【Special Issues: Current Status of R&D Technologies for Waste Biomass Utilization】
Development of an Application Process for Waste Biomass
Kenji Kida*, Shigeru Morimura* and Toru Shigematsu*
* Department of Applied Chemistry and Biochmistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kumamoto University
† Correspondence should be addressed to Kenji Kida:
（2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto-City, Kumamoto, 860-8555 Japan）

Abstract
In Japan, the annual amount of biological waste（waste biomass）reached approximately 280 million tons in the year 2000. This huge amount of waste biomass, coupled with the limited years remaining for landfill use, has caused a serious problem. With an aim to counter this problem and reduce the amount of landfill waste by 37,500,000 tons by the year 2010, the Japanese has proposed a new policy plan. In addition to extremely thorough recycling programs, it will also be necessary to work toward a reduction of waste-producing technologies in order to reach this ambitious target for landfill waste reduction. We have, therefore, carried out research on both material-and thermal-recycling of waste biomass using biotechnology. For the effective utilization of biomass, we considered properties of various biomass types were taken into consideration and a cascade（multi-stage）application was adopted. Although the individual technologies used are well known, development of an effective combination of these could be considered a significant new technology. For sustainable development to take root in Japan, technologies suited to the actual conditions of local regions must be secured, and a recycling-oriented society must be established through the use of not only thermal but also material recycling technologies. These efforts will enable Japan to contribute to regional development, as well as the prevention of global warming.

Key words: biomass, utilization, reduce, biological activity, methane fermentation, recycling-oriented society, prevention of global warming