The intensification of the HC process in this work proved to be
effective in terms of higher yield efficiency and achieved high
methyl ester conversion 96.5% satisfied the minimum requirement
of EN 14214 in a shorter reaction time using newly designed
orifice plates induced cavities assisted by a double diaphragm
pump in a pilot plant. The transesterification reaction was conducted
under optimised conditions, i.e. oil to methanol molar ratio
of 1:6 in the presence of 1 wt.% KOH as the alkali catalyst at 60 C
of operating temperature. It was found that the plate geometry
with lower values of b and b0, but higher value of total hole
perimeter and a gave better conversion. Multiple holes plate with
smaller diameter was found to be effective in generating higher
cavitational events. The optimised geometry of orifice plate with
21 holes of 1 mm diameter resulted in 8 fold more energy effi-
ciency and 6 fold less reaction time compared to mechanical
stirring. This makes the process more environmental friendly by
using HC in biodiesel production. Moreover, utilising WCO for
biodiesel production is a sustainable, environmental protection
and further solution to mitigate health and disposal issues. The
present study proved that the developed HC pilot plant able to
produce biodiesel derived from WCO that meet the both standards
of EN 14214 and ASTM D 6751.