[Mid-sized Business Master Series]⑨ Kinaba Kang In-guk, Head of Research Institute... Pioneer of Korea's Environmental Industry First Generation

"When You Start a Job, You Must See It Through"... 35 Years of Field Work in Environmental Technology
The Commercialization Process Is Challenging, Requiring Changes in Civic Awareness and Active Government Support

"Take time to prepare and wrap up your day."

Kang In-guk, director of Kinaba Research Institute and a pioneer in the domestic eco-friendly industry as well as a top expert in the environmental field, said, "I wake up every dawn to think about the tasks for the day, and before going to sleep, I review the day's schedule. Everyone is given the same 24 hours, and I do my best to spend this time meaningfully."

Kang In-guk, head of the Kinaba Research Institute, is explaining the 'Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC)' device at the 'G2E Center@Gurye' in Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do. Gurye=Photo by Kim Jong-hwa

Kinaba is an eco-friendly specialized venture company that produces and sells renewable energy such as solid fuel and biochar using livestock manure and food waste, and designs and manufactures related plants. Since 2019, it has been conducting various projects domestically and internationally, including research and development (R&D) tasks under the Small and Medium Business Technology Information Promotion Agency (TIPA).

Director Kang started his career in 1989 by joining Hyundai Engineering's Environmental Technology Research Institute and has been working on environmental technology development and commercialization for 35 years this year.

Bachelor’s and Master’s Graduate of Environmental Engineering, First Graduating Class... Life as a Pioneer in the Environmental Industry

He was part of the class of 1980 at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, the first graduate of the Environmental Engineering Department, and also the first graduate of the Environmental Engineering Department at Ajou University Graduate School. At a time when only five universities in Korea had environmental engineering departments, he is a first-generation industrial soldier who pioneered the domestic environmental industry. "The 1980 livestock manure leakage incident at Yongin Natural Farm caused a social stir, which made me realize the importance of environmental experts and motivated me to delve deeper into the environmental field," he said.

Professor Jung Yoon-jin of Ajou University, his graduate advisor, was a great support. Professor Jung, the most authoritative figure in the domestic environmental field, personally designed and manufactured experimental equipment that no other university or lab in Korea had, enabling experiments to be conducted.

One representative experimental device that he and Professor Jung designed and built together was the "Anaerobic Digester Experimental Apparatus." This complex experimental device involved placing livestock manure inside the apparatus, attaching a heater outside to maintain a constant 35℃ to supply warm air, and separately collecting the gas generated by the decomposition of organic matter, automatically measuring the amount of gas produced.

Director Kang In-guk of Kinaba Laboratory during his time as a graduate assistant at Ajou University Graduate School. He posed in front of the 'Anaerobic Digester Experimental Device' that he built over two months based solely on the blueprint received from his advisor at the time. Personal collection of Kang In-guk

A Tenacious Person Who Built Experimental Equipment Working Through Two Months of Sleepless Nights Just from Blueprints

"I am the type who sees things through once I start," he said. "After receiving the blueprints from my advisor, I spent two months during the vacation working from dawn till late at night to complete the apparatus alone. I think the professor didn’t expect me to finish it by myself. He planned to build it together after his overseas schedule, but he was surprised when I completed it on my own," he recalled.

Professor Jung generously passed on his know-how to him. His master's thesis, "Treatment of Swine Manure and Biogas Production Using Anaerobic Digesters," remains one of the frequently cited papers. Professor Jung, who earned his Ph.D. in anaerobic treatment at the University of Texas at Austin, provided advanced technology and knowledge that greatly benefited his research. The experimental device designed by Professor Jung and built by him was benchmarked by universities nationwide and continued to be used by his juniors.

Waste treatment methods include 'aerobic' treatment, which uses oxygen in the air to oxidize organic matter, and 'anaerobic' treatment, which decomposes organic matter by applying heat without oxygen contact. He delved into anaerobic treatment, which many researchers avoid due to its strong odors, sensitivity to temperature changes, and high sediment production.

Director Kang said, "Although influenced by my mentor, I was convinced that anaerobic treatment is more efficient for livestock manure and food waste. Aerobic treatment mostly results in waste after processing, but anaerobic treatment can produce compost, solid fuel, biochar, and biogas," emphasizing the benefits.

Kang In-guk, head of the Kinaba Research Institute, is being interviewed by Asia Economy at the 'G2E Center@Gurye' in Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do. Gurye=Photo by Kim Jong-hwa

"I Was Amazed by Work Instructions Perfectly Matched to Employee Capabilities"… Learning Fieldwork at the Workplace

Although he learned knowledge and technology at school, he learned the fieldwork at the company. At Hyundai Engineering Environmental Technology Research Institute, Kang In-guk was the first researcher in the environmental engineering field. At that time, his supervisor did not assign him excessive tasks but gave him just enough work that he could handle.

