Biodiesel synthesis in microreactors

As a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel, biodiesel has been widely produced and its demand will continue to grow globally. Innovative technologies and process integration are needed to produce biodiesel in an energy efficient way. The application of microreactors on biodiesel production, may provide a solution for this purpose, for short residence times, high production efficiency and low operating cost and energy consumption in biodiesel production via transesterification. This review provides an overview on the current status of research on biodiesel synthesis in microreactors, including the types of microreactors used in biodiesel production, the main factors influencing biodiesel synthesis in microreactors, the types of catalysts used, and application of the microfluidic technique in the purification of biodiesel. Some issues to be considered for commercialization of this technique are discussed.