

WPM"OOVBM3FQPSU■Foreword
Let Us Prevent Global Warming through Innovative Technologies

01

Takashi Honjo
Senior Managing Director, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth■R&D Activities
Systems Analysis Group

Technological perspectives toward “Cool Earth 50” andanalysis for mid-term targets

02

Molecular Microbiology andBiotechnology GroupThe Current Status of Biofuels and Molecular Microbiology

06

Chemical Research Group

Looking ahead to future COĳ separation technologies andour challenges

08

COĳ Storage Research GroupCOĳ4UPSBHFTechnology Development for Practical
Application

12

and Biotechnology Group■Topics

15■2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

23

3FTFBSDI*OTUJUVUFPG*OOPWBUJWF5FDIOPMPHZGPSUIF&BSUI

Foreword

Let Us Prevent Global Warming throughInnovative Technologies
Takashi Honjo, Senior Managing Director
Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth
In 2008, great attention was given to the issue of global warming.
At the Hokkaido Toyako Summit in July, the leaders of the Group of Eight major industrialized
nations gathered and decided to work together and share the goal of achieving at least a 50%
reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
However, since it is anticipated that the world’s population will continue to increase in
the future, it will be hard to realize the vision of halving global greenhouse gas emissions.
With thoroughgoing energy-savings, it is sought to expand the use of not only nuclear
energy, but also natural energy, including photovoltaic power and wind power, andrenewable energy like biomass, where drastic technology innovations are required to realize
a low-carbon society. Last year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced
twenty-one technologies as “Cool Earth Energy Innovative Technologies.” In the field of electric
power generation, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from which is the largest, CCS (Carbon
dioxide Capture and Storage) is expected as well as nuclear power and photovoltaic power. Under
existing circumstances in which approximately 80 percent of the world’s energy consumption isdependent on fossil fuels, great expectations are placed in CCS as a bridge to the realization of alow-carbon society. Also, in the transport sector, the amount of emissions from which is the second
largest to that from the power sector, alternative fuels production for transportation is expectedfrom biomass in addition to fuel-cell-powered vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and electricvehicles. Biofuels started a worldwide boom last year, when a steep rise occurred in oil prices, whilepeople point out problems such as inﬂuence on grain prices and eﬀect on the ecosystem. There is ademand for development in biofuels that will not cause such problems.
Also, the realization of a reduction in the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by half requires
challenges by developing countries that account for about half of the current global emissions
to reduce their emissions. “The sectoral approach” proposed by Japan as a measure for reducing
greenhouse gases is expected to facilitate the implementation of challenges for developing countries
to reduce their emissions through transfers of energy-savings and environmental technologies bysector such as iron and steel, and electric power from industrialized countries.
We, the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), have been working
on research and development in technologies for preventing global warming in “Kansai Science
City,” while receiving support and cooperation from the government, industrial community, anduniversities since its foundation in 1990. In the CCS ﬁeld, we have developed the technology foreﬃcient separation and capture of carbon dioxide from gas emissions from power plants and steel
plants, and also succeeded in experimentation of underground storage of 10,000 tons of carbon
dioxide. In the biotechnological field, we have also developed epoch-making technologies toeﬃciently produce ethanol from nonfood plants (rice straw, used paper, cornstalks, etc.) by using
special bacteria, which is attracting attention from domestic and foreign companies. Furthermore,in the ﬁeld of policy analysis, we have carried out research on “the sectoral approach” to assist theJapanese government in framework negotiations to combat global warming.
While countermeasures against global warming are positioned as one of the most important
issues for humanity, RITE wishes to play an active role in the innovative technologies developmentﬁeld. We would like to ask for your support.

01

R&D Activities

Systems Analysis Group

Systems Analysis Group

Technological perspectives toward “Cool Earth 50” and analysis for mid-term targetsof halving global emissions by 2050.
Given the fact that current emissions of developing
countries are the same level as those of developed
countries, the vision can be interpreted that even if
developed countries achieve no emissions, developing
countries are required to limit their emissions to thecurrent levels in 2050.
On the other hand, the emissions of developing
countries have nearly doubled in less than the past 20
years since 1990, and it is understandable how hard it
is to limit their emissions to the current levels in justover 40 years.
In fact, at COP14 held in Poznan, Poland,
December, 2008, developed countries sought forsharing of the vision of halving global emissions,however, consensus from developing countries was notachieved.
On the other hand, it stands to reason that it isnecessary to reduce a significant amount of global
emissions in the long term. To achieve this, it isrequired to analyze what types of concrete measures
should be taken and what kinds of R&D should be
carried out.
Global CO2 emissions are expected to continue toincrease in the future, and there is a possibility that
if there is no change in technologies for emission
reduction and social structure compared to the current
situation, the global emissions will reach more than
87Gton in 2050.
The global CO2 emissions will reach 48 Gton evenif we take all the measures such as energy conservation
with high cost-effectiveness (coal-fired power
generation with high energy eﬃciency, global diﬀusionof blast furnace (BF) and basic oxygen furnace (BOF)
with higher energy eﬃciency in steel sector) and fuelconversion (further diffusion of biofuels in someregions).
Following the discussion above, Figure 1 shows
an assessment of cost-eﬀective measures for emission
reduction in the case of halving global emissions by
2050 relative to the current level, which is equivalent
to the case of limiting the emissions to 13 Gton. The
results indicate that the power sector has the largest
emission reduction potential, especially by CCS,
nuclear power and solar power generation. Hydrogenbased iron making in iron and steel sector, and plug-in
hybrid vehicles in transport sector are also recognizedas substantial emission reduction measures.
On the other hand, it is estimated that marginal
abatement costs will be over 300 US$/ton CO 2 to

1. Introduction

The issue of climate change was discussed as a main
theme at the G8 summit held in Toyako, Hokkaido, in
July, 2008. The summit leaders have declared that “Weseek to share with all Parties to the UNFCCC the visionof, and together with them to consider and adopt in the
UNFCCC negotiations, the goal of achieving at least
50% reduction of global emissions by 2050.”
Meanwhile, the discussion has been held in thecontext of scientific insights into the global warming
issue and progress in the implementation of measuresagainst global warming at various places in Japan andabroad. For instance, the IPCC forth assessment report
was released in 2007, and the Kyoto Protocol enteredinto force in 2008. The global warming issues havebeen paid much attention by the public, and the related
articles are frequently covered by the media.
Currently, discussions and negotiations at global
level have proceeded, aiming at an achievement ofagreement on a new international framework andtargets with regard to global warming after 2013 at the
15th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC to beheld in Denmark, December, 2009.
The Systems Analysis Group has been conducting
studies on the issue of climate change by using
systematic approaches in order that the public canunderstand such a wide and complex issues and search
for a better solution. In addition, our research activities
play an important role in an international discussion on
the post-Kyoto framework.
This article introduces some of our analysis on the
mid-term (by the year 2020) and long-term (by the year2050) targets for CO2 emission reduction, on the total
costs to achieve these targets, and on concrete measuresfor emission reduction.

