Silent Microbes Strike Back: Innovations in Biological Treatment Technology in Wastewater Treatment and Water Environment Policy in the 1990s (ca. 1995)

Silent Microbes Strike Back: Innovations in Biological Treatment Technology in Wastewater Treatment and Water Environment Policy in the 1990s (ca. 1995)

In 1995, Japanese industry was entering a period of "post-pollution conquest. Following the wave of serious water pollution lawsuits that occurred during Japan's period of rapid economic growth and the passage of the Basic Environment Law in the 1970s, environmental standards were tightened and business responsibility was clarified. The most notable of these was the tightening of regulations on factory wastewater, and the effluent standards were raised in stages based on the Water Pollution Control Law, forcing companies to reorganize their "purification technology.

Under these circumstances, there was renewed interest in "biological treatment technology," which utilizes the power of microorganisms, rather than the conventional chemical treatment of wastewater. Among these, the "activated sludge process," which uses aerobic bacteria to decompose organic matter in sewage, is a classic method that has been improved and introduced in many fields, including food processing, paper manufacturing, and dyeing factories. It was reevaluated as a technology to efficiently treat wastewater with high BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) by stimulating microbial activity through the supply of air.

The "biological membrane method," in which microorganisms are attached to the surface of carriers for treatment, also attracted attention. This method is often maintained in an aerobic environment, and since it is relatively space-saving and easy to manage, its application in small- and medium-scale factories and municipal sewage treatment plants is expanding. Furthermore, the anaerobic digestion method, which does not require oxygen, has the advantage of producing methane gas during the decomposition of organic matter, which can be recovered as energy.

In 1995, the term "sustainability" was being used to refer to the industrialization of the country, and the concept of "sustainability" was becoming a new word in Japan. The term "sustainability" was finally beginning to penetrate the industrial world in 1995, and this microorganism-based treatment technology was a symbol of an era in which humans and nature were working together to deal with the environment.

This was a time when the power of microorganisms working quietly but surely was at the forefront of protecting Japan's water. It was an ethical landscape in which science and technology and life resonated with each other.