WASTE TO ENERGY APPROACH OF TRANSFORMING USED COOKING OIL INTO BIODIESEL FOR COMPRESSION IGNITION ENGINES

Abstract

Waste vegetable oil (WVO) is a byproduct of food processing and cooking practices that is unfit for human consumption. The existence of edible Waste Vegetable Oils (WVO), which are hazardous to water quality and show resistance to conventional filtration, causes major operational challenges for community water treatment plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported that inappropriate disposal of these fuels significantly worsens the state of the environment. In order to successfully prevent water pollution and meet the expanding worldwide fuel demand, this study uses the transesterification process to convert WVO into biodiesel utilizing methanol and ethanol. The generated bio-diesel underwent standard fuel testing, and the results closely met the ASTM standards. This study has successfully achieved the reduction in the specific gravity and chemical viscosity of vegetable oils, making them suitable alternatives to mineral diesel. Tests in the field demonstrated the fuel's effectiveness, and the recovery of glycerol as a by-product significantly increased its economic value. This study concluded that both the formations of biodiesel has shown properties in terms of calorific value and flow characteristics. In addition, both the fuels have shown optimal flash points, making it the fuel of choice for the commercial utilization. However, Methyl ester has comparatively good flow properties besides this it is also less volatile in nature, due to which it has better characteristics of storage and transit safety.