Palm Oil Biodiesel: Unlocking a Sustainable Energy Alternative to Fossil Fuels for a Greener Future

Article Sidebar

PDF

Section

Review Article

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): In Progress

How to Cite

Majumdar, D., Chaturvedi, O. P., Kar, S., Kundu, K., RoyChowdhury, A., Hati, D., & Hossain, K. (2026). Palm Oil Biodiesel: Unlocking a Sustainable Energy Alternative to Fossil Fuels for a Greener Future. Synthetic Ecological Engineering, 2(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.65773/see.2.1.131

Main Article Content

Authors

Dristi Majumdar
Department of Environmental Science, Asutosh College, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Om Prakash Chaturvedi
Department of Technology, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India
Sayanti Kar*
Department of Environmental Science, Asutosh College, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Krishnendu Kundu
CSIR-CMERI (Centre of Excellence for Farm Machinery), West Bengal, India
Abhishek RoyChowdhury
Natural and Applied Sciences Department, Bentley University, Waltham, MA, USA
Dipsita Hati
Department of Environmental Science, Asutosh College, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Kaizar Hossain*
Department of Environmental Science, Asutosh College, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Biodiesel has gained popularity in the last decade and is claimed to be an important weapon to combat the climate crisis. Many sources, such as Jatropha, soybean, karanja, canola, etc., have been identified for biodiesel production. This study aimed to discover the potential of Elaeis guineensis (Oil palm) as a promising alternative for biodiesel production. The study's main objective was to find out the potential of oil palm as a biodiesel feedstock. The biodiesel industry's market price and profit margin have also been considered for this study. The net energy ratio of biodiesel has been calculated by life cycle analysis (LCA). The result showed that oil palm is an economically viable choice of biodiesel feedstock. Oil palm biodiesel showed an average net energy ratio (NER) of 3; for Jatropha, canola, and soybean, the values are 4.7, 2.175, and 3.225, respectively. Internationally, pure-grade biodiesel, marked B99/B100, is priced at 4.30 USD/gallon. Industrially, with implementation of sustainable approaches in the production process, a profit of 1.08 USD/gallon (>22% of the production cost) is attainable. Understanding the current issues and approaching them with research-based alternatives might eradicate the present issues and make biodiesel into a viable alternative to fossil fuels. 

Keywords:
biofuel policy, cost analysis, LCA, life cycle analysis, net energy ratio, oil palm

Article Details

References

[1]Ma X, Fu Q. The Influence of Financial Development on Energy Consumption: Worldwide Evidence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020, Vol 17, Page 1428 2020;17:1428. https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH17041428

[2]Kumar A, Kumar K, Kaushik N, Sharma S, Mishra S. Renewable energy in India: Current status and future potentials. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2010;14:2434–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2010.04.003

[3]Liu J, Huang J, Chen F. Microalgae as Feedstocks for Biodiesel Production. In: Stoytcheva M, Montero G, editors. Biodiesel: Feedstocks and Processing Technologies, Rijeka, Croatia: InTech; 2011, p. 78. https://doi.org/10.5772/25600

[4]Ramachandra T V., Durga Madhab M, Shilpi S, Joshi N V. Algal biofuel from urban wastewater in India: Scope and challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2013;21:767–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.12.029

[5]Kumar S, Bhattacharyya B, Gupta VK. Present and Future Energy Scenario in India. Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series B 2014 95:3 2014;95:247–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40031-014-0099-7

[6]Kumar JCR, Majid MA. Renewable energy for sustainable development in India: current status, future prospects, challenges, employment, and investment opportunities. Energy Sustain Soc 2020;10:2-. https://doi.org/10.1186/S13705-019-0232-1

[7]Lyu G, Wu S, Zhang H. Estimation and comparison of bio-oil components from different pyrolysis conditions. Front Energy Res 2015;3:137763. https://doi.org/10.3389/FENRG.2015.00028/TEXT

[8]Ruan R, Zhang Y, Chen P, Liu S, Fan L, Zhou N, et al. Biofuels: Introduction. In: Pandey A, Larroche C, Dussap C-G, Gnansounou E, Khanal SK, Ricke S, editors. Biomass, Biofuels, Biochemicals: Biofuels: Alternative Feedstocks and Conversion Processes for the Production of Liquid and Gaseous Biofuels. 2nd ed., Academic Press; 2019, p. 3–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816856-1.00001-4

[9]Kim JY, Jung JM, Jung S, Park YK, Tsang YF, Lin KYA, et al. Biodiesel from microalgae: Recent progress and key challenges. Prog Energy Combust Sci 2022;93:101020. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PECS.2022.101020

