• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 2019

This study was focused on the design and the performance analysis of integral Hot BoP for recovering waste heat from high-temperature exhaust gas in 2 kW class solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The hot BoP system was consisted of a catalytic combustor, air preheater and steam generator for burning the stack exhaust gas and for recovering waste heat. In the design of the system, the maximum possible heat transfer was calculated to analyze the heat distribution processes. The detail design of the air preheater and steam generator was carried out by solving the heat transfer equation. The hot BoP was fabricated as a single unit to reduce the heat loss. The simulated stack exhaust gas which considered SOFC operation was used to the performance test. In the hot BoP performance test, the heat transfer rate and system efficiency were measured under various heat loads. The combustibility with the equivalent ratio was analyzed by measuring CO emission of the exhaust gas. As a result, the thermal efficiency of the hot BoP was about 60% based on the standard heat load of 2 kW SOFC. CO emission of the exhaust gas rapidly decreased at an equivalent ratio of 0.25 or more.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.312-318
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• 2011

We have investigated the kinetics and catalytic activity of $CO_2$-lignite gasification with various metal precursors as catalysts. $K_2CO_3$, $Mn(NO_3)_2$, and $Ce(NO_3)_3$ were used and impregnated on a coal using an evaporator. The gasification experiments were carried out with the low rank coal loaded with 5 wt% catalyst at the temperature range from $700{\sim}900^{\circ}C$ and atmospheric pressure with the $N_2-CO_2$ reactant gas mixture. The catalytic effect on the gasification rate of the low rank coal with $CO_2$ was determined by the thermogravimetric analyzer. It was observed that the low rank coal reached the complete carbon conversion regardless of the kinds of catalysts at $900^{\circ}C$ from the results of TGA. The catalytic activity was ranked as 5 wt% $K_2CO_3$ > 5 wt% $Mn(NO_3)_2$ > 5 wt% $Ce(NO_3)_3$ > Non-catalyst at $900^{\circ}C$. The gasification rate increased with increasing the temperature. The activation energy of the catalytic gasification with 5 wt% $K_2CO_3$ was 119.0 kJ/mol, which was the lowest among all catalysts.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.352-361
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• 2023

Steam methane reforming is currently the most widely used technology for producing hydrogen, a clean fuel. Hydrogen produced by steam methane reforming contains impurities such as carbon monoxide, and it is essential to undergo an appropriate post-purification step for commercial usage, such as fuel cells. Recently, membrane separation technology has been gaining great attention as an effective purification method; in this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using commercial polysulfone membranes for biogas upgrading to separate and recover hydrogen from a hydrogen/carbon monoxide gas mixture. Initially, we examined the physicochemical properties of the commercial membrane used. We then conducted performance evaluations of the commercial membrane module under various conditions using mixed gas, considering factors such as stage-cut and operating pressure. Finally, based on the evaluation results, we carried out simulations for process design. The maximum H₂ permeability and H₂/CO separation factor for the commercial membrane process were recorded at 361 GPU and 20.6, respectively. Additionally, the CO removal efficiency reached up to 94%, and the produced hydrogen concentration achieved a maximum of 99.1%.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.25-38
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• 2020

Photoelectrochemical water splitting has been considered as the most promising technology for generating hydrogen energy. Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) compounds have currently attracted tremendous attention due to their outstanding ability towards the catalytic water-splitting hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report the synthesis method of various transition metal dichalcogenide including MoS₂, MoSe₂, WS₂, and WSe₂ nanosheets as excellent catalysts for solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen evolution. Photocathodes were fabricated by growing the nanosheets directly onto Si nanowire (NW) arrays, with a thickness of 20 nm. The metal ion layers were formed by soaking the metal chloride ethanol solution and subsequent sulfurization or selenization produced the transition metal chalcogenide. They all exhibit excellent PEC performance in 0.5 M H₂SO₄; the photocurrent reaches to 20 mA cm^-2 (at 0 V vs. RHE) and the onset potential is 0.2 V under AM1.5 condition. The quantum efficiency of hydrogen generation is avg. 90%. The stability of MoS₂ and MoSe₂ is 90% for 3h, which is higher than that (80%) of WS₂ and WSe₂. Detailed structure analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for before/after HER reveals that the Si-WS₂ and Si-WSe₂ experience more oxidation of Si NWs than Si-MoS₂ and Si-MoSe₂. This can be explained by the less protection of Si NW surface by their flake shape morphology. The high catalytic activity of TMDs should be the main cause of this enhanced PEC performance, promising efficient water-splitting Si-based PEC cells.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.39-46
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• 2020

