Review Article Extraction, transesterification and process control in biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas Novizar Nazir 1, 2 , Nazaruddin Ramli 2 , Djumali Mangunwidjaja 3 , Erliza Hambali 3 , Dwi Setyaningsih 3 , Sri Yuliani 4 , Mohd. Ambar Yarmo 2 and Jumat Salimon 2 1 Faculty of Agricultural Technology, University of Andalas, Padang, Indonesia 2 School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, UniversitiKebang- saan Malaysia, Malaysia 3 Department of Agroindustrial Technology, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, Indonesia 4 Department of Agriculture, The Indonesian Center for Agricultural Postharvest Research and Development, Bogor, Indonesia Biodiesel has gained worldwide popularity as an alternative energy source due to its renewable, non-toxic, biodegradable and non-flammable properties. It also has low emission profiles and is environmentally beneficial. Biodiesel can be used either in pure form or blended with conventional petrodiesel in auto- mobiles without any major engine modifications. Various non-edible and edible oils can be used for the preparation of biodiesel. With no competition with food uses, the use of non-edible oils as alternative source for engine fuel will be important. Among the non-edible oils, such as Pongamia, Argemone and Castor, Jatropha curcas has tremendous potential for biodiesel production. J. curcas, growing mainly in tropical and sub-tropical climates across the developing world, is a multipurpose species with many attributes and considerable potentials. In this article, we review the oil extraction and characterization, the role of different catalysts on transesterification, the current state-of-the-art in biodiesel production, the process control and future potential improvement of biodiesel production from J. curcas. Keywords: Biodiesel production / Jatropha curcas / Oil extraction / Process control / Transesterification Received: November 6, 2008; accepted: January 19, 2009 DOI 10.1002/ejlt.200800259 Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 2009, 111, 1185–1200 1185 1 Introduction For many years, the ready availability of inexpensive petro- leum fuels gave little inducement for experimenting with alternative, renewable fuels for diesel engines [1–4]. However, due to the increasing price of petroleum as well as environ- mental concerns over pollution caused by the internal com- bustion gases, alternative fuels have been developed [5, 6]. Biodiesel is considered as one important alternative fuels for diesel engines [7]. Biodiesel is defined as the monoalkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids that are derived from renewable feedstocks such as vegetable oil or animal fats. It is used in the compression igni- tion engine [3]. It has been found that biodiesel is a clean- burning fuel, biodegradable, non-toxic and has low emission profiles. So, it is environmentally beneficial. The use of bio- diesel has the potential to decrease the level of pollutants and of potential or probable carcinogens [8–10]. Edible oils, such as soybean, rapeseed oil and palm oil, are being used for the production of biodiesel for the compression ignition engine [11]. However, the use of these oils for engine fuel will compete with the food product. Consequently, the use of non-edible oils as alternative source for engine fuel will be important. There are quite a few non-edible oil seed species that could be used as source for oil production. Jatropha curcas, which mainly grows in tropical and sub-tropical climates across the developing world, is one of them. This multipurpose species with many attributes and potentials [11, 12] can be grown in low- to high-rainfall areas, either on the farms as a commercial crop or on the boundaries as a hedge to protect the fields from Correspondence: Novizar Nazir, Faculty of AgriculturalTechnology, Uni- versity of Andalas, Padang, Indonesia 25163. E-mail: nazir_novizar@yahoo.com Fax: 162 751 72702  2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.ejlst.com