The mono-alkyl esters, most commonly the methyl esters, of vegetable oils, animal fats or other materials consisting mainly of triacylglycerols, often referred to as biodiesel, are an alternative to conventional petrodiesel for use in compression-ignition engines. The fatty acid esters that thus comprise biodiesel largely determine many important fuel properties. In turn, the composition of the biodiesel depends on the composition of the parent feedstock because feedstocks with widely varying fatty acid composition can be used for biodiesel production. The use of different feedstocks is also significant under aspects of increasing biodiesel supply and socio-economic issues. In this article, biodiesel production is briefly described, followed by a discussion of biodiesel fuel properties and the influence of varying fatty acid profiles and feedstocks. It is shown that the properties of biodiesel least influenced by minor components can be determined by a straightforward equation in which the properties of the biodiesel fuel are calculated from the amounts of the individual component fatty esters and their properties. Optimizing biodiesel composition is also addressed.

植物油，动物脂肪或其他主要由三酰基甘油组成的其他材料的单烷基酯（最常见的是甲基酯），通常被称为生物柴油，是用于压燃式发动机的常规石油柴油的替代品。因此，构成生物柴油的脂肪酸酯在很大程度上决定了许多重要的燃料性质。反过来，生物柴油的组成取决于母体原料的组成，因为具有广泛变化的脂肪酸组成的原料可以用于生物柴油的生产。在增加生物柴油供应和社会经济问题的方面，不同原料的使用也很重要。本文简要介绍了生物柴油的生产，随后讨论了生物柴油的燃料特性以及各种脂肪酸谱和原料的影响。结果表明，受次要成分影响最小的生物柴油的性能可以通过一个简单的方程式来确定，在该方程式中，生物柴油燃料的性能可以通过各个组分脂肪酯的含量及其性能来计算。还讨论了优化生物柴油的组成。