Transforming "Yellow Grease" Into Therapeutic Cosmetics

Main Category: Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery
Also Included In: Dermatology
Article Date: 01 Mar 2007 - 1:00 PDT


Waste cooking oil from restaurant deep fryers could become a much-sought inexpensive raw material for producing unusual biosurfactants with uses ranging from therapeutic cosmetics that regenerate damaged skin to controlling algae blooms in lakes and ponds, according to researchers in New York.

In a report scheduled for the April 9 issue of the ACS bimonthly journal Biotechnology Progress, Vishal Shah and colleagues estimate that restaurants in the United States generate about 25 billion gallons of waste cooking oil each week. The waste oil, marketed as "yellow grease," long has been used in animal feed, with researchers exploring new applications such as biodiesel fuel.

"We have successfully demonstrated the use of restaurant waste oil as a potential low-cost lipid feedstock for sophorolipid production," the report states. "This method of waste oil disposal has the advantage of producing a value-added commercially viable byproduct." Sophorolipids have a range of applications, including naturally derived ingredients in therapeutic cosmetics; germicidal solutions for washing fruits and vegetables; and anti-algal agents for environmental cleanups, the report notes.

ARTCLE #3
"Utilization of Restaurant Waste Oil as a Precursor for Sophorolipid Production"

CONTACT:
Vishal Shah, Ph.D.
Dowling College
Oakdale, New York 11769

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ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- Feb. 21, 2007

The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Contact: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society

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