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Chicken fat is a chicken by-product used for cooking or diesel biofuel. Often referred to as 'chicken skin', the yellow colored chicken fat can be removed from the chicken by boiling or by cutting it off. Chicken fat is high in saturated fat (30%), monounsaturated fat (45%), and polyunsaturated fat (21%).The Jewish rendered chicken fat into schmaltz which is used as a cooking oil replacement (77°F melting point). Chicken fat is extracted and transesterified to produce biofuel which is usually blended with petroleum diesel. Other uses for chicken fat include carbon nanotubes and soap.

Composition
Chicken fat is chemically composed of triglycerides. The tri- derives from the three molecules of fatty acid that are bound to one glycerol. Chicken fat is characterized by saturated fat with 21.6% palmitic acid, monounsaturated fat with 37.3% oleic acid , and polyunsaturated fat with 20.5% linoleic acid. 100 grams of chicken fat contains 85 mg of cholesterol, which can cause cardiovascular disease in humans if consumed too much. The fat levels and percentages can vary depending on the diet of the chicken.

Schmaltz
Schmaltz is the Jewish name for rendered fat obtained from chickens or geese. The first step in rendering schmaltz is to remove the fat from the chicken. The easiest way to remove the fat is to visually cut and tear off the layer of yellow fat from around the raw chicken. Another method is to first slightly boil the chicken allowing the fat to be easily peeled off with your hands. Next, the fat is heated in a pan usually with onions, allowing the fat to melt into a yellow liquid. The schmaltz is strained from the skin remains, then refrigerated where it gets solidified.

Chicken fat was rendered into schmaltz by the Jewish in Europe due to the dietary laws of the Kashrut, which did not allow mixing meat and dairy when cooking. Traditionally, meat was cooked with butter, but to meet the standards of the Kashrut, the Jews began to cook their meat with schmaltz. The schmaltz, being high in fat, added flavor to the dish, at the cost of healthiness. To this day, chicken fat is used as a replacement for cooking oils due to the flavor of the fatty acids.

Schmaltz is used to panfry various foods including vegetables or meats. It can be used as a bread spread on Jewish rye, or challah. Schmaltz is a main ingredient in Jewish soups and stews, some of which include chicken soup, matzah balls, and cholent. As of today, Schmaltz is most commonly used as a flavor enhancer for nontraditional jewish cuisines that can include cornbread and chicken pot pie.

Biodiesel
Biodiesel is a form of renewable diesel that is created from the fatty acids of plants or animals The biodiesel created by chicken fat is extremely similar to that of petroleum diesel, and it is common to blend the two together. Farmers create agricultural co-op's to supply chicken fat in return for biodiesel to power their farm machines. Other biodiesel producers obtain chicken fat from restaurant left overs or from poultry farms. Before the synthesization can occur, the chicken fat input is boiled and filtered to discard impurities in the chicken fat.

Transesterification
Transesterification (or Methanolysis) is the process of converting different fats or oils (triglycerides) into biodiesel. Usable chicken oil is extracted from chicken fat through a variety of methods but the most common is by melting. For melting, the chicken fat is heated to 392° F (200° C) and the fat is turned into usable oil. Other techniques for extracting pure chicken oil include Soxhlet extraction, microwave heating, ultrasound assisted, or using supercritical carbon dioxide. Once the chicken oil is purified and clean, it is ready for the reaction. The chicken oil is then mixed with methanol and an enzyme catalyst (sulfonic or sulfuric acids) to produce the biofuel FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester). The process includes three different reactions to break down the Triglyceride, and each step along the way releases a mole of FAME. The Triglyceride is broken down into diglyceride, then monoglyceride, and finally glycerol.

Once the triglyceride is broken down, FAME and glycerol are mixed in a 3:1 molar ratio. In order to separate the glycerol and the FAME, the product is given time to settle. The denser glycerol sinks below the biofuel, and it is drained leaving only biofuel. The biofuel is washed out to remove any remaining impurities, dried, then mixed with antioxidant is added to maintain purity. Most commonly, the biofuel is blended with petroleum diesel, but it can also be put right into diesel engines.

Comparison
Biodiesel compared to petroleum (standard) diesel is more environmentally friendly, but less efficient and reliable. The differences between biodiesel and petroleum fuel are caused by biodiesel being made up of FAME, and by petroleum diesel being made up of saturated hydrocarbons. The biodiesel comparatively has less harmful emissions including less carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Biodiesel has more lubricity than petroleum diesel, causing a longer engine life due to less wear on the engine. Biodiesel can be made from excess chicken fat which is usually discarded by butchers or chicken farms, as opposed to the petroleum diesel which has to be excavated and produced from fossil fuels. Biodiesel can generate a more domestic fuel economy, where farmers can create their own fuel to run their tractors and farming machines. However, the FAME in biodiesel has a lower heating value, which means that relatively more fuel is consumed when compared to petroleum diesel. Additionally, the FAME is more likely to react with oxygen or solidify from colder temperatures, both which cause the diesel to turn into a gel like mass. Biofuel is also more costly per gallon to make compared to petroleum diesel. However, more common sources for biofuel include vegetable oils, used cooking oil, or other animals fats.

Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are versatile nano-structures, which are composed of rolled up carbon nanofibers (CNFs). The diameter of the nanotubes range from 10 to 500 nm, and the length ranges between 500 to 200000 nm. To produce CNTs, chicken fat oil is first rendered and purified from chicken fat. Second, the chicken oil is mixed with the catalyst ferrocene and placed in a thermal chemical vapor deposition furnace (TCVPF) at 750°C. The TCVPF uses the diffusion of gas on a nanometer scale to coat the carbon nanofibers, and convert them into carbon nanotubes. Once synthesized, CNT's are sought after for their excellent thermal and electrical conductivity Carbon nanotubes used for medicine delivery, field emission devices, electrodes in supercapacitors, energy storage, and sensors.

Soap
Soap, used for cleaning, can be made from chicken fat oils in the process of Saponification. Saponification is the process in which chicken oil is mixed with a basic compound (most commonly sodium hydroxide). The triglycerides in chicken oil react with the base solution to produce metals salts, and harden into soap. Also called Tallow Soap, the soap can be added with plant extracts or oils to have a different smells.