Environmental Contribution through Surface Modification Technologies -- Surface Modification Changes the Future --

What is surface modification?

All materials have a surface. Surface modification is a technology that alters only the boundary in contact with the outside world -- in other words, the surface -- without changing the material's inherent characteristics. With this technology, we can develop or significantly alter the original characteristics of a material, occasionally imparting properties that are precisely the opposite of the original ones.

For example, forming a thin film on a steel surface prevents rusting. Meanwhile, steel becomes harder by modifying the depth from the surface to a few micrometers (μm) level, and it prevents wear. In other words, surface modification makes extending the life of materials possible.

Surface modification is derived from the accumulated knowledge of people caring for things. It is a technology that truly embodies the concept of sustainability.

Environmental Contribution through Surface Modification Technologies

What if there were no surface modification technologies?

In recent years, climate change caused by global warming has begun to significantly impact not only people’s lives but also the ecosystems of all living creatures. Now more than ever, we need to create a sustainable society. So what can we do in the industrial segment? We are considering two concepts to enable sustainable social development: “the right material in the right place” and “longevity”.
It has been more than 5,000 years since humans began using metals. We will continue to use metals as beneficial materials from the perspective of using “the right material in the right place”. However, it is also true that refining metals from ore consumes a large amount of energy and emits GHGs (greenhouse gases). Our challenge is to identify how to use the metal materials we have obtained with care and continue to use them over the long term. In other words, it is about protecting metals from corrosion (chemical loss) and wear and tear (mechanical loss).

腐食や摩耗の例：腐食の進んだ自動車写真

According to estimates by the Japan Society of Corrosion Engineering, corrosion costs in Japan amount to JPY4.3 trillion per year to prevent corrosion (corrosion cost).^*1, assuming the corrosion cost and metal losses (converted from monetary values) are equal. These losses must be replaced; such replacement would result in an additional 80 million tons of CO₂ emissions during manufacturing, according to our calculations. On a global scale, this amounts to as much as 3.8 billion tons of emissions, equivalent to 11% of global CO₂ emissions^*2. On the other hand, friction and wear cost^*3 are also shown in advanced countries. Using this figure to calculate the metal loss in Japan and assuming that this loss must be recovered, as much as 80 million tons of CO₂, equivalent to corrosion, will be emitted in the manufacturing process.
As such, it is clear that current corrosion prevention and wear resistance technologies protect metal materials from corrosion and wear, thereby contributing to reduced CO₂ emissions.

*1: Japan Society of Corrosion Engineering and Japan Association of Corrosion Control, Cost of Corrosion in Japan (2020)
*2: Energy Institute, CO₂ emissions (EI statistics)
*3: K. Holmberg:Tribology International, 135, 389-396（2019）

Corrosion cost in Japan

(Cost of rust and corrosion prevention)

¥4.3trillion

Metallic wear in Japan

(Chemical wear + mechanical wear)

160million tons