• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1-6
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• 2010

This study investigated the change of metal contamination levels according to amendment of enforcement regulation of the Soil Environmental Conservation Act in Korea. As an analytical result of 87 samples in abandoned metallic mine area, the extracted amount of As, Pb and Cu with aqua regia was 4.3~29.6 times higher than that with hydrochloric acid extraction and the number of samples, which contamination levels were found to exceed soil contamination standards, was also increased. On the other hand, in case of Cd, Zn, and Ni, the number of samples, which contamination levels were found to exceed soil contamination standards, was decreased or similar. These results can be used as a preliminary material in comparison between the soil pollution data accumulated previously and the data obtained by the revised standard method for the examination of soil pollution.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.296-303
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• 2010

Chromium as a constituent of rocks occurs naturally in the environment in varying concentrations. However, the human activity has changed the geochemical cycle of chromium in the environment and has caused the chromium accumulation in soils. Korean soils revealed a wide range of chromium contents depending on parent material and land use. The total chromium contents of volcanic ash soils in Jeju, which were determined using $HNO_3$ + $HClO_4$ + HF, ranged from 434 to 1,164 mg $kg^{-1}$. The 'ecological' total chromium contents extracted using conc. HCl + conc. $HNO_3$ (aqua regia) in the same soils varied in a lower range of 50-189 mg $kg^{-1}$ (averaged percentage of aqua regia contents in $HNO_3$ + $HClO_4$ + HF contents: 14.9%). Serpentine soils in Andong showed a 'ecological' total chromium content of 309 mg $kg^{-1}$ and against it granitic soils in Andong only 20 mg $kg^{-1}$. In uncontaminated forest soils of Korea, the 'ecological' total chromium contents varied from 4.89 to 106 mg $kg^{-1}$ and the soluble chromium contents determined using 0.1 M HCl ranged from 0.01 to 0.64 mg $kg^{-1}$ (averaged percentage of 0.1 M HCl contents in aqua regia contents: 0.4%). Arable lands contained more soluble chromium than reported in forest soils (averaged soluble chromium: 0.36 and 0.09 mg $kg^{-1}$, respectively). In particular, the soluble chromium contents in greenhouse, orchard and upland soils were higher than in contaminated soils near mine and industrial site (maximum contents: greenhouse 15.3 mg $kg^{-1}$; upland 12.1 mg $kg^{-1}$; orchard 8.29 mg $kg^{-1}$; mine site 4.76 mg $kg^{-1}$; industrial site 2.80 mg $kg^{-1}$). On the basis of these results a accumulation of chromium in some specific arable lands can be assumed, probably by long-continued applications of fertilizers or soil amendments containing chromium. In Korean Enforcement Decree of the Soil Environment Conservation Act soil standards for total chromium do not exist yet.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.32-39
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• 2009

This study was conducted in order to get the scientific background for soil pollution criteria. The 92 soil samples derived from various geological units were taken and analyzed to survey natural heavy metal background levels using aqua regia digestion method and 0.1N HCl extraction method. From these results, the average natural contents of metals were 0.287 mg/kg for Cd, 15.26 mg/kg for Cu, 18.43 mg/kg for Pb, 25.36 mg/kg for Cr, 54.27 mg/kg for Zn, 17.68 mg/kg for Ni, 6.83 mg/kg for As by the aqua regia method, and 0.040 mg/kg for Cd, 0.48 mg/kg for Cu, 3.06 mg/kg for Pb, 0.09 mg/kg for Cr, 1.54 mg/kg for Zn, 0.27 mg/kg for Ni, 0.089 mg/kg for As by the 0.1N HCl extraction method. Ratios of soluble contents and total contents were Cd 0.14, Cu 0.03, Pb 0.17, Cr 0.004, Zn 0.03, Ni 0.02, As 0.013 and the correlation coefficients of soluble contents and total contents were 0.24(As), 0.88(Cd), 0.43(Cr), 0.65(Cu), 0.70(Pb), 0.61(Ni), 0.24(Zn). The correlation factor decreased in the order of Cd > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cr > Zn $\approx$ As.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

This study evaluated the relative extraction ratio (RER) of As and heavy metals (Cd, Cu and Pb) in paddy soils using the two types extractant, 0.05 M EDTA and 0.43 M HNO₃. The RER was calculated by dividing the concentrations of metals obtained by 0.05 M EDTA or 0.43 M HNO₃ extraction by those obtained by aqua regia extraction. The RER of 0.43 M HNO₃ was larger than that of 0.05 M EDTA. Correlation analysis indicated there was statistically significant correlation (p<0.001) between the concentration in aqua regia and 0.05 M EDTA or 0.43 M HNO₃. Especially, Cd showed the higher correlation than other metals. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses indicated soil pH, CEC, organic matter content, and soil texture all influenced the metal extraction rates and bioavailability of the metals.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.123-130
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• 2012

