Fuel Processing Technology 134 (2015) 487–493

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Fuel Processing Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fuproc

Evaluation of methods for reducing the ash content of waste frying oil
processed to biofuel oil
Maxim Bril'kov a,b, Anne B. Falck-Ytter a, Knut O. Strætkvern a,⁎
a
Hedmark University College, Department of Natural Sciences and Technology, Norway
b
FMC Biopolymer AS, 5545 Vormedal, Norway

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Waste frying oil (WFO) reclaimed from food processing and stripped from various impurities is considered a
Received 20 January 2015 valuable feedstock for making biofuels. Specifically, to be used as bio-oil in industrial burners the ash content
Received in revised form 10 March 2015 of WFO should not exceed maximum limits set for dust pollution from burners. Samples obtained from a WFO
Accepted 12 March 2015
processing plant were used in a study to investigate efficient means of reducing ash to acceptable levels, i.e.
Available online 29 March 2015
b 0.015%. Since the ash mainly exists as discrete particles dispersed in the oil, physical methods of separation
Keywords:
such as filtration, extraction, settling and centrifugation were tested. Benchmark analysis of the current full
Waste oil scale process employing settling and 400, 200 μm filtration steps showed that end products after heating at
Ash 600 °C, contained 0.02–0.01% ash, regardless of high (0.5%) or low (0.02%) initial ash. Experimental filtration
Filtration with 45 μm screen demonstrated that ash could be reduced 40–50% further. In aqueous extraction experiments
Aqueous extraction ash reduction was dependent on both water:oil ratio and the temperature, in a manner showing interaction of
Centrifugation the two factors. Extraction at a water ratio of 0.2 at 40 °C provided a consistent 60–70% reduction including
Iodine number the settling effect, and obtained with test volumes up to 1 l. High-speed centrifugation offered final ash levels
as low as 0.012%. However, extensively purified WFO retained a particle fraction below 10 μm. The study points
to possible improvements of steps in the current WFO line. Interestingly, any measures to reduce end product ash
might be offset by burner temperatures above 800 °C due to the observation that approximate 50% of the ash
being carbon based material combusted above this temperature.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
1.1. Waste frying oil (WFO) as by-product
The annual generation of vast amounts of used deep-fat frying oil
from fast food caterings, restaurants and food processing industry is
posing a challenge for proper reuse. While some are paid for their
WFO to be disposed off, others are charged a fee for the waste handling.
In certain instances the WFO is mixed into pet food, make-up, livestock
feed, or fertilizer, but still large volumes are dumped into sewers and
landfills. Considering the benefit of energy conservation, companies
and individuals can easily produce cheap biofuel from WFO [1,2], espe-
cially the used vegetable oils have been considered as a promising op-
tion. Several studies show the possibility of using WFO in the biofuel/
biodiesel production [3–7].
Deep-fat frying is one of the most common methods for food
preparation which improves the taste of food [8]. The same oil or
fat is used several times, mainly for economic reasons. However,
continuously using the same oil or fat for frying will cause various
physical and chemical changes to the oil. Some physical changes ob-
served in vegetable oil after frying are: increase in viscosity, increase
in specific heat, change in surface tension, and change in color [9].
Oils are also subjected to three types of reactions during frying,
mainly thermolytic, oxidative and hydrolytic [10,11]. The combined
effect of these chemical reactions on the cooking oil is that many un-
desirable compounds are formed during repetitive heating and fry-
ing thereby increasing the polar content (FFA, ketones, aldehydes)
[10–12].
1.2. Purification of WFO

WFO contains about 20% waste by volume owing to large solids

Abbreviations: WFO, waste frying oil; FFA, free fatty acids; IV, iodine value (number);
NEA, Norwegian Environmental Agency
⁎ Corresponding author at: Hedmark University College, Campus Hamar, N-2318
Hamar, Norway. Tel.: +47 625 17852; fax: +47 625 17601.
E-mail address: knutos@hihm.no (K.O. Strætkvern).
(food, paper scraps, etc.),various metallic impurities especially al-
kali (earth) metals that can be added to cooking oils from foods or
from cooking equipment used during frying, smaller-sized solids
suspended within the oil, and water [13]. Dispersed solids and min-
erals contribute to the ash content in waste frying oil. In order to

