Tokyo, Japan 18 December 2015 -- Oji Holdings Corporation manufactures dissolving pulp from wood chips at its Oji Paper Yonago Mill, and engages in the sale of the pulp. The company has recently established technology for the manufacture of furfural from the hemicellulose that is continually separated during the manufacture of dissolving pulp, and has thereby made commercial production of furfural possible.

Furfural, used mainly as a solvent in the refining of petroleum and lubricants, is a chemical substance that is currently attracting wide attention. Amid rising global expectations for a switch from fossil to biomass feedstocks, research in Japan and overseas is pursuing the use of furfural to manufacture bioplastics or general chemical products (polyurethane, PET, etc.) that are currently manufactured from fossil feedstock. Oji Holdings Corporation believes that its furfural can make significant contributions to the development of new applications for the substance.