Based on discussions of a future vision for Kyushu University, Chisato Kajiyama (former president of Kyushu University) and Osamu Tsukamoto (Director-General for Regional Economic and Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) agreed to promote the project entitled “Development of Core Human Resources in Utilization of Coal and Other Fossil Fuels (FY 2007-2009) (hereinafter, the Project) in order to leverage the strengths of Kyushu University. Professor Isao Mochida was appointed to lead and promote the Project, and it was operated with cooperation from the entire university community. Recognizing Japan's energy situation and the unique role of coal in the environmental context, the Project aimed to develop human resources with broad, deep, and diverse skills that would be involved in relevant fields, based on close cooperation among industry, government, and academia. As part of these efforts, instructional materials were developed as a medium for communication to be used in lectures, seminars, and exercises through which academic and technical foundations would be built. The instructional materials are intended for specialists from industry, government, and academia (particularly, young researchers, engineers, and policymakers) and provide detailed explanations, ranging from basics to applied technologies, regarding Japan’s situation in the areas of materials, environment, and energy (including actual examples from industry). These materials are unique assets that crystallize the invaluable technical expertise and wisdom of experts who gathered to pass on to the next generation the academic foundations, technologies, and knowledge that led to Japan's rapid economic growth. The materials have met the expectations of young students, researchers, engineers, and government officials who participated in the Project. The Project was taken over by the Carbon Center (a predecessor of the GT Center), which was established in 2008. As the use of coal resources became prevalent, the Project was then taken over by the Carbon Energy Center and the Asian Energy and Environment Center at the Kyushu University Chikushi Campus, but the unique role of coal resources has become less prominent.
More than 10 years have passed since the end of the Project, and the situation surrounding the use of coal and other fossil fuels has drastically changed. In particular, we can see significant effects of recent fast-moving efforts to achieve the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities by the second half of this century, which was set out in the Paris Agreement in order to keep global warming below 2 °C. It bears emphasis that many of the instructional materials produced through the Project have already discussed actions that preceded the Sustainable Development Goals, such as dealing with the global environmental impacts of the use of fossil fuels, utilizing them as new materials, and promoting waste minimization in their industrial use. While recent trends favor reduced use of fossil resources and decarbonization, the fact remains that technologies and projects have been implemented that have contributed to reducing CO 2 emissions through increased efficiency; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; and biomass utilization. If we continue to use fossil resources without effective measures to directly reduce the CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere, disastrous consequences to the global environment can be easily foreseen. However, for a society where the use of renewable energies is widespread, the question arises as to whether fossil hydrocarbons provided to humankind are merely geological features that have no role in supporting human society and civilization.
The instructional materials contained information on advanced research and technologies at the time of the Project, which have inevitably become obsolete over time. Therefore, many of the authors were asked to update data and information, and the updated materials have been made widely available in the archive for the Project at Kyushu University. Since some of the original information, including solutions and countermeasures to certain problems, stands the test of time and still provides useful hints, such information remains unmodified in instructional materials. The archive also includes, with consent of relevant authors, records of changes (i.e., changes due to social and technological advancements and those due to changing values).
We hope that as society moves toward reducing the use of fossil resources, young engineers and researchers in the field of resources and materials from academia, government, and industry (e.g., the electric power, steel, and commerce industries) utilize these instructional materials as useful tools that provide guidance and foundations in research and education necessary for intelligently navigating the future.
November 26, 2021
Isao Mochida (Kyushu univ. emeritus professor) mochida@keea.or.jp
Seong-Ho Yoon (Kyushu univ. professor) yoon@cm.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Toshihiro Aramaki (secretariat) t_aramaki@cm.kyushu-u.ac.jp
The mission of the Development of Core Human Resources in Utilization of Coal and Other Fossil Fuels project at Kyushu University (FY 2007-2009; hereinafter, the Project) was to master methods of human resources development (including hands-on experience) by taking advantage of the accumulated wisdom of predecessors who had fossil resources before these human resources in the industrial sector were depleted. In the Project, we considered it extremely important to preserve, in the form of instructional materials, knowledge worthy of passing on to the next generation. With support from various entities, we sought the cooperation from many members of the instructional materials development committee in order to develop materials that would be used in lectures at Kyushu University. Thanks to their cooperation, we successfully developed instructional materials for six fields (36 subjects, in Japanese), some of which have been translated into English (13 subjects).
The materials were used in courses for graduate students and young professionals from various companies; however, despite our keen awareness of the significance of publishing these materials, our aim to do so was not yet fulfilled due to issues involving clarifying and transferring copyrights. Providing information on unseen realities in industry to young people at universities and research institutes, who will be leaders of the next generation, through instructional materials is expected to have significant effects. Although it is meaningful to add results from the latest ongoing research projects to instructional materials, we believe that materials without such new content can still provide hints for problem solving to anyone involved in the use of fossil resources.
Encouraged by the enthusiasm of Professor Mochida, who led the Project, we started consulting with experts at the end of 2018 regarding the publication of the instructional materials and have received support and constructive comments from them. We then sent questionnaires to the authors of the instructional materials, received consent from the vast majority of them, and have become able to publish materials. During this process, there have been unexpected twists and turns, including changes to university-related organizations and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, thanks to Professor Yoon's efforts, we are now able to publish materials through the Kyushu University website (*2).
Considering issues such as inaccessible authors, lack of consent from some, and remaining copyright issues, we prioritized materials that have received approval or that have been revised in order to lower the barriers to publication, rather than lumping together all existing developed materials.
We look forward to receiving feedback and opinions from readers of the published materials. For materials requiring revision, we plan to ask the authors to make modifications. Though making such requests was not initially considered, we think that it would be a feasible and efficient way to omit peer reviews, considering the effort, funding, and time required. We would appreciate authors’ understanding regarding this matter.
The fact that the publication of instructional materials was realized around the time when the Order of the Sacred Treasure was conferred on Professor Isao Mochida (project representative; Professor Emeritus, Kyushu University) (April 2021) was due in large part to the efforts of Professor Seong-Ho Yoon of Kyushu University, for which we express our deepest appreciation.
Toshihiro Aramaki (secretariat/Off-Campus Affairs)