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The Teijin Group will donate wastewater treatment systems and energy-efficient polyester curtains as part of its participation in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s (AIST) Smart Life Care Consortium. The consortium is a business-collaboration program in the Kesennuma–Kizuna (“strong bond”) project. The project began on January 27, 2012 and will provide support for people in the city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, which was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
As part of the project, AIST researchers have been residing in the city to identify and analyze recovery needs to provide practical solutions in collaboration with organizations and companies such as Teijin. As the first step, to improve conditions for people still living in temporary housing in hilly areas three to four kilometers from central Kesennuma, three trailers were set up as shops and multipurpose facilities.
The wastewater treatment system to be donated by the Teijin Group will process wastewater from the trailers using a technology called the Multi-Stage Activated Biological Process (MSABP, a registered trademark of Aquarius Technologies Inc.). The system is similar to another system that the Teijin Group donated to Kesennuma’s Shishiori district last October. The system is well suited to temporary housing, is a portable unit built with mobile containers and is good for treating relatively small volumes of wastewater.
Teijin’s MSABP system utilizes special biological carriers packed with high concentrations of microorganisms in multistage aeration tanks. The microorganisms vary from tank to tank to form a food chain that decomposes even highly concentrated and persistent effluent. The system significantly suppresses the generation of excess sludge, thereby eliminating the need for sludge disposal, resulting in a low-energy, low-maintenance and cost-effective solution.
The curtains to be provided by the Teijin Group include lace curtains made with Teijin Fibers’ heat-retentive polyester fiber, which contains minute carbon-based inorganic particles that absorb sunlight effectively and convert it to heat energy, and drapes made with fire-retardant polyester fiber. By retaining warmth even in winter, the curtains will help to raise heating efficiency in the trailers.
To date, the Teijin Group’s donations to areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake total more than 500 million yen (about $6.5 million U.S.) in funds and necessities including blankets, masks and home healthcare equipment such as oxygen cylinders and concentrators.
Teijin is a global technology-driven group operating in eight main fields: aramid fibers, carbon fibers & composites, polyester fibers, plastics, films, medical & pharmaceuticals, fiber products marketing and IT businesses.