In the laboratory of “Social Engineering of Energy”, we research on the effective use of energy and resources and analyze the evaluation systems in order to build a sustainable social system for the earth and global environment. The main focus of our research is to improve resource productivity to provide a high quality life with as less resources (energy, minerals, land, etc.) as possible.
We research on the effective and environment-friendly use of the resources from a viewpoint of materials science, based on both “the development of functional materials and new material (eco-material)” and “the development of a new process (eco-process)”.
- High-performance photocatalysis materials using Titanium oxide, etc.
- Nitrogen storage alloys aiming at highly effective energy use.
- High-performance new material and processes with use of magnetic field.
- Carbon dioxide fixation process using solar energy and iron oxides.
- Material synthetic process using repeated press-rolling and ball-milling methods
In this approach, we evaluate environmental effects of products, processes and systems, both existing and new, by employing the LCA method, the input-output analysis, etc., to seek for harmony with the earth environment.
- Developing an evaluation index for environmental burden including the recycling process.
- Evaluation of energy productivity by input-output analysis.
- Reduction of carbon dioxide exhaust by a modal shift in Kyoto city.
- Evaluation of influences of the nuclear accident using the Hedonic function on land prices.
- Research on the energy-environmental education based on questionnaire and practice.
Diagrammatic explanation of embodied energy flow and energy productivity analysis using input-output tables