Combination of exothermic and endothermic reactions is a very interesting problem for the effective use of the reaction heat in chemical reactions, and it has involved many studies as it can provide the possibility of simultaneously obtaining various materials in one reactor.

1.4-butanediol is converted to γ-butyrolactone by dehydrogenation reactions, which accepts much heat and releases hydrogen. The hydrogenation reaction of furfural is exothermic and needs hydrogen. This reaction, combined with a dehydrogenation reaction, can simultaneously solve reaction temperature retention and hydrogen feedstock problems.

Ri Jong Chol, a researcher at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, designed a complex process for suppressing the local temperature rises of catalysts caused by exothermic reactions in the gas-phase hydrogenation of furfural and realizing temperature stabilization by combining exothermic reactions with endothermic reactions by dehydrogenation of 1.4-butanediol.

He constructed a process for simultaneous performance of the hydrogenation of the furfural and the dehydrogenation of 1.4-butanediol using Cu/MgO catalyst in a single reactor, and analyzed the effect of mixture ratio of furfural and 1.4-butanediol in the feed, reactor pressure and inlet temperature on the adiabatic temperature change of reactor.

When the mixing ratio of furfural and 1.4-butanediol was 1:1.2, the temperature change was about 20~30℃ within the 1 meter section of a reactor in the adiabatic conditions.

If further details are needed, please refer to his paper “Simulation of a Furfuryl Alcohol Synthesis Process Combining Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions” in “Proceedings of KUTIC-2025”.

In order to improve working environments, cyclone separators are widely used in dust-producing equipment and production processes.

Since the gas flow inside cyclone separators is very unstable and strongly swirling, it is more reasonable to perform computer simulations than to conduct field experiments. Some previous studies on CFD simulations of cyclones showed that it is important to select a suitable turbulence model to accurately simulate the complex swirling flow occurring inside cyclones.

Although some researchers studied on dust deposition and erosion in CFD simulations of cyclone flow, almost all of them focused on the effects of various geometrical parameters such as inlet dimensions, cyclone length, cylinder diameter, outlet diameter, cone tip diameter, etc.

However, erosion is a very important issue for cyclone separators if the dust is a highly abrasive particle.

Kim Jong Min, a researcher at the Faculty of Mining Engineering, investigated the effect of erosion on the efficiency of dust collection and the erosion rate caused by calcium carbonate particles at different inlet velocities.

He conducted CFD simulations by ANSYS FLUENT using the RSM turbulence model and the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach.

The simulation results showed that erosion is mainly concentrated in the inlet and bottom regions in cyclone separators, which negatively affects the dust removal efficiency of cyclone separators, and that as the velocity increases, the erosion rate of the cyclone separator affected by dust increases.

You can find more details in his paper “Numerical Simulation of Erosion Characteristics for Cyclone Separator with Abrasive Dust Particles” in “Proceedings of KUTIC-2025”.

The expansion of computer network infrastructure and the rapid development of information and communication technology and software technology have laid a solid foundation for the realization of online real-time lectures.

The campus real-time distance lectures are video conferencing sessions in the campus where teachers and students interact with each other in a defined time by connecting to the distance lecture system. In the past, direct communication between teachers and students was textual, but the development of online communication technology and multimedia real-time transmission technology made it possible to transmit even the images and sounds of teachers in real time without any restrictions, thus making it possible to give as good distance lectures as traditional classroom education. Recently, new IT tools and communication technologies have been combined with traditional learning processes to support students’ learning.

Jong Kum Sil, a lecturer at the Faculty of Online Education, proposed and implemented a campus real-time two-way distance lecture and learning discussion system for video conferencing with distance education using local networks.

The system is for providing various forms of lectures, discussions and examinations by using IT means in multi-functional classroom environments and local networks. It enhances the density and effectiveness of teaching and puts the whole course of teaching on an IT basis by means of multimedia communication of texts, audio, images, videos and multimedia files among instructors and students, and the interaction between them by virtual boards.

This system can be applied to real-time lectures, academic discussion and question-and-answer sessions. It can be easily introduced using the tutorial network of educational units.

You can find more information in her paper “A Campus Real-Time Distance Lecture System” in “Proceedings of KUTIC-2025”.