Biodiesel Feedstock Overview - Triglyceride Waste
Triglyceride Waste
Introduction
This purpose of this report is to discuss waste biological oils, better known as triglycerides and most commonly used as cooking oil. The report will include the different types of triglycerides, why this is considered a waste, how this waste should be treated, and future methods of treatment. Since used oil has only recently became valuable this topic is very important to the fate of several different industries in the future. This report will cover the different industries associated with cooking oil. Also, this report will discuss environmental regulations and recommendations from various organizations.
What is Cooking Oil?
Cooking oil is a triglyceride used for cooking. Wikipedia defines cooking oil as a purified fat of plant or animal origin, which is liquid at room temperature. There are several sources of triglycerides with the two categories animal fat and vegetable oil. Animal fat has been used as cooking oil for years. In fact animal fat was used for many years before the extraction of oil from plants was discovered.
Fats like tallow and lard are not liquid at room temperature yet make up a large amount of the waste triglycerides in the world. The United States is the largest consumer and exporter of tallow (Bean 2). All triglycerides can be formed into esters which make all animal fats convertible to biodiesel. For this reason animal fats should not be excluded when accounting for the total amount of waste triglycerides.
Sources of the Waste
The National Restaurant Association has more than 500,000 participating restaurants. The restaurants are mainly in the US with some located in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Not all restaurants in the U.S. are associated with the NRA but this does put a number on roughly how many restaurants use cooking oil. Using an estimate that 20 gallons of oil is used per week per restaurant, this gives an estimate of over half a billion gallons of waste oil per year. Even though this contributes highly to the amount of oil consumed, there are also many other sources of triglycerides. Many industrial food companies use vast amounts of cooking oil. Pre-cooked foods including snack foods and frozen foods are prepared using cooking oil. Large quantities of cooking oil are used by large scale food production facilities. There is a much higher surplus of used cooking oil from these sources.
Slaughtering facilities throughout the U.S. must deal with vast amounts of animal fat waste. These companies are smart enough to take advantage of a fuel market that helps expands from the existing food market to become more resourceful. For these reasons Tyson chicken is teaming with Conoco-Phillips to produce biodiesel from chicken fat. Technology is being perfected to use the waste from grease traps as fuel. This seems very rewarding since large scale grease traps can gather a large amount of triglycerides. This technology is new, but is very promising because of its reduction in pollution and reduction in BOD while using the energy for a useful power source.
Reasons for Reusing Triglycerides
As a young driver I was lucky to have a family that provided me a vehicle as well as fuel for that vehicle. One day my father had a surplus of gasoline mixed with two-stroke oil. This mixed gas is for use in non- oil injected engines and came from a boat gas tank. This was not the proper fuel for the engine and it was emptied from that fuel tank. However, since my father had such a surplus of this contaminated gasoline he knew he needed a plan to dispose of it. Since he only used roughly 10 gallons per year for his lawn equipment he knew he needed to do something with the gas. His decision was to dilute the oil in the gasoline by adding more gasoline. Then he decided to burn it in my truck. Having little choice over what I could do about it I drove around for a few weeks with a more visible exhaust than normal.
The point is that burning waste is a very convenient way to dispose of an organic. That is essentially what is happening with biodiesel. Not only did that mixed gasoline burn and dispose of itself but it also provided fuel. Essentially, my dad was doing me a favor by giving me fuel, and I was doing him a favor by consuming the fuel. This is the same case with cooking oil today. If we could prevent cooking oil from making it to the sewer, we can use the energy from the oil and prevent contamination of our environment.
Environmental Concerns
The first regulation on oil in general for facilities came in 1973 with the oil pollution prevention act which seems to be guided toward petroleum leaking into our streams, rivers, oceans, and groundwater. This can be found in the code of federal regulations 40 CFR part 112. By definition cooking oil is considered oil and although it is non-toxic and biodegradable it is still considered oil. Although it is clear that these regulations are not applicable to small restaurants, it is clear large facilities that store more than 660 gallons of oil in one container do fall under these restrictions.
A recent change in the politics has caused a new definition of who falls under this regulation. This can be found in the newer versions of 40 CFR part 112. Now the regulations are for any oil container. The regulation calls for secondary containment of the oil, along with planning for cleanup of future accidents. Since this material is non-toxic the requirements are not as stringent. However, the rules governing the storage and transport are extremely vague and can be found in the federal registry. The EPA requires SPCC plans which stands for spill prevention, control and countermeasure. This just ensures the EPA that the person who is handling oil knows what to do in an emergency. It is unclear if the SPCC still applies to local restaurants but it is expected that all large cooking facilities have a SPCC.