Composite electrodes for rechargeable batteries generally consist of active material, electric conductor, and polymeric binder. And their composition and distribution within the composite electrode determine the electrochemical activity in the electrochemical systems. However, it is not easy to quantify the physical properties of composite electrodes themselves using conventional experimental analysis tools. So, 3D structural modeling and simulation can be an efficient design tool by looking into the contact areas between particles and electric conductivity within the composite electrode. In this study, while maintaining the composition (LiCoO₂ : Super P Li^® : Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVdF) = 93 : 3 : 4 by wt%) and loading level (13 mg cm^-2) of the composite electrode, the effects of LiCoO₂ size (10 ㎛ and 20 ㎛) and electrode density (2.8 g cm^-3, 3.0 g cm^-3, 3.2 g cm^-3, 3.5 g cm^-3, 4.0 g cm^-3) on the physical properties are investigated using a GeoDict software. With this tool, the composite electrode can be efficiently designed to optimize the contact area and electric conductivity.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.324-332
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• 2014

In order to reveal the long-term variations of water quality in Jinhae Bay, water qualities had been monitored at 9 survey stations of Jinhae Bay during 2000~2012. The surface and bottom waters concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and chlorophyll-a (Chl.-a) were higher at the survey stations of Masan Bay than the stations of other Bays. Especially, station 1 which is located at the inner area of Masan Bay had the highest values in the concentrations of COD, DIN, and Chl.-a because there were terrestrial pollutant sources near the station 1 and sea current had not well circulated in the inner area of Masan Bay. In factor analysis, the station 1 also had the highest factor values related to factors which increase organic matters and nutrients in surface and bottom waters of Masan Bay. However, the stations (st.5, st.6, st.7, st.8, and st.9) of other Bays had lower values of the factors. In time series analysis, the COD concentrations of the bottom waters at 8 stations except for station 1 distinctly decreased. However, the COD concentrations of the surface waters showed no distinct decrease trends at all stations. In the concentrations of nutrients (DIN and DIP) of both surface and bottom waters, there were tremendous decrease trends at all stations. Therefore, these distinct decrease trends of the COD in bottom waters and the nutrients in surface and bottom waters of Jinhae Bay could have been associated with water improvement actions such as TPLMS (total pollution load management system).

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.266-270
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• 1999

Two forms of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) are identified in the brain of adult mature spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax sp.) by immunohistochemical methods. Salmon GnRH immunoreactive (sGnRH-ir) cell bodies were distributed in the olfactory bulb, ventral telencephalon and preoptic region. Immunoreactive fibers were observed in the vicinity of the brain including the olfactory bulbs, the telencephalon, the optic nerve, the optic tectum, the cerebellum, the medulla oblongata and rostral spinal cord. In most cases, these fibers did not form well defined bundles. However, there was a clear continuum of immunoreactive fibers, extending from the olfactory bulbs to the pituitary. cGnRH-II-ir cell bodies were only found in olfactory bulbs. However, the distribution of cGnRH-II-ir fibers was basically similar to that of sGnRH-ir fibers except for the absence of their continuity between the olfactory bulbs and the pituitary. These data suggest that sGnRH and cGnRH-II are endogenous peptides and indicate the presence of multiple neuroendocrine functions in the brain of the spotted sea bass. It seems that sGnRH not only regulates GTH secretion but also functions as a neurotransmitter, whereas cGnRH-II functions only as a neurotransmitter.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.239-244
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• 2007

