Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Becomes First Company to Produce Bio-methanol from Digester Gas in Japan

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (MGC; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Masashi Fujii) today announced that it has begun producing bio-methanol at a just-completed facility within the company’s Niigata Plant, becoming first producer of bio-methanol from digester gas in Japan. To commemorate this landmark achievement, MGC held an unveiling ceremony today in the presence of Niigata Prefecture Governor Hideyo Hanazumi and other dignitaries.

 From Left, President Fujii, Niigata Prefecture Gorvernor Hanazumi

Last year, MGC concluded a basic agreement with Niigata Prefecture¹⁾ to purchase and sell digester gas generated at the Niigogawa Sewage Treatment Center, which is owned by Niigata Prefecture. In order to effectively utilize the center’s unused digester gas, MGC installed shipping facilities at the center and receiving facilities at the company’s Niigata Plant to begin producing bio-methanol using existing facilities at the plant.

MGC’s production of bio-methanol and its derivative dimethyl ether (DME) in Niigata has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS certification²⁾, an international system for managing and ensuring the sustainability of raw materials in global supply chains. In addition, Niigata Prefecture has obtained ISCC PLUS certification for digester gas at the Niigogawa Sewage Treatment Center. As a result, MGC will offer bio-methanol produced from ISCC PLUS digester gas as an ISCC PLUS-certified product. 

The bio-methanol is expected to play key roles as both a carbon-neutral fuel and a sustainable chemical feedstock. In addition, this initiative will contribute to the decarbonization of Niigata Prefecture by using local biomass, which accords with the prefecture’s vision of developing carbon-neutral industries and its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral prefecture by 2050.

In recent years, technologies for Direct Air Capture (DAC) and recycling resources such as biomass and waste have gained attention as means of contributing to a more carbon-neutral world. MGC is committed to supporting such efforts through broad alliances with regional governments and industries, utilizing the Carbopath™ environmental recycling platform to convert CO₂, plastic waste, biomass and other resources into circular carbon methanol.

Going forward, MGC will continue to actively promote decarbonization and environmental recycling through Carbopath™ based on MGC group’s mission, “Creating value to share with society.”

<Reference>

1) https://www.mgc.co.jp/eng/corporate/news/2023/230607-2e.html

2) https://www.mgc.co.jp/eng/corporate/news/2023/231227-2e.html

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