• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.142-148
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• 2021

The objective of this study is to analyze the basic flame behavior characteristics using the single fuel droplet combustion of diesel, palm-based biodiesel, and canola-based biodiesel. The results were compared and analyzed through the post processed image, which was applied the threshold level for removing noise in the raw image. The raw image was taken by a high-speed camera during the entire combustion process. At the same time, the maximum flame length, which was measured by the application code of the MATLAB program, the ignition delay, and the combustion period were compared and analyzed.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.609-617
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• 2017

Lignocellulosic biomass is a renewable resource for production of biofuels and biochemicals. Furfural (FF) is an important platform chemical catalytically derived from the hemicellulose fraction of biomass. Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) is a FF derivative and can be used as an eco-friendly solvent with thermal and chemical stability. Despite large numbers of experimental studies for catalytic conversion of FF to THFA, few research have conducted on the economic feasibility for large-scale THFA production from FF. At the stage of assessment of the potential for commercialization of conversion technology, a large-scale process study is required to identify technological bottleneck and to obtain information for solving scale-up problems. In this study, process simulation and technoeconomic evaluation for catalytic conversion of FF to THFA are performed, as the following three steps: integrated process design, heat integration, and economic evaluation. First, a large-scale process including conversion and separation processes is designed based on experimental results. When the FF processing rate is 255 tonnes per day, the FF-to-THFA yields are 63.2~67.9 mol%. After heat integration, the heating requirements are reduced by 14.4~16.4%. Finally, we analyze the cost drivers and calculate minimum selling price of THFA by economic evaluation. The minimum selling price of THFA for the developed process are $2,120~2,340 per tonne, which are close to the current THFA market price.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2016

Thermal acid hydrolysis pretreatment of Kappaphycus alvarezii was carried out with 12% (w/v) seaweed slurry and 180 mM H₂SO₄ at 140°C for 5 min. Utility of the thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus KCTC7150 was evaluated with respect to cell growth and ethanol fermentation at 40°C was close to optimal for enzymatic hydrolysis. This could lead to the integration of both the saccharification and fermentation processes. The levels of ethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with non-adapted and adapted K. marxianus KCTC7150 were 9.1 g/l with an ethanol yield (Y_EtOH) of 0.24 and 10.2 g/l with an ethanol yield (Y_EtOH) of 0.27 at 156 h, respectively. The two-phase SSF process was employed in this study to improve the efficiency of ethanol fermentation. Adapted K. marxianus KCTC7150 using the two-phase SSF process produced 13.5 g/l with an ethanol yield (Y_EtOH) of 0.35 at 96 h. Development of the two-phase SSF process could enhance the overall ethanol fermentation yields of the seaweed K. alvarezii.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.400-407
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• 2016

A unicellular green alga, Chlorella vulgaris KNUA027, was isolated from the roots of Panax ginseng seedlings and its biotechnological potential was investigated. The results of GC/MS analysis showed that C. vulgaris KNUA027 was rich in nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as alpha-linolenic acid (C_18:3 ω3, 45.8%, 50.8 mg/g) and hexadecatrienoic acid (C_16:3 ω3, 11.8%, 13.1 mg/g). Therefore, this Korean indigenous microalga may have potential as a source of omega-3 PUFAs. It was also found that the saturated palmitic acid (C_16:0, 37.1%, 41.2 mg/g), which is suitable for biodiesel production, was one of the major fatty acids produced by strain KNUA027. The proximate analysis showed that the volatile matter content was 88.5%, and the ultimate analysis indicated that the higher heating value was 19.8 MJ/kg. Therefore, the results from this research with C. vulgaris KNUA027 may provide the basis for the production of microalgae-based biofuels and biomass feedstock.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.207-214
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• 2013

A concerted effort to develop alternative forms of energy is underway due to fossil fuel shortages and its deleterious effects. Recently, bioenergy from microalgae has gained prominence and the use of municipal wastewater as a low cost alternative for a nutrient source has significant advantages. In this study, we have employed municipal wastewater directly after primary treatment (primary settling basin) in a small scale raceway pond (SSRP) for microalgal growth. Indigenous microalgae in the wastewater were encouraged to grow in the SSRP under optimal conditions. The mean removal efficiencies of TN, TP, and $NH_3-N$ after 6 days were 77.77%, 63.55%, and 89.02%, respectively. The average lipid content of the microalgae was 19.51% of dry cell weight, and linolenate and linoleate (18:n) were the predominant fatty acids. The 18S rRNA gene analysis and microscopic observations of the indigenous microalgae community revealed the presence of Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus as the dominant microalgae. These results indicate that untreated municipal wastewater, serving as an excellent nitrogen and phosphate source for microalgal growth, could be treated using microalgae in open raceway ponds. Moreover, microalgal biomass could be further profitable by the extraction of biodiesel.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.865-875
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• 2018

Selection of optimum reaction conditions during deoxygenation process of palm oil is essential factor to obtain the maximum yield of bio-jet fuel. In this context, the deoxygenation of palm oil was carried out in a fixed bed reactor with an internal diameter of 1 inch loaded with a 1 wt.% $Pt/Al_2O_3$ catalyst. The composition of the organic liquid product(OLP), which can be utilized as a transportation fuel through the upgrading process, was analyzed by a gas chromatography method. The palm oil/hydrogen ratio and hydrogen pressure in the feed affected the decarboxylation(DCB) and hydrodeoxygenation(HDO) reactions, resulting in a change in the composition of the OLP. As the reaction temperature increased, the continuous cracking reaction of the deoxygenation product was promoted and the product composition in the $C_5{\sim}C_{14}$ region was increased. Thus, the results can help to understand the characteristics of deoxidation reaction of palm oil as well as the subsequent process, hydro-upgrading, to obtain the maximum yield of bio-jet fuel.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

