Mitsui Chemicals Group Introduces Bio-Polypropylene Project at G20 Ministerial Meeting in Karuizawa
2019.06.12
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo: 4183; President & CEO: Tsutomu Tannowa) exhibits at the G20 Ministerial Meeting in Karuizawa. The exhibition was held over June 14–16, 2019, at Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza Carpark in Nagano, Japan.
Overview of the Exhibition
| Name: | 20 Innovation Exhibition For Earth, society and the future |
|---|---|
| Schedule | June 14 (Fri) to 16 (Sun) |
| Venue: | Karuizawa Prince Shopping Plaza Carpark |
| Items: | Concept sharing for Bio-Polypropylene project |
The G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth is one of the ministerial meetings held in relation to Japan's presidency of the G20 Summit in Osaka in June 2019. The event served as a showcasing of state-of-the-art Japanese energy and environmental technologies on the theme of hydrogen energy, countermeasures for marine plastic litter and innovation. Among such exhibition themes, the Mitsui Chemicals Group shows concept of Bio-Polypropylene project in relation to its efforts to achieve SDGs.
Polypropylene has a wide range of applications, spanning automobile-parts to medical care products, home appliances, housing and food products. The Polypropylene plays an essential role in our lives and accounts for more than 20 percent of the plastic produced in Japan. However, due to technical difficulties, Production of polypropylene from biomass has not been established at the industrial level.
The new production method being attempted for commercialization sees various biomass mainly non-edible plants are fermented to produce isopropanol (IPA), which is then dehydrated to obtain propylene in a first-of-its-kind IPA method. Compared to other biomass production approaches studied by other companies thus far, this one could prove to be a more cost-effective way to manufacture Bio-Polypropylene.
And Mitsui Chemicals aims to contribute to society through environmentally friendly action with a circular model that leverages the supply chain by collaboration with other companies that will cultivate biomass raw materials used by Mitsui Chemicals, collect wastes generated from biomass raw materials, and supply electricity to manufacturing facilities and manufactures fertilizers through its effective use.
Comparison of Production Flows
Image of Bio-Polypropylene Production
Mitsui Chemicals Group aims to achieve sustainable development for itself and society by solving social challenges through our business activities