Bioethanol Mass Production from Waste Wood to Start in Osaka in 2007

Facilities to mass-produce fuel ethanol from construction waste wood are now under construction in Osaka and scheduled to start operation in 2007. This technology has been developed by Tsukishima Kikai Co. with subsidies from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) since 2001. For commercial production, a new company, Bioethanol Japan Kansai, was established by a group of shareholders: Taisei Corp., Daiei Inter Nature System, Inc., Marubeni Techno-Systems Corp., Sapporo Breweries Ltd. and Tokyo Board Industries, Co.

Considering the growing need to reduce CO2 emissions and create a sustainable society, plants are valuable biomass resources because of their unique features. They absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store carbon through photosynthesis. Furthermore, they are renewable natural resources if land is replanted after harvesting.

Currently, ethanol is produced mainly from starchy or sugary materials such as corn, wheat, cassava and sugarcane. These crops, however, are important food resources, and also vulnerable to price fluctuations in the market.

Ethanol can also be produced from woody/cellulosic biomass, such as waste wood and agricultural residues. The new company will mass-produce fuel ethanol using construction waste wood for which reliable waste collection routes already exist. This production method uses the dilute acid hydrolysis process. In this process, dilute sulfuric acid is used as a catalyst to hydrolyze woody biomass. After being neutralized, the sugar solution obtained is fermented into fuel ethanol with the help of genetically engineered bacteria.

http://www.tsk-g.co.jp/en/index.html

Posted: 2006/03/26 08:52:20 AM
Japanese version