• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.329-336
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• 2015

When diatomite powder was used as an admixture in mortar, its effects on the mortar strength was examined by experimental tests. For the tests, 4 kinds of commercially available diatomite powder were purchased ; one non-calcined product, one calcined product, and flux-calcined product two. The compressive and flexural strength of the mortar according to the increase of added amount of calcined diatomite powder increased at all test ages(7, 28, and 56 days). However, the use of non-calcined diatomite powder worsened the fluidity of mortar severely and that caused much more required water content. And flux-calcined product did not show useful effect on the mortar strength.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.312-319
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• 2017

For high value-added applications of natural blue diatomite, the physical refining process and synthesis of SiC from refined diatomite were investigated. Approximately 30 percent Fe ($Fe_2O_3$) in raw blue diatomite was removed by a particle sieve separation process; the Fe composition for 325 mesh down powder was approximately 2 percent. Although a wet and/or dry magnetic separation process had some influence on the separation and/or refining of Fe composition, the Fe composition in the non-magnetic by-product was approximately 2 percent. Water leaching separation was effective in removing the Fe composition; approximately 40 percent of the Fe in raw blue diatomite was removed. The synthesis of ${\beta}$-SiC by a carbothermal reduction of the $SiO_2$ in the refined diatomite using carbon (graphite, carbon black), the effects of an acid-treatment on removing the Fe, and the specific surface area for the synthesized powder were also investigated. The impurities were mostly eliminated and the specific surface area was increased to $52.5m^2/g$.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.596-601
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• 2020

Silicon carbide is considered a potentially useful material for high-temperature electronic devices because of its large band gap energy and p-type or n-type conduction that can be controlled by impurity doping. Accordingly, the thermoelectric properties of -SiC powder prepared by refined diatomite were investigated for high value-added applications of natural diatomite. -SiC powder was synthesized by a carbothermal reduction of the SiO₂ in refined diatomite using carbon black. An acid-treatment process was then performed to eliminate the remaining impurities (Fe, Ca, etc.). n-Type semiconductors were fabricated by sintering the pressed powder at 2000℃ for 1~5h in an N2 atmosphere. The electrical conductivity increased with increasing sintering time, which might be due to an increase in carrier concentration and improvement in grain-to-grain connectivity. The carrier compensation effect caused by the remaining acceptor impurities (Al, etc.) in the obtained -SiC had a deleterious influence on the electrical conductivity. The absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient increased with increasing sintering time, which might be due to a decrease in the stacking fault density accompanied by grain or crystallite growth. On the other hand, the power factor, which reflects the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the present work, was slightly lower than that of the porous SiC semiconductors fabricated by conventional high-purity -SiC powder, it can be stated that the thermoelectric properties could be improved further by precise control of an acid-treatment process.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.325-332
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• 2020

In this study, the effects of kaolin addition on the properties of reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composites are investigated. A reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composite is prepared using the replica template method. The microstructure and pore characteristics of the reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composites are analyzed by controlling the PPI value (45, 60, and 80 PPI) of the polyurethane foam (which are used as the polymer template), the ball-milling time (8 and 24 h), and the amount of kaolin (0-50 wt. %). The average pore size decreases as the amount of kaolin increases in the reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composite. As the amount of kaolin increases, it can be determined that the amount of inter-connected pore channels is reduced because the plate-shaped kaolin particles connect the gaps between irregular diatomite particles. Consequently, a higher kaolin percentage affects the overall mechanical properties by improving the pore channel connectivity. The effect of kaolin addition on the basic properties of the reticulated porous diatomite-kaolin composite is further discussed with characterization data such as pore size distribution, scanning electron microscopy images, and compressive strength.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.271-277
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• 2019

Objectives: A 46-year-old woman who had worked on cleaning stainless steel containers with Initially unknown powders died from acute silicosis. To determine whether the acute silicosis was related to his work environment, we conducted exposure assessment the level of exposure to respirable crystalline silica(RCS) during cleaning stainless steel containers with unknown powders. Methods: The exposure assessment of RCS were undertaken according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH) method 7500. The components of the unknown powder were analyzed using X-ray Diffraction. Results: The unknown powder was found to be natural diatomaceous earth, which contained 12% and 9% quartz and cristobalite, respectively, crystalline silica. In the case of cleaning stainless steel containers with diatomaceous earth powder, the primary measurement resulted in 1.3 times higher occupational exposure limit of MOEL(in sum of quartz and cristobalite concentration) and 3.9 times higher in secondary measurement. The workbench was equipped with a local exhaust system, but because there was no hood at the end of the duct, the wind speed at the opening of the duct was 12 m/sec, whereas the controlled wind speed at the working position was only 0.3 m/sec below the legal standard. Conclusions: There is an urgent need to install the hood, conduct safety and health education for employers and workers, and periodically monitoring and manage the working environment.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.146-152
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• 2018

In this study, to improve the performance of asphalt mixtures for plastic deformation occurring mainly in Korea, complex modifiers were prepared by mixing powders and liquid type modifiers. The main constituents were powdery diatomaceous earth, mica and carbon black, and liquid type solid 70% SBR latex. The tensile strength ratios for the two asphalt mixtures used in the test were above 0.80 for the Ministry of Land Transportation (2017) asphalt mixture production and construction guidelines. The effects of increasing the tensile strength in the dry state was more than 14% when the composite modifier was added. The deformation rate per minute by the wheel tracking test load was an average of 0.07 to 0.147 for each mixture. The strain rate per minute was improved by the modifier, and the dynamic stability was improved by almost 100% from 295 to 590. In addition, the final settling was reduced from 11.38 mm to 9.57 mm. A plastic deformation test using the triaxial compression test showed that the amount of deformation entering the plastic deformation failure zone at the end of the second stage section and in the third stage plastic deformation section was 1.76 mm for the conventional mixture and 1.50 mm for the complex modifier mixture. The average slope of the complex modifier asphalt mixture mixed with the multi-functional modifier was 0.005 mm/sec. The plastic deformation rate is relatively small in the section where the road pavement exhibits stable common performance, i.e. the traffic load.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.359-366
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• 2021

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), the multiwalled clay mineral with the composition of Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄·nH₂O, have been highlighted as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of dyes from wastewater. Although a powder of halloysite presents a high specific surface area, forming media are significantly considered due to sludge-clogging induced by the water-bound agglomeration. However, higher firing temperature to achieve the structural durability of the media and lower utilization rate due to longer penetration depth into the media act as hurdles to increase the dye-adsorption capacity. In this work, the retention of the adsorption capacity of halloysite was evaluated with methylene blue solution after the heat treatment at 750 ℃. In order to improve the utilization rate, tubular media were fabricated by extrusion. The images taken by transmission electron microscopy show that HNTs present excellent structural stability under heat treatment. The HNTs also provide superb capacity retention for MB adsorption (93%, 18.5 mg g^-1), while the diatomite and Magnesol^® XL show 22% (7.65 mg g^-1) and 6% (11.7 mg g^-1), respectively. Additionally, compositing with lignin enhances adsorption capacity, and the heat treatment under the hydrogen atmosphere accelerates the adsorption in the early stage. Compared to the rod-type, the tubular halloysite media rapidly increases methylene blue adsorption capacity.