[Students in my lab] Vincent Cleveland (Graduate research assistant, MBBE): Synthesis of nano metal catalyst-amended carbon nanotube for wastewater treatment Jihuyn Kim (Graduate research assistant, MBBE): Novel biocatalyst-driven biofuel and bioproduct production from wastes Aaron King (Graduate student, MBBE, PI: Dr. Michael Cooney): Biofilm control in Anaerobic Fixed Filter Reactors using surface-coating adsorbents Yoseku Kwai (Undergraduate student, Department of Biology): Biological desulfurization for upgrading syngas and biogas Han Ha Youn (Undergraduate student, Department of Biology): Isolation and characterization of sulfur & iron-oxidizing bacteria Branden Santiago (Undergraduate student, Department of Civil Engineering): Purification of produced water with bio-inspired biosorbents Hyosang Kim (Undergraduate, Department of Biology): Novel bioreactor for production and upgrading of biofuels Aaron Wu (Undergraduate, Department of Microbiology): Will join in summer

 

Website

https://sites.google.com/site/eunsungkan

Education

• Ph.D. Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California, 2005 (Distinguished Chancellor Fellowship)

• M.S. Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea, 1995

• B.S. Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, Korea, 1992 (High Honors, First in Graduating Class)

Research Interests

My research interests lie in developing cost-effective processes for treating wastewater/groundwater and waste gas, biofuel production and upgrading of energy-rich gases (biogas, syngas) by using fundamental understanding of biological and physic-chemical processes.

I am interested in developing novel bioreactors for enhancing mass transfer, accelerating biological reactions and increasing operation stability for environmental remediation and biofuel production. It will need development of novel concepts for bioreactors, conceptual design, experimental evaluation, mathematical modeling and model-based optimization. Novel bioreactors will be applied to desulfurization from energy-rich gases (biogas, syngas, natural gas), syngas fermentation, algal CO2 capture, industrial waste gas treatment, odor control and oil-contaminated water purification.

There has been greater concern on toxic and emerging contaminants such as endocrine disruptors, pharmaceutical wastes, personal products and various pesticides due to their lethal effects on human health and aqua ecosystem at trace level. I am interested in detoxification of toxic and emerging contaminants in wastewater and groundwater by novel regeneration of contaminant-spent adsorbents (i.e., activated carbon, biochar, carbon nanotube) for efficient water treatment and reuse. It will focus on understanding of major mechanisms in adsorption of the emerging contaminants at sub-ppm level, functionalization of carbon adsorbents for selective adsorption, and novel biological and photochemical techniques to regenerate the contaminants-spent carbon adsorbents.

I am also interested in biohydrogen production from thermophilic anaerobic fermentation of wastewater combined with microbial fuel cells. Thermophilic (hyper-thermophilic) anaerobic fermentation of wastewater is proposed for enhancing H2 productivity with less byproduct formation and suppression of methanogens in mixed culture. Microbial fuel cells will be integrated with thermophilic anaerobic fermentation for further production of H2 using organic acids, the end products from anaerobic fermentation. Besides, I am also interested in cleaning and upgrading of biogas and syngas to be converted into higher value added fuels by integrating a series of physical and biological processes.

Teaching Interests

• Wastewater and groundwater treatment

• Bioprocess engineering

• Modeling of biochemical and environmental processes

• Bioreactor design

• Air pollution control

Professional Experiences

• Assistant professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa. August 2012 – Current.

• Biochemical Research Engineer at Coskata Inc. (leading syngas-derived bioethanol research company), Warrenville, Illinois. September 2011 - July 2012.

• Postdoctoral research associate, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana. February 2011- September 2011.

• Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates. August 2008 – January 2011.

• Postdoctoral research associate, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Ada, Oklahoma. February 2006 – August 2008.

• Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California. March 2005 – January 2006.

• Research Scientist, Hansol Paper Company, Environment and Biotechnology Research Center, Korea. March 1995 – July 2000.

Publications

Kan E. 2012. Effects of pretreatment of anaerobic sludges and culture conditions on hydrogen productivity in dark anaerobic fermentation. Renewable Energy, in-press. Online publication on Feb 2012.

Huling SG, Kan E, Wingo C, Park SH. 2012. Pilot study of Fenton-driven regeneration of MTBE-spent granular activated carbon. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 205/206: 55-62.

Huling SG, Ko SB, Park S, Kan E. 2011. Persulfate oxidation regeneration of spent granular activated carbon. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 192: 1484-1490.

Huling SG, Kan E, Wingo C. 2009. Fenton-driven regeneration of MTBE-spent granular activated carbon – Effects of particle size and Iron Amendment Procedures. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 89: 651-658.

Kan E , Huling SG. 2009. Effects of temperature and acidic pre-treatment on Fenton-driven oxidation of MTBE-spent granular activated carbon. Environmental Science and Technology, 43 (5): 1493-1499.

Kan E , Deshusses MA. 2009. Modeling of the foamed emulsion bioreactor for air pollution control. II. Process and parametric sensitivity studies. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 102: 708-713.

Kan E , Deshusses MA. 2008. Modeling of the foamed emulsion bioreactor for air pollution control. I. Model development and experimental validation. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 99: 1096-1106.

Kan E , Kim S, Deshusses MA. 2007. Fenton oxidation of TCE vapors in a foam reactor. Environmental Progress, 26(3): 226-232.

Kan E , Deshusses MA. 2006. Scale-up and cost evaluation of the foamed emulsion bioreactor. Environmental Technology, 27(6): 645-652.

Kan E , Deshusses MA. 2006. Cometabolic degradation of TCE vapors in a foamed emulsion bioreactor. Environmental Science and Technology, 40: 1022 -1028.

Kan E , Deshusses MA. 2005. Continuous operation of foamed emulsion bioreactors treating toluene vapors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 92: 364-371.

Kan E , Deshusses MA. 2003. Development of foamed emulsion bioreactor for air pollution control. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 84:240-244.

Kan E , Park S, Koh C, Lee S, Kang J. 1999. The characteristics of different UV lamps to treat non-biodegradable materials by H2O2/UV process. Journal of Korea Solid Waste Engineering, 16: 197-203.

Kan E , Koh C, Kang J, Park SB. 1999. Characteristics of paper mill effluent treatment by Fenton and H2O2/UV processes. Journal of Korea Solid Waste Engineering, 16: 557-564.

Koh C, Lee S, Kan E, Kang J. 1999. New evaluation method of physicochemical parameters in the ozone/UV process. Environmental Engineering Research, 4: 51-57.

Kan E , Yoon CH. 1997. The economical review of paper mill effluent treatment by advanced oxidation process. Chemical Industry & Technology, 15: 533-537.

Kan E , Park CB, Lee SB. 1997. Optimization in culture conditions of hyperthermophilic Sulfolobus solfataricus. Korean Journal of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 12: 121-126.