• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.116-126
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• 2013

Glycol ethers are a group of solvents based on alkyl ethers of ethylene glycol commonly used in paints. These solvents typically have a higher boiling point, together with the favorable solvent properties of lower-molecular weight ethers and alcohols. The word "Glycol ethers" was registered as a United States trademark by Union Carbide Corp. Typically, glycol ethers are found in pharmaceuticals, sunscreens, cosmetics, inks, dyes and water based paints. On the other hand, glycol ethers are used in degreasers, cleaners, aerosol paints and adhesives. Most glycol ethers are relatively water soluble, biodegradable and only a few are considered toxic. Therefore, they are unlikely to pose an adverse risk to the environment. Recent study suggests that occupational exposure to glycol ethers is related to low motile sperm count in men, but the finding has been disputed by others. In this study, skin permeation of 3 types glycol ethers were studied in vitro using matrix such as solvent and detergent. The absorption of glycol ethers[methyl glycol ethers(MC), ethyl glycol ethers(EC) and butyl glycol ethers(BC)] has been measured in vitro through rat skin. Epidermal membranes were set up in Franz diffusion cells and their permeability to PBS measured to establish the integrity of the skin before the glycol ethers were applied to the epidermal surface. Absorption rates for each glycol ethers were determined and permeability assessment made to quantify any irreversible alterations in barrier function due to contact with the esters. Types of glycol ethers in vitro experimental results on MC> EC> BC quickly appeared in the following order: skin permeation was beneficial to the skin permeation small molecular weight, the difference in chemical structure, such as hydrophilic, because with the partition coefficient and solubility mechanisms and passive diffusion to increase the speed at which transmission is considered.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.271-277
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• 2008

The biofilm of white-rot fungi fully exposed in atmosphere are that operation is easy, management cost and energy waste is low. To develop biofilm of white-rot fungi fully exposed in atmosphere, basic test are as follows. To select most effective microoganism species, investigated treatment characteristics of wastewater containing non-biodegradable material for three species of white-rot fungi(Phanerochaete chrysosporium PSBL-1, Phanerochaete chrysosporium KCTC 6147, Trametes sp. KFCC 10941) and activated sludge. And then investigated attached and detached biomass of selected white-rot fungi species on HBC ring surface. Among the three strains tested, P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 and P. chrysosporium KCTC 6147 showed higher efficiency for organics removal than Trametes sp. KFCC 10941, and P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 showed higher efficiency for nitrogen removal than P. chrysosporium KCTC 6147 and Trametes sp. KFCC 10941. Respectively, 51$\sim$59.8%, 57.5$\sim$60.3% of NBDCOD was removed for P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 and P. chrysosporium 6147 in pH 3.5$\sim$5.5. TN removal efficiency showed 39.3$\sim$85.3%, 3.4$\sim$7.6% for P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 and P. chrysosporium 6147 in pH 4.5$\sim$11.5 respectively. Considered that white-rot fungi remove organism and nitrogen simultaneously, the microorganism selected white-rot fungi P. chrysosporium PSBL-1. White-rot fungi P. chrysosporium PSBL-1 attached on HBC ring surface 4,538 mg/L, 4,546 mg/L, 4,531 mg/L after 5 minutes, 4,575 mg/L, 4,573 mg/L, 4,568 mg/L after 10 minutes from initial MLSS 4,600 mg/L in pH 4, 7 and 10 respectively. Also detached biomass is negligible from right after attachment to 10 day in pH 4, 7 and 10.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.278-285
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• 2008

