Cooking oils burning release varied levels of carbon dioxide
School Name
A.C. Flora High School
Grade Level
9th Grade
Presentation Topic
Biochemistry
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
People around the world cook with oils on a day-to-day basis, and there are bound to be several hazardous gases released while cooking. My previous experiments demonstrated that cooking oils, after burning, release carbon monoxide (CO) at elevated levels. The data collected from the same experiments were further used to observe the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from these oils. These experiments were performed in a well-ventilated outdoor environment. A small homemade oil lamp containing five mL of cooking oil was lit and placed inside the glass casserole dish. A gas detector was placed near the oil lamp, the casserole dish was closed, and the level of CO2 released was noted every thirty seconds for three minutes. The experiment was repeated three times for five different cooking oils (vegetable oil, avocado oil, mustard oil, olive oil, and coconut oil) and the average was plotted on a graph. This pilot study showed that the levels of CO2 from all cooking oils used were increasing as time went on. However, some of the oils released higher levels of CO2, while some increased less. These results concluded that individuals who cook with oil regularly should perform their cooking in a well-ventilated area to minimize the risk of adverse health effects as a result. It has been known that high levels of CO2 can cause mental impairment, dizziness, respiratory problems, etc. Some of the limitations of this study were the purity of the cooking oils, the use of homemade oil lamps, and the uncontrolled outdoor environment.
Recommended Citation
Gupta, Dhruv, "Cooking oils burning release varied levels of carbon dioxide" (2025). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 1.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2025/all/1
Location
PENNY 214
Start Date
4-5-2025 9:00 AM
Presentation Format
Oral Only
Group Project
No
Cooking oils burning release varied levels of carbon dioxide
PENNY 214
People around the world cook with oils on a day-to-day basis, and there are bound to be several hazardous gases released while cooking. My previous experiments demonstrated that cooking oils, after burning, release carbon monoxide (CO) at elevated levels. The data collected from the same experiments were further used to observe the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from these oils. These experiments were performed in a well-ventilated outdoor environment. A small homemade oil lamp containing five mL of cooking oil was lit and placed inside the glass casserole dish. A gas detector was placed near the oil lamp, the casserole dish was closed, and the level of CO2 released was noted every thirty seconds for three minutes. The experiment was repeated three times for five different cooking oils (vegetable oil, avocado oil, mustard oil, olive oil, and coconut oil) and the average was plotted on a graph. This pilot study showed that the levels of CO2 from all cooking oils used were increasing as time went on. However, some of the oils released higher levels of CO2, while some increased less. These results concluded that individuals who cook with oil regularly should perform their cooking in a well-ventilated area to minimize the risk of adverse health effects as a result. It has been known that high levels of CO2 can cause mental impairment, dizziness, respiratory problems, etc. Some of the limitations of this study were the purity of the cooking oils, the use of homemade oil lamps, and the uncontrolled outdoor environment.
