Global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon dioxide emitted from the consumption of fossil resources is a greenhouse gas and is considered a major cause of global warming. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions and environmental impact is a major challenge for us all to solve.Forests are a storehouse of carbon dioxide
Trees grow bigger and bigger while absorbing carbon dioxide. As more and more trees grow, they eventually form forests. Forests are a reservoir that absorbs and fixes carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.Toward a sustainable society
Unlike fossil resources, forest resources (wood) are renewable. If properly utilized, they will never be depleted. Wood is old but new resource for the next generation, that is indispensable for the formation of a sustainable society.
Utilizing wood
Today, our lives are supported by a variety of materials such as plastics, metals, and ceramics. Wood obtained from forests is another material that humans have been using since time immemorial. Wood is considered a natural material with low environmental impact, and there are high expectations for its use to solve environmental problems such as global warming and to build a carbon-neutral society.
Trees are living things
Since wood is a living thing, each tree has different characteristics. Some trees are stronger than others, some are less strong, some are more prone to decay, some are less prone to rot, and so on. Trees that are strong or resistant to decay are rare, and valuable forests, such as natural forests, may be widely lost in order to obtain such trees.
Developing technology to use trees
If trees that are not used much because of their low strength and easy rotting can be modified and used in our daily lives, we will not lose our precious natural forests. In addition, if bioplastics and biofuels could be made from such unused trees and discarded sawdust, it would lead to effective use of unused resources and revitalization of local economies.
Toward a carbon-neutral world
Our laboratory conducts the following three forest-related studies to help establish a sustainable and carbon-neutral world.
- Research to create compounds from biomass (wood, agricultural waste, etc.) that can be used as raw materials for bioplastics and biofuels in order to replace various products made from fossil resources into biomaterials
- Research on new technologies for modifying wood, which has not been widely used for building materials due to its low strength and tendency to rot, so that it can be used. The chemicals used for modification are derived from biomass, with the aim of creating new materials that are 100% bio-materials.
- Research to plant and grow fast-growing trees for early regeneration of forests after harvesting.
