Bleaching of Sunflower Waste Oil by Absorption on Activated Carbon and Improved by Ozonisation

The present investigation attempts to bleach the sunflower waste oil which can be reused for many industrial applications. A comprehensive bleaching technology developed with activated carbon and liquid ozone under laboratory condition. Laboratory bleaching was performed with different concentrations of activated carbon (w/v) in a round bottom flask under a vacuum. During the bleaching process, coloring pigments like carotenoids, chlorophylls, gossypol, peroxides and other impurities are removed from the edible oil using activated carbon. The bleached oil was retreated with different concentrations of liquid ozone and incubated at room temperature (270C) for 24 to 120 hrs. The retreated oil samples were drawn at every interval of 24 hrs, analyzed and the bleaching capacity were measured with UV-VIS Spectrometer to measure light absorbance in the visible region at 455 nm. The absorbance values decreased with respect to the increased mass of activated carbon (w/v in %) and liquid ozone. Bleaching of crude oil with activated carbon and liquid ozone are affordable method for sunflower waste oil management and recycling