Recycling of Used Cooking Oil: An experimental study

A research paper is presented to

Intr. Al-hussein P. Ali

Senior high school faculty

Cotabato city state polytechnic college

Laboratory High School

Cotabato city

In partial fulfillment for the requirements

Inquiries base investigation

2nd semester, S.Y: 2017-2018

By

Fairon R. Noh

Mairah N. Pendaliday
 May 2018

Chapter 1

The Problem and It’s Background

Introduction

Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic fat used in frying, baking, and other types of

cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavouring not involving heat, salad dressings and

bread dips, and in this sense might be more accurately termed edible oil.(Wikepedia). Here in the

Philippines, we love fried foods such as, fried chicken, fried fish, eggs, potatoes and many more.

Oil used in cooking foods is commonly derived from vegetables. Cooking oil is commonly used

for frying. Oil used for frying is usually thrown away (Santiano,C.,Waminal,M.A.

Dimla,G.D.2007)

In this study, researchers will try the possibility to purify used cooking oil instead of

throwing it. This will help not only the restaurants but also the people who use cooking oil in their

homes. Considering that the prices of staples are increasing and then there is that additional budget

for oil. It would cost too much. Also when used cooking oils are thrown, this could harm the

environment. Cooking oil is one of the major causes of water contamination. Oil creates a thin

layer on the water's surface.(Silva,2012)

According to the Arrow Oil Ltd(2008), Pouring used or waste cooking oil down the sink

or drains can cause waste to solidify and block public sewers. The backed-up sewage can then spill

into rivers and streams. Untreated sewage effluent and waste oil in the water causes oxygen levels

to drop drastically, sewage fungus covers the bed of the watercourse like a blanket and in more
severe cases the river can no longer support fish, insects and animals that live in and around the

water.

As a response the researchers thought of something that could return the oil to its original

look- clear and clean. This involves purifying it with ginger which has proteases that is, camphene,

p-cineole, alpha-terpineol, ingiberene and pentadecanoic acid that absorbs the odor and taste of the

food that were cooked on it. Ginger protease can improve the quality of food processing on the

ground of not reducing nutritious value (Qiao, Y., Tong, J., Wei, S., Du, X. and Tang, X. 2009)

Boiling and filtering using the strainer or paper towel are also engaged in this study. For this study,

you can save the environment while saving your own money.

The objective of this study is to know if there is a possibility to recycle used cooking oil

and if the materials that will be used could really help. In recycling the used cooking oil,

researchers have considered the color, odor, and taste. And if it could be possible, this will be a

big help to the consumers. Instead of pouring the used cooking oil down the sink, they can recycle

it and there will be no need to buy a new one. This study aimed to give people the chance to utilized

or reuse cooking oil.

In this study, Recycling is the Independent variable for it is stable and unaffected by the

other variable. It is expected to make a change for the other variable. Used cooking oil is

determined as dependent variable for it is what the researchers are trying to measure.
Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer the following questions:

1. Is it possible to recycle used cooking oil?

2. Is the ginger effective in recycling of used cooking oil?

3. Does the used cooking oil changed, in terms of, color, odor and taste?

Significance of the study

The significance of the study benefits the following:

People. This study helps the people learn how to recycle used cooking oil to enable them

to save money and be more practical.

Environment. This study helps decrease the oil pollution cause by the people who pour

the cooking oil down the sink. Also the production of cooking oil that usually brings smoke

affect the environment.

Restaurants. This study may help the restaurants owner to decrease their budget for

cooking oil.

Future researchers. This study benefits the future researchers. The ides provided in this

study may be used as reference data in conducting new research.

Scope and Limitation

This study focused only on the recycling of used cooking oil. The researchers will do

the procedures on how to purify used cooking oil and will try to recycle its color, odor and taste.

The researchers will provide the needed items like strainer, paper towel etc.

Definition of terms

The key terms used in this study have been defined in various ways in the literature.

