They create a product to solidify used oil and avoid its polluting potential

Separating waste, making compost or recycling objects whose useful life has ended, has become, in recent years, a habit for many people, who decide to make more responsible use of the waste they generate on a daily basis. However, one residue in particular often causes problems: the oil used to fry food.

Although there are places that receive bottles with used oil to convert it into biodiesel, they are few and, in general, they are only found in large urban centers. Faced with this situation, representatives of the Argentine company DROAR SRL approached the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI), in Argentina, with the idea of ​​creating a product that can solidify it and transform it into waste that is respectful with the environment. After a year of work, they achieved their goal.

“We achieved an innovative product, which demonstrates the importance of the link between science and society: we start from the concern of a company, we develop it with INTI technicians and it closes its cycle with a great benefit for all”, celebrated Paulina Lloret, researcher of the Laboratory of Formulations of Industrial Products of the INTI.

To start working on this project, the first thing they did was a bibliographical search to create a gel with a more solid texture than that of everyday products. “We thought it was putting a paraffin or some petroleum derivative that solidifies the oil. However, the premise was that it should also be biodegradable, so we began to look for vegetable derivatives,” Lloret said.

Paulina Lloret. (Photo: CTyS Agency – UNLaM / INTI)

The development had the participation of several INTI experts. The first step was carried out by the Department of Technologies in New Formulations, where the pre-feasibility study of the project was carried out. Later, progress was made in the analytical work to characterize the formulation of the new product, with the collaboration of the Department of Metrology in Environment and Health of the institute.

As a result, they obtained a material that, to the naked eye, resembles small white flakes. As Lloret explained, it is thrown into the oil when it is over 80 or 100 degrees. It dissolves and when the temperature drops, after approximately 15 minutes, it solidifies, turning into a gel that can be discarded in the trash without causing any damage to the environment.

Vegetable oils are an ingredient widely used in homes and gastronomic places. And although in countries like Argentina it is not considered, by law, a special residue, as is the oil used for the maintenance of machinery, it is necessary that its disposal has a specific treatment. An incorrect way of disposing of it could cause the obstruction of pipes and drains and, what is even worse, the contamination of water courses.

According to data from a report carried out by the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Buenos Aires (FAUBA) and the DH-SH company, more than half of fried food consumers do not separate oil residues and 25 percent do so from occasionally, which produces between 60 and 90 million liters of polluting waste per year.

For this reason, for Lloret, the elaboration of this type of product is essential to move towards greater care for the environment with the participation of all stakeholders and he stressed the importance of having, from INTI, a Laboratory dedicated to SMEs and the industry. “We have the possibility of giving you an answer to your concerns, making formulations, improving reagents or substituting imports. We fulfill this function and it is important that companies approach and can find feedback ”, he concluded. (Source: Marianela Ríos (CTyS Agency – UNLaM))