Oil extraction from fried vegetable snack waste: technical evaluation for second-generation biodiesel production

Aponte Maria Luz L.T.; Aliaga Cesar Victor S.; Paucar Fernando Percy S. · Proceedings of the LACCEI international Multi-conference for Engineering, Education and Technology (2026) · DOI: 10.18687/laccei2026.1.1.2355

Resumen

Sustainable biodiesel production requires raw material sources that do not compete with the food chain. This study evaluated the technical feasibility of recovering sunflower oil from the waste products of fried vegetable snacks (potato, corn, and plantain) for use as an input in biodiesel production. The process was developed in two stages: (i) solid-liquid extraction with 96% ethanol at the laboratory level to determine the lipid content, and (ii) scale-up to pilot scale to evaluate yields and process stability. The results showed oil contents between 18.1% and 23.0% in the laboratory, depending on the type of snack. The pilot scale demonstrated equal or higher yields (up to 30% for potato chips), validating the efficiency of the process at a larger scale. The recovered oil, characterized as frying crude, has characteristics compatible with conventional transesterification routes (alkaline or acid) for biodiesel production. It is estimated that 100 kg of waste can generate approximately 25.5 kg a28 kg of biodiesel, considering a conversion efficiency of 85%. This work positions the waste from fried snacks as a viable and scalable source of oil for second-generation biodiesel, contributing to the circular economy through the valorization of industrial waste.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad Privada del Norte