Journal of Energy Bioscience 2025, Vol.16, No.5, 216-226 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/jeb 219 4.4 Regional differences in rapeseed oil biodiesel performance In Europe, rapeseed oil is the main raw material for biodiesel. It has good fuel performance and emission performance, so it is widely used in the transportation field (Aldhaidhawi et al., 2017; Konur, 2021). In Asia and North America, due to differences in climate, raw material supply and policies, the promotion situation and performance also vary. For example, in low-temperature areas, special attention needs to be paid to the improvement of fuel fluidity (Stiemicek et al., 2010; Brock et al., 2018). In China and Canada, the application of rapeseed oil biodiesel is gradually increasing, and local standards and technologies are also constantly improving (Latypov et al., 2021). 5 Comparative Study Framework 5.1 Criteria for comparison: yield, production cost, lifecycle emissions, environmental impact In research, several core criteria are often used to compare rapeseed oil biodiesel. First is the yield. Under optimized transesterification conditions, the yield of rapeseed oil biodiesel can exceed 99%, which is higher than that of sunflower oil and waste oil (Solis et al., 2017; Rezki et al., 2020; Khan et al., 2023; Makareviecien et al., 2023) (Figure 1). The yield is affected by the type of catalyst, alcohol-oil ratio and reaction time. The second is the production cost. The use of solid base, enzyme or carbon-based catalysts, along with process improvements such as continuous reactors and nano-catalysts, can help reduce costs (Hasannia et al., 2024; Gulcan et al., 2025). However, compared with low-cost raw materials such as waste oil, the raw material cost of rapeseed oil is still relatively high (Rezki et al., 2020). In terms of emissions, rapeseed oil biodiesel can significantly reduce CO and PM when burned, but NOx and CO2 are slightly higher than diesel (Buyukkaya, 2010; Kumar et al., 2024). From the perspective of life cycle assessment, the planting process, the use of chemical fertilizers and oil extraction all have a significant impact on the carbon footprint (Mikulski et al., 2020; Lovasz et al., 2023; Nasrollahzadeh et al., 2023). As for environmental impacts, reasonable fertilization and irrigation management can increase yields and also reduce environmental burdens. The treatment of by-products during the production process, such as the utilization of glycerol and catalyst recovery, can also affect the overall environmental friendliness. 5.2 Strengths and limitations of rapeseed oil relative to alternatives The advantages of rapeseed oil biodiesel are its high oil yield, appropriate fatty acid composition and good fuel quality. However, its raw material cost is relatively high, it requires a large amount of cultivated land, its NOx emissions are slightly higher, and its low-temperature fluidity is also average. Overall, rapeseed oil biodiesel is better than soybean oil and sunflower oil in terms of yield, fuel performance and oxidation stability, but inferior to palm oil and some waste oils in terms of raw material cost and low-temperature performance (Buyukkaya, 2010; Rezki et al., 2020; Khan et al., 2023; Kumar et al., 2024). 5.3 Current trends in breeding and genetic modification for oil quality improvement At present, there are mainly several directions for improving the quality of rapeseed oil. One is to cultivate varieties with high oleic acid and low erucic acid, which can improve the stability and performance of the fuel. The common methods are traditional breeding and molecular marker techniques (Lovasz et al., 2023; Nasrollahzadeh et al., 2023). Another direction is to enhance stress resistance and high yield, such as by using root-promoting bacteria, organic fertilizers or water-saving irrigation to increase yield and oil quality, while reducing the use of chemical fertilizers to achieve more sustainable production. And then there is genetic engineering. Regulating the synthetic pathway of fatty acids through gene editing can further optimize the composition of oils and fats, making them more suitable for biodiesel production. 6 Case Study: Rapeseed Oil Biodiesel in Practice 6.1 Context: select a country or region with large rapeseed production (e.g., Germany, China, Canada) Germany is one of the countries with the highest rapeseed production in the world. Rapeseed oil accounts for approximately 80% of the biofuel market in Europe (Gupta et al., 2022). The abundant rapeseed resources provide a reliable raw material base for Germany's biodiesel industry (Konur, 2021; Gupta et al., 2022).
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