Japan composites technology

The field of composite liquids has not received much attention outside the industries associated with specific liquid products (e.g., the petroleum industiy). In areas such as lubrication, the United States has clear technological leadership. The situation is less clear for liquid crystals and adhesives, where there is greater competition from Europe and Japan. 

Sasaki, H. and Kawai, S. (1994). Recent research and development work on composites in Japan. Wood Science and Technology, 28(4), 241-248. 

By making use of the Internet I have searched all over the world for photographs of ceramic composite structures. In the end I received some from Mr K. Yoshida of the Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. These are photographs... 

Following the technological breakthroughs which led to the discovery of (1) the liquid crystalline behavior ofpara-oriented aramids26 and (2) a novel method for spinning anisotropic liquid crystalline polymer solutions,27 Kevlar aramid fiber was produced and commercialized by the DuPont company in 1972. Other fibers based on aromatic polyamide compositions, which were produced and commercialized by other companies, were Technora (Teijin, Japan), Teijinconex (Teijin, Japan), andTwaron (Akzo, The Netherlands). Additionally, SVM is a fiber produced in the Former Soviet Union and it was announced in 1990 that a new aramid fiber had been introduced by Hoechst, in Germany. 

In February 2006, Japan s Mitsubishi Motors announced that it is to use the biopolymer, polybutylene succinate (PBS), in the interior of its new mini-car launched next year. In conjunction with Aichi Industrial Technology Institute, it has developed a material that uses PBS combined with bamboo fibre. PBS is composed of succinic acid, which is derived from fermented corn or cane sugar, and 1,4-butanediol. Bamboo grows quickly and is seen by Mitsubishi as a sustainable resource. In lifecycle tests, the PBS-bamboo fibre composite achieves a 50% cut in carbon dioxide emissions compared with polypropylene. Volatile organic compound levels are also drastically reduced, by roughly 85%, over processed wood hardboards. 

The technology developed by NKK Corporation in Japan to produce DME from coal-bed methane is shown in Fig. 4. The process scheme consists of four sections syngas reformer, carbon dioxide removal, DME synthesis, and DME separation/purification. Because the H2/CO ratios of synthesis gas obtained by the coal gasification range from 0.5 to 1.0, the gas composition is adjusted by the shift reaction so that... 

Most of the emphasis in this section has focused on the expanding boundaries of patent art and technology, and ascertaining its impact on future (liquid) detergent compositions. The laundry detergent markets in the U.S., Europe, and Japan... 

About 1.4 million tons of sodium chloride (edible salt)/year has been produced in Japan since 1972 by the electrodialytic concentration of seawater. This technology has been exported to Korea, Taiwan and Kuwait. After seawater is concentrated up to about seven times or more its initial concentration by electrodialysis, an optimal concentration from an economic viewpoint, sodium chloride is produced by evaporating the concentrated solution. Table 6.4 shows a typical composition of the concentrated solution.51 In this process, monovalent cation and anion permselective ion exchange membranes have been used. This technology was developed in Japan to produce sodium chloride by the electro-... 

Maruyama et al.[57] of Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, reported COj sensing characteristics of galvanic cells composed of Na" conductor like NASICON or P-Al Oj, and NajCOg as an auxiliary electrode. The cell composition is expressed as follows. 

The history of the research and development of polymer-impregnated mortar and concrete is the shortest of the concrete-polymer composites. The process technology for the polymer-impregnated mortar and concrete was developed by applying the concept of wood-polymer composites to cement mortar and concrete in the late 1960s. Their research and development were actively conducted in the United States [12], the European countries [13-14] and Japan [15-16] from the late 1960s to the 1970s. 

T. Takata, Japan Research Institute of Material Technology, Composite Materials and Interfaces (in Japanese), pp, 162-170, Sogogijyutu-Shuppan, Tokyo, 1986. 

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