In order to investigate the effect of fluorine ion in the $Li_{1-x}FeO_2Li_xMnO_2$ (Mn/(Mn + Fe) = 0.8) cathode material, it was synthesized $Li_{1-x}FeO_{2-y}F_y-Li_xMnO_2$ (Mn/(Mn + Fe) = 0.8, $0.05{\le}y{\le}0.15$) cathode materials at $350^{\circ}C$ for 10hrs using solid-state method. $Li_{1-x}FeO_{2-y}F_y-Li_xMnO_2$ (Mn/(Mn + Fe) = 0.8, $0.0{\le}y{\le}0.1$ was composed many large needle-like particles of about $1-1.5\;{\mu}m$ and small particles of about 50-100 nm, which were distributed among the larger particles. However, $Li_{1-x}FeO_{1.85}F_{0.15}-Li_xMnO_2$ material showed slightly different particle morphology. The particles of $Li_{1-x}FeO_{1.85}F_{0.15}-Li_xMnO_2$ were suddenly increased and started to be a spherical type of particle shape. $Li/Li_{1-x}FeO_{1.9}F_{0.1}-Li_xMnO_2$ cell showed a high initial discharge capacity of 163 mAh/g and a high cycle retention rate of 95% after 50 cycles. The initial discharge capacity of $Li/Li_{1-x}FeO_{2-y}F_y-Li_xMnO_2$ ($0.05{\le}y{\le}0.15$) cells increased according to the increase of F content. However, the cycleability of this cell was very rapidly decreased when the substituted fluorine content is over 0.1. We suggested that too large amount of F ion fail to substitute into the $Li_{1-x}FeO_2-Li_xMnO_2$ structure, which resulted in the severe decline of battery performance.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.80-86
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• 2016

High Ni content layered oxide materials for the positive electrode in lithium-ion batteries have high specific capacity. However, their poor electrochemical and thermal stability at elevated temperature restrict the practical use. A small amount of $Al_2O_3$ was added to the mixture of transition metal hydroxide and lithium hydroxide. The $LiNi_{0.6}Co_{0.2}Mn_{0.2}O_2$ was simultaneously doped and coated with $Al_2O_3$ during heat-treatment. Electrochemical characteristics of modified $LiNi_{0.6}Co_{0.2}Mn_{0.2}O_2$ were evaluated by the galvanostatic cycling and the LSTA(linear sweep thermmametry) at the constant voltage conditions. The nano-sized $Al_2O_3$ added materials show better cycle performance at elevated temperature than that of micro-sized $Al_2O_3$. As the added amount of nano-$Al_2O_3$ increased, the thermal stability of electrode also enhanced, but the use of 2.5 mol% Al showed the best high temperature performance.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.971-976
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• 2008

Purpose : Surveillance for detecting and managing latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a key component of tuberculosis control. The classic surveillance tool, the tuberculin skin test (TST), may have some limitations when used in the Bacillus Calmette-$Gu{\acute{e}}rin$ (BCG)-vaccinated population. The object was to perform a blood test $QuantiFERON^{(R)}$-TB Gold In Tube (QFT-G IT) based on the detection of interferon-$\gamma$ ($IFN-{\gamma}$) released by T cells in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antigens, and to compare the efficacy of this new diagnostic tool for LTBI with that of TST. Methods : For six months, between October 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007, data were collected from 111 patients under 15 years of age at Severance Children's Hospital. TST and QFT-G IT tests were performed with children with or without contact histories of tuberculosis. In addition to these tests, we examined comparative data from 29 adults who had tuberculosis, to detect false negative rates in the QFT-G IT method. Results : Thirty-three children had household contact histories. In this group, 15% and 42% of cases were found to be positive using the QFT-G IT assay and TST, respectively. Agreement was low between these two tests (${\kappa}=0.39$). In the adult active tuberculosis group, the QFT-G IT false negative rate defined as a positive culture and a negative QFT-G IT result was 12.5%. Conclusion : In diagnosing LTBI in children, the usefulness of a whole-blood $IFN-{\gamma}$ assay employing TB-specific antigens will be revealed only by examining additional longitudinal clinical data; this study serves as a starting point in that process.