Clarification of Waste Cooking Oil Using Polypropylene Ultrafiltration Membrane

• Main Author: Suwardana (NIM : 13012099), Novika
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/29729
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The waste cooking oil contains various impurities caused by hydrolysis of triglyceride, oxidation, and polymerization reactions. The aim of this study is to test the performance of polypropylene hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane in rejecting the impurities in the waste cooking oil such as moisture, free fatty acids (FFA), and color. The reduction of these impurities is expected to increase the quality of waste cooking oil. <br /> <br /> In this work, the waste cooking oil was filtered with a cross-flow configuration in the range of transmembrane pressure (TMP) of 1–2 bar and temperature of 30–50oC. The membrane performance was evaluated based on permeate flux value and rejection of impurities in the waste cooking oil. Moisture and FFA content were measured according to AOCS Ca 2c-25 and AOCS Ca 5a-40 standards. The quality of the permeate and feed oil was analyzed based on the absorbance value obtained from the measurements using spectrophotometer at the wavelength of 430–480 nm. Meanwhile, hydrophobic and oleophilic properties of the membrane were evaluated based on the contact angle of water and oil droplet on the membrane. <br /> <br /> The result showed that polypropylene ultrafiltration membranes were capable of rejecting water and reducing the absorbance of waste cooking oil, but unable to reject FFA. The permeate flux varied between 327–1327 mL/(m2.h). With the increasing of temperature and TMP, the permeate flux increased, while the water rejection decreased. The best water rejection was 95.5% achieved at operating temperature of 30oC and TMP of 1 bar. The water droplet contact angle on the membrane before and after use were 97.3 ± 5.7o and 96.4 ± 1.4o. Meanwhile, the oil droplet contact angle reduced from 31.2 ± 3.6o to 14.4 ± 0.9o after use. Based on these data, the membrane was more hydrophobic and oleophilic after use.