Considerations for cottonseed oil as a potential feedstock for renewable diesel production

As the world population grows and the standard of living improves in developing countries, global energy demand will continue to rise, with energy use in the developing world expected to increase dramatically more than the per capita reductions in developed countries from efficiency improvements. Nearly a third of the total global energy demand is used for transportation, resulting in a substantial contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the demand for energy rises, initiatives and regulations are underway to mitigate the amount of GHG emissions to Earth’s atmosphere. As efforts progress in industry, governments, and society to reduce the total amount of carbon emissions, improvements in the transportation sector will play a significant role. Fuels produced from renewable feedstocks demonstrate promise as alternatives to traditional petroleum-based fossil fuels. Alternative fuel sources can play a significant role in vehicle GHG emissions reductions. Plant based oils such as soybean oil are a significant group of feedstocks for these alternate fuels. However, attention is increasing on sources outside the primary food supply chain to avoid competition between energy production and food stocks. This review provides considerations for the use of cottonseed oil as a feedstock for renewable diesel production via hydroprocessing and propose specific areas for further research to enable expanded technical assessment of CSO for this purpose.