- Department:Comprehensive Planning Division
To stimulate the creative potential of students in universities and to root the spirit of green chemistry in research, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) (Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau) and the Ministry of Education jointly held the "2nd University Green Chemistry Creativity Competition" in 2020. After fierce competition, the results have been announced, including one gold medal, one silver medal, two bronze medals, and several masterpieces for the undergraduate and postgraduate groups each, as well as one special prize for experimental safety. According to the EPA, this year's entries and the students' performance in the final rounds were very impressive.
The entry, "Honeycomb Fiber Optic Reactor for Eliminating Airborne Bacteria and Viruses in the Aircraft Cabin," created by the National Taiwan University, earned the undergraduate group's gold medal. Currently, the whole world has been affected by the new coronary pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic. However, some people still need to travel to different countries, and their health may be at risk if they spend a lot of time in an enclosed aircraft cabin. Therefore, the National Taiwan University team introduced ultraviolet light from high in the air into the ceramic honeycomb and then irradiated the photocatalyst to produce a biochemical reaction to kill the indoor air's bacteria and viruses.
The postgraduate group's gold medal-winning entry is "Recycling Economy of Discarded Water Caltrop Shells" by National Cheng Kung University. Guantian, Tainan is the largest area producing water caltrops in Taiwan. To solve discarded water caltrop shells, the participating team first made carbon material from the shells, encapsulated it as a capacitor. And then, they assembled it into an electric bicycle to make a fully super capacitor-powered electric bike. This winner developed a brand-new application of water caltrop shells in agricultural waste.
Besides, to encourage colleges and universities to understand the concept of laboratory safety and the importance of chemical management, this year's competition specifically added an Experimental Safety Award. The winning entry is "Green Chemistry Innovative Teaching Aids Research--Portable Microreactor for General Use" from National Kaohsiung Normal University. After reviewing the equipment required in the junior high school chemistry experimental curriculum, the winning team created a portable microreactor set based on green chemistry principles. This device can help junior high school and elementary school science and life-science teachers operate various chemical reactions in a more environmentally friendly, waste-reducing, convenient, and safer way. It also can help students to do experiments.
The EPA states that before the 21st century, a group of chemists began to advocate the concept of green chemistry. The most famous of them were American scholars Paul Anastas and John Warner in 1998, who proposed the well-known 12 principles of green chemistry to reduce or eliminate chemical contamination at the source. As guidance for developing environmentally friendly products and processes, the chemical industries have widely recognized the 12 principles. To promote green chemistry, the EPA launched this competition, expecting it to take root on campus.
The EPA held this year's competition amid the brutal COVID-19 epidemic through a multifaceted promotional approach. Forty-six teams entered this year's competition, including 21 undergraduate teams and 25 postgraduate teams. The entries came from 27 schools and 40 related departments, including materials engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, occupational safety and health, and science education. The numbers of participating schools, departments, and students all increased compared with the first competition.
The silver medal entry in the undergraduate group was "Soybean Dregs Dual Recycling to Produce High-value Soybean Extract Masks" from National Ilan University. The two bronze medal entries were "Research on Hydrothermal Preparation of Different Forms of Zinc Oxide with Antibacterial Properties for Environment-friendly Agriculture" from National Chung Hsing University and "Research on the Use of Taiwan's Unique Agricultural Waste to Synthesize Silver Nanoparticle for Mercury-metal Sensors in Green Chemistry" from National Kaohsiung Normal University. For the postgraduate group, the silver medal went to the National Taipei University of "Technology for Carrying the Hope in You to Deliver the Message." The two bronze medal entries were "Study on the Separation and Recovery of Phosphorus and Nickel from Chemical Nickel Plating Waste Liquids" from National Cheng Kung University and "Solar-driven Omnidirectional, Environment-friendly, Blue-light-hazards-free OLED Lighting" from National Tsing Hua University.
For more information, please refer to the website of the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau for Green Chemistry Integration: https://topic.moenv.gov.tw/greenchem/mp-1.html.
