• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.145-153
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• 2005

I reviewed an ecological and environmental significance of microbial carbon respiration coupled to dis-similatory reduction of fe(III) to Fe(II) which is one of the major processes controlling mineralization of organic matter and behavior of metals and nutrients in various anaerobic environments. Relative significance of Fe(III) reduction in the mineralization of organic matter in diverse marine environments appeared to be extremely variable, ranging from negligible up to $100\%$. Cenerally, Fe(III) reduction dominated anaerobic car-bon mineralization when concentrations of reactive Fe(III) were higher, indicating that availability of reactive Fe(III) was a major factor determining the relative significance of Fe(III) reduction in anaerobic carbon mineralization. In anaerobic coastal sediments where $O_2$ supply is limited, tidal flushing, bioturbation and vegetation were most likely responsible for regulating the availability of Fe(III) for Fe(III) reducing bacteria (FeRB). Capabilities of FeRB in mineralization of organic matter and conversion of metals implied that FeRB may function as a useful eco-technological tool for the bioremediation of anoxic coastal environments contaminated by toxic organic and metal pollutants.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.210-224
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• 2003

Sulfate reduction is a microbiological process which occurs ubiquitously in anaerobic marine environment. Sulfate reducing bacteria play a significant role in anaerobic decomposition of organic matter and regeneration of inorganic nutrients which supports the primary production in the water column (i.e., benthic-pelagic coupling) and, in special case, could be responsible for the harmful algal bloom in the coastal marine environment. Summary of the sulfate reduction rates reported in various marine sedimentary environments revealed that supply of organic substrates and presence of various electron acceptors (i.e., $O_2$, NO$_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ , Fe(III) and Mn(IV), etc.) for other aerobic and anaerobic respiration directly affect the sulfate reduction rate and relative significance of sulfate reduction in organic matter mineralization. Significance of temperature, macrophytes and bioturbation is discussed as factors controlling supply of organic substrates and distribution of electron acceptors. Finally, we suggest studies on the anaerobic microbiological processes associated with biogeochemical element cycles in the coastal environments of Korea where massive operation of organic enriched fish cage farm, frequent occurrence of toxic algal bloom and hypoxia and conservation of tidal flat are of major environmental issues.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.325-343
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• 2023

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have been attracting attention as energy conversion devices that can directly supply methanol liquid fuel without a fuel reforming process. The commercial polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) currently applied to DMFC are perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer-based PEMs, which exhibit high proton conductivity and physicochemical stability during the operation. However, problems such as high methanol permeability and environmental pollutants generated during decomposition require the development of PEMs for DMFCs using novel ionomers. Recently, studies have been reported to develop PEMs using hydrocarbon-based ionomers that exhibit low fuel permeability and high physicochemical stability. This review introduces the following studies on hydrocarbon-based PEMs for DMFC applications: 1) synthesis of grafting copolymers that exhibit distinct hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase-separated structure to improve both proton conductivity and methanol selectivity, 2) introduction of cross-linked structure during PEM fabrication to reduce the methanol permeability and improve dimensional stability, and 3) incorporation of organic/inorganic composites or reinforcing substrates to develop reinforced composite membranes showing improved PEM performances and durability.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.439-446
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• 2009

