Who knew that hotpot isn’t just delicious to eat, but could also be a sustainable energy source?
Source: Luna Wang on Unsplash
In China, a start-up has been exporting hotpot grease to Singapore and European countries since 2016.
The grease is then converted to a type of biofuel that can power aircraft.
According to Bloomberg, the start-up behind the movement is Sichuan Jinshang Environmental Technology. They act as the first player in a global supply chain.
First, the company collects oil from hotpot restaurants in Sichuan. After that, they purify the oil by removing sodium and metal particles.
This industrial mixed oil is then exported to Europe and Singapore to be further refined into biofuel for planes.
Source: Jeffry Surianto on Pexels
Zhong Guojun, vice president of the company, said,
Our mission is to make gutter oil fly to the sky.
Since kitchen waste oil doesn’t displace food production or encourage deforestation for crops, it is emerging as a major source of sustainable jet fuel.
There is an international demand for industrial grease, Bloomberg notes.
As major airlines try to find greener alternatives to power their planes, the demand for biofuel is on the rise.
Source: Eurocontrol
The aviation industry contributes about 2% of the world’s total greenhouse gases and so, they face pressure to reduce these emissions.
So, as the largest consumer of edible oil in the world, China can provide a solution.
Source: Douglas Sprott on Flickr
According to Bloomberg, however, only 3 million tonnes of edible oil make it to the biodiesel supply chain.
That is less than 1% of the 41 million tonnes of edible oil that China consumes in a year — more than any other country in the world.
However, it is likely that this percentage will increase in the future.
In Europe, planes and airports must mostly use sustainable fuel by 2050.
Although it’s not clear if Singapore will follow suit, we can rest easy knowing that there is an untapped supply in China.
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Featured image adapted from Luna Wang on Unsplash and Martin Widenka on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
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