• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.275-284
• /
• 2022

Changes in air temperature, CO₂ concentration and precipitation due to climate change are expected to have a significant impact on soybean productivity. This study was conducted to evaluate the climate change impact on growth and development of determinate soybean cultivar in the southern parts of Korea. The high temperature during vegetative period, which does not accompany the increase of CO₂ concentration, increased the canopy photosynthetic rate in soybean, but after flowering, the high temperature above the optimal ranges interrupts the photosynthetic metabolism. In yield and yield components, high temperature reduced both the pod and seed number and single seed weight, resulting in a reduction of total seed yield. On the other hand, the increase in CO₂ concentration dramatically increased the canopy photosynthetic rate over the whole growth period. In addition, high CO₂ concentration increased the number of pods and seeds, which had a positive effect on total seed yield. Under concurrent elevation of air temperature and CO₂ concentration, canopy photosynthesis increased significantly, but enhanced canopy photosynthesis did not lead to an increase in soybean seed yield. The increase in biomass and branch by enhanced canopy photosynthesis seems to be attributed to an increase in the total number of pods and seeds per plant, which compensates for the negative effects of high temperature on pod development. However, Single seed weight tended to decrease rapidly by high temperature, regardless of CO₂ concentration level. Elevated CO₂ concentration did not compensate for the poor distribution of assimilations from source to sink caused by high temperature. These results show that the damage of future soybean yield and quality is closely related to high temperature stress during seed filling period.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.269-277
• /
• 2022

With the recent development of the biological enzymatic reaction industry, lactic acid (LA) can be mass-produced from biomass sources. In particular, a catalytic process that converts LA into acrylic acid (AA) is receiving much attention because AA is used widely in the petrochemical industry as a monomer for superabsorbent polymers (SAP) and as an adhesive for displays. In the LA conversion process, NaY zeolites have been previously shown to be a high-activity catalyst, which improves AA selectivity and long-term stability. However, NaY zeolites suffer from fast deactivation due to severe coking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to modify the acid-base properties of the NaY zeolite to address this shortcoming. First, base promoters, Ca ions, were introduced to the NaY zeolites to tune their acidity and basicity via ion exchange (IE) and incipient wetness impregnation (IWI). The IWI method showed superior catalyst selectivity and stability compared to the IE method, maintaining a high AA yield of approximately 40% during the 16 h reaction. Based on the NH₃- and CO₂-TPD results, the calcium salts that impregnated into the NaY zeolites were proposed to exit as an oxide form mainly at the exterior surface of NaY and act as additional base sites to promote the dehydration of LA to AA. The NaY zeolites were further treated with KOH before calcium impregnation to reduce the total acidity and improve the dispersion of calcium through the mesopores formed by KOH-induced desilication. However, this KOH treatment did not lead to enhanced AA selectivity. Finally, calcium loading was increased from 1wt% to 5wt% to maximize the amount of base sites. The increased basicity improved the AA selectivity substantially to 65% at 100% conversion while maintaining high activity during a 24 h reaction. Our results suggest that controlling the basicity of the catalyst is key to obtaining high AA selectivity and high catalyst stability.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.349-353
• /
• 2014

Succinic acid is an important precursor in industries producing biopolymers, pharmaceutical and food additives and green solvents. However, due to the high price of petroleum and the global $CO_2$ emission, the biological production of succinic acid from renewable biomass is a novel process due to the fixation of $CO_2$ into succinate during fermentation. In this study, aqueous two phase systems based on imidazolium ionic liquids/$K_2HPO_4$ were used as an effective separation and concentration process for succinic acid. Experimental results show that aqueous two phase systems can be formed by adding appropriate amount of imidazolium ionic liquids to aqueous $K_2HPO_4$ solutions in the presence of succinic acid. It can be found that the ability of imidazolium ionic liquids for phase separation followed the order [HMIm][Br]${\fallingdotseq}$[OMIm][Br]>[BMIm][Br]>[EMIm][Br]. The maximum value of extraction efficiency for succinic acid was about 90% and the amount of coextracted water into top phase is proportional to the chain length of cation in imidazolium ionic liquids. It was concluded that the aqueous two phase systems composed of imidazolium ionic liquids/$K_2HPO_4$ was effective for the selective extraction and concentration of succinic acid.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.460-467
• /
• 2016