2. Analysis and assessment of long-term target

A former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe presented“Cool Earth 50” on May, 2007, which aimed to halve
global GHG emissions by 2050 relative to the current
level.
Moreover, a former Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda
announced “Fukuda vision” on June, 2008, which
proposed a target of halving global CO2 emissions by
2050 relative to the current level, and Japan’s goal of
reducing its emissions by 60 to 80 % relative to thecurrent level.
The attempt of sharing the long-term vision foremission reductions on a global basis is of greatsigniﬁcance, however, it will be hard to realize the vision02

R&D Activities

Systems Analysis Group

Figure.1 Technology portfolios and CO2 emission reduction by sector to halve global CO2 emissions by 2050

target is 20% emission reduction compared to 2006
for Canada, and 5% reduction compared to 2000 forAustralia. The Japanese government has examined its
mid-term national reduction target by employing asectoral and bottom-up approach. The examination
led by a governmental body called “Mid-term target
examination committee” has been progressing sinceNovember, 2008.
What is considered most important in an international discussion can be to establish a frameworkand target that lead to an eﬀective reduction by all the
major emitters, and to set up emission reduction levels
for developed countries that reflect a regional effort
required.
The sectoral approach has been widely acknowledged
as one of the eﬀective measures for emission reduction.
For the realization of sectoral approach, our group has
been contributing to a development of international
discussion by doing related analysis and assessment witha high level of ability to conduct model analysis.

achieve the goal of halving global emissions by 2050.
It will be diﬃcult to pay such a high cost under global
cooperation. Furthermore, it will be considerably
hard to realize this goal unless new and currently
unimaginable technology emerges. Therefore, it isimportant to take the burden of abatement costs into
consideration, and to search for more realistic target
for emission reduction which can be achievable for theentire world.

3. Analysis and assessment of mid-term targets

The greatest global concern in the context of climatechange lies in how to establish a mid-term target for2020 in the discussion on framework and target for
post-Kyoto climate policy. EU leaders announced its
mid-term target of reducing its emissions by 20 % (upto by 30% provided a global cooperation is achieved)
relative to the 1990 levels. The Obama administration
established its target of cutting U.S. emissions to 1990
levels by 2020. Moreover, the declared mid-term
03

R&D Activities

Systems Analysis Group

Figure 2 shows estimated marginal abatement costsof CO2 by country when each country reduces its CO2
emissions of the year 2020 in the range of 5% to 40%
relative to 2005.
The results of our evaluation are estimated with acomprehensive emission reduction assessment model
having high resolutions in region, sector and technology.
For instance, to reduce national emissions by 20%
relative to 2005, a marginal abatement cost for Japanis estimated to be 200 US$/tCO2, which is the highest
among other nations. The marginal abatement cost for
EU is estimated to be around 50 US$ and that of US
is around 30 US$. The results imply that the costs tobe borne by Japan will be extremely high to carry out
further measures as Japan has already achieved highenergy eﬃciency.
On the other hand, EU, especially East Europe hasa large potential for emission reduction. Likewise, it isestimated that U.S. also has a large potential for emission
reduction due to many low- eﬃciency technologies andhigh dependency on coal.
Figure 3 shows results of our estimation on emission
reduction potentials of 2020 (emission reduction
potentials compared to the case where the level ofenergy technology is assumed to be unchanged from acurrent level) for major countries including developing
countries by marginal abatement costs.
It can be found that on a global scale, there isa large amount of emission reduction potential at
relatively lower marginal abatement costs, such as thoseamounting to less than zero US$ (negative net costs)
or to less than 25 US$/tCO2. Especially, China and U.S.
have large emission reduction potentials at relatively
lower costs.
The results of our evaluation indicate that it isimportant to achieve cooperation between developed
countries and developing countries, and to reduce
emissions by addressing potentials for emission
reductions at lower costs that are largely found indeveloping countries.

Figure.3 CO2 emission reduction potential for major countries
compared to Technology Frozen Case by marginal abatement
cost of CO2
Note: emission reduction potentials of CCS excluded.

Figure.4 CO 2 emission reduction in the world by marginal
abatement costs of CO2 and by sector(compared to Technology
Frozen Case)
Note: emission reduction potentials of CCS excluded.

Baseline: the case in which measures at a marginal cost ofless than 0$/tCO2 are taken by all countries in the world,
Case 25-0: the case in which measures at a marginal cost ofless than 25$/tCO2 are taken by only developed countries,
Case 50-0: the case in which measures at a marginal cost ofless than 50$/tCO2 are taken by only developed countries,
Case 25-25a: the case in which developed countries takemeasures at a marginal cost of less than 25$/tCO2, and major
developing countries take measures at a marginal cost of lessthan 25$/tCO2 as an intensity target, Case 25-25b: the case inwhich developed countries take measures at a marginal costof less than 25$/tCO2, and major developing countries takemeasures at a marginal cost of 25$/tCO2 in major sectors as
an intensity target.

Figure 4 provides our estimation on the emission
reduction potential in the world by marginal abatement
costs of CO2 and by sector.
The analysis by RITE enables us to propose measures
specifically not only by marginal abatement cost but
also by sector and by technology as well as to estimate
emission reduction potentials by country and by sector.
Our analysis, therefore, has contributed to discussion ona numerical target with supportive evidence.

Figure.2 Marginal abatement costs of CO2 for Annex I countries
in 2020 by the rate of emission reduction relative to 2005
Note: CO2 from fuel combustion only. GHGs reduction of -20% from1990 corresponds to -14% from 2005.

04

R&D Activities

Systems Analysis Group

4. Conclusion

Global warming is a serious issue, extending over along period of time and over the world. However, it isimportant for us to address climate change in a calmand determined manner, not being fueled by the risk.
Furthermore, it is crucial to work on this issue globallyand continuously.
Measures to tackle climate change should entail
eﬀectiveness and targets which can be shared by all over
the world. The analysis and assessment based on data,
which the Systems Analysis Group has been working
on, is indispensable to a realization of the measures.
We will continue to send our research findings toindustry, government and academia by conducting ananalysis and assessment on measures for climate change
in order that people can ﬁnd a solution to address sucha challenging issue of global warming.

05

R&D Activities

Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology group

Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Groupthe future. Subsequently, the Cabinet Office and theMinistry of Foreign Affairs sanctioned a display ofthe bioprocess during the 2008 G8 Summit. The thenPrime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda emphasized
biofuels in his discussions with the other G8 leaders.
The advancements of the RITE-Honda Process wereafforded special mention in his session with Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel (www.mofa.go.jp). Regarding
biofuels, G8 leaders’ statement included sustainableproduction of biofuels to be compatible with foodsupply and acceleration of effort toward research anddevelopment of second-generation biofuels from nonfood based biomass. In October, 2008, RITE-Honda
Research Team (Head; Hideaki Yukawa) won the 18th
Nikkei Global Environment Technology Award’s Grand
Prize for efficient bioethanol production from ricestraw. The RITE-Honda Process, which enables eﬃcient
production of bioethanol from non-food based biomass
such as rice straw as an alternative fuel to gasoline,
shows great potential for industrialization. It should
enable us to meet increased energy demand without
affecting food supply, consequently contributing tostabilizing food-supply while eschewing harmful traits
that lead to global warming. Please refer to RITE Topics
for a pictorial view of these achievements.

