• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.27 no.6 s.122
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• pp.363-367
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• 2004

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) beneath the forest canopy, understory species richness and diversity, and biomass were measured in a Larix leptolepis plantation seven years after thinning in Yangpyeong. Four different thinning intensities (control, $10\%,\;20\%\;and\;40\%$ stocking reduction) were applied in 1997. The current PAR values were lower than those measured four years after thinning, and PAR at the heavy thinning plots was significantly higher than that of other thinning intensities. A total of 23 species including 9 tall-trees and 14 shrubs were found for the high layer while a total of 82 species including 10 tall-trees, 29 shrubs, and 43 herbs for the low layer. Species richness and diversity generally increased with thinning intensities, and the trends were more evident for the low layer. Aboveground biomass significantly differed among thinning intensities for both shrubs and herbs. Also there was a negative correlation between biomass and the current number of stems per hectare. The current study suggested that the effects of thinning on light conditions at the forest floor, species richness and diversity and production of understory vegetation continued seven years after the treatment.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.647-653
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• 2010

The objectives of this research are to evaluate and compare the oxygen transfer coefficients($K_{La}$) in both a general bubbles reactor and a micro-nano bubbles reactor for effective operation in sewage treatment plants, and to understand the effect on microbial kinetic parameters of biomass growth for optimal biological treatment in sewage treatment plants when the micro-nano bubbles reactor is applied. Oxygen transfer coefficients($K_{La}$) of tap water and effluent of primary clarifier were determined. The oxygen transfer coefficients of the tap water for the general bubbles reactor and micro-nano bubbles reactor were found to be 0.28 $hr^{-1}$ and 2.50 $hr^{-1}$, respectively. The oxygen transfer coefficients of the effluent of the primary clarifier for the general bubbles reactor and micro-nano bubbles reactor were found be to 0.15 $hr^{-1}$ and 0.91 $hr^{-1}$, respectively. In order to figure out kinetic parameters of biomass growth for the general bubbles reactor and micro-nano bubbles reactor, oxygen uptake rates(OURs) in the saturated effluent of the primary clarifier were measured with the general bubbles reactor and micro-nano bubbles reactor. The OURs of in the saturated effluent of the primary clarifier with the general bubbles reactor and micro-nano bubbles reactor were 0.0294 mg $O_2/L{\cdot}hr$ and 0.0465 mg $O_2/L{\cdot}hr$, respectively. The higher micro-nano bubbles reactor's oxygen transfer coefficient increases the OURs. In addition, the maximum readily biodegradable substrate utilization rates($K_{ms}$) for the general bubbles reactor and micro-nano bubbles reactor were 3.41 mg COD utilized/mg active VSS day and 7.07 mg COD utilized/mg active VSS day, respectively. The maximum specific biomass growth rates for heterotrophic biomass(${\mu}_{max}$) were calculated by both values of yield for heterotrophic biomass($Y_H$) and the maximum readily biodegradable substrate utilization rates($K_{ms}$). The values of ${\mu}_{max}$ for the general bubbles reactor and micro-nano bubbles reactor were 1.62 $day^{-1}$ and 3.36 $day^{-1}$, respectively. The reported results show that the micro-nano bubbles reactor increased air-liquid contact area. This method could remove dissolved organic matters and nutrients efficiently and effectively.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.10-22
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• 2022

Forest biomass energy is based on scientific evidence in response to carbon neutrality and the climate crisis, international consensus, and environmental-geographic characteristics of each nation. In this study, the authors aimed to analyze macroscopic forest biomass energy policies for ten major countries. They categorized them into six detailed categories (Sustainable utilization, Cascading Uutilization, Replacement of fossil fuel/Carbon intensive products, Utilization of forest by-products/residues as the source of energy, Contribution to carbon-neutral/climate change, and Biomass combined with CCS/CCUS ). In addition, the surveyed nations have developed a policy consensus on the active use of forest biomass with sustainable forest management except for the cascading utilization category. Furthermore, the authors evaluated the mid to long-term plans of the Korean government for improvements in the policy and legal aspects. As a result, the authors derived four major directions that South Korea should approach strategically in the future (1) secure financial resources for sustainable forest management and stimulating investment in the timber industry, (2) promote unified policies to establish a bio-economy, (3) enhancement of the forest biomass energy system, and (4) reorganization and promotion of strategy centered on the opinions of field experts in internal and external instability.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1043-1052
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• 2019

