• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.442-448
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• 2013

There are two approaches in measuring colors (or chromaticity) in water, i.e., visual comparison method and spectrophotometric method. The color of sample was determined by comparing with that of platinum-cobalt standard solution in the visual comparison method. Single or multiple wavelengths are used for the spectrophotometric method. As the accuracy and precision of visual comparison method depend on the eye sight of the analyzer, the results are not so reliable and representative. In addition, it is hard to measure chromaticity less than 5 TCU. Single wavelength approach in spectrophotometric method, can be applied for groundwater or surface water with natural organic matter (i.e., humic substances) while it's hard to measure the color of wastewater which includes anthropogenic chemical compounds. The measurements with multiple wavelengths approach resulted in reliable data regardless of the source of sample water, i.e., surface water and wastewater. As dozens of measurements and complicated calculations for one sample were required for the multiple wavelengths approach, the approach could not be applied for field measurement. In the present study, the authors tested efficient method which could measure the color of water sample accurately and precisely regardless of the source of water. With the colorimeter with multiple wavelengths and calculation program, the colors of water samples could be measured within 3~4 seconds with accuracy and precision.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.893-899
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• 2008

Changes in spectroscopic characteristics and pyrene binding coefficients of terrestrial dissolved organic matters(DOM) were investigated during microbial incubation. The incubation studies were conducted for 21 days using a leaf litter DOM and a soilderived DOM with an inoculum from a river. The dissolved organic carbon(DOC), the specific UV absorbance(SUVA), the synchronous fluorescence spectra, and the pyrene organic carbon-normalized binding coefficient(K$_{oc}$) of the DOM were measured at the incubation days of 0, 3, 7, 14 and 21. After the 21-day incubation, DOC were reduced to 61% and 51% of the original concentrations of the litter DOM and the soil-derived DOM, respectively. Comparison of the spectroscopic characteristics before and after the incubation revealed that the SUVA, the fulvic-like fluorescence(FLF), the humic-like fluorescence(HLF) of the different DOM were enhanced by the incubation whereas the protein-like fluorescence(PLF) was reduced. This indicates that more aromatic and humic-like compounds were enriched during the biodegradation process while biodegradable and weak carbon structures were depleted. Irrespective of the DOM sources, SUVA values showed a positive relationship with pyrene K$_{oc}$ with a correlation coefficient of 0.97. The FLF and HLF also exhibited good correlations with K$_{oc}$ values although different regression equations were obtained from the different DOM. Our results suggest that the selected spectroscopic characteristics could be good estimation indices for the changes of the binding reactivity of DOM for hydrophobic organic contaminants during biodegradation process.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.246-254
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• 2017

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is one of most abundant microcystins, and is derived from blue-green algae bloom. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are effective process when high concentrations of MC-LR are released into a drinking water treatment system from surface water. In particular, UV-based AOPs such as UV, $UV/H_2O_2$, $UV/O_3$ and $UV/TiO_2$ have been studied for the removal of MC-LR. In this study, UV-LED was applied for the degradation of MC-LR because UV lamps have demonstrated some weaknesses, such as frequent replacements; that generate mercury waste and high heat loss. Degradation efficiencies of the MC-LR (initial conc. = $100{\mu}g/L$) were 30% and 95.9% using LED-L (280 nm, $0.024mW/cm^2$) and LED-H (280 nm, $2.18mW/cm^2$), respectively. Aromatic compounds of natural organic matter changed to aliphatic compounds under the LED-H irradiation by LC-OCD analysis. For application to raw water, the Nak-dong River was sampled during summer when blue-green algae were heavy bloom in 2016. The concentration of extracellular and total MC-LR, geosmin and 2-MIB slightly decreased by increasing the LED-L irradiation; however, the removal of MC-LR by UV-LED (${\lambda}=280nm$) was insufficient. Thus, advanced UV-LED technology or the addition of oxidants with UV-LED is required to obtain better degradation efficiency of MC-LR.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.989-996
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• 2007