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2015.03.008
0378-3820/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
488 M. Bril'kov et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 134 (2015) 487–493

obtain a consistent yield of biofuel and avoid unpredicted chemical

reactions caused by the impurities presented in WFO, the raw mate-
rial requires a pretreatment that generally consists of several steps Waste frying
of heating, filtration, washing with hot water and settling [12,14]. oils, fats
Novel methods to purify the WFO have been reported, e.g. supercrit- Water
ical extraction of the oil with a non-polar supercritical fluid [12,14–16].
In a study by Boffito et al. [17], waste frying oil was first submitted to a
rough filtration followed by drying under vacuum and vacuum filtration Mixing, heating,
in order to remove water and solid deposits, respectively. Supple and coarse solids screen
co-workers [13] suggested running the WFO through a series of sieves Oil
ranging in aperture from 5 to 1 mm, which removed the unwanted recycle
solids, or alternatively, the oil could be reheated by steam injection
1
into the tank followed by a second cycle of sedimentation and settling
before the refined oil was stored. Heating,
Several patents on purification of WFO and cooking oils have been settling
issued; by applying different activated filters [18] or adsorbents [19],
steam stripping under reduced pressures [20] and agitating a WFO mix-
ture with water and ozone [21]. Used
water
1.3. Ash in WFO
Oil/water
For the refined WFO to be acceptable as a biofuel in oil burners, separation
the ash content must be kept at a defined low level. The Norwegian
Environment Agency (NEA) specifies the limits of emissions includ-
ing dust, from burners 1–50 MW that are using liquid biofuels and 2
vegetable oils [22]. To comply with the regulation, maximum ash
content in WFO should not exceed 0.015% (E. Lundby, personal
Reject 6 Filter
communication). 400 µm
The objective of this study was to evaluate physical methods for
reducing the ash content in the oil product from a local WFO- 3
processing plant. The 12 m3 per batch process currently contains var-
ious refining steps like water separation, sedimentation holds and
filtration (Fig. 1). The challenge of recycling WFO is to allow for the Filter
wide variation in raw material composition and still reach preset 200 µm
product specifications in the end product, in this respect the ash con-
tent. In this study a lab-scale examination of the behavior and nature
of the ash in response to filtration, aqueous extraction and centrifu-
4
gation was carried out. The results point to suggested revisions of
the process to be validated at larger scale to provide a more robust End product
Transport
low level of ash.
to end 5 holding
user
2. Materials and methods

Fig. 1. The outline of a WFO to biofuel-oil production. Boldface numbers indicate the sam-
2.1. Chemicals pling points analyzed in this study, either taken from the process flow or holding tanks.

Chemicals (essentially used in Section 2.7) were of analytical grade

and obtained from common lab suppliers. Chloroform, Hanus-solution
(cIBr = 0.1 mol/l), sodium thiosulfate-pentahydrate, and soluble starch
were the products of MERCK KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Potassium io-
dide and mineral oil (M-5904) were the products of SIGMA-ALDRICH
(St. Louis, MI, USA).
2.2. Oil samples
Waste frying oil samples (1–2 l) were collected from critical points
of the process facility at Bioproduksjon AS, as indicated in Fig. 1: Raw ma-
terial (1), after dewatering step (2), after first filtration 400 μm (3), after
second filtration 200 μm (4), end product tank (5), and reject from the
first filter (6). A set of samples represents the production at a given date.
2.4. Filtration
For the filtration test was used an in-line filter holder with 50 mm
polypropylene filters (Millipore™) with pore sizes 45 and 10 μm. In
the setup, the oil was passed through the filter holder by a peristaltic
pump (type 503U, Watson Marlow Ltd, Falmouth, UK) fitted with sili-
cone tubing 6 mm i.d. The inlet side was equipped with a manometer
and the positive pressure during filtration did not exceed 5 bars. Using
this setup, the filtrated oil samples were tested for remaining ash
content.
2.5. Aqueous extraction

