DESIGN WORLD in
Vision for the future
Toshiyuki Funaki CEO IDEC Corporation
Breakthrough technology: Creating new opportunities with ultrafine bubbles! Manufacturing control devices and systems for the past 70 years, IDEC has been able to capitalize on technologies accumulated over seven decades to create new business opportunities beyond factory automation. In recent years, we took a wide-ranging approach applying existing technologies and developing new technologies to find solutions for environmental and social needs centering on water, renewable energy, food and other elements essential to human survival. One of IDEC’s promising new technologies is the generation of ultrafine bubbles in liquid, which we named GaLF, short for Gas Liquid Foam. With respect to physical size, the term ultrafine bubble is defined by ISO Standards as a bubble with a diameter smaller than the wavelength of light. IDEC applied fluid dynamics and our control expertise to develop the GaLF system. The GaLF system automatically controls the utilization of ultrafine bubbles and is capable of producing air bubbles with a diameter of approximately 100 nanometers at a volume of over 100 million per milliliter of liquid. This is done at a stable rate, with the nanosize bubbles remaining in liquid for an extended time. They are electrically charged and highly pressurized. Our studies have shown these bubbles have unique characteristics and behaviors that have never been seen before.
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The special features of ultrafine bubbles have applications in many industries including food, cosmetics, chemical, medical, semiconductor and agriculture. As an early pioneer of this technology, IDEC began developing fine bubbles more than 20 years ago and has successfully applied the technology to purify contaminated soil and water, to make vegetables grow faster and more flavorful, to remove grease and oil from machine parts, to clean and separate silicon wafers for solar cells, and to wash people and pets with sensitive skin without the use of soap or shampoo. Companies in various industries are now experimenting with new applications using our equipment. Presently, Japan is leading this new industry, and IDEC is leading this fluid-dynamic based technology in size and volume of bubbles. The government-sponsored Fine Bubble Industries Association, which includes IDEC as a charter member, has been promoting the international standardization and commercial/ industrial applications of fine bubbles. This is important and urgently needed because there are so many fraudulent products in the market today, as these bubbles are not visible to the human eye or standard microscope. Once international standardization is adapted, this new innovative technology will lead to greater commercial and industrial applications on a global scale. IDEC is well positioned to be a leader in this exciting field.
October 2016
10/6/16 1:30 PM