Rick Arneil Arancon, 2011 BS Chemistry graduate, published his study on the use of waste cooking oils in the production of biodiesel in the journal “Green Chemistry.”

Arancon co-authored the study with Rafael Luque, a professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Cordoba. The two met through Research Gate, a 2.0 network for researchers with 1.7 million users in 200 countries.

Luque, a biofuel expert in catalysis, assisted Arancon in testing the use of corncobs and other food wastes abundant in the Philippines as catalyst in the conversion of waste frying oils into biodiesel. Samples from the Philippines were sent to Luque’s laboratory at the University of Cordoba.

Since waste cooking oil is generated in huge volumes everyday from restaurants and fast food chains, it can be a cheap source of fuel when converted into biodiesel.

Arancon studied the “Synthesis of Corncob Derived Solid Acid Catalyst for Biodiesel Conversion of Waste Cooking Oils,” as his undergraduate thesis while at XU. His research won him the BPI-DOST Science Award in 2011. He is pursuing his master’s degree at the Ateneo de Manila University.