Toda Lab Project Soka University Faculty of Engineering
Projects
Verification experiment for preventing sea desertification in Shin-Kamigoto, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
2014-2016
“Verification experiment for preventing sea desertification in Shin-Kamigoto, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan”
Content In rocky areas along the shore, various seaweeds generally grow abundantly from the water’s edge to the dozens of meters. Such seaweed beds play an important role as feeding sites and/or safe houses for larvae and juveniles, maintaining their survival rate. Therefore, seaweed beds contribute to conservation of fishery resources. Recently, however, seaweed beds in many coastal areas in Japan have decreased and turned into “Desert seas”. Against such a background, our laboratory has been engaged on verification experiment of sea desertification prevention by fertilizing nutrients. This research project is a commissioned project by Shin-Kamigoto, Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Click here to see more details.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT): Strategic Research Foundation Grant-aided Project for Private Universities
2009-2013
“Research and Development of Technologies for Cyclic Utilization of Biomass Resources by Biological and Thermochemical Processes for Low-carbon Society”
Abstract:
Biological waste treatments, such as methane fermentation, ethanol fermentation and composting, attract attention for their advantages to reduce environmental burden and collect valuable resources. However, as these methods use microbe-based decomposition processes, they involve generation of persistent organic substances as secondary products. Biological waste disposal remains inefficient to be applied to recycling of plant biomass, which contains persistent organic matters like lignin and cellulose. To construct an efficient low-carbon society, it is imperative to efficiently recycle and reuse organic resources emitted from human activities. The previous section introduced our participation in Academic Research Development Projects for Private Universities (2004-2008), where we investigated and developed methane fermentation technologies for high degradability and efficient energy recovery of the entire disposal system by using aerobic and anaerobic decomposing processes. However, the previous project was targeted at highly-degradable materials such as raw garbage; it was not developed enough for efficient use of entire biomass resources emitted from human activities in a highly developed low-carbon society. This project carried on the previous research on further efficiency of the degradative process of organic wastes and also worked on two different researches; productive process of aquatic biomass like monocellular algae as a potential biomass energy source and gasification process of persistent organic matters. Researching these processes all together enables us to investigate and develop the efficient recycling of biomass resources emitted from the entire human society.
Ministry of the Environment: Research Projects for Promoting a Recycle-oriented Society (currently called Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research for promoting a Recycling-oriented Society)
2008-2010
“Establishment of Low-cost and Low-environmental-loading Waste Treatment for Saline Organic Solid Waste through Multifunction of Treatment Process”
Abstract:
Marine fouling organisms such as blue mussel are discharged both heavily and intermittently from electric power plants in coastal areas, harbor facilities and ships. These “saline organic solid wastes” are difficult to be used as feeds or fertilizers due to its high salinity and are also known to inhibit methane fermentation process. For these characteristics, 90% of such marine fouling organisms are incinerated or wind up in landfills in Japan. However, it is an urgent task to develop technologies to utilize them as biomass resources. Especially, methane fermentation attracts attention as one of the more efficient recycling technologies of organic wastes for its high energy productivity. However, it remains difficult to become widespread in the society due to high cost for ancillary facilities, chemicals for solid-liquid separation and energy for effluent disposal.
Indonesia SEED Project
2006-2008
“Environmental Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainable Development”
Our collaborating institute, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITSN) is one of the best universities majoring in science in Indonesia, with its main campus located in Surabaya, the second largest city in the country. ITSN and Soka University started academic exchange in 2006 and we have been working together solving environmental problems in Indonesia.
In order to tackle environmental problems, it is imperative for education to take two approaches: acquiring scientific expertise and promoting high consciousness of environmental problems. From this standpoint, our joint project is called SEED (Environmental Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainable Development). It aims for a more wide-ranging, liberal and significant academic exchange by opening it up to not only students and faculties of the Faculty of Engineering, but also to those of Education. Specific focuses of this project are 1) research on energy collection from direct incineration of waste materials 2) research on collection of heavily-concentrated methane using microorganisms 3) research on disposal process of leachate discharged from landfills due to rainfalls and other causes 4) educational activities aiming to raise consciousness of environmental issues.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT): Academic Research Development Projects for Private Universities
2004-2008
“Development of an efficient energy recovery in sustainable high-degradative disposal process of organic matters with concomitantly-used anaerobic/aerobic decomposing processes”
Abstract:
Although organic wastes contain a lot of carbon sources which is reusable as fertilizer or energy, in Japan, nearly all of them are incinerated or wind up in a landfill. In recent years, these disposal methods are becoming causes of many environmental problems, such as chronic shortage of spaces for final disposal sites and generation of toxic chemical compounds such as dioxin. In such social condition, organic-waste disposal is expected to be done at waste sources in order to reduce the cost for transportation and prevent generation of fermentation residue.
As introduced in the previous section, from 2002 to 2003, this laboratory participated in Local Consortium Research-Development Project and investigated the high-degradative disposal of organic matters using aerobic processes of solid and liquid phases. In this project, we applied the previously-mentioned aerobic process to the methane fermentation process (anaerobic process) and further developed it to an efficient and high-degradative methane-recovery process. We aimed to structure an efficient entire disposal system where compound organic matters (such as activated sludge produced from aerobic process) are recycled to the methane fermentation through the combination of aerobic and anaerobic processes. Moreover, the targeted organic matters in this study were not limited to food waste; algae was also investigated for its possible availability as biomass energy.
Reference:
http://www.t.soka.ac.jp/assets/files/academic_sophistication/toda_2005/01.html
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI): Local Consortium Research-Development Project
2002-2003
“Development of the Organic Waste Disposal System Using Solid-liquid Biphasic Circulation”
Abstract:
While nearly all of food waste (organic waste) is incinerated in Japan, generation of toxic chemical compounds such as dioxin and the increasing energy and cost required for disposal have been considered as serious subsidiary issues in recent years. As a result, biological disposal of organic waste has attracted much attention as a safer method, and energy-recovery processes through refuse compost or methane fermentation have been studied and partially adopted. Waste volume reduction is another serious issue especially in urban areas, because it is difficult to find spaces for final disposal sites. Considering the cost for collecting wastes, high-quality volume reductions at waste sources are highly needed. Moreover, as apartments and high-rise condominiums are getting larger in urban areas, it is becoming more common for garbage disposal to be done in each building using a disposer with an expensive activated sludge tank. These various ways of dealing with waste issues indicate diversified needs for waste disposal in the current society. Therefore, in this project, we developed a food waste disposal cyclical system of aerobic solid-phase disposal (composting process) and aerobic liquid-phase disposal (activated sludge process). This system is expected to be applied in urban areas and achieve the high food waste decomposition rate.
International Joint Projects
- Malaysia Open Research Projects
As an effort for environmental restoration technologies to restore lost coral reefs, we are developing new artificial fish beds which are developed considering the corals’ changing environmental preferences during their growth. In the fish bed, diverse microhabitats are artificially arranged in order to observe inquiline selectivity of larvas and their adaptation in the complex physical circumstances. Based on the result, we are going to suggest new designs for artificial fish beds and contribute to coral breeding projects and restoration of their ecosystems.
in order to obtain diverse microhabitats.
hey were set up and monitored in the marine park at Tioman Island, Malaysia.