Background: The aim of this research was to study the technical feasibility of recycling waste cooking oils (WCO) produced in Qom to biodiesel.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in Qom in the first half of 2013. In this study, 147 domestic, commercial, and industrial sources producing WCO were identified, selected, and asked to collect and deliver the WCO produced by them within a week. The samples obtained from the sources were mixed separately at a ratio of one to one, and finally, a WCO sample was obtained from each source. Then, some characteristics of samples such as chemical profiles were analyzed
and the esterification and transesterification process were used to convert WCO into biodiesel. Finally, some of the technical characteristics of produced biodiesel such as flash point, viscosity, density, moisture, and acidic number were determined and compared with the standard.
Results: In terms of basic properties, domestic WCO had the best quality for conversion to biodiesel. Also, in terms of viscosity, density, acidic number and flash point, biodiesel produced from domestic WCO had more favorable conditions. In terms of the percentage of humidity, biodiesel produced from industrial WCO was the best one.
Conclusion: WCO produced from domestic and commercial sources has the potential to be converted into biodiesel with standard features but WCO produced from industrial sources due to their very poor quality needs more pre-treatment processes
