Ms. Asuka Kaneda of Soka University’s Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Environmental Engineering for Symbiosis Master’s Programs*, won the Best Student Poster Presentation Award (LION-Award) at the 54th Annual Conference of Japan Society on Water Environment.

This award is presented to a dozen outstanding undergraduate students, selected from a membership of over 2000, who belong to the historic Japan Society on Water Environment. This is the first time that a Soka University student won the award. While the event was scheduled from March 16th to 18th 2020, it was announced on paper due to Covid-19.

The presentation title was, “Compression of water hyacinth - Consideration of Nutrient Salt based on Methane Fermentation and Energy Collection Method.” This research is conducted as part of PLANET3T, an international and interdisciplinary joint research project that Soka University is engaged in, which plays part of a vital role in infra-technology that solves the overgrowing of aquatic plants in Ethiopia. Through this research, it became clear that by conducting methane fermentation by compressing aquatic plants, these plants can be processed several times or several tens of times faster than before and put into effective use.

Ms. Kaneda who won the award shared, “It is extremely an honor to receive such an award. I am so happy that my research to this day has been recognized. I am doing research on the high-speed processing of water hyacinth that is overgrowing everywhere around the world that is causing transportation obstruction and disturbing the ecosystem. Specifically, we are not only aiming for high-speed processing of water hyacinth but also valuable resource production from water hyacinth with low cost and low environmental impact by using a methane fermentation process, where energy can be collected from wastes, and using compression, a simple processing method. I am determined to continue to engage in my important research, aiming to contribute to a sustainable recycling-based society.”

Co-presenter: Tatsuki Toda (Faculty of Science and Engineering, Professor), Masatoshi Kishi (Faculty of Science and Engineering, Assistant Professor), Kazuo Okamura (Faculty of Science and Engineering, Lecturer), Masaaki Fujiwara, Naoki Mizuno

* Ms. Kaneda was a senior in the Faculty of Science and Engineering when she did the presentation.
Japan Society on Water Environment
54th Annual Conference: Best Student Poster Presentation Award (LION-Award) Recipient:
PLANE3T Project