The Combination of Two Natural Materials Significantly Improves Turbidity Treatment Performance

~ On-site Demonstration of Environmentally Friendly Turbid Water Treatment Filter ‘Fiblock™’~

Nippon Paper Industries Co.,Ltd.

Nippon Paper Industries Co.,Ltd.(head office : Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,President and Representative Director: Akira Sebe) and Toda Corporation Co., Ltd. (head office : Chuo-ku, Tokyo,President and Representative Director: Kiyosuke Otani) have announced that they will develop a special pulp (“Minerpa^®developed by Nippon Paper Industries Co.,Ltd.) using naturally derived plants as the main raw material.”¹) and wood chipsand packed with a mesh net to collect suspended solids in the construction muddy water“Fibelock ^TM”^*2developed. This time, we conducted an on-site demonstration of this technology at Toda Corporation's construction site and confirmed its effectiveness, including improving the amount of suspended solids (SS) treated and the sustainability of the effect compared to conventional products.

*1What is Minerpa^®?
Minerpa^®, which was born from the renewable resource“Wood”, is ainnovative materialsthat can Employee Retention in organic substances (minerals) in pulp and impart functions such as deodorization, antibacterial, flame retardant, and X-ray shielding.

*2 A coined word that combines Fiber + Five + Block

1. Development Background

In conventional work sites, suspended solids (SS) contained in construction turbidity water generated are treated by separating them into moisture and residue using flocculating precipitants such as PAC (polyaluminum chloride), sulfuric acid bands (aluminum sulfate), and polymer compounds^*3. Among the flocculating precipitants used at this time, many polymer compounds are used to show fish toxicity in the aquatic environment, and there are concerns about the impact on the environment due to excessive use.

Therefore, as an effort to solve the above issues, the two companies have jointly developed a filter composed of natural materials that capture suspended solids in turbid water during construction work and verified its effectiveness.

*3 Suspended solids in water repel each other and are difficult to sink. PAC and sulfuric acid bands can be separated from water by suppressing their repulsion to form small lumps, and polymer compounds bind them together to form a precipitating lump.

2. Features of This Technology

The features of this technology are as follows.

(1) Two types of natural materials, special pulp (processed to make it easier to adsorb SS in muddy water) and wood chips(to improve the water permeability of the filter), are mixed with appropriate mixture ratios and densities to achieve both collection efficiency and sustainability of the effect.

(2) Installed as a precursor to flocculation and precipitation treatment, the amount of flocculant used can be reduced.

(3) It has a flexible shape (photo 2), so it can be installed according to the dimensions and shape of the installation site.

(4) The weight is about 10 kg/piece (product dimensions: 450×1000×150mm) and can be handled with one hand, making it easy to handle.

(5) By installing it in a sedimentation tank or notch tank for turbid water storage at the work site, the concentration of suspended solids can be reduced by about 60%.

3. Demonstration in Outdoor Fields

In an outdoor site, a field demonstration was conducted comparing this technology with a conventional product made of other natural materials, and the following results were obtained.

[Demonstration results]

When the difference between the turbidity of the raw water and the turbidity of the water treated through the filter was accumulated, it was confirmed that the adsorption amount of suspended solids in fiber lock was about 2.2 times that of conventional products.
The period until the processing capacity reaches the limit was 38 days for the conventional product, while the period for Fiblock was 46 days, and the duration of the effect of Fibloc was confirmed to be about 1.2 times under the conditions of this demonstration.

The turbidity of the water after the water flow treatment of Fiblock and conventional products was measured (1 time/h), and the cumulative turbidity difference with the raw water measured at the same time was compared as the cumulative turbidity difference (NTU).

4. Future development

With the slogan“SHAPING THE FUTURE WITH TREES”as its Slogan, Nippon Paper Industries Co.,Ltd. has expanded its application range from pulping technology to nano-(miniaturization) technology and chemical modification technology, creating new possibilities for“Wood”. We will continue to develop into a wide applications.

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