Clean Production of Biofuel from Waste Cooking Oil to Reduce Emissions, Fuel Cost, and Respiratory Disease Hospitalizations

Abstract

Renewable energies are cleaner forms of energy, and their use, has intensified in recent decades. Thus, this work presents a proposal for reducing the emissions, fuel cost, and respiratory disease hospitalizations using environmental cost accounting principles to produce biodiesel production from waste frying oil. In our methodology, we conducted surveys, and collected waste cooking oil samples from local households and restaurants in São Paulo city, Brazil. Then, we produced biodiesel using these samples. Data on air pollutants were collected and correlated with the number of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases and their costs. Our results indicate that 330,000 respiratory disease hospitalizations were recorded in São Paulo city between 2009 and 2018, and the total cost for the Brazilian government reached US $117 million. Improving the city air quality by switching from fossil fuels to biodiesel could reduce the annual number of hospitalizations to 9880 and cost US $3.518 million, because the amount of pollutants emitted from burning fossil fuels was positively correlated with the number of respiratory disease hospitalizations and their costs. Moreover, the emission rates of particulate matter with particles less than 10 and 2.5 µm in diameter exceeded the World Health Organization limits throughout the study period. Using the survey data, we estimated that the average monthly quantity of waste cooking oil was 9794.6 m3, which could generate 9191.2 m3 of biodiesel and produce 239,713 t CO2 of carbon credits. Environmental cost accounting revealed that it would be possible to achieve an annual profit of approximately US $300 million from the sale of excess biodiesel, carbon credits, and glycerine, and fuel acquisition savings which could improve the image of São Paulo city and quality of life of its residents. Thus, we present this as a way to reduce cost and hospitalizations, and increase the number of available hospital beds for other diseases, such as COVID-19.

Trends in the Management Accounting Research: A Review of the Literature Published during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In respect to Cluster 5, by one side, this literature addresses the waste treatment to reduce respiratory diseases. Santana et al (2021) use data from environmental cost accounting to conclude on how clean production of biofuel from waste cooking oil can support cities to have sales of excess biodiesel, carbon credits, and glycerine, and fuel acquisition savings. On another side, the solid waste management resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic procedures implemented is analysed.…”

Economic and Environmental Assessment of Hydrogen Production from Brazilian Energy Grid

“…Water, wind, solar, hydrogen, biogas, ethanol and biodiesel are considered as important energy options as a substitute for fossil fuels, as they are renewable resources and endless. The current belief is that replacing fossil fuels with these renewable sources can reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), and it is a highly profitable investment [1][2][3].…”

Optimization and characterization of biodiesel from waste cooking oil using modified CaO catalyst derived from snail shell

“…Economic, environmental, and waste management strategies are the main reasons for using WCO for BD production [ 27 , 29 ]. Moreover, the production of BD from WCO will not only avoid the competition for the same oil resources for food and fuel but also solve the problems associated with its disposal [ 31 , 32 ]. Lack of inexpensive feedstock and poor catalysts for the transterification processes are the main complaints about the BD industry.…”