2016 Volume 70 Issue 4 Pages 434-440
The manufacture of pulp and paper is one of the world's oldest industries. The significance of paper and paper products is obvious to everyone ; no manufactured products play a more meaningful role in every area of human activities. The industry has developed through many technological innovations for centuries. Japan is an energy efficient country and the emission per GDP is very low among advanced economies. The carbon dioxide emission per unit of paper and paperboard production has been reduced significantly due to industries' numerous efforts including energy saving, conversion from fossil fuel to biomass residues and installation of energy efficient equipment. We aim to realize a green recyclable economy and nurture“urban forest.”It is a part of the program to reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emission in preventing global warming. By applying biotechnology to forest science, Suzano in Brazil will start commercial scale field tests of gene transformed Eucalyptus trees that grow fast or hold the traits of salt, frost or drought stress tolerances. In advanced economies, printing and publishing on-demand is the future of the industry and is one of the most important strategies that publishers need to embrace to grow in today's digital marketplace. In the United States, TAPPI Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance encourages the development of advanced manufacturing technologies that promise transformational impact on the paper and forest-based industries. In Europe, deep eutectic solvent was selected as the winning concept to lower carbon dioxide emissions. By dissolving wood and selectively extracting lignin, it could replace both chemical pulping and mechanical pulping. In Japan, the Nano Cellulose Forum was established for its rapid commercialization. It is all-Japan based consortium, for sharing information and enhancing cooperation among academies, industries and governments. Dr. Isogai et al. received Marx Warenberi Award for their research on TEMPO mediated cellulose nanofibers. By their method, the energy need can be reduced significantly and the cellulose produced this way can disperse homogeneously. It is a discovery that paves the way for nanocellulose being one key product of the future forest industry.
