Common question: is cooking oil a fossil fuel? Vegetable oils and crude oil both are natural but does being natural makes them both fossil fuel? Absolutely not. There is a lot more to know about fossil fuels before we come to a conclusion.

Nowadays, people have started using cooking oil widely as fuel, whether it be fresh oil or out of restaurants and home. Before we decide if it is a good alternative, let’s check out what fossil fuels are and how miners extract them. 

What are Fossil Fuels?

Fuels formed with the remains of plants, animals, planktons, and humans buried millions of years ago. Crude oil and natural gas, and coal examples of fossil fuels. 

Made up of hydrocarbons, people extract crude oil by digging land and sea. We cannot use crude oil raw; thus, refineries refine it to form gasoline, diesel, and other products and byproduct. 

Natural gas is primarily methane, and you can find it in porous and permeable rock beds. Coal is mainly carbon and has four varieties. We can extract it either with underground or surface mining. 

What are the Disadvantages of Using Fossil Fuels?

People have been burning fossil fuels for hundreds of years, causing air pollution. More than 8 million people die every year globally due to air pollution caused by fossil fuels. Air pollution causes diseases like lung cancer, leukemia, and blood disorders.

To extract them, laborers dig and mine causing land degradation. Waste from mines and oil spills will cause water pollution. Also, seas absorb CO2 emission by fossil fuel burning, increasing its acidity. 

Cooking Oil: Is It a Fossil Fuel Or Not?

I know you are still wondering if cooking oil is fossil fuel or not. No, it is not a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are fossilized remains dug and extracted from the ground. 

However, cooking oil is made from plants, animals, or synthetic fat. Below is the complete procedure to manufacture cooking oil:

  1. Pass the oilseeds over the magnets to separate any metal traces. 
  2. Collect seeds and pass them over the rollers for proper consistency.
  3. Now, heat the seeds. Heating allows easy extraction of oil. 
  4. Pass seeds over the screw press. Doing so allows the initial oil to recover. 
  5. Process the remaining oil by solvent extraction to get maximum yield.
  6. Collect the evaporated oil for reusing while the rest of it falls into a stripping column. 
  7. The stem then boils the oil. 
  8. Hexane floats, condense, and is then collected. 
  9. Finally, refine the oil to remove its color, smell, and bitterness. 

Also, read our guide:  Is cooking oil a renewable resource?

Can I Use Cooking Oil as a Fuel?

Yes, you can convert cooking oil into biodiesel, mix it with diesel, or use it as it is in cars, industries, and power stations. It is an efficient and inexpensive fuel. Here is how companies convert cooking oil into biodiesel:

  • They collect used cooking oil from restaurants, homes, and food processors. 
  • The refineries restore the free fatty acids in cooking oil, which high heat had broken while it was in use.
  • They then pass the oil through a filter to remove any leftover food and contaminants in it. 
  • The oil then goes through a process called transesterification, which makes oil safe to use. 
  • Now, the oil is processed to extract glycerin, and it turns into biodiesel, ready to use. 

Also, you can use vegetable oil as an alternative fuel in diesel engines. You can modify the motor, so it uses fresh vegetable oil to run. Besides, blend vegetable oil into diesel and use it as fuel. 

Advantages of Converting Used Cooking Oil into Biodiesel

The benefits of using biodiesel are far greater than those of fossil fuels, especially for a greener earth, to protect our health and marine life. 

Burning diesel forms soot. A study shows that if we mix biofuel into diesel, the amount of soot decreases. Also, it reduces carbon monoxide emissions by almost 85%. In turn, extreme weather conditions lessen, and there is a significant reduction in global warming. 

For humans, prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide may cause extreme brain damage. It isn’t the case if we use biodiesel. 

Additionally, converting used cooking oil into biodiesel will reduce cooking oil dumping. Biofuel is non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable.

Using it will also stabilize energy costs which are increasing due to the increased demand for fossil fuel and its minimal reserve left. 

It will create jobs as a biofuel is grown and processed locally. Finally, biofuel spills won’t cause any severe harm to the environment, and it is an inexpensive fuel. 

FAQs – Is Cooking Oil a Fossil Fuel?

Below are the questions that will help you understand better if cooking oil is a fossil fuel. 

Why should we now throw used cooking oil?

Disposing cooking oil can pollute the environment in different ways. 

Do you know that one liter of oil can contaminate one million liters of water? Cooking oil is a significant threat to marine life. It floats on water to block oxygen. 

Besides, it contaminates soil and coats plants and animals, depleting them of oxygen. As a result, they die. It may also build up in sewage pipes, causing problems. 

Is cooking oil an unreliable fuel?

No, cooking oil is not an unreliable fuel. The manufacturers who convert it into biofuel have large reserves. Only the US’s hotels and restaurants produce around 3 billion gallons of waste cooking oil per year. 

Also, fewer people are using biodiesel. Long story short: the demand is less and the reserves and every year waste is more so we cannot say that it is an unreliable fuel. 

Can I run my vehicle on cooking oil?

Yes, you can. Vegetable oil and biofuel both are alternative fuels for diesel engines. Additionally, you can mix vegetable oil in diesel and use it as fuel. 

You only need to make a few modifications to your traditional diesel engine, and you are all good to go. It may help you save a lot because cooking oil is relatively inexpensive when compared to other fuels. 

Most diesel engines are suitable for new vegetable oil (SVO), also known as pure plant oil. For these engines, you won’t even have to make modifications. However, you must reduce the surface tension of vegetable oil before using it by preheating it.

Which is the cleanest fossil fuel to burn?

Among all the three fossil fuels, natural gas burns the cleanest. When it burns, it produces water vapor and carbon dioxide. Humans already exhale both of these gases; thus, it doesn’t make any difference.

Crude oil, when burnt, produces carbon dioxide adding to the greenhouse effect. Coal burns to produce methane and carbon dioxide. Methane contributes to climate change. 

What fuels can I use instead of diesel?

You can use natural gas, electricity, biodiesel, and propane. 

Natural gas is nationally available and is an economical alternative, but it has low energy levels. When it comes to electricity, you can use an electric generator or electric motor. 

We can derive biodiesel from cooking oil, plants, and animals. It is a cheaper alternative and produces much less pollution than diesel. 

Propane is also known as LPG. It burns cleaner than traditional fuels but has lower energy; levels than petrol and diesel. 

That’s All

Now, whenever you wonder if cooking oil is a fossil fuel, you have an answer. Fossil fuels are the remains of plants, planktons, and animals that lived millions of years ago, and you can extract them by digging, mining, and drilling. 

However, things are different in the case of cooking oil. Cooking oil results from seed processing, rolling, and heating until oil comes out. It is not the fossilized remains found under the earth. This is the reason why we cannot consider cooking oil as a fossil fuel.

Besides, you can use it as a clean burn fuel in diesel engines, industries, and power plants. Its benefits are far more than fossil fuels. 

Every year, hotels, food processors, and homes dispose of millions of gallons of cooking oil which pollute land and water. 

Taking the initiative to convert it into biodiesel can save the earth, marine life, and us from the hazardous effects of global warming. Plus-plus: you will get an inexpensive fuel too!