No. 218: Inexpensive method to clean up arsenicum (December 24, 2010)

Shimizu Corp., one of Japan’s leading general contractors, developed the construction technology to purify low-concentrated arsenicum in the soil at a cost about one third of the existing construction technology. The new technology mixes upturned contaminated soil with water and a chemical agent, and separates heavy metals adhere to soil grains by melting them. Because it allows about 95% of the soil to be reused, it reduces the cost to dispose of industrial waste. In addition, the construction schedule remains almost unchanged. This technology is to cope with the intensified regulation due to the revised Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act enacted last April. The revised act classifies even the land contaminated with natural heavy metals as a contaminated area. Treatment equipment is installed in the field, and two kinds of agents are used. One is to make heavy metals adhere to the soil grain separate easily, and the other is to unstick the heavy metals. Almost soil treated in the field can be reclaimed. It costs 3,000-5,000 yen per ton to treat 100,000 tons of soil. Currently, about 30% of soil is discarded as industrial waste. Shimizu plans to market this technology to companies and local municipalities that have land in the coastal area.

Shimizu Corp., one of Japan’s leading general contractors, developed the construction technology to purify low-concentrated arsenicum in the soil at a cost about one third of the existing construction technology. The new technology mixes upturned contaminated soil with water and a chemical agent, and separates heavy metals adhere to soil grains by melting them. Because it allows about 95% of the soil to be reused, it reduces the cost to dispose of industrial waste. In addition, the construction schedule remains almost unchanged. This technology is to cope with the intensified regulation due to the revised Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act enacted last April. The revised act classifies even the land contaminated with natural heavy metals as a contaminated area. Treatment equipment is installed in the field, and two kinds of agents are used. One is to make heavy metals adhere to the soil grain separate easily, and the other is to unstick the heavy metals. Almost soil treated in the field can be reclaimed. It costs 3,000-5,000 yen per ton to treat 100,000 tons of soil. Currently, about 30% of soil is discarded as industrial waste. Shimizu plans to market this technology to companies and local municipalities that have land in the coastal area.

No. 217: Develop an even more fuel-efficient electric vehicle (December 23, 2010)

The Japanese government decided to develop an even more fuel-efficient electric vehicle in alliance with such leading companies as Toyota Motors, Mitsubishi Electric, and Nippon Steel. Loading the next-generation power semiconductor, the projected EV can travel 10% longer than the existing EV. The government plans to launch a trial EV toward 2014 and put the technology into practical use in 2018. Nippon Steel and Denso will develop the substrate material, electric appliance companies like Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba will develop an inverter using the next-generation power semiconductor, and Toyoda and Honda will mount the converter on its cars. The projected EV will be priced between three and four million yen. The next-generation power semiconductor uses silicon carbide excellent in power control. If it is mounted on an EV, power loss will be one third of the present level. It is also strong against intense heat and high voltage. Large equipment using water is needed to cool the inverter, but small equipment using wind is enough to cool the inverter should the projected inverter be employed, allowing for weight saving. The power semiconductor will be used in household air-conditioner and industrial motors. In the future, the government expects it to be used in railways and electric power cables. If it grows widespread, some estimate that about 2,300,000, about 0.2% of Japan’s annual carbon dioxide missions, can be reduced in 2020.

No. 216: Advanced technology to detect hormone of the doping test (December 20, 2010)

Two professors of Kansai University developed the technology to detect hormone of the doping test and sickness-linked protein at one million times higher sensitivity than the conventional technology in collaboration with Dainippon Toryo and Shimadzu Corp. The research team developed the mass analysis technology of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The newly-developed technology can detect a molecule in less than one minute regardless of the size, and neither reagent nor additive is required. The technology uses an iron oxide film with dips on a stainless plate, and the film is a littler thicker than one nanometer, and irradiates a dried nano particle on the film with laser for ionization. It calculates the ion’s mass from the weight and narrows down substances. It costs only 500 yen to examine a drop because it uses iron. It successfully detected male hormone subject to the doping test in a volume that is one millionth of the volume needed by the conventional technology. It is useful even if the test substance contains impurities. It is based on the technology developed by Koichi Tanaka who captured the Noble Prize in Chemistry in 2002. Shimadzu is scheduled to put the technology into practical use next year because it will be useful for the test of a wide range of substances including blood, urine, and environmental pollutant.

