FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NPC and Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. (head office: 1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo; capitalized at ¥107.2 billion; CEO/President: Yaichi Kimura) have agreed to implement a feasibility study for the manufacture of bioethanol at NPC’s Gotsu Mill (location: Gotsu, Shimane Prefecture), which is the only mill in Japan where sulfite pulp* is produced.

There is now a pressing need to find new methods for manufacturing bioethanol from inedible cellulosic materials such as switchgrass and wood pulp. NPC has found a potential solution for this in black liquor, which is produced in sulfite pulping process and contains an abundance of sugars derived from wood chips that can be fermented into bioethanol. Both NPC and Cosmo Oil firmly believe that the most practicable approach to a commercially viable method for the production of bioethanol from cellulosic materials can be established upon NPC’s technologies involved in pulp manufacture and black liquor fermentation.

Under the contract, the feasibility study will last for one year, during which the latest bioethanol technologies and the potential of black liquor will be studied. There will also be a prior evaluation of the applicability of saccharification techniques and the productivity of ethanol fermentation. Furthermore, with a view to enhancing future competitiveness, the two companies intend to clarify the technical challenges involved and make an earnest effort to enhance production efficiency.

Feasibility study outline

* A group of wood pulp produced by sulfite process and mainly used for making rayon, acetate as well as other cellulose derivatives.