Eco-friendly membrane material “Kenafine” appears at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit.

Taiyo Kogyo Corporation introduced the newly improved “Kenafine”.
web-site: http://www.taiyokogyo.co.jp/what/news/2008/nw0529.html

NEWS RELEASE

“Nature’s Wisdom” (Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan) as a stepping stone, a new material with successfully improved durability is unveiled for the first time in the country.
Eco-friendly membrane material “Kenafine” made with kenaf fiber to appear at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit.
- The material will be exhibited at the Toyako Visitor Center “ECO GALLERY”, which will open in June, and appeal to the importance of environmental consideration. -

The manufacturer of long span membrane structure Taiyo Kogyo Corporation (HQ: Osaka, Japan / President: Kotaro Nomura) and a textile manufacturer Sakai Ovex Co., Ltd. (HQ: Hukui, Japan / President: Shintaro Matsumoto) have successfully developed a high-performance biomass membrane material “Kenafine” made with kenaf fiber, which will be used as the roof material of a temporary structure for the environmental learning exhibition called “Toyako Visitor Center ECO GALLERY”, which will open for approximately three months from June to August.

This newly developed “Kenafine” is a biomass membrane material made with fiber of kenaf, an annual mallow plant, which has also attracted attention as an alternative material for paper instead of a wood resource. It was used for many facilities at the EXPO 2005, but the use of material at that time was limited to temporary structures of certain duration (within a year) only. Taiyo Kogyo therefore started working on material improvement three years ago in cooperation with the textile manufacturer Sakai Ovex Co., Ltd. When both sides of kenaf fabric are coated with polyurethane, a durability of over five years is achieved.
The first application of this new spec of material in the country will be the “Toyako Visitor Center ECO GALLERY”. It is an 800 square meter temporary structure for the environmental learning exhibition planned by Hokkaido branch of the Ministry of the Environment. It will open for approximately three months from June to August while the Summit is held and will introduce a wide range of Japanese environmental measures.
In an effort to reflect the purpose of the facility, which is to appeal “Realization of Low Carbon Society, Society with an Environmentally-Sound Material Cycle, and Natural Symbiosis Society”, special consideration was given in making the building with a tent structures so that it can be reused for other events. Furthermore, the use of “Kenafine” contributes to the development of an eco-friendly exhibition facility, because it would help reduce carbon dioxide during the growing process of the raw material kenaf, and in the end the product can be recycled into paper.

Due to last year’s revisions in legislation, this newly adopted biomass membrane material “Kenafine” is now allowed to apply for permanent membrane architectural structures. On top of “Kenafine”, Taiyo Kogyo Corporation has also developed various environmentally friendly products including the “See-through Solar Glass (Transparent Solar Power Glass)” and the “Tent Coated with Titanium Dioxide Photocatalyst” that removes nitrogen oxide (NOx) to keep the air clean. Taiyo Kogyo Corporation is determined to continue its company-wide effort of an environmental protection.

Below is an overview of “Kenafine” and “Toyako Visitor Center ECO GALLERY”.

KENAFINE

Name of the Membrane	Kenafine (Model: Kenafine SA200)
Material Structure	Kenaf fabric coated with polyurethane on both sides.
Durability	More than 5 years.
Approval Number	MMEM-0026 [Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Japan]
Material Development	Taiyo Kogyo Corporation (HQ: Osaka, Japan / President: Kotaro Nomura) URL:http://www.taiyokogyo.com/ Sakai Ovex Co., Ltd. (HQ: Hukui, Japan / President: Shintaro Matsumoto) URL: http://www.sakaiovex.co.jp/english/index.html Product web-site: http://www.taiyokogyo.co.jp/maku/kenafine.html

Toyako Visitor Center ECO GALLERY

Name of Facility	Toyako Visitor Center ECO GALLERY
Location	Open space in the Toyako Visitor Center site (1500 square meters)
Size	800 square meters of exhibition tent, temporary “green” wall the size of 2.5m x 16m that is covered and decorated with plants, etc.
Client	Hokkaido branch of the Ministry of the Environment
Exhibition Schedule	Sunday, June 1 to Sunday, August 31, 2008
Concept of Facility	Not only to appeal to the visitors of “Toyako Lake, the site of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit” about the conservation of nature in the national park, but also to comprehensibly convey the message concerning the environmental issues such as global warming, biological diversity and the 3R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) by building a temporary facility for the environmental learning exhibition on the premises of Toyako Visitor Center in an attempt to enlighten and grow awareness.
Relative Link	http://hokkaido.env.go.jp/summit/en/press003.html