Furfural from pulp
Next month, Oji Holdings Corp. (Oji, Tokyo; Japan; www.ojiholdings.co.jp) plans to test marketing of furfural being manufactured in its verification plant, which produces furfural as a coproduct in the production of “dissolving pulp” made from wood chips at its Oji Paper Yonago Mill, Tottori Prefecture.
In the production of dissolving pulp, furfural is continuously separated from the hemi-cellulose. Furfural is used mainly as a solvent in petroleum refining and for the production of lubricants, but has the potential to be used as a precursor for bio-plastics, such as polyurethane and PET.
Dissolving pulp is a pulp 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.