2.3. Centrifugation
Centrifugation was carried out at 8 500 ×g for 30 min on samples
(60 ml) of the raw material and end product, at room temperature
(22 °C) in a Beckman JA-20 rotor. The resulting supernatant from each
sample was taken to ash analysis.
The initial test for screening of extraction conditions was carried out
as a two-level factorial design with center points. An oil sample (70 ml)
was mixed with water by shaking for 1 min at different water:oil ratios
(0.05–0.25) in a 100 ml conical separating funnel. The funnel was placed
vertically on a stand in a heating cabinet and held at different tempera-
tures (30, 40 and 50 °C) for 2.5–3 h until layers appeared visually well
 M. Bril'kov et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 134 (2015) 487–493
separated. The water layer was drained and the oil fraction was ana-
lyzed for its residual ash content. In scale-up extractions, 250 ml and
1000 ml oil were used in proportionally larger, straight-wall separation
funnels and held for layer separation for 6 and 9 h, respectively.
2.6. Ash content determination
Replicate samples were weighted (± 0.001 g) in tarred porcelain
crucibles (i.d. 40 mm, height 8 mm) of known mass and then pre-
burned inside a hood over a gas burner. The crucibles were then trans-
ferred to a high temperature furnace (Carbolite CWF 11/5, Sheffield, UK)
and incubated for 4 h, typically at 600 °C. Some samples were heated
also at 800 and 975 °C. Crucibles were cooled in an exicator and weight-
ed. Ash content (%) of the sample was calculated according to the equa-
tion: Ash content = [(m2 − m1) / mo] · 100%, where m1 was the mass
(±0.001 g) of the empty crucible, m2 the mass of the crucible and the
ash, and m0 the mass of sample.
2.7. Degree of unsaturated oils by iodine value
The content of unsaturated oils in WFO was determined by absorp-
tion of halogen, expressed as the iodine value (IV). The analysis was car-
ried out according to the ISO 3961 standard [23]. Replicate samples
were analyzed, and mineral oil was used as a control.
2.8. Viscosity
For viscosity measurements a Brookfield LVDV-1 Prime digital vis-
cometer (Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, Inc., Middleboro, USA)
was used. The test probe volume (about 400 ml) was taken in a
600 ml glass with 8.8 cm internal diameter. Measurements were obtain-
ed with a S62 spindle at 30 °C.
2.9. Statistical analysis
ANOVA was used for testing of differences between batches, apply-
ing a level of significance at p b 0.05. Modeling and statistical analysis
of data from factorial testing of aqueous extraction (Design of Experi-
ments) was carried out using MODDE 10.1 from Umetrics.
3. Results
In the present study two sample sets of WFO processing from a com-
mercial operation (Fig. 1) were obtained and characterized to obtain
benchmark values for their ash content. The production batches were
both of high and low initial ash content thereby describing any likely
range of raw material variation at this facility. Physical methods of ash
reduction (centrifugation, filtration, aqueous extraction) were then
tested at lab-scale, under the assumption that these are scalable separa-
tion methods.
Table 1
Effect of the processing steps on two production batches of bio-oil from WFO differing in initial ash content. Ash content (mean ± SD) and viscosity determined in samples obtained from
the process line according to Fig. 1.
Sampling pointsa Sample type High initial ash (batch 1)
Ashb (%)
1 WFO input 0.583 ± 0.000
2 Dewatered oil 0.224 ± 0.020
3 1st filtrate (400 μm) 0.103 ± 0.013
4 2nd filtrate (200 μm) 0.095 ± 0.010
5 End product 0.021 ± 0.003
6 Reject 1st filter 0.303 ± 0.002
a
See Fig. 1.
b
n = 3.
c
At 30 °C.
489
3.1. Process batch characteristics
Each critical point sample from the production line was tested on ash
content, viscosity (Table 1) and iodine value (Table 2). The ash content
is reduced for both set of samples throughout the process, with end
products at 0.021% for high (batch 1) and 0.010% for low initial ash
(batch 2). Viscosity of the WFO decreases throughout the process as
well, but only significantly for the batch 1, with a negative correlation
to the ash content. Difference in viscosity between the batches is appar-
ent, however, it is not significant (F1,8 = 3.24, p b 0.05). The iodine value
as a measure of unsaturated fatty acids in samples 2–5, is as expected far
above the mineral oil control, but remains almost the same for both
batches from the dewatering step and throughout. The oil composition
of a batch is considered largely unchanged, although in both batches,
the iodine value of filter reject (6) was markedly lower than in the sub-
sequent filtrates (Table 2). Thus, a fraction of insoluble saturated fats
were removed. Between batches 1 and 2, on the other hand, a signifi-
cant difference (F1,8 = 8.82, p b 0.05) in oil composition was observed
signifying that batch 2 has a higher content of unsaturated fatty acids.
3.2. Combustion temperature
To observe the effect of oven temperature on the ash determination,
raw material oil and end product sample taken after the second filtra-
tion step were analyzed at three different temperatures (Fig. 2). The an-
alyzed ash content in the crude WFO dropped by almost 50% when
increasing the combustion temperature from 600 to 800 °C, and an ad-
ditional 10% drop was observed when increasing to 975 °C. For the
filtrated end product oil, already quite low in ash, the remaining ana-
lyzed ash also dropped with increasing temperature. This indicates
that about 38–59% of the ash in the crude material is of carbon based
material, which is readily removed at a higher combustion temperature.
3.3. Centrifugation
Using high-speed centrifugation, WFO raw material and the end
products taken from the two different product batches were separated
into a liquid top phase and bottom phase, which consisted of solid par-
ticles, impurities and saturated solid fats. The top phase was analyzed on
ash content and compared to the original samples (Fig. 3). Centrifuga-
tion reduced the ash in raw material samples by 90–98% to below
0.015%, both for high and low initial ash WFO. Only minor effect of the
centrifugation was observed on the two end products, suggesting that
there is a fraction of ash particles (0.012% average) that was too small
to settle and remained buoyant in the medium.
3.4. Filtration
In filtration experiments when oil was passed through a 45 μm filter
by a peristaltic pump, a significant decrease in ash content was observed
Low initial ash (batch 2)
Viscosityc (mPa · s) Ash (%) Viscosity (mPa · s)
101.1 0.022 ± 0.006 51.6
67.5 0.018 ± 0.000 53.7
61.2 0.021 ± 0.003 53.7
57.6 0.016 ± 0.002 52.8
53.4 0.010 ± 0.001 51.9
74.4 0.276 ± 0.007 62.7
490 M. Bril'kov et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 134 (2015) 487–493

