Hello All.
> There was mention of Kogarah council banning the use of synthetic trans
> fatty oil in new food outlets. It seems the synthetic oil is used to
> upgrade normal vege oil. The oil has been banned from food overseas for
> a few years but not in NSW.It is known to have a impact on the number of
> heart problems that's why. Not much I know hence the query.
> Cheers Graham
>
>

Graham,
Can you post some more details of what they are actually banning?
I thought that Trans fatty acids are found in hydrogenated oils and many oils which have been used in deep frying.

I need more information.

Thanks,
Tony

This is what Kogarah Council is proposing.

The Trans Fats are not a new type of synthetic cooking oil, they are a byproduct of treating otherwise "Difficult to find a commercial use" oils for commercial uses. The "Trans' is actually short for Transesterified, that is, the exact same process we use to make Biodiesel. By treating various vegetable oils by hydrogenation, they can be used in Margarines and Cooking Oils. While the treated fats are now more useful at room temps, it is an unfortunate issue that the transesterified fats are harmful to the human body, with studies linking them to increased Cholesterol levels and increased Heart Disease. It is this same process of hydrogenation that BP are using for their Biodiesel production.

If you can find cooking oil with high levels of Trans Fats, some of your BD conversion is already done for you, but expect a poorer yeild per litre, as the base stock oil is harder to "Crack".

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Mazda's Secret Service motto: "Tell 'em nothing, charge 'em double".

Actually, trans fatty acids (and fats) are so named because of the "trans" double bonds in the acid chains, rather than "cis" bonds. It has nothing to do with transesterification whatsoever. Hydrogenation is a process by which they add hydrogen to the double bonds, in order to remove them. It changes the degree of "saturation" of the fats (which, in laymans terms, is how full the chain is with hydrogen atoms).

In regard to the proposed ban, I don't think the problem is that they are synthetic, as a synthetic molecule should for all intents and purposes, be identical to one extracted from a plant. I would suggest that the issue is more likely to be simply that they are trans fats, which are generally considered less healthy.

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Thanks for the info. I get some of my oil from Sydney and don't see the container so I don't know the brand .Does this oil look different and how will it be harder to crack.
Cheers Graham

Graham,
From what has been posted, I doubt that here will be any difference in the processing of this oil into biodiesel. As part of the hydrogenation, the increase in sarturation of the oil will cause the melting point to increase. This will have a similar effect on any biodiesel made from this oil.
Be sure to check the melting point of the oil and of the biodiesel made from it.

TroyH, Thanks for the description of Trans Vs Cis fatty acids. I was searching for something simple, to explain this.

Regards,
Tony