• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.341-349
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• 2021

In combustion facilities, the nitrogen and sulfur in fossil fuels react with oxygen to generate air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NO_X) and sulfur oxides (SO_X), which are harmful to the human body and cause environmental pollution. There are regulations worldwide to reduce NO_X and SO_X, and various technologies are being applied to meet these regulations. There are commercialized methods to reduce NO_X and SO_X emissions such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR), selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) and wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD), but due to the disadvantages of these methods, many studies have been conducted to simultaneously remove NO_X and SO_X. However, even in the NO_X and SO_X simultaneous removal methods, there are problems with wastewater generation due to oxidants and absorbents, costs incurred due to the use of catalysts and electrolysis to activate specific oxidants, and the harmfulness of gas oxidants themselves. Therefore, in this research, microbubbles generated in a high-pressure disperser and reducing agents were used to reduce costs and facilitate wastewater treatment in order to compensate for the shortcomings of the NO_X, SO_X simultaneous treatment method. It was confirmed through image processing and ESR (electron spin resonance) analysis that the disperser generates real microbubbles. NO_X and SO_X removal tests according to temperature were also conducted using only microbubbles. In addition, the removal efficiencies of NO_X and SO_X are about 75% and 99% using a reducing agent and microbubbles to reduce wastewater. When a small amount of oxidizing agent was added to this microbubble system, both NO_X and SO_X removal rates achieved 99% or more. Based on these findings, it is expected that this suggested method will contribute to solving the cost and environmental problems associated with the wet oxidation removal method.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.321-335
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• 2021

Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5 with a diameter less than 10 and 2.5 ㎛, respectively) can be absorbed by the human body and adversely affect human health. Although most of the PM monitoring are based on ground-based observations, they are limited to point-based measurement sites, which leads to uncertainty in PM estimation for regions without observation sites. It is possible to overcome their spatial limitation by using satellite data. In this study, we developed machine learning-based retrieval algorithm for ground-level PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations using aerosol parameters from Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) satellite and various meteorological parameters from a numerical weather prediction model during January to December of 2019. Gradient Boosted Regression Trees (GBRT) and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) were used to estimate PM concentrations. The model performances were examined for two types of feature sets-all input parameters (Feature set 1) and a subset of input parameters without meteorological and land-cover parameters (Feature set 2). Both models showed higher accuracy (about 10 % higher in R2) by using the Feature set 1 than the Feature set 2. The GBRT model using Feature set 1 was chosen as the final model for further analysis(PM10: R2 = 0.82, nRMSE = 34.9 %, PM2.5: R2 = 0.75, nRMSE = 35.6 %). The spatial distribution of the seasonal and annual-averaged PM concentrations was similar with in-situ observations, except for the northeastern part of China with bright surface reflectance. Their spatial distribution and seasonal changes were well matched with in-situ measurements.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.30-58
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• 2022

The deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste disposal is a multi barrier system comprised of engineered barriers and a natural barrier. The long-term integrity of the deep geological repository is affected by the coupled interactions between the individual barrier components. Erosion and piping phenomena in the compacted bentonite buffer due to buffer-rock interactions results in the removal of bentonite particles via groundwater flow and can negatively impact the integrity and performance of the buffer. Rapid groundwater inflow at the early stages of disposal can lead to piping in the bentonite buffer due to the buildup of pore water pressure. The physiochemical processes between the bentonite buffer and groundwater lead to bentonite swelling and gelation, resulting in bentonite erosion from the buffer surface. Hence, the evaluation of erosion and piping occurrence and its effects on the integrity of the bentonite buffer is crucial in determining the long-term integrity of the deep geological repository. Previous studies on bentonite erosion and piping failed to consider the complex coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behavior of bentonite-groundwater interactions and lacked a comprehensive model that can consider the complex phenomena observed from the experimental tests. In this technical note, previous studies on the mechanisms, lab-scale experiments and numerical modeling of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are introduced, and the future expected challenges in the investigation of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are summarized.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_1
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• pp.1285-1300
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• 2022

Turbidity, the measure of the cloudiness of water, is used as an important index for water quality management. The turbidity can vary greatly in small river systems, which affects water quality in national rivers. Therefore, the generation of high-resolution spatial information on turbidity is very important. In this study, a turbidity retrieval model using the Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-3 and -3A (KOMPSAT-3/3A) images was developed for high-resolution turbidity mapping of Han River system based on eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithm. To this end, the top of atmosphere (TOA) spectral reflectance was calculated from a total of 24 KOMPSAT-3/3A images and 150 Landsat-8 images. The Landsat-8 TOA spectral reflectance was cross-calibrated to the KOMPSAT-3/3A bands. The turbidity measured by the National Water Quality Monitoring Network was used as a reference dataset, and as input variables, the TOA spectral reflectance at the locations of in situ turbidity measurement, the spectral indices (the normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference water index, and normalized difference turbidity index), and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived atmospheric products(the atmospheric optical thickness, water vapor, and ozone) were used. Furthermore, by analyzing the KOMPSAT-3/3A TOA spectral reflectance of different turbidities, a new spectral index, new normalized difference turbidity index (nNDTI), was proposed, and it was added as an input variable to the turbidity retrieval model. The XGBoost model showed excellent performance for the retrieval of turbidity with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.70 NTU and a normalized RMSE (NRMSE) of 14.70% compared to in situ turbidity, in which the nNDTI proposed in this study was used as the most important variable. The developed turbidity retrieval model was applied to the KOMPSAT-3/3A images to map high-resolution river turbidity, and it was possible to analyze the spatiotemporal variations of turbidity. Through this study, we could confirm that the KOMPSAT-3/3A images are very useful for retrieving high-resolution and accurate spatial information on the river turbidity.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.145-158
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• 2023

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are effective technologies for urban wastewater management, utilizing natural physico-chemical and biological processes to remove pollutants. This study employed a bibliometric analysis approach to investigate the progress and future research trends in the field of CWs. A comprehensive review of 100 most-recently published and open-access articles was performed to analyze the performance of CWs in treating wastewater. Spain, China, Italy, and the United States were among the most productive countries in terms of the number of published papers. The most frequently used keywords in publications include water quality (n=19), phytoremediation (n=13), stormwater (n=11), and phosphorus (n=11), suggesting that the efficiency of CWs in improving water quality and removal of nutrients were widely investigated. Among the different types of CWs reviewed, hybrid CWs exhibited the highest removal efficiencies for BOD (88.67%) and TSS (95.67%), whereas VSSF, and HSSF systems also showed high TSS removal efficiencies (83.25%, and 78.83% respectively). VSSF wetland displayed the highest COD removal efficiency (71.82%). Generally, physical processes (e.g., sedimentation, filtration, adsorption) and biological mechanisms (i.e., biodegradation) contributed to the high removal efficiency of TSS, BOD, and COD in CW systems. The hybrid CW system demonstrated highest TN removal efficiency (60.78%) by integrating multiple treatment processes, including aerobic and anaerobic conditions, various vegetation types, and different media configurations, which enhanced microbial activity and allowed for comprehensive nitrogen compound removal. The FWS system showed the highest TP removal efficiency (54.50%) due to combined process of settling sediment-bound phosphorus and plant uptake. Phragmites, Cyperus, Iris, and Typha were commonly used in CWs due to their superior phytoremediation capabilities. The study emphasized the potential of CWs as sustainable alternatives for wastewater management, particularly in urban areas.