Assam University's Scholar Develops Biodiesel from Food Waste

Khalifa Said H. Eldiehy and his associates at central Assam’s Tezpur University have discovered that leaves of radish and sweet potato are potent sources for producing low-cost biodiesel from waste cooking oil.

The new and innovative chemical process has significantly reduced the cost of the production of biofuel.

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Khalifa Said H. Eldiehy commented: “Our primary intention is to stop climate change. Day-to-day food items such as used cooking oil, thrown away by households and restaurants as waste, can be used as feedstock for producing biodiesel at a much lower cost."

Mr. Khalifa started the project in October 2019 by changing the feedstock oil and catalyst in the chemical process to reduce the cost of the production of biodiesel. He treated residual cooking oil and algae oil, which were then used as feedstock oil.

Microalga is a great proponent of greenhouse gas reduction and can also be cultivated in wastewater. Calcination of the leaves of radish and sweet potato, rich in potassium, resulted in the desired catalyst.

A university spokesperson said the techno-economic analysis of the project is underway to determine the actual cost of the production of biodiesel.

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