Summary

Currently, development of materials such as new functional materials and renewable biomaterials is attracting attention. However, the majority of this research assumes that basic resources will be available in the same way as they are now. Therefore, unless technological innovation dealing with depletion of resources takes place, valuable research results that have been obtained up to now will become useless. In other words, in our current situation where it has been identified that various resources are being depleted, the development of processes for the development of new materials based on securing new resources is cited as an urgent issue. In this research, treating environmental pollution as a new resource, the development of new exploration technology for target resources contained in sources of environmental pollution, development of new methods for recovery-recycling of target resources from sources of environmental pollution, and development of new functions for target resources, will be considered as a series of new resource cycles. In other words, development of new resources will be carried out in conjunction with environmental improvement. In particular, the subject will be focused on substances containing phosphorus and nitrogen, which are basic materials common to organic materials, inorganic material, and biomaterials, and present a worldwide problem as water pollutants. Rare-metal-containing materials will be also focused since the securing of stable supply of rare-metals is highly important.

Supervisors:

Shigeru Sugiyama, Toshihiro Moriga, Ken-ichiro Sotowa, Masahiro Katoh, Toshihide Horikawa, Kei-ichiro Murai, Keizo Nakagawa, Jesus Rafael Alcantara Avila

Research topics

1. Development of Exploration Method for Renewable Resources in Environmental Pollutants
   1-1　Outline

   This research will develop a new exploration method that can be conducted swiftly at sites requiring a fixed quantity/quality of phosphorus and nitrogen and is applicable to water quality systems, such as river and seawater containing phosphorus and nitrogen as environmental pollutants, and soil systems such as slag discharged during the final process of various industrial processes. New resources really considered to be effective as resources will be developed.

    

   1-2　Keywords

   Exploration method, new resource development, sensor development

    

   1-3　Supervisors (Representative*) 

   Shigeru Sugiyama*, Masahiro Katoh, Kei-ichiro Murai, Keizo Nakagawa

    

2. Development of Recovery-Recycling Processes for Environmental Pollutants
   2-1　Outline

   This research will develop basic technology capable of efficient recovery of phosphorus and nitrogen from the new sources of resources discovered above. In this case, emphasis is placed on the development of recovery agents and the development of desorption methods. Also, the research will expand to plant development aimed at developing durable, mass processing equipment in which the developed basic technology is adapted to subjects and sites that are actually used.

    

   2-2　Keywords

   Recovery method, desorption method, equipment development, plant design

    

   2-3　Supervisors

   Ken-ichiro Sotowa*, Shigeru Sugiyama, Masahiro Katoh, Toshihide Horikawa, Keizo Nakagawa, Jesus Rafael Alcantara Avila

    

3. Development of New Substitute Materials
   3-1　Outline

   This project has to show that exhaustible resources must not be used in the same way as before. Therefore, development will be carried out of phosphorus- and nitrogen-containing organic, polymeric, and inorganic materials whose functions surpass those of conventional materials while using only very small amounts in comparison. For example, development of light-responsive materials is cited in regard to nitrogen-containing materials, development of biocompatible materials is cited in regard to phosphorous-containing materials, and development of iron phosphates for lithium ion secondary battery cathodes and alkaline earth silicon oxynitrides for white LED phosphors is cited in regard to rare-metal-containing materials.

    

   3-2　Keywords

   Development of resource-saving materials, biocompatible, optical properties, development of environmentally-adaptive materials

    

   3-3　Supervisors

   Toshihiro Moriga*, Shigeru Sugiyama, Masahiro Katoh, Kei-ichiro Murai, Keizo Nakagawa