Biodiesel is a renewable diesel fuel substitute that can be made by chemically combining any natural oil
or fat with an alcohol such as methanol or ethanol. Methanol has been the most commonly used alcohol in
the commercial production of biodiesel. In Europe, biodiesel is widely available in both its neat form
(100% biodiesel, also known as B100) and in blends with petroleum diesel. Most European biodiesel is made from rapeseed oil (a cousin of canola oil). In the United States, initial interest in producing and using biodiesel has focused on the use of soybean oil as the primary feedstock, mainly because this country is the world's largest producer of soybean oil.