About Carbopath™
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) aims to build a circular economy by promoting Carbopath™, an environmental recycling platform that generates materials and energy using methanol produced from CO₂ and waste as an alternative to conventional economic activities that consume fossil resources.
Methanol is an essential material for modern life, used in a wide range of end products such as plastics, synthetic fibers and adhesives. Currently, most methanol is produced from fossil resources such as natural gas and coal, but it can also be produced from CO₂, biomass materials and plastic waste. The true value of Carbopath™ is to contribute to a carbon-neutral world by producing green methanol, from what were previously considered unnecessary materials, and then using it for chemicals and fuels.
MGC, leveraging methanol synthesis technology and production know-how using high-performance catalysts that the company has cultivated over many years, aims to develop the Carbopath™ platform, and with our technology we wish to achieve carbon neutrality in collaboration with all entities involved in the methanol value chain. The ultimate goal is to realize a seamless value chain in a true circular world where diverse organisms and humans coexist harmoniously.
Advantages Carbopath™
What Carbopath™ can do
- ・Green methanol is produced from CO₂ and green hydrogen.
- ・Green methanol allows CO₂ to be used beneficially in various ways.
What Carbopath™ can do
- ・Produce and supply next-generation marine fuel for ships.
- ・Provide feedstock for next-generation fuel for automobiles and aircraft.
- ・More opportunities for green hydrogen; green methanol is an easy-to-go green hydrogen source.
- ・Direct methanol fuel cells can be used as emergency or outdoor power sources during disasters.
Related projects:
- ・ Methanol bunkering simulation at the Port of Yokohama
- ・Hydrogen Value Chain Promotion Council
- ・Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC)
What Carbopath™ can do
- ・Green methanol is produced from gasified waste plastics, garbage and biomass resources.
- ・Carbopath™ participants use the green methanol to make products (carbon cycle).
What Carbopath™ can do
- Plywood and adhesives
- Adhesives made from methanol can be used, for example, in carbon-neutral plywood.
- Engineering plastics
- Polyacetal resin used in automobiles and household appliances can be made from methanol for greener everyday necessities.
- Dimethyl ether (DME)
- DME produced from green methanol can be used in aerosol propellants and other applications, including carbon-neutral fuel.
- Induction products for various applications
- Green methanol can also be used to produce methyl methacrylate (MMA), which is used in acrylic resins and acetic acid for a wide range of applications, including fibers and solvents and various other chemicals.
- Expansion of green transformation (GX) products
- Replacing fossil resources with carbon-neutral feedstocks by green methanol will lead to the greening of a wide range of end products. Methanol has become an indispensable material that is widely integrated into society, so green initiatives are underway in a wide scope of sectors.
- Methanol to olefins (MTO), plastics and synthetic fibers
- Basic chemicals commonly derived from petroleum, such as ethylene and propylene, can also be derived from methanol, creating opportunities to use green methanol as a raw material in greener plastics
Related projects:
- ・Demonstration of plastic waste gasification to produce methanol
- ・Acquisition of ISCC PLUS certification for Bio-methanol and DME
What Carbopath™ can do
- ・Collaboration with all entities seeking to go green and use methanol to make carbon-neutral end products for consumers.
- ・By choosing decarbonized products from the methanol value chain, people can achieve carbon neutrality on an individual level.
Related projects:
- ・Sponsored Oshigoto Yearbook 2023 on careers for 1st – 8th grade students
- ・Received 65th Niigata Advertising Award’s Incentive Award