SUPERVISOR DECLARATION

“I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my opinion this report is

sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Plant and Maintenance)”

Signature : .......................................................

Supervisor : NURUL HANIM BINTI RAZAK

Date : .......................................................

OPTIMIZATION OF ORGANIC CANDLE GREEN

PRODUCTION FROM WASTE COOKING OIL

(EFFECT OF RATIO OF OIL CRYSTALLIZER

TO WASTE COOKING OIL)

NORMASLEHA BINTI YASIN

This report is submitted as partial requirement for the completion of

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Plant and Maintenance)

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka

(JUNE 2015)

ii

DECLARATION

“I hereby declare that the work in this report is my own except for summaries and

quotations which have been duly acknowledged.”

Signature : ......................................................

Author : NORMASLEHA BINTI YASIN

Date : ......................................................

iii

DEDICATION

I dedicated this report to my beloved parents

iv

ACKNOWLEDDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my

supervisor, Madam Nurul Hanim Binti Razak, who has supported me throughout my

thesis with her patience, knowledge, effort and encouragement. Her invaluable help

of constructive comments and suggestions throughout the experimental and thesis

works have contributed to the success of this research. Not forgotten, my

appreciation to my co-supervisor, Madam Noryani Binti Muhammad for her support

and advice on this project.

Besides, I would like to acknowledge the support of the crucial role of the

staff of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) who allows me access to their

equipment and necessary material to complete the task need upon completing my

research. In addition, special thanks I dedicate to all my friend who giving helps and

ideas for my project. Last but not least, my deepest gratitude goes to my beloved

parents Mr. Yasin Bin Merjun and Mrs. Faridah Binti Abdullah and also to my

brother for their endless love, prayers and encouragement. Thank you very much.

v

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, the habits of dumping waste cooking oil from homes and

restaurant becomes one of the most critical problem which cause blockage and

pollution to the river and sewage. The problem happens when the management of

this waste is inherently messy and resulting in spillage and cause impacts to drainage

and water system. Thus, when the drainage is blocked, extra costs are requires for the

clean-up process of sewer overflows which could result in potential environmental

health hazards. Hence, to help in solving this problem, the idea of producing an

organic candle from waste cooking oil was proposed. Organic candle is refer to a

candle which made from natural resources comes from plants, insects and animals

waxes. As the cooking oil is made from vegetable fats, the properties are suitable to

become one of the raw material needed in producing the organic candles. Thus, the

aim for this project is to determine the optimal production capacity from waste

cooking oil by analyzing the mixture ratio of waste cooking oil and the oil

crystallizer. Generally, the experiment was conducted by adding the oil crystallizer

into the waste cooking oil. There is one type of oil crystallizer used in this

experiment which is 12-hydroxystearic acid (12HSA). The function of oil crystallizer

is to solidify the cooking oil. Moreover, the safety analysis on the impact of

combustion also conducted to ensure the soot produced during the burning of the

organic candle is safe and 100% organic.

vi

ABSTRAK

Pada masa kini, tabiat pembuangan sisa minyak masak dari rumah dan

restoran menjadi salah satu masalah yang paling kritikal yang menyebabkan

tersumbat dan pencemaran kepada sungai dan kumbahan. Masalah ini berlaku

apabila pengurusan sisa ini pada asasnya tidak kemas dan menyebabkan tumpahan

dan menyebabkan kesan kepada sistem perparitan dan air. Oleh itu, apabila saliran

tersumbat, kos tambahan yang memerlukan untuk proses pembersihan dari limpahan

pembetung yang boleh menyebabkan bahaya kesihatan alam sekitar yang berpotensi.

oleh itu, untuk membantu dalam menyelesaikan masalah ini, idea menghasilkan lilin

organik daripada sisa minyak masak telah dicadangkan. Lilin organik adalah merujuk

kepada lilin yang diperbuat daripada sumber semula jadi berasal dari tumbuh-

tumbuhan, serangga dan haiwan wax. Sebagai minyak masak itu dibuat daripada

lemak sayuran, sifat-sifat yang sesuai untuk menjadi salah satu bahan mentah yang

diperlukan dalam menghasilkan lilin organik. Oleh itu, tujuan projek ini adalah untuk

menentukan kapasiti pengeluaran yang optimum daripada sisa minyak masak dengan

menganalisa nisbah campuran sisa minyak masak dan penghablur minyak. Secara

umumnya, eksperimen telah dijalankan dengan menambah penghablur minyak ke

dalam sisa minyak masak. Terdapat satu jenis penghablur minyak yang digunakan

dalam eksperimen ini iaitu 12-hydroxystearic asid (12hsa). Fungsi penghablur

minyak adalah untuk mengukuhkan minyak masak. Selain itu, analisis keselamatan

pada kesan pembakaran juga dijalankan untuk memastikan jelaga yang dihasilkan

semasa pembakaran lilin organik adalah selamat dan 100% organik.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGES

DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDDGEMENT iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF FIGURES xii

LIST OF TABLES xv

LIST OF EQUATIONS xvii

LIST OF APPENDICES xvii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 BACKGROUND 1

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT 3

1.2.1 Objectives 3

1.2.2 Scope 4

viii

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 BACKGROUND OF CANDLE 5

2.1.1 How a Candle Works 7

2.1.2 Candle Soot 9

2.1.3 Candle Wicks 11

2.1.4 Incense 12

2.2 TYPES OF CANDLE AND COMPOSITION OF WAXES 14

2.2.1 Soy Wax Candle 14

2.2.2 Beeswax Candle 15

2.2.3 Paraffin Wax Candle 18

2.2.5 Palm Wax Candle 19

2.2.6 Gel Wax Candle 21

2.2.3 Summary 21

2.3 PRODUCTION OF ORGANIC CANDLE 25

2.3.1 Handmade 25

2.3.2 Manufacturing 26

2.4 COMBUSTION PRODUCT 27

2.4.1 Carbon Monoxide 27

2.4.2 Lead 28

2.4.3 Combustion of Hydrocarbon 29

ix

2.5 OIL CRYSTALLIZER 30

2.5.1 12-Hydroxystearic acid 30

2.6 ORGANIC CANDLE FROM WASTE COOKING OIL 31

2.7 SAFETY AND HEALTH ISSUE 32

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 33

3.1 INTRODUCTION 33

3.2 FLOW CHART 34

3.3 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD 35

3.3.1 Pilot study/ Experiment (reaction) 36

3.3.1.1 Apparatus 36

3.3.1.2 Raw Material 39

3.3.1.3 Experimental Procedure 40

3.3.2 Production Process 41

3.3.2.1 Chemical formula 41

3.3.2.1 Mixture of Oil Solidifier and Waste Cooking Oil 41

3.3.2.3 Material 42

3.3.2.4 Experiment Set Up 44

3.2.3 Combustion and Emission Analysis 45

x

CHAPTER 4 DATA AND RESULT 46

4.1 INTRODUCTION 46

4.2 RESULT 46

4.2.1 Water Content Test 46

4.2.1.1 Percentage of Water Content Removal 48

4.2.2 Free Fatty Acid Test (FFA) 50

4.2.2.1 Increment in Free Fatty Acid (FFA) 51

4.3 COMBUSTION AND EMISSION TEST 53

4.3.1 Soot and Black Carbon Test 54

4.3.2 Burning Time Test 55

4.3.3 Smell Test 56

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 61

5.1 INTRODUCTION 61

5.1.1 Effect of Mixture Ratio Analysis 61

5.1.2 Combustion and Emission Analysis 66

5.1.2.1 Soot and Black Carbon Analysis 66

5.1.2.2 Burning Time Analysis 67

5.1.2.3 Smell Analysis 68

xi

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 76

6.1 CONCLUSION 76

6.2 RECOMMENDATION 77

REFERENCES 78

APPENDIX A Error! Bookmark not defined.

