Study and investigation into used cooking oil recyclability

• Main Author: Tan, Bryan Keat Leong
• Other Authors: Heng Kok Hui, John Gerard
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157859
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Used cooking oil disposal is a crucial area where more research can be done on how to repurpose the oil after being used for cooking to reduce the amount of oil people are pouring into the sinks, which clogs up the pipeline and pollutes the pipeline waterways. Besides that, oil tends to create a thicker coating each time it is in contact with the piping system and can create an expanding mass that would clog up the piping system leaving no way of getting rid of this oil residue unless the piping system is changed, or pressure washed. The oil poured into the sinks builds up into “fatbergs”, which clogs up sewer networks where a backflow may occur. Furthermore, suppose the waste oil is not correctly processed before being disposed of into major streams, rivers, or oceans, profound environmental impact may arise, significantly affecting the quality of the river and marine life. The fatbergs tend to obstruct water treatment processes, leading to extensive harm if the sewage water is released. A method in which this report will suggest eliminating oil disposal is to convert the used oil into usable hand soap where simplified methods of creating the soap through a process known as saponification is used and where studies are conducted on ways to manufacture the device in a way that enhances current practices requiring multiple types of equipment to produce the soap. This report would also consider the amount of chemicals necessary to manufacture the soap and ensure the device's design has adequate capacity to hold and mechanically mix the chemicals to produce the soap. Further elaboration on the design would intend to show material selection, design of filtering and mechanical viability to mechanisms used in the making of the device. The design process and rational behind the stirring mechanism would also be featured. Further works and recommendations include improving the rate of hardening of the soap and the study into reusable material to be used as a filter material, reducing the environmental footprint the product has.