Used cooking oil can be a good source of biodiesel for vehicles
by Kamal Meattle, March 09, 2008
Source: FInancial Express
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/
Used-cooking-oil-can-be-a-good-source-of-biodiesel–for-vehicles/282269/
The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Delhi, which is a chapter of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI), has committed itself to going green before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.
The association, which has more than 600 hotels and restaurants in the National Capital Region (NCR) as its members, has already approached Delhi’s chief minister Sheila Dikshit to sign an MOU in this regard. The MOU would relate to waste management, water and power conservation. High up on the agenda is the proper disposal of once-used cooking oil called yellow grease. The trans fat is not reusable because it gets oxidised, making it carcinogenic.
In India, yellow grease is either thrown down the drain or reused for serving to an uninformed public. Both actions are harmful for environmental as well as health reasons. Most domestic users are also unaware of the harmful implications of the consumption of yellow grease. But yellow grease is not useless. In fact, it has its own uses.
Yellow grease is a term from the rendering industry and usually means used frying oils from deep fryers and restaurants’ grease traps. In the Western world, yellow grease is recovered and traded as a marginally valuable commodity at $ 1.4 per gallon or the equivalent of Rs 17 per litre.
Its can be used in the manufacture of soap, make-up, clothing, rubber, detergents and animal feed.
More recently, it has become increasingly important as a source of raw material for making biodiesel for vehicles. Although biodiesel is usually developed from renewable plant sources like soybeans, yellow grease is attractive because it’s cheap and turns waste into fuel.
Biodiesel can be used as an alternative to petroleum diesel in its pure form or as a blend with petroleum diesel in various ratios.
Blends of biodiesel and petroleum diesel are designated with the letter ‘B’, followed by the volumetric percentage of biodiesel in the blend, such as B20 (20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel). B100 is pure biodiesel.
Engine performance with biodiesel is generally comparable to that of petroleum diesel, but it does have some disadvantages like reduced performance at low temperatures and reduced fuel Economy.
Now North American and many European countries are supporting the use of biofuels, bio-ethanol and biodiesel because they view it as a part of the solution to climate change and energy security as well as an economic opportunity to develop domestic industries. Some have even prescribed quotas for mixing biomass derived fuels withgasoline or diesel.
Unlike in the US, where biodiesel is more expensive than its petroleum-derived counterpart, it costs a bit less in China. However, in both places, the problem of limited availability of yellow grease is a restraining factor to the growth of production of biodiesel.
In the US, legislation is pushing the use of biodiesel. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) requires government entities to purchase alternative-fueled vehicles. Their use is expected to grow as government policies continue to contribute to this demand in the future. EIA also adds that if refiners use 1% biodiesel to improve the lubricity of diesel fuel, this will add 470 million gallons to demand by 2010.
In India, hotels and large fast-food restaurants generate hundreds of kilograms of used oil every month. As on date, a few in India of them are disposing of the used oil in a correct manner. Most restaurants reuse the oil and so do domestic users.
The Taj Group of hotels and The Maurya are some of the hotels that recycle it into fuel or soap manufacturing and not for human consumption. However, this entire concept can become more prevalent only if the government takes proactive measures. Then large conmsumers of cooking oil like the defence forces, hospitals, airlines, railway catering and schools could also follow the practice. It would also create business opportunities for those who can provide the technology as well as those who can provide the service of collecting yellow grease.
The author is CEO, Paharpur Business Centre & Technology Incubator Park.