■Operation of experimental facilities for high concentration methane fermentationin small scale wastewater treatment plants- Achieving sludge volume reduction and energy recovery via methane fermentation Water Quality Control Department Wastewater and Sludge Management Division

We have started operating experimental facilities for highconcentration methane fermentation in small scale wastewater
treatment plants that allow sludge volume reduction andenergy recovery.

Methanefermentation tank

The construction and trial run of the facilities was performed in 2018, and it
could be verified that, in comparison to technologies employed so far,construction costs were about 45% lower, while site area required was about
30% smaller.

Unitized facilities
Picture External view of digestion and power generation facilities
In 2019, upon operating the facilities uninterruptedly and obtaining data foreach season of the year, we plan to collect information regarding
management and maintenance, while also attempting to obtain treatment
performance data. Foreseeing the diffusion of the technology, we also plan toformulate introduction guidelines based on the information obtained.

More information

With the objective of preventing such daily life accidents in buildings, since2009 we at NILIM have been publishing on NILIM’s website a “Knowledge basefor prevention of accidents in buildings”, which compiles prevention measuresand examples of daily life accident in buildings aimed mainly towardarchitects.
This time, as a means of improving provision of information for those who
utilize or manage buildings, we have applied the information from the“Knowledge base for prevention of accidents in buildings” to create andpublish a list of checkpoints to prevent daily life accidents in apartmentbuildings.
The list is comprised of 7 checkpoints that require attention in order toprevent daily life accidents in apartment buildings such as people slipping,falling over or falling down, and contains both explanations and illustrations
that may serve as reference even for those living in detached houses. We hope
this material can be widely diffused in order to make apartment buildings
more safe and secure, eliminating daily life accidents.

Handrail with large gap between balusters

Unstable handrail due to deterioration

Waist-level window with no guardrail

Accidents such as these have been occurring:
Example 1

A person who was clearing branches and leaves from the rooftop fell to the ground due to lack ofhandrail (fence).

Example 2A 1 year old child fell down from the 6th floor through the gap of the balcony handrail.

Example 3

A person who lost balance on the 2nd floor balcony grabbed the aluminum handrail, but fell
together with it because the balusters came off.

Example 4

A 1 year old child climbed on shelves and cardboard boxes to reach the window and pushed
the window screen, falling together with it.

Fig. Excerpt from the list of checkpoints (Handrail to prevent falls)

More information

While in other countries infrastructure-related research institutions are often
divided in several organizations by field of expertise, NILIM differs itself byuniting several research departments under a single organization, being able
to conduct cross-field research activities. The video produced this time ismeant to convey such special characteristics.
The complete promotional video was presented at the Civil Engineering
Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR8)’s exhibition booth.

Scenes from the PR video (sediment disaster support in Sri Lanka)
Among other topics introduced in the video, tidal waves and ICT also
seemed to gather the interest of foreign visitors.
After the session at CECAR8, the same video has also been made available on
NILIM’s English website.
More information
Published on NILIM English website’s top page
http://www.nilim.go.jp/english/eindex.htm

Wastewater and Sludge Management Division HP

Building Department Standards and Accreditation System Division

According to vital statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, in2017 a total of 3,614 people have died in or around buildings (includingapartment buildings) due to falling down, falling over or slipping; adding tothis those who were simply injured, we can see the number of people who
suffer daily life accidents in buildings is extremely large.

We have made a promotional video (in English) to introduce
various research activities to overseas researchers andengineers. The video was uploaded to the website and wasalso presented at the exhibition booth of CECAR8, held
between the 16th and 18th of April.

The video introduces the large variety of research topics approached at eachdepartment, with an overview of NILIM and its mission, so that a general
picture of the institute can be conveyed in a short time. In particular, it
presents many topics on collaborative research with foreign institutions, andour support in response to natural disasters abroad.

■ Announcing a list of checkpoints to prevent daily life accidents in apartment buildings

We have announced a list of checkpoints to prevent daily life
accidents for people living in apartment houses, such as falls
inside the building, including falling down the stairs or fromhigh places.

Planning and Research Administration Department International Research Division

Though at NILIM we already publish research activities for international
visitors on the English website, now we have also created a promotional videoin English so that overseas researchers and engineers, and administrative
officials may further get to know NILIM and the content of our activities.

Though with methane fermentation technologies (one of the existing
technologies for sludge treatment) it is possible to recover the methane gas
produced due to sludge volume reduction as energy, often there is a
profitability problem for small scale treatment plants. In order to solve thisissue, NILIM is conducting experimental research on “high concentration
methane fermentation with low cost, low energy for small scale treatment
plants”, as part of the B-DASH Project (verification operations for innovative
wastewater system technologies).
By combining high concentration methane fermentation technologies andsludge concentration technologies, we promote the introduction of methane
fermentation technologies for small scale wastewater treatment plants thatmake both the methane fermentation tank and the power generation facilities(whose output can be controlled based on the amount of methane gasproduced) more compact, and that also unify gas purification devices andpower generation facilities, contributing to lowering sludge treatment costs
via sludge volume reduction and energy recovery.

■ Release of video for overseas promotion (English version) and exhibition at CECAR8NILIM HP (List of checkpoints to prevent daily life
accidents in apartment buildings)■ Compilation of a set of proposals regarding “new port town planning”.
Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department Coastal Zone Systems Division
A set of proposals regarding new port town planning efforts
for a society facing population decline has been compiled by
the Coastal Zone Systems Division’s secretariat research group.
Promenades and open cafés or restaurants facing pleasure boats, albeit
commonplace in the Western world, as of yet are hardly found in Japan’s ports.
Though Japan’s coastal zones (ports and seashores) do have attractive
waterside local resources, it cannot yet be said in the least that they are being
effectively used. With the current population decline, it is important to devise
ways to improve and revitalize each region, also increasing the number ofvisitors, via spatial formation design that can create beautiful and pleasantcoastal zones, rediscovering and effectively utilizing regional waterside
resources. In “PORT 2030”, a mid- and long-term concept for ports and harbors
that has been announced In July, 2018, “spatial formation” measures were also
regarded as one of the primary concerns.

Among such can be listed:・New state of spatial formation in coastal zones for a society facing
population decline;
・Points that require attention when planning spatial formation;
・Compilation of proposals upon consideration of necessary measures etc.
(to be announced within May).
Also, from 2019 onwards we hope to consider guidelines regarding
inspection, planning, and spatial formation methods while advancing on-site
support to actual port town planning projects.

For that reason, in the end of 2018 we have started a “Research group for
new port town planning” (sponsored by the Waterfront Vitalization andEnvironment Research Foundation, with secretariat formed by the Coastal
Zone Systems Division), composed of experts, each related division of this
Ministry, and related foundations, and have since been making considerations
regarding the state of new port town planning.

Citizens relaxing at promenade adjacent to a marina (Saint-Raphaël, France)
More information
Coastal Zone Systems Division HP
http://www.ysk.nilim.go.jp/kakubu/engan/enganiki/index.html

23