A team of researchers from Iran’s Tabriz state university have managed to develop a new efficient processing technique for turning waste cooking oil to biodiesel.
Dr. Mahtan Pirouzmand, the head of the research team, said the team has managed to produce biodiesel through synthesis of nano-structured catalysts.
“In this project, we managed to synthesize nano-structured catalysts to provide a new method for turning used cooking oil to an affordable biodiesel,” she said.
Pirouzmand said results of the project showed biodiesel produced from waste cooking oil could be a cheap replacement for diesel made from fossil fuels.
Biodiesel can be used safely in any diesel-powered engine, be it a bus or a truck.
It is desirable as an alternative to petroleum fuel, as it used renewable resources that are less damaging to the environment to produce and emit less harmful greenhouse gasses when burned as fuel.
A variety of feedstock containing fatty acids, such as vegetable oils or animal fats, has been evaluated for the production of biodiesel. But the high price of vegetable oil ruled out its use for making bio-diesel.
Waste cooking oil is, therefore, the preferred source because it is an environmental waste generated in tones worldwide.
There have been efforts since 2006 to use non-edible or waste cooking oils as feedstock for biodiesel production, but such processes have so far remained complicated and expensive.
