• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.315-326
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• 2021

Lithium ion battery (LIB) demands increase every year globally to reduce the burden on fossil fuels. LIBs are used in electric vehicles, stationary storage systems and various other applications. Lithium is available in seawater, salt lakes, and brines and its extraction using environmentally friendly and inexpensive methods will greatly relieve the pressure in lithium mining. Membrane separation processes, mainly nanofiltration (NF), is an effective way for the separation of lithium metal from solutions. Electrodialysis and electrolysis are other separation processes used for lithium separation. The process of reverse osmosis (RO) is already a well-established method for the desalination of seawater; therefore, modifying RO membranes to target lithium metals is an excellent alternative method in which the only bottleneck is the interfering presence of other metal elements in the solution. Selectively removing lithium by finding or developing suitable NF membranes can be challenging, but it is nonetheless an exciting area of research. This review discusses in detail about lithium recovery via nanofiltration, electrodialysis, electrolysis and other processes.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.267-273
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• 2019

Hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers with meso- and macro- pores are designed and synthesized by electrospinning and subsequent heat-treatment. The macro pores are generated by selectively decomposition of polystyrene as a dispersed phase in the as-spun fibers containing $Fe(acac)_3$/polyacrylonitrile continuous phases during heat-treatment. Additionally, meso-pores formed by evaporation of infiltrated water vapor during electrospinning process interconnected the macro-pores and results in the formation of hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers. The initial discharge capacity and Coulombic efficiency of the hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers at a current density of $1.0A\;g^{-1}$ are $1190mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ and 79.2%. Additionally, the discharge capacity of the nanofibers is $792mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ after 1,000 cycles. The high structural stability and morphological benefits of the hierarchically porous $Fe_2O_3$ nanofibers resulted in superior lithium ion storage performance.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2011

A unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC) as a next-generation fuel cell technology was considered in the study. URFC is a mandatory technology for the completion of the hybrid system with the fuel cell and the renewable energy sources, and it can be expected as a new technology for the realization of hydrogen economy society in the $21^{st}$ century. Specifically, the recent research data and results concerning the polymer electrolyte membrane for the URFC technology were summarized in the study. The prime requirements of polymer electrolyte membrane for the URFC applications are high proton conductivity, dimensional stability, mechanical strength, and interfacial stability with the electrode binder. Based on the performance of the polymer electrolyte membrane, the URFC technology combining the systems for the production, storage, utilization of hydrogen can be a new research area in the development of an advanced technology concerning with renewable energy such as fuel cell, solar cell, and wind power.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.68-74
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• 2021

Zinc-ion Batteris (ZIBs) are recently being considered as energy storage devices due to their high specific capacity and high safety, and the abundance of zinc sources. Especially, ZIBs can overcome the drawbacks of conventional lithium ion batteris (LIBs), such as cost and safety issues. However, in spite of their advantages, the cathode materials under development are required to improve performance of ZIBs, because the capacity and cycling stability of ZIBs are mainly influenced by the cathode materials. To design optimized cathode materials for high performance ZIBs, a novel manganese oxide (MnO2) coated graphite sheet is suggested herein with improved zinc-ion diffusion capability thanks to the uniformly decorated MnO2 on the graphite sheet surface. Especially, to optimize MnO2 on the graphite sheet surface, amounts of percursors are regulated. The optimized MnO2 coated graphite sheet shows a superior zinc-ion diffusion ability and good electrochemical performance, including high specific capacity of 330.8 mAh g-1 at current density of 0.1 A g-1, high-rate performance with 109.4 mAh g-1 at a current density of 2.0 A g-1, and remarkable cycling stability (82.2 % after 200 cycles at a current density of 1.0 A g-1). The excellent electrochemical performance is due to the uniformly decorated MnO2 on the graphite sheet surface, which leads to excellent zinc-ion diffusion ability. Thus, our study can provide a promising strategy for high performance next-generation ZIBs in the near future.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.374-380
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• 2022

This paper shows the results of a study that predicts changes in seawater conditions in sea farms using machine learning-based long short term memory (LSTM) algorithms. Hardware was implemented using dissolved oxygen, salinity, nitrogen ion concentration, and water temperature measurement sensors to collect seawater condition information from sea farms, and transferred to a cloud-based Firebase database using LoRa communication. Using the developed hardware, seawater condition information around fish farms in Tongyeong and Geoje was collected, and LSTM algorithms were applied to learning results using these actual datasets to obtain predictive results showing 87% accuracy. Flask and REST APIs were used to provide users with predictive results for each of the four parameters, including dissolved oxygen. These predictive results are expected to help fishermen reduce significant damage caused by fish group death by providing changes in sea conditions in advance.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.743-754
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• 2022

This paper contains the results of the development and performance evaluation of the environmental data monitoring system for the fish farm. For the hardware development, the analogue sensor is used to collect dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, and temperature of the fish farm water, and the digital sensor is used for collecting ambient temperature, humidity, and location information via a GPS module to be sent to cloud-based Firebase DB. A set of LoRa transmitters and receivers is used as a communication module to upload the collected data. The data stored in Firebase is retrieved as a graph on a web and mobile application to monitor the environmental data changes in real-time. A notification will be delivered if the collected data is outside the determined optimal value. To evaluate the performance of the developed system, a response time from hardware modules to web and mobile applications is ranging from 6.2 to 6.85 seconds, which indicates satisfactory results.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.348-355
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• 2023

