Castor oil is more than just a raw material in great demand by the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In several southern countries its use as a fuel is also being discussed in connection with social and ecological aspects. A few properties, in particular the extremely high viscosity and high water content, complicate the use of straight castor oil as a fuel for internal combustion engines. A better perspective may be possible by transesterification and the addition of this biodiesel to fossil diesel fuel. This, however, calls for considerably lower castor oil prices than are at present being paid on the world market. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.