1. Introduction: The Current Status of Biofuels
and Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology
Group

With crude oil prices topping $145 a barrel inJune, 2008, worldwide prices of grains used in biofuel
production also soared. At the 34 th Group of Eight
Summit held in Toyako, Hokkaido in July, 2008, thesoaring of food prices was a big issue. By the second halfof the year, attention had shifted to the chaos in global
ﬁnancial markets occasioned by failures of major ﬁnancial
institutions originating from the collapse of sub-prime
housing loans in the United States. Though 2009 started
with such an unprecedented and rapid downswing,
the incoming US President brings renewed focus toan energy policy that supports production increases of
biofuels such as bioethanol. Based on the US National
Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP) announced in October,2008 in partnership between United States Departmentsof Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE), a progressive
approach toward the commercial application of secondgeneration biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol from nonfood based biomass is emphasized. The plan prospectively
will contribute to the creation of employment andby supporting farmers producing biomass feedstocks
for biofuels while at the same time addressing theenvironmental concerns of reduction of greenhousegases. In the United States, to improve energy security
and meet increasing demand for transportation fuel,former President Bush’s “Twenty in Ten Initiative”,
aiming to reduce gasoline consumption by 20% in ten
years, and the Energy and Independence Security Act(EISA) Renewable Fuels Standard goal of expanded useof 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022 were set
forth. Accordingly, President Obama has emphasized
acceleration of commercialization and use of biofuels.
In our group, we undertake joint research anddevelopment of bioethanol production technologies
established under the “RITE-Honda Process” basedon a novel and growth-arrested bioprocess. The goalof this project is to produce ethanol from soft biomass
such as rice straw on a commercial basis. At the 75th
Session of the Council of Science and Technology Policy
held on May 19, 2008, the bioprocess was featured
under the theme Current Science and Technology
Trends: Contribution of Genetically Modified Microorganisms to the Realization of Post-Oil Society.
The characteristics of the bioprocess as a production
system for bioethanol and commodity chemicals
using recombinant coryneform bacteria were hailed
as an innovative means to a low-carbon society of

2. Current Trends in Bioreﬁnery

Biorefinery production of fuels and commodity
chemicals from biomass is based on advanced
biotechnology, completely diﬀerent from petrochemical
technology. The products from bioreﬁnery are made in a
new production system based on C3-C6 building blocks,
which is diﬀerent from the conventional petrochemicalsystem based on C 2 building blocks. There are tworecognizable trends; one is, as discussed previously,
commercialization of second generation biofuels,
starting from cellulosic ethanol, and the other is green
chemical industry, of which implementation is at hand.
In green chemical industry, the starting material is
the same as that of petrochemical products, exceptthat it is made from biomass. Ethylene can be madefrom bioethanol, and propylene from biopropanol.
The Petrochemical industry is turned into the green
chemical industry, with “petro” removed (Fig.1).
Realization of the green chemical industry is
presumed to be approaching reality in a few years,
as the raw material, mixed C 6 , C 5 sugars, can beproduced cost-effectively. This is because large-scale
production of bioethanol from soft biomass is in theﬁnal countdown stage. When realized, it should enable
06

R&D Activities

Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology group

technologies resulting from our R&D will contribute to
global warming solutions. To produce useful commodity
chemicals from biomass, work on the project, “Researchand Development of Biorefinery Technologies”, wascommissioned in 2006 and funded by NEDO. As spelt
out in a progress report prepared last year, our interim
goal of a technology to enable production of 3 classesof chemicals, namely, organic acids, amino acids andsugar alcohols at 10g/L/h was achieved on schedule.
We are committed to further research toward the final
goal. In the meantime, other ongoing projects such as
development of effective utilization of woody biomass,
ethanol production from syngas gasified from biomass
and development of utilization technology of watersoluble polysaccharides (produced by sea algae) as
well as the next generation fuel (hydrogen, butanol)
production from biomass feedstock under the themes,“Programmed Methods CO 2 Fixation and Effective
Utilization Technology Development” are supported
by METI. In preparation for a potential expansion of
biomass demands, development of effective utilization
technology is underway.

production of “green” ethylene from bioethanol. Also
“green” propylene can be produced from biopropanolby using the mixed sugars. Furthermore, there should
be no concerns about product quantity as the amountof biomass needed for green chemical industry ismuch less than that needed for biofuels. Technology to
produce bioethanol applied for ethylene is basically thesame as for fuels, except for the effect on catalysis in
ethylene production. The green chemical industry is at
its very early stages.

3. Approach to Research

We have established the base technology for a
growth-arrested bioprocess, christened the “RITE
bioprocess” based on a novel concept (Fig. 2). The key
to its enhanced efficiency is that, unlike conventional
bioprocesses in which productivity is dependent on
microbial growth, actual production under the RITE
bioprocess utilizes bacterial cells under growth arrested
conditions in the same manner as inorganic catalysts areused to produce chemicals. Because productivity occurs
in lieu of growth, the RITE bioprocess is not hamperedby the major limitations (STY: Space Time Yield) ofgrowth-dependent conventional bioprocesses. Yields
under the RITE bioprocess therefore are close to thoseof chemical processes. We have pioneered complete andsimultaneous utilization of both C6 and C5 sugars under
RITE bioprocess.

5. Conclusion

Bioreﬁnery technologies have the potential to lead toan industrial paradigm shift in the 21 century, just as the
blooming of petrochemistry in the 20 century drasticallychanged modern society. Our approach to collaborative
research and development with the private sector should
enable future application of the RITE bioprocess in the
production of a broader range of chemicals and biofuels.

4. Future Development

In the joint R&D on bioethanol production by the
RITE-HONDA Process, we aim to develop an industrial
process to produce ethanol from non-food biomass
resources. Further, we seek collaboration with an oil
company and a trading company to fast-track thepractical application of the bioprocess. We believe thatFig.2 Highly efﬁcient bioprocess –RITE bioprocess–(growth-arrested bioprocess)Fig.1 Green chemical industry

07

R&D Activities

Chemical Research Group

Chemical Research Group

Looking ahead to future CO2 separation technologies and our challenges
can use chemical absorption to reduce the CO2 capture
cost for flue gas in an ironworks factory to 3000 JPY/
ton-CO2. We are developing a chemical absorbent to
reduce this CO2 capture cost to 2000 JPY / ton-CO2.
Moreover, we have discovered an excellent, world-class
membrane material for the separation of CO2 from H2containing gas. We are engaged in the developmentof the structure of a new membrane composed of thismaterial and are developing the membrane module inorder to demonstrate with real coal gasification gas.
We are developing not only practical and acceptable
technologies for the industries but also innovativetechnologies for foundation for next generation and also
evaluate the various new technologies not to fail projects.

