The Present Status and Future Scope of Bioenergy in Japan

Abstract

Situations of Japanese biomass in terms of resource, utilization technology, and system evaluation are reviewed. The feed-in tariff system can be another driving force to introduce biomass. The utilization of biomass in Japan is not large now, but its potential amount is 1.2 EJ/year, while world biomass availability is expected to be 200 EJ/ year. Technologies are being developed for electricity generation, production of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation biofuel, as well as fuel gas production. In addition to these single conversion technologies, biorefinery is to be studied where biomass is fully utilized to produce both value added and common products. Latest information is introduced for each topics.