Nitrogen balance in the regional scale which was calculated the difference between nitrogen input and output was estimated to assess the impact of rice cultivation on water environment. Nitrogen balances in Gyeonggi province, where nitrogen concentration in irrigation water was high and in Chungnam province, where nitrogen absorbtion by rice was high, were -5.4 and -8.3 kg $-8.3kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$, respectively. Nitrogen balances of paddy field in Gangwon province, where nitrogen output was small and irrigation water was clean, and in Gyeongnam province, where organic matter content of soil was high and rice yield was low, were 4.9 and $14.0kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$, respectively. Average nitrogen balance and total nitrogen absorption of paddy field in Korea were estimated to $-0.3kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$ and $-3,315Mg\;yr^{-1}$, respectively. When the nitrogen concentration in irrigation water was increased by $1mg \;L^{-1}$, nitrogen balance of rice paddy changed by $-2.91kg\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$. Also, when nitrogen fertilizer applied was decreased from 110 to $90kg\;ha^{-1}$ and the same harvest was maintained, the nitrogen absorption by rice paddy from irrigation water was estimated to increase by 10,600 Mg per year in Korea. However, in cases, the harvest was reduced to either 90% or 85%, nitrogen balances were changed from -11.7 to -2.3 and $2.4kg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. These results suggest that the reduction of nitrogen fertilizer use may not always lead to a negative nitrogen balance and sustainable agriculture can achieve by not cutting down the use of fertilizer only but by reduction of fertilizer application concurrently by maintenance of harvest and by utilization of environmental characteristics such as nutrient contents in irrigation water and soils.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.348-356
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• 2007

Statistical and probabilistic method was used in the analysis of data, which is the most effective one in describing the various natures, and the methodology relating the results with the design was developed. Influents and effluents of three treatment plants were analyzed and the focus was made on BOD, COD, SS, IN, TP The fluctuations of influent such as BOD, COD, SS were extremely large and their standard deviations(st.dev) were more than 10 mg/L. but those of TN, TP were small; the st.dev was 6.6 mg/L for TN, 0.6 mg/L for TP, respectively. But, effluent concentration showed consistent pattern regardless of the influent fluctuations, the st.dev was ranged between 0.28 and 4.48 mg/L. Effluent distributional characteristics were as follows; BOD, COD were distributed normally, but SS, TN, and TP, log-normally; unsymmetric and skewed to the right. The coefficient of reliability(COR) based on the results of statistics of data was introduced to evaluate the process performance an4 to reflect the process performance to the process design. The coefficient of reliability relates the design value(the goal) with the standards and it can be used in operating treatment facilities under a certain reliability level and/or in evaluating the reliability of the treatment facilities on operation. Each treated water quality of effluent showed the half of water quality standards in the level of 50% percentile and all treatment plant was achieved 100% probability of water quality standards. It was concluded that the variability of the process performance should be reflected to the design procedure and the standards through the analysis based on the statistics and the probability.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1110-1117
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• 2014

Tidal flats are continuously contaminated by human activities. This study assessed the bioremediation efficiency of tidal flat soil using microcosm reactors and microorganisms originating from the tidal area. We screened 135 bacterial strains that produce extracellular enzymes from the tidal area located in the North port of Incheon bay. Two bacterial strains (Pseudoalteromonas sp. and IC35 Halothiobacillus neapolitanus IC_S22) were selected and used in the microcosm reactors, which were specially designed to functionally mimic the ecological conditions of the tidal flats. Pseudoalteromonas sp. IC35 was selected based on its relatively high activity of the enzymes amylase, cellulose, lipase, and protease. Halothiobacillus neapolitanus IC_S22 was selected for oxidation of sulfur. The M1 and M2 microcosm reactors were operated by continuous feeding of seawater under the same conditions, but M2 was first inoculated with Pseudoalteromonas sp. IC35 before the seawater feeding. The initial COD in both the M1 and M2 microcosm reactors was 320 mg/l. The final COD was 21 mg/l (M1) and 7 mg/l (M2). The M3 and M4 microcosm reactors were operated by continuous feeding of seawater under the same conditions, but M4 was first inoculated with H. neapolitanus IC_S22. The initial sulfate concentration in both the M3 and M4 microcosm reactors was 660 mg/l, and the maximum sulfate concentration was 1,360 mg/l (M3) and 1,600 mg/l (M4).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.155-163
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• 1999

