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  • Writer's pictureBy The Financial District

Ramen Broth Biodiesel Used By Japan Firm

Imagine if the emissions of biodiesel fuel from your car smelled so good you would be tempted to drink it. Never in our wildest dreams would we have thought that leftover “tonkotsu” ramen soup broth could be used to make engine vehicles run.

Photo Insert: Nishida Shoun Chairman Masumi Nishida holds samples of biodiesel fuel made from ramen broth in Miyawaka, Fukuoka Prefecture.

That changed when the president of Nishida Shoun, a firm based in Fukuoka Prefecture, mixed lard extracted from the broth, which is made from pork bones, with a fuel made from waste cooking oil, and used it as a way to power his trucks.


It has already started using the diesel oil in some of its 170 trucks and plans to use it in all of them from September, Kyodo News reported.


An effective alternative to petroleum diesel, biodiesel fuel is known to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


The company's chairman, Masumi Nishida, came up with the idea of using tonkotsu ramen broth for fuel production in 2013 when he was approached by an operator of a ramen chain while conducting research on biodiesel fuel derived from vegetable oil.


All the news: Business man in suit and tie smiling and reading a newspaper near the financial district.

The operator said he had to pay for the disposal of leftover broth and wondered whether it could be put to use instead.


Rising to the challenge, 74-year-old Nishida developed a device to separate the lard from the broth that can be placed in the kitchens of ramen shops.


Entrepreneurship: Business woman smiling, working and reading from mobile phone In front of laptop in the financial district.

Though lard tends to solidify easily compared to vegetable oil, Nishida devised a process to eliminate certain elements during refining so that it can be mixed with biodiesel fuel made from waste cooking oil.


The company currently purchases lard and waste cooking oil from around 2,000 restaurants and uses it to produce about 3,000 liters of fuel a day at its plant in the prefecture.


Science & technology: Scientist using a microscope in laboratory in the financial district.

"At the beginning, 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 are becoming a big challenge," Nishida said.



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