Japan’s Daio Paper to explore biorefinery

Japanese paper manufacturer Daio Paper is planning a trial biorefinery, aiming to begin commercial production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), second-generation bioethanol and biodegradable plastic feedstock by the April 2032-March 2033 fiscal year.

Daio, in partnership with domestic biorefinery venture Green Earth Institute (GEI), plans to develop technology to demonstrate manufacturing the bioproducts by 2030. Daio Paper plans to use wooden biomass, waste paper and paper sludge as feedstock. The company declined to disclose any planned commercial output capacity, as well as location of the biorefinery. The project is financed by Japan's state-owned research institute Nedo.

Daio Paper is attempting to achieve decarbonisation, while weakening paper demand has forced the industry to seek new business opportunities.

Fellow Japanese paper producer Nippon Paper has also tried to develop biorefinery technology with GEI, targeting to begin commercial production of bioethanol for SAF and petrochemical feedstock by 2027-28.

By Nanami Oki