폐유지 바이오디젤 생산기술 개발 동향

Biodiesel Production Technology Trend from Waste Fat/Oil

To resolve global warming issue, Korean government announces the target for reaching to net zero carbon by 2050 in December 2020. IPCC classifies bioenergy as carbon neutral and does not include CO2 emitted by use of bioenergy in national CO2 inventory. Global biodiesel production has been steadily increased and reached to more than 40 million tons in 2021. Korea currently mandates B3.5 (biodiesel 3.5% blending) use and the biodiesel blends will reach B5 in 2030. As most biodiesel produced in Korea is made from imported feedstocks like palm oil and palm fatty acid distillate(PFAD), utilization of waste fats collectable in Korea is getting more important. However, as waste fats contains high contents of free fatty acids, conventional biodiesel production process using alkali catalysts may not be used to produce biodiesel. Recently, active works are under way to develop an efficient process that may convert waste fats containing high free fatty acids such as trap grease into biodiesel. In this presentation, current status of biodiesel production technology and R&D issues for developing biodiesel production technology from high acidity waste fats will be reviewed.