Prof. Kokyo Oh/ Center for Environmental Science in Saitama, Japan

Prof. Dr. Kokyo Oh is a senior researcher in Center for Environmental Science in Saitama, Japan. He obtained Ph.D. degree (soil science) in 1995, and was honored as a research fellow by Japan Science and Technology Agency (STA) from 1997 to 1999. His research areas include soil science, environmental conservation, environmental chemistry and biology, and environmental agronomy. He has published more than 200 major academic papers, has presided over and participated in more than 100 scientific research fund projects, and has been invited to be the chairman of more than 20 international conferences.

Speech title "Study on the Profit Generation Phytoremediation Technology for the Utilization and Remediation of Soils Contaminated with Heavy Metalsquot"

Abstract-Soil is an indispensable natural resource for the survival of living organisms, including human beings. However, soil contamination, one of the major global environmental problems, poses great risks to the ecosystem, human health and agricultural production. There is a great need for the rational use and regeneration of the widespread contaminated soils.
In recent years, phytoremediation, which utilizes the natural functions of plants, has been attracting attention as a low-cost and environmental-friendly technology for environmental remediation. The discovery and application of promising plants, such as heavy metal hyperaccumulator plants, have been studied primarily for the removal of toxic pollutants from soil and water. More recently, new developments have been expanded as a nature-based environmental conservation technology to solve diverse environmental challenges, including soil and water purification, production of high-value-added biomass, biodiversity conservation, and mitigation of global warming.
This report aims to explore how to deal with the widely distributed heavy metal contaminated soils, focusing on how to utilize phytoremediation techniques for the profitable and effective utilization and remediation of contaminated soils. In addition, the following issues are considered important for the study in the future: 1) effective use of plant residues after harvest from the contaminated soils, 2) search and application of plant varieties with high added value and high remediation efficiency, 3) application of phytoremediation to urban contaminated soil sites, and 4) biodiversity conservation, global warming mitigation, bioenergy production.

Prof. Satoshi Soda/ Ritsumeikan University, Japan

Prof. Satoshi Soda was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan in 1972. Awarded MSc and PhD in Engineering from Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of engineering, Osaka University in 1997 and 1999, respectively. Assistant Professor of Department of Global Architecture (1999-2008), and Associate Professor of Department of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, (2008-2017), Graduate School of engineering, Osaka University.
Professor at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Japan since 2017, and Associate Fellow of Ritsumeikan Advanced Research Academy since 2022.
The research focuses on wastewater treatment using bacteria and aquatic plants. Recent challenging topics are (1) nitrogen removal from domestic wastewater using simultaneous heterotrophic denitrification and anammox, (2) activated sludge for excess sludge reducing using earthworms, (3) algal-bacterial system for removing LAS and methyl paraben, (4) trickling filters followed by constructed wetlands with edible plants, (5) constructed wetlands for removing azo dyes from Batik wastewater, (6) constructed wetlands for mine drainage treatment in Japan, (7) bioreactors for removing of antimony from wastewater, (8) growing eelgrass using magnesium ammonium phosphate recovered from sewage, (9) methane recovery from rubber seed residue by anaerobic digestion, and (10) Monitoring of seasonal change of algae and bacteria populations in an inner lake of Lake Biwa.

Speech title "Global Warming Potential, Eutrophication Potential, and Sludge Production of Sewage Treatment Plants"

