• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.127-131
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• 2014

Precipitated calcium carbonate(PCC) inorganic fillers for plastic offera higher replacement ratio with improved mechanical properties than any other inorganic fillers. Due to its secure economic feasibility, its fields of application areexpanding. For optimized PCC grain size and polymer replacement ratio, it is good to maintain at least $0.035{\mu}m$ grains and keep double the grain size of distance between particles, depending on the molecular weight and volume replacement rate of the polymer. PCC has unique characteristics, ie, with smaller grain size, dispersibility decreases, and if grain size is not homogenous, polymer cracking occurs. The maximum replacement ratio of PCC is approximately 30%, but in the range of 10 - 15% it produces the highest mechanical strength. When mixed with a biodegradable plastic like starch, it also improves initial environmental degradability.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.57-61
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• 2006

For the production of functional $TiO_2$-biodegradable plastic (polybutylene succinate:PBS) composite material with photocayalytic activity, we attempted to prepare $TiO_2$ coatings on PBS substrate by HVOF and plasma spraying techniques under various conditions. The microstructures of coatings were characterized with SEM and XRD analysis, and the photocatalytic efficiency of coatings was evaluated by the photo degradation of gaseous acetaldehyde. The effects of primary particle size and spraying parameters on the formation behavior, photocatalytic performance of the coatings have been investigated. The results indicated that for both the HVOF sprayed $P_{200}$ and $P_{30}$ coatings, the high anatase ratio of 100% can be achieved regardless of fuel gas pressure. On the other hand, the HVOF sprayed $P_7$ coating exhibited a largely decreased anatase ratio (from 100% to 49.1%) with increasing the fuel gas pressure, which may be attributed to much higher susceptibility of heat for 7 nm agglomerated powder. HVOF sprayed $P_{200}$ and $P_{30}$ coatings show better performance as compared to that of plasma sprayed $P_{200}$ coatings owing to the higher anatase ratio. However, the HVOF sprayed $P_7$ coatings did not show the photocatalytic activity, which may result from the extremely small reaction surface area to the photocatalytic activity and low anatase ratio.

• Clean Technology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.141-152
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• 2015

As environmental issues are emerging, bio-plastic suppliers in leading countries have been foreseeing the strong needs for environment-friendly materials such as eco-packing materials due to increased attention and regulation on recycle. To catch up with the demand, various types of bio-plastics based on natural feedstocks were developed and released on a market. These bio-plastic products drew the great attention even in domestic industries. At present, international oil price fluctuation and heavy charge on waste raise the unit cost of production and disposal expense of conventional plastic materials. These conditions make bio-plastic an alternative, because it is not restrained by oil prices and problem in the disposal. It is also expected that bio-plastic will be applied to various types of products including containers, industrial supplies, disposables, and medical supplies. However, the bio-plastic is still in its infancy, thus more research and understanding should be followed to put it to application. Bio-plastic is considered as environment-friendly material with high potential which has the advantages of production and disposal.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.499-509
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• 2014

Wood filler is a porous and anisotropic material having different size, shape, and aspect ratio. The use of wood fillers such as wood particle, wood flour, and wood pulp in wood plastic composites (WPCs) are growing rapidly because these wood fillers give improved strength and stiffness to WPCs. However, the wood fillers have originally poor compatibility with plastic matrix affecting the mechanical properties of WPCs. Therefore, to improve compatibility between wood and plastic, numbers of physical and chemical treatments were investigated. While the various treatments led to improved performances in WPC industries using petroleum-based plastics, full biodegradation is still issues due to increased environmental concerns. Hence, bio-based plastics such as polylactide and polyhydroxybutyrate having biodegradable characteristics are being applied to WPCs, but relatively expensive prices of existing bio-based plastics prevent further uses. As conventional processing methods, extrusion, injection, and compression moldings have been used in WPC industries, but to apply WPCs to engineered or structural places, new processing methods should be developed. As one system, co-extrusion technique was introduced to WPCs and the co-extruded WPCs having core-shell structures make the extended applications of WPCs possible.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.115-128
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• 2024

Concrete is the most significant material in the construction industry which is required to construct several facilities like roads, buildings, and bridges etc. which leads to the economic development of a country. But now days, in view of sustainable development and environmental problems, plastic waste management is one of the major environmental issues due to its non-biodegradable nature which allows it to stay in the landfills until they are cleaned up. To overcome all these concerns, plastic waste may be used as a substitute of natural fine and coarse aggregate in concrete and a valuable solution to utilize the plastic items which causes several problems. In order to, present study is focused on the affecting properties of concrete as workability, compressive strength, and tensile strength of concrete with using plastic waste and without using plastic waste. Based on the detailed literature, it was observed that the plastic waste is not affecting the quality and consistency of concrete. However, as the number of PVC particles in the mixture increased, the drying shrinkage values decreased and the inclusion of plastic flakes can mitigate drying shrinkage cracking which leads the higher durability of concrete. Based on the comprehensive literature, it was also observed that the plastic aggregate found to be suitable for low and medium strength concrete. However, the investigation on the application of plastic aggregate in the high strength concrete is found limited. It was concluded that the optimum percentage of the plastic aggregate was found about 20%.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.745-756
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• 2023