Table 2 0.6
Iodine values (g/100 g, mean ± SD) during processing of two production batches of biofu-
el-oil from raw material with high initial (batch 1) and low initial (batch 2) ash content. 0.02
Sampling points Sample type Batch 1 Batch 2
0.5
1 WFO input 80.24 ± 2.95 85.74 ± 0.46
2 Dewatered oil 69.79 ± 8.62 79.51 ± 0.44
3 1st filtrate 72.51 ± 2.04 78.14 ± 1.55 0.01
4 2nd filtrate 71.01 ± 0.90 77.39 ± 0.78
0.4
5 End product 73.55 ± 3.14 81.21 ± 0.37
6 Reject 1st filter 63.01 ± 0.14 70.42 ± 0.14

Ash content (%)

Ref. Mineral oil 4.72 ± 0.16
0.00
0.3 End product 8,500 g
(Fig. 4). A sample (4) from after the second process filter (200 μm) was supernatant
reduced by 41%, and a sample (5) from the end product holding tank
was reduced further by 54% down to 0.030% ash. Filtration through
Batch 1
0.2
45 μm indicated that particulate matter is still present in the oil after Batch 2
the ordinary processing steps, and that a fraction of the ash in the
200 μm filtrate can be removed by a narrower screen unless it settles
by itself. 0.1

3.5. Aqueous extraction

The effect of liquid–liquid phase extraction on reducing ash content 0

was first tested in small scale separation funnels employing a screening
design of two factors; low–high water:oil ratio at two temperatures
(30 °C and 50 °C). The extraction was tested on samples obtained after
the oil/water separation step (2), both for high initial and for low initial
ash oil. The overall effect on the ash reduction resulting from the five ex-
periments on each sample is modeled as contour plots (Fig. 5A and C).
The highest ash reduction (light shaded fields) appears to occur in op-
posite corners of the plot; at conditions high water-low temperature
or at low water-high temperature. Due to a reduced number of experi-
ments in each design the significance of the models was moderate
(R2 = 0.80–0.83), although the contour pattern indicates a clear curva-
ture, or interaction between the tested factors. Interaction of factors
based on the actual outcomes of ash reduction was substantial, ob-
served as the intersection of connecting lines of the same temperature
(Fig. 5B and D).
The highest ash reduction by aqueous extraction was 69% obtain-
ed at 30 °C and W:O = 0.2. However, as a control experiment of ash
settling alone in the separation funnel with no water added, in an oil
sample held for 3 h at 40 °C, an ash reduction of 56% was noted. In a
further refining of the extraction conditions at high water ratio (0.2),
it was shown that ash reduction at holding temperature at 40 °C was
slightly better than at 30 and 50 °C (data not shown). Using these
provisional conditions, two scale-up extractions were tested with
WFO input 8,500 g supernatant
Fig. 3. Effect of centrifugation (8500 g, 30 min, RT) on the ash content in WFO raw material
and in end product. Bars indicate the percent ash in samples from the two process (point 1
and 5) from production batches characterized by high (batch 1) and low (batch 2) initial
ash.
250 and 1000 ml oil (Fig. 6). The cylindrical separation funnels
used for the scale up both had the same aspect geometry; therefore
the height of the liquid increased proportionally with the volume
and the holding time was adjusted accordingly to 6 and 9 h, respec-
tively. The reductions in ash compared to the original sample
(2) were 79% for 250 ml and 64% for 1000 ml oil.
To possibly reduce ash even further, the raffinate from the 1000 ml
extraction experiment was first filtrated through a 45 μm filter and
0.10
Ash before filtration
Ash after
0.08

