Abstract
The biomass available in Kyoto City was estimated to be 2.02 Mt-wet/yr of which waste paper, waste timber from construction etc., food waste, unused forest and sewage sludge account for the largest amounts on an energy basis. Based on Kyoto's regionally specific biomass potential and its historical use of biomass, we started "Kyoto-Bio-Cycle Project" in 2007. This project was carried out in order to synergistically enhance the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) countermeasures, through greening of necessary materials and the cyclic use of byproducts, with "Kyoto City's project for the manufacture of biodiesel fuel from used cooking oil" as the core activity. This project consists of 5 technological development topics "Gasification and methanol synthesis, BDF resource material expansion, High efficiency biogasification, Application of biogas to Fuel Cell, Life-cycle system analysis", utilizing the forestal biomass in addition to the so-called urban waste biomass. In 2007, we constructed demonstration plants and developed elemental technologies. From our estimation, by collecting and recycling plastic packaging waste and introducing these new technologies in Kyoto City, GHG emissions would be reduced by 60 % as compared to the current method of incinerating waste wood, cooking oil and other combustibles.