This research was performed to evaluate the landfilling method of organic sludge from mix of pre-treated organic sludge (OS) and municipal solid waste(MSW). Organic sludges were dried, composted, and solidified as pre-treatment and the OS and MSW were mixed in ratios of 2 to 8 and 4 to 6. Approximately 1,800$\sim$2,500 L of landfill gas(LFG) was generated in the lysimeter with solidified-OS, which was higher than 1,150$\sim$1,650 L of the dried- and composted- ones. Maximum H$_2$S concentration was found in the following order : Composted-20(80 ppmv) > Composted-40(55 ppmv) > Dried-20(30 ppmv) > Dried-40 $\fallingdotseq$ Solidified-20 $\fallingdotseq$ Solidified-40 (20 ppmv). BOD$_5$ at initial leachate generation period was 38,000 mg/L for Composted-40, 28,000 mg/L for Dried-40, 26,000 mg/L for Dried-20, 21,000 mg/L for Composted-20 and Solidified-40, and Solidified-20 for 17,000 mg/L. In the final period of experiment, BOD$_5$ was low as 300$\sim$500 mg/L in the lysimeter with solidified-OS and MSW and showed 2,000$\sim$3,500 mg/L in dried- and composted- ones. As the results, landfilling by mix of solidified-OS and MSW was evaluated as the most appropriate method for biodegradable organics. Direct landfilling of OS is permitted for landfill site with CDM facility. Therefore, mixed landfilling of solidified-OS and MSW should be considered for much more LFG generation as methane.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.19-29
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• 1994

A large volume of paper mill sludge(PMS) is produced every day from paper industries after treatments of waste water and it costs too much to dispose of the sludge. Since PMS consists mostly of biodegradable organic matter, cellulose, it is desirable to recycle it by proper treatments such as composting. In this study, experiments were conducted using a small scale reactor(12l) to establish optimum conditions for efficient composting of PMS of which initial pH, C/N ratio, and moisture content were 7.1, 28~30, and 60~65%, respectively. No heavy metals such as mercury, cadmimum, and lead were not detected in the PMS. Various levels of forced aeration, 1 minute aeration per every 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480 minutes were applied and 1 minute aeration per 60 and 120 minutes found to be proper for composting of 8l PMS in this system. Relationship between $CO_2$ production and temperatures was positively correlated with r> 0.82 suggesting that the normal decomposition of PMS by microorganisms occurred. However, under the condition of aeration interval over than 240 minutes, a negative relationship between two parameters was found indicating the occurrence of abnormal(maybe anaerobic) degradation. The amount of added nitrogen also affected composting of PMS resulting in the increase of $CO_2$ production and temperature. Semi-field tests using 100kg PMS in a static pile sysem showed that PMS could be composted efficiently under optimal environmental conditions. The parameters determining efficiency of composting such as C/N ratio, aeration, moisture content, and pH need to be monitored.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.1097-1106
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• 1998

Biodegradable edible films were prepared from rice protein concentrates (RPC) made from rice wine meal by alkaline extraction and isoelectric precipitation. The effect of film forming solution pH and plasticizers were studied, and cross-linkers were added to improve mechanical properties and water vapor permeabilities (WVP) of films. Films could be formed within pH $8{\sim}11$ with tensile strength (TS) of 4.3{\sim}5.7\;MPa$. Films produced under pH 11 had the highest TS (5.7 MPa) and the lowest WVP $(0.44\;ng{\cdot}m/m^2{\cdot}s{\cdot}Pa)$. Added glycerol, polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG) and its mixture (GLY:PEG=50:50) as plasticizers also affected the mechanical properties and WVP of films. TS and elongation at break (E) of films at various plasticizer levels were $5.5{\sim}1.0\;MPa$ and $3.6{\sim}24.3%$, respectively. At the same plasticizer concentration, the highest TS was observed when glycerol was used whereas the highest E was measured when mixture was used as plasticizer. WVPs of films with thickness of $60\;{\mu}m$ were $0.39{\sim}0.54\;ng{\cdot}m/m^2{\cdot}s{\cdot}Pa$. WVP of films decreased as the ratio of glycerol/PEG 200 was decreased, and WVP increased as the total amount of plasticizer added to the films increased. Film strength was improved by the addition of small amount of sodium hydrogen sulfate, succinic anhydride, ascorbic acid and citric acid, whereas TS of films containing $0.5{\sim}2.0%$ of NaCl and $CaCl_2$ were lower than those without the salts. The highest TS (6.3 MPa) was achieved with films containing 0.1% of succinic anhydride.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.69-75
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• 2006

