This work evaluated the pretreatment of used cooking oils (UCOs) via liquid-liquid extraction, both at laboratory and bench scales, under batch and continuous operation. Processed UCOs were collected in Bogotá, Colombia, and physical pretreatment was done by extraction with methanol and ethanol in a batch operation. The selected solvent was further tested in an intensified process using a packed falling film contactor in continuous operation. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated with respect to the change in the main targeted properties of UCO, namely acidity index, photometric color index, and content of polar compounds. Additional physicochemical properties of UCO were also tracked during extraction. The most effective pretreatment was achieved by using ethanol as solvent with a water content of 5% wt. This was tested in the continuous contactor using an oil:solvent mass ratio of 1:2, a mass flow of oil of 0.74 kg/h and a packing length of 1.07 m. In a single contact stage, a 51% acidity reduction, a 17% reduction in color index, and a 6.7% reduction in the content of polar compounds were achieved. Preliminary estimations for an industrial process indicate processing costs of 332 US$/t and a carbon footprint of CO₂ 2.17 kg CO₂-eq/kg.

这项工作评估了在实验室和实验室规模、分批和连续操作下通过液-液萃取对用过的食用油 (UCO) 进行的预处理。在哥伦比亚波哥大收集加工过的 UCO，并通过在分批操作中用甲醇和乙醇萃取来进行物理预处理。使用填充降膜接触器在连续操作中进一步测试所选溶剂。根据 UCO 的主要目标特性（即酸度指数、光度颜色指数和极性化合物含量）的变化来评估处理的有效性。在提取过程中还跟踪了 UCO 的其他物理化学性质。最有效的预处理是使用乙醇作为溶剂，含水量为 5% wt。这在连续接触器中进行了测试，油：溶剂质量比为 1:2，油的质量流量为 0.74 kg/h，填料长度为 1.07 m。在单个接触阶段，酸度降低了 51%，颜色指数降低了 17%，极性化合物的含量降低了 6.7%。工业过程的初步估计表明加工成本为 332 美元/吨，碳足迹为 CO₂ 2.17 kg CO ₂ -eq/kg。