In this study, abiotic transformation of 1-naphthol(1-NP) via oxidative-coupling reaction and its reaction products were investigated in the presence of Mn oxides. The reaction products were characterized for their relative polarity using solvent extraction experiment and reverse-phase HPLC, and for structure using CCMS and LC/MS, and for absorption characteristics using UV-Vis spectrometry. The reaction products present in aqueous phase were more polar than parent naphthol and comprised of 1,4-naphthoquinon(1,4-NPQ) and oligomers such as dimers and trimers. Hydrophilic component present in water phase after solvent$(CH_2Cl_2)$ extractions was identified as naphthol polymerized products having molecular weight(m/z) ranging from 400 to 2,000, and showed similar UV-Vis. absorption characteristics to that of foil fulvic acid. Transformation of 1,4-NPQ, which is non-reactive to Mn oxide, to the polymerized products via cross-coupling reaction in the presence of 1-NP was also verified. In this experimental conditions(20.5 mg/L, 1-NP, 2.5 g/L $MnO_2$, pH 5), the transformation of 1-NP into the oligomers and polymerized products were about 83% of initial 1-NP concentrations, and more than 30% of the reaction products was estimated to be water insoluble fractions, not extracted by $H_2O$ methanol. Results from this study suggest that Mn oxide-mediated treatment of naphthol contaminated soils can achieve risk reduction through the formation of oligomers md polymer precipitation.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.328-336
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• 2020

In this study, the soil characteristics of peat layer in Korea were analysed to predict new peat distribution areas in Taean, Chungcheongnam-do. The soil characteristics of peat distribution areas in Taean were compared with those in other areas in Korea. In Korea, peat researches were conducted in various regions, such as Taean in Chungcheongnam-do, Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, Gangneung in Gangwon-do, Ulsan, Iksan in Jeollabuk-do and Jangheung in Jeollanam-do. We summarized a) topographic distribution, b) deposition type, c) soil drainage classes, and d) soil suborder of previously studied area to determine criteria for prediction of peat distribution area. Through a case study, the type of peat layer distribution area in Taean were divided into two; (1) a) valley, b) co-alluvium, c) somewhat poorly drained, d) aqualfs and (2) a) marine plain, b) alluvium, c) very poorly drained, d) aquepts. A field survey was conducted to confirm the distribution of the actual peat layer. All peat layer were located within 10-km from the coastal line which is similar to previous studies, and the peat layer was characterized with pH 5, humic acid content of less than 15% and dark brown color. The new peat layer in Taean was deeper, thicker and less humificated than other studied areas.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 2009

Dissolved air flotation (DAF) process is generally considered more effective than sedimentation process in raw water containing algae, humus materials, and low density particles. This study presents the treatment efficiencies by the coagulation and flocculation conditions at a drinking water treatment plant using a laboratory tester and the full scale DAF pump system. The full scale DAF pump system (F-DAF) in this study had a capacity of 5,000 $m^3$/d and a hydraulic surface loading of 10 m/hr. F-DAF in D drinking water treatment plant was continuously operated to determine the operational performance and pretreatment (mixing and coagulation) conditions. Results in the laboratory experiment showed that the optimum coagulant (PSO-M) doses required to 2.7~4.5 mL/$m^3$/NTU with raw water turbidity from 13.8 NTU to 56.3 NTU. F-DAF in the optimum coagulant dosage could be operated in effluent turbidity of 1 NTU or below for a month.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.62-69
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• 2005

Removal of 4-chlorophenol (4CP) by natural manganese dioxide (NMD) catalyzed reaction was investigated in this study. Tests were also carried out to evaluate the effects of pH and natural organic matter (NOM) on the degradative oxidation of 4CP. Experimental results proved that NMD was effective for the removal of 4CP. Extensive kinetic analysis suggests that overall oxidation of 4CP by NMD is second-order reaction, the first-order with respect to 4CP, and the first-order with respect to NMD, respectively. Also, 4CP oxidation rates on the Mn-oxide surfaces were highly dependent upon experimental conditions such as pH, initial concentration of 4CP or NMD, and existence of humic acid. As pH increased above PZC of NMD, the reaction rate of 4CP was decreased, due to the low affinity of 4CP on NMD at high pH. At pH lower than PZC of NMD, reaction rate of 4CP was also decreased. It was considered that humic acid was involved in the oxidative coupling reaction of 4CP by NMD, resulting in the enhanced degradation rate of 4CP. This study proved that natural manganese oxide can be effectively applied for the removal of chlorophenols in aqueous phase.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.111-124
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• 2003

