As per reports, India produces the highest amount of cooking oil waste per year. With this in mind, three students of IIT Delhi, Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Agarwal and Mohit Soni came up with an innovative method, ‘Decentralised Bio-diesel Production,’ which allows small hotels, restaurants and even homes to convert their daily-used cooking oil into biodiesel. As reported by the Hindustan Times, “the process, known as transesterification, converts carboxylic acid ester into a different carboxylic acid ester. Apart from the waste cooking oil, it requires water, alcohol and a catalyst.” Their prototype, called FAME One, won them Rs. 10 lakhs at the 2014 GE Edison challenge for achieving an environmentally friendly way to obtain alternative fuel, making the supply of power affordable as well as available 24x7 in India. It is said that with the FAME One in place, India’s energy deficit can be dissolved by 25 to 30 percent.

The creation of this washing machine-sized device began with the collection of waste oil from their own homes and nearby hotels. They soon realised that had they set up a centralised industry for the entire conversion process to take place, they will end up paying large amounts of money to just transport the waste oil and bring it to their locations. “Hence, we wanted to make this technology available at a smaller scale and make it more affordable,” stated Agarwal. FAME One requires the waste oil, water, alcohol and a catalyst--it takes a temperature of 60°C and approximately 50 to 60 minutes for the oil conversion to fully take place. The ratio of ingredients going into the machine depends on the source of the cooking oil, Agarwal explains, “suppose we have 100 kgs of waste cooking oil and 50 kgs of alcohol and catalyst, that 100 kgs of oil will go into producing 100 kgs of bio-diesel. the 50 kgs of alcohol and catalyst will come out as waste.” 

“We read somewhere that India generates the highest amount of waste cooking oil and this is what drove us towards creating a technology that could actually compensate for more that 30% of the country’s energy deficit. If people adapt to this change we can have a better India,” said Soni, as reported by The Better India. Cooking oil was chosen for this experiment due to its adaptability and cost efficiency, and their feasibility reports reflected that it was the most sustainable method to dispose of the waste oil--the entire thing costs Rs. 30,000.

With the help of the prize money they received, they intend to further research and launch the product, even enlisting the help of their chemistry teacher, professor Ashok N Bhaskarwar who will help them in the development and refinement of their prototype as well as ensure it meets the global standards of quality. “The project in its current state is suitable for big hotels while for an individual consumer, this technology may need further development. The demand for eco-living is not every high in the Indian setup as of now but people will gradually realise its value,” stated Agarwal, with the team adding that this technology can also benefit rural society where oil seeds can be used and converted into diesel. The diesel can then be further sold at a higher cost than what they are currently receiving from the sale of the oil seeds themselves. When great minds such as Agarwal, Soni and Sharma’s come together, it really is amazing what can be achieved, and at the rate at which fossil fuels are continuing to be used and abused, such innovative technology and alternative energy sources truly is the need of the hour.

Feature courtesy of Hindustan Times