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After frying, the used oil leaves the kitchen for the hands of two young Cape Verdeans, who, by hand, have already converted 7.5 tons of this residue into soap and detergent, and who hope to make Biodosa the largest ecological company in the world . parents.
Alex Mascarenhas and Deritson de Pina finished their degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV) in early 2018 and wasted no time putting into practice the teachings of the course years, that is, the principles of recycling, which are the four ‘R’s: recycle, reduce, reuse and recover.
And in the market research, already with the intention of creating their own company, they found that Cape Verde is an “ecologically weak” country, with a lot of waste, such as plastic and paper, in which the solution is to burn it or throw it in the landfill, He said. Lusa Deritson de Pina agency.
A worker displays soaps from the Biodosa company, produced biologically with used cooking oil, in Praia, Cape Verde, on October 8, 2020. After frying, the used oil leaves the kitchen for the hands of two young Cape Verdeans. that, by hand, they have already converted 7.5 tons of this residue into soap and detergent, and that they hope to turn Biodosa into the largest ecological company in the country.
FERNANDO DE PINA / LUSA
And there is also the used cooking oil, which is even more polluting, where young people have found their “strong point” to create Biodosa, a company that worked experimentally for the rest of 2018, seeking support and conducting studies. , registered in January 2019 and officially started the activity the following month.
According to Deritson de Pina, 26, there were many solutions for recycling used cooking oil, such as candle production, gear oil, fuel, but “the easiest way” was to convert it into soap and detergent, two environmentally friendly products. and biodegradable.
And the work on the ground began with the main restaurants in the city of Praia, with the presentation of the project and collection of used oils for recycling, in an artisanal process, which is carried out in the house of the other partner of the company , Alex Mascarenhas.
Filtration, decantation and treatment
To get to the soap and detergent, the oil goes through several stages, from filtration and decantation, to expel all the residues, then it follows the treatment to eliminate the odor and the black color, described Deritson de Pina.
“Then we start the production process, we put it on a tray for 24 hours to dry, cut it and finish it to reach the stores,” said one of Biodosa’s partners, who also uses caustic soda, a strong base to help grease. it becomes soap, and the natural essences are eucalyptus, lemon and lavender. “The process is all artisanal, but our idea is to be the largest ecological company in Cape Verde, to have machines, among others, and our own space,” said the chemical engineer, for whom the fact that they are still installed in one of the The partners help reduce some expenses, but it is different from your own facilities.
The first ‘tests’ of the products were carried out precisely with the neighbors of Eugénio Lima, where they have the provisional installation, which after using the soap they called it Rendosa, because it lasts a long time.
In less than three years of operation, young people have already collected around 9,000 liters of oil in restaurants and private homes in Praia, of which they recycled about 7.5 tons, preventing this waste from reaching nature or the sewers . .
Each month, Biodosa produces an average of 1,500 bars of soap and also sells an average of 1,000, at a price of 40 escudos (0.36 euro cents) ex works and 30 escudos (0.27 euro cents) to resellers. , according to Deritson de Pina.
Despite already having several clients, including the main mini-markets in Praia, the company partner noted that there is still “a lot of resistance” in Cape Verde regarding organic and locally made products.
For this reason, in addition to recycling, the company has a strong commitment to raising public awareness about environmental protection, the young businessman continued, recalling that a liter of oil contaminates a million liters of water.
“These are the local and global consequences that we show people. And there is an even greater consequence when we pour oil into the sea, causing floods and global warming, during the decomposition process, in which it consumes a lot of oxygen and releases products such as carbon dioxide and methane, which are harmful to the ozone layer ”. said the chemist.
Going beyond oils
Deritson de Pina, originally from the municipality of Santa Cruz, also on the island of Santiago and a neighbor of Palmarejo, Praia, said that he and his colleague Alex Mascarenhas are proud, because they are putting into practice everything they have learned and because they are “doing something for the environment, protecting the environment ”.
According to the engineer, for now the focus is on recycling oil, but Biodosa intends to work with all kinds of waste to transform it into an ecological and biodegradable product.
Deritson de Pina pointed out that the company wants to show people that they are not buying just soap or detergent, but a cause, which is environmental protection, in which a liter of oil can produce seven soap cubes.
“Our goal is to minimize the environmental impact caused by waste and to make people aware of ecology, living in a sustainable way, which must start at home, separating waste, reusing it, delivering it to a company or looking for another solution for it”, concluded.
