Focused on continued research and development of new advanced technologies and integrated applications in the prevention / control of water, air, and solid waste pollution; management of industrial wastewater; remediation of contaminated soils and groundwater; and control of noise and vibration pollution. Our focus in recent years has been the use of new catalyst designs in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), reaction kinetics, and pollutant variation and transport. Students work closely with faculty to learn and apply knowledge and receive training on practical research projects. Their in-depth learning in this area is highly applicable to jobs in industrial pollution control and related research organizations.

 

Department labs are regularly contracted by various agencies to conduct investigations of water, air and soil quality. In cooperation with NIU’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and Department of Animal Science, we engage proactively in research into environmental carrying capacity, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection planning, and other environmental quality issues essential to sustainable development. We have also made solid progress on new sensor technology and environmental molecular biotechnology that we hope will significantly advance the quality and efficiency of current environmental monitoring techniques.

 

The gradual depletion of world oil reserves has focused research around the world on developing effective alternative sources of energy. Resource-poor Taiwan relies on imported fuels for nearly all its current energy consumption needs. The significant amount of solid waste generated each year represents a potential source of reusable materials that now consumes additional energy in its disposal. Rising energy and other resource costs makes it imperative that we use resources more efficiently and find more effective resource recovery and reuse solutions. The department is thus actively engaged in research on solid waste composting, “green” cement R&D, energy and resource recycling, reaction engineering, clean production, microbial fuel cells, environmental nanotechnology applications.