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Kobayashi Lab
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A lab that researches technology for purifying iron and for supporting the safety of nuclear reactors.
AboutAbout the lab
Controlling the impurities inside metals exactly as intended
The Kobayashi Lab studies metal smelting, recycling, and deoxidation technologies based on thermodynamics.
As high-quality iron ore becomes scarcer, the lab explores refining methods that make good use of low-grade ore and iron scrap.
It also investigates what happened to core materials in severe nuclear reactor accidents, with the aim of contributing to safe decommissioning.
The lab belongs to the Laboratory for Zero-Carbon Energy in the Institute of Integrated Research, and to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Materials and Chemical Technology.
Key terms
- Refining
- The process of removing impurities from a metal and adjusting it to the desired composition
- Deoxidation
- A treatment that removes oxygen from molten metal. It can reduce the oxides that cause defects
- Fuel debris
- Material formed when fuel and surrounding materials melted and mixed in a nuclear reactor accident, then cooled and solidified
NewsLab news
An initiative of the university alliance led by Prof. Kobayashi won the Engineering Education Award
Prof. Kobayashi won the Academic Achievement Award from the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan
A graduate of the lab won the paper award for early-career researchers from the Japan Institute of Metals and Materials
A master's student won the Best Presentation Award at the Tokyo-area Materials Processing Forum
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies metal smelting, recycling, and deoxidation technologies from the fundamentals, based on thermodynamics. It also investigates what happens to materials in severe nuclear reactor accidents, aiming to contribute to safe decommissioning.
*Illustrative imageControlling impurities in steel
As high-quality iron ore becomes scarcer, using low-grade ore and recycling iron scrap are becoming important. The lab investigates refining agents that remove phosphorus and sulfur effectively and place a small burden on the environment.
*Illustrative imageDeoxidation technology for metallic materials
For steel that requires high formability, it is desirable to thoroughly remove oxide inclusions, which become the starting points of defects. The lab conducts fundamental research on electrochemical deoxidation, which is attracting attention as a deoxidation method that leaves no inclusions, and on the thermodynamics of the deoxidation process for iron-neodymium magnets.
*Illustrative imageSevere nuclear reactor accidents and materials
In the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the temperature of the reactor core rose, and the fuel, cladding tubes, control materials, and structural materials reacted in complex ways to form fuel debris. The lab evaluates what reactions led to its formation, in research aimed at safe decommissioning.
MembersFaculty
The Kobayashi Lab's members consist of faculty, administrative staff, technical staff, visiting professors, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYoshinao KobayashiPublications ↗
- Project ProfessorRonald George Ballinger
- Project ProfessorYosuke ShiratoriPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorKentaro Urata
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Flaring of Converter Gas at Night” Aciarium / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Controlling impurities in steel: “CompactedSteelScraps” Rotor DB / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Deoxidation technology for metallic materials: “Steel ladle car” Borvan53 / Public domain (cropped)
- Severe nuclear reactor accidents and materials: “Reactor model at the Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant visitor centre, Däniken, Solothurn” Christian David / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (大井研究室): “Rusty bands of scrap iron” W.carter / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (多田英司研究室): “20150926 IleDeSeinBrittany rustedMooringBollard DSC07958 PtrQs” PtrQs / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (林幸研究室): “Appleby Frodingham Steelworks - blast furnace complex - geograph.org.uk - 5923906” Chris Allen / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (吉田研究室): “Silicon carbide mirror subjected to thermal–vacuum testing ESA377848” European Space Agency / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
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