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- Interview with Researchers “Simitri Toner”
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Environmental Technologies
- Mr. Shirose, please tell me about your job.
- I oversee toner development in general. I am also in charge of the development of developers and carriers (materials that carry toners within copiers, printers and MFPs).
- I have heard that Simitri toner (polymerized toner) developed by Konica Minolta has outstanding environmental performance.
- Simitri toner has reduced the energy consumption during the production process by approximately 40% as compared with conventional toners produced in the kneading and pulverizing method. This has led to a reduction in CO2, which contributes to global warming. In 2006, we began to employ Simitri HD toner, which has enabled users to reduce their energy consumption by about 15% and has excellent environmental performance in terms of the manufacturing process. In other words, Simitri HD toner is designed to ensure energy conservation from manufacturing to use.
- In what mechanism has energy-saving been achieved?
- To put it simply, energy consumption is curbed by simplifying the production process. Before their completion, conventional toners manufactured in the kneading and pulverizing method must go through many processes: resin production, drying, melting, kneading, and finally pulverizing. On the other hand, Simitri toner is produced in a one-shot production process, in which resin is produced while configuring the toner. Therefore Simitri toner can be produced with less energy. Moreover, Simitri HD toner particles are soft on the inside but hard on the outside, so that they can be fused at lower temperatures when used.
- What difficulties did you have in developing these toners?
- Actually, when we succeeded in saving energy in the production process, it was not our primary purpose. In the course of pursing a structure and production method that is effective in precise image rendering, extra elements were removed so that we were able to reduce energy consumption. In fact, in the field of toner development, we have often experienced cases where favorable environmental results can be obtained by improving performance, or environmentally sound development results in performance improvement. By contrast, we had difficulty in developing Simitri HD toner. The toner particles should be soft on the inside to ensure that the toner is easily soluble. However, to enhance image quality, the outside of the particles should be hard. This is because to arrange the toner in the intended places on the paper, it is necessary that the respective particles can be spread out without adhering to each other. We wanted to create such toner particles that are hard on the outside but soft on the inside, without giving up a short production process. After much trial and error, we finally succeeded in efficiently realizing the core-shell configuration (dual structure) making use of the chemical force.
- What do you think should be kept in mind while developing environmentally sound products?
- Taking the development of Simitri HD toner as an example, we can be successful by just softening the particles, if we are to improve environmental soundness alone. However, we developed the core-shell configuration in order to add usability, and also pursued efficient production processes. In so doing, we provide our customers with advantages in terms of energy-saving, quality and cost. I believe that it is our social responsibility, as a manufacturer of today, to develop products that meet all these environmental, quality and cost requirements. If we cannot meet these three requirements, our products will not be accepted by customers.
- Did your personal environmental awareness change after this experience of product development?
- Since I like mountain hiking, I have always been interested in environmental issues. Although previously my interest was more focused on environmental pollution and waste problems, the development of the above technologies has provided me with a distinctive opportunity to consider environmental soundness in terms of energy use. While we should pursue zero waste and zero environmental pollution, it would be difficult to realize a society where no energy is used. If we cannot achieve zero energy consumption, at least we should try to minimize energy consumption. With this awareness in mind, I have acquired new habits of, for example, disconnecting appliances wherever appropriate.
- What are your plans for the future?
- Simitri toner is a rare product in that its improved performance will also contribute to the preservation of the environment. I therefore hope to further evolve this product. As well, I expect that our attempts to lengthen the service life of various consumable products, not limited to toners, will continue in the future as an ongoing aim. Since long-life products are preferable not only in the environmental aspect, but also in the usability aspect, I wish to focus our future efforts on the development of such products.
