Oji Holdings Corp., Japan, produces dissolving pulp from wood chips at its Oji Paper Yonago Mill (Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, Japan) via a continuous process. The company reports that it has established technology for the manufacture of furfural from the hemicellulose that is continually separated during the manufacture of dissolving pulp, and has thereby made commercial production of furfural possible.

Furfural, used mainly as a solvent in the refining of petroleum and lubricants, is a chemical substance that is currently attracting wide attention. Amid rising global expectations for a switch from fossil to biomass feedstocks, research in Japan and overseas is pursuing the use of furfural to manufacture bioplastics or general chemical products (polyurethane, PET, etc.) that are currently manufactured from fossil feedstock.

Oji Holdings believes that its furfural can make significant contributions to the development of new applications for the substance. The company plans to begin test marketing of furfural produced at the company's verification plant (photo) in April 2016.

 

Dissolving pulp is manufactured by enhancing the purity of cellulose, the main component of wood. The term generally refers to pulp with a cellulose content of 90% or greater (compared with about 85% for pulp for general paper manufacturing). Dissolving pulp is mainly used as feedstock for rayon or acetate that is used in applications such as clothing, and demand for the substance is expected to increase in the future.

Oji Holdings Corp’s furfural is manufactured through the continuous extraction of hemicellulose that is removed during the process of enhancing the purity of cellulose in the aforementioned dissolving pulp, followed by subsequent reaction and refinement in the verification plant.