Press Releases

2017

April 3, 2017

Kurita Begins Selling CAPSULE ZERO KS, a New Package-Type Water Treatment Chemical for Small-Scale Cooling Water Systems
It has a long-lasting effect and realizes maintenance-free treatment with newly developed pills and capsules

Kurita Water Industries Ltd. (Head Office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; President: Michiya Kadota) will begin selling CAPSULE ZERO KS, a new package-type water treatment chemical, that will prevent the variety of damage that arises in a cooling water system by only putting it inside the cooling tower. As a new maintenance-free product that employs newly developed pills and capsules, Kurita will expand its application by positioning small-scale cooling water systems where chemical liquid is difficult to use as the market of focus.

It is common practice to address the damage caused by cooling water (falling refrigeration efficiency, infection of legionellosis, corrosion, etc.) in facilities such as chillers and refrigeration systems with liquid-type water treatment chemicals. However, in the small-scale cooling water market, it is rare to install an chemical injection unit because of some constraints such as chemical replenishing work and other maintenance, initial cost and installation space, and water treatment is not conducted in most cases. Therefore, Kurita worked to develop a new type of product that enables optimum water treatment that meets customer needs for small-scale cooling water systems in order to expand the application of water treatment chemicals in this market.

CAPSULE ZERO KS, which Kurita has recently developed, is a product that contains pills that solidify water treatment chemicals in uniquely developed containers (capsules). It arranges two kinds of bacteria elimination ingredients inside the pills, similarly to the groundbreaking LEGI//END® (*1) bacteria elimination technology, which Kurita launched in 2015. The correct amount of active chemical ingredients will dissolve into a cooling water system as a result of a certain amount of water dispersed from the upper part of the cooling tower flowing into the capsules. It employs unique multistage tablets (*2) and container shape and succeeded in promptly increasing the concentration of active ingredients to the prescribed level at the initial stage of use and maintaining the effects for a long time. This will maintain the state where legionella bacteria will not be detected in the cooling water system on a constant basis and prevent slime, scales (*3) and corrosion that could cause a fall in refrigeration efficiency and the failure of facilities from being generated.

In addition, because CAPSULE ZERO KS takes effect only by putting it inside of the cooling tower, the installation work of an chemical injection unit and chemical replenishing work is unnecessary. Once installed, it will be maintenance-free until it is replaced. The weight is light at approximately 700 g and the containers are compact (overall container size: W324 mm × D96 mm × H85mm). The containers are designed with a focus on usability in such a way that the top covers of the containers are transparent, so that the time for replacement (remaining amount of active chemical ingredients) can be seen at a glance.

Positioning CAPSULE ZERO KS with non-conventional functions and characteristics as a mainstay product for small-scale cooling water systems mainly in the building and air-conditioning markets, Kurita will provide customers with advantages such as no legionella bacteria, no maintenance and no falling refrigeration efficiency. We seek to expand revenue by developing latent markets in Japan and overseas through aggressive development.

  • *1:For details of LEGI//END®, please refer to the following press release.
    https://www.kurita.co.jp/aboutus/press150727.html
  • *2:The pill consists of two layers, with the first layer being fast-dissolving (dissolving and taking effect quickly) and the second layer being slow-dissolving (remains effective for a long time).
  • *3:Slime consists of contaminants formed by microbes such as underwater bacteria and algae. Scales are calcium or silica solid precipitates from water.

<Supplementary materials>

■Exterior view of CAPSULE ZERO KS

  • Size: W324mm × D96mm × H85mm
  • Weight: 700g
  • Material: Plastic

■Effects of CAPSULE ZERO KS

  • (1)Maintains a state where legionella bacteria do not increase and are not detected (10 CFU/100 mL or less).
    • Two kinds of biocides that remove biofilms that may be a hotbed for legionella bacteria and eliminate any floating in the water.
  • (2)Reduces the attachment of slime and other fouling.
    • Compared with our conventional products, CAPSULE ZERO KS reduces slime volume (slime) derived from microbes to one tenth. It also brings the increase in power costs close to zero by preventing the attachment of scales and others.
  • (3)Reduces corrosion
    • Corrosion inhibitor and the anti-fouling effect reduce steel corrosion to one fifth and prevent issues with metal corrosion.

■Characteristics of CAPSULE ZERO KS

  • (1)No installation work necessary.
    • As CAPSULE ZERO KS takes effect only by putting it in the cooling tower, the installation work of an chemical injection unit, etc., is unnecessary to begin treatment.
    • The standard amount of use is one unit per 30 RT (refrigeration ton).
  • (2)No maintenance is necessary once it is installed.
    • Concentration management, which is necessary for liquid-type chemicals, is unnecessary and replacement is also unnecessary for about three months.
      (A rough indication of the duration of the effect is 720 hours in a cooling tower operating for 90 days, for 8 hours a day)
    • You can check the remaining amount of active chemical ingredients from the top cover of the capsule, to see the time for replacement at a glance.