A Review of the Existing Potentials in Biodiesel Production in Iran

Abstract

Petroleum fuel plays an important role in industry, transportation, agriculture and other related industries in Iran. Iran has about 9.5% of the world’s total oil reserves in 2020 and is ranked 4th in the world. The presence of sufficient conventional fossil fuels for internal combustion engines has caused environmental problems. If these Iranian fossil fuels were to run out right now, there is no suitable alternative that is just as effective. The need to research alternative fuels in Iran is therefore unavoidable. In this study, the potential and available resources of raw materials, including rapeseed oil, palm oil, fish oil, waste oil, algae, animal fat, olive oil and jatropha oil for biodiesel production in different regions of Iran, have been reviewed. Given the potentials and resources described in this study, it is hoped that the findings of this study will play an important role in biodiesel production in Iran in the future and stimulate more researchers to create biodiesel from existing sources. It is also expected that this study will increase the attention of the governmental and non-governmental organizations in Iran to the existing resources for biodiesel production and development of these resources and get rid of the existing problems of fossil fuels by investing in this field.