Japanese air conditioning manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric is exploring the possibility of using biomass plastics in its home appliance products, announcing a collaboration with Japanese energy and carbon-neutral solutions developer Idemitsu Kosan to achieve this.
Indeed, Idemitsu Kosan will produce biomass chemicals using the mass balance method, whereas Mitsubishi Electric will use them in manufacturing its home appliances, such as air conditioners and refrigerators, the companies said in a press release on February 21.
Biomass plastics production
According to the press release, Idemitsu Kosan will use the mass balance method in producing biomass plastics. This involves combining raw materials that have certain characteristics (for instance, biomass-derived raw materials from plants) with other raw materials (like petroleum-derived raw materials, e.g. recycled plastics).
In the process, Mitsubishi Electric will deploy its tech for sorting and recovering plastics from used home appliances by utilizing differences in their physical properties, such as specific gravity and friction-charging characteristics.
This way, the partners intend to bypass the use of fossil fuels in home appliance production and instead rely on high-polymer materials made of raw materials consisting of starch, cellulose, or sugar contained in plants.
Notably, Mitsubishi Electric is also working on expanding the use of recycled plastics to realize a circular economy, recognizing the need for developing alternative materials to petroleum-derived plastics, tech, and products, ultimately reducing CO2 emissions.
Meanwhile, other parts of Mitsubishi Group, a conglomerate with a diverse range of businesses, have been hard at work as well. Earlier in February, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), secured key approval for the development and building of liquefied CO2 carriers for coastal transportation, Techgaged.com reports.
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