• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.86-92
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• 2011

Three bioremediation methods, natural attenuation (NA), biostimulation (BS) and bioaugmentation (BA) were applied to remediate diesel-contaminated soil, with their remediation efficiencies and soil microbial activities compared both with and without surfactant (Tween 80). BA treatment employing Rhodococcus sp. EH831 was the most effective for the remediation of diesel-contaminated soil at initial remediation stage. On the addition of surfactant, no significant effect on the remediation performance was observed. A negative correlation was found between the dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and residual concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) at below 20,000 mg-$TPHs{\cdot}kg$-dry $soil^{-1}$, as follows: DHA (${\mu}g$-TPF(Triphenylformazan)${\cdot}g$-dry $soil^{-1}\;d^{-1}$) = -0.02 ${\times}$ TPHs concentration (mg-$TPHs{\cdot}kg$-dry $soil^{-1}$) + 425.76 (2500 ${\leq}$ TPHs concentration ${\leq}$ 20000, p < 0.01).

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.25-33
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• 1999

The recent emergence of biofiltration as a cost effective waste-gas control technology has stimulated in European countries and the USA. Biofiltration of soil vapor extraction off-gas from gasoline contaminated site was simulated in lab-scale in this study. A filling material used was a compost. This study was conducted to evaluate biofiltration characteristics of the compost material for gasoline off-gas. TPH elimination capacity at the gas loading rate of about 50g/$\textrm{m}^3$((filling material)/hr was circa 40g/$\textrm{m}^3$((filling material)/hr. Removal rate of xylene was the highest among BTEX. while it was the lowest in case of bezene. The maximum elimination capacity of the compost was about 1.5g/$\textrm{m}^3$((filling material)/hr for benzene. More than 95% of trimethylbenzene and naphtalene were removed below the loading rate of 0.7g/㎥(filling material)/hr. About 80% of total TPH and BTEX were removed by biodegradation.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.49-55
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• 2010

The oil spill occurred frequently due to probably the increased consumption of oil as the energy source and the raw materials of various chemicals. For the treatment of oil contaminated groundwater, DAF(Dissolved Air Flotation) is being used but the removal efficiency is low. Therefore it is necessary to reduce the free phase oil, oil-in water type or water-in oil type emulsified oil, and soluble oil which are the main sources of contaminated groundwater. In this study, treatment of contaminated groundwater was performed using the Fenton oxidation process. The optimum conditions for the removal of THP(Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon) were 3 of pH, 25mM of $H_2O_2$ concentration and 25mM of $Fe^{2+}$ concentration. THP and COD(Chemical Oxygen Demand) concentrations decreased less than 1.5mg/L and 40.0mg/L in 7 minutes using DAF and Fenton oxidation process. However it is necessary to install the settling basin as the sludge concentration increased approximately 5 times.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2011

Extra heavy oil reservoirs are distributed over the world but most of them is deposited in the northern part of the Orinoco River in Venezuela, in the area of 5,500 $km^2$, This region, which has been commonly called "the Orinoco Oil Belt", contains estimated 1.3 trillion barrels of original oil-in-place and 250 billion barrels of established reserves. The Venezuela extra heavy oil has an API gravity of less than 10 degree and in situ viscosity of 5,000 cP at reservoir condition. Although the presence of extra heavy oil in the Orinoco Oil Belt has been initially reported in the 1930's, the commercial development using in situ cold production started in the 1990's. The Orinoco heavy oil deposits are clustered into 4 development areas, Boyaco, Junin, Ayachoco, and Carabobo respectively, and they are subdivided into totally 31 production blocks. Nowadays, PDVSA (Petr$\'{o}$leos de Venzuela, S.A.) makes a development of each production block with the international oil companies from more than 20 countries forming a international joint-venture company. The Eastern Venezuela Basin, the Orinoco Oil Belt is included in, is one of the major oil-bearing sedimentary basins in Venezuela and is first formed as a passive margin basin by the Jurassic tectonic plate motion. The major source rock of heavy oil is the late Cretaceous calcareous shale in the central Eastern Venezuela Basin. Hydrocarbon materials migrated an average of 150 km up dip to the southern margin of the basin. During the migration, lighter fractions in the hydrocarbon were removed by biodegradation and the oil changed into heavy and/or extra heavy oil. Miocene Oficina Formation, the main extra heavy oil reservoir, is the unconsolidated sand and shale alternation formed in fluvial-estuarine environment and also has irregularly a large number of the Cenozoic faults induced by basin subsidence and tectonics. Because Oficina Formation has not only complex lithology distribution but also irregular geology structure, geological evolution and characteristics of the reservoirs have to be determined for economical production well design and effective oil recovery. This study introduces geological formation and evolution of the Venezuela extra heavy oil reservoirs and suggest their significant geological characteristics which are (1) thickness and geometry of reservoir pay sands, (2) continuity and thickness of mud beds, (3) geometry of faults, (4) depth and geothermal character of reservoir, (5) in-situ stress field of reservoir, and (6) chemical composition of extra heavy oil. Newly developed exploration techniques, such as 3-D seismic survey and LWD (logging while drilling), can be expected as powerful methods to recognize the geological reservoir characteristics in the Orinoco Oil Belt.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2014