Discussions about a new global framework to reduce
CO 2 emission is progressing, the number of people
recognizing the importance of countermeasures against
global warming are increasing. Generally speaking,many people believe that a countermeasure in increasingorder of small economical burden will be sequentially
undertaken.
A CO2 concentration of 550 ppm is twice the concentration that was present during the Industrial Revolution. If we set a target CO2 concentration of 550 ppm
for 2100, it has been predicted that not only energy
saving, fuel switching, renewable energy sources (solar
cells, wind power and biomass) and nuclear energy,
but also CO 2 capture and underground storage will
be necessary to achieve this goal. As the cost of CO2
capture from CO2 sources is estimated to be 70 % of thetotal cost of CO2 capture and underground storage, it isimportant for the commercialization of this technologythat the CO2 capture cost for CO2 capture and storage(CCS) is reduced.
Conversion technologies of fossil energy are going toprogress, and we consider the power generation systemof a boiler steam turbine evolving into a combined cyclewith a gas turbine for power generation and a combined
cycle with a fuel cell. Various CO2 capture technologies
such as chemical absorption, physical absorption, membrane separation, and the oxy-fuel method have beendeveloped.
Progress in these technologies will result fromdevelopment of the best combination between fuelconversion processes and CO2 capture processes, so that
CO2 capture technologies that will consistently increase
the economic beneﬁts of technical visions, as shown in
Figure 1, are developed.

Development on CO 2 capture technology bychemical absorption system

CO2 capture by chemical absorption has the potential
to be used in practical applications for large stationary
point sources of CO2 in the near future, and a ﬁve-year
project to this end was started in 2004 in collaboration
with four Japanese companies.
The objective of this project is to reduce the CO 2
capture cost to half that of the existing technology forthe ﬂue gas (blast furnace gas) stream in an integrated
steel works. The main objectives, shown in Figure 2, arethe development of new absorbents to enable the captureof CO2 with less energy use, and the development ofa heat utilization technology to use waste heat at steel
works to supply low cost steam for regenerating CO2.

Fig.2 The outline of cost saving CO2 capture system(COCS project)

RITE mainly develops new absorbents. The mostdesirable characteristics for new absorbents are: a lower
heat of reaction with CO2, fast CO2 absorbance, andeasy separation from CO2. If this is achieved, CO2 canbe captured from a gas stream with a lower energy
input. Among the solvents tested for CO2 capture, amine

Fig.1 Vision of power plant and CO2 capture

Our chemical research group studies various CO2
capture technologies, with a special focus on chemical
absorption and membrane separation methods. We
08

R&D Activities

Chemical Research Groupsolutions have shown the best performance.
As a ﬁrst step for the screening and development of
new absorbents, the reaction characteristics, such as thereaction rate of CO2, the amounts of CO2 absorbed andthe heat of reaction with CO2, of almost 100’s samples
of commercial amine solvents selected were analyzed
using laboratory apparatus. Furthermore, compoundamine solutions, that can compensate for deﬁciencies in
the amines, were prepared and their performance wasinvestigated.
From these investigations, several type of highperformance absorbents (RITE-3,4 series ), that showed
different characteristics, were developed. In succession,
new absorbents (RITE-5,6 series) has been developed
through the basis of our experimental database andtheoretical design of molecular structure of new aminecompounds using the quantum analysis approach(Figure3). The energy for CO 2 capture of the best of theseabsorbents is estimated to be 2.5 [GJ/tonne-CO2]. Thisvalue is very low compared to the 4.0 [GJ/tonne-CO2] fora standard MEA (mono-ethanol amine) solution, so wehave a prospect to accomplish the project target (Figure 4).

2. 65

Fig.4 Reduction of CO2 capture energy by new absorbents

The second step of the project has also been
carried out, in which new types of amine compounds,
designed and prepared based on the current knowledge,
are evaluated by a similar method. Furthermore,
research on the optimum conditions for the chemical
absorption system has been carried out, so that the best
performance can be obtained from the new absorbents.
Currently, the aim of the project is to reduce the CO 2
capture energy down to the target value.

Novel techniques for regenerating the chemical
absorbent

We are developing a regeneration technique foraccelerating CO2 desorption with a pressure difference
to reduce the energy consumption in a chemical
absorption system. To date, the following observations
have been made. Desorption can be accelerated byflashing the solution into a reduced pressure space,which can reduce electric energy consumption by morethan half in comparison with the conventional methodthat uses high temperatures. Moreover, by using lowtemperature waste heat, as shown in Figure 5, it ispossible to achieve an electric energy consumption
about 1/4 (0.1 kWh/kg-CO2) of that of the conventional
chemical absorption method. We will attempt to apply
this method to the separation of CO2 from flue gases,
chemical processes, bioprocesses, etc., while eﬀorts are
made to further reduce energy consumption.

Fig.3 Development of new absorbents

The fruits of this project has succeeded to a
new project of “COURSE 50” aiming at a drastic
reduction of CO 2 emission in an integrated steel
works. A development of new absorbents with a higher
performance and application study by pilot-scale plantis scheduled hereafter.
Furthermore, based on the current knowledge on
CO 2 absorbents, a development on new absorbents
suitable for high pressure gas stream has also been
carried out since 2007. In general, amine solvents caneasily react with CO 2 under atmospheric pressure
condition independent of reaction temperature. But wehave conﬁrmed that some amine solvents , neverthelessthey do not react under atmospheric pressure, reactwith CO2 depending on reaction temperature underhigh pressure condition. (Figure 4) We have proposed a
new CO2 capture system in pressurized point sources of
CO2 with these sorbents.

Fig.5 Example of membrane ﬂash ﬂow with heating09

R&D Activities

Chemical Research GroupRITE and Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. have developed
the equipment (Figure 6) which gets the highconcentration methane by removing CO2 from biogases,
and the practicability has been conﬁrmed in continuous
running for two months at the biogas generation site.

Fig.7 Conceptual diagram for the CO2 molecular gate

Fig.6 Biogas puriﬁcation test equipment
developed by RITE and Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp.

C O 2 an d H 2 s e p ar at i on w it h a p ol y m e r i cmembraneJapan’s government has declared the reduction of
CO2 emission to half by 2005 as “Cool Earth 50”. One
promising means of dimidiating CO 2 emission is thedevelopment of an integrated coal gasiﬁcation combined
cycle with CO2 capture & storage (IGCC-CCS). In theprocess of IGCC-CCS, CO2 separation membranes willplay an important role of reducing CO2 capture cost. The
cost estimates indicate that CO2 capture cost from thepressurized gas stream with a membrane might be 1500
JPY/t-CO2 or less.
We are currently developing a CO 2 molecular gate
membrane with the goal of producing a new, highperformance separation membrane. Figure 7 shows thebasic outline of the CO2 molecular gate function. The
pathway for gas molecules is occupied solely by CO2,
which acts as a gate to block the passage of other gases.
Consequently, the amount of N 2 or H 2 permeating
to the other side of the membrane is greatly limited
and high concentrations of CO2 can be obtained. The
RITE dendrimer having excellent CO 2/H2 selectivity
is fixed stably in a cross-linked polymer matrix toform the separation membrane. Figure 8 shows theCO2/H2 separation properties of the membrane alongwith the other membranes reported previously. Our
dendrimer membrane shows the world largest CO2/H2
selectivity of 30 or more. The RITE is now improving
the performance and developing practical membrane
modules of the dendrimer membrane in cooperation
with membrane companies.
In developing this CO2 molecular gate membrane,
the RITE conducted joint research with many foreign
partners such as the US Department of Energy’s
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) as

