Japan’s biomass plan

 Japan will start a five-year plan this year to harness a new form of energy using biomass to produce auto fuels and other industrial products currently made from imported petrol, according to a Reuters report on the Environmental News Network.Japan can supply a part of alternative fuels made from wood-origin ethanol as well as raw materials for plastic and carbon fibres, the report said.

The Ministry of Agriculture will provide 1.2 billion yen ($11.2 million) from the next budget to support a few private projects to develop an alternative processing system the petrochemical industry, pending parliament approval.

Forest Agency Technology Development Office Director, Satoshi Ishihara, said up to 10 billion yen of the funding was set aside for a project or projects using wood for cellulosic ethanol technology.

“We’re looking for a cellulosic technology using enzymes and yeasts to cut down the size of such a plant,” Ishihara told Reuters.

Cellulosic is expected to create several billions of dollars in an industry globally in enzymes and fermentation organisms, which help break down the tough bits of the plants into ethanol, the report stated.

Japan’s sole commercial cellulosic plant in Sakai city in Osaka prefecture, western Japan, uses an acid process to produce ethanol from biomass collected in construction sites.

When the next fiscal year starts in April, the farm ministry also has plans to spend a total of 3.2 billion yen to support a few consortiums comprising farmers, engineers and regional governments to produce ethanol from non-food soft plant parts such as rice stems and use it locally, Reuters said.