The necessity for clean, green, and renewable energy resources has gained
tremendous attention from industries and academia. This is due to the alarming
depletion of fossil fuels and the growing environmental concerns associated with their
extensive use. Petroleum reserves are on the verge of extinction, and biodiesel is a
promising alternative with better fuel properties compared to petroleum diesel. Various
oils and fats have been employed as feedstock to produce biodiesel. Soybean oil is
highly regarded as the most appealing feedstock due to its extensive cultivation for oil
production as well as its widespread use as an animal meal. In previous years, various
studies have been carried out to produce biodiesel with the use of various technologies
and methods. Among the number of methods, transesterification is the most common
method of biodiesel synthesis. This paper typically reviews the catalytic
transesterification of soybean oil for biodiesel production and its fuel quality. This
review also explores the effectiveness of various catalysts in converting soybean oil to
biodiesel. Several reactors have been utilized by numerous researchers to optimize
reaction parameters, which is also thoroughly highlighted in this review.
Keywords: Enzyme, Homogeneous, Heterogeneous, Reactor, Soybean oil, Transesterification
