QCOSTARICA — What happens to the oil used for cooking in restaurants in Costa Rica? Although the total volume of this organic waste is unknown, every month 25,000 liters of used oil are recovered, filtered and exported for transformation into biofuel in Europe.
This waste management service involves a supra-recycling process, that is, it takes a low-quality product and transforms it into something better than its original. The company in charge of this management is Wastech, one of the operational arms of the Costa Rican conglomerate Greener Group.
This practice is aligned with the principles of the circular economy, since it recovers the waste and transforms it into raw material for another industry, thus contributing to a more sustainable production cycle.
– Advertisement –
Diego Mena Jara, CEO of Greener Group, explained that the operation buys oil waste and thus offers companies the possibility of reducing their environmental impact and monitoring waste with high contaminating potential.
“We have a commercial alliance with a Spanish supplier for the generation of biofuel, from the vegetable oil that we collect from a very diverse range of clients, from large fast food franchises to hotels and restaurants,” he explained.
Businesses receive access to a platform that allows traceability of the process, from the moment of delivery of the drum, its transport and until its transformation into biofuel. The system issues an environmental management certification and even calculates the impact of the process on the company’s carbon footprint.
“Documentation is key for companies seeking Blue Ecological Flag certification, but also for transnationals that must comply with sustainability indicators and standards,” explained Mena.
How it works
Wastech distributes 50-liter drums among its clients, for the collection of used cooking oil and, depending on the volume of the operation, schedules the collection.
– Advertisement –
Once the product is recovered, it is taken to the Wastech plant in Guadalupe de Cartago, where it undergoes a decantation filtration process. The filtered oil is stored until it reaches 25,000 liters per month for export.
In Europe, the process of transforming used oil into biofuel begins by heating the already filtered oil, which allows its viscosity to be reduced. The oil is then mixed with an alcohol (usually methanol) and a catalyst (such as sodium or potassium hydroxide) in order to separate the fatty acids from the glycerol, producing biodiesel and glycerin as by-products.
Finally, the biodiesel is washed to remove residues of the catalyst or alcohol, and dried to remove any traces of water. The result is a biofuel that can be used in conventional diesel engines, reducing carbon emissions and reusing a waste that could otherwise pollute the environment.
A single liter of used vegetable oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 1,000 liters of water. When poured directly into bodies of water, the oil forms a film on the surface that prevents the exchange of oxygen between water and air, seriously affecting aquatic life, including plants and fish.
– Advertisement –
Source link
Rico
