Used Cooking Oil to Sustainable aviation fuel process
Now after frying the Indian oil dumplings, the oil will make the aircraft fuel. The company’s chairman Arvinder Singh Sahni says that Indian Oil has got a certification to make fueling of the aircraft from used cooking oil (UCO). This fuel is called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Sustainable aviation fuel is an alternative fuel that is used for air transportation. It emissions less pollution during air travel. It can be added to 50 percent of the aviation turbine fuel. India has made it mandatory to add 1 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in jet fuel sold to international airlines since 2027.
Now the question is, how does the aircraft fuel with the remaining oil after frying things and where is this fuel used?
How is the aircraft fuel with oil used in the kitchen?
Sustainable aviation fuel begins with used cooking oil. Oil gathered from hotels, restaurants and homes is passed through processes of filters. This is so that pieces of food, water and dirt can be removed in it.
The filter oil now has purification. From this, free fatty acids (FFA), sulfur and metals are separated. In this way pure bio oil is prepared. This oil is passed by high pressure and temperature process with hydrogen gas and catalis (eg nickel, molibdenum, cobalt). By doing this, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur are removed from it. After this entire process, hydrotricted vegetable oil (HVO) is available.
Hydrotricted vegetable oil is further passed through the process of isomization and cracking with the help of a catalist. During this process, oil molecules i.e. molecules become like fuel of airplanes. The purpose of this entire process is to increase the energy capacity of oil. After the completion of this process, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel is prepared. It is like a jet fuel.
Carbon emissions 80 percent less
The special thing is that compared to the normal fuel, the emission of carbon is reduced by 70 to 80 percent from the sustainable aviation fuel. According to the Ministry of Energy, it can be used by mixing directly into airplanes. It has the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 94% compared to traditional jet fuel.
How will Indian Oil make it?
Indian Oil Chairman Arvinder Singh Sahni says, our Panipat Refinery of Haryana has achieved ISCC CRSIA Certification (International Stability and Carbon Certification – ICACC) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to create SAF from cooking oil used. Indian Oil is the only company in the country to get a certificate.
He said that this production will be sufficient to meet the 1 percent mixture requirement for the country in 2027. For this, the company will collect cooking oils used from big users, such as hotel chains, restaurants, and snacks and sweets like Haldiram and will be transported to the Panipat refinery.
Large hotels and restaurant chains usually throw cooking oils after using once. Currently used cooking oil is collected and exported by agencies. This type of oil is available in large quantities in the country. The only challenge is its storage.
Where is the remaining oil used in the kitchen?
Kitchen used cooking oil (UCO) is used in many things. Apart from making aircraft fuel, it is used to make soap, as lamp oil, in chemical industry and animal feed.
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