No. 215: Erase printed letters and illustrations to reuse paper (December 18, 2010)

Toshiba Tec Corp. is scheduled to introduce a digital multifunction machine – a digital machine for copying, printing, scanning, and faxing – that can erase printed letter and illustrations instantly late 2011. The company developed this machine and its special toner that uses the erasable ink developed by Pilot Corp. This machine allows for the reuse of office paper to reduce office expense. In addition, carbon dioxide emissions in the production process of recycled paper can be reduced. The printing speed is expected to be 20-30 sheets per minute, and the machine will be priced at 20-30% higher than the conventional multifunctional machine on the market. It adopts the toner that utilizes color materials based on Pilot’s erasable ink technology. The print will be erased if the printed paper is heated at a certain temperature by a special eraser. The newly-developed machine makes it possible to reuse the printed paper for at least five times. About 60% of carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced should paper be reused for four times. Toshiba Tec expects great demand from government agencies and public offices as well as from private companies that emphasize the environment-conscious procurement approach.

No. 214: Manage shared electric vehicles via the Internet (December 17, 2010)

Namco Bandai Games and NEC will start the substantiative experiment of the system to manage information of electric vehicles (EVs) used in car sharing next January. The system will put together information on the location and charging status of the shared EVs on the Internet and enable the users to know what EVs are available in what parking lot and how much they are charged through PC and smart phone. The experiment will last for two months between mid-January and mid-March next year in Yokohama. Nissan Motor will provide two units of “Leaf” to be put on the market on 20th of this month. Each of the two units carries the standard built-in communications equipment, from which such information as location and charging status will be transmitted to the server, and the information in the server will be browed via the Internet. About 250 participants from general public will be recruited via the Internet. They will experience booking EVs and browsing information on EVs. This experiment is part of the substantiative experiment of IT infrastructure that supports smart grids. The smart grid is supposed to be effective if it is combined with in-vehicle battery.

No. 213: Mass produce silicon from sand of Sahara (December 16, 2010)

Japan and North African countries decided to start joint research in Sahara to produce silicon using almost inexhaustible sand of Sahara. Tokyo University and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) agreed with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Algeria on the development project that extends to 2015. They already established a research organization for the project, and the research team is scheduled to open up the way for the technology in five years. They plan to mass produce silicon with a view to starting the generation business in the future. The expected technology changes oxide silicon contained in sand to silicon refined to higher than 99.9999% purity. Sahara’s sand hardly contains foreign particles, and is abundant in oxide silicon. As solar cells are spreading worldwide, there are concerns over the shortage of silicon. North African countries that place importance on photovoltaic generation as a promising industry in the future agreed with Japan on the necessity to develop the technology for future generation business in North Africa. JICA will invest 300 million yen. Besides Tokyo University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Hirosaki University, and National Institute for Materials Science will participate in the project.

No. 212: A camera system to trace a ball traveling at 200 km/h (December 15, 2010)

Professor Masatoshi Ishikawa of Tokyo University and his research team developed the ultrahigh-speed camera system that can trace a ball hit by a tennis racket traveling at a speed faster than 200 km/h. Theoretically, the system makes it possible to place a bullet of a pistol and an object running at the sound speed (about 340 meters per second) in the center of a camera frame. The team successfully developed the system by combining lenses and small mirrors that move quickly. The system can be used in a camera sensor that observes an object moving at a high speed and that covers a wide area independently. It is traditionally necessary to move the camera-mounted equipment itself to keep placing an object moving at a high speed in the center of a camera frame because the performance of the actuator is not enough. Moving two sheets of mirrors, each of which is about the size of half of a name card, to two directions is enough to operate the camera. This technology successfully downsized the actuator and allowed it to move at a high speed.