Nutrient balance during rice cultivation in the paddy of a local area under the environmental protection for drinking water supply was investigated. To compare nutrient balance in the paddy soil applied with different types of fertilization, 7 treatments were selected as followings : Recommended level of chemical fertilizers(R), Conventional fertilization(CF), Fresh cow manure(FCM), Cow manure compost(CMC), Straw compost+reduced chemical fertilizer(SCF), Fresh straw+recommended level of fertilizers(FSC), and no fertilization as control(C). Here, FCM, CMC and SCF were applied at the same level of total nitrogen as recommended in R. Rice yield was the highest in the recommendation(R) and fresh cow manure (FCM) treatments with $6,730kg\;ha^{-1}$(index 100), and followed by SCF (index 98), FSC (index 98), CMC(index 94), and CF(index 94). But statistically significant difference was not recognized among treatments except the control. Nitrogen infiltration loss was high in the simple chemical fertilizer treatments with $63kg\;ha^{-1}$ in CF and $58kg\;ha^{-1}$ in R during rice cultivation, respectively. Nitrogen infiltration loss was decreased below half level of chemical fertilizer treatments with cow manure treatments ($23kg\;ha^{-1}$ in FCM and $27kg\;ha^{-1}$ in CMC) and with reducing chemical fertilizer treatment by adding straw compost ($25kg\;ha^{-1}$). Phosphate was not leached during rice cultivation in paddy soil of a fluvial deposit type, in which oxidation horizon was developed broadly under around 15 cm depth of surface soil. Phosphate balance (A-B) was closed to 0 in all treatments except cow manure treatment (CMC), in which it was $+30kg\;ha^{-1}$ and show the possibility of over accumulation of phosphate by continuously replicated application of cow manure compost. Potassium balance was negative value in all but straw recycling treatment (FSC). It means that potassium was continuously supplied from soil minerals, uptaken by plants or eluted out of soil. In conclusion, by substituting inorganic fertilizer for organic fertilizer or reducing application rate of chemical fertilizer through mixing organic fertilizer, it would be possible to achieve the same rice yield as in the recommendation treatment and to decrease nutrient leaching below half level in rice paddy soil.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.642-648
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• 2012

To evaluate the water quality in Juksancheon constructed wetlands for treating non-point source pollution, the removal rates of nutrients in water and the total amounts of T-N and T-P uptakes by water plants were investigated. Chemical characteristics of T-N and T-P in sediment were investigated. The concentrations of BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), SS (Suspended Solids), T-N and T-P in inflow were 0.07~1.47, 0.60~2.65, 0.50~4.60, 1.38~6.26 and $0.08{\sim}0.32mg\;L^{-1}$, respectively. The removal rates of BOD, COD, SS, T-N, and T-P were -10, 51, 66, -3 and 5%, respectively. The maximum amount of T-N uptake by water plants in August was $368.7mg\;plant^{-1}$ in the $2^{nd}$ treatment stage by Nymphoides peltata, $1314.6mg\;plant^{-1}$ in the $3^{rd}$ treatment stage by Iris pseudacorus, $1160.4mg\;plant^{-1}$ in the $4^{th}$ treatment stage by Nymphaea tetragona GEORGI, respectively. The maximum amount of T-P uptake by water plants in August was $121.7mg\;plant^{-1}$ by Nymphoides peltata in the $2^{nd}$ treatment stage, $268.7mg\;plant^{-1}$ by Iris pseudacorus in the $3^{rd}$ treatment stage and $212.0mg\;plant^{-1}$ by Nymphaea tetragona GEORGI in the $4^{th}$ treatment stage, respectively. Organic matter contents in sediments were not different. Contents of T-N and T-P in sediments were higher in spring. Microbial biomass C:N:P ratios in sediments in spring, summer, autumn and winter were 117~140:1~4:1, 86~126:5~6:1, 68~101:2~6:1 and 47~138:2~4:1, respectively. We could conclude that Juksancheon constructed wetlands show high removal efficiencies of COD and SS. However, improvements of management in winter season should be considered to improve the removal efficiencies of pollutants.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.687-692
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• 2006

