International Projects

Story behind:

Even though Vietnam is one of the largest rice exporters in the world, the residual biomass from rice cultivation is not sufficiently utilized. In Mekong Delta, you can often see boats fully loaded with rice husk or see them dumping the waste in the river. With Meiwa’s technology, rice husk can be used as (1) soil conditioner and fertilizer after carbonization or (2) ingredient for carbonizing wet biomass. Currently, Meiwa is conducting a joint research project with Kyushu University under the funding of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) for the latter idea. In this project, sludge from shrimp aquaculture, another cause of environmental pollution, would be carbonized with rice husk and be recycled as soil conditioner. Also, Meiwa’s methane fermentation system would be installed for power generation out of the sludge before carbonization, together with Kyushu University’s fuel cell technology. Both biomass carbonization plant and methane fermentation system was installed in the project site in 2016 and have been in operation.

Story behind:

In Mongolia, households, schools and other buildings depend on low-quality coal for fuel. As the urban concentration continues, the level of PM2.5 in winter has become one of the most serious environmental issues of the country, drastically increasing the number of asthma patients. Meiwa’s carbonization technology can process the low-quality coal into non-smoke emitting coal and combustible gas both as alternative and cleaner heat source preventing air pollution and related diseases. Meiwa has signed a contract with a prominent local company in Mongolia to introduce the plants phase by phase. Separately, Meiwa is developing a project idea for public-private partnership with a UN agency to establish a model for eco-friendly school.

Story behind:

In most developing countries, municipal waste management has become a major problem as the result of population growth and rapid urbanization. For example, in a non-capital city in Kenya, a major municipal landfill is almost filled up and there is no promising site for constructing new landfill due to urban sprawl. Meiwa suggests to target major organic waste source, such as (i) vegetable waste generated in a city market and (ii) household sludge collected by trucks to a treatment lagoon, before they are taken to landfill and mixed with plastics and other contaminants. By carbonizing (i) and (ii) on site, the amount of waste arrving at the landfill is expected to decrease significantly.
Under the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Meiwa developed a public-private partnership with a local government. Thanks to their support, we conducted a feasibility study in Meru County, Kenya*.
During the study, it was cleared up that one of the biggest concern in local is the drought. Owing to climate change, the rainfall have become unpredictable, the frequency and severity of drought have been increased. A means to improve farmers’ resilience to the drought turned out to be widely desired.
To deal with this needs, Meiwa starts a further project in Meru County with JICA’s funding**. In this project, we try to develop biochar from local unutilized biomass, then make it prevail as a powerful biochar product for drought-vulnerable agriculture.
* Feasibility Survey for a Carbonization Technology for Sustainable Organic Waste Management and Agriculture in Kenya (June 2017 - Oct 2018)
** SDGs Business Verification Survey with the Private Sector for Enabling Drought-Resilient Agriculture by Biomass Carbonization Technologies (July 2019 - Dec 2021)