Study of the Transformation of the Oil of Used Soya in Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester

Abstract

The reuse of vegetable oils in food processing brings harmful health effects and on the other hand needs a complex treatment to discard without affecting the environment. Transformed into methyl or ethyl esters of fatty acids and glycerin by transesterification with the corresponding alcohol, can be a suitable method for treatment. It was investigated residual soybean oil from a producer of fried foods and ethanol. It is known that with this spirit the transformation process presents difficulties not listed with methanol, but at the same time does not bring the drawbacks of the latter, for toxicity and acquisition, and that since it is a derivative of the domestic sugar industry does not constitute a raw material import. We experimented with ethanol 80 %, 85 % and 90 % purity and worked 35 ºC and 50 ºC. Final yields of ethyl esters, are low compared with those obtained for similar processes with methanol, 85 % being the highest yield obtained under the conditions of the process. An assessment of costs was conducted to produce 1L of ethyl esters in the laboratory, the expenses of 0,56 pesos/L.