Chapter 5
Recent Updates of Biodiesel Production:
Source, Production Methods,
and Metagenomic Approach
Nidhi Singh, Veer Singh, and Mohan P. Singh
Abstract The fossil fuels are considered to be the main energy sources and fulfill
the need of whole energy requirement of the world in the present time. The major
fossil fuels or petroleum products that are generally used worldwide are petrol,
diesel, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). These fuels have few disadvantages like
they produce several harmful gases which play a major role in the environmental
pollution. There are very less sources of fossil fuels found on earth and that may be
finished after a certain time period. Hence, it is very important to develop an
alternative energy that can fulfill the need of energy in the future. There are several
renewable energy sources like solar energy, hydrothermal energy, as well as
biofuels. Among these energy sources, biofuel is considered as the better alternative
option of fossil fuel due to its easy transportation and widely available production
sources. Bioethanol, biomethanol, biogas, biohydrogen, and bio-oils are the major
categories of biofuel. Biodiesel is the alternative energy source of diesel and
produced from various biological sources like plant, algae, microbial biomass, and
edible as well as non-edible vegetable oils. There are different methods such as
pyrolysis, dilution, as well as transesterification used for the biodiesel production.
Several microbial enzymes show an effective role in the digestion of biomass into
biodiesel. These microbial enzymes may be produced from bacterial and fungal
species. The metagenomic methods play a major role in the identification along with
screening of desired microbial species for the production of biomass-degrading
enzymes. The metagenomic approaches are much important in the enhancement of
the biodiesel production. The biodiesel production in India and the world are
increasing day by day. In this study, the authors have been focused on the source
N. Singh
Centre of Bioinformatics, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
V. Singh
School of Biochemical Engineering, IIT (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
e-mail: veersingh.rs.bce17@itbhu.ac.in
M. P. Singh (*)
Centre of Biotechnology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Srivastava et al. (eds.), Bioenergy Research: Revisiting Latest Development,
Clean Energy Production Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4615-4_5
105
Recent Updates of Biodiesel Production:
Source, Production Methods,
and Metagenomic Approach
Nidhi Singh, Veer Singh, and Mohan P. Singh
Abstract The fossil fuels are considered to be the main energy sources and fulfill
the need of whole energy requirement of the world in the present time. The major
fossil fuels or petroleum products that are generally used worldwide are petrol,
diesel, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). These fuels have few disadvantages like
they produce several harmful gases which play a major role in the environmental
pollution. There are very less sources of fossil fuels found on earth and that may be
finished after a certain time period. Hence, it is very important to develop an
alternative energy that can fulfill the need of energy in the future. There are several
renewable energy sources like solar energy, hydrothermal energy, as well as
biofuels. Among these energy sources, biofuel is considered as the better alternative
option of fossil fuel due to its easy transportation and widely available production
sources. Bioethanol, biomethanol, biogas, biohydrogen, and bio-oils are the major
categories of biofuel. Biodiesel is the alternative energy source of diesel and
produced from various biological sources like plant, algae, microbial biomass, and
edible as well as non-edible vegetable oils. There are different methods such as
pyrolysis, dilution, as well as transesterification used for the biodiesel production.
Several microbial enzymes show an effective role in the digestion of biomass into
biodiesel. These microbial enzymes may be produced from bacterial and fungal
species. The metagenomic methods play a major role in the identification along with
screening of desired microbial species for the production of biomass-degrading
enzymes. The metagenomic approaches are much important in the enhancement of
the biodiesel production. The biodiesel production in India and the world are
increasing day by day. In this study, the authors have been focused on the source
N. Singh
Centre of Bioinformatics, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
V. Singh
School of Biochemical Engineering, IIT (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
e-mail: veersingh.rs.bce17@itbhu.ac.in
M. P. Singh (*)
Centre of Biotechnology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Srivastava et al. (eds.), Bioenergy Research: Revisiting Latest Development,
Clean Energy Production Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4615-4_5
105