Thus, definitions have been provided to afford the reader a conceptual understanding of their use

throughout this study:

Recycle – a process of using (something) again. The researchers will try the possibility to reuse

the used cooking oil.

Used cooking oil – is the oil for cooking that has been used. This is one of the materials that will

be used in this study.

 Chapter 2

Review Related Literature

According to the Solid Waste Authority of Palm beach, used cooking oil can be a serious

problem it can cause a lot for the consumers and tough to clean up. The cooking oil that had been

used then thrown it away; flushed down the toilet; and poured down the sink even if followed it

by a hot water or soap, used cooking oil can be a gel or concrete into a thick layer inside the

drainpipes, sewage pipelines, sewage lift station. It’s cluttered down the sink, stinky, and costly to

clean up.

Consumer concern about health, and the impact food has on health, is an issue of growing

importance in EU countries. Institutions should also make sure that there is suitable and sufficient

information for consumers, to help them understand the risks involved in the food chain and assess

these risks more objectively. Sufficient consumer confidence must be encouraged by the existence

of risk control systems to prevent the occurrence of foreseeable accidents. Training or education

should also be encouraged at all levels of the food chain, from the producer to the consumer, to

improve attitudes and systems that will eliminate preventable risks.

Scientific and Technological Options Assessment stated that this has led to the present

study to assess cooking oils which, as waste from commercial food activities (catering industries

and services), present a burden on the environment and are therefore currently recycled mainly for

use as fatty raw materials in poultry and livestock feeds. This study is thus an example which
permits an assessment of how the entire food chain should be continuously controlled (traceability)

to prevent public health risks .

According to Wonder funnel, the more you can reuse the oil, the less you have to dispose

of. And really a bigger issue may be the raw product (peanuts in the case of peanut oil) that has to

be used to create that gallon of oil. There is a reason why peanut oil costs more than gasoline.

Think of how many peanuts have to be processed to get a gallon of oil! Every time you reuse your

oil, you save a few peanuts here and there, not to mention the energy used in the manufacturing

process and plastic used in the containers that end up decaying in the landfill for centuries.

Arjun (2008), oil waste is an important waste management concern since it poses some

disposal problems and possible contamination of water and land resources.

According to Consorcio S. Namoco Jr., Venerando C. Comaling and Cerilo C. Buna,

Jr.(2017), large amounts of waste cooking oils are illegally dumped into rivers and landfills,

causing environmental pollution, proper collection and putting them into productive use offers

significant advantages not only towards waste minimization or reduction in environmental

pollution but also in extending the finite natural resources thru waste recycling. With the

mushrooming of fast food chains and restaurants in the country, it is expected that considerable

amounts of used-frying oils will be discarded into the drains, posing hazards to our environment.

Review related study

According to Environmental Management Division Hong Kong Productivity Council, 2014 on

the study Recycling of plastic, paper, and used cooking oil in Hong Kong, Market demand for

Used Cooking Oil (UCO) is quite strong in Hong Kong as part of an international market for

production of biodiesel, animal feed and oleochemicals etc., and following the emergence of

local biodiesel manufacturing in recent years. A policy on UCO recycling could achieve

multiple objectives that include facilitating local UCO collection and recovery to maximize

use of the resource and minimize waste, supporting biodiesel manufacture as a green industry,

increasing use of renewable energy and reducing carbon emission. This study looks at the

current situation in Hong Kong, relevant policies in other jurisdictions, available technologies

to recycle UCO and views from local biodiesel manufacturers in order to identify potential

policy direction.

