ABSTRACT
Waste cooking oil (WCO) is a slurry of organic waste formed after cooking and has a significant impact on the environment and society when disposed of improperly. WCO contains a variety of polymerized derivatives, hydrocarbons, and glyceride molecules that are formed during the process of frying as an outcome of thermolytic, oxidative, and hydrolytic reactions. Its consumption is vulnerable to health concerns. WCO is produced in India at a pace of about 11 lakh tons per year, making its disposal a significant challenge. It has been banned from being reused in cookery. WCO is mainly incorporated as an animal feed component and biodiesel feedstock. However, from financial, ecological, and health aspects, the development of new, practicable ways is appealing. WCO could be utilized as a microbial fermentation feedstock to synthesize many value-added chemicals due to their triglyceride content. In this approach, microbial-mediated WCO valorization offers a long-term biotechnological option for transforming this oily trash into sustainable feedstock for bio-based businesses, hence boosting the idea of the circular economy.