GANTT CHART OF PSM I 82

APPENDIX B 84

GANTT CHART OF PSM II 85

APPENDIX C 87

PRODUCTION OF AN ORGANIC CANDLE 89

APPENDIX D 89

APPENDIX E 90

xii

LIST OF FIGURES

NO TITLE PAGE

Figure 2.1: Flame Zones 8

Figure 2.2: Burning of candle produce soot 10

Figure 2.3: Soy wax candle 15

Figure 2.4: Beeswax candle 16

Figure 2.5: Beeswax Chemical Structure Formula 16

Figure 2.6: Raw material for bees wax candle manufacturing 17

Figure 2.7: Paraffin Wax Chemical Structure Formula 18

Figure 2.8: Raw materials for paraffin wax candle manufacturing 19

Figure 2.9: Palm wax candle 20

Figure 2.10: Gel wax candle 21

Figure 2.11: Handmade Candles 25

Figure 2.12: Manufacturing of candle by industry 26

Figure 2.13: 12-Hyroxystearic acid (12HSA) 30

Figure 3.1: Flow chart of overall project flow 34

Figure 3.2: Chart of experimental method process 35

Figure 3.3: Experiment set up 44

Figure 3.4: Organic candle 45

xiii

Figure 4.1: FluidScan of water content 47

Figure 4.2: FluidScan of free fatty acid 50

Figure 4.3: Organic candles 53

Figure 4.4: Soot and Black Carbon Test Before Test 54

Figure 4.5: Soot and Black Carbon Test After Test 54

Figure 4.6: Organic candle 55

Figure 4.7: Paraffin candle 55

Figure 4.8: Burning process 56

Figure 4.9: Organic candle 56

Figure 4.10: Paraffin candle 56

Figure 5.1: Percentage of water content removal 62

Figure 5.2: Increment of free fatty acid 64

Figure 5.3: Soot and Black Carbon Analysis Before Test 66

Figure 5.4: Soot and Black Carbon Analysis After Test 66

Figure 5.5: Organic candle 67

Figure 5.6: Paraffin candle 68

Figure 5.7: Percentage of general knowledge about an organic candle 69

Figure 5.8: Percentage of general knowledge on candle from cooking oil 70

Figure 5.9: Percentage level for quality of paraffin and organic candle 71

Figure 5.10: Percentage of smells produce from paraffin candle 72

xiv

Figure 5.11: Percentage of smells produce from organic candle 73

Figure 5.12: Percentage of possibilities to market the organic candle 74

Figure 5.13: Percentage of potential finish product 75

xv

LIST OF TABLES

NO TITLE PAGE

Table 2.1: Beeswax mixture 17

Table 2.2: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Candle 22

Table 3.1: Apparatus for an experiment 36

Table 3.2: Raw material for an experiment 39

Table 3.3: Material in production of organic candle 42

Table 4.1: Water content of waste cooking oil samples 48

Table 4.2: Percentage of water content removal 49

Table 4.3: Free fatty acid (FFA) of waste cooking oil samples 51

Table 4.4: Increment of Free fatty acid (FFA) of waste cooking oil samples 52

Table 4.5: Percentage of general knowledge about an organic candle 57

Table 4.6: Percentage of general knowledge candle made of waste cooking oil 57

Table 4.7: Comparison of the quality for paraffin and organic candle 58

Table 4.8: Percentage of smells produce from paraffin wax candle 58

Table 4.9: Percentage of smells produce from organic candle 59

Table 4.10: Percentage of possibilities to market the organic candle 59

Table 4.11: Targeted market for potential finish product 60

xvi

LIST OF EQUATIONS

NO TITLE PAGE

Equation 2.1: Complete combustion of hydrocarbon 29

Equation 2.2: Incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon 29

Equation 3.1: Chemical formula 41

Equation 4.1: Percentage of Water Content Removal 48

Equation 4.2: Example Calculation of Water Content Removal 49

Equation 4.3: Increment in Free Fatty Acid (FFA) 51

Equation 4.4: Example Calculation of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) 52

xvii

LIST OF APPENDICES

NO TITLE PAGE

Appendix A: Gantt chart of PSM I 81

Appendix B: Gantt chart of PSM II 84

Appendix C: Production of an Organic Candle 87

Appendix D: Survey Form 89

Appendix E: Material Safety Data Sheet of 12-Hydroxystearic Act 90

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides the background of the research study, problem

statement, objectives, scope and research outline.

1.1 BACKGROUND

Nowadays, to get an excellent presentation of food, oil frying method is used

due to its contribution of good taste, attractive colour and better presentation.

However, as the popularity of this method increases, the accumulation of waste

generated from cooking oil also increases. It was reported that waste cooking oil is

extensively produced all over the world. European Union produces around 700,000-

1,000,000 tonnes waste cooking oil annually, inclusive of the oils from snack food

and French fries. It was estimated that there were 40,000 tonnes per year of waste

cooking oil produced in Asia countries such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,

Hong Kong and India (Hanisah et al., 2013).

2

The uses of cooking oil at home, restaurant or other related industry need

proper management because fat and grease contains in waste cooking oil can cause a

great problems when it is disposed of down the kitchen sinks and drain. In addition,

when these elements enter rainwater pipes or gullies, it sticks to the inner lining of

drainage pipes and restricts the wastewater flow causing the pipes to block. In more

severe cases, the waste cooking oil flow into the river and streams and causing

pollution and harm to aquatic life.

According to Kabir et al. (2014), discharge of waste cooking oil into waters

change the oxygenation process and destroy the aquatic lives in the marine

environment. This problem occurs when a layer of discharge oil covered the water

surface and prevents oxygen dissolution. Therefore, when the by-products of oil

degradation mixed with water, it increases the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and

contaminates the water to be toxic. As a result, the aquatic lives absorbed poisonous

compounds from the polluted water and later returned to human through food chain.

