PSF (Paper Sludge Floc)
PSF is an inorganic environmental water treatment agent in powdered form made mainly from the ash of paper sludge that has been incinerated.
Our inorganic environmental treatment agent PSF reacts effectively across a wide pH range, so no pH adjustment is necessary to use the product. The high-performance PSF treatment agent rapidly separates both cloudy and muddy water into clear water and impurities that quickly solidify without any stickiness, making disposal an easy task. It allows simple treatment using a single treatment agent, getting rid of the need of additional coagulants and coagulant aids (such as pH adjusters).
Flocs quickly form after only one to two minutes of agitation. Treatment using PSF takes only twenty to thirty minutes, making it a much faster alternative to standard treatment methods which can take up to several hours. The amount of PSF required depends on water quality, but as a general rule, 0.1% to 0.5% of the volume of water to be treated will ensure the best performance. Also, when treating raw water that contains humic substances such as humic acid and fulvic acid, using PSF before treatment with chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite can result in a higher removal rate of impurities and prevent the formation of by-products such as trihalomethane generated by chlorine oxidation. On sites where it is difficult to secure water for daily use, such as in disaster zones, PSF provides a simple way to secure safe water from locally available sources using items such as buckets, t-shirts, and sticks.
Additionally, PSF is invaluable for treatment of industrial water, which generally uses tap water, groundwater, or stagnant water. In most cases, a simple filter and purifier system is used, leading to high costs and a significant impact on the environment due to disposed filters. PSF addresses this issue by reducing the number of steps and filters used, while still catching and filtering out unwanted substances.
The process for water treatment with PSF vs the standard treatment method
Easy to Handle
In quality tests of water treated with PSF, no toxic substances, such as dioxins or cadmium, were detected. This demonstrates that PSF is safe not only for treating wastewater and industrial water, but also for first-stage treatment of raw water for daily use and drinking.
PSF is easy to use and greatly reduces the needed equipment and steps for water treatment. Simply add PSF and stir in a tank, filter using a cloth, and you have a tank of treated water. Conventional methods require sand filtration, microfiltration, and several chemicals such as oxidizing agents and inorganic flocculants.
By treating raw water intended for drinking with our PSF treatment agent first, followed by additional chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite, we offer a means to meet different countries’ water quality standards with one easy solution. The PSF agent is in powder form, making it easy to handle and easy to store. PSF can be stored for one to three years depending on the storage method used. Our water treatment method can greatly simplify the facilities required, cut maintenance costs, and significantly reduce environmental impact.
PSF can be used for processing returned concrete in a mixer
Water for Use in Homes, Offices, Hotels, and More
Generally speaking, “water for daily use” refers to water used in offices, hotels, restaurants etc. But the PSF-treated water our method provides is mainly for domestic use in homes. The per-capita volume of water for daily use varies greatly by country, but in Japan it is about 214 liters a day (2019 figures). Of this, water for the actual daily use cases of washing cars, washing dishes, and showering account for around 50 liters per-capita, per day.
PSF handles both water for daily use and water for industrial use. In treating industrial water, a complex series of filtrations and added chemicals, PH adjusters, and coagulation aids are needed on top of the coagulant itself. PSF, on the other hand, does not require PH adjusters, allowing both water for daily use and industrial water to be treated quickly with PSF alone. By treating water with PSF, it filters out dissolved metals such as zinc, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and other toxic metals that come from industrial wastewater.
Before and after of river water treated using PSF
Producing Drinking Water to Meet National Safety Standards
In Japan, water quality standards for domestic water include twenty-three different items that must be met. When river water is used, the number of items that must be met is even fewer. This is because raw water taken from rivers contains relatively low amounts of substances. As a result the items do not apply when substances are not detected during analysis of the raw water. Therefore, the actual number of applicable items is even fewer. When, for various reasons such as industrial dumping of waste into rivers, river water contains toxic metals and other substances such as arsenic, iron, manganese or humic substances, PSF can remove most of them. Chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite can then be added to remove bacteria and produce drinking water to meet various countries' quality standards.