A filamentous cyanobacterium, Limnothrix sp. KNUA012, was axenically isolated from a freshwater bloom sample in Lake Hapcheon, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. Its morphological and molecular characteristics led to identification of the isolate as a member of the genus Limnothrix. Maximal growth was attained when the culture was incubated at 25℃. Analysis of its lipid composition revealed that strain KNUA012 could autotrophically synthesize alkanes, such as pentadecane (C₁₅H₃₂) and heptadecane (C₁₇H₃₆), which can be directly used as fuel without requiring a transesterification step. Two genes involved in alkane biosynthesis－an acyl-acyl carrier protein reductase and an aldehyde decarbonylase－were present in this cyanobacterium. Some common algal biodiesel constituents－myristoleic acid (C_14:1), palmitic acid (C_16:0), and palmitoleic acid (C_16:1)－were produced by strain KNUA012 as its major fatty acids. A proximate analysis showed that the volatile matter content was 86.0% and an ultimate analysis indicated that the higher heating value was 19.8 MJ kg⁻¹. The isolate also autotrophically produced 21.4 mg g⁻¹ phycocyanin－a high-value antioxidant compound. Therefore, Limnothrix sp. KNUA012 appears to show promise for application in cost-effective production of microalga-based biofuels and biomass feedstock over crop plants.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.318-326
• /
• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the potential of non-used forest biomass residues as raw materials for making wood pellets with additives such as wood tar and starch and to evaluate fuel characteristics of the pellets. Wood tar, a by-product provided from the carbonization process of wood, could be a suitable additive for wood pellet production due to its higher calorific value and lower hazardous heavy metals, such as cadmium and mercury, compared to woody biomass. When the wood tar (10 wt%) was added, the calorific value was increased from 4,630 kcal/kg (wood pellet without additive) to 4,800 kcal/kg (wood pellet with additive). With the increase of additive amount into wood pellet, the length and individual density of wood pellet increased. In addition, bulk density of the pellets was increased, whereas the fine content was decreased. Consequently the overall productivity of wood pellets was improved by adding 2 w% additives into wood pellets; the percentage of productivity increase was 5.9% and 4.9% for adding starch and wood tar, respectively.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.107-111
• /
• 2009

This experiment was conducted to select optimum hydroponic systems for clean and mass production for shoot and root of Echinacea. E. purpurea and E. angustifolia. were grown at 5 different kinds of hydroponic systems; NFT, modified NFT, DFT, aeroponics, and Ebb & Flow for 150 days. The lowest photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate were in Ebb & Flow system in E. purpurea and E. angustifolia at 120 days after transplanting. The shoot fresh and dry weight were high in aeroponic and DFT system of E. angustifolia and in aeroponic and NFT system of E. purpurea at 150 days after transplanting. The root fresh and dry weight of both species were the highest in aeroponic system and next to modified NFT system. They were increased in NFT and Ebb & Flow system for the root length and in aeroponic system for the number of tillering. The results demonstrate that aeroponic system was the most effective for enhancement shoot and root biomass of Echinacea spp. in hydroponics.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.31-40
• /
• 2014

The Korean government made the 2nd Energy Basic Plan to achieve 11% of new and renewable energies distribution rate until 2035 as a response to cope with international discussion about greenhouse gas emission reduction. Renewable energies include solar thermal, photovoltaic, bioenergy, wind power, small hydropower, geothermal energy, ocean energy, and waste energy. New energies contain fuel cells, coal gasification and liquefaction, and hydrogen. As public and private investment to enhance the distribution of new and renewable energies, it is necessary to clarify the economic effects of the new and renewable energies sector. To the end, this study attempts to apply an input-output analysis and analyze the economic effects of new and renewable energies sector using 2012 input-output table. Three topics are dealt with. First, production-inducing effect, value-added creation effect, and employment-inducing effect are quantified based on demand-driven model. Second, supply shortage effects are analyzed employing supply-driven model. Lastly, price pervasive effects are investigated applying Leontief price model. The results of this analysis are as follows. First, one won of production or investment in new and renewable energies sector induces 2.1776 won of production and 0.7080 won of value-added. Moreover, the employment-inducing effect of one billion won of production or investment in new and renewable energies sector is estimated to be 9.0337 persons. Second, production shortage cost from one won of supply failure in new and renewable energies sector is calculated to be 1.6314 won, which is not small. Third, the impact of the 10% increase in new and renewable energies rate on the general price level is computed to be 0.0123%, which is small. This information can be utilized in forecasting the economic effects of new and renewable energies sector.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.45 no.6
• /
• pp.1086-1093
• /
• 2012