After researching oil waste on the national restaurant association webpage a letter was found addressed to the EPA about this subject. A link to this is included in the reference section. The letter is written in response to new EPA regulation on spill prevention. The restaurant association is upset because restaurants are required to follow certain rules only because the EPA will not change the definition of oil. They acknowledge that the waste must be properly managed, but don’t believe extensive new containment methods are needed for legitimate practice. Although cooking oil increases BOD, it is not typically dumped into rivers. Cooking oil is far less damaging than other petroleum oils however a threat to the environment still exists. I agree with the EPA in its attempt to prevent pollution but agree that common sense does not always prevail in law writing.
The misconception with cooking oil and biodiesel is that it is not harmful to the environment. Even though both are non-toxic and biodegradable they are still harmful to the environment because of they are not naturally occurring. Farmers & Truckers Biodiesel of Georgia, LLC was involved in an investigation about the dumping of waste including soybean oil, methanol, animal fat and sodium methalate. On August 22, 2007 an explosion occurred at the biodiesel plant which mortally injured a welder (WRDW). This led to an investigation that found nearly 500 gallons of dumped oil in the ground and runoff. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division started cleaning the site right away, while the plant was required to close down. This company did not have a SPCC plan and it showed by the lack of knowledge of the dangers of this oil.
Products formed from the Waste
Soap
Cosmetics
Pharmaceuticals
Animal Feed
Biodiesel
The Current Fate of Biological Oil
For many years companies were forced to pay to dispose of cooking oil. This is still the case today; however the growing value of the triglycerides makes the waste price decrease. Depending on the amount of waste oil determines whether there is a cost or payment associated with the disposal of the cooking oil. Biodiesel now sets the market on this waste. Before federal subsidies and the increase in foreign oil our biological waste oil was used for making soaps and used for animal feed. Using this waste product as animal feed reduces the cost of feeding proteins to livestock. No matter what part a company plays it is important to work with other companies to properly use the waste. For example making biodiesel creates a new waste which is glycerol.
On a household level there is no current plan for disposing of cooking oil. I know of no one with a legitimate answer to the question of where to dispose of cooking grease and oil. Everyone says, “don’t pour it down the sink” but there is not a clear answer as the where to dispose of the oil. Luckily the environmental effect is small for now, but in the future we should all know what to do with our oil.
The Future of Used Cooking Oil and Waste Animal Fat
With the increased price for foreign oil, bio fuels are now becoming more affordable. Currently Government subsidies in the United States offer $1.00 per gallon for bio-diesel. This is because the United States is trying to meet quotas set for bio-fuel production so that the use of petroleum can be reduced. These quotas are set by the department of energy who is trying to reduce our foreign dependency. Since the development of bio-fuels is a government initiative, funding is available.
Currently there are 165 biodiesel plants in the United States. The current production capacity of Bio-diesel in the U.S. is 1.85 billion gallons per year. The total amount actually produced is less than the capacity. This capacity is still only 3% and the government target is 10% by 2010. It is clear the used cooking oil will not meet the demands of this target, but with low prices on soybean oil biodiesel can be produced from virgin oils economically as long as crop prices do not inflate.
There is no question the infrastructure of the world is gearing more towards bio-fuels as time progresses. The European Union has mandated bio-fuel quotas which makes the production of these bio-fuels a worldwide concern. However, the infrastructure for collecting used cooking oil is not as widespread. I do not anticipate getting paid for donating my oil, but do see a need for collection. The only adequate answer to the question of what to do with cooking oils is to recycle and reuse.
Issues with Current Production
The major issue associated with production of biodiesel is the use of both methanol and sodium hydroxide. Typical biodiesel production uses methanol which is not typically found from renewable sources. Research is currently being done to replace methanol with alcohols that are easier to obtain. The most popular alcohol being researched for this reaction is ethanol, although alcohols such as butanol are also being considered. The major issue with making the biodiesel is that the ratio of methanol to triglyceride is too large. The issue only comes with energy required to separate the methanol from glycerol. Other alcohols require more energy to separate, but if the excess amount of alcohol could be reduced there is a possibility of energy savings. The down side to using sodium hydroxide is that it is not reusable. Some processes claim to us a different catalyst that can be reusable. This would be very imperative to reducing the cost of biodiesel.
Conclusion
Triglycerides are more common than one might think. They are used on an extremely large scale and the market for the used oil is growing. Since there are a high number of virgin oils being used for making biodiesel, blending can help with disposing of the lower quality used cooking oil. We can use the oils that we are throwing away so that we control where the pollution goes. The use of this waste will be an essential step on the road to using waste as fuel.