Fig.8 Dendrimer incorporated membrane and its performancea recognized project of the Carbon Sequestration
Leadership Forum (CSLF), University of Texas at Austin
and Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Development of an energy-saving CO 2 -PSA
process using hydrophobic adsorbents

The usual means of CO2 separation, pressure swing
adsorption (PSA) using polar hydrophilic adsorbent, isenergy intensive: to regenerate the absorbent, the partialpressure of CO2 must be changed by the vacuum pump.
In addition, a dehumidiﬁcation process which consumes
approximately 30% of total energy is necessary for theconventional PSA process using hydrophilic 13X zeolite,
because water vapour is adsorbed more strongly thanCO2 on 13X zeolite surface. 13X zeolite strongly adsorb
both CO2 and H2O and had a Langmuir-type adsorption
isotherm. The CO2 adsorption capacity of hydrophiliczeolite is completely lost with the coexistence of water;
therefore, hydrophobic adsorbent should be used forCO2 separation in high moisture conditions, such asthat for stack gas.
In this project, newly prepared hydrophobic adsorbents have been proposed as CO 2 adsorbents forthe separation of CO 2 from high pressure gas. They
10

R&D Activities

Chemical Research Groupcan overcome such obstacles to adsorption processes.
Hydrophobic adsorbents have an advantage overtraditional adsorbents such as activated carbon andzeolites because they can adsorb CO2 in the presence ofwater vapour, which is usually present in ﬂue gases fromfossil fuel combustion. Furthermore, vacuum pump
can be eliminated for the adsorption process from highpressure gas.
CO2 adsorption capacities of 13X zeolite and newly
synthesized adsorbents were shown in figure 9. It was
conﬁrmed that the adsorbent synthesized in our study
had a hydrophobic property and adsorbed considerable
amounts of CO2 under high CO2 pressure. It was also
confirmed they adsorbed CO2 even in the presence ofwater vapor.
Evaluation of the process cost is now in progress.

Development of an innovative after treatment
system for diesel vehicles

Recently, the emission control for the diesel vehicles
is becoming extremely severe; each diesel vehicles has
to install an after-treatment system in order to satisfy
the severe standards. The plasma technology has beengetting great attention as an innovative technology forparticulate matter (PM) removal from the exhaust gasesof diesel vehicles. We carried out the study supported by
NEDO (Comprehensive Technological Development of
Innovative, Next-Generation, Low-Pollution Vehicles,
R&D of innovative after treatment systems) to develop
the plasma technology for PM removal from FY2004
to FY2008. After mechanism investigation of plasma
discharge and PM oxidation/combustion, a plasma
PM removal system (Fig. 10) of a pulse power supply
and a plasma PM reactor has been developed for lightduty diesel vehicles. The plasma PM reactor has been
evaluated by Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI,
Tsukuba). It was found that the PM emission from alight-duty diesel vehicle installed with the plasma PM
reactor with 93 W discharge powers is 0.005 g/km (Fig.
11); this result suggested that if using the plasma PM
removal system the PM emission satisﬁes the post new
long-term emission standard (to be eﬀective from 2009)
for light-duty diesel vehicles.

Fig.9 Energy-saving CO2 - PSA

Fig.11 Relation of PM emission and discharge power
under JC08 mode.

Fig.10 Non-thermal plasma PM removal system.

11

R&D Activities

CO2 Storage Research Group

CO2 Storage Research Group

CO2 Storage Technology Development for Practical Application
underground were monitored to improve the accuracyof the prediction technique.

CO2 Geological Storage Project

The CO 2 geological storage technology is a technology for safely and securely trapping CO 2, a greenhouse gas, into subsurfaces without releasing it into theatmosphere. There are various methods for the storage,
including EOR, which injects CO 2 into depleted oilfields and recovers the enhanced oil; isolation of CO2
in depleted gas ﬁelds; ECBM, which injects CO2 in coalseams and recovers methane; and storage of CO 2 inhighly porous sandstone aquifers, containing formationwater.
RITE has been working on aquifer storage, whichenables stable storage of CO2 over long periods because
there is a gas- and water-impermeable sealing layer
on top of the aquifer where CO2 is stored(See Fig.1).
Since technology of underground natural gas storage
can be applied, this method is thought to be the mostimmediately eﬀective and closest to practical use.

Fig.2 Nagaoka demonstration test site

The passable possibility of the implementation ofgeological storage in Japan was indicated by the CO2
injection demonstration test in Nagaoka for eight years.
CO2 geological storage technology development anddemonstration is steadily progressing and is closer topractical use as a CO 2 emission reduction measurearound the world. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify
the eﬀectiveness of CO2 geological storage and issues for
its practical application, and develop a social system.
RITE has performed a comprehensive research &development centered around safety assessment of
CO 2 geological storage: the fundamental studies on
the assessment of seal performance and reservoir for
CO 2 storage, the impact assessment of earthquake
in the CO 2 geological storage, the advancement oftechnology to monitor the leakage of CO 2 under theseabed. In addition, we estimated the potential capacityof the geological storage near the emission sources andperformed the trend survey of CCS and risk assessment.
We intend to develop the safety assessment methods
including the formulation of criterion for safetyassessment to clarify issues in promoting CCS (Carbon
dioxide Capture and Storage), and conduct basic studies
for the implementation of large scale demonstration
project (injecting 100,000 tons of CO2 per year) targetedby the government.

Fig.1 Concept of CO2 geological Storage“R&D project of CO 2 Geological Storage Technology” was launched in 2000 to scientifically verify
the feasibility of CO2 storage in subsurface aquifers inJapan, focusing on its eﬀectiveness as a global warming
countermeasure. In particular, for the CO2 injection
demonstration test conducted at the Iwanohara site in
Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, 10,400 tons of CO2
were injected in the aquifer of 1,100m depth below theground during the period from July 2003 to January
2005(See Fig.2). The underground behavior of CO 2
was observed by cross-well seismic tomography andwell loggings, and a behavior prediction simulator wasdeveloped, based on the observation data. Besides,
during testing, the Chuetsu Earthquake took placein Niigata Prefecture, approx. 20 km away from the
Iwanohara site, but no abnormalities were found in
the injected CO2, the aquifer, and the well, confirming
the safety of the storage. In 2007, the CO 2 stored

CO2 Ocean Sequestration Project

The ocean dissolves a large quantity of CO2. There is
suﬃcient potentiality to dissolve CO2 in the middle anddeep layers of the ocean, which is rapidly increasing in
the atmosphere. CO2 ocean sequestration technology
12

