• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2013

There was a study for biological characteristics, except for physico-chemical and mineralogical properties, on the natural bentonite that is considered as a buffer material for the high-level radioactive waste disposal site. A bentonite slurry that was prepared from a local 'Gyeongju bentonite' in Korea was incubated in a serum bottle with nutrient media over 1 week and its stepwise change was observed with time. From the activated bentonite in the nutrient media, we can find a certain change of both solid and liquid phases. Some dark and fine sulfides began to be generated from dissolved sulfate solution, and 4 species of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were identified as living cells in samples that were periodically taken and incubated. These results show that sulfate-reducing (or metal-reducing) bacteria are adhering and existing in the powder of bentonite, suggesting that there may be a potential occurrence of longterm biogeochemical effects in and around the bentonite buffer in underground anoxic environmental conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.153-157
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• 2004

다양한 혐기성 조건에서 다환방향족탄화수소(PAHs)로 오염된 토양의 미생물 분해 연구를 수행하였다. 대표적인 다환방향족탄화수소인 phenanthrene과 fluorene을 토양과 물에 오염시켜서 약 100일 동안 저감정도를 관찰하였고, 실제 다환방향족탄화수소로 오염된 현장 토양을 이용 혐기성하에서 다환방향족탄화수소의 생분해 가능성을 확인하였다. 미생물 접종원은 혐기성 조건에서 다환방향족탄화수소에 노출시킨 슬러리가 사용되었다. 황산염 환원조건, 질산염 환원조건, 메탄생성조건 등의 다양한 혐기성 조건에서 실험을 수행한 결과, 메탄생성조건 > 질산염 환원조건 > 황산염 환원조건의 순서로 분해가 잘 일어났다. 또한 현장오염토양의 경우 34일간 처리 후 메탄생성조건에서 최대 72%의 분해율을 보였다.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2014

As we are trying to in-situ treat (purify or immobilize) heavy metals or radionuclides in groundwater, one of the geochemical factors to be necessarily considered is the value of oxidation/reduction potential (ORP) of the groundwater. A biogeochemical impact on the characteristic ORP change of groundwater taken from the KAERI underground was observed as a function of time by adding electron-donor (lactate), electron-acceptor (sulfate), and indigenous bacteria in a laboratory condition. There was a slight increase of Eh (slow oxidation) of the pure groundwater with time under a $N_2$-filled glove-box. However, most of groundwaters that contained lactate, sulfate or bacteria showed Eh decrease (reduction) characteristics. In particular, when 'Baculatum', a local indigenous sulfate-reducing bacterium, was injected into the KAERI groundwater, it turned to become a highly-reduced one having a decreased Eh to around -500 mV. Although the sulfate-reducing bacterium thus has much greater ability to reduce groundwater than other metal-reducing bacteria, it surely necessitated some dissolved ferrous-sulfate and finally generated sulfide minerals (e.g., mackinawite), which made a prediction for subsequent reactions difficult. As a result, the ORP of groundwater was largely affected even by a slight injection of nutrient without bacteria, indicating that oxidation state, solubility and sorption characteristics of dissolved contaminants, which are affected by the ORP, could be changed and controlled through in-situ biostimulation method.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.251-256
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• 2017

This study presents measures to enhance the efficiency of Successive Alkalinity Producing Systems(SAPS), a natural biological purification method that prevents environmental pollution arising from the release of Acid Mine Drainage(AMD) from abandoned mines into rivers and groundwater. The treatment of AMD using SAPS is based on biological processing technology that mostly involves sulfate reducing bacteria(SRB). It has been proven effective in real-world applications, and has been employed in various projects on the purification of AMD. However, seasonal decrease in temperature leads to a deterioration in the efficiency of the process because sulfate-reducing activity is almost non-existent during cold winters and early spring even if SRB is able to survive. Against this backdrop, this study presents measures to enhance the activity of the SRB of the organic layer by integrating light emitting diode(LED)s in SAPS and to maintain the active temperature using LEDs in cold winters. Given that mine drainage facilities are located in areas where power cannot be easily supplied, solar cell modules are proposed as the main power source for LEDs. By conducting further research based on the present study, it will be possible to enhance the efficiency of AMD treatment under extreme cold weather using solar energy and LEDs, which will serve as an environmentally-friendly solution in line with the era of green growth.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.434-441
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• 2009

The effect of varying sulfate concentration on continuous fermentative hydrogen production was studied using enriched mixed microflora in continuously fed reactor. Glucose was used as a model substrate for carbohydrates, and hydraulic retention time (HRT) was maintained at 1, 0.5, 0.25 day, respectively. Sulfate concentration was 0${\sim}$20,000 mg/L and the operating pH was maintained at 5.5. The experimental results indicate that hydrogen production is not affected by high sulfate concentration and shorter HRT of 0.25 day enhance hydrogen production. At HRT 1, 0.5, 0.25 day, the hydrogen production rate and hydrogen yield were 2.6, 4.6, 9.4 L/day, and 2.0, 1.8, 1.6 mol $H_2$/mol glucose, respectively. Residual sulfate content was 96${\sim}$98, 95${\sim}$97, and 94${\sim}$97% at HRT 1, 0.5, 0.25 day which show that no sulfate reduction occurred in the reactor during the experiments. Results of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) may indicate the presence of HPB (hydrogen producing bacteria) under all experimental conditions. However, SRB (sulfate reducing bacteria) were not found.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.413-426
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• 2009

