Japanese pavement company Obayashi Road Corporation has established a process that virtually eliminates carbon dioxide emissions from the production of asphalt mix. Instead of fuel oil, which is conventionally used as fuel for burner combustion in the production process, 100% waste cooking oil is used to reduce CO2 emissions to virtually zero. Electricity is purchased in the form of Environmental Value Certificates to offset the emissions. As a first step, dedicated tanks and control equipment have been installed at the company's flagship plant in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, which began full operation this month.

Combustion and quality tests using 100% waste cooking oil have been conducted at the Kagawa Asphalt Mixing Plant, and it has been confirmed that the product meets the standards. The plant is expected to consume approximately 660 kiloliters of used cooking oil per year, resulting in an annual reduction of approximately 1,700 tons of CO2 emissions.

Road construction companies face the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions from the production of asphalt mixes. According to the company, Obayashi Road is the first in Japan to achieve 100% zero CO2 emissions in the asphalt mix manufacturing process. (2023/10/06)