ABSTRACT: Radiocesium (Cs) removal from tap waters was an emerging issue after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster, during which a total of approximately 3.3×1016 Bq Cs was released to the environment. Radioactive fallout can lead to contaminated surface water and/or groundwater, eventually will enter drinking water production chain. Radioactivity in drinking water, even at low levels, can be harmful since the radiocesium can be bioaccumulated in body.
However, the conventional drinking water treatment processes such as coagulation-sedimentation and sand filtration unlikely remove Cs from waters. Adsorbent highly specific to Cs in the presence of other alkali and alkali earth metals are developed to supply safe drinking waters to residents near contaminated area. This talk discussed a recent study on the synthesis and use of Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles for Cs removal form drinking waters.
Bio-Sketch: Dr. Lee received BS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering, National Taiwan University (NTU) in 1984 and 1989, respectively. He is now the Life-Time Specially Appointed Professor at Department of Chemical Engineering, NTU and Chair Professor and Vice President of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech). Dr Lee's expertise includes bioenergy recovery from waste, drinking water production using membrane, sludge treatment, and microscale heat and mass transport processes. He has served as an investigator for a number of industrial R&D projects funded by industrial collaborators and government agencies, and has been serving as a consultant to the industry in Taiwan in the area of wastewater treatment. He has engaged in editorial works for some journals and book series for Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley. Dr. Lee is/was a visiting professor for University of Tokyo, Hong Kong University, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Kyoto University, Hokkaido University, University of Delaware, University of Huston, Tsinghua University (Beijing), Chongqing University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Tongji University and Tianjin University, and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr Lee published about 700 SCI papers with >12,000 citations (h=51).