Towards biorefineries: fatty acid esters

Biorefineries have a critical role to play in our future due to their potential in social, environmental and economic sustainability development. The economic viability of the biofuel industry depends on the ability of the industry to derive value from the biofuel it produces as well as by the by-products that are generated during the process. Different kind of fatty acid esters with different added value are reported as possible by-products of the biodiesel industry. The transformation of secondary raw materials over heterogeneous acid catalysts adds to the overall sustainability of the productive chain.