• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.362-372
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• 2010

Although different disposal routes of waste-activated sludge are possible, anaerobic digestion plays an important role for its abilities to further transform organic matter into methane. The potential of using methane as energy source has long been widely recognised and the present paper extensively reviews the principles of anaerobic digestion, the process parameters and hydrolysis. Hydrolysis is recognised as rate-limiting step in the complex digestion process. To accelerate the digestion and enhance the production of biogas, various pre-treatments can be used to improve the rate-limiting hydrolysis. These treatments include mechanical, thermal, chemical and biological interventions to the feedstock. All pre-treatments result in a lysis or disintegration of sludge cells, thus releasing and solubilizing intracellular material into the water phase and transforming refractory organic material into biodegradable species. The reader will finally be guided to extensive discussion for anaerobic digestion processes.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.92-102
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• 2021

In this study, the distribution characteristics according to the type of BOD and the effect of nitrogenous oxygen demand (NOD) and algal oxygen demand on BOD in three streams (Bokhacheon, Byeongseongcheon, and Gulpocheon) were evaluated. Although the BOD and NOD concentrations demonstrated a difference in the three streams, the carbonaceous BOD(CBOD)/BOD ratio was 0.75 (p=0.053, one-way ANOVA), and there was no significant difference in the three streams (r2≥0.92, p<0.0001). The NOD concentration of the Bokhacheon with high NH3-N was 1.7±1.3 mg/L, which was the highest among the three streams and showed a significant correlation with BOD. Seasonal variations in NOD in the three streams did not show a significant correlation with changes in NH3-N concentration (r2<0.28, p≥0.1789), and there was no significant difference in NOD even though NH3-N concentration in Gulpocheon was about twice that of Byeongseongcheon (p=0.870, one way ANOVA). The particulate CBOD(PCBOD)/CBOD ratio of the three streams was 0.55~0.64, and about 60% of the biodegradable organic matter was present in the particulate form. When the Chl.a concentration in the stream was more than 7 ㎍/L, the PCBOD tended to increase with the Chl.a concentration (r2=0.61, p=0.003). In the three streams, particulate NOD accounted for 81% of NOD; however, despite the large variation in NH3-N concentration (0.075~3.182 mg/L), there was no significant difference in soluble NOD(SNOD) concentration that ranged from 0.1 to 0.3 mg/L. In this study, the low contribution rate of SNOD to NOD is considered as a result of the removal of nitrifying bacteria along with the particles during the filtration process.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.531-537
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• 2023

Municipal solid waste landfills are unpredictable bioreactors which in cases of mishandling and bad supervision presents numerous risks. The key to municipal waste landfills is to approach them from the point of prevention of the possible consequences, which means using methods of organized waste disposal, and also utilizing landfill gas, as an unavoidable consequence with disposal of municipal solid waste with a high share of biodegradable organic matter. This paper presents an overview about problems of solid municipal waste management, type and composition of waste, and an overview of waste management condition. Further, the problem of landfill and landfill gasses is described with the calculation models of landfill production, as well as the use of the SWM GHG Calculator and LandGEM software on a specific example of gas production for the central zone at Sarajevo landfill "Smiljevici". Main focus of this thesis is the analysis of potentials of greenhouse gas emission reduction measures from the waste management. Overview of the best available techniques in waste management is presented as well as the methodology used for calculations. Scenarios of greenhouse gas emission reduction in waste management were defined so that emissions were calculated using the appropriate model. In the final section of the paper, its description of the problem of collection and utilization the landfill gas at the sanitary landfill "Smiljevici", and implementation of the system for landfill gas collection and solution suggestion for the gasification and exploitation of gas. Energy, environmental and economic benefits can be accomplished by utilizing municipal solid waste as fuel in industry and energy and moreover by utilizing energy generation from landfill gas, which this thesis emphasizes.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2009

This study was conducted to investigate the roles of co-existed organic materials (OM) with different biodegradability in composting of cattle manure in terms of $CO_2$ emission and $NH_3$ volatilization. Either sawdust (SD, low biodegradability) or rice bran (RB, high biodegradability) was mixed with cattle manure at a various rate and the amounts of $CO_2$ emission and $NH_3$ volatilization were determined periodically during 4 weeks of composting. Percentage of dry matter loss during the composting period was also calculated. The amount of $CO_2$ emitted increased with increasing rate of OM and was significantly (P<0.01) higher in the RB treatment than in the SD treatment by 43 to 122% depending on the rate of OM Accordingly, % of dry matter loss during 4 weeks of composting was higher in the RB (rang: from 35.1 % to 41.5%) than that in the SD treatments (from 18.7% to 22.6%), showing that RB is more biodegradable than SD. During the early composting period up to 8 days, negligible amount of ammonia volatilization was detected in both treatments regardless of application rates. In the RB treatment, substantial amount of ammonia volatilization was detected thereafter, however, no meaningful ammonia volatilization was observed in the SD treatment until the end of composting. Such differences could be attributed to the different properties of SD and RB. For example, the high C/N ratio of SD could enhance $NH_4^+$ immobilization and thus decrease $NH_4^+$ concentration that is susceptible to ammonia volatilization. Binding of $NH_4^+$ on to phenolic compounds of SD may also contribute to the decrease in $NH_4^+$ concentration. Meanwhile, as RB has a relatively low C/N ratio, remineralization of immobilized $NH_4^+$ could increase $NH_4^+$ concentration as high as the level for the occurrence of ammonia volatilization. Therefore, our study suggests that OM which is resistant to biodegradation can reduce $NH_3$ volatilization largely by physico-chemical pathways across the entire composting period and that easily biodegradable OM can retard $NH_3$ volatilzation via microbial immobilization in the early period of composting followed by rapid remineralization, leading to substantial volatilization of $NH_3$ in the middle stage of composting.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.290-303
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• 2003

