BIODIESEL IN WEST AFRICA: BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Biodiesel is a gold mine, waiting to be explored by Africa and most especially, West African countries. More developed countries are embracing biodiesel because of its environmental advantages and ease in production. In Africa, as it stands, there is a continuous struggle with biodiesel production due to lack of political will by the governments, ignorance on its enormous advantages and the political/economic mind-set of the people at the helms of affair. This paper reviews the contribution of biodiesel to world energy, recent innovations in the production of biodiesel, sources for production and the benefits of biodiesel production. The challenges of biodiesel as a renewable energy source in West Africa and solutions to these challenges are also discussed