We Are Tomodachi Summer 2018

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20SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD. of Japan ispioneering new frontiers, producing ethanolfrom garbage through a fermentation processPOWER OF INNOVATIONUrbanOilfi eldsfrom GarbageLeft: Satoshi Koma joined SEKISUI CHEMICAL in1995, where he took charge of ethanol productionfrom the Waste Technology Development Project.He is currently General Manager of BR Project,Corporate R&D Center.Right: Shinichi Tsukagawa joined SEKISUICHEMICAL in 1997. After working in SEKISUI’sResidential Division, he moved to the BRPromotional Group where he is currently Managerof BR Project, Corporate R&D Center.The pilot plant built in a cooperative effort with a disposal treatment facilityin Saitama is drawing interest from countries and businesses around the world.he Dec. 6, 2017 press releaseread “…breakthrough in theconversion of Municipal Solid Wasteto ethanol.” SEKISUI CHEMICALCO., LTD. is converting MunicipalSolid Waste (MSW) marked forlandfi ll or incineration into newproducts that otherwise would havecome from fossil resources. As theworld faces depleted fossil resourcesand a mounting waste problem, thistechnology offers new hope for acleaner, healthier planet.“We asked ourselves if we couldconvert trash into a natural resourceand began looking into possibilitiesabout ten years ago,” says SatoshiKoma, SEKISUI CHEMICAL BRProject General Manager at theCorporate R&D Center.Postwar Japan’s accelerated growthled to large-scale productionand consumerism, resulting inunprecedented amounts of garbage,which opened the world’s eyes tothe consequences of waste on health,safety, and the environment—including dioxin emissions and soilpollution. The World Bank estimatesthat the planet is currently managing1.3 billion tons of garbage a year,and that fi gure is expected to growto 2.2 billion by 2025.[1]SEKISUI CHEMICAL startedoperations in 1947 as a generalplastics producer, and soon thecompany was tackling Japan’s watersupply and sewage issues with vinylchloride piping, which is corrosionresistant, light, and easy to assemble.However, the footprint that plasticmanufacturing leaves on theenvironment, particularly concerningCO2 emissions and resourcedepletion, has caused the industryto reevaluate its approach.SEKISUI CHEMICAL estimatesthat Japan produces about 60 milliontons of burnable trash a year, basedon a Ministry of the Environmentreport.[2] When converted intocalories, this amounts to 200 trillionkilocalories. Fossil resources usedin plastic production amount toT