Introduction
This purpose of this report is to discuss waste biological oils, better known as triglycerides and most commonly used as cooking oil. The report will include the different types of triglycerides, why this is considered a waste, how this waste should be treated, and future methods of treatment. Since used oil has only recently became valuable this topic is very important to the fate of several different industries in the future. This report will cover the different industries associated with cooking oil. Also, this report will discuss environmental regulations and recommendations from various organizations.
What is Cooking Oil?
Cooking oil is a triglyceride used for cooking. Wikipedia defines cooking oil as a purified fat of plant or animal origin, which is liquid at room temperature. There are several sources of triglycerides with the two categories animal fat and vegetable oil. Animal fat has been used as cooking oil for years. In fact animal fat was used for many years before the extraction of oil from plants was discovered.
Fats like tallow and lard are not liquid at room temperature yet make up a large amount of the waste triglycerides in the world. The United States is the largest consumer and exporter of tallow (Bean 2). All triglycerides can be formed into esters which make all animal fats convertible to biodiesel. For this reason animal fats should not be excluded when accounting for the total amount of waste triglycerides.
Sources of the Waste
The National Restaurant Association has more than 500,000 participating restaurants. The restaurants are mainly in the US with some located in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Not all restaurants in the U.S. are associated with the NRA but this does put a number on roughly how many restaurants use cooking oil. Using an estimate that 20 gallons of oil is used per week per restaurant, this gives an estimate of over half a billion gallons of waste oil per year. Even though this contributes highly to the amount of oil consumed, there are also many other sources of triglycerides. Many industrial food companies use vast amounts of cooking oil. Pre-cooked foods including snack foods and frozen foods are prepared using cooking oil. Large quantities of cooking oil are used by large scale food production facilities. There is a much higher surplus of used cooking oil from these sources.
Slaughtering facilities throughout the U.S. must deal with vast amounts of animal fat waste. These companies are smart enough to take advantage of a fuel market that helps expands from the existing food market to become more resourceful. For these reasons Tyson chicken is teaming with Conoco-Phillips to produce biodiesel from chicken fat. Technology is being perfected to use the waste from grease traps as fuel. This seems very rewarding since large scale grease traps can gather a large amount of triglycerides. This technology is new, but is very promising because of its reduction in pollution and reduction in BOD while using the energy for a useful power source.
Reasons for Reusing Triglycerides
As a young driver I was lucky to have a family that provided me a vehicle as well as fuel for that vehicle. One day my father had a surplus of gasoline mixed with two-stroke oil. This mixed gas is for use in non- oil injected engines and came from a boat gas tank. This was not the proper fuel for the engine and it was emptied from that fuel tank. However, since my father had such a surplus of this contaminated gasoline he knew he needed a plan to dispose of it. Since he only used roughly 10 gallons per year for his lawn equipment he knew he needed to do something with the gas. His decision was to dilute the oil in the gasoline by adding more gasoline. Then he decided to burn it in my truck. Having little choice over what I could do about it I drove around for a few weeks with a more visible exhaust than normal.
The point is that burning waste is a very convenient way to dispose of an organic. That is essentially what is happening with biodiesel. Not only did that mixed gasoline burn and dispose of itself but it also provided fuel. Essentially, my dad was doing me a favor by giving me fuel, and I was doing him a favor by consuming the fuel. This is the same case with cooking oil today. If we could prevent cooking oil from making it to the sewer, we can use the energy from the oil and prevent contamination of our environment.
Environmental Concerns
The first regulation on oil in general for facilities came in 1973 with the oil pollution prevention act which seems to be guided toward petroleum leaking into our streams, rivers, oceans, and groundwater. This can be found in the code of federal regulations 40 CFR part 112. By definition cooking oil is considered oil and although it is non-toxic and biodegradable it is still considered oil. Although it is clear that these regulations are not applicable to small restaurants, it is clear large facilities that store more than 660 gallons of oil in one container do fall under these restrictions.
A recent change in the politics has caused a new definition of who falls under this regulation. This can be found in the newer versions of 40 CFR part 112. Now the regulations are for any oil container. The regulation calls for secondary containment of the oil, along with planning for cleanup of future accidents. Since this material is non-toxic the requirements are not as stringent. However, the rules governing the storage and transport are extremely vague and can be found in the federal registry. The EPA requires SPCC plans which stands for spill prevention, control and countermeasure. This just ensures the EPA that the person who is handling oil knows what to do in an emergency. It is unclear if the SPCC still applies to local restaurants but it is expected that all large cooking facilities have a SPCC.
