• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.675-682
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• 2009

Sludge minimization from wastewater treatment plant is becoming more important to save disposal costs and to contribute to sustainable development. For the reduction of sludge production, solubilization and dewaterability of sludge are important factors in sludge processing. Ultrasonic treatment has been used to enhance sludge solubility and dewaterability with anaerobic digestion sludge, primary sludge, and activated sludge. At the ultrasonic power of 0.2 kW/L for 1 hour, anaerobic sludge and activated sludge showed higher solubilization efficiency than the primary sludge in terms of COD, proteins, and suspended solids. Ultrasonic treatment decreased sludge dewaterability and sludge settling characteristics up to 720 kJ/L of ultrasonic energy. In conclusion, ultrasonic treatment was effective for sludge solubilization but it deteriorate dewaterability (specific resistance) and settling characteristics (SVI) of sludge at the experimental conditions.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.102-111
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• 2010

Molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) power plants are one of most attractive electricity generation systems for the use of biogas to generate high-efficiency ultra-clean power. However, MCFCs are considerably more expensive than comparable conventional electricity generation systems. The commercialization of MCFCs has been delayed more than expected. After being effective in the Kyoto protocol and considerably increasing the fossil price, the attention focused on $CO_2$ regression and renewable energy sources has increased dramatically. In particular, the commercialization and application of MCFC systems fed with biogas have been revived because of the characteristics of $CO_2$ collection and fuel variety of MCFCs. Better economic results of MCFC systems fed with biogas are expected because biogas is a relatively inexpensive fuel compared to liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, the pretreatment cost is added when using anaerobic digester gas (ADG), one of the biogases, as a fuel of MCFC systems because it contains high $H_2S$ and other contaminants, which are harmful sources to the MCFC stack in ADG. Thus, an accurate economic analysis and comparison between MCFCs fed with biogas and LNG are very necessary before the installation of an MCFC system fed with biogas in a plant. In this paper, the economic analysis of an MCFC fed with ADG was carried out for various conditions of electricity and fuel price and compared with the case of an MCFC fed with LNG.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.211-216
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• 2009

This study was conducted to investigate the changes of exercise-induced stress response with acute anaerobic exercise in elite soccer players of university. The subjects were divided into elite soccer players of university (SG, n=10) and control group (CG, n=10). Subjects were tested three consecutive Wingate test for 30 seconds involving 2 times of 3 mins of resting time. In addition, whole blood and capillary blood were collected at rest, immediately post-exercise and 60 mins. of recovery time. Obtained results were as follows: Evaluated mean power and peak power of SG group was significantly higher than that of CG group in the all phase of Wingate test, respectively (p<.01). Although resting serum TG, TC, HDLC levels were not significant difference between SG and CG group, resting serum glucose of SG group was significantly lower than that of CG group. In addition, serum CRP levels of SG group were significantly lower than that of CG group at rest, immediately post-exercise and 60 mins of recovery time, respectively (p<.01). In serum cytokines, in spite of no significant differences in IL-1β levels between SG and CG group, IL-6 levels of SG group were significantly lower than that of CG group at immediately post-exercise and 60 mins. of recovery time, respectively (p<.05, p<.01). From these results, long-term combination training have a crucial role in amelioration of acute exerciseinduced stress response in elite soccer players.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.821-824
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• 2009

LFG-MGT CHP system development project with $CO_2$ enrichment in greenhouses was introduced. LFG is produced from the anaerobic digestion of landfilled waste and it has been utilized for power/heat generation since it contains around 50% of $CH_4$. Utilization of LFG from small scale landfill is also needed as well as large scale landfill. However, due to economy of scale, it is very difficult to develop business model. In this context, combining CHP system with greenhouses is considered as feasible option for LFG utilization. LFG-MGT CHP system with $CO_2$ fixation in greenhouses has been derived as an active greenhouse gas reduction strategy, The focus of the system is beyond carbon neutral LFG utilization to neutral carbon absorption. The system is feasible in terms of direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission reduction with more economical way.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.598-603
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• 2005

Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion processes has about 60% of methane and about 40% of carbon dioxide. Raw biogas can be used in internal combustion engines either spark ignition or diesel engines. Since the gas has relatively low calorific values, engine power also is lower than rated power values. Modified engines or biogas-specific engines have been utilized in order to increase efficiency. Another option is gas cleansing for increasing its calorific values. A couple of European countries adopted this approach in using biogas for one of transportation fuels, such as $CO_2$ scrubbing with water or special solutions. This study reports the results of water scrubbing for reducing $CO_2$ concentration. In 2.5m-high PVC pipe accepting water, $CO_2$ reduction rates were investigated. When flow rate of $CO_2$ and air mixture was about 5 LPM, $CO_2$ concentration was decreased up to 70%. Higher calorific biogas through water scrubbing is expected to be applied to various commercial engines without costly modification.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.349-355
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• 2009