Modern agriculture has been heavily dependent on chemical fertilizers to meet the food demands of ever increasing population. Progressive depletion of major plant nutrients in soil due to intensive cultivation practices has also necessitated the use of higher dose of chemical fertilizers particularly in soils where the organic matter content is very low. Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pressure on agriculturists to enhance per area crop yields has led to fast depletion of fossil fuel resources with concomitant increase in the prices of chemical fertilizers and also led to environmental pollution. Hence, the current trend throughout the world is to explore the possibility of using alternate nutrient sources or increasing the efficiency of chemical fertilizers by supplementing them with organic fertilizers and bioinoculants comprising largely microbes like, bacteria, fungi, algae etc to enhance nitrogen and phosphates in the soil thus creating a sustainable agricultural environment. Among the different microbial inoculants or biofertilizers, Azospirillum could be a potential candidate due to its non specific host root colonization. It had the capability to fix $N_2$ in wide pH regimes and even in presence of combined nitrogen. Azospirillum inoculation can increase the crop yield to 10-25% and substitute 25% of recommended doses of nitrogenous fertilizers. Apart from nitrogen fixation, Azospirillum is also involved in the root improvement, the activity which was attributed to an increase in the rate of water and mineral uptake by roots. The ability of Azospirillum to produce phytohormones was reported to enhance the root respiration rate, metabolism and root proliferation. They have also been reported to produce polyhydroxybutyrate, that can be used as a biodegradable thermosplastic. A lot of studies have addressed improvements in enhancing its efficiency to fix nitrogen fixation and hormone production.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.959-970
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• 2000

A laboratory-scale experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of soluble microbial products(SMP) on permeate flux in the submerged membrane separation activated sludge process. Continuous and batch filtration test were operated to understand mechanism of relationship between membrane fouling and SMP. Synthetic wastewater(phenol) was used as a carbon source. Hydraulic retention time(HRT) and mixed-liquor volatile suspended solids(MLVSS) of the reactor were kept at 12 hours and 9.000mg VSS/L, respectively. Batch filtration tests ($J_{60}/J_o$) using the mixed liquor from reactor showed that the increase of accumulated SMP concentration in the reactor caused to the decreasing permeate flux and the increasing of the adhesion matters which form cake and gel layer. The resistance value of cake layer was measured $2.9{\times}10^{10}{\sim}4.0{\times}10^{10}(1/m)$, this value showed more significant effect on flux drop than that of among other resistance layers. Batch phenol-degradation experiment was conducted to observe SMP type expected $SMP_{nd}$ and $SMP_{e}$ (SMP resulted from endogenous cell decomposition), these are non-biodegradable high molecular weight organic matter and playa significant role in permeate flux drop. Also, SMP concentration was accumulated as increased of HRT against flux drop.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.859-863
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• 2008

