Japanese chemical companies such as Mitsubishi Chemical Company (MCC), Mitsui & Co., Toray Industries and Kuraray among others, are searching upstream in their quest for alternative petrochemical feedstocks and sustainable chemistry through development collaborations with several US renewable chemical firms.
Japan mainly imports its petroleum-based raw materials, so is dependent on the price of oil. Renewable chemicals could give its firms a chance to re-establish their position in the industry, says Shigeru Handa, general manager of the sustainable resource business development department at MCC’s petrochemicals research and development (R&D) division.
… Full text: www.icis.com/Articles/2011/10/24/9501898/Japan-chemical-firms-speed-up-renewable-RD-through-joint.html
Keywords: chemical feedstock, carbon chains, chemical market, renewable chemicals, sugarcane, bio-butanol
Source: ICIS.com, 2011-10-21.