Kurita Water Develops Milestone in PFAS-free Ultrapure Water Piping for Cutting-edge Semiconductor Manufacturing
Kurita Water Industries Ltd. recently announced that it has made progress in realising piping and fittings for ultrapure water that do not contain fluorinated organic compounds (PFAS), by using a new material developed by the Environmental & Urban Infrastructure Company of Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
PFAS is a general term for artificially created organic fluorine compounds, which are used in a variety of products from industrial to consumer products due to their water- and oil-repellent properties and high chemical and heat resistance. However, some PFAS have been pointed out as being harmful, such as carcinogenic and affecting children’s growth, and in recent years, water quality and manufacturing regulations have been implemented mainly in Europe and the United States. In Japan, water quality standards and regular testing are scheduled to be established for PFOA and PFOS, which are particularly harmful among PFAS, from fiscal 2026.
The Kurita Group recognises the response to PFAS as one of the social issues related to water and the environment and is collecting and analysing multifaceted information on the impact of PFAS in its business areas and considering responses. In addition, it supports customers in solving problems related to PFAS analysis, treatment and disposal of treated materials based on its technical knowledge.
As part of these efforts, Kurita is working on the joint development of PFAS-free components for water treatment equipment and are engaged in dialogue with material and molding companies and user companies, prototyping of components and demonstration of prototypes using actual water treatment equipment at its group’s research and development and innovation creation centre, Kurita Innovation Hub.
In addition to these backgrounds, the cutting-edge semiconductor industry, which is advancing with ultra-fine processing, requires piping materials that leach as little inorganic and organic matter as possible from piping, etc. Therefore, in collaboration with Sekisui Chemical, Kurita has been examining materials for low-leachable ultrapure water piping, etc., as an alternative to conventional organic fluororesin (PVDF), and as a result, Sekisui Chemical has newly developed a special olefin resin piping material. After that, it proceeded with the verification of prototype piping and fittings using this material, and in tests using ultrapure water production equipment at KIH conducted from November 2022, confirmed that the same performance as PVDF piping was achieved in evaluation items such as leachability, fine particle dust generation and gas permeability. Furthermore, Kurita has worked with Sekisui Chemical to improve this material from the perspective of PFAS and has made progress in making PFAS-free piping and fittings for ultrapure water.
In the future, to expand the scope of testing with a view to practical application, Kurita will proceed with preparations to introduce PFAS-free piping for ultrapure water to the ultrapure water production equipment of multiple users, including overseas. In addition to water treatment equipment, including ultrapure water production for semiconductor manufacturing processes, it will continue to promote joint development with material and molding companies and user companies as an effort to contribute to making other equipment and parts, including plants in general, PFAS-free.
Kurita Group will continue to contribute to the realisation of a sustainable society by creating technologies, products and services, and business models that provide new value to customers and society, making full use of the knowledge about water that it has cultivated since its founding, and by solving social issues related to water and the environment.