Kordi finds Midas touch with biofuel

Korea JoongAng Daily
June 21,2012

Korea has invented a new technology that will help steel manufacturers cut emissions and enable the country to secure a higher value-added biofuel.

Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (Kordi), which is under the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, announced yesterday it has developed a technology that turns carbon monoxide into hydrogen by using single-celled microorganisms from deep under the seabed in the Pacific Ocean.

Archaea microorganisms, particularly the strand known as NA1, can be used to produce hydrogen.

In September 2010, Kordi discovered how to use the microorganisms and the result was published in the U.S. science journal Nature.

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New Korea-China research program focuses on nanomaterials for flexible solar cells

nanowerk.com
Posted: April 19, 2010

(Nanowerk News) The 2010 Korea-China joint research program, “New Photovoltaic Polymers and Advanced Flexible Plastic Solar Cells”, was officially initiated on April 15-16, 2010 at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT), Chinese Academy of Sciences.

This Project will be co-directed by Dr. YANG Renqiang, group leader of the Advanced Organic Functional Materials of the QIBEBT, and Dr. Woo Han Young, associate professor of Department of Nanomaterials Engineering at Pusan National University, Korea.
The Korean and Chinese scientists discussed detailed cooperative plan, and clarified the scientific focal that will be worked out in the very near future for the project. They also reached consensus on the academic exchange, joint training of postgraduate and young scientists, and sustainable collaboration.

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The Dong-A ILBO (Korea)

The government seeks to develop bio gas, or gas generated from waste, as an energy source similar to natural gas. Bio gas is produced when organic materials in garbage, animal waste and sewage dregs decompose.

Bio gas is created by gathering and refining gas given off by waste. Some 60 percent of the ingredients of gas from waste is methane, an energy source for city and natural gas. A refining process eliminates impurities such as ammonia and sulfur compounds that cause foul smells, and results in the production of bio gas 95 percent pure.

Bio gas generates 8,500 calories per square meter, slightly lower than that of natural gas (10,400 calories per square meter).

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KOREAN TEAM EXTRACTS USEFUL CHEMICALS FROM BIODIESEL BY-PRODUCTS

TradingMarkets.com
Wed. January 07, 2009; Posted: 04:02 AM

SEOUL, Jan 07, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- South Korean scientists have developed a high-tech process to extract commercially viable chemical compounds from a biodiesel by-product that can help cut costs of making the synthetic fuel, the government said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said researchers from local universities, the state-run Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology and GS Caltex Corp. have successfully made glycerol carbonate (GC) and 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from glycerol.
"Using a special catalyst to make the chemicals, scientists have found a way to effectively reduce biodiesel production costs by 15 percent," a government official said. He said production cost can be lowered as manufacturers will be able to sell the by-product chemicals on the market.

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