Block copolymers including ABA triblock architectures are useful as thermoplastic elastomers and toughened plastics depending on the relative glassy and rubbery content. These materials can be blended with other polymers and utilized as additives, toughening agents, and compatibilizers. Most of commercially available block copolymers are derived from petroleum. Renewable alternatives are attractive considering the finite supply of fossil resources on earth and the overall economic and environmental expenses involved in the recovery and use of oil. Furthermore, tomorrow's sustainable materials are demanding the design and implementation with programmed end-of-life. The present review focuses on the preparation and evaluation of new classes of renewable ABA triblock copolymers and also emphasizes on the use of carbohydrate-derived poly(lactide) or plant-based poly(olefins) having a high glass transition temperature and/or high melting temperature for the hard phase in addition to the use of bio-based amorphous hydrocarbon polymers with a low glass transition temperature for the soft components. The combination of multiple controlled polymerizations has proven to be a powerful approach. Precision-controlled synthesis of these hybrid macromolecules has led to the development of new elastomers and tough plastics offering renewability, biodegradability, and high performance.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.335-339
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• 2010

A diesel-degrading bacterium, Gordonia sp. SD8, was isolated from soil contaminated with petroleum, and its diesel degradation was characterized in a soil as well as a liquid culture system. SD8 could grow in the mineral salt medium supplemented with diesel as a sole carbon and energy source. The maximum specific growth rate ($0.67{\pm}0.05\;d^{-1}$) and diesel degradation rate ($1,727{\pm}145$ mg-TPH $L^{-1}\;d^{-1}$) of SD8 showed at 20,000 mg-TPH $L^{-1}$ and $30^{\circ}C$, and then this bacterium could degrade high strength of diesel of 40,000 mg-TPH $L^{-1}$. The residual diesel concentration in the inoculated soil with SD8 was 3,724 mg-TPH kg-dry $soil^{-1}$ after 17 days, whereas the diesel concentration in the non-inoculated soil was $8,150{\pm}755$ mg-TPH kg-dry $soil^{-1}$. These results indicate that Gordonia sp. SD8 can serve as a promising microbial resource for the bioremediaion of contaminated soil with petroleum hydrocarbons including diesel.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.200-208
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• 2012

This study was performed to prevent the health damage of environmental contaminants in Industrial Complex Area. And, this study aimed to identify the concentration levels and distribution characteristics of environmental contaminants and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) at soil in Industrial Complex Area and control area. The concentration of the soil pollution standard such as the heavy metals in the soil, VOCs, PAHs, and PCB were measured and analyzed using the soil specimens in the Industrial Complex Area and control area. Soil specimens from the Industrial Complex Area (the direct exposure area) and the control area were surveyed. Songdo-dong, Haedo-dong and Jechul-dong, which are in the direct exposure area and near the emission source, showed relatively high concentrations of contaminant materials when compared with Jangki-myeon, which is far off and in the control area. The concentration of zinc was 20.8-58.9% of the level of concern (300 mg/kg) in the 1st region, which is a relatively high concentration. The concentration of fluoride was under the standard in every region, but it was about 74% of the level of concern (400 mg/kg) in the 1st region. It is recommended that controlling fluoride emissions is necessary. Levels of organic phosphate, phenol, and VOCs like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene were under the detection limit of the analysis instruments. The concentration of TPH was high in Songdo-dong. The concentration of contaminants in Jechul-dong was high. In addition, it was observed that the level of soil contamination changed depending on the distance from the emission source. The concentration of PAH compounds in the soil was 18.71-1744.59 ng/g, and the concentration of six potential cancer-causing PAH materials was 6.54-695.94 ng/g. The highest concentration was in Songdo-dong. The PAH concentration in the direct exposure area near the complex was relatively high compared to the indirect exposure area.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

