Professor Nam Chang-woo's team (College of Engineering, Department of Organic Materials and Textile Engineering) achieved the publication of three research outcomes related to marine pollution control in the international environmental journal Chemosphere (IF=7.086, Top=10.77%). The three papers were simultaneously released in the June online issue. Notably, these research outcomes were led by graduate students and undergraduates participating in the Undergraduate Research Program (URP) as first authors and co-authors, illuminating the future of the environmental field.

The students who published in the international journal are Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Dept.of Carbon Composites Convergence Materials Engineering graduate students Park Se-jin and Eom Jun-hyeok (master's program, advisor Nam Chang-woo); Department of Organic Materials and Textile Engineering undergraduates Gwak Young-woo and Kim Yun-ho (undergraduate program, advisor Nam Chang-woo); and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) graduate student Lee Jae-wook (integrated master's and doctoral program, co-advisors: Nam Chang-woo and Lee Hyo-min).

Graduate student Park Se-jin and undergraduate Kim Yun-ho served as first author and co-author, respectively, on the research paper 'Superhydrophobic polypropylene sorbent derived from discarded face masks: A highly efficient adsorbent for oil spill sorbent.'

This paper proposes an eco-friendly upcycling approach for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as disposable masks—an emerging social issue due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic—allowing reuse without the risk of secondary infection. The study confirmed that the material exhibits superior oil adsorption performance compared with existing polypropylene-based oil sorbents.

Graduate student Eom Jun-hyeok and undergraduate Gwak Young-woo led the research as first author and co-author, respectively, on the paper 'Electrospinning fabrication of magnetic nanoparticles-embedded polycaprolactone (PCL) sorbent with enhanced sorption capacity and recovery speed for spilled oil removal.'

This study developed an oil sorbent that maximizes the oleophilicity of polycaprolactone (PCL), a fully biodegradable polymer. It was well received for applying uniformly sized magnetic nanoparticles to enable high oil uptake and easy recovery after sorption.

Graduate student Lee Jae-wook participated as first author on the paper 'Polyolefin-based electrospun fibrous matrices embedded with magnetic nanoparticles for effective removal of viscous oils.' The study elucidated the spinning characteristics of high-performance polyolefin-based nano-sorbents suitable for high-viscosity crude oil spills and confirmed that optimizing spinning properties allows easy recovery of high-viscosity crude oils at ambient temperature that were previously difficult to remove.

Park Se-jin stated, 'Daily discarded masks reach 20 million, and we were able to propose a practical way to reuse them in an environmentally friendly manner. We plan to continue research not only on pollutant adsorption but also on hydrogen and carbon dioxide separation and storage.' Undergraduate Gwak Young-woo added, 'I have developed an interest in eco-friendly plastics and bio-based polymer materials and plan to enter graduate school to continue research on waste plastic recycling and eco-friendly polymers.'

Professor Nam Chang-woo, who supervised the three papers, said, 'Our research team conducts studies on environmental materials that can contribute to solving environmental problems and sustainable development. We will actively support our students to grow into research leaders and expand our research areas.'

Meanwhile, these studies were supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) Accident Management Technology Project, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Ministry of Environment, and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT)'s carbon composite industry workforce development program.