While much of the West is obsessed with keeping fat-laden cooking oils out of the human cardiovascular system, Japan is keen on using the stuff to clean up its air.
In tests recently concluded in the ancient temple city of Kyoto, waste cooking oil was successfully converted into diesel fuel, according to the Daily Yomiuri. The fuel, developed by Lon Ford Development Corp., is made by combining cooking oil with methanol and a catalyzer, and converting them into a concoction called bio diesel oil. Kyoto’s municipal government tested the fuel in its fleet of garbage trucks for six months and recently approved bio diesel’s introduction for general use.
This project is part of an effort by the Japanese to find a cleaner burning fuel while reducing the amount of waste heading to its refuse dumps. The city government estimates that it collects 2,000 tons of used cooking oil from restaurants and food-processing plants every year. Now, Kyoto officials are trying to find a way to round up the waste oil from households, which generate an estimated 2,500 tons annually. Kyoto's citizens are being encouraged to bring their used oil to collection centers, and volunteers canvass the neighborhoods looking for what's left.
The garbage-truck experiment proved successful. No engine trouble was reported and the bio fuel was nearly as efficient as regular diesel fuel, providing 3.3 kilometers per liter against 3.6 kilometers. And the bio diesel fuel burns cleaner. Officials noted that it emits no sulfur oxides, the chief culprits of acid rain, and it generates a third less black smoke than normal diesel. By having its refuse trucks use the bio-oil-based fuel, the city’s sanitation department estimates that carbon dioxide emissions can be cut by 30 percent.