[10]Stolecka K, Rusin A. Potential hazards posed by biogas plants. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2021;135:110225. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2020.110225

[11]Prakash O, Kumar A, Pandey A, Kumar A, Laguri V. A Review on Biogas Plant. International Journal of New Technologies in Science and Engineering 2015;2:84–93

[12]Alston SM, Arnold JC. Environmental Impact of Pyrolysis of Mixed WEEE Plastics Part 2: Life Cycle Assessment. Environ Sci Technol 2011;45:9386–92. https://doi.org/10.1021/ES2016654

[13]Kumar S, Chaube A, Jain SK. Critical review of jatropha biodiesel promotion policies in India. Energy Policy 2012;41:775–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENPOL.2011.11.044

[14]Uddin MR, Ferdous K, Mondal SK, Khan MR, Islam MA. Preparation of Biodiesel From Karanja (Pongamia Pinnata) Oil. Journal of Chemical Engineering 2017;29:24–8. https://doi.org/10.3329/JCE.V29I1.33815

[15]Singh D, Sharma D, Soni SL, Inda CS, Sharma S, Sharma PK, et al. A comprehensive review of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil and its use as fuel in compression ignition engines: 3rd generation cleaner feedstock. J Clean Prod 2021;307:127299. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2021.127299

[16]Dwivedi G, Verma P, Sharma MP. Optimization of Storage Stability for Karanja Biodiesel Using Box–Behnken Design. Waste Biomass Valorization 2016;9:645–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/S12649-016-9739-2

[17]Mekhilef S, Siga S, Saidur R. A review on palm oil biodiesel as a source of renewable fuel. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2011;15:1937–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2010.12.012

[18]Pleanjai S, Gheewala SH. Full chain energy analysis of biodiesel production from palm oil in Thailand. Appl Energy 2009;86:S209–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APENERGY.2009.05.013

[19]Castanheira ÉG, Freire F. Environmental life cycle assessment of biodiesel produced with palm oil from Colombia. Int J Life Cycle Assess 2016;22:587–600. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11367-016-1097-6

[20]Hassan MNA, Jaramillo P, Griffin WM. Life cycle GHG emissions from Malaysian oil palm bioenergy development: The impact on transportation sector’s energy security. Energy Policy 2011;39:2615–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENPOL.2011.02.030

[21]Ramirez-Contreras NE, Munar-Florez DA, Garcia-Nuñez JA, Mosquera-Montoya M, Faaij APC. The GHG emissions and economic performance of the Colombian palm oil sector; current status and long-term perspectives. J Clean Prod 2020;258:120757. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2020.120757

[22]Chen R, Qin Z, Han J, Wang M, Taheripour F, Tyner W, et al. Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission effects of biodiesel in the United States with induced land use change impacts. Bioresour Technol 2018;251:249–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2017.12.031

[23]Maharjan S, Wang WC, Teah HY. Life cycle assessment of palm-derived biodiesel in Taiwan. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 2016 19:4 2016;19:959–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10098-016-1290-0

[24]Fowler D, Nemitz E, Misztal P, di Marco C, Skiba U, Ryder J, et al. Effects of land use on surface–atmosphere exchanges of trace gases and energy in Borneo: comparing fluxes over oil palm plantations and a rainforest. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2011;366:3196–209. https://doi.org/10.1098/RSTB.2011.0055

[25]Kumar S, Singh J, Nanoti SM, Garg MO. A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of Jatropha biodiesel production in India. Bioresour Technol 2012;110:723–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2012.01.142

[26]Yee KF, Tan KT, Abdullah AZ, Lee KT. Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel: Revealing facts and benefits for sustainability. Appl Energy 2009;86:S189–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APENERGY.2009.04.014

[27]Huang GH, Chen F, Wei D, Zhang XW, Chen G. Biodiesel production by microalgal biotechnology. Renew. Energy, vol. 3, Routledge: Taylor and Francis; 2018, p. 378–95. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315793245-106

[28]Siregar K, Tambunan AH, Irwanto AK, Wirawan SS, Araki T. A Comparison of Life Cycle Assessment on Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) and Physic Nut (Jatropha curcas Linn.) as Feedstock for Biodiesel Production in Indonesia. Energy Procedia 2015;65:170–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EGYPRO.2015.01.054

