"Generating electricity from wastewater"?
February 6, 19:34
Rising electricity prices are having a major impact on businesses and households alike.
Meanwhile, there is a company that has developed a technology to generate "electricity" from "wastewater" discharged from factories.
This small company in Ehime is now trying to find big business opportunities overseas.
What kind of technology is it?
(Matsuyama Broadcasting Station reporter Ryo Okuno Jakarta branch cameraman Shinji Kadota)
A company with more than 10 employees
The company is "Aiken Kakoki", a water treatment manufacturer in Matsuyama City.
Founded in 1982.
We are a small and medium-sized company with about 10 employees, and we are developing a device to treat wastewater discharged from a factory.
What is attracting attention now is the latest equipment called a “net zero energy type wastewater treatment system”.
Wastewater treatment requires a large amount of electricity, but this device not only cleans dirty water, but also generates energy during the treatment process.
The company acquired a patent for this device that can generate electricity from wastewater that was discarded, and won the Excellence Award at the ``Monozukuri Nippon Grand Award'' announced in January.
Microorganisms called "granules" are essential for this device.
It is about 1 to 2 mm in size and has the property of converting organic compounds contained in wastewater into methane gas.
That's how it works.
Organic compounds contained in the wastewater are converted into methane gas by contacting the wastewater from the factory with microorganisms.
By burning methane gas in the device, it can be used as a boiler and can also generate electricity by rotating a gas turbine.
Since the electricity is reused to power the wastewater treatment equipment, the amount of electricity used in the factory can be greatly reduced.
The technology itself for recovering energy from factory wastewater was developed in the Netherlands.
However, due to problems such as high cost and low energy recovery efficiency, it did not spread.
However, this company continued to research microorganisms and improve the device, and it took about 20 years to commercialize it.
President Iwata
: “Actually, the Seto Inland Sea region, where Ehime Prefecture is located, is an area with strict regulations on water quality. As a result, an increasing number of companies are interested in the energy-saving effects after installing the equipment.”
Approximately 40% cheaper electricity bill
We visited a frozen food factory in Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture, where the equipment is actually used.
We have more than 80% of the domestic market share for commercial-use frozen chicken tenders, and a large amount of heat is required to fry food.
Machines that have finished manufacturing are washed every day, and wastewater mixed with cuts of meat is discharged, but this is reused as energy.
Since wastewater contains many organic compounds, the energy recovery efficiency of microorganisms is said to be high.
Wastewater is purified by equipment outside the factory and converted to methane gas by microorganisms.
It is then used as heat energy to heat the oil.
According to the factory, the introduction of the equipment has reduced the electricity bill for wastewater treatment by about 40%.
Ueda Factory Manager
“We are reusing it as energy for the steaming process and for raising the heat of the oil, which is necessary for manufacturing.I was surprised to be able to obtain energy from wastewater, which used to cost money to process. It has helped us a lot in reducing costs.”
The completely self-contained device, which generates electricity from wastewater and provides its own power, was launched five years ago and is currently being installed in five food factories in Japan.
It is expected that the towel factory in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, which is famous not only for food products but also for Imabari towels, will introduce it.
Aiming for overseas markets
President Iwata is also looking overseas.
The target country is Indonesia.
In January this year, he visited Gorontalo Province in central Indonesia.
Gorontalo Province, located in central Indonesia, has a population of approximately 1.2 million.
Primary industries
such as agriculture and fisheries are thriving, and fields such as coconuts and corn are scattered.
However, when walking in the center of the town, garbage such as empty cans and plastic bottles are thrown away in the irrigation canals, and the sewage has a pungent odor.
While Indonesia's population continues to grow and economic growth continues, household wastewater and industrial wastewater are discharged without being sufficiently treated, causing water pollution not only in irrigation canals but also in rivers and lakes. increase.
Wastewater treatment requires a large amount of electricity.
However, power shortage is also a problem in this state, so countermeasures are not progressing.
Indonesian factories are also interested
Mr. Iwata headed to a food processing factory where coconuts are processed into milk and other products.
Wastewater is treated on the premises before being discharged into the river, but because of the low treatment capacity, the high electricity bill is a burden on management.
When Mr. Iwata calculated the amount of energy that could be obtained from wastewater from coconut processing, he found that it could generate about nine times as much electricity as the entire factory currently uses.
When Mr. Iwata conveyed the results of his trial calculations and told him that there are companies in Japan that sell surplus electricity, the person in charge of the company also showed interest, and they decided to discuss the introduction of the equipment.
CEO of a local company
"We don't have the latest technology to treat wastewater. I was surprised that wastewater could be reused as energy. I would like to work with you, so I would definitely like to proceed with business negotiations."
Mr. Iwata hopes to use the introduction to this company as a clue to develop the Indonesian market.
President Iwata
: "The domestic market is shrinking, but Southeast Asia continues to grow economically. Among them, we thought that Indonesia, which has environmental issues, would be a good fit for our technology. The actual local situation. I am confident that I can contribute by looking at
"Techniques honed in Ehime can be used worldwide"
The beautiful Seto Inland Sea used to be called the "dead sea" because of frequent red tides caused by wastewater from factories and homes.
Ehime companies have refined their technical skills to improve the water quality, and now the scenic sea has become a popular spot for tourists from overseas.
I could hear Mr. Iwata's strong words,
"Technologies developed in Ehime can be used worldwide ."
Matsuyama Broadcasting Station Reporter
Ryo Okuno Joined the station
in 2019
After working as a police and judicial reporter, he is currently in charge of administrative coverage
.
Jakarta branch photographer
Shinji Kadota
Joined in 2006
After working at the Okinawa and Fukushima offices, he has
worked in many caves, mountains, and overseas coverage.