2020 年 7 巻 1 号 p. 88-104
This study reports outcomes of investigations of special-glaze-applied ceramic pieces and water which was treated with the ceramic pieces. The ceramic pieces were developed in 2000 and used for the purpose of environmental improvements. They were pieces of bisque fired ceramics manufactured with the application of a special glaze and were characterized by a porous structure. Investigations have confirmed diverse effects from the use of ceramic pieces such as water purification, bactericidal action and soil amelioration, although the mechanisms have not been identified. However, it has been clarified currently that cyanobacteria are proliferated in the ceramic periphery. Cyanobacteria produce oxygen via the fixation of nitrogen and carbon, which exist in water and soil. Cases with the use of ceramic pieces and the treated water indicated the effectiveness of odor decomposition, bactericidal activities, and the water quality improvement due to the reduction of biochemical oxygen demand (SOD). A theory could explain the mechanisms of these effects; that cyanobacteria of the ceramic enhances oxidation due to its oxygen production and induces these effects. Improvements of carbohydrate metabolism due to ceramic pieces were confirmed in C57BLKS/J Iar -＋Leprdb /+Leprdb, type 2 diabetes animal models , with the ingestion of ceramic-treated water. Mechanisms for this finding have not been identified. Soil improvement effects were observed for the salt pollution caused by the tsunami of the Great East Japan earthquake in 2011 and the radioactive contamination following the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station accident. The ceramic pieces have diverse effects and further influences can exert global-scale significance for environmental improvements and increased agricultural productivities.