[29]Yang J, Xu M, Zhang X, Hu Q, Sommerfeld M, Chen Y. Life-cycle analysis on biodiesel production from microalgae: Water footprint and nutrients balance. Bioresour Technol 2011;102:159–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2010.07.017

[30]Dave A, Huang Y, Rezvani S, McIlveen-Wright D, Novaes M, Hewitt N. Techno-economic assessment of biofuel development by anaerobic digestion of European marine cold-water seaweeds. Bioresour Technol 2013;135:120–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2013.01.005

[31]Jafari Y, Othman J. Impact of biofuel development on Malaysian agriculture: Acomparative statics, multicommodity, multistage production, partial equilibrium approach. Food Energy Secur 2016;5:192–202. https://doi.org/10.1002/FES3.84

[32]Mohammadi Ashnani MH, Johari A, Hashim H, Hasani E. Life Cycle Assessment of Palm Oil Biodiesel Production in Malaysia. Applied Mechanics and Materials 2014;465–466:1080–6. https://doi.org/10.4028/WWW.SCIENTIFIC.NET/AMM.465-466.1080

[33]Acevedo JC, Hernández JA, Valdés CF, Khanal SK. Analysis of operating costs for producing biodiesel from palm oil at pilot-scale in Colombia. Bioresour Technol 2015;188:117–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.01.071

[34]Prapaspongsa T, Musikavong C, Gheewala SH. Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel production in Thailand: Impacts from modelling choices, co-product utilisation, improvement technologies, and land use change. J Clean Prod 2017;153: 435–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2017.03.130

[35]Gozmen Şanli B, Uludamar E, Özcanli M. Evaluation of energetic-exergetic and sustainability parameters of biodiesel fuels produced from palm oil and opium poppy oil as alternative fuels in diesel engines. Fuel 2019;258:116116. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FUEL.2019.116116

[36]Haas MJ, McAloon AJ, Yee WC, Foglia TA. A process model to estimate biodiesel production costs. Bioresour Technol 2006;97:671–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2005.03.039

[37]Klein-Marcuschamer D, Oleskowicz-Popiel P, Simmons BA, Blanch HW. Technoeconomic analysis of biofuels: A wiki-based platform for lignocellulosic biorefineries. Biomass Bioenergy 2010;34:1914–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIOMBIOE.2010.07.033

[38]Xu H, Lee U, Wang M. Life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of palm fatty acid distillate derived renewable diesel. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2020;134:110144. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2020.110144

[39]Cho HJ, Kim JK, Ahmed F, Yeo YK. Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and energy balances of a biodiesel production from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD). Appl Energy 2013;111:479–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APENERGY.2013.05.038

[40]Pardon L, Bessou C, Saint-Geours N, Gabrielle B, Marichal R, Testiati E, et al. N2O emissions from oil palm on mineral soils: measurements and modelling challenges. 5th International Conference on Oil Palm and Environment (ICOPE), 2016, p. 2. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GB001812

[41]Queiroz AG, França L, Ponte MX. The life cycle assessment of biodiesel from palm oil (“dendê”) in the Amazon. Biomass Bioenergy 2012;36:50–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BIOMBIOE.2011.10.007

[42]Rajaeifar MA, Ghobadian B, Heidari MD, Fayyazi E. Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of biodiesel production from rapeseed in Iran. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy 2013;5. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4854596/285786

[43]Corley RHV., Tinker PB. The oil palm. 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons; 2016. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118953297

[44]Filipova M, Zheleva I, Sulejmenova N, Abildaev E. An analysis of growth factors of rapeseed at modern resource-saving technology. APPLICATION OF MATHEMATICS IN TECHNICAL AND NATURAL SCIENCES: 9th International Conference for Promoting the Application of Mathematics in Technical and Natural Sciences, vol. 1895, Albena, Bulgaria: American Institute of Physics Inc.; 2017, p. 030001. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5007360/696837

[45]Ma F, Hanna MA. Biodiesel production: a review. Bioresour Technol 1999;70:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-8524(99)00025-5

[46]Sampattagul S, Nutongkaew P, Kiatsiriroat T. Life cycle assessment of palm oil biodiesel production in Thailand. Journal of Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Technology 2011;6:1–14.

