Synthesis and properties of wax based on waste cooking oil

In this work, a cost-effective wax was synthesized from waste cooking oil (WCO), and its properties including melting point, color, hardness, combustion performance and micro-morphology were tested and analyzed. The obtained results showed that the epoxy waste cooking oil had lighter color, higher melting point and hardness than that of original WCO, which could be used as wax. Moreover, introducing stearic acid further improved the performances of WCO-based wax. The WCO-based wax made of epoxy waste cooking oil and stearic acid (containing ≥50 wt% stearic acid) displayed a relatively high melting point (≥46 °C), light color (Lovibond color code Y ≤ 16.1, R ≤ 2.3), good hardness (needle penetration index ≤2.95 mm) and long combustion time (≥227 min), and could achieve the required national standard and be used as a substitute for the commercially available soybean wax. Together with many additional benefits such as low synthesis cost, mild reaction conditions, convenient synthesis route, and no secondary pollution, producing wax based on WCO could provide a new path for WCO recycling in economically trailing regions. Low-cost wax based on waste cooking oil (WCO) was synthesized and could be a substitute for commercial soybean wax.