Growing stringent global regulations in Korea poses a threat to corporate sustainability. Companies must respond strategically to navigate these regulations and avoid greenwashing. Objective of this research was to analyze how Korean companies are responding to the global trend of reducing plastic use and propose improved management strategies. Seven indicators were developed to assess companies' post-plastic strategies and applied to analyze the sustainability reports of Amore Pacific and LG Household & HealthCare. These indicators included, 1) disclosure of plastic raw materials used by weight or volume, 2) disclosure of recycled plastic raw materials used by weight or volume, 3) disclosure of waste recycling, reuse amounts, and disposal using waste treatment method 4) strategies to reduce environmental impact of plastics, 5) plastic packaging, reduce, recycle, reuse, and composting (in the real environment), 6) plastic management roadmap for the circular economy, and 7) education for sustainable plastic management. Based on the review of considered companies, we propose in-listed sustainable plastics management strategies: disclosing the ratio of plastic raw materials and recycled raw materials for all products, considering recycling rate throughout the product value chain, and not only for the production phase, reviewing carbon dioxide emissions based on life cycle assessment rather than reducing plastic consumption, studying the biodegradability of biodegradable plastics in natural environment such as soil, considering the consumer's perspective.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.126-131
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• 2023

Growing environmental concerns regarding pollution caused by conventional plastics have increased interest in biodegradable polymers as alternative materials. The purpose of this study is to develop a 100% biodegradable nanocomposite material by introducing organic nucleating agents into the biodegradable and thermoplastic resin, poly(lactic acid), to improve its properties. Accordingly, cellulose nanofibers, an eco-friendly material, were adopted as a substitute for inorganic nucleating agents. To achieve a uniform dispersion of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) within PLA, the aqueous solution of nanofibers was lyophilized to maintain their fibrous shape. Then, they were subjected to primary mixing using a twin-screw extruder. Test specimens with double mixing were then produced by injection molding. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to confirm the reinforced physical properties, and it was found that the addition of 1 wt% CNFs acted as a reinforcing material and nucleating agent, reducing the cold crystallization temperature by approximately 14℃ and increasing the degree of crystallization. This study provides an environmentally friendly alternative for developing plastic materials with enhanced properties, which can contribute to a sustainable future without consuming inorganic nucleating agents. It serves as a basis for developing 100% biodegradable green nanocomposites.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.359-359
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• 2006

This study deals with development of new bio-based polymeric materials from epoxidized soybean oil (ESO). The curing of ESO in the presence of organophilic montmorillonite produced an oil polymer-clay nanocomposite ("green nanocomposite") showing flexible property. A green nanocomposite (oil polymer-silica nanocomposite) coatings were synthesized by an acidcatalyzed curing of ESO with 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane. The curing of ESO in the presence of a biodegradable plastic, poly(caprolactone), produced a composite with semi-IPN structure. The mechanical properties of the composite was much superior to those of polyESO. These new oil-based materials have large potential for applications in various fields.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2024

In this study, two types of biodegradable film prototypes were produced using plastic resin containing rice powder. The application of these biodegradable films in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) fields and their impacts of plant growth, yield, and the soil environment were assessed, in comparison with Polyethylene (PE) film. The light transmittance of the biodegradable film containing 30% of 350 mesh rice powder (BF30-350RP) was 0.8%, which was lower than the 2.0% light transmittance of the biodegradable film containing 40% of 500 mesh rice powder (BF40-500RP) and 2.7% light transmittance of PE film. Surface temperature measurements on clear day indicated that the PE film exhibited the lowest temperature, with the minimal difference observed between BF40-500RP and BF30-350RP. Assessment of the damage ratio resulting from agricultural work revealed a ranking of 0.4% for the PE film, 3.3% for BF500-400RP, and 5.3% for BF350-30RP. Visible decomposition of BF40-500RP and BF30-350RP commenced after 40 and 30 days of outdoor exposure, reaching 62.3% and 70.4% decomposition at 90 days post-exposure, respectively. The decomposition of biodegradable films applied to sweetpotato fields progressed more slowly in BF40-500RP than in BF30-350RP. The BF40-500RP film on the surface of the ridges was decomposed by 5%, 30%, 55%, and 90% after 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after planting sweetpotato cuttings, respectively. Both types of biodegradable films at the ridge and furrow borders were completely decomposed after 75 days of sweetpotato planting. In a field where the surface was sealed by mulching without growing sweetpotatoes, the soil moisture and its deviation were lower in the order of PE film, BF40-500RP, and BF30-350RP, but the differences were not significant. The soil temperature was higher for PE film mulching than for the biodegradable films containing rice powder, but the differences were small. Two months after sweetpotato planting, the daily average soil moisture decreased by 2.5%point for BF30-350RP mulching, 1.5%point for BF40-500RP mulching, and 1.1%point for PE film mulching over seven days. Soil temperature was similar for both biodegradable film mulches, but increased steadily for the PE film mulch, reaching a daily average of 0.1℃ higher than for the biodegradable films. Sweetpotato vine growth and tuber yield were similar for all the mulching films tested.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.379-380
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• 2002

Biodegradable polymers have been regarded as a good alternative to solve the plastic waste problems caused by nondegradable synthetic polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene. In the soil environment, plastics are mainly being used as a mulching film for agricultural purposes. In this research, the miscibility, tensile properties and biodegradation effect of poly-${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone(PCL) with polyvinyl chloride(PVC) have been studied. After 8 weeks of biodegradation, PCL/PVC(9/91) blend surface showed newly formed many holes. Consequently, the antiplasticization phenomenon and biodegradation were observed in the PCL/PVC blends. It was confirmed that a test for general biodegradation condition can be applied to plastic biodegradation in soil.