[47]Pradhan A, Shrestha DS, Van Gerpen J, Duffield J. The Energy Balance of Soybean Oil Biodiesel Production: A Review of Past Studies. Trans ASABE 2008;51:185–94. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.24203

[48]Achten WMJ, Almeida J, Fobelets V, Bolle E, Mathijs E, Singh VP, et al. Life cycle assessment of Jatropha biodiesel as transportation fuel in rural India. Appl Energy 2010;87:3652–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APENERGY.2010.07.003

[49]Mizik T, Gyarmati G. Economic and Sustainability of Biodiesel Production—A Systematic Literature Review. Clean Technologies 2021;3:19–36. https://doi.org/10.3390/CLEANTECHNOL3010002

[50]van Noordwijk M, Khasanah N, Dewi S. Can intensification reduce emission intensity of biofuel through optimized fertilizer use? Theory and the case of oil palm in Indonesia. Global Change Bioenergy Bioenergy 2017;9:940–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/GCBB.12398

[51]Ong HC, Mahlia TMI, Masjuki HH, Honnery D. Life cycle cost and sensitivity analysis of palm biodiesel production. Fuel 2012;98:131–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FUEL.2012.03.031

[52]Simasatitkul L, Arpornwichanop A. Economic Evaluation of Biodiesel Production from Palm Fatty Acid Distillate Using a Reactive Distillation. Energy Procedia 2017;105:237–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EGYPRO.2017.03.308

[53]Silalertruksa T, Bonnet S, Gheewala SH. Life cycle costing and externalities of palm oil biodiesel in Thailand. J Clean Prod 2012;28:225–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2011.07.022

[54]Harahap F, Silveira S, Khatiwada D. Cost competitiveness of palm oil biodiesel production in Indonesia. Energy 2019;170:62–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENERGY.2018.12.115

[55]Lozada I, Islas J, Grande G. Environmental and economic feasibility of palm oil biodiesel in the Mexican transportation sector. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2010;14:486–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2009.06.034

[56]Mogollon DIN, Venturini OJ, Batlle EAO, González AM, Munar-Florez DA, Ramirez-Contreras NE, et al. Environmental and energy issues in biodiesel production using palm oil from the interspecific hybrid OxG and Elaeis guineensis: a case study in Colombia. Oilseeds & Fats Crops and Lipids 2024;31:25. https://doi.org/10.1051/OCL/2024020

[57]Alternative Fuels Data Center: Fuel Prices. US Department of Energy | Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation n.d. https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/prices (accessed April 22, 2026).

[58]Biodiesel Prices, Trend, Chart, Index & Forecast 2026. 2026

[59]Enciso SRA, Fellmann T, Dominguez IP, Santini F. Abolishing biofuel policies: Possible impacts on agricultural price levels, price variability and global food security. Food Policy 2016;61:9–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FOODPOL.2016.01.007

[60]Madhurjya S, Pranjal S, Protim BP. A Review of Challenges to Adoption of Biodiesel as a Biesel Substitute in India. Renewable Energy Research and Applications 2024;5:221–7.

[61]Suhara A, Karyadi, Herawan SG, Tirta A, Idris M, Roslan MF, et al. Biodiesel Sustainability: Review of Progress and Challenges of Biodiesel as Sustainable Biofuel. Clean Technologies 2024;6:886–906. https://doi.org/10.3390/CLEANTECHNOL6030045

[62]Abogunrin-Olafisoye OB, Adeyi O, Adeyi AJ, Oke EO. Sustainable utilization of oil palm residues and waste in nigeria: practices, prospects, and environmental considerations. Waste Management Bulletin 2024;2:214–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WMB.2024.01.011

[63]Rawindran H, Khoo KS, Raksasat R, Liew CS, Leong WH, Devendran M, et al. Bio-refinery of palm kernel expeller waste into attached microalgal biodiesel, the life cycle analysis of waste biomass-to-energy. Process Safety and Environmental Protection 2024;189:134–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PSEP.2024.06.075

[64]Joshi G, Pandey JK, Rana S, Rawat DS. Challenges and opportunities for the application of biofuel. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2017;79:850–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2017.05.185

[65]Dhandapani S. Biodiversity loss associated with oil palm plantations in Malaysia: Serving the need versus Saving the nature. Crops For the Future, Kualalumpur, Malaysia: 2014.

[66]Purnama I, Mutamima A, Aziz M, Wijaya K, Maulida ID, Junaidi J, et al. Environmental Impacts and the Food vs. Fuel Debate: A Critical Review of Palm Oil as Biodiesel. Glob Change Biol Bioenergy 2025;17:e70043. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70043

[67]Wu G, Chong JWR, Khoo KS, Tang DYY, Show PL. Upcycling food waste for microalgae cultivation toward lipid production in a closed-loop and system-integrated circular bioeconomy. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts 2025;18. https://doi.org/10.1186/S13068-025-02679-6

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.