The role of Brazil in the advancement of enzymatic biodiesel production

Nowadays there is an increasing demand for the development of more sustainable processes, based on the principles of circular economy, for different productive sectors, including biofuels. In Brazil, the production of biodiesel through biotechnological routes has also aroused enormous interest from academia and industry. In this context, the present work highlights, through a bibliometric study, the progress of Brazilian research about the production of biodiesel via an enzymatic route. In addition, the economic and environmental aspects associated with the synthesis of the biofuel are pointed out, focusing on the Brazilian scenario. It was possible to observe that most of the research is conducted in the southeast of the country, whilst the production of this biofuel is concentrated in the middle western states. Furthermore, the use of biomass (a byproduct of numerous agro-industrial activities), as feedstock or as raw material for the generation of new biocatalysts, stands out as a possible strategy to turn the enzymatic production of this biofuel not only sustainable, but also economically viable. Graphical Abstract