生物系特定産業技術研究支援センター

Introduction:
Wataru Mizunashi
Director General, Bioeconomy Unit
Technology Strategy Center
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization

The Resource Circulation group of SIP Bio-Agriculture is developing technologies to realize the sustainability of food-related resources and the environment, especially in the context of food, which will lead to the "recycling of inedible portions and residues into resources and materials," "high functionality and high value-added of bio-materials," and "reduction of the environmental burden of bio-related industries". We are working on that it is the venous system, in analogically saying, of the entire smart food system, which not only treats and processes the waste after primary and functional food products are used, but also plays a role of connecting the entire system as a circle by taking our valuables.

Development of Agri-biomass-based Smart Chemical Production System
Jun-ichiro Hayashi
Professor
Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering
Kyushu University

We are developing technology to separate all constituents from such as rice husks, rice straw and other agricultural residues, and Ogi-susuky bioresources, through a parallel treatment process, and to commercialize them. Processing is also carried out using low energy, such as hot water, chemical reactions with weak acids and alkalis, and enzymes. At present, we have succeeded in producing more than 20 products from 15 processes. By manufacturing in a parallel process, the value added to the raw material is increased by more than 10 times. This makes it possible to supply C5 mono-sugar and C6 mono-sugars cellulose nanofibers, etc., which used to be expensive, at a lower cost.
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Development of an Agri-biomass-based Production System of Useful Protein and Advanced Materials using Silkworm
Hideki Sezutsu
Leader
Institute of Agrobiological Sciences
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO)

The silkworm, which synthesizes silk thread inside the body, has the potential to produce proteins with a low environmental impact, and we are working on "insect-production-type manufacturing". Using the genetically modified silkworm, we have succeeded in producing the base material for IPS cells at half the cost of conventional methods. We have also succeeded in developing diagnostic reagents for osteoporosis and a kit for detecting irritant AGEs, which cause diabetic complications and age-related diseases, both of which have been difficult to mass-produce because of the need to use E. coli and mammalian cultured cells, and we expect to start taking orders in 2021. The silkworm baculovirus production system, in which the virus is injected into silkworms, can produce proteins within a week after virus inoculation, and we have succeeded in developing reagents for detecting veterinary interferon and new coronavirus antibodies. Silkworm production is also excellent in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and is expected to attract ESG investment.
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Development of Novel Technology for Bioprocess Optimization in Smart Bio-Industry
Tomohiro Tamura
Director General
Department of Life Science and Biotechnology
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

This is an initiative to develop technologies to improve the efficiency of venous systems such as wastewater treatment and sludge treatment. Waste food is used to produce biogas, which in turn discharges industrial wastewater. Industrial wastewater costs about six times as much as ordinary sewage treatment, and therefore improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment is a major issue for reducing the price of biogas. We are addressing these issues through the use of big data. By investigating and classifying the flora of microorganisms in wastewater treatment tanks, microorganisms that affect treatment efficiency have been identified, and it is hoped that the simulation of wastewater treatment efficiency will be realized. In addition, the model to predict membrane blockage in wastewater treatment can be applied to the maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities.
We are also working on the environmental impact assessment of direct material recycling. An environmental assessment of ECOR boards produced from cellulose fibers made from rice husks and incorporated into furniture revealed lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions than using boards.

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Rap-up and discussion
Noriaki Kobayashi, Program director of SIP Technologies for Smart Bio-industry and Agriculture

SIP Bio-Agriculture is just at the turn of the five-year mark, and the path to the implementation of a "Smart Food System" must be in sight. Rather than implementing "Reduce Reuse Recycle" at the end of the linear supply chain, the initiatives introduced in this symposium will play a major role in achieving the circular economy that smart food systems aim to achieve, where waste is used as materials and energy for the next manufacturing process. We can do it. These technologies are still just emerging from the laboratory and we need your help to cross the barriers and valleys to market. We hope that when these technologies reach the market, they will serve as a catalyst for the creation of a truly circular society and establish the smart food system as a standard concept.