Prospects and Challenges to Energy Sustainability: The Potential of Frying Oil Biodiesel for Sustainable Development

Countries around the world are seeking to diversify their energy sources by using renewable energy. This study adopts a sustainability approach to analyze the environmental impacts of used vegetable oils, from their disposal, through their conversion into biodiesel, to their emissions analysis. This study also examines its implications for the 2030 Agenda and global planetary boundaries, and finally explores the Peruvian energy sector as a case study. The selected literature prioritizes the reuse of used vegetable oils to mitigate urban sanitation problems. It highlights that the quality of biodiesel is closely linked to the degree of denaturation of the used oil and the processing technology and that emissions vary depending on the blend with diesel, but a 100% biodiesel combustion reduces greenhouse gases by more than 80%. These characteristics align with SDG 7 and address four of the six transgressed Global Limits. In the Peruvian context, biodiesel production is insufficient, generating environmental and public health problems due to inefficient waste management. It is concluded that efficient management of used vegetable oils is necessary and feasible to promote the use of biodiesel, as well as environmental development policies that facilitate sustainable energy transitions, especially in non-industrialized countries.