The idea that leftover cooking oil, which is often seen as trash, might be turned into a valuable commodity is mind-boggling. The leftover oil after cooking is often discarded without proper care since many see it as useless trash. Careless disposal of spent cooking oil really poses a number of significant health and environmental risks. Some of the byproducts of processing leftover cooking oil are aromatherapy candles. Used cooking oil, which is originally black in color and smells like cooking, may be turned into valuable aromatherapy candles via a series of steps. Pojok Village, Tawangsari District, Sukoharjo Regency was the site of a 2024 monodisciplinary program called “Utilization of Used Cooking Oil into Aromatherapy Candles” that took place on July 24th. Students from Diponegoro University’s Industrial Chemical Engineering Technology Vocational School developed a program that targeted Pojok Village’s Waste Bank.
The show started with some background on aromatherapy candles then moved on to a candle-making demonstration. Producing candles from used cooking oil is an easy yet precise technique. Prior to being re-filtered, the used cooking oil must be cleansed to eliminate any remaining food particles. Next, stearic acid is stirred into the hot oil at a ratio of one to one. In this case, the essential oil serves to mask the smell of used cooking oil while also adding a pleasant perfume. The candles take on a more refined appearance with the addition of orange and red hues. Following this, there was a question and answer session, during which the participants expressed their excitement in creating aromatherapy candles. Since the ratio of components is straightforward and easy to recall, aromatherapy candles provide a potential revenue opportunity for the Waste Bank. “The glass cup shape of the candle holder gives the impression that this candle product can be commercialized,” stated Slamet Saryanto, head of RW 03. It would be simple to include this aromatherapy candle product into the Waste Bank’s existing program. With the help of aesthetically pleasing packaging and a trademark, I want to create aromatherapy candle products using recycled cooking oil. As stated by Agustina, Head of the Pojok Village Waste Bank.
The Pojok Village Waste Bank’s “Utilization of Used Cooking Oil into Aromatherapy Candles” initiative aims to minimize home kitchen waste via responsible handling of leftover cooking oil. The aromatherapy candles made from this oil may be sold as a valuable product. [Enrica Ryan Geminarqi]
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