In addition, several operation and maintenance problems also occur when the

waste cooking oil emptied into drainage system. The effect starts when the waste

cooking oil gathers and solidifies inside the drainage system to deny the sewage from

flowing freely to the wastewater treatment plant. When the sewage is blocked, extra

costs are requires for the clean-up process of sewer overflows which could result in

potential environmental health hazards (Kabir et al., 2014).

As a conclusion, in order to overcome the problem, the government should

supports on recycling the waste cooking oil as it reduces the dependency on landfill

sites and the use of fossil fuels for energy generation. In addition, by recycling the

waste cooking oil, it also helps to safe environment and human health as well as

reducing the major causes of costly sewer maintenance.

3

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

The habits of dumping waste cooking oil down the sink or drains can cause

waste to congeal and block public sewers. In addition, the polluted sewage then spill

into rivers and streams. Untreated sewage effluent and waste oil in the water causes

dissolved oxygen level to drop drastically, thus the sewage fungus starts to cover the

water like a blanket and in more severe case, the river can no longer support living

organism around the water. The idea of using waste cooking oil to make an organic

candle not only help to a safer environment but it also gives great benefits to human.

Nowadays people tend to use organic candles compared to paraffin wax candles.

Truly, the paraffin wax candle releases carcinogenic chemicals when burned and the

soot or fume produced are similar to that released from a diesel engine and it can

be as dangerous as a cigarette smoke. Finally, this situation can contribute to cancer

and serious respiratory issues like asthma.

1.2.1 Objectives

a) To study the production process of making an organic candle from

waste cooking oil and oil crystallizer.

b) To determine the optimal production capacity of organic candles from

waste cooking oil by analyzing the mixture ratio of waste cooking oil

and the oil crystallizer.

c) To evaluate the safety analysis on the impact of combustion and

emission to human and environment by analyzing the soot and black

carbon release, burning time and smell from the organic candles.

4

1.2.2 Scope

The project is mainly focused on how waste cooking oil can be optimized to

be recycled as an organic candle. An organic crystallizer will be used to solidify the

cooking oil. Hence, the study and analysis on the crystallizer will be executed so that

the ratio of the mixture is at optimum level. Next, the safety and impact of

combustion of this candle will be evaluated to ensure that the organic candle is safe

for human and environment.

5

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter described the existing case study and related information. The

history of candles making production as well as candle properties such as wicks,

incense, combustion product, safety and health will be discussed clearly in this

section.

2.1 BACKGROUND OF CANDLE

According to Faraday (1861), in early history of candles development,

besides their liturgical relevance, candles were predominantly used as a source of

light for over 5,000 years. One of the first inventions in human history was candle

and the first “wicks” candles were created in Ancient Rome. Candle making became

a popular occupation in the Middle Ages as evidenced by the creation of many

candle makers guilds throughout Europe. Basically, candle making depends on the

natural resources available to that region. The art of candle making has remained

amazingly similar to the original production even though the materials that

encompass a candle have changed through the years.

6

In the early of Roman and Egyptian times, candles originally were made up

from tallow which was extracted from cattle and sheep which burned poorly and

unfortunately producing quite an unpleasant smell. Upon this happen, the

introduction of candles made from beeswax were greatly accepted due to structure of

beeswax which burned cleanly and did not omit any odours and produce less smoke.

However, because beeswax was a much scarcer resource than tallow, it became more

of a candle for the opulent, and tallow was the common household candle.

Willhoft and Horn (2000) stated that in early Chinese candles were made up

from an indigenous insect that was combined with seeds. The candles have been

molded in paper tubes and the wick was made from rolled rice paper. In Japan,

candles were made of wax extracted from tree nuts while in India fruit of the

cinnamon tree was boiled to make candle wax. Nevertheless, candles starts to gained

fragrance and strength in the middle of 1600s when bayberry wax was discovered by

the settlers around Cape Cod Bay.

The bayberry bush grows wild in bogs and costal swamplands from New

England to Louisiana. Usually, women and children gathered and dumped the

grayish white berries into a boiling pot and they skimmed the aromatic greenish gray

wax and added it to the tallow. Bayberry wax has a higher melting point than tallow

and it makes the candles less prone to bending. However the process of making the

bayberry wax was very tedious and tiresome

In the middle of 1700s, the first large scale improvement in candle making

was brought via a by-product of America’s fledgling whaling industry. The whale

men discovered that spermaceti oil from the head cavity of a sperm whale contains a

waxy component. It became the accepted standard for photometry because when it is

rendered into wax, the spermaceti hardened, burned brightly and smells better than

tallow and beeswax. Unfortunately, because of the prices is expensive, only the

affluent could afford them (Wikipedia.com).