The study ‘Potential of used frying oil in paving material: solution to environmental pollution
problem’ by Dimple Singh-Ackbarali, Rean Maharaj, and Vitra Ramjattan-Harry, 2017 states the
improper disposal of used frying oil (UFO) presents numerous ecological, environmental and
municipal problems. Of great concern is the resultant blockage of municipal drainage systems
and water treatment facilities, harm to wildlife when they become coated in it and detriment to
aquatic life and ecosystems due to the depletion of the oxygen content in water bodies such as
rivers and lakes that have become contaminated. Statistics show that in Trinidad and Tobago, in
excess of one million liters of used cooking oil is collected annually from various restaurant
chains. This paper investigated the potential of using UFO as a performance enhancing additive
for road paving applications utilizing Trinidad Lake Asphalt (TLA) and Trinidad Petroleum
Bitumen (TPB) as a mitigation strategy for improper UFO disposal. Modified blends containing
various additions of UFO (2–10% wt) were prepared for the TLA and TPB asphaltic binders.
Results demonstrated in terms of stiffness, increasing the dosage of UFO in TLA and TPB base
binders resulted in a gradual decrease in stiffness (G* value decreased). In terms of elasticity,
increasing the dosage of the UFO additive in TLA resulted in a general decrease in the elasticity
of the blends indicated by an increase in phase angle or phase lag (δ). Increasing dosages of the
UFO additive in TPB resulted in a significant decrease in δ where the most elastic blend was at
the 6% UFO level. TLA and UFO-TLA modified blends exhibited significantly lower values of δ
and higher values of G* confirming the superiority of the TLA material. Incorporation of the
UFO in the blends led to a decrease in the rutting resistance and increase in the fatigue cracking
resistance (decrease in G*/sinδ and G*sinδ, respectively). This study highlighted the potential for
the reuse of UFO as an asphalt modifier capable of producing customized UFO modified
asphaltic blends for special applications and confirms its feasibility as an environmentally
attractive means of reusing the waste/hazardous UFO material locally.

Riera and Codony (2000), stated that in other countries, waste cooking oils are recycled and

utilized as alternative ingredients or materials. The main use of recycled WCO is in the production

of animal feeds and in a much smaller proportion in the manufacture of soaps and biodegradable

lubricants. Some health risks can be traced from the use of recycled cooking oils in animal feeding,

such as undesirable levels of contaminants, particularly PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons),

PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins and dioxin related substances.

 Chapter 3

Methodology

This chapter contains the Materials and procedures for this study.

Materials

Checklist: YES NO
1. It is possible to recycle used cooking oil?
2. Does the color of used cooking oil changed?
3. Does the odor of used cooking oil changed?
4. Does the taste of used cooking oil changed?
5.

To recycle and reuse cooking oil, you need just a few basic things, most of which can

easily be found in every kitchen, or are readily available. These are used cooking oil, metal

strainer to strain the oil, paper towel for filtering the oil, ginger slices (about 20 grams per 1 liter

of cooking oil) that will absorb the odor and taste of the use oil and bottles for storage.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers conducted the experiment at their house since the materials used are

found in there. Researchers made sure first that all of the materials are already prepared and

complete. Then they performed the procedures.

Procedures

Precaution: This procedure for filtering and reusing cooking oil requires the oil to be heated,

so avoid using anything made of plastic. Also make sure none of the things used during the

procedure are moist or wet.

First, strain the cooking oil once to catch and remove any coarse food particles. Then heat

the oil to a temperature of about 170-200 degrees Fahrenheit, and put in the ginger slices. Turn off
the heat after about 2-3 minutes, and let the ginger slices remain in the cooking oil. While the oil

cools naturally, ginger will absorb most of the odor and taste of the foods that were cooked in the

oil. Wait until 10-15 minutes after turning off the heat.

After that, line the conical strainer with the paper towel, making sure that there no place from

where the oil can leak out without passing through the towel. Place the filter with some container

that is big enough to hold the amount of oil being filtered, and pour in the heated oil into the filter.

Since the filter that is made is really fine, it may take up to 15 minutes for one liter of oil to pass

through it. When the filtered oil reaches room temperature, you can transfer it to the storage jars.

Close the lids tightly and store them in the refrigerator.