Environment and Energy Business

We engage in integrated low-cost soil purification projects, including survey, purification, and verification of soil and groundwater polluted with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) and heavy metals at factory sites.

Panasonic provides an advanced bio-remediation service that makes use of the microbes living in the soil in a method of recovering soil/groundwater contaminated by chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs). In this process, we put Amteclean, a nutrient salt made from palm oil, into the soil/groundwater. It activates the CVOC decomposition functions of the microbes living there. Although this new method requires a longer period than excavating the contaminated soil and replacing it with clean one, it has less effect on ecosystems and is more affordable.

It is essential that the decomposing bacteria are present in the soil/groundwater for the remediation process to work. Although conventional methods have been unable to identify the optimum type and amount of decomposing bacteria, Microarray Technology,^* developed in 2005, enables us to determine the presence of suitable decomposing bacteria and identify 22 types of bacteria in a single test.

• * Developed in collaboration with Gifu University and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.