Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh): In a unique initiative, a student of the NIT Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh has successfully created biodiesel manually from used cooking oil from the hostels of the organizations. The researcher Vijay K Mahto, an MTech student of the Mechanical Department has succeeded in converting used cooking oil into biodiesel manually.
Vijay who has been working on the project for a long time in association with the Center for Energy Studies at the NIT said that usually the process of converting used cooking oil into biodiesel is done through extremely expensive machines.
He also said that by using the manual method the production cost of biodiesel can be brought down significantly adding that 1 liter of used cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel within one and a half to two hours by first putting it through the esterification process and then by adding sulfuric acid and methyl to it after purifying the used cooking oil.
After this, the trans-esterification process starts during which potassium hydroxide is added to the mixture. At the end of the two-hour-long process, 910 ml of biodiesel will be prepared from 1 liter of used cooking oil.
As for the environmental benefits of using biodiesel, Vijay said that if used in vehicles it will bring down carbon monoxide by 70 per cent. Although it will not cause any damage to the engine, said Vijay adding that the oil filter has to be changed at an interval of three months instead of the usual six months.
Elaborating further on the issue Dr. Mamta Awasthi, in charge of the Center for Energy Studies of NIT Hamirpur said that the Center for Energy Studies aims to ensure that diesel consumption of NIT Hamirpur can be met with biodiesel and make society aware of the harmful effects of used cooking oil.