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of indigenous bacteria on geochemical behavior of toxic heavy metals in contaminated paddy soil near an abandoned mine. The effects of sulfate amendment to stimulate microbial sulfate reduction on heavy metal behaviors were also investigated. Batch-type experiments were performed with lactate or glucose as a carbon source to activate indigenous bacteria in the soil under anaerobic condition for 100 days. Sulfate (250 mg/L) was artificially injected at 60 days after the onset of the experiments. In the case of glucose supply, solution pH increased from 4.8 to 7.6 while pH was maintained at 7~8 in the lactate solution. The initial low pH in the case of glucose supply likely resulted in the enhanced extraction of Fe and most heavy metals at the initial experimental period. Lactate supply exerted no significant difference on the amounts of dissolved Zn, Pb, Ni and Cu between microbial and abiotic control slurries; however, lower Zn, Pb and Ni and higher Cu concentrations were observed in the microbial slurries than in the controls when glucose supplied. Sulfate amendment led to dramatic decrease in dissolved Cr and maintenance of dissolved As, both of which had gradually increased over time till the sulfate injection. Black precipitates formed in solution after sulfate amendment, and violarite($Fe^{+2}{Ni^{+3}}_2S_4$) was found with XRD analysis in the microbial precipitates. Conceivably the mineral might be formed after Fe(III) reduction and microbial sulfate reduction with coprecipitation of heavy metal. The results suggested that heavy metals which can be readily extracted from contaminated paddy soils may be stabilized in soil formation by microbial sulfate reduction.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.279-287
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• 2011

In order to identify if bacteria surviving in soils and groundwater can change the oxidation/reduction potential of groundwater, Eh values of solution that contained bacteria were measured for 2 weeks. The Eh values of the solution reacted with sulfate-reducing bacteria decreased from -120 mV to -500 mV in 5 days, and $Desulfuricans$ was superior to $Vulgaris$ in reducing the solution. The Eh value was relatively higher for the solution containing $Shewanella$, iron-reducing bacteria, showing -400 mV. During the Eh decrease by the metal-reducing bacteria, a sulfide mineral such as mackinawite (FeS) started precipitating through the microbial reducing process for sulfate and ferric iron. These results show that the ORP of natrual groundwater may be sensitive to the geomicrobial respiration. In addition, a subsurface environment where groundwater is highly reduced and sulfide minerals are largely biogenerated may be a good place to retard the migration of oxidized radionu-clides by making them precipitated as reduced forms.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.155-162
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• 2012

We observed characteristic oxidation and dissolution phenomena induced by dissolved oxygen for mackinawite that is produced via sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) living in anaerobic environments such as soils and groundwater. We tried to recognize the role of the sulfide minerals that usually coexist with some stabilized radionuclides (e.g., reduced uranium), which can be reoxidized and redissolved by an oxygen-rich groundwater invaded into a contaminated area. The mackinawite produced by 'Desulfovibrio desulfuricans', a sulfate-reducing bacterium, was conducted to be dissolved for 2 weeks by some oxidants such as 'hydrogen peroxide' and 'sodium nitrite'. Although mineralogical oxidation and dissolution characteristics were different from each other according to the oxidants, the initially oxidized solution was early stabilized through the oxygen consumption by ${\mu}m$-sized sulfide particles and the resultant increase of sulfate in solution. From these results, we can anticipate that the large amount of sulfide minerals generated by SRB can not only repress the anoxic environment to be disturbed by the consumption of oxygen in groundwater, but also contribute to stabilize the reduced/precipitated radionuclides as a buffer material for a long time.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.263-270
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• 2012

Two kinds of uranium species, oxidized uranium(VI) and reduced uranium(IV), were prepared to be interacted with goethite and montmorillonite to identify sorption characteristic of uranium species, which are very sensitive to the redox-reaction. The reduced uranium was prepared by diluting a substantial uranium(IV) that was concomitantly produced during a sulfate reduction via a sulfate-reducing bacterium. The sorption amount of uranium(IV) by the minerals was relatively lower than that of uranium(VI) because the aqueous uranium(IV) had fine colloidal forms to cause its weak adsorption onto the mineral surfaces. We found that the uranium(IV) phase has a nano-colloid character by the transmission electron microscope, suggesting that the uranium species possibly migrating with the flow of groundwater in underground environments can be the colloidal uranium(IV) as well as the ionic uranium(VI).

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.117-132
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• 2004

Despite its significance in understanding ecological structure and biogeochemical element cycles, there have been few studies on the microbial mineralization of organic matter and mineralization pathway in the intertidal flat of Korea. We measured anaerobic mineralization of organic matter and sulfate reduction rate, and evaluated the significance of sulfate reduction in total anaerobic carbon respiration at the southern part of Ganghwa Island. Depth-integrated carbon mineralization rate down to 6 cm depth ranged from 41.9 to $89.4mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$, which accounted for approximately 216 tons of organic matter mineralization in entire intertidal flat area of Ganghwa($300km^2$). The results indicated that capacity for the organic matter mineralization in the Ganghwa tidal flat is comparable to highly productive salt marsh environments. Mineralization rates in the sediment amended with acetate were 2~5 times higher than in unamended sediment. The results implied that microbial mineralization was limited by the availability of organic substrates, and the organic matter mineralization capacity seems to be higher than estimated at ambient organic substrate level. Depth-integrated sulfate reduction rates within 6 cm depth of the sediment ranged from 20.7 to $45.1mmol\;SO{_4}^{2-}m^{-2}d^{-1}$, and sulfate reduction was mostly responsible for organic matter remineralization. It should be noticed that the increase of $H_2S$ in the sulfate reduction dominated tidal flat may result in the decrease of biological diversity.