Effect of blending biodiesel produced from waste cooking oil on the properties of residual fuel oil: energy saving and the economic cost

The mazout properties were improved using ecofriendly ways because of its wide range of applications, abundance and low cost. In this study, the effect of biodiesel blending on the properties of mazout was investigated. Biodiesel was prepared from waste cooking oil. The mazout properties such as viscosity and density improved with the increase in volume ratio of biodiesel to mazout. The mazout viscosity decreases with an average value of 12% as the biodiesel is added with a volume ratio of 10%. In contrast, when a 10% volume ratio of the biodiesel is added to mazout, the heating value decreases by 1.5%. Although the calorific value of mazout decreases after the blending process, the blending method is considered a method that saves energy compared to the heating method to reduce the viscosity. The cost of improved mazout depends on the cost of biodiesel production. The more the cost of biodiesel production approaches the cost of mazout, the more expensive the use of the blending method compared to the heating method. Moreover, the blending method is a very effective method to reduce the percentages of harmful compounds such as sulfur, and the compound percentages that occupy volumetric proportions of fuel such as water content.