After researching oil waste on the national restaurant association webpage a letter was found addressed to the EPA about this subject. A link to this is included in the reference section. The letter is written in response to new EPA regulation on spill prevention. The restaurant association is upset because restaurants are required to follow certain rules only because the EPA will not change the definition of oil. They acknowledge that the waste must be properly managed, but don’t believe extensive new containment methods are needed for legitimate practice. Although cooking oil increases BOD, it is not typically dumped into rivers. Cooking oil is far less damaging than other petroleum oils however a threat to the environment still exists. I agree with the EPA in its attempt to prevent pollution but agree that common sense does not always prevail in law writing.
The misconception with cooking oil and biodiesel is that it is not harmful to the environment. Even though both are non-toxic and biodegradable they are still harmful to the environment because of they are not naturally occurring. Farmers & Truckers Biodiesel of Georgia, LLC was involved in an investigation about the dumping of waste including soybean oil, methanol, animal fat and sodium methalate. On August 22, 2007 an explosion occurred at the biodiesel plant which mortally injured a welder (WRDW). This led to an investigation that found nearly 500 gallons of dumped oil in the ground and runoff. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division started cleaning the site right away, while the plant was required to close down. This company did not have a SPCC plan and it showed by the lack of knowledge of the dangers of this oil.
Products formed from the Waste
Soap
Cosmetics
Pharmaceuticals
Animal Feed
Biodiesel
The Current Fate of Biological Oil
For many years companies were forced to pay to dispose of cooking oil. This is still the case today; however the growing value of the triglycerides makes the waste price decrease. Depending on the amount of waste oil determines whether there is a cost or payment associated with the disposal of the cooking oil. Biodiesel now sets the market on this waste. Before federal subsidies and the increase in foreign oil our biological waste oil was used for making soaps and used for animal feed. Using this waste product as animal feed reduces the cost of feeding proteins to livestock. No matter what part a company plays it is important to work with other companies to properly use the waste. For example making biodiesel creates a new waste which is glycerol.
On a household level there is no current plan for disposing of cooking oil. I know of no one with a legitimate answer to the question of where to dispose of cooking grease and oil. Everyone says, “don’t pour it down the sink” but there is not a clear answer as the where to dispose of the oil. Luckily the environmental effect is small for now, but in the future we should all know what to do with our oil.
The Future of Used Cooking Oil and Waste Animal Fat
With the increased price for foreign oil, bio fuels are now becoming more affordable. Currently Government subsidies in the United States offer $1.00 per gallon for bio-diesel. This is because the United States is trying to meet quotas set for bio-fuel production so that the use of petroleum can be reduced. These quotas are set by the department of energy who is trying to reduce our foreign dependency. Since the development of bio-fuels is a government initiative, funding is available.
Currently there are 165 biodiesel plants in the United States. The current production capacity of Bio-diesel in the U.S. is 1.85 billion gallons per year. The total amount actually produced is less than the capacity. This capacity is still only 3% and the government target is 10% by 2010. It is clear the used cooking oil will not meet the demands of this target, but with low prices on soybean oil biodiesel can be produced from virgin oils economically as long as crop prices do not inflate.
There is no question the infrastructure of the world is gearing more towards bio-fuels as time progresses. The European Union has mandated bio-fuel quotas which makes the production of these bio-fuels a worldwide concern. However, the infrastructure for collecting used cooking oil is not as widespread. I do not anticipate getting paid for donating my oil, but do see a need for collection. The only adequate answer to the question of what to do with cooking oils is to recycle and reuse.
Issues with Current Production
The major issue associated with production of biodiesel is the use of both methanol and sodium hydroxide. Typical biodiesel production uses methanol which is not typically found from renewable sources. Research is currently being done to replace methanol with alcohols that are easier to obtain. The most popular alcohol being researched for this reaction is ethanol, although alcohols such as butanol are also being considered. The major issue with making the biodiesel is that the ratio of methanol to triglyceride is too large. The issue only comes with energy required to separate the methanol from glycerol. Other alcohols require more energy to separate, but if the excess amount of alcohol could be reduced there is a possibility of energy savings. The down side to using sodium hydroxide is that it is not reusable. Some processes claim to us a different catalyst that can be reusable. This would be very imperative to reducing the cost of biodiesel.
Conclusion
Triglycerides are more common than one might think. They are used on an extremely large scale and the market for the used oil is growing. Since there are a high number of virgin oils being used for making biodiesel, blending can help with disposing of the lower quality used cooking oil. We can use the oils that we are throwing away so that we control where the pollution goes. The use of this waste will be an essential step on the road to using waste as fuel.
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