April 15, 2008
Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp.

Launch of wastewater recycling business
- first order received for wastewater recycling service -
 
Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (AKCC) has launched a water recycling business, under which it will design, construct, own, and operate facilities to recycle industrial wastewater and supply high-quality industrial process water. The first order for the wastewater recycling service with this build-own-operate (BOO) business model was received for a project in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, and the business will be expanded throughout regions of Asia facing serious water supply problems.

AKCC's water treatment-related business is marked as a focus for growth in the Asahi Kasei Group's Growth Action – 2010 strategic management initiative. Its Microza™ hollow-fiber filtration membranes featuring high permeate flux and outstanding durability are used in a wide range of water-treatment applications, including at over 500 water treatment plants worldwide. Expansion of the new business providing water recycling as a service will complement the growth of the established business supplying high-performance Microza™ membrane modules and systems.

The outlook for demand for this service is promising. Many areas of China and Southeast Asia face severe water shortages, with rising prices for water from public supply systems and rising costs for additional water treatment to obtain high-quality process water becoming critical challenges for the operation of industrial facilities in these areas. The new business will provide a service which meets customer needs for stable, high-quality water recycling, while serving to alleviate water shortages and enhance water quality in many affected areas.

In addition to meeting the needs of individual corporate customers, a large-scale integrated wastewater recycling service will be made available to developers of large industrial parks, who would purchase recycled water in bulk for supply to individual plants. Strong demand is forecast for such integrated recycling service in support of infrastructure development in areas of Asia where water shortages are foreseeable, with a new business model enabling stable water supply while protecting the environment.

The wastewater recycling service is made possible through the outstanding filtration performance of AKCC's membranes together with operating technology and know-how based on broad experience with water-treatment systems. Comprehensive water-treatment facilities operation - encompassing design, construction, operational control, and maintenance - will enable customers to enjoy stable, low-cost utilization of high-quality industrial process water, with the latest technology constantly employed for highly efficient recycling.

The first project to utilize this service will also represent the first water-treatment facility to meet the city of Suzhou's new standard for at least 50% recycling of industrial wastewater at any new or expanded production facility.
 
Outline of the first wastewater recycling project on order
Location: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
User: Sony Chemicals (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
Supplier: Asahi Kasei Microza (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.
Wastewater recycling capacity: ≈1,700 tons/day
Start-up schedule: January 2009
 
Profile of Asahi Kasei Microza (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.
Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
President: Kazuo Katoh
Establishment: September 2005
Paid-in capital: ¥400 million
Shareholding: 100% by AKCC
Business fields: Production and sale of Microza™ hollow-fiber membrane modules, provision of water-treatment services
 
 

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