축산폐수, 침출수 등의 고농도 폐수를 생물학적으로 처리할 경우 최종 방류수는 강한 색도를 띠며 고분자량의 유기물질을 다량 함유한다. 이는 생물학적으로 분해하기 어려운 유기성 복합체와 생화학적 반응에 의한 중간생성물로 색도를 띠는 천연유기물질(NOM)을 포함한다. 생물학적 처리수의 색도는 심미적인 불안감, 방류수역의 수질오염 및 공중보건상의 잠재적 위해성을 갖는다. 또한, 수자원 이용측면에서 정수처리공정에서의 약품투입량 증가와 특히, 소독부산물 생성이라는 잠재적 문제점이 뒤따른다. 따라서 이러한 문제점을 해소하기 위한 생물학적 2차 처리수의 후속처리가 요구되며, 실제로 난분해성 유기물과 색도를 제거하기 위한 흡착, 막 분리, 고급산화(AOP) 및 화학적 응집 등의 물리-화학적 공정에 대한 연구가 수행되어왔다. 특히, 화학적 응집은 무기응집제 또는 고분자중합체(Polymer)를 이용하여 콜로이드성 입자와 색도를 띠는 난분해성 유기물을 전기적 불안정화를 유도함으로서 흡착 및 응집과정을 통해 제거하는 공정으로 많은 연구자들에 의해 연구되어왔다. 그러나 난분해성 유기물과 색도제거는 대상원수의 성상과 화학적 특성 등에 따라 각각의 제거효율과 최적 운전조건이 상이하게 나타난다. 화학적 응집공정은 비교적 높은 제거효율을 보이지만, 운전 및 유지관리의 기술적 어려움, 경제적 비효율성 등으로 인하여 적용에 어려움을 겪고 있는 실정이다. 본 논문에서는 생물학적 혐기-호기성 공정에서 방류되는 축산폐수의 2차 처리수를 대상으로 화학적 응집에 의한 색도 및 난분해성 유기물의 제거거동을 고찰하였다. 대상 처리수의 $TCOD_{Cr}$ 농도는 평균 410 mg/L인 반면, $BOD_5$는 7-15 mg/L 범위로 난분해성 유기물을 다량 함유하고 있음을 알 수 있었다. 이에 황산알루미늄(Aluminium sulfate; $Al_2(SO_4){\cdot}14H_2O$)과 염화철(ferric chloride)의 무기응집제를 이용하여 자 테스트(jar test)를 수행한 결과, 동일한 응집제 주입량에서 염화철의 유기물 제거 효율이 높은 것으로 나타났다. 황산알루미늄과 염화철의 경우 각각의 응집제 주입율 5.85mM에서 89%, 7.03mM에서 97.5%의 최대 유기물 제거효율을 보여주었으며, 이 때 최종 pH는 4.0-5.6 범위이었다. 한편, 대상 원수 내의 콜로이드성 입자 또는 용존성 유기물의 작용기(functional group)는 일반적으로 음으로 하전 되어 있어 응집에 의해 잘 제거되지 않는 특성을 가지고 있다. 따라서 과량의 응집제를 주입하여 다가의 양이온성 금속염을 흡착시켜 전기적으로 중화시키고, 생성된 침전성 수화물 내에 포획 또는 여과시켜 제거하게 된다. 이 때, 금속염 수화종의 전하밀도가 응집효율에 영향을 주는 것으로 알려져 있는데, 다가의 양이온은 전기적 이중층(Double layer) 압축에 의한 불안정화를 향상시킬 수 있기 때문에다. 또한, 2가 금속염은 색도유발물질과 흡착하여 humate 또는 fulvate 등의 착화합물(complex)을 형성시켜 응집효율을 향상시킬 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 생물학적 2차 처리수의 화학적 응집처리에 있어서 알루미늄염 등의 다가이온 첨가가 응집에 미치는 영향을 관찰하고, 후속되는 플록형성 및 침전공정에 의한 제거효율을 비교, 평가함으로써 2차 처리수로부터 난분해성 유기물과 색도를 보다 효과적이고 경제적으로 제거할 수 있는 최적인자를 도출하고자 하였다.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.318-324
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• 2017

We evaluated geosmin and MIB biodegradation and adsorption mechanism of biological activated carbon (BAC) and anthracite biofilter. In steady state of BAC process, the geosmin and MIB were completely removed at the 30 min empty bed contact time (EBCT) even though low water temperature ($9^{\circ}C$) in which the activity of attached bacteria decreased. When the water temperature was $26^{\circ}C$, the microbial biomass and activity were higher at the upper layer of the biofilm than at $9^{\circ}C$, and the microbial biomass and activity decreased as the depth was deeper. This is because when the water temperature is high, the biodegradable organic matter (BOM) removal rate in the upper layer is high and the BOM amount that can't be supplied to the lower layer. The Removal rate of geosmin and MIB by BAC process did not show a significant difference compare to activity-inhibited BAC by treated with azide and the biofilter also removed the geosmin and MIB by biological action. It means geosmin and MIB could be removed by competitive relationship between adsorption and biodegradation.

• 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 Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.474-481
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• 2012

This study was performed to investigate the degree of long-term pollution at the mainstream of the Han River by comparing the concentration of BOD and COD from 1975 to 2011. The long-term annual average BOD and COD concentration at the mainstream of the Han River showed an increasing trend as it flowed downstream from Paldang Dam to Gayang. The concentration of BOD ($r^2$=0.646) and COD ($r^2$=0.260) showed a consistent decreasing trend for 37 years. In the case of Paldang Dam, BOD has maintained a decreasing trend, whereas the COD value showed an increasing trend after the 1990s. Therefore, a control of non-biodegradable materials in areas around Paldang Dam is required. The result of the seasonal variations of BOD and COD is as follows: spring>winter>summer and fall (p<0.001). The time series analysis revealed a strong correlation for every 12-month period. Also, the amount of water discharge at Paldang Dam has to be systematically controlled because the amount of water discharge from the dam influences the water quality at the mainstream of the Han River.