(From “The Hindu”, 23 Feb, 2019)
Caterers and hotel kitchens often find themselves with large amount of used cooking oil that needs to be disposed off. The Dehradun based Indian Institute of Petroleum is experimenting with converting used cooking oil into bio aviation turbine fuel (Bio-ATF) which can be blended with conventional ATF and used as aircraft fuel. The pilot test is done and further work will focus on commercial use of the technology.
This initiative is significant as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched the Repurpose Cooking Oil (RUCO) initiative to collect and convert used cooking oil into biofuel. 64 companies across 101 locations across the country are involved in this. Sounds futuristic? But hey, the future seems not so far. Apparently, by 2020, it should be possible to recover about 220 crore litres of used cooking oil for conversion into bio-fuel.
What a welcome move! Reusing used cooking oil prevents wastage of a potential source of energy. Besides, used cooking oil is one of the few kitchen waste items that cannot be composted and it slows down composting when mixed with other food waste. If not discarded wisely, it may also contaminate the water system. Looking forward to commercial deployment of such initiatives!To learn more, check out this report from.
“The Hindu”: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/travel-on-a-jet-using-a-little-cooking-oil/article26344754.ece