Investigation of Waste Cooking Oil processing using HAAS automated reactors system

The processing of waste cooking oils (WCO) is a complex process that heavily depends on their chemical and physical properties. The work described in this article includes research on the processing of WCO samples using transesterification methods. An automated reactor system Matrix9 HAAS was used to perform process studies and FT-IR measurements.

Transesterification of oils in the presence of KOH might be directly applied as the optimal one for oils with a low acid number, while for oils with a higher acid number an additional esterification step is advisable in the presence of an acid catalyst or under conditions of high temperature and pressure.