 26 Nov., 2024 Published: 09 Dec., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Huang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Huang W.Z., 2024, Optimizing rapeseed oil yield for sustainable biodiesel production, Journal of Energy Bioscience, 15(6): 368-377 (doi: 10.5376/jeb.2024.15.0031) Abstract Rapeseed oil yield optimization is crucial for sustainable biodiesel production, as rapeseed oil has great potential as a renewable energy source. This study explored various approaches to improve rapeseed oil yield and biodiesel production efficiency. Exergy analysis was used to identify energy losses and optimize rain-fed and irrigated production systems, and the results showed that reducing irrigation water, electricity, and pesticides while increasing fertilizer and diesel usage could increase yield by 24.55%. The results of the fertilization system showed that high doses of compound fertilizers significantly increased rapeseed oil and oil yields, and refined rapeseed oil biodiesel could reach European standards. Genetic and environmental factors affecting rapeseed yield were analyzed, emphasizing the importance of photosynthetic efficiency and special ecological environments such as the Qinghai Plateau for high yields. Multiple optimization techniques such as ultrasound-assisted and base-catalyzed transesterification were applied to improve biodiesel yield and quality, with a yield of 97.5% under optimal conditions. The integration of renewable energy sources such as solar collectors further reduced production costs and fossil energy consumption. This integrated approach highlights the potential of optimizing rapeseed oil production for sustainable biodiesel, which can help improve environmental benefits and ensure energy security. Keywords Rapeseed oil; Biodiesel production; Exergy analysis; Fertilization systems; Transesterification optimization 1 Introduction Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is a valuable crop for biodiesel production due to its high oil content and excellent agronomic characteristics. As one of the most important oil crops in the world, rapeseed is widely grown for the production of edible oil, animal feed, and increasingly for biodiesel (Abbadi and Leckband, 2011; Xiong et al., 2022). The development of 00-type rapeseed (i.e., "double-low rapeseed", also known as rapeseed oil) has greatly enhanced its potential for application in food and non-food markets, including biofuels (Abbadi and Leckband, 2011). In regions with suitable climatic conditions, such as Iran, optimized genotypes (such as TERI (OE) R-983) have shown great potential for biodiesel production (Almasi et al., 2019). Rapeseed oil is high in yield and excellent in quality, making it a preferred feedstock for biodiesel. Biodiesel is a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels that can be produced from renewable resources (Lovasz et al., 2023; Tanner et al., 2023). Crude oil has long been the main source of energy and fuel, and is widely used in the production of traditional fuels such as petroleum diesel. However, since the 1970s, people have become increasingly concerned about the sustainability of crude oil resources, its price fluctuations, and its negative impact on the environment. Influenced by this, bio-oil and its derived biodiesel fuel have gradually become potential substitutes for crude oil and petroleum diesel in recent years. Although petroleum diesel is still widely used, the application of biodiesel in fields such as transportation and electricity is continuing to expand. In particular, the first generation of biodiesel based on edible oil has aroused great public interest. Among them, rapeseed oil-based biodiesel (ROBD) has become one of the most widely used edible oil-based biodiesel fuels due to its high production and market share (Rashid and Anwar, 2008; Almasi et al., 2019). This research aims to explore and optimize the various factors that affect rapeseed oil yield to improve the sustainability of biodiesel production. The main objectives include evaluating the effects of different agricultural practices (such as fertilization and genotype selection) on rapeseed yield and oil content. In addition, advanced
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