生物柴油来源于动植物油脂等可再生资源。作为矿物柴油的替代燃料，生物柴油具有空气污染物排放少、润滑性好、生物降解完全等优点，但生物柴油的成本高是制约其发展的瓶颈。结合我国具体国情，从原料（油料作物、油料林木果实、油藻和食用废油等）的综合利用，生物柴油的加工技术（酸碱催化、酶催化、无催化和副产高品质甘油的酯交换工艺），以及高附加值的后续产品（润滑添加剂、特种溶剂、表面活性剂等）的开发利用等方面，阐述了生物柴油作为环境友好的替代燃料和大宗有机化工原料的可行性。指出必须开发符合我国国情的生物柴油专有技术，才能使生物柴油产业成为真正具有竞争力的新兴产业。

Biodiesel derives itself from renewable resources such as oils and fats. As an alternative fuel, biodiesel is attractive owing to its less exhaust emission, good lubricant performance, fully degradation ability, etc. However, its high cost is an obstacle to the development. This review aims to probe into the possibility of the manufacture of biodiesel in large scale as an alternative fuel and organic commodity chemicals, in which some factors including the feedstock of biodiesel production in China, the processing technology with china´s own independent intellectual property and the development of high added-value derived products from biodiesel are discussed. It is emphasized that the advanced technology conforming with Chinese situation is essential to make this new industry competitive.