Processes that cause immobilization of contaminants in soil are of great environmental importance because they may lead to a considerable reduction in the bioavailability of contaminants and they may restrict their leaching into groundwater. Previous investigations demonstrated that pollutants can be bound to soil constituents by either chemical or physical interactions. From an environmental point of view, chemical interactions are preferred, because they frequently lead to the formation of strong covalent bonds that are difficult to disrupt by microbial activity or chemical treatments. Humic substances resulting from lignin decomposition appear to be the major binding ligands involved in the incorporation of contaminants into the soil matrix through stable chemical linkages. Chemical bonds may be formed through oxidative coupling reactions catalyzed either biologically by polyphenol oxidases and peroxidases, or abiotically by certain clays and metal oxides. These naturally occurring processes are believed to result in the detoxification of contaminants. While indigenous enzymes are usually not likely to provide satisfactory decontamination of polluted sites, amending soil with enzymes derived from specific microbial cultures or plant materials may enhance incorporation processes. The catalytic effect of enzymes was evaluated by determining the extent of contaminants binding to humic material, and - whenever possible - by structural analyses of the resulting complexes. Previous research on xenobiotic immobilization was mostly based on the application of $^{14}$ C-labeled contaminants and radiocounting. Several recent studies demonstrated, however, that the evaluation of binding can be better achieved by applying $^{13}$ C-, $^{15}$ N- or $^{19}$ F-labeled xenobiotics in combination with $^{13}$ C-, $^{15}$ N- or $^{19}$ F-NMR spectroscopy. The rationale behind the NMR approach was that any binding-related modification in the initial arrangement of the labeled atoms automatically induced changes in the position of the corresponding signals in the NMR spectra. The delocalization of the signals exhibited a high degree of specificity, indicating whether or not covalent binding had occurred and, if so, what type of covalent bond had been formed. The results obtained confirmed the view that binding of contaminants to soil organic matter has important environmental consequences. In particular, now it is more evident than ever that as a result of binding, (a) the amount of contaminants available to interact with the biota is reduced; (b) the complexed products are less toxic than their parent compounds; and (c) groundwater pollution is reduced because of restricted contaminant mobility.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1337-1346
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• 2006

Soil humin is the insoluble fraction of humic materials and play an important roles in the irreversible sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants onto soil particles. However, there have been limited knowledge about the sorption and chemical properties of humin due to the difficulties in its separation from the inorganic matrix(mainly clays and oxides). In this study, de-ashed soil humins($Hu_1-Hu_6$) were isolated from a soil residues(Crude Hu) after removing alkali-soluble organic fractions followed by consecutive dissolution of the mineral matrix with 2%-HF for 2 hr. The humin samples were characterized by elemental analysis and $^{13}C$ NMR spectroscopic method and their sorption-desorption behavior for 1-naphthol were investigated from aqueous solution. The results were compared one another and that with peat humin. $^{13}C$ NMR spectra features indicate that the soil humin molecules are mainly made up of aliphatic carbons(>80% in total carbon) including carbohydrate, methylene chain. Freundlich sorption parameter, n was increased from 0.538 to 0.697 and organic carbon-normalized sorption coefficient(log $K_{OC}$) values also increased from 2.43 to 2.74 as inorganic matrix of the soil humin removed by HF de-ashing. The results suggest that inorganic phase in humin plays an important, indirect role in 1-naphthol sorption and the effects on the sorption non-linearity and intensity are analyzed by comparison between the results of soil humin and peat humin. Sorption-desorption hysteresis were also observed in all the humin samples and hysteresis index(HI) at low solute concentration($C_e$=0.1 mg/L) are in order of Peat humin(2.67)>De-ashed humin(0.74)>Crude Hu(0.59).

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.670-675
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• 2004

Humic acids are macromolecules originated from natural water, soil, and sediment. The characteristics of humic acid enable it to change the distribution of metals as well as many kinds of organic contaminants and to determine the sorption of them from soil solution. To see the effect of humic acid on the removal rate of organic contaminants and heavy metals, batch-scale experiments were performed. As a natural geosorbent, black shale was used as a sorbent media, which showed hight sorption capacity of trichloroethylene (TCE), lead, cadmium and chromium. The effect of sorption-desorption, pH, ionic strength and the concentration of humic acid was taken into consideration. TCE sorption capacity by black shale was compared to natural bentonite and hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) modified bentonite. The removal rate was good and humic acid also sorbed onto black shale very well. The organic part of humic acid could effectively enhance the partition of TCE and it act as an electron donor to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Cationic metal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) also removed from the water by black shale. With 3 mg/L of humic acid, both Pb(II) and Cd(II) were removed more than without humic acid. That could be explained by sorption and complexation with humic acid and that was possible when humic acid could change the hydrophobicity and solubility of heavy metals. Humic acid exhibited desorption-resistivity with black shale, which implied that black shale could be an alternative sorbent or material for remediation of organic contaminants and heavy metals.