Kirishima Shuzo has the largest facility in Japan for recycling the byproducts of shochu production like shochu lees and sweet potato scraps. We aim to achieve zero emissions (zero waste) by producing biogas (methane gas) from them as fuel for the shochu manufacturing plant, and effectively using some of them as compost. This recycling system won the “New Energy Foundation Chairman's Award” at the 12th New Energy Awards in 2008, and the “Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award” at the 23rd Grand Prize for the Global Environment Award in 2014.
We use sweet potatoes grown in Kyushu to produce shochu. Furthermore, the byproducts, shochu lees is a kind of "treasure" that produces energy and compost, and is well-balanced and rich in nutrients (protein, fiber, organic acids, etc.)
The Kiri no Kura Bakery inside Shochu no Sato Kirishima Factory Garden makes and sells bread and pizza made with shochu lees extract.
The collected biogas is used as fuel for the boilers in the shochu production. A portion of the biogas is used to generate electricity, which is then returned to the community.
After extracting the biogas, the shochu lees are dehydrated and turned into compost, then returned to the local fields. Sweet potatoes are transformed and returned to the earth without waste, enriching the food and culture of Southern Kyushu.
A total of about 400 tons of sweet potatoes are delivered to all of Kirishima Shuzo’s factories per day.
The damaged sweet potatoes are removed, and they are trimmed for easier steaming. This process creates unusable sweet potato scraps. Furthermore, shochu lees are produced as a byproduct during the distillation. These are gathered and transported to a recycling plant.
The total amount of shochu lees produced by all of our factories during the production of shochu such as Kuro Kirishima and Shiro Kirishima is about 850 tons (maximum of 1,200 tons) per day. Around 15 tons of sweet potato scraps are produced by the sorting process.
The shochu lees and sweet potato scraps are transported to a recycling plant and crushed into small pieces. They are then fermented by microorganisms to produce methane (biogas). The biogas is used as fuel in our shochu production, as well as for generating electricity.
Meanwhile, what remains after the biogas is extracted is separated into solids and liquids. The solids are used as raw material for compost and the liquids are purified and released back into the ecosystem.
Approximately 34,000 cubic meters of biogas is produced from around 850 tons of shochu lees per day, which is enough energy (electricity*) to power about 22,000 households.
60% of the total fuel used at our Headquarters Expanded Factory and the Shibita Second Expanded Factory is made up of biogas, reducing our total CO2 emissions by approximately 4,500 tons. In addition, by effectively using waste as compost, we are eliminating waste and aim to achieve zero emissions through recycling.
