We've thought of loads of diverse ideas at the beginning of project buildup that can cover environmental aspects whilst considering the impact our project would bring to nature.
To start with, we came up with the filter that can be frequently replaced in the early stage of idea development. However, we decided not to deal with that subject because it goes against our aim to handle the environmental challenge as the increased number of filter change leads to another environmental contamination. And then we changed our approach to the way that the filter can have longer operational life resulting in the fewer number of filter replacement by utilizing multi-use material. Here, we design our ABC filter based on moving bed biofilm reactor(MBBR) purification method.
MBBR method is the process using a number of small plastic carriers in membrane bioreactor for waste water treatment. This structure should be constructed in the separated and contained form that there would be no exposure to nature. In addition to this basic concept, we adapt biodgradable plastic for small carriers of MBBR in order that no secondary pollution happens.
To clean the remant of algae from agricultural effluent, our ABC filter would generate hydrogen peroxide by applying superoxide dismutase part.BBa_K380007
Hydrogen peroxide can alleviate algal bloom with only a little amount of it and don't make any hazardous materials after its reaction; The end product of SOD and hydrogen peroxide reaction is just water and oxygen even in nature, which indicates that there isn't any harm to environment.
Thanks to this character, the algal-removing process of hydrogen peroxide is highly environmentally-friendly compared to other algicide candidates. Our ABC filter was born in this regard containing superoxide dismutase.
Korea has set up a domestic biosafety law system to strictly implement biosafety management. Biosafety refers to the appropriate use of knowledge, skills, equipment and facilities to protect the health of the experimenter and the people from potentially hazardous organisms or biological disasters for human and environmental hazards. There are various laws in these legal systems, including Living Modified Organism (LMO) laws. There are many committees that each govern to comply with the statutes concerning ‘the migration of LMO from country to country’, ‘genetic recombination experiments’, ‘prevention and management of infectious diseases’, etc. The Korea University, where our lab is located, also has established the Korea University Institute of Institutional Bioscience (KUIBC) to manage these bills so that the laboratory can implement them.
According to the guidelines for gene recombination experiments, biosafety research facilities are rated according to the biological safety grade of living organisms. Our lab (CSBL; Computational & Synthetic Biology Laboratory @ Korea univ.) is a first-class general research facility dealing with the First Risk Group (an organism known to cause no disease in healthy adults), satisfying corresponding installation and operating standards. Essential ‘installation standards’ corresponding to Grade 1 include high-pressure steam sterilizers, waste disposal facilities and experimental wastewater treatment facilities. Our laboratory has these facilities as well as safety facilities such as biosafety cabinet and eyewash. In addition, the required ‘operating standards’ of Grade I include: attaching biosafety signs, washing hands when leaving the laboratory, using mechanical pipettes during experiments, banning all activities such as food intake, food preservation, smoking or makeup, sterilization of the laboratory, completion of biosafety education, preparation and storage of records of LMOs, and preparation of waste disposal regulations, etc. Our laboratory is qualified to the laboratory by meeting these essential conditions, and therefore the laboratory's researchers also comply with their respective obligations. In order to use the laboratory, our team must first complete the minimum bio-safety training (at least 6 hours), and after familiarizing themselves with the basic safety rules of the laboratory, they always conducted experiments under the lead of the researchers.