Biodiesel in South American countries: A review on policies, stages of development and imminent competition with hydrotreated vegetable oil

Economic and population growth have led to rapidly growing fuel consumption in South America. In order to supply this increasing demand while also using environmentally friendly and locally available feedstock, several countries have implemented the use of biofuels, in which biodiesel deserves special attention. While this alternative source of energy may reduce dependence on refining or importing fossil diesel, it also requires well-established policies and logistics for local industries to compete and succeed in producing a satisfactory quantity of biodiesel. This review compares the effectiveness of implemented policies in South American countries, providing a better understanding on cases of success and failure on the road to making biodiesel a regularly found fuel in the local transportation network. This assessment also clearly identifies different stages of development, pointing out that countries from the same region can have totally different outcomes according to political and market aspects. The main factors associated to cases of success, represented by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, were early implemented regulation policies, the solidity of local soybean industry and response to foreign competition. Finally, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a new and efficient green fuel used in Diesel engines and will likely present additional challenges for this sector, potentially replacing both diesel and biodiesel in the fuel network, and posing a challenge to even the most stable biodiesel industries, along with the potential vehicle electrification. •South American countries are in different stages of biodiesel production.•Argentinean, Brazilian and Uruguayan industries are considered cases of success.•Early regulations and soybean availability are important for positive outcomes.•Foreign competition was only reported as a major issue in Peru.•Imminent use of HVO is likely to pose a challenge for biodiesel producers.