He said, "I was amazed that the supervisor assessed the employee’s capabilities and assigned tasks accordingly. I thought I should learn that skill, so I carefully observed his tone and behavior to learn. He always stayed on site, and applying the work style I learned then to the field allows work to proceed smoothly without major difficulties," he said.

In 1996, while serving as a manager at Hyundai Engineering Environmental Technology Research Institute, he developed a "High-Concentration Organic Wastewater Treatment Method and Device" after five years of research and received the Hyundai Technology Award. Although he received a large prize of 50 million won, an even more joyful moment was in 1991 when an anaerobic digester was installed at Haetae Industry, a feed company in Okcheon, Chungbuk. Director Kang said, "I can never forget the joy of that moment. The time and place where my theory and technology were first commercialized are unforgettable."

His connection with Kinaba began in 2019 when CEO Choi Kang-il founded Kinaba and invited him to join. The combination of CEO Choi, an authority on hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology that utilizes residual organic matter through pyrolysis without air, and Director Kang, an expert in anaerobic treatment, became the key to Kinaba’s growth. Kinaba’s plant produces solid fuel, biochar, and biogas by anaerobic treatment of the liquid remaining after the hydrothermal carbonization reaction.

In February 2020, Kinaba operated a booth at the 'G2E Consortium' event held in Metro Vancouver, Canada. At this event, they also signed a business agreement with a local company. The second person from the left is Choi Kang-il, CEO of Kinaba, and the person at the far right is Kang In-guk, Director of the Research Institute. Personal collection of Kang In-guk

"I Still Wake Up at 4 a.m. Every Day and Study Late into the Night."

As a pioneer in the domestic environmental field, Director Kang has never neglected research. He still wakes up at 4 a.m. daily, studies late into the night, and contemplates solutions to unresolved processes. Dozens of papers such as "Study on High-Concentration Swine Wastewater Treatment Using Anaerobic Digesters" and "High-Concentration Organic Industrial Wastewater Treatment by Anaerobic Upflow Process" have emerged from this process.

He has applied theories such as "Development of High-Efficiency Biological Reactors for Combined Anaerobic and Aerobic Treatment," "Development of Membrane-Coupled Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal Wastewater Treatment Processes," and "Development of Food Waste Resource Recovery Technology and Equipment for Plants" to design and manufacture numerous landfill and wastewater treatment facilities for major companies, public institutions, and local governments.

Thanks to his efforts, from 2026, the "Act on Promotion of Biogas Production and Use Using Organic Waste" will mandate the installation of anaerobic digesters at pig farms with more than 25,000 heads. The experimental equipment designed and built in the graduate lab has been commercialized as essential environmental equipment used at actual pig farms.

The biogas collected by operating anaerobic digesters at pig farms is used to run generators. Director Kang, who is currently leading the final plant production work at the "G2E Center@Gurye" in Gurye County, Jeonnam, introduced, "The G2E Center@Gurye, currently in trial operation, processes 100 tons of pig manure daily. If the biogas produced is used to run generators, it can generate 400 kWh of electricity per hour." This amount of electricity can supply about 130 households per hour.

Kang In-guk, Director of the Kinaba Research Institute, explaining the 'Anaerobic Digester' and 'Biogas Storage Tank' at the 'G2E Center@Gurye' in Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do. The large tank behind Director Kang is the biogas storage tank. Gurye - Photo by Kim Jong-hwa

"Urgent Need for Change in Public Awareness to Solve Environmental Problems"

While the commercialization of such technology is immensely rewarding, the process is arduous. Recently, the 'banana' phenomenon, where people oppose the installation of undesirable facilities not only in their neighborhood but in their entire living area, has become more prominent, making commercialization even more difficult. Finding sites for environmental facilities is as difficult as picking stars in the sky due to the perception of environmental facilities as undesirable.

Director Kang emphasized, "Although various renewable energy production technologies using organic waste such as livestock manure and food waste have been developed recently, commercialization is becoming increasingly difficult due to excessive costs caused by the NIMBY phenomenon. A change in public awareness to solve environmental problems and active government support are necessary."

His motto is "Flexible thinking and practical application." As a researcher, closed-mindedness is extremely dangerous. Flexibility to accept others' opinions is the raw material for generating ideas, and putting those ideas immediately into theory through practice is crucial, he believes.

He advised junior workers, "You must become a definite expert in your field. Whatever you do now, once you start, you must see it through. Even if you do other work later, you should be able to handle your current work skillfully if needed."

◆Words of a Master

The process of commercializing eco-friendly technology is tough. Problems that arise on-site must be solved as they occur. In such situations, the most necessary thing is to "empty your mind." Engineers often try to achieve 120 when the target is 100. I have done that too. But if you do 90 properly and then gradually reach 100, the work goes smoothly and mistakes decrease. When you let go of greed, your thinking becomes flexible, and solutions come more easily.