Optimum Selection of Biodiesel for Sustainable Assessment: A Prospect Theory-Based Approach

Introduction

Energy is a crucial outlook for any developing and developed country (Durairaj et al., 2014). Day by day the utilization of energy is increasing order due to improved standard of living and population growth (Durairaj et al., 2016). Most of the developing as well as developed countries fulfill their needs through relic fuels (Bhowmik et al., 2017; 2018). Conventional resources are the main sources of energy but leads to environmental problems due to high carbon dioxide and other emissions (Standford, 1998). Environmental snags can be prevented by the use of green energy sources such as solar, hydro, biogas, geothermal etc. with almost zero emissions (Arkesteijn and Oerlemans, 2005). In this regard biodiesel is also an ideal choice to meet the energy requirement of everyday life (Vilela, 2010). The biodiesel is extracted from both edible and non-edible oils and can be considered as one of the environmentally friendly resources (Demirbas, 2007). The extracted biodiesel from green resources can be used as alternative fuels for I.C. engines, boilers and diesel generators etc. (Demirbas, 2007).

In energy-mix market, it is very difficult to select the optimum alternative for sustainable assessment, because diversity of conflicting parameters. Today, energy market is facing daunting pressure to incorporate environmentally friendly key resources for sustainable future due to increased utilization of relic fuels. The extensive use of relic fuels in commercial and domestic sectors causes numerous environmental problems such as SOx, NOx, CO₂ emissions, resources depletion and global warming, forcing the governments as well as research activists to think about judicious use of green resources in a sustainable way. Therefore, green energy sources are considered as crucial elements for humanity to continue the economic empowerment and social development. In today’s energy dilemma biodiesel is considered as one of the outmost green sources for pastoral power generation. Effectiveness of biodiesel depends on the quality of fuel input. It is quite difficult to select the optimum biodiesel for an application point of view because of various conflicting parameters present in the selection strategy (Sakthivel et al., 2015).