Utilization of Restaurant Waste Oil as a Precursor for Sophorolipid Production

Abstract

Approximately 100 billion liters of oil is generated per week as waste from restaurants around the country. Because of health, environmental, and economic factors, current methods of disposal are ineffective for disposal of the restaurant oil wastes. In this study we have investigated the ability of Candida bombicola to fermentatively transform the restaurant oil waste into glycolipids called sophorolipids. Batch and fed-batch studies were carried out using oil waste as the lipid feedstock in Erlenmeyer flasks and in a fermentor. Batch fermentation in a fermentor gave the highest yield of sophorolipids of 34 g L-1. Fermentation using oleic acid as control feedstock were also carried out. Batch fermentation in the fermentor using this pure fatty acid gave a highest yield of 42 g L-1. The difference in the sophorolipid yield was attributed to the fatty acid composition of restaurant oil waste.

Valorisation of food waste in biotechnological processes

“…This approach is particularly interesting as other carbon sources e.g. sunflower, safflower and canola oils, but also oils from food waste are utilisable as precursor in sophorolipid production [44,45].…”

Advanced biofuel technologies : status and barriers

“…It contains substantially more free fatty acids and water and less triglycerides than fresh vegetable oils. A typical fatty acid profile for waste oil from restaurants includes linoleic acid (53%), oleic acid (28%) and palmitic acid (11.73%) (Shah et al, 2007). Because of its high FFAs and water contents, waste oil usually needs a pretreatment before the transesterification for biodiesel production.…”

“…Miao and Wu (2006) studied biodiesel production from heterotrophic microalgal oil. Shah et al (2007) investigated the utilization of restaurant waste oil as a precursor for sophorolipid and biodiesel production. Zhang et al (2003) evaluated the Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil including economic analysis.…”

Green chemistry: the emergence of a transformative framework

“…Restaurant oil waste can undergo fermentation to produce large quantities of sophorlipids, natural surfactants that also have cosmetic and therapeutic properties (154). Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL), a waste product of the cashew nut industry, is distilled to give predominantly cardanol, a mixture of long-chain alkylphenol oils.…”