Most of the used cooking oil from households and catering premises in Malaysia will eventually ends up in wastewaters. It will be discharged to the surface of waters because no alternative steps were taken to overcome the waste from used cooking oil. As a component of wastewater, oil is classified together with fats and waxes as grease.
Can waste cooking oil be used as a feedstock for biodiesel production?
Waste cooking oil can be used as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production. Disposal of waste cooking oil itself an environmental challenge due to its adverse environmental impact. Transesterification is the key process for synthesis of biodiesel production with low cost and under mild reaction condition.
How to make biodiesel from waste cooking oil?
Most commonly used method for the synthesis of biodiesel from waste cooking oil is by transesterification reaction. Transesterification reaction is the reaction between feedstock oil and alcohol in the presence or absence of a catalyst. The catalysts have very important effect on the quality of biodiesel produced and yield of the biodiesel.
How does waste cooking oil affect transesterification?
The number of polar compounds in the waste cooking oil, particularly the free fatty acid (FFA), must be taken into account, as it will significantly influence the transesterification process, if the waste cooking oil is to be used as a feedstock for the generation of biodiesel. Ultimately, repeated heating causes the oil’s polar content to rise.