Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd., Sumitomo Corp., and Green Earth Institute Co. Ltd. have announced a partnership to create a new company, Morisora Bio Refinery LLC, which will produce bioethanol and other chemicals from wood. The joint venture is expected to be established in March 2025, reports Ethanol Producer Magazine.
The new company will build a test plant at Nippon Paper’s Iwanuma Mill in Miyagi Prefecture. The plant will use wood scraps from local sawmills and a special low-carbon process developed by Green Earth Institute to produce over 1,000 kiloliters of bioethanol each year, starting in 2027.
The companies plan to eventually build a larger, commercial plant that can produce tens of thousands of kiloliters of bioethanol and other chemicals per year. This larger plant is expected to be operational around 2030, coinciding with the anticipated widespread use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Japan.
This project, known as the “Morisora Project,” is part of a larger effort to promote SAF production in Japan. It is also affiliated with “ACT FOR SKY,” a national initiative aimed at expanding SAF production, and has been selected as a pilot project by the Public-Private Council to Promote the Introduction of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
The bioethanol produced will be made from wood chips sourced from the Tohoku region, making it a low-carbon, non-food biomass-based fuel. Using local wood reduces transportation emissions, and the production process will use carbon-neutral energy from lignin, a natural component of wood. This will significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels and contribute to a more sustainable society.
The bioethanol will be used for SAF, as well as for blending with gasoline, fuel cells, cosmetics, and other chemical products. The project also aims to find ways to use the carbon dioxide produced during the process and other by-products.
In addition to producing biofuel, the project will work to improve forest resources in the Tohoku region by promoting the planting of “elite trees,” which grow faster and have other desirable characteristics.
Nippon Paper will use its expertise in papermaking to establish a large-scale production system for bioethanol. Sumitomo Corporation aims to secure a stable supply of materials and promote the use of domestically produced SAF. Green Earth Institute will contribute its biomanufacturing technology to make the project a success.
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