1.0
Ash content (%)

600°C 0.06
0.791
0.8 800°C
975°C
Ash content (%)

0.6 0.04

0.413
0.4 0.328
0.02

0.2 0.133
0.1 0.0825
0.00
0.0 2nd process filtrate (4) End product holding tank (5)
WFO input 2nd filtrate
Fig. 4. Effect on the ash content in WFO process samples after filtration through a lab-scale
Fig. 2. Effect of the oven combustion temperature on the measured ash content. Bars indi- filter (50 mm diam.). Bars indicate the percent ash in two process samples (points 4 and
cate percent ash in two oil samples (points 1 and 4) taken from the WFO-process. 5) from low-ash WFO (batch 2) when filtered through a 45 μm filter.
 M. Bril'kov et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 134 (2015) 487–493 491

A B

C D

Fig. 5. Effect on the ash content from extraction analyzed in a factorial design of water ratios and holding temperatures. The water:oil ratio (x-axis in all plots) was tested at a low and a high
level using 70 ml oil (2), and holding for 3 h at high and low temperatures (30, 50 °C). The W:O ratio was slightly shifted downwards between the two experiments. Contour plots on the
left show the ash reduction in (A) high initial ash WFO (W:O = 0.125–0.25), and in (C) low initial ash WFO (W:O = 0.05–0.2). Boxed numbers on isocurves are percent ash reduction from
the initial feed. Corresponding line plots to the right show the factor interaction on the ash content, for (B) high initial ash WFO, and (D) low initial ash WFO. Plots differ on the ash content
scale by a factor of 5. Error bars where visible, represent replicate ash analysis.

then through a 10 μm filter. However, no significant change in ash con-

0.10 tent was observed in either filtrations, which indicated that the remain-
ing particle fraction in the raffinate was less than 10 μm and too light to
Ash before settle, similar to the outcome on filtration of the process end product
Ash after (Fig. 4).
0.08

4. Discussion and conclusions

Ash content (%)

