Riken Technos Develops Resin Products Using Calcium Carbonate Derived from Landfill Leachate in Collaboration with Waseda University and Midac HD

Riken Technos Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Kazuaki Tokiwa) has developed resin products using calcium carbonate derived from leachate generated at industrial waste landfills, in collaboration with the Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory at Waseda University and Midac Holdings Co., Ltd. This initiative aims to simultaneously achieve sustainability and the effective utilization of carbon dioxide.

Riken Technos manufactures and sells compound products using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and thermoplastic elastomers, as well as various film products. Fillers such as calcium carbonate are used in these compound products to control their properties. While calcium carbonate is typically obtained through mining, this project focuses on calcium carbonate produced during the treatment process of leachate at landfill sites.

Calcium carbonate produced by reacting calcium ions in leachate with carbonate ions has traditionally been discarded. This technology not only reuses this waste as a resource but also utilizes CO2 emitted during waste incineration as a source of carbonate ions, contributing to the fight against global warming.

In this tripartite collaboration, Waseda University handled material analysis and basic evaluation; Midac Holdings provided the raw materials and studied the processes; and Riken Technos conducted productization studies and safety evaluations. The results demonstrated that the recovered calcium carbonate can be used equivalently to commercially available products as a filler for resins.

Moving forward, the companies will establish a framework for commercial utilization and explore applications in various resins, including PVC. The developed product is scheduled to be exhibited at the 'Automotive Engineering Exposition 2026 YOKOHAMA' at Pacifico Yokohama from May 27th to 29th, 2026.