A Comprehensive Review on 1st-Generation Biodiesel Feedstock Palm Oil: Production, Engine Performance, and Exhaust Emissions Digambar Singh 1 & Dilip Sharma 1 & S. L. Soni 1 & Chandrapal Singh Inda 2 & Sumit Sharma 1 & Pushpendra Kumar Sharma 1 & Amit Jhalani 1 Received: 26 April 2020 /Accepted: 24 July 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract The rapid depletion of conventional fuel reserves and the increase in environmental pollution prompted the search for a sustainable energy solution. Biodiesel is one of the most promising energy substitutes with similar properties as con- ventional diesel fuel. Surplus availability of palm oil makes it suitable for biodiesel production. Due to the lack of availability of review articles that cover the entire process of palm biodiesel production and its optimum use in diesel engines, the authors were motivated to write this article. Cultivation parameters of palm trees, extraction of oil, and physicochemical properties of palm oil–based biodiesel are explained in this review. The production of palm biodiesel from raw oil can be done through pyrolysis, micro-emulsification, blending, hydro-esterification, and transesterification processes. For high biodiesel yield and less cost of operation, the transesterification method is adopted. The performance and emission parameters of diesel engines that operated on palm biodiesel and its blends are also explained. There is a decrease in brake thermal efficiency and an increase in brake-specific fuel consumption observed with the use of palm biodiesel in diesel engines. A reduction in CO and HC emissions and an increase in NOx emissions are found due to the oxygenating nature of palm biodiesel. This article provides the scientific approach to find out the optimum parameters for palm biodiesel production and its efficient use in compression ignition engines. Keywords Edible oil feedstock . Palm biodiesel . Biodiesel standards . Physicochemical properties . Palm oil fatty acid profile Nomenclature ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials BTE Brake thermal efficiency CI Compression ignition CN Cetane number SVO Straight vegetable oil CPO Crude palm oil BX Biodiesel blend level BP Brake power EASAC European Academies’ Science Advisory Council FFA Free fatty acid BSFC Brake-specific fuel consumption FAME Fatty acid methyl ester RPM Rotation per minute PM Particulate matter SIT Self-ignition temperature MW Molecular weight AN Acid number CP Cloud point SV Saponification value PP Pour point OSI Oxidation stability index FP Flash point MTBE Methyl tert-butyl ether IV Iodine value DI Direct injection HHV Higher heating value IDI Indirect injection WC Water cooled AC Air cooled S Stroke Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-020-10171-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Digambar Singh 2017rme9033@mnit.ac.in 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India BioEnergy Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-020-10171-2