This research was carried out to develop the correction method of VDI4630 method improving accuracy, and investigated the effects of carbonate ion ($CO_3{^{2-}}$) and reactant water ($H_2O$) on anaerobic organic biodegradability in VDI4630 method. Pig blood, pig intestine residue, pig digestive tract content, and cattle rumen content were experimented as waste biomasses. Chemical formulas of pig blood, pig intestine residue, pig digestive tract content, and cattle rumen content were $C_{3.78}H_{8.39}O_{1.46}N_1S_{0.01}$, $C_{9.69}H_{15.42}O_{2.85}N_1S_{0.03}$, $C_{25.17}H_{43.32}O_{15.04}N_1$, $C_{27.23}H_{42.38}O_{15.93}N_1S_{0.11}$, respectively. And amount of reactant moisture for the anaerobic degradation of organic materials were 0.336, 0.485, 0.227, 0.266 mol, respectively. In pig blood, pig intestine residue, pig digestive tract content, and cattle rumen content, anaerobic organic biodegradability presented as $B_u/B_{th}$ were 82.3, 81.5, 70.8, and 66.1%, and anaerobic organic biodegradability (AB) by VDI4630 method were 72.2, 87.8, 74.2, 62.0%, and that were significantly different with anaerobic organic biodegradability presented as $B_u/B_{th}$. The effects of carbonate ion and reactant water on anaerobic organic biodegradability were not significant, But Accuracy of anaerobic organic degradability was expected to able to be improved by the correction method of VDI4630 considering the carbonate ion at digestate and the reactant water quantified.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.91-99
• /
• 2023

Plus tree selection is the essential first step in a tree improvement program. This study was carried out to select plus trees of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) for tree improvement in Korea. The candidate plus trees of black locust were selected from twenty-one places in the four provinces (Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and Gyeongsang) following comparison selection. The trees were examined for qualitative and quantitative traits of economic interest like tree height (H), diameter at breast height (DBH), clear bole height (CBH), stem straightness (SS), crown size (CS) and disease resistance. The 64 selected trees showed higher quality in growth characteristics than control trees. Average of height, DBH, CBH, SS and CS were 20.5 m, 31.1 cm, 10.1 m, 1.2 and 5.2 m respectively. In particular, it was shown that the growth characteristics were higher in Chungcheong population. The superiority percentage of selected candidate plus trees of black locust over their respective check trees ranged from 7.3% to 18.9% in height, 20.0% to 40.6% in DBH, 32.8% to 73.5% in CBH, 42.9% to 55.2% in SS and -11.1% to 9.4% in CS, respectively. The selected black locust will be useful in future tree breeding programs based on their clonal and progeny performance.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.8-18
• /
• 2023

Increasing of energy demand due to the rapid growth of global population and the development of world economy has inevitably resulted in the continuously increase of fossil fuel usage in the world. However, highly dependence on fossil fuels has necessarily brought about critical environmental issues and challenges such as severe air pollutions and rapid global warming. In order to settle these environmental and energy problems, clean energy generations in the conventional combustion processes have widely adapted in the world. In particular, novel thermochemical conversion processes such as pyrolysis and gasification have rapidly been applied for generating clean energy. Fluidized bed technologies having advantages such as various fuel use, easy continuous operation, high heat and material transfer, isothermal operation, and lower operation temperature are widely adopted and used because they are suitable for thermochemical energy conversion. The latest research trends and important findings in the thermo-chemical conversion process with fluidized bed technologies are summarized in this review. Also, the need for research such as layered materials and substances to reduce fine dust (biomass, natural resource waste, etc.) was suggested. Through this, it is intended to increase interest and understanding in fluidized bed technology and to present directions for solving future challenges in fluidized bed process technology development.