R&D Activities

CO2 Storage Research Groupimpact” in the autumn of 2005 and in the symposiumof Advanced Marine Science and Technology Society in2007 FY “Development of technologies for CO2 ocean
sequestration” and promoted scientists’ understanding.
Industrial Structure Council of METI carried out aninterim assessment of ocean sequestration projectin 2007 FY and evaluated this project as progressing
satisfactorily in general. The reliability improvement forthe model to predict the CO2 behavior in the ocean will
be promoted along with the future proposal given in thisinterim assessment.
We have conducted the following activities since2007 FY: (1) Study on trends in CO2 ocean sequestration
te chnolog y (1. Prepar ing t he b as e to promote
understanding and 2. Establishing a global network),(2)Study on biological impact assessment for CO 2
ocean sequestration (1. Developing biological impact
assessment techniques, 2. Collecting biological impact
data in the actual ocean, and 3. Studying the CO2 impact
on deep-sea living species) and (3) Development of
CO2 behavior technology (1. Developing CO2 behavior
observation and prediction technology, and 2. Potential
ocean sequestration assessment).
In future development, we will proceed with
development of ocean sequestration technology forpractical application by developing a more accurate CO2
behavior prediction technology, as well as biologicalmodels of the middle and deep layers of the ocean andlong-term impact prediction technology, by taking
advantage of achievements such as environmental
impact assessment technology and CO 2 dilution
technology. However, to put the ocean sequestration
technology into practical use in the future, it is necessary
to demonstrate developed technology by conducting
experiments in the actual ocean, and ultimately, totrace the CO₂ behavior in several 100 km scale, andto investigate the biological impact. In addition, since
the ocean is a human common property, international
consensus to implement the ocean sequestration test is
essential. Therefore, we will make efforts to establish
a global network not only to promote scientists’understanding of ocean sequestration but also to acquire
agreement to experiment via international treaty.

captures CO2 from large emission sources and directly
injects it into deep-sea areas without passing throughthe ocean surface has been proposed. RITE has beendeveloping technology for CO2 dilution and injection
to middle ocean layer using a Moving Ship method, as
shown in the Fig.3. According to chapter 6 of the IPCC
special report “Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage”
in 2005, ocean sequestration is evaluated as an eﬀective
technology to mitigate climate change. The challenge
in preparing this technology for practical use lies incontrolling the impact of CO2, which is injected directly
into the ocean, on marine species. Development ofenvironmental impact prediction technology is our
immediate challenge.
In phase 1 of this project, which was implemented
f rom FY1997 to FY2001, we conducted a C O 2
macroscopic behavioral study, an analysis of CO 2
behavior behind the release nozzles, and predictions
and investigations of biological impacts. In thefollowing phase 2 (from FY2002 to FY2011), we aredeveloping and assessing technology aimed at “Study
�of environmental impact assessment for CO2 ocean
sequestration for mitigation of climate change”

Fig.3 Image of ocean sequestration using a Moving Ship

As a result, for CO2 discharge using a Moving Ship
method, the simulation predicted that within a few
hours, the CO2 concentration is lower than the natural
ﬂuctuation range and the acute impact on marine living
species is negligible. To clarify the image of ocean
sequestration in practical use, the engineering studyof its implementation was carried out under the casewhich is the ocean sequestration of about 50 million
tons of CO₂ annually into the ocean near Japan, and got
the result that the CO2 concentration can be reduced to
below the level of the predicted no-eﬀect concentration.
These results were reported in the special symposiumof Japan Ocean Society “CO₂ ocean sequestration: whatis the appropriate assessment for the environmental

IZEC (International Zero Emission Coal)Project

Fossil fuels account for approximately 80% of global
energy sources and the long-term use of coal is expectedin the future. Clean coal power generation in particular
attracts a lot of attention. From the perspective ofglobal warming, it is necessary to combine coal power
generation technology and CCS technology that
separates, recovers, and stores the emitted CO 2 in theearth in order to achieve this goal.
As such combined technologies, Post-Combustion,
Oxy-Fuel and Pre-Combustion are speciﬁed (See Fig.4).

13

R&D Activities

CO2 Storage Research GroupAt present, many zero emission coal power generation
projects such as FutureGen in U.S. are planned all over
the world. Also in Japan, some plans such as “Innovative
Zero Emission Coal Gasification Generation Project”
supervised by NEDO have started.

Fig.4 Concept of Coral Power Generation technologies with Storage, such as Post-Combustion, Oxy-Fuel and Pre-Combustion

To demonstrate zero emission, consolidation ofa broad range of technologies and strong financial
resources are required. Thus, investigating current statusof zero emission coal power generation projects all over
the world from both view points of technology andmanagement and promoting and enlightening publicawareness for zero emission coal power generation isof great signiﬁcance in considering our comprehensive
strategy for its practical use in Japan.
R e f le c t ing t he ab ove, RITE conduc ts IZ E C(International Zero Emission Coal) project. The major
subjects are (1) Collecting and sorting information
regarding zero emission coal power generation
projects all over the world; (2) Collecting and sorting
information regarding zero emission/CCS initiativesof nations concerned and international organizations;(3) Promoting and enlightening public awareness forzero emission coal power generation through operating“IZEC Forum”, “IZEC Workshop” and so on.
In FY 2008, we are conducting surveys with regards
to current status of more than forty demonstration andpilot projects mostly in EU, U.S. and Australia whilemainly investigating FutureGen in FY 2007. With
regards to initiatives, policies and strategies of EU,
Britain, Norway, Holland, Germany, U.S., Canada,
Australia and so on are investigated.
For popularization and enlightenment, we are
now preparing a Web site for IZEC and will introduce
schedule, ﬁnance, adopted technologies of each projectand initiative of each nation and so on. In addition, wehold “IZEC Forum” which informs the related industryof the collected information and “IZEC Workshop”
which invites representatives of projects and initiatives
overseas.
Through these activities, our objective is tocontribute to determine comprehensive strategy for thepractical use of zero emission coal power generation in
Japan.

14�������
RITE Bioprocess featured at the 75th Session of the Council for Science and Technology
Policy and at the 34th Group of Eight Summit in Toyako, Hokkaido.
Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology GroupTo combat greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, biofuels suchas bioethanol have attracted worldwide attention. However, the fact that current bioethanol
sources include food crops has resulted in undesirable competition between biofuel andfood supply. In collaboration with Honda, RITE has developed a biofuel production system
based on non-food cellulosic biomass resources such as plant stems and leaves (RITE-Honda
process).
At the 75th Session of the Council of Science and Technology Policy held on May
19, 2008, the bioprocess was featured under the theme Current Science and Technology
Trends: Contribution of Genetically Modiﬁed Microorganisms to the Realization of PostOil Society. The characteristics of the bioprocess as a production system for bioethanoland commodity chemicals using recombinant coryneform bacteria were hailed as aninnovative means to a low-carbon society of the future. Subsequently, the Cabinet Oﬃce
and the Ministry of Foreign Aﬀairs sanctioned a display of the bioprocess during the 2008
G8 Summit. The then Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda emphasized biofuels in his
discussions with the other G8 leaders. The advancements of the RITE-Honda process wereafforded special mention in his session with Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel (www.
mofa.go.jp).