In view of energy supply, biogas can be seen as alternative fuel by substituting considerable amount of fossil fuel and may be utilized for heat and power production or for transport fuel production ($CH_4-enriched$ biogas). The aim of this research is to analyse the emission of $NO_x$ and CO from biogas fired combustion engine for electric power production. The result indicate a significant effect of biogas composition ($CH_4-CO_2$ ratio) and biogas flow rate on the air pollutants emission. The emission factors from this study were compared with those of U.S. EPA. Low $CH_4-CO_2$ ratio condition typically shows the lower $NO_x$ and CO emission than higher $CH_4-CO_2$ ratio condition. At normal $CH_4-CO_2$ ratio (7:3) emission factors of $NO_x$ and CO were 1.29 and 30.43 g/MMBtu, respectively. At low $CH_4-CO_2$, ratio (6:4) emission factors of $NO_x$ and CO were 0.646 and 60.86 g/MMBtu, respectively, It should be emphasized that the actual emission may vary considerably from these results due to operating conditions including torque load and engine speed.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.26-35
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• 2023

Generally, solvent-type coatings generate a large amount of volatile organic chemicals(VOC), which are carcinogenic substances, in the manufacturing process, and their use is regulated due to environmental problems. There is also the problem of resource depletion due to limited fossil fuels. Therefore, in this study, UV-curable urethane acrylate oligomers were synthesized with different contents of isosorbide, which is a biomass material, and proceeded to evaluate the physical properties of coatings. As the isosorbide contents increased, the viscosity, glass transition temperature, tensile strength, stain resistance, and pencil hardness increased, but elongation and flexibility decreased, and BOI-3 showed the best adhesion. The isosorbide content of the oligomer fixed at 20%, UV-curable urethane acrylate oligomer was synthesized according to the content ratio of polycaprolactone diol(PCL) and Ecoprol H1000(Ecoprol). As the PCL/Ecoprol content ratio increased, the glass transition temperature, elongation, and flexibility increased, but the tensile strength and pencil hardness decreased. It was confirmed that the adhesion and stain resistance increased by improving the surface bonding strength of PCL. All films of oligomers synthesized were transparent without discoloration.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.975-984
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• 2018

Fast pyrolysis bio-oil has unfavorable properties that restrict its use in many applications. Among the main issues are high acidity, instability, and water and oxygen content, which give rise to corrosiveness, polymerization during storage, and a low heating value. Esterification and azeotropic water removal can improve all of these properties. A 500 g of Quercus mongollica which grounded 0.8~1.4 mm was processed into bio-oil via fast pyrolysis for 2 seconds at $550^{\circ}C$. The esterification consists of treating pyrolysis oil with a high boiling alcohol like n-butanol at $70^{\circ}C$ under reduced pressure (100 hPa). All products are analyzed for water mass fraction, viscosity, higher heating value, pH, FT-IR and GC/MS. The water mass fraction can be reduced by 91.4 % (from 31.5 % to below 2.7 %), the viscosity by 65.8 % (from 36.5 to 12.5 cP) and the higher heating value can be increased by 96.8 % (from 3,918 to 7,712 kcal/kg), the pH by 1.3 (from 2.7 to 4.0). FT-IR and GC/MS analysis indicated that labile acids, aldehydes, ketones and lower alcohols were transformed to stable target products. Using this approach, the water content of the pyrolysis oil is reduced significantly. These improvements should allow the utilization of upgraded pyrolysis liquids in standard boilers and as fuel in CHP (Combined heat and power) plants.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.18-35
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• 2019

The Korea District Heating Corporation operates a gas engine generator with a capacity of $4500m^3 /day$ of biogas generated from the sewage treatment plant of the Nanji Water Recycling Center and 1,500 kW. However, the actual operation experience of the biogas power plant is insufficient, and due to lack of accumulated technology and know-how, frequent breakdown and stoppage of the gas engine causes a lot of economic loss. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare technical fundamental measures for stable operation of the power plant In this study, a series of process problems of the gas engine plant using the biogas generated in the sewage treatment plant of the Nanji Water Recovery Center were identified and the optimization of the actual operation was made by minimizing the problems in each step. In order to purify the gas, which is the main cause of the failure stop, the conditions for establishing the quality standard of the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon were established through the analysis of the components and the adsorption test for the active carbon being used at present. In addition, the system was applied to actual operation by applying standards for replacement cycle of activated carbon to minimize impurities, strengthening measurement period of hydrogen sulfide, localization of activated carbon, and strengthening and improving the operation standards of the plant. As a result, the operating performance of gas engine # 1 was increased by 530% and the operation of the second engine was increased by 250%. In addition, improvement of vent line equipment has reduced work process and increased normal operation time and operation rate. In terms of economic efficiency, it also showed a sales increase of KRW 77,000 / year. By applying the strengthening and improvement measures of operating standards, it is possible to reduce the stoppage of the biogas plant, increase the utilization rate, It is judged to be an operational plan.