Repurposing used cooking oil

Being an energy-starved economy, the most waste recycling projects in Bangladesh are geared to convert waste into biofuel or directly into energy. So, we have the likes of the massive USD467 million-worth North Dhaka Waste-to-Energy Facility, a utility-scale plant to produce 42.5 MW power, located at the Aminbazar landfill in Dhaka. This project will process thousands of tonnes of municipal solid waste into energy. There is also another multimillion-dollar E-waste, or electronic waste management facility under development at Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park which is set for launch in 2028. There are also UN and foreign foundation supported plastic circularity projects that aim to support thousands of informal waste workers. However, apart from producing energy, there are some private companies that convert or re-refine used motor oil and lubricants into fresh base oil/ motor oil as well as lighter distilleries like gas oil or diesel. Thanks to these local initiatives that the burnt motor oil which is a toxic waste and harmful for the environment is now being repurposed into valuable motor oil thereby saving foreign currency. These recycled lubricants are useful for industrial machinery, agricultural equipment, re-rolling mills, etc.
According to reports, Bangladesh uses over 1.70,000 tonnes of motor oils every year and roughly half of the amount comes by way of direct import. It is estimated that the local initiatives have a re-refining capacity of over 100,000 tonnes. This is a huge import substituting domestic industry that saves to the tune of Tk.20 billion worth of foreign currency annually. However, there is the need for support from the policy level so that this local level initiatives that turn waste into wealth might survive and thrive. To this end, collection of what in local language is called 'pora mobil' (i.e. burnt mobil, or motor oil) at the informal level and its partial or inefficient distillation creating low quality recycled lubricants, needs to be discouraged. For such low quality, partially refined used motor oil is harmful for the end users as well as the environment. So, it is important that the used motor oil collection channels are integrated and a formal recycling policy adopted and the compliant enterprises are incentivized. That would maximize the benefits derived from recycling of used engine oils/lubricants. That apart, Bangladesh also consumes edible oil amounting between 2.2 and 3.3 million tonnes annually. Where do the burnt/used cooking oils go? Are there any initiatives to turn the used cooking oil (UCO) into wealth? There are reportedly two commercial projects, again, to convert UCO into biodiesel and industrial lubricants.
Those are Biotech Energy Limited and the Muenzer Bangla Private Limited respectively. The first one is recognized as the first commercial venture that collects waste cooking oil from restaurants and industrial food processors to produce eco-friendly biodiesel and glycerin. The other one is a prominent Austrian-Bangla joint venture. The project collects UCO from over 1200 food business operators across the country and produce biodiesel. There are also lubricant and base oil refineries that process UCO and waste fats into industrial and automotive lubricants using re-refining technology. Even academic and government research facilities like the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) are conducting experiments and simulations to convert domestic waste cooking oil into renewable diesel. In fact, except in the case of the re-refined engine oil, all efforts at waste conversion appear to be ending in biofuel or energy production. But one can also convert UCO into useful household products. One such option is transforming UCO into homemade soap.
This is done through saponifying (turning burnt oil into soap) by mixing the burnt cooking oil with a strong lye (strong alkali such as sodium hydroxide) solution. Using this very simple method, housewives/working women, in both rural and urban Bangladesh, can start micro and small-scale soap-making units by using burnt cooking oil. This is one way of turning a kitchen waste into potential wealth. But that also would require support from government and access to cheap or zero-interest credit.

sfalim.ds@gmail.com