The 75th session of the Council
for Science and Technology Policy
Prof. Tasuku Honjo,
a full-time executive member, is in the center of thephoto.

Japanese-German Leaders’ session

Display of RITE bioprocess at the G8 summit

15�������

CO2 Storage Research Group

RITE-HONDA Research Team won the 18th Nikkei Global Environment
Award’s Grand Prize
Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Group

Winners of the 18th Nikkei Global Environment Technology Awards were announced
on October 13, 2008. The RITE-Honda Research Team (Head; Hideaki Yukawa) wasawarded the Grand Prize for “Bioethanol Production from Cellulose by Simultaneous
Conversion of Mixed Sugars”.
In cellulosic ethanol production, the sugar extract from cellulosic biomass
sacchariﬁcation contains a mixture of glucose (6-carbon sugar), and xylose and arabinose(both 5-carbon sugars). The extract also contains saccharification by-products includingorganic acids, furan, and phenol compounds which inhibit microbial growth andmetabolism, consequently retarding the fermentation of sugars. Efficient production ofbioethanol calls not only for simultaneous C5 and C6 sugar fermentation, but also hightolerance of the inhibitory substances.
The microbial growth-independent RITE-Honda process utilizing recombinantcoryneform bacteria is the ﬁrst in the world to meet these requirements. Its demonstrablyhigh and efficient production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass led to this award.
We continue to pursue research and development in this field in order to advance thetechnologies underlying the process for industrial application. By so doing, we hope tocontribute positively to improved global energy as well as food security while addressing
the pertinent problem of global warming.

Dr. Yukawa at the award ceremony

16�������
Global Climate & Energy Project(GCEP)
Chemical Research GroupThe RITE has conducted the developmental work “Sub-nano structure controlledmaterials: development of innovative gas separation membranes” from the Global Climate
and Energy Project (GCEP) of Stanford University, USA. In this project, the synergy of
research into both organic and inorganic materials has led to innovative materials for gas
separation membranes. In September 2008, RITE has received a new award for the research“Advanced CO2/H2 separation materials incorporating active functional agents” from GCEP.

Organic membrane
In the organic materials approach, subnanostructure control technologies will
provide novel membranes with an excellent
CO 2 separation performance for various
practical gas sources.
A R I T E’s n ove l c ar b on m e mbr an e
involving cesium atom shows good toleranceof humidity in feed gas to be of great
advantage in CO2 separation from industrial
gas mixtures. Figure 1 shows c arb on
membranes fabricated on alumina porous
substrate.
RITE is now conducting new method ofcreating CO 2 separation membranes using
super-critical CO2 atmosphere.

17

Fig.1 Carbon membrane modules incorporating
cesium atom�������

CO2 Storage Research GroupInternational Workshop “Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide”
CCS Workshop 2008 – Status and Environment for the Technology of CCS–
CO2 Sequestration Research GroupThe workshop, where the current status and issues of the development of CCS
technology were reported, was held at Grand Palace Hotel, Tokyo on 26th September 2008.
This workshop was organized by RITE and co-organized by Engineering Advancement
Association of Japan and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry ofJapan, New Energy Development Organization, National Institute of Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology, Japan Coal Energy Center, Central Research Institute of ElectricPower Industry, The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology, Japan Society ofEnergy and Resources, Society of Exploration Geophysicists of Japan and Mining andMaterials Processing Institute of Japan. A total of 490 people attended from companies,
research institutes and government oﬃcial.
In the workshop, invited speakers from home and abroad introduced efforts towardpractical application of CCS in Japan,
trends of demonstration study andproject of CCS in overseas, global
deployment of CCS, CCS project inAustralia, MASDAR CCS Project in
UAE for a low carbon future, andfull-scale CCS enterprise in Japan.
This workshop helped to promote amuch better understanding of CCS
technology development.
For more information, Please visit
the web site of RITE.
Workshop, Grand Palace HotelInternational Workshop “Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide”
FutureGen Workshop 2008 – CO2 Zero Emission Coal ﬁre Plant demonstration Project–
CO2 Sequestration Research GroupThe workshop was held at Dai-ichi Hotel, Tokyo on 25th February 2008. This workshop
was organized by RITE and supported by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Embassy of the United States, Japan Coal Energy
Center, the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. A total of 350 people attended fromcompanies, research institutes and government oﬃcial.
In the workshop, invited speakers from home and abroad introduced “Update on
the FutureGen Initiative for Near-Zero Emissions Coal”, “Clean Coal Technology inJapan”, “European Coal Gasification Projects”, “Overview of China’s IGCC and Coproduction Technology Research andDevelopment” and efforts towardpractical application of CCS in Japan.
Invited speakers and researchersin Japan participated in the panel
discussion about the object of largescale CCS demonstration projects andissues to be solved. A lot of comments
were made by the audience.
For more information, Please visit
the web site of RITE.
Workshop, Dai-ichi Hotel,Tokyo18

�������

CO2 Storage Research GroupIIASA-RITE International Symposium
System Analysis GroupThe IIASA-RITE international symposium: Global warming and sustainable
development was held at Keidanren Kaikan in Tokyo on February 18, 2008. The symposium
was organized by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), theJapan Committee for IIASA, the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth(RITE), and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan.
The objectives of this symposium were to present the findings of new project called“Alternative pathways toward sustainable development and climate stabilization (ALPS)”
with the aim of the project, and to invite distinguished researchers from Japan and abroad
to give a lecture on the related research, and to oﬀer opportunities to communicate with not
only researchers working on global warming, but also with participants from administrative
agencies, industries and from the public.
We had an attendance of 230 people including participants from industries, ministries,
universities, and research institutes, and had active discussions on global warming andsustainable development.
In the symposium, the speakers explained about the observed rise in temperatureand sea level during 20 th century, andprojections for the rise in temperatureby 1.4 to 5.8 °C relative to 1990 by theend of 21st century. In addition, it waspointed out that there were a numberof people with less access to foods andelectricity in the world, and suggested
that a paradigm change in technologies,
policy frameworks and human behaviors
be necessary to build a society where
sustainable development was achievable.
Symposium, Keidanren Kaikan

International Symposium on Technologies for Mitigating Global Warming-Sectoral Approach: as an Eﬀective Measure against Global WarmingPlanning, Survey, and Public Relations Group

This symposium entitled “International Symposium on Technologies for Mitigating
Global Warming -Sectoral Approach: as an Effective Measure against Global Warming-”
was held on 27th of November in 2008 at Hyatt Regency Osaka in Osaka. This symposium
was organized by RITE and supported by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
and Kinki Regional Countermeasures Promotion Meeting on Energy and Global Warming.
There was a high attendance of 285
people, including participants from various
ministries such as METI, Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism,
and Ministr y of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology, and also
participants from embassies and foreignorganizations from France and South
Korea.
Under the theme of “Sectoral Approach:Symposium, Hyatt Regency Osaka

19�������

CO2 Storage Research Groupas an Effective Measure against Global Warming”, presentations about challenges forthe approach and measures for reducing CO 2 emissions were given by the following
speakers: Dr. Gwyn Prins, Professor of the London School of Economics & Political
Science from United Kingdom, Mr. Duncan Macleod, Vice president of Shell International
Petroleum Company Ltd. from United Kingdom, Dr. Hyeon Park, Environment Team
Leader of Environment & Energy Department, POSCO from South Korea, Mr. Hiroshi
Watanabe, General Manager, Siting & Environment of the Federation of Electric Power
Companies, Mr. Hisatsugu Kitaguchi, Senior Manager of Global Environment Aﬀairs Dept.
Environment Affairs Div. of Nippon Steel Corporation, Mr. Michio Shinohara, General
Manager, Environment & Safety Planning Oﬃce of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Dr. Keigo
Akimoto, Group Leader of System Analysis Group of RITE. The closing speech was given
by Mr. Takashi Honjo, Senior Managing Director of RITE.
The Symposium promoted greater understanding of the Sectoral approach and measures
for mitigating global warming.