Active lipase-producing bacterium Burkholderia gladioli Bps-1 was rapidly isolated using a modified trypan blue and tetracycline, ampicillin plate. The electro-phoretically pure enzyme was obtained by purification using ethanol precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography. The molecular weight was 34.6 kDa and the specific activity was determined to be 443.9 U/mg. The purified lipase showed the highest activity after hydrolysis with $p-NPC_{16}$ at a pH of 8.5 and $50^{\circ}C$, and the $K_m$, $k_{cat}$, and $k_{cat}/K_m$ values were 1.05 mM, $292.95s^{-1}$ and $279s^{-1}mM^{-1}$, respectively. The lipase was highly stable at $7.5{\leq}pH{\leq}10.0$. $K^+$ and $Na^+$ exerted activation effects on the lipase which had favorable tolerance to short-chain alcohols with its residual enzyme activity being 110% after being maintained in 30% ethanol for 1 h. The results demonstrated that the lipase produced by the strain B. gladioli Bps-1 has high enzyme activity and is an alkaline lipase. The lipase has promising chemical properties for a range of applications in the food-processing and detergent industries, and has particularly high potential for use in the manufacture of biodiesel.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2012

Biomass has become a major feedstock for bioenergy and other bio-based products because of its renewability and environmental benefits. Various researches have been done in the prediction of crucial characteristics of biomass, including the active utilization of spectroscopy data. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been widely used because of its attractive features: it's non-destructive and cost-effective producing fast and reliable analysis results. This work developed the multivariate statistical scheme for predicting weight loss profiles based on the utilization of NIR spectra data measured for six lignocellulosic biomass types. Wavelet analysis was used as a compression tool to suppress irrelevant noise and to select features or wavelengths that better explain NIR data. The developed scheme was demonstrated using real NIR data sets, in which different prediction models were evaluated in terms of prediction performance. In addition, the benefits of using right pretreatment of NIR spectra were also given. In our case, it turned out that compression of high-dimensional NIR spectra by wavelet and then PLS modeling yielded more reliable prediction results without handling full set of noisy data. This work showed that the developed scheme can be easily applied for rapid analysis of biomass.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.287-298
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• 2021

Torch ginger (Etlingera elatior Jack) is a potential source of lignocellulose material for various derivative products. This study aims to determine the chemical components, ratio of syringyl to guaiacyl units (S/G) in lignin, and crystallinity of the biomass of torch ginger. The effects of soda pulping on the chemical characteristics of torch ginger pulp were also studied. Pulping of the chips was conducted with active alkali of 15%, 20%, and 25% and a Liquor-to-Wood (L/W) ratio of 4:1, 5:1, and 6:1. The impregnation and pulping times at maximum temperature (170℃) were 120 and 90 min, respectively. To assess the effect of treatments on the properties of pulping, a two-factorial experimental design was applied. Results showed that the content of α-cellulose and hemicellulose in the torch ginger was 48.48% and 31.50%, respectively, with an S/G ratio of 0.70 in lignin. Soda pulping changed the crystalline structure of the biomass from triclinic to monoclinic. Active alkali, L/W ratio, and interactions considerably influenced the observed responses. The degree of delignification increased with an increase in the loading of active alkali, which lead to a decrease in the kappa number of the pulp. An active alkali content of 25% and an L/W ratio of 6:1 resulted in the highest delignification selectivity with a kappa number of 2.78 and a yield of 24%. Given its cellulose content and ease of pulping, torch ginger can be a potential raw material for derivative products that require delignification as pretreatment. However, the increase in cellulose crystallinity should be considered when converting torch ginger to bioethanol.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.403-408
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• 2012

In this study, the homogenous Pd nanoparticles (Pd NPs) were first prepared with bayberry tannin (BT) as the stabilizers. Subsequently, the obtained bayberry tannin-stabilized Pd nanoparticles (BT-Pd) were immobilized onto ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ to prepare heterogeneous ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$-BT-Pd catalysts. Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectrum (FTIR) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirmed that the Pd NPs were well stabilized by the phenolic hydroxyl groups of BT. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) observation indicated that the diameter of the Pd NPs can be effectively controlled in the range of 4.2-16.0 nm by varying the amount of BT. It is found that the ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$-BT-Pd catalysts exhibit highly activity for various olefin hydrogenations. For example, the initial TOF (turnover frequency) of the ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$-BT-Pd in the allyl alcohol hydrogenation is as high as $12804 mol{\cdot}mol^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$. Furthermore, the ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$-BT-Pd can be reused 5 times without significant loss of activity, exhibiting a superior reusability as compared with conventionally prepared ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$-Pd catalysts.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2013

In this study, oil palm biomass such as empty fruit bunch (EFP) and palm kernel shell (PKS) was used as raw materials for making pellets. EFB and PKS are valuable lignocellulosic biomass that can be used for various purposes. If EFB and PKS are used as alternative raw materials for making pellets instead of wood, wood could be saved for making pulps or other value-added products. In order to explore their combustion characteristics, EFB and PKS were analyzed using thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) with ultimate and proximate analyses. From the TGA results, thermal decomposition of EFB and PKS occurred in the range of 280 to $400^{\circ}C$ through devolatilization and combustion of fixed carbon. After $400^{\circ}C$, their combustion were stabilized with combustion of residual lignin and char. PKS contained more fixed carbons and less ash contents than EFB, which indicated that PKS could be more active in combustion than EFB.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.215-225
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• 2004

Biomass and community composition of microphytobenthos in the Saemankeum tidal flat were studied by HPLC analysis of the photosynthetic pigments from November 2001 to November 2002. The environmental factors of sediment were also investigated to examine the relationship between microphytobenthos biomass and sedimentary environments. The detected photosynthetic pigments of microphytobenthos were chlorophyll a, b, c, fucoxanthin, 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, violaxanthin, diadinoxanthin, alloxanthin, diatoxanthin, zeaxanthin+lutein, peridinin and beta-carotene. Pheophytin a, the degradation product of chlorophyll a, was also detected. The results of pigmen analysis suggest the presence of diatom (fucoxanthin), euglenophytes (chlorophyll b), chlorophytes (chlorophyll b + lutein), cyanobacteria (zeaxanthin), cryptophytes (alloxanthin), chrysophytes (fucoxanthin + violaxanthin), prymnesiophytes (19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin) and dinoflagellates (peridinin). Chlorophyll a concentration in the top 0.5 cm of sediment was in the range of $0.24\;mg{\cdot}m\^{-2}\;-32.11\;mg{\cdot}m\^{-2}$ in the study area. The increase of chlorophyll a concentration in the spring indicates the occurrence of a microphytobenthic bloom. In the summer, there was a sharp decrease of the chlorophyll a concentration which was probably due to high grazing activity by macrobenthos. The annual mean chlorophyll a concentration in the study area was low compared to that in most of other tidal flat areas probably due to active resuspension of microphytobenthos and high grazing activity by macrobenthos. There was no clear relationship between microphytobenthos biomass and sedimentary environments because of a large variety of physical, chemical and biological factors, Pigment analysis indicated that while diatoms were dominated in the microphytobenthic community of the Geojon tidal flat, euglenophytes and/or chlorophytes coexisted with diatoms in the Mangyung River tidal flat.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.99-109
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• 2022

This study is the first report on production and characterization of the enzyme from an Ornithinibacillus species. A 4.2-fold increase in the extracellular protease (called L9^T) production from Ornithinibacillus caprae L9^T was achieved through the one-factor-at-a-time approach and response surface methodological optimization. L9^T protease exhibited a unique protein band with a mass of 25.9 kDa upon sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This novel protease was active over a range of pH (4-13), temperatures (30-80℃) and salt concentrations (0-220 g/l), with the maximal activity observed at pH 7, 70℃ and 20 g/l NaCl. Proteolytic activity was upgraded in the presence of Ag⁺, Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺, but was totally suppressed by 5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, which suggests that this enzyme belongs to the serine protease family. L9^T protease was resistant to certain common organic solvents and surfactants; particularly, 5 mM Tween 20 and Tween 80 improved the activity by 63 and 15%, respectively. More importantly, L9^T protease was found to be effective in dehairing of goatskins, cowhides and rabbit-skins without damaging the collagen fibers. These properties confirm the feasibility of L9^T protease in industrial applications, especially in leather processing.