ResearchWater Advanced Treatment & Environmental Research Laboratory

Water LabInterest

There are `anaerobic` creatures that can live without air, but there are no creatures on earth that can live without water. This means water is life and is an indispensable precious substance. However, the amount of water that can be used by humans is very limited, and even this is contaminated and scarce due to industrialization, climate change, and population growth. Therefore, the water treatment paradigm is constantly shifting, and we are paying attention to what is the next.

Water LabParadigm Shift about Water Treatment

    1st Generation (1800~)Physicochemical
    Process

    Coagulation/Flocculation, Precipitation & Sand Filtration

    • Use chemical
    • Mass sludge
    • High capital cost
    2nd Generation (1920~)Biological
    Process

    Aerobic & Anaerobic Microorganisms for Pollutants Removal

    • Low secondary contaminant
    • Problem for non-biodegradable organic matters
    3rd Generation (1990~)Advanced
    Treatment

    Oxidation Process (AOPs) & Membrane Filtration

    • Eco-friendly
    • Compact facility
    • Possible to remove non-biodegradable organic matters

The key concepts of the new water treatment paradigm WATER Lab think are:

  • Use of water matrix that was difficult to use
  • Use of new materials for water treatment
  • Application of sustainable water treatment technology

Water LabNew Paradigm of Water Treatment

Complex
matrix

  • Seawater

    Desalination & Seawater AOPs

  • Wastewater

    Water reuse Technology

Novel
material

  • Nanotechnology

    Environmental Functional Materials

  • Hybrid & Combination

    Membrane or Adsorption with AOPs

Sustainable
technology

  • Sustainability

    Appropriate Technology

    Point-of-Use Water Treatment

We strive to present optimum water treatment technologies while keeping pace with changing environment. WATER Lab explores major water issues and develops advanced water treatment processes. The current main research includes:

  • Advanced oxidation processes for drinking water, wastewater, and seawater treatment.
  • Nanotechnology using graphene-based materials for water treatment.
  • Analysis and treatment of microplastics in water environment.

Water LabAdvanced oxidation processes (AOPs)

Advanced oxidation processes for
drinking water, wastewater, and seawater treatment.

O3
UV

Water LabGraphene Fabrication using Taylor Flow Reactor

Nanotechnology using graphene-based materials for water treatment

Water LabApplication of Nanomaterials to Water Treatment

Graphene
Catalysis
Membrane
Composite
Adsorption
Electrode

Water LabMicroplastics

Analysis and treatment of microplastics in water environment

Definition

Plastic particles smaller than 5 mm

  • Large Microplastic

    5 mm ~ 1 mm

  • Small Microplastic

    1 mm ~ 1 µm

  • Nanoplastic

    < 1 µm

Primary microplastics

Plastic fragments or particles that are already 5.0 mm in size or less

Secondary microplastics

Microplastics from the degradation of larger plastic products

Development of sampling and pre-treatment standard method

for microplastics measurement by environmental media

WATER

Sampling

Digestion
(Oxidation)

Pre-treatment
Analysis

AIR

Sampling

Digestion
(Oxidation)

Pre-treatment
Analysis

SOIL

Sampling

Digestion
(Oxidation)

Pre-treatment
Analysis