0.06 4.1. Process line characteristics

The analysis of the oil from critical points in the production line
confirmed the expected reduction to a low ash level, apparently re-
0.04
gardless of how much initial ash was present. This could be affirma-
tive for the overall process already being robust. However, based on
an arbitrary testing over 15-month period, the final ash content had
0.02 shown to vary in the range 0.01–0.05% (E. Lundby, personal commu-
nication). Thus, further knowledge on the nature and behavior of the
ash was mandated.
For the WFO of high initial ash (batch 1) the viscosity correlated with
0.00 the ash content, suggesting that ash affects oil viscosity and may pass to-
250 ml, 1000 ml, 45 µm 10 µm gether with removal of saturated (solid) fats by filtration and settling.
6 hrs 9 hrs filtrate filtrate This suggestion was supported by the difference in iodine value be-
Oil samples from water extraction (1:5), tween the raw material and the end product within a batch. Also be-
and after filtration of the 1000 ml raffinate. tween the batches, the difference in iodine value should reflect a
higher amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in batch 2. This difference
Fig. 6. Scale-up of water extraction (W:O 1:5) and subsequent filtration of the raffinate.
Bars indicate percent ash in the oil phase after extraction with 50 and 200 ml of water,
in oil composition is also evident from the initial viscosities of the WFOs
and held at 40 °C, and after filtration of the 1000 ml batch oil phase through a labscale since melting points of unsaturated oils are much lower than for satu-
filter. rated oils causing the decreased viscosity [24].
492 M. Bril'kov et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 134 (2015) 487–493
Ash after the second filtration (4) and in the end product sample
(5) should in fact be the same, because the oil after filtration goes
straight into a storage tank as a final product. The significant difference
between the samples can be explained as time dependent settling of
particulates during storage, since end products can be stored in the
tank over various periods of time. This clearly indicates that the ash
level can be reduced further.
4.2. Ash properties
Physical dependent experiments such as centrifugation, settling
and filtration demonstrated that most of the ash exists as solid parti-
cles, having mass and could be removed by gravitational and size de-
pendent methods of separation. Apparently, a minor fraction of the
ash in WFO is intrinsic to pure oils, but most come from the contact
with immersed food items at point of use. During frying, spices and
salt added to the food will also partly remain in the used oils as ash
[13]. The significant organic carbon content still remaining in the
ash after 600 °C was illustrated by combustion at 800–1000 °C.
Therefore, given the fact that combustion temperature of industrial
burners is higher than 800 °C [25], it may be concluded that the actu-
al ash level through the chimney most likely will be lower than indi-
cated in the analysis.
4.3. Effect of physical separation methods
Centrifugation seemed to be the most efficient means of reducing
ash to a practical minimum. It should be noted though, that minimum
ash was obtained in a lab-scale batch centrifuge with a long holdup
time. Industrial scale centrifuges working in continuous mode like tubu-
lar bowl and disc stack separators are normally capable of providing
centrifugation fields of the magnitude required to sediment particles
10–100 μm in aqueous solutions [26]. However, due to the low differ-
ence in density between ash particles and oil, and the viscosity of oil it-
self, efficient particle settling probably will demand a high energy input.
Tubular bowl centrifuges may be useful due to a relative short sedimen-
tation distance and simple construction.
Further filtration of the two-stage filtrated WFO demonstrated the
potential benefit of a third stage with 45 μm screen to remove a signif-
icant part of the residual particulates. It can be argued that the same de-
gree of ash reduction can also be obtained by simple gravitational
settling, albeit time consuming and less predictable in outcome. Pro-
cessing of the 1-l raffinate through 45 and 10 μm without further reduc-
tion gave hint to the limitation of traditional filtration; apparently it is
not feasible to reduce ash below the critical limit.
Gravitational settling alone appeared to be an uncontrollable factor
in aqueous extraction experiment. Even so, the effect of water is still
beneficial in addition to the settling, as long as the water layer consumes
all particles precipitated by the gravity force and water soluble compo-
nents are transferred into the extract phase. Overall, the validity of the
predicted ash reduction resulting from the small scale experiments
was confirmed by the satisfactory outcome of the two scale-up experi-
ments at 40 °C. In extraction temperature is considered a positive
term due to decreased viscosity. However, the interaction observed be-
tween water fraction and temperature showed that increasing the tem-
perature up to 50 °C with the same water:oil ratio actually leads to an
increase in the ash content, possibly due to the occurrence of polymer-
ization reactions in the fat chains via Diels–Alder reaction [11,27]. In the
Diels–Alder reaction the conjugated diene from linoleate may react with
oleate (or one of the unsaturated linkages in a polyene); in the case of
triglycerides such dimerization can take place between acyl groups
within the same molecule [10]. The effect of such polymerization may
be the formation of high molecular weight compounds that cannot
burn completely at the test temperature. This phenomenon may also
explain the observations with combustion at higher temperatures
(Fig. 2).
A recommended method for removing impurities from WFO is by
steaming the oil using saturated water vapor at 95 °C, thereby allowing
the water-soluble impurities to hydrate and dissolve in the water phase
(approx. 5 w/w%), the swelling causing the particles to sediment easier
[28]. The temperature range for water extraction applied in the current
study was moderate in comparison, but for technical reasons it was not
increased further. However, the significant ash reduction observed at
50 °C and at a low water ratio (Fig. 5) can be interpreted as the effect
of denser hydrated ash particles precipitating at a faster rate than ash
at lower temperatures.
4.4. Conclusion
In conclusion, examination of the current process revealed that two
stage filtration and time-dependent settling removed up to 96% of the
initial ash, but still not sufficient to obtain a predictable output indepen-
dent of the WFO input. A third filtration stage of 45 μm or below is likely
to remove a substantial fraction of the remaining ash as an alternative to
a lengthy settling in the end product. Water is already arbitrarily intro-
duced early in the process line during washing of containers; however, a
controlled step of aqueous extraction might provide more efficient ash
removal prior to filtration. As a polishing step to obtain consistent ash
levels close to or below 0.015%, high speed centrifugation is suggested.
Sufficiently high combustion temperature in the burner might compen-
sate for any of these measures.
Acknowledgments
We thank Bioproduksjon AS, for providing process samples and
details of the process at their plant at Minnesund, Akershus, and
Mr. Erland Lundby, for his insightful discussions during the study. The
project was in part financed through a grant from the Norwegian Re-
search Council (VRI Innlandet / KM2012).
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