Improper disposal of petroleum and spills from underground storage tanks have created large areas with highly toxic contamination of the soil and groundwater. Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is widely used as a fuel additive because of its advantageous properties of increasing the octane value and reducing carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon exhausts. However, MTBE is categorized as a possible human carcinogen. This research investigated the Modified Photo-Fenton system which is based on the Modified Fenton reaction and UV light irradiation. The Modified Fenton reaction is effective for MTBE degradation near a neutral pH, using the ferric ion complex composed of a ferric ion and environmentally friendly organic chelating agents. This research was intended to treat high concentrations of MTBE; thus, 1,000 mg/L MTBE was chosen. The objectives of this research are to find the optimal reaction conditions and to elucidate the kinetic and mechanism of MTBE degradation by the Modified Photo-Fenton reaction. Based on the results of experiments, citrate was chosen among eight chelating agents as the candidate for the Modified Photo-Fenton reaction because it has a relatively higher final pH and MTBE removal efficiency than the others, and it has a relatively low toxicity and is rapidly biodegradable. MTBE degradation was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. Under the optimum conditions, [$Fe^{3+}$] : [Citrate] = 1 mM: 4 mM, 3% $H_2O_2$, 17.4 kWh/L UV dose, and initial pH 6.0, the 1000 ppm MTBE was degraded by 86.75% within 6 hours and 99.99% within 16 hours. The final pH value was 6.02. The degradation mechanism of MTBE by the Modified Photo-Fenton Reaction included two diverse pathways and tert-butyl formate (TBF) was identified to be the major degradation intermediate. Attributed to the high solubility, stability, and reactivity of the ferric-citrate complexes in the near neutral condition, this Modified Photo-Fenton reaction is a promising treatment process for high concentrations of MTBE under or near a neutral pH.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.797-806
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• 2000

The objectives were to compare the biodegradable threshold concentrations of phenol with the different composition of the influent carbon source and examine the SMA (Specific Methanogenic Activity)and the possibility of simultaneous removal of high-strength organics and nitrogen compounds in UASB(Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) - PBR(Packed Bed Reactor) process. The results showed that UASB reactors were efficient to remove phenol and phenol + glucose from synthetic wastewater. At phenol conc, of 600 mg/L and SCOD conc. of 2100 mg/L in UASB reactor(with only phenol as substrate), the removal efficiencies of phenol and SCOD were over 99% and 93% respectively, under MLVSS of 20 g. The activity of microorganism was $0.112g\;phenol/g\;VSS{\cdot}d$, $0.351g\;SCOD/g\;VSS{\cdot}d$. The gas production rate was $0.115L/g\;VSS{\cdot}d$ and $CH_4$ content in gas was about 70%. At phenol conc. of 760 mg/L and SCOD conc. of 4300 mg/L in UASB reactor( with phenol + glucose as substrates), the removal efficiencies of phenol and of SCOD were over 99% and 90% respectively, under MLVSS of 20 g. The activity of microoganism was $0.135g\;phenol/g\;VSS{\cdot}d$, $0.696g\;SCOD/g\;VSS{\cdot}d$. The gas production rate was $0.257L/g\;VSS{\cdot}d$ and $CH_4$ content in gas was about 70%. Serum bottle test showed that the activity of granule was inhibited over 1600 mg/L phenol conc, and denitrification and methanogenesis simultaneously took place in UASB granules under co-substrates conditions. PBR reactor packed with cilium type media, was efficient in nitrification. In condition of $0.038kg\;NH_4-N/m^3-media{\cdot}d$. 10~12 mg/L phenol conc. and 200~500 mg/L SCOD conc., nitrification efficiency was over 90% and phenol removal efficiency was over 98%.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.988-994
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• 2014

