Ajou News

NEW Prof. Lee Je-chan’s research findings headline the cover of a recent issue of Green Chemistry

  • 2020-06-16
  • 3005
May 12, 2020
 
 
 
 
A study by Prof. Lee Je-chan (Dept. of Environmental Engineering) on a process of producing eco-friendly biofuels and biochemicals using carbon dioxide made headlines in the recent online issue of Green Chemistry, dated May 7.
 
Entitled “Recent achievements in CO2-assisted and CO2-catalyzed biomass conversion reactions,” the study found its way into Green Chemistry, a renowned academic journal devoted to science and technology that promotes sustainability.
 
Prof. Lee has been exploring a process involving the use of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas behind global warming, in the production of eco-friendly biofuels and biochemicals. Conventional processes for producing these eco-friendly alternatives have not been successful in fostering popular demand due to their inefficiency and financial infeasibility.
 
Prof. Lee seized upon the fact that applying carbon dioxide to a conventional process can enhance its efficiency and productivity. The study is also significant for its analysis of the current status of bio-energy and chemical processes utilizing carbon dioxide, and identifying and explaining the numerous problems that ought to be overcome in order for such processes to be competitive in an industrial environment.
 
Prof. Lee remarked: “I expect this study to accelerate the development and commercialization of techniques for appropriating greenhouse gas emissions to eco-friendly ends over and beyond capturing and reducing emissions.”
 
Park Chan-yeong (class of 2017), an undergraduate in Prof. Lee’s department, also participated as principal investigator in the study.
 
* Image courtesy of the Royal Society of Chemistry.