Magnesium secondary batteries are attracting much attention due to their potential to replace conventionally used lithium ion batteries. Magnesium secondary battery cathode material Mo₆S₈ were synthesized by molten salt synthesis method and PVC as a carbon materials were added to improve electrochemical properties. Crystal structure, size and surface of the synthesized anode materials were measured through XRD and SEM. Charge-discharge profiles and rate capabilities were measured by battery test system. 2.81 wt% PVC coated sample showed the best rate capabilities of 85.8 mAh/g at 0.125 C-rate, 69.2 mAh/g at 0.5 C-rate, and 60.5 mAh/g at 1 C-rate.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.338-347
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• 2024

𝛼-MnO₂ as a cathode material for Zn-ion batteries allows insertion and extraction of Zn ions within its tunnel structure during charge and discharge. The morphology and crystal structure of 𝛼-MnO₂ particles critically determine their electrochemical behavior and energy storage performance. In this study, 𝛼-MnO₂ was synthesized from precursor solutions under varying pH conditions using a hydrothermal method. The effects of pH values on the morphology, crystal structure, and electrochemical performance were systematically analyzed. The analysis revealed that materials synthesized at higher pH levels exhibited elongated and narrow nanorods with a lower specific surface area. In contrast, those formed at lower pH levels showed shorter, thicker nanorods with a higher specific surface area. This increased surface area at a lower pH enhanced the specific capacitance by providing a greater electrode/electrolyte interfacial area. By contrast, the material synthesized at higher pH conditions demonstrated superior rate capability, attributed to its crystal structure with wider lattice spacings. Wide lattice parameters in the material synthesized at higher pH conditions facilitated easier ion transport than at lower pH levels. Consequently, the study confirms that adjusting the pH of the precursor solution can optimize the electrochemical properties of 𝛼-MnO₂ for Zn-ion batteries.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.158-166
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• 2017

The object of this study was to improve tomato seedling quality in low temperature(below 7, $10^{\circ}C$ during night time or daily mean air temperature was $18^{\circ}C$) by application of silicate fertilizer. Six different silicate fertilizer concentrations (8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256mM) or water as the control were applied to tomato seedlings twice a week for 20 days. Positive effects were observed in the growth parameters of the seedlings treated with 16 and 32mM silicate fertilizer; the most effective concentration of silicate at which seedlings showed the best performance was 16mM. However, a high concentration of silicate (256mM) caused negative effects on the growth. The transpiration rate decreased alongside with the increase of silicate concentration up to 32mM, possibly due to the increased stomatal diffusive resistance. Silicate stimulated the growth and development of tomato seedlings, resulting in increased growth parameters and root morphology. However, no significant differences were observed among treatment numbers of soil-drenching wuth the silicate (6, 10, or 20 times with 16mM) for 20 days, suggesting that silicate treatment with 6 times may be sufficient to induce the silicate effects. The application of 16mM of silicate fertilizer reduced relative ion leakage and chilling injury during low temperature storage. In addition, the seedlings treated with silicate fertilizer recovered faster than those without silicate treatment after low temperature storage.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.77-86
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• 2002

Surfactant enhanced in-situ soil flushing was performed to remediate the soil and groundwater at an oil contaminated site, where had been used as a military vehicle repair area for 40 years. A section from the contaminated site (4.5 m $\times$ 4.5 m $\times$ 6.0 m) was selected for the research, which was composed of heterogeneous sandy and silt-sandy soils with average $K_d$ of 2.0$\times$$10^{-4}$cm/sec. Two percent of sorbitan monooleate (POE 20) and 0.07% of iso-prophyl alcohol were mixed for the surfactant solution and 3 pore volumes of surfactant solution were injected to remove oil from the contaminated section. Four injection wells and two extraction wells were built in the section to flush surfactant solution. Water samples taken from extraction wells and the storage tank were analyzed on a gas-chromatography (GC) for TPH concentration in the effluent with different time. Five pore volumes of solution were extracted while TPH concentration in soil and groundwater at the section were below the Waste Water Discharge Limit (WWDL). The effluent TPH concentration from wells with only water flushing was below 10 ppm. However, the effluent concentration using surfactant solution flushing increased to 1751 ppm, which was more than 170 times compared with the concentration with only water flushing. Total 18.5 kg of oil (TPH) was removed from the soil and groundwater at the section. The concentration of heavy metals in the effluent solution also increased with the increase of TPH concentration, suggesting that the surfactant enhanced in-situ flushing be available to remove not only oil but heavy metals from contaminated sites. The removal efficiency of surfactant enhanced in-situ flushing was investigated at the real contaminated site in Korea. Results suggest that in-situ soil flushing could be a successful process to remediate contaminated sites distributed in Korea.