The effluents of chemical and petroleum industries often contain non-biodegradable aromatic compounds, with phenol being one of the major organic pollutants present among a wide variety of highly toxic organic chemicals. Phenol is toxic upon ingestion, contact, or inhalation, and it is lethal to fish even at concentrations as low as 0.005 ppm. Phenol biodegradation has been studied in detail using bacterial strains. However, these microorganisms suffer from substrate inhibition at high concentrations of phenol, whereby growth is inhibited. A phenol-degrading bacterium, P21, was isolated from oil-contaminated soil. The phenotypic characteristics and a phylogenetic analysis indicated the close relationship of strain P21 to Rhodococcus pyridinovorans. Phenol biodegradation by strain P21 was studied under shaking condition. The optimal conditions for phenol biodegradation by strain P21 were 0.09% $KNO_3$, 0.1% $K_2HPO_4$, 0.3% $NaH_2PO_4$, 0.015% $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, 0.001% $FeSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, initial pH 9, and $20-30^{\circ}C$, respectively. When 1,000 ppm of phenol was added to the optimal medium, the strain P21 completely degraded it within two days. Rhodococcus pyridinovorans P21 could grow in up to 1,500 ppm of phenol as the sole carbon source in a batch culture, but it could not grow in a medium containing above 2,000 ppm. Moreover, strain P21 could utilize toxic compounds, such as toluene, xylene, and hexane, as a sole carbon source. However, no growth was detected on chloroform.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2020

Sustainable plastics can be mainly categorized into (1) biodegradable plastics decomposed into water and carbon dioxide after use, and (2) biomass-derived plastics possessing the carbon neutrality by utilizing raw materials converted from atmospheric carbon dioxide to biomass. Recently, biomass-derived engineering plastics (EP) and natural nanofiber-reinforced nanocomposites are emerging as a new direction of the industry. In addition to the eco-friendliness of natural resources, these materials are competitive over petroleum-based plastics in the high value-added plastics market. Polyesters and polycarbonates synthesized from isosorbide and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, which are representative biomass-derived monomers, are at the forefront of industrialization due to their higher transparency, mechanical properties, thermal stability, and gas barrier properties. Moreover, isosorbide has potential to be applied to super EP material with continuous service temperature over 150 ℃. In situ polymerization utilizing surface hydrophilicity and multi-functionality of natural nanofibers such as nanocellulose and nanochitin achieves remarkable improvements of mechanical properties with the minimal dose of nanofillers. Biomass-derived tough-plastics covered in this review are expected to replace petroleum-based plastics by satisfying the carbon neutrality required by the environment, the high functionality by the consumer, and the accessibility by the industry.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2022

Petroleum-based plastics are used for various purposes and pose a significant threat to the earth's environment and ecosystem. Many efforts have been taken globally in different areas to find alternatives. As part of these efforts, this study manufactured alginate-based polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blended films by casting from an aqueous solution prepared by mixing 10 wt% petroleum-based PVA with biodegradable, marine biomass-derived alginate. Glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent, and cardanol, an alkyl phenol-based bio-oil extracted from cashew nut shell, was added in the range of 0.1 to 2.0 wt% to grant antibacterial activity to the films. FTIR and TGA were performed to characterize the manufactured blended films, and the tensile strength, degree of swelling, and antibacterial activity were measured. Results obtained from the FTIR, TGA, and tensile strength test showed that alginate, the main component, was well distributed in the PVA by forming a matrix phase. The brittleness of alginate, a known weakness as a single component, and the low thermal durability of PVA were improved by cross-linking and hydrogen bonding of the functional groups between alginate and PVA. Addition of cardanol to the alginate-based PVA blend significantly improved the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The antibacterial performance was excellent with a death rate of 98% or higher for S. aureus and about 70% for E. coli at a contact time of 60 minutes. The optimal antibacterial activity of the alginate-PVA blended films was found with a cardanol content range between 0.1 to 0.5 wt%. These results show that cardanol-containing alginate-PVA blended films are suitable for use as various antibacterial materials, including as food packaging.