Japan researches aviation fuel made from wood

A group of companies led by Nippon Paper Industries plans to produce bioethanol from wood for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Japan. Investment in the project is expected to total tens of billions of yen (10 billion yen equals USD78 million), with production starting in 2027. Sustainable aviation fuels, which can be produced from waste oil from kitchen, plant matter, and other materials, emit 70% to 90% less carbon dioxide than standard jet fuel. The European Union is leading the way in regulations designed to drive widespread adoption of SAF by mid-century. Nippon Paper, trading company Sumitomo Corp. and others intend to form a joint venture in 2024 to manufacture and sell bioethanol. The Green Earth Institute, a Japanese company that has its own fermentation technology with microorganisms, is also going to invest in the undertaking. The bioethanol will be produced at Nippon Paper’s mills and sold to oil refineries that manufacture the SAF. The partners aim to produce, as of 2027, enough bioethanol to produce around 10,000 kiloliters of fuel. The main raw material will be wood extracted from Nippon Paper’s forests. The company owns around 90,000 hectares of forests in Japan, second only to rival Oji Holdings. Nippon Paper plans to increase the sustainability of its supply by planting seedlings that grow 50% faster and absorb 50% more carbon dioxide than conventional trees in logging areas. The venture will seek to reduce SAF production costs, one of the barriers to the wider adoption of plant-based aviation fuels. – https://valor.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2023/02/03/japo-pesquisa-combustvel-de-aviao-feito-a-partir-de-madeira.ghtml