• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2006

In this study, conventional biofilters packed with flexible synthetic polyurethane (PU) foam carriers were operated to remove toluene from a contaminated air stream. PU foams containing various adsorbents (e.g., zeolite, sepiolite, dolomite and barite) were synthesized for the biofilter media and their adsorption characteristics of toluene were determined. Adsorption capacity of PU-adsorbent foam was in the order of PU-dolomite ${\approx}$ PU-zeolite > PU-sepiolite > PU-barite. During the biofiltration experiment, influent toluene concentration was in the range of 0-160