Japanese cow manure-to-methanol pilot plant to become reality

In Japan, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports technology developed by a researcher at Osaka University will be used to produce methanol and formic acid from the manure of 10,000 dairy cows in Hokkaido prefecture. The test facility, which could be online in two years, is expected to power much of the host city’s industrial power needs including seafood processing plants and neighboring dairies. Japan imports all of its methanol but expansion of this technology to other dairies could see 20% of its methanol imports substituted by domestic production.