The overwhelming concerns due to over exploitation of fossil resources necessitate the utilization of alternative energy resources. Biodiesel has been considered as one of the most adaptable alternative to fossil-derived diesel with similar properties and numerous environmental benefits. Although there are various approaches for biodiesel production, development of cost-effective and robust catalyst with efficient production methods and utilization of a variety of feedstock could be the optimum solution to bring down the production cost. Considering the complexity of biodiesel production processes, process design, quantitative evaluation and optimization of the biodiesel from whole systems perspectives is essential for unlocking the complexity and enhancing the system performances. Process systems engineering offers an efficient approach to design and optimize biodiesel manufacturing systems by using a variety of tools. This review reflects state-of-the-art biodiesel research in the field of process systems engineering with a particular focus on biodiesel production including process design and simulation, sustainability evaluation, optimization and supply chain management. This review also highlights the challenges and opportunities for the development of potentially sustainable and eco-friendly enzymatic biodiesel technology.

The immobilization of Aspergillus niger lipase (ANL) on UiO-66 (a typical MOF), the effect of support hydrophobicity on lipase's immobilization as well as the enzymatic performance for biodiesel preparation was explored in this enzyme/MOF system. First, the hydrophobic UiO-66 was obtained by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating, and then used as the immobilization carrier for physically adsorbing ANL through hydrophobic interactions. It was found that the properties of immobilized ANL were remarkably enhanced through hydrophobic modification of UiO-66. ANL immobilized on hydrophobic UiO-66 presented much higher enzymatic activity and activity recovery compared with those of ANL on pristine UiO-66. In the catalysis of lipase-mediated biodiesel production, ANL immobilized on hydrophobic UiO-66-PDMS-6 h performed at a faster reaction rate and gave a much higher yield than its counterpart. A biodiesel yield of 88% was afforded by ANL/UiO-66-PDMS-6 h at 24 h, and the immobilized lipase demonstrated a rather good reusability, with 83.0% activity remaining after ten successive operations.