Biodiesel produced from used cooking oil results in an 86% reduction in greenhouse gases, compared to petro-diesel.
Best Ways to Recycle Used Cooking Oil
Producing Biodiesel
Producing Biodiesel
Biodiesel is biodegradable and safe for the environment, which makes it a good alternative to petroleum-based fuel. When restaurants and takeaways follow a sustainable practice of transporting their used oil to a biodiesel plant, they positively impact environmental conservation. The process of making Biodiesel from used cooking oil is extensive but worth it.
The fuel-generating plant will expose used cooking oil to high heat and high pressure while its solid components dissolve, leaving behind a clear liquid. The purified and cleared cooking oil is then turned into fuel and sold to the contractors dealing with biodiesel.
The scale of recycling cooking oil is not prevalent yet. But with time, more takeaway kitchens and restaurants are investing in biodiesel kits to protect the environment. By installing sustainable grease traps and oil-collecting bins, takeaways can prevent grease dumping and oil wastage. Restaurants across the UK are installing grease traps in their facilities to contain their impact on the environment and recycle cooking oil the right way.
Converting used cooking oil to diesel fuel is considered renewable energy and an environmental recycling process.
The process to Convert Used Oil into Biodiesel
Once you decide to recycle your takeaway kitchen’s used oil, here are the two ways to go about it:
Get a Recycling Kit
If yours is a small-medium takeaway kitchen and onboarding another service provider doesn’t seem practical to you, getting a recycling kit is a way out. These kits purify used cooking oil by removing burnt food and grease particles. When the oil is free of small solid particles, it can be reused for cooking or sold to a nearby biodiesel facility. However, be noted that using a recycling kit to deal with used cooking oil will require extra work and won’t be practical for large quantities of grease. These kits are suitable for passionate recyclers who like to experiment and find new ways of reusing old stuff.
Hire a Professional Service
It’s best for large takeaway kitchens and restaurants to partner with a recycling company. Most responsible eateries in the UK already have designated containers to store and transport used cooking oil. In this system, the used cooking oil from a restaurant’s deep fryers and kitchen move directly to a large moveable container. This container is later transported to a recycling plant where all impurities from it are removed, and its usable stage is restored. The recycling plant then decided to purify and convert this oil to biodiesel or use it for commercial compost sites.
A KFC franchisee in Lowa uses a recycling
system to dispose of and replace
used cooking oil.
If you’re unaware of this recycling method, you can contact UK Environment Agency and get a list of authorized oil collectors in your region. Once you understand the prospect company’s working technique and sign a contract, they’ll present you with a next month or year schedule. On each specified day, an oil collecting vehicle will visit your takeaway kitchen, empty the large oil containers, and transport the used oil to a recycling plant.
If you get a grease trap installed by professionals and follow a good oil collecting schedule, this is the most sustainable method to recycle used oil. The Environment Agency UK is actively onboarding and rewarding responsible service providers for their hard work.