Yuzuyu
As you know, the winter solstice is the day when the length of the day is the shortest and the length of the night is long in the year.
It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 270° and nowadays, we set the date on 22nd of December in Japan (21st December in Europe).
There is a custom in Japan since EDO-era on winter solstice called “Yuzuyu”, which is taking a bath with yuzu fruit floating in the bathtub. Yuzu is a type of citrus fruit native to eastern Asia, similar to grapefruit and mandarins.
It is said that if we have a Yuzuyu, we won’t catch a cold.
There was also a purpose to ward off evil with the strong citrus aroma fragrance in winter.
To prepare Yuzuyu, just cut 5 to 6 whole yuzu into half and float them in bathtub.
Like all citrus fruits, yuzu has a refreshing scent and has the effect of moisturizing dry skin in winter.
Essential oil particles such as limonene contained in the yuzu peels dissolve in the hot water, covering the keratin of the skin with a membrane preventing the loss of moisture in the skin.
Commissioning Service at Al Silal STP, the United Arab Emirates
VOLUTE™ Dewatering Press ES-202-SA-CE and Kozegho Powder Polymer make-up system was installed and commissioned last month in the United Arab Emirates.
Al Silal Sewage Treatment Plant belongs to Dubai Municipality and HI STAR WATER SOLUTION LLC, an operation company of HITACHI was responsible for the installation and commissioning of dewatering press. The plant capacity is 1000m3/day and the treatment process is conventional activated sludge process.
During the commissioning, we have realized that the sludge condition was not fresh and in fact the sludge has been kept for some periods of time, however, we were all amazed when we realized the outcome done by VOLUTE™ as follows:
Operation Results
Wastewater Treatment Process | Conventional Activated Sludge Process |
Plant Capacity | 1000m3/day |
Total Solids | 4.18% |
Suspended Solids | 40,290mg/l |
Sludge Flow Rate | 1.17m3/h |
Dry Solids Contents | 19.22% |
Throughput Capacity | 46.89kg-DS/h |
Solids Capture Rate | 99.46% |
Polymer Consumption | 10g/kg-DS |

Site: VOLUTE™ is installed in the container
We have reached 46.89kg-DS/h which is nearly 200% the standard capacity of an ES-202 that is at 24kg-DS/h.
Moreover, we have reached 19.22% in Dry Solids Contents and 99.46% of solids capture rate which is absolutely amazing!
Our customer and end-user are very happy with the results of VOLUTE™ Dewatering Press.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Hi Star Water, Dubai Municipality and our distributor of UAE, INVENT UAE for their support during the commissioning services.

ES-202, operators and engineers
After the successful commissioning service at Al Silal STP, I have received an invitation for HI STAR WATER‘s Internal Annual Farewell Party.
The party took place in a very nice All-You-Can-Eat-World’s-Cuisine Restaurant in one of the major foreign hotels in center of Dubai.
There were nearly 20 people from HI STAR WATER and every single person welcomed me and greeted me. I was very lucky to swap around the table during the party to talk to as many people as possible. Staff of HI STAR WATER are multinational which and consist of Indian, Philippino, Bangladeshi, Iraqi and Japanese. The company is managed and directed by Mr. Yoshibumi Owaki, an expert of wastewater treatment. I really enjoyed the evening and the experience was absolutely priceless!
I am very much looking forward to work with them and to spend some time with them again in 2018!

Group Photo Hi Star Water Solution, Sean Wright of AMCON on the fat right

Multinational dinner: Indian, Bangledeshi, Phillipino, Iraqi and Japanese-American.

Group Photo with HI STAR WATER
In Water worth more than gold?
A daily consumption of drinking water per average adult in the Czech Republic is about 120 to 150 litres. Accordingly, a family household of four consumes between 480 to 600 litres of water per day. Although the statistics show that the water consumption in the Czech Republic reached its peak in 1965, when every adult used up to 300 litres of water in a day, since then the situation has much improved mainly due to the constant rise of water charges.
Over 15% of Earth population have no access to clean drinking water
Water is an essential living resource. Every living thing needs water to survive. As the human population increases, water use increases; yet water is a limited resource. Therefore, saving water purely for economical reasons should not be our one and only interest. Efficient use of water is also an ecological and ethical issue, with up to 15% of the world’s population not having a sufficient access to clean drinking water. By the way, the sufficient access to clean drinking water is defined as the availability of at least 20 litres of water per person per day, with the source location up to 1 km away from the residence place. Completely different from what we are used to, don’t you think?
Reducing your daily usage of drinking water is so simple
Of course, reducing your water consumption to a zero level is completely unrealistic. However, changing your bad routine habits will not only save your wallet but also our Globe. Besides, who would consider flushing their cash down the drain? Being mindful towards your daily water use will not only help saving your finance, but also our planet and preserving this vulnerable resource for our next generations.
Is water worth more than gold?
Unfortunately, this could soon be a reality. According to hydrologists, the water will become a very precious natural resource. Tips how you can reduce your daily water consumption can be found here.