Environmental Management Environmental Sustainability Report 2004

Contribution to Environmental Protection through Products, Technologies and Services (3)

Recycle Recovery equipment for lead from lead dross         Shinko Mex Co., Ltd. http://www.shinkomex.co.jp/         In the lead remelting process at lead battery plants and other facilities, lead dross containing lead oxides as the main element are generated. To date, the dross was sold as scrap at a low price. The equipment recovers more than 500 kg of lead in the form of ingots from 1 ton of lead dross, meaning a 50% to 60% recovery rate. In addition to lead, the apparatus can handle various kinds of dross containing tin, zinc, solder, and other low-melting point metals. Lead recovery equipment Lead recovery equipment Recycling of Polyvinyl Chloride Kobelco Eco-Solutions Co., Ltd. http://www.kobelco-eco.co.jp/english/ Kobelco Eco-Solutions, which plays a central role in the environmental business of the Kobe Steel Group, and Nippon Solvay K. K. (Japanese corporation of Solvay S. A., a Belgium chemical manufacturer) established a joint venture called Kobelco Vinyloop East in January 2004 to undertake PVC recycling operations. PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) is used in a wide variety of areas including agricultural materials, construction and interior materials, electric wires, and water pipes. However, the recycling rate of PVC has been approximately 30% due to the difficulty in completely separating the PVC from other material. The new company separates 100% of the PVC from used agricultural vinyl sheets, scrap material generated in wall paper plants, wire covering material, using the Vinyloop Process developed by Solvay. Vinyloop Process Features 1) The recovered PVC, comparable to virgin material, can be reused. 2) Even the plasticizer and additives can be recovered. 3) In the Vinyloop Process, the chemical composition of the recycled PVC can be adjusted by adding the the plasticizer and additives. Resource Recovery from Used Automobiles     Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. http://www.kobelco-kenki.co.jp/english_index2.html     Resource recovery of construction waste and used automobiles is a pressing issue due to the lack of final disposal sites and resource recycling. Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. developed Japan’s first used automobile scrapping machine equipped with a stationary nibbler in 1979. Ever since, the company has consistently supplied new machines that offer improved workability and material separating capabilities, and has contributed to the recycling of used automobiles. In response to the Automobile Recycling Law which will become effective in 2005, Kobelco Construction Machinery supplies automobile dismantling machines, machines with lifting magnet attachments, and scrap loaders - all of which are built on a excavator base. New products to be added to the line up are end-of-life car reversers, dismantling machines, tire/wheel separation presses, and scrap car presses. The company will continue to develop cutting-edge recycling machines, capitalizing on its wealth of know-how and expertise and contribute to the building a recycling-based society. Click the image to enlarge Bamboo Recycled into Feed Shinko Engineering Co., Ltd. http://www.shinko-zoki.co.jp/en/index.html The wood waste pulverizing and recycling system, Shokusenki, developed by Shinko Engineering not only pulverizes wood wastes but also exposes their fibers by pressurizing and kneadingUsing this equipment, Shinko Engineering succeeded in processing bamboo into animal feed in cooperation with Hiroshima University. Bamboo is pulverized along the fibers, processed into a swollen cotton-like material, and is used as animal fodder. When 30% is mixed in with hay and given to sheep, the amount of feed the sheep eat increases 20% to30% as compared to hay alone and marked weight increase is achieved. Wood waste recycler Mechanism of the wood waste recycler   Before treatment / After treatment Bamboo processed into animal fodder   Wood Chips RPF System     Earth Technica Co., Ltd. http://www.earthtechnica.co.jp/english/     Earth Technica has developed the Multipress MAX which can process wood chips fromconstruction debris and hard plastics RPF (refuse paper & plastic fuel), a new kind of solid fuel. Conventional machines have found it difficult to process wood chips into RPF. By incorporating the Multipress MAX into Earth Technica's RPF facilities, materials with large load fluctuations such as wood chips can be efficiently processed. This greatly contributes to the recycling of wood chips. Wood chip RPF Water-permeable Concrete         Kobe Steel has developed a permeable concrete, Ash Bape, which utilizes coal ash. Porous sandy coal ash is mixed with cement and solidified. The concrete and is used as a paving material on the ground. Pores like on pumice stones function allow water to penetrate and the material to retain water. The material could contribute to alleviati the heat-island phenomenon found in urban areas. This technology is attracting keen attention from engineers and businesses as an effective method of utilizing coal ash, of which more than 8 million tons are produced annually. Water-permeable concrete