This research was performed to assess a Fenton-like oxidation using naturally present iron in the field to treat remained oils throughout silty clay residues which finally resided even after a series of soil washing process. Biodegradability was thus tested for reaction products to investigate a possible treatment of the Fenton-like oxidation coupled with a biological treatment process. For those purposes, two types of field soil samples (e.g., dewatered cake after conditioning with a polymer and not-dewatered residue) were tested to remove TPH by adding the various concentration of hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$). Moreover the biodegradability of treated samples was observed based on the ratio of $BOD_5/COD_{Cr}$ after Fenton-like oxidation. The Highest removal of TPH was at 1% of hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) when hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) was continuously injected for a period of time rather than that of spot introduction with the same amount of it. For the dewatered cake, TPH was effectively treated when the ratio of solid and water was mixed at 1 : 2. Employing cooking oil could increase solubility of TPH due to enhanced surface-active escalating TPH desorption from silty clay. Nonetheless, the biodegradability was decreased as long as the oxidation duration being extended regardless of operational conditions. It was therefore proved that Fenton-like oxidation using $H_2O_2$ and natural iron minerals was able to remove adsorbed oils in silty clay but the removal efficiency of TPH was low. And if a biological treatment process followed after Fenton-like oxidation, microorganisms would need enough time for acclimation.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.157-181
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• 2020

Sediments from rivers, lakes and marine ports serve as end points for pollutants discharged into the water, and at the same time serve as sources of pollutants that are continuously released into the water. Until now, the contaminated sediments have been landfilled or dumped at sea. Landfilling, however, was expensive and dumping at sea was completely banned due to the London Convention. Therefore, this study applied contaminated sedimentation soil of 'Royal Palace Livestock Complex' as soil purification method. Soil remediation methods were applied to pretreatment, composting, soil washing, electrokinetics, and thermal desorption by selecting overseas application cases and domestically applicable application technologies. As a result of surveying the site for pollutant characteristics, Disolved Oxigen (DO), Suspended Solid (SS), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Nitrogen (TN), and Total Phosphorus (TP) exceeded the discharged water quality standard, and especially SS, COD, TN, and TP exceeded the standard several tens to several hundred times. Soil showed high concentrations of copper and zinc, which promote the growth of pig feed, and cadmium exceeded 1 standard of Soil Environment Conservation Act. In the pretreatment technology, hydrocyclone was used for particle size separation, and the fine soil was separated by more than 80%. Composting was performed on organic and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) contaminated soils. TPH was treated within the standard of concern, and E. coli was analyzed to be high in organic matter, and the fertilizer specification was satisfied by applying the optimum composting conditions at 70℃, but the organic matter content was lower than the fertilizer specification. As a result of continuous washing test, Cd has 5 levels of residual material in fine soil. Cu and Zn were mostly composed of ion exchange properties (stage 1), carbonates (stage 2), and iron / manganese oxides (stage 3), which facilitate easy separation of contamination. As a result of applying acid dissolution and multi-stage washing step by step, hydrochloric acid, 1.0M, 1: 3, 200rpm, 60min was analyzed as the optimal washing factor. Most of the contaminated sediments were found to satisfy the Soil Environmental Conservation Act's standards. Therefore, as a result of the applicability test of this study, soil with high heavy metal contamination was used as aggregate by applying soil cleaning after pre-treatment. It was possible to verify that it was efficient to use organic and oil-contaminated soil as compost Maturity after exterminating contaminants and E. coli by applying composting.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.268-273
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: Petroleum-contaminated soil from leaking above- and underground storage tanks and spillage during transport of petroleum products is widespread environmental problem in recent years. Application of compost may be the most promising, cost-effective, and eco-friendly technology for soil bioremediation because of its advantages over physical and chemical technology. The objective of this study was to evaluate effect of compost application on degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil.METHOD AND RESULTS: An arable soil was artificially contaminated by diesel, and compost was applied at the different rate of 0, 10, 30, and 50 Mg/ha. Concentration of TPH in the soil decreased as application rate of compost increased. Degradation efficiency was highest at compost 30 Mg/ha; however, it slightly decreased with compost 50 Mg/ha. Kinetic modeling was performed to estimate the rates of chemical reaction. The correlation coefficient (R2) values for the linear plots using the second-order model were higher than those using the first-oder model. Compost 30 and 50 Mg/ha had the fastest TPH degradation rate in the second-order model. Change of microbial population in soil with compost application was similar to that of TPH. Microbial population in the soil increased as application rate of compost increased. Increasing microbial population in the contaminated soil corresponded to decreased in TPH concentration.CONCLUSION: Conclusively, compost application for soil bioremediation could be an effective response to petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. The increase in microbial population with compost suggested that compost application at an optimum rate might enhance degradation of TPH in soil.