Abstract-Many people live in the Kinki region of Japan, and there are many water treatment plants and sewage treatment plants in the Lake Biwa-Yodo River system. Sewage treatment plants should contribute not only to the conservation of the local environment but also the global environment. Treatment performance and greenhouse gas emissions of various biological sewage treatment processes in Japan were evaluated in this study. Data related to energy consumption, effluent water quality, and sludge production of various treatment processes were obtained from “Sewage Statistics” published by the Japan Sewage Works Association. The conventional activated sludge (CAS) process and modified processes for nutrient removal were selected for analysis, such as anaerobic–oxic, recycled nitrification–denitrification, anaerobic-anoxic–oxic, nitrification/endogenous denitrification, and step-feed nitrification–denitrification processes. Performance of the treatment processes was evaluated as the eutrophication potential (EP) calculated from the BOD, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus concentrations in treated effluent and NOX emission by electricity consumption. The global warming potential (GWP) of treatment processes was calculated from CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions by electricity consumption, and N2O and CH4 emissions from the biological processes and water environment where effluent is discharged. The EP values of the nutrient removal processes showed negative correlation with the GWP values as a general trend. The sole exception to this tradeoff was the step-feed nitrification–denitrification process, which can reduce the EP value of sewage with a considerably smaller increase of the GWP value than that of the CAS process. Sludge yields of treatment processes also showed negative correlation with GWP values.

Prof. Hyunook Kim/ University of Seoul, Korea

Dr. Hyunook Kim is Professor at Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Korea, and Director of R&D Center of Core Technologies for Water Treatment. Professor Kim earned his B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Yonsei University, Korea in 1994, and an M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1997, and a Ph.D. from University of Maryland at College Park in 2000. Before he joined the faculty member at University of Seoul in 2002, he worked as Environmental Engineer for US Dept. of Agriculture, MD, USA.
Professor Kim’s research in the area of water pollution control includes a number of projects on process control and operation of water and wastewater treatment plants. Especially he is interested in monitoring and control of contaminants of emerging concern. He has published numerous journal papers and made conference presentations. He has been received a few awards for his academic and research achievements.

Speech title "Research on Microplastics needs to be cooled down"

Prof. Atsushi Matsumura/ Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan

Assoc. Prof. Atsushi Matsumura was awarded PhD in Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University in 2007. Assistant Professor of Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University (2010-2023), and Associate Professor of Graduate School of Agriculture, Osaka Metropolitan University in 2024. Research fields are agronomy (sustainable cropping systems, crop-environment interactions), and soil science (sustainable soil fertility management, soil microbial ecology). Recent research topics include genetic improvement of soybean for low phosphorus tolerance, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles in agricultural soil by green manure introduction, and evaluation of unused resources as a substitute for chemical fertilizers.

Speech title "Contribution and improvement of legumes for environmentally friendly agriculture"

Abstract-Due to increasing inputs of chemical fertilizers and breeding that can adapt to fertilizer management, crop yields have increased, and food security has been improved. However, increasing chemical fertilizers not only contributes to food security, but also causes environmental problems such as soil deterioration, greenhouse gas emissions, and water contamination. In addition, Japan is almost entirely dependent on imports for fertilizer. Because fertilizer is essential for food production, it is important to secure fertilizer sources for sustainable agriculture. There are several ways to control the increasing use of chemical fertilizers, such as organic fertilizers, recycling by-products, crop rotation, intercropping. Improvement of crop nutrient efficiency also contributes to chemical fertilizers input. Among various crops, legumes, which fix nitrogen from the atmosphere by biological N2 fixation, have potential to contribute to sustainable crop production. 1. Evaluation of relay intercropping hairy vetch as a green manure to reduce chemical fertilizer input: Producing cash crops and green manure crops during the same growing season is a promising strategy for sustainable crop production. The present study evaluated the relay intercropping of a legume green manure crop (Vicia villosa Roth, hairy vetch) and various crops (broccoli, radish and carrot). The fertilizer effects of hairy vetch incorporation obtained by relay intercropping were compared with those of conventional chemical fertilizer input in subsequent crop production (vegetable soybean and sweet corn). 2. Utilization of soy whey as a fertilizer substitute for agricultural production: soy whey is a by-product of the soy industry. Soy whey includes various nutrients, is expected to be an NPK resource for crop production. Fertilizer effect of single soy whey application or combined application with chemical fertilizer.