Symposium on Innovative Environmental Technologies
Research Planning Group

Symposium on Innovative Environmental Technologies was held at Mielparque-Kyoto
on October 21 2008, and at Nadao Hall ,Kasumigaseki in Tokyo on December 8 2008,
supported by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Kyoto Prefecture andKinki Regional Countermeasures Promotion Meeting on Energy and Global Warming..
At Mielparque-Kyoto, the outcomes of Programmed Research and Development in2007 were presented mainly, and we had 269 participants from various field including
industry, academia and government. Including the speech of Dr. Akimoto, the leader ofSystems Analysis Group, the outcomes of Fundamental Research and Reading Researchwere presented by oral speech and poster exhibition, and the outcomes of Joint Research
Program of Technological Development in the Private Sectors in 2007 were presented at thesame time.
At Nadao Hall, the symposium entitled “Strategy and Perspective of Innovative
Technology Development to Achieve Cool Earth 50” was held and we had 306 participantsfrom various field including industry, academia and government. The reader of eachResearch Group of RITE presented the technical issue and the current world situation
toward the achievement of the goal ‘50% reduction of global carbon dioxide emissions by
2050’, and research outcomes of CCS and Bio-reﬁnery in RITE.

Symposium, Nadao Hall

Poster exhibition, Mielparque-Kyoto

20�������
GHGT-9 Participation Report
Research Planning Group

9th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-9) was
held on 16-20 November at The Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. This is thelargest international conference that focuses on mitigation technologies especially CCS(Carbon dioxide capture and storage) and are held every two years.

1. Overview of the conference
The number of the attendee was record-high 1,469 people. Since Vancouver (Canada) in
2004, the number of attendee grew by 1.5 times every time. This shows CCS as a mitigation
technology has drawn much attention in the world. The largest attendee group was theUS, followed by Canada, Japan, the UK, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Germany, andAustralia.
After two opening plenary lectures, oral presentations were held in 66 technical sessions
as follows: geological storage 23, otherstorage like oceanic sequestration 2,
capture 17, integrated system 11, policy 8,
issued forum 5. From Japan, there were twooral presentations with regard to the CO2
trapping mechanism in Nagaoka project
and CO2 storage potential survey in Japan.
Besides that, five poster presentations
about geological storage, four capture,and two system analysis were carried out
by RITE. The next GHGT-10 will be held
Fig. 1 Number of participantsin Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 19-23
September, 2010.
2. Topics in each ﬁeld of technical sessions
Policy and Project
CCS has become more realistic compared with two years ago when GHGT-8 was held.
The importance of CCS as a CO2 reduction technology has been well recognized and thelegal standards and regulations of CCS, for example EU directive, law for the prevention ofmarine pollution in Japan, the Australian petroleum Act, and US EPA safe drinking wateract, are being enacted. Further, in ﬁnancial aspect, the EU decided to apply EU-ETS to CCS
projects that start from 2013.
CCS demonstration project: The US plans to launch nine Regional Carbon Sequestration
Projects, each of which will be able to capture and store more than 1 million tons of CO2 peryear. Concerning pipeline network Canada has started a project. It was announced that 21
million tons of CO2 per year would be stored in the ground by 2012 throughout the world.
Developing countries: China promotes several CCS projects actively cooperating with
the UK, the US and Australia, etc. and has launched the ﬁrst post-combustion capture pilot
plant.
Many CCS projects have been planned as described above but some of them have beencancelled or restructured because financial support is not sufficient. Improvements inﬁnancial systems including stabilizing EU-ETS are strongly required.
CaptureIn capture sessions, noteworthy reports are (a) chemical absorption and retrofit, (b)21�������
pilot test of chilled ammonia, and (c) pilot test of oxyfuel combustion. In the UK, adetailed study on chemical absorption has been done under the government initiative
which aims to construct demonstration plants by 2014 at the latest. Many engineeringstudies using existing technologies have been done rather than R&D of cutting-edged
capture technologies considering that application of capture technology will start fromretrofit to powder-coal firing power plants in developed countries. Concerning chilledammonia process, 30MW pilot plant test was carried out in the US and the operational
results were reported, but no specific numerical value relating to superiority in energy
decrease or CO2 capture pressure was appeared. This verification seems to be done fromnow on. As Vattenfall’s 30MW oxyfuel pilot plant in Europe was already in operation,
its operational report has drawn attention but no specific data was released either. Few
speciﬁc topics were presented concerning IGCC with CCS because FutureGen project is at
the stage of candidate selection and is scheduled to announce the results in January, 2009.
Demonstration of IGCC seems to be postponed. The EU and the US might have a strategy
that they use post combustion and oxyfuel to accelerate practical application of CCS in the
short term and grow IGCC with CCS as a next-generation technology.
Storage
Looking back this year’s conference, GHGT-9 seemed more practical and projectoriented compared with the former conferences. In geological storage sessions, more
speciﬁc discussions were presented, such as “how we should apply what we learned frommega-ton-CO2 demonstrations to gigaton commercial projects” or “different
standard to select storage site is required
between the earthquake-ridden country
such as Italy and other countries”.
Concerning monitoring, more reportsof on-site investigation and experimentwere presented than before. Increasing
the number of reports dealing withsafety assessment and public acceptancealso seems to be the key feature in thisconference.
GHGT-9, The Omni Shoreham Hotel22

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

System Analysis Group

System Analysis Group

23

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

System Analysis Group

24

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

Molecular Mocrobiology and Biotechnology Group

Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Group

25

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

Molecular Mocrobiology and Biotechnology Group

26

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

Chemical Research Group

Chemical Research Group

Y.Gashira, K.Ueyama

27

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

Chemical Research Group(University of Tokyo) C.Fushimi

28

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

CO2 Storage Research Group

CO2 Storage Research Group

29

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

CO2 Storage Research Group

30

2008 Paper, Presentation and Publication

CO2 Storage Research Group31

Research Institute of Innovative
Technology for the Earth
9-2, Kizugawadai, Kizugawa-Shi, Kyoto
619-0292 JAPANTEL. +81-774-75-2300 FAX. +81-774-75-2314

URL http://www.rite.or.jp