Technology Development

During World War II, we were the first in Japan to establish an industrial process for alginate.
At that time, the equipment for making alginate could not be purchased, and a handmade production line was improved by combining equipment from a sake brewery, a soy sauce factory, and a wastewater treatment plant. The original manufacturing method which minimized energy consumption was ridiculed as old-fashioned, but now it is highly regarded as an environmentally friendly and sustainable production method.
This founding spirit is still being passed on.
While inheriting the "creative production style that is not harmful to people and the environment" which our elders have built over time, we continue the challenge of technological innovation to produce high-quality products at lower costs, with less environmental impact.

In 2014, we established the world's first factory manufacturing alginate for drug injection and succeeded in commercializing "low endotoxin alginate".
"Low endotoxin alginate" is alginate with sufficiently reduced endotoxin (hyperthermic substance) which can be directly administered into the body by injection, etc., and its practical application has expanded this use of alginate.
KIMICA's low endotoxin alginate is also attracting attention in advanced research such as regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinters, and is playing an active role globally as a material which can save lives, protect health, and relieves pain.
General endotoxin-reducing technology (techniques to remove endotoxin) cannot be applied to alginate, due to its unique physical characteristics.
Heat treatment is detrimental to alginate physical properties and alginate cannot be passed through a filtration device due to its viscosity.
Low endotoxin reduction under these constraints was exactly "a technology developed in-house"; our technical staff gathered knowledge and developed a manufacturing method from scratch.
This case can be said to embody the "original R & D spirit", that has been passed down since the company was founded.

In addition to improving manufacturing methods and quality, it is essential to establish analytical techniques which correctly evaluate materials in the medical field such as low endotoxin alginate. Alginate, which is a polymer extracted from natural seaweed, is difficult to standardize because of its polydispersity.
In addition, each alginate method is unique, and requires adjustment of its unique performance to achieve practical application.
In order to realize such difficult quality control, advanced analysis technology, which has excellent accuracy, reproducibility and is specialized for alginate, is required. It is not enough to simply have expensive analytical instruments, but highly trained staff having a correct understanding of alginate characteristics devising accurate evaluation methods whilst maintaining an eye on practical properties.
At KIMICA, we are working to establish original analytical techniques which are suitable for product evaluation, while fully evaluating the validity of the test method itself. This is also one of the research and development areas which can only be performed by those more familiar with alginate.

Processed foods are constantly evolving as lifestyles change. Foods which were thought impossible such as bread that does not harden even when refrigerated, noodles that can be eaten without boiling, eggs that cannot be boiled even when heated, have been realized supporting our rich and healthy eating habits.
In addition, food is undergoing a major overhaul towards the realization of a sustainable society.
In order to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases and make the best use of natural resources, materials which have not been used in conventional food culture, such as vegetable proteins, edible insects, and cultured meat, are now being developed into delicious foods.
Alginate is used in many processed foods using these completely new ingredients. In order to evaluate our products in new food development, we need food processing technology that can be proposed from the same perspective as food engineers.
In its food laboratory, KIMICA has various equipment for food processing, operated by skilled personnel and provides data and samples which can be evaluated by customers.
KIMICA fully promotes the merits of its own products such as alginate, and contributes to the development of new processed foods by extensive trials with customers.