This experiment was performed to evaluate the characteristics of BNR system performance, behavior of pollutants as organic and nitrogen at each basin and the effects of C/N ratio on biological nitrogen removal with methanol as an external carbon source for a low C/N ratio municipal wastewater. A lab-scale $A_2O$ system by employing the aerobic basin with the fluidized polyurethane media, which was $10{\sim}20$ mm rube type like a sponge, was used. The aerobic basin was hybrid type to be suspended and fixed biomass. The obtained results from this study were as follows; When no methanol was added, suspended biomass was 3 times more than that of the fluidized media in this system(total biomass 80 g). Biomass growed by an external carbon was firstly attached on media, and then suspended. $COD_{Cr}$ concentration for the effluent was a range of 13 to 29 mg/L regardless of pouring an external carbon. For nitrogen, the effluent concentration was $20.0{\sim}35.9mg/L$(removal efficiency; 18%) in case of no addition of an external carbon, but was $2.5{\sim}9.0mg/L$(removal efficiency ; $71{\sim}83%$) with addition of methanol. For the characteristics of pollutants removal, most of $COD_{Cr}$ were removed at the anaerobic basin when no external organic carbon was added, and were removed at the anoxic basin in case of adding external organic carbon but at the aerobic basin in case of adding excess external organic carbon. On the other hand, most TIN(total inorganic nitrogen) were removed at the anaerobic basin when no external organic carbon was added, but when an external organic carbon was added, they were removed at the anaerobic basin under unstable condition and at the anoxic basin under stable condition.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.133-147
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• 2004

Environmental quality(water and sediment) was analyzed in the tidal flat of Saemangum of Jeonbuk Province, the west coast of Korea, using the 101 sediment samples and 69 water samples collected in September 4~13, 2001. Major water quality parameters with the means of 69 surface water samples are as follows; $25.51{\pm}0.68^{\circ}C$ for water temperature, $29.88{\pm}5.01$ for salinity, $1.40{\pm}0.78mg/L$ for COD, $0.352{\pm}0.417mg/L$ for DIN, and $0.027{\pm}0.023mg/L$ for phosphate, respectively. Higher values were found at the subestuary of Dongjin and Mangyung River, and lower values at the Saemangum embayment and Gomso Bay. There was a significant negative correlation between salinity and the other water quality parameters(p<0.0001) such as COD, nutrients, SS and N/P. This correlation suggested that the major pollution sources be from terrestrial inputs through tributaries in this area. Principal component analysis clearly revealed a spatial variation of water quality; stations with higher values of nutrients and COD located subestuary of tributaries. 14 sediment quality parameters including 8 trace metals were measured using the 101 surface sediment samples. Average values for the parameters are as follows; Al $2.28{\pm}0.92%$, Cd $0.61{\pm}0.27ppm$, Cu $8.95{\pm}4.06ppm$, Fe $1.19{\pm}0.37%$, Mn $182.31{\pm}77.45ppm$, Ni $10.83{\pm}4.97ppm$, Pb $15.20{\pm}4.35ppm$, Zn $41.34{\pm}34.62ppm$, COD $2.68{\pm}1.85mg/g\;dry$, AVS $0.04{\pm}0.08mg/g\;dry$, IL $1.29{\pm}1.08%$, water content $24.11{\pm}4.49%$, TN $0.02{\pm}0.02%$, TC $0.22{\pm}0.30%$. Spatial variations of sediment quality were not clear as water quality. Some higher values were found at the subestuary of Gum River and lower values at the other area. There was a significant positive correlation between the heavy metal concentrations and organic materials within the sediment(p<0.05). Enrichment factors showed the ranges of 1~2 for most of the metals in the sediment except zinc(1~6), indicating no serious exogenous input of heavy metals in the study area. Also, the heavy metal concentrations in the sediment were within the ranges found at the natural marine environments.