Asahi Kasei/Mitsui to use bio-methanol for POM resin

Japanese chemical firms Asahi Kasei Corporation and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. will establish a supply and procurement scheme for bio-methanol produced in the US. Through this scheme, Asahi Kasei plans to use the bio-methanol procured from Mitsui to produce in Japan engineering plastics with a lower carbon footprint than existing products.

Today, companies in Japan are increasingly stepping up their efforts to reduce GHG emissions throughout their product supply chains, including raw material-derived greenhouse gases, known as Scope 3 emissions, in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as advocated by the Japanese government. In this context, Asahi Kasei is working to reduce GHG emissions by manufacturing various engineering plastics, such as Tenac, a polyacetal (POM) resin, using biomass-based materials with low GHG emissions. Asahi Kasei and Mitsui are working together to find solutions to various issues related to material procurement.

In the US, Mitsui procures RNG (renewable natural gas) generated from municipal waste landfills in the form of biogas and uses it in the mass balance approach 2 to produce bio-methanol at Fairway Methanol, a local joint venture. Asahi Kasei and Mitsui have acquired the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS certification) for their supply chains in order to prove the raw material’s sustainability features for use in final products. This will enable Asahi Kasei to procure bio-methanol manufactured by Mitsui, and to sell various types of engineering plastics which contain the correct amount of biomass raw material allocated under the mass balance approach.

Asahi Kasei says it aims to contribute to a carbon-neutral and sustainable world under its slogan of “Care for Earth” by focusing on initiatives such as the use of biomass raw materials, recycled raw materials, and renewable energy.

Meanwhile, Mitsui adds it is “striving to reduce the Scope 3 GHG emissions of its customers by using the expertise, knowledge, and products of a variety of its businesses, including the provision of low-carbon methanol, such as bio-methanol, and to contribute to the sustainable development of all society”.