Leaching experiments of gold and silver from roasted concentrate were carried out using a chlorine-hypochlorite solution. The leaching rate of gold was 75% at 1.5:1 ratio of chlorine and hypochlorite and increased to 81% with adding 1 M NaCl. However, at 1% pulp density and at $65^{\circ}C$, the leaching rates of Au were close to 100%. XRD analysis identified quartz in the solid residues after digestion of roasted concentrate with aqua regia or chlorine-hypochloride leaching solution. This suggests that the gold may not be leached out of the quartz in aqua regia or chlorine-hypochlorite solution. In order to leach the gold from the quartz, the concentrate will have to be pre-treated through ultra-fine grinding or treated with stronger oxidative agents.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.45-51
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• 2014

In accordance with the view on remediated soil as a resource, this study assessed the applicability of soil washing with the neutral phosphate for remediation of arsenic (As)-contaminated soil. Three soil samples of different land uses (i.e., rice paddy, upland field and forest land) were collected from the study site, and the aqua regia-extractable As concentrations were 59.2, 30.8 and 53.1 mg/kg, respectively. Among the neutral phosphate reagents, ammonium phosphate showed the highest As washing efficiency. The optimized washing condition was 2-hr washing with 0.5M ammonium phosphate solution (pH 6) and soil to liquid ratio of 1 : 5. The extraction efficiencies of As did not guarantee the residual soil As concentrations to satisfy the Korea soil regulatory level (i.e., Worrisome level) in the three soil samples. To enhance washing efficiency, the As-contaminated soil was submerged in washing solution (1 : 1, w/v) for 24 hr and 1-hr washing with 0.5M ammonium phosphate solution was tested. As extraction efficiencies of 36.1 (rice paddy), 21.4 (upland field) and 26.4% (forest land) were attained, which satisfied the Worrisome level for Region 1 (25 mg/kg of As) in rice paddy, but not in upland field and forest land.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1541-1544
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• 2002

The concentration of B in steels is important due to its influence on mechanical properties of steel such as hardenability, hot workability, and creep resistance. An analytical method has been developed to determine B in steel samples by high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR-ICP-MS). National Institute of Standard and Technology Standard Reference Material (NIST SRM) 348a was analyzed to validate the analytical method. The steel sample was digested in a centrifuge bottle with addition of aqua regia and $^{10}B$ spike isotope. Sample pH was then adjusted to higher than 10 to precipitate most matrix elements such as Fe, Cr, and Ni. After centrifugation, the supernatant solution was passed through a cation exchange column to enhance the matrix separation efficiency. B recovery efficiency was about 37%, while matrix removal efficiency was higher than 99.9% for major matrix elements. The isotope dilution method was used for quantification and the determined B concentration was in good agreement with the certified value.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.353-358
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• 2014

This paper reports a simple, yet effective 1-step surface modification method for stainless steel. Electrochemical etching in dilute Aqua Regia forms hierarchical micro and nanoscale structure on the surface. The surface becomes highly hydrophobic (${\sim}150^{\circ}$) as a result of the etching in terms of static contact angle (CA). However the liquid drops easily pinned on the surface because of high contact angle hysteresis (CAH), which is called a "petal effect": The petal effect occur because of gap between surface microstructures, despite of intrinsic hydrophobicity of the base material. The pore size and period of surface structure can be controlled by applied voltage during the etching. This method can be applied to wide variety of industrial demand for surface modification, while maintaining the advantageous anti-corrosion property of stainless steel.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.263-276
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• 1985

Building stones can be divided into two groups: raw stone and stone product. In Korea, they consist of granite, diorite, gabbro, andesite, tuff, slate and marble, of which granite is main product. The disribution area is approximately $31,753km^2$. The enterprises of building stone are about 1,500 at present. The granites for building stone are biotite granite, hornblende granite. granodiorite and porphyritic granite, of different colors (white, pink, grey, green and black). The compressive strength of granite ranges from 813 to $1,338kg/cm^2$, hardness from 78 to 101 and water absorption ratio from 0.09 to 0.40%. The weight reduction ratio of granite for 14 hours in aqua regia+$KMnO_4$solution is 0.3~4.5wt.%. There are eighty granite quarries in Korea. Marbles can also be extensively used for building but only a few mines are operated at present.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.36-40
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• 1997

A series of processes has been developed to recover the gold from electronic scrap containing about 200~600 ppm Au. First, mechanical beneficiation including shredding, crushing and screening was employed. Results showed that 99 percent of gold component leaves in the fraction of under 1mm of crushed scrap and its concentration was enriched to about 800 ppm without incineration. The crushed scrap was leached in 50% aqua regia solution and gold was completely dissolved at $60^{\circ}C$ withing 2 hours. Other valuable metals such as silver, copper, nickel and iron were also dissolved. The resulting solution was boiled to remove nitrous compounds in the leachate. Finally, a newly designed electrolyzer was tested to recover the gold metal. More than 99% of gold and silver were recovered within an hour by electrowinning process.