Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Chem. Eng. Depart. Bld., #7212C, Biochemical Engineering Lab.

You-Kwan Oh

3 researcher

Prof. Oh's laboratory focuses on the production of biofuels and biochemicals from microorganisms (especially microalgae). We are working on the development of microalgal biorefinery process, which composed of strain selection, lipid and pigment biosyntheses, in silico cell modelling, high cell-density cultivation, photo-bioreactor design and optimization, microalgae harvesting, lipid extraction, and biofuel conversion). We are also interested in transportation biofuels (biodiesel and biohydrogen) and high-value bio-products (strong anti-oxidant) from microbial biomass. These topics are within a wide range of industrial biotechnology and require in-depth studies on cell physiology, enzyme engineering, systems biology, biochemical engineering, bio-separation, bioenergy engineering, etc.

1. Low-cost photo-bioreactor system for microalgae mass-cultivation 2. Development of high-lipid-yielding microalgal species 3. Induction and mechanism identification of algal lipid and pigment using biotic and abiotic stresses 4. Low-energy magnetic microalgae harvesting technology 5. Recovery and reuse of natural algal bloom biomass