Journal of Energy Bioscience 2025, Vol.16, No.2, 75-84 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/jeb 75 Research Insight Open Access Optimizing Rapeseed Oil Yield for Sustainable Biodiesel Production Tianxia Guo1 , Kaiwen Liang 2 1 Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China; 2 Agri-Products Application Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding email: tianxia.guo@cuixi.org Journal of Energy Bioscience, 2025, Vol.16, No.2 doi: 10.5376/jeb.2025.16.0008 Received: 03 Feb., 2025 Accepted: 09 Mar., 2025 Published: 24 Mar., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Guo and Liang, 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: Guo T.X., and Liang K.W., 2025, Optimizing rapeseed oil yield for sustainable biodiesel production, Journal of Energy Bioscience, 16(2): 75-84 (doi: 10.5376/jeb.2025.16.0008) Abstract Rapeseed oil is a potential renewable energy source and plays an important role in the development of sustainable fuels. Improving the efficiency of biodiesel production is most important to increase rapeseed oil yield. This study hopes to find ways to increase rapeseed oil yield and biodiesel production efficiency. In our study, we compared the effects of rainwater planting and irrigation planting of rapeseed, and found that when the use of irrigation water, electricity and fungicides is reduced, and the use of certain fertilizers and diesel is increased, the rapeseed yield can be increased by 24.55%. This study analyzed and compared different fertilization methods. The use of high doses of compound fertilizers can not only increase the yield of rapeseed oil, but also increase the final biodiesel yield. Moreover, the quality of biodiesel produced by refined rapeseed oil can meet European standards. The article analyzed various factors that may affect the final yield of biodiesel, including genetic and environmental factors. The result is that the higher the efficiency of photosynthesis, the higher the yield of rapeseed oil. In order to improve the yield and quality of biodiesel, the researchers used a variety of technologies, including ultrasound-assisted and base-catalyzed transesterification. When these technologies are used under ideal conditions, the yield of biodiesel can reach 97.5%. Keywords Rapeseed oil; Biodiesel production; Exergy analysis; Fertilization systems; Transesterification optimization 1 Introduction Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is a globally important energy crop due to its high oil content and low cost of cultivation. Rapeseed is grown in many parts of the world for edible oil, animal feed, and biodiesel production (Abbadi and Leckband, 2011; Xiong et al., 2022). The cultivar “00” (also known as “canola” or “rapeseed oil”) has important uses in both food and non-food applications, such as biofuels (Abbadi and Leckband, 2011). In some places with suitable climates, such as Iran, improved varieties, such as TERI (OE) R-983, have shown good performance in biodiesel production (Almasi et al., 2019). Rapeseed has a high oil yield and good quality, making it an ideal feedstock for biodiesel, a clean energy source produced from renewable feedstocks. The production and combustion process of biodiesel has less adverse impact on the environment and is an excellent alternative to fossil fuels (Lovasz et al., 2023; Tanner et al., 2023). The key to enhancing the sustainability of biodiesel is to increase the yield of rapeseed. The higher the oil content of rapeseed, the more efficient it is in producing biodiesel. Large-scale production and use of biodiesel can reduce dependence on pesticides, fertilizers, water, etc., and reduce environmental pollution. Rashid and Anwar (2008) and Santaraite et al. (2020) successfully improved the oil yield of rapeseed and the quality of biodiesel by adjusting fertilization methods, reaction conditions and processing methods. In 2023, Lovasz's team used compound fertilizers to significantly increase the yield and oil content of rapeseed, which can meet the increasing demand for biodiesel. In addition to planting methods, improving processing technology is also important. Some new technologies in recent years (such as "ultrasound-assisted transesterification" and "in situ transesterification") can make the production of biodiesel more efficient and more environmentally friendly (Almasi et al., 2019; Santaraite et al., 2020). This study hopes to summarize several important factors that affect rapeseed oil production and find ways to optimize these factors to make the biodiesel production process more efficient and environmentally friendly. We
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