Metabolic fingerprinting of microbial communities was investigated with Biolog GN2 plates using samples of biofilm and aeration tanks from an RABC (rotating activated Bacillus contactor) system - an advanced wastewater treatment system for the food wastewater of pig slaughterhouses. Aerobic and anaerobic results revealed the following four aspects. First, simple matching and pairs t-test of daily variation showed more defined qualitative and quantitative relatedness of active microbial communities than that of mere optical densities. Second, metabolic potentials were higher in biofilm than in aeration tanks (p<0.01), meaning higher activity of biofilm. Third, two aeration tanks showed the highest similarity (78%) and similar metabolic power (p=0.287). However, actively used carbon sources were different among samples, signifying change of active communities at each wastewater treatment step. Finally, aerobic and anaerobic metabolic fingerprinting patterns were different for the same samples representing activities of microaerophilic and/or anaerobic communities. These results suggest that daily variation and anaerobic incubation would help in the comparison of metabolic fingerprintings.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.567-578
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• 2013

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bio-electrochemical device that converts chemical energy in the chemical bonds in organic compounds to electrical energy through catalytic reactions of microorganisms under anaerobic conditions. Power density and Coulombic efficiency are significantly affected by the types of microbe in the anodic chamber of an MFC, configurations of the system and operating conditions. The achievable power output from MFC increased remarkably by modifying their designs such as the optimization of MFC configurations, the physical and chemical operating conditions, and the choice of biocatalysts. This article presents a critical review on the recent advances made in MFC research with the emphasis on MFC configurations, optimization of important operating parameters, performances and future applications of MFC.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.308-320
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• 2022

The high internal resistance (R_int) that develops across the sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) limits their power production (~4/10 mW m^-2) that can be recovered from an initial oil-contaminated sediment (OCS). In the anolyte, R_int is related to poor biodegradation activity, quality and quantity of contaminant content in the sediment and anode material. While on the catholyte, R_int depends on the properties of the catholyte, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the cathode material. In this work, the main factors limiting the power output of the SMFC have been minimized. The power output of the SMFC was increased (47 times from its initial value, ~4 mW m^-2) minimizing the SMFC R_int (28 times from its initial value, 5000 ohms), following the main modifications. Anolyte: the initial OCS was amended with several amounts of gasoline and kerosene. The best anaerobic microbial activity of indigenous populations was better adapted (without more culture media) to 3 g of kerosene. Catholyte: ORR was catalyzed in birnessite/carbon fabric (CF)-cathode at pH 2, 0.8M Na₂SO₄. At the class level, the main microbial groups (Gammaproteobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria) with electroactive members were found at C-anode and were associated with the high-power densities obtained. Gasoline is more difficult to biodegrade than kerosene. However, in both cases, SMFC biodegradation activity and power output are increased when ORR is performed on birnessite/CF in 0.8 M Na₂SO₄ at pH 2. The work discussed here can focus on bioremediation (in heavy OCS) or energy production in future work.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.343-347
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• 2003

Power of loess ball on nitrogen and phosphorous removal in wastewater treatment were investigated. flow line A ( anaerobic${\rightarrow}$oxic${\rightarrow}$anoxic(organic source methanol)${\rightarrow}$p-absorption) showed the results of T-P 0.5, T-N 1.0, and COD 10ppm bellow, and flow line B ( oxic${\rightarrow}$anoxic, organic source: methanol${\rightarrow}$p-absorption) showed the results of T-P 0.3, T-N 5.0, and COD 15 ppm bellow. flow line C ( anaerobic${\rightarrow}$oxic${\rightarrow}$anoxic, organic source: wastewater ${\rightarrow}$ p-absorption) showed the results of T-P 0.6, T-N 10, and COD 15 ppm bellow, and flow line D ( oxic${\rightarrow}$anoxic, organic source: methanol${\rightarrow}$p-absorption) showed the results of T-P 1, T-N 8m, and COD 20 ppm bellow. So the results of these experiments showed the probability of loess ball in wastewater treatment.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.55-68
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• 2020

Because of the intensified environmental problems such as climate change and resource depletion, sewage treatment technology focused on energy management has recently attracted attention. The conversion of primary sludge from the primary sedimentation tank and excessive sludge from the secondary sedimentation tank into biogas is the key to energy-positive sewage treatment. In particular, the primary sedimentation tanks recover enriched biodegradable organic matter and anaerobic digestion process produces methane from the organic wastes for energy production. Such technologies for minimizing oxygen demand are leading the innovation regarding sewage treatment plants. However, sewage treatment facilities in Korea lack core technology and operational know-how. Actually, the energy potential of sewage is higher than sewage treatment energy consumption in the sewage treatment, but current processes are not adequately efficient in energy recovery. To improve this, it is possible to apply chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT), high-rate activated sludge (HRAS), and anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) to the primary sedimentation tank. To maximize the methane production of sewage treatment plants, organic wastes such as food waste and livestock manure can be digested. Additionally, mechanical pretreatment, thermal hydrolysis, and chemical pretreatment would enhance the methane conversion of organic waste. Power generation systems based on internal combustion engines are susceptible to heat source losses, requiring breakthrough energy conversion systems such as fuel cells. To realize the energy positive sewage treatment plant, primary organic matter recovery from sewage, biogas pretreatment, and co-digestion should be optimized in the energy management system based on the knowledge-based operation.