Wow, This Japanese Transportation Company Makes Diesel Fuel From Tonkotsu Ramen Broth

Research illustration. (Unsplash/@bermixstudio)

JAKARTA - Who doesn't know the delicacy of tonkatsu ramen. In fact, the broth alone is delicious to just sip. However, what would happen if the tonkotsu ramen broth was used as diesel fuel. Is it possible?

13, the president of a transportation company in southwestern Japan found a way to power his truck, using biodiesel fuel made partly from the remaining tonkotsu ramen soup broth.

Is a company Nishida Shoun, based in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan mixing lard extracted from broth, which is made from pork bones, with fuel made from used cooking oil.

The company started using diesel oil in a number of its fleet of 170 trucks owned. The plan is that the entire fleet will use this alternative fuel starting in September. An effective alternative to petroleum diesel, biodiesel fuel is known to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Company leader Masumi Nishida came up with the idea of using tonkotsu ramen broth for fuel production in 2013, when he was approached by a ramen chain operator while conducting research on biodiesel fuels derived from vegetable oils.

Tonkotsu ramen illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Misaochan2)

The operator said he had to pay to get rid of the rest of the broth and wondered if it could be used instead.

Responding to the challenge, Nishida (74), developed a tool to separate lard from broth that can be placed in the kitchen of a ramen shop.

Although lard tends to harden easily compared to vegetable oils, Nishida found a way to remove certain elements during refining, so that it can be mixed with biodiesel fuel made from used cooking oil.

To meet the demand for raw material supply, the company currently purchases used lard and cooking oil from around 2,000 restaurants, using them to produce around 3,000 liters of fuel per day at its factories.

"At first, I had no knowledge of chemistry and it was all about trial and error. But my development saw the light of day when environmental issues became a huge challenge," Nishida said.