Conversion of Methyl Ester from Used Cooking Oil: The Combined Use of Electrolysis Process and Chitosan

The conversion of fatty acid methyl ester from used cooking oil with a organocatalyst chitosan by using electrolysis process had been investigated. Fatty acid methyl ester yield was influenced by electrolysis time (2 h, 4 h, and 6 h), chitosan mass ratio (5 wt. %, 10 wt. % and 15 wt. %), co-solvent type (i.e. Tween 80 and Tetrahydrofuran) and methanol-to-oil molar ratio. The evaluation of the process was followed by GC-MS, determining the fatty acid methyl ester ratio at different operation variables. The results showed that the conversion of fatty acid methyl ester from used-cooking oil was obtained for 35.4% in 4 h electrolysis process. When the combined use of electrolysis process and 10% chitosan was applied in 4 h, the conversion of fatty acid methyl ester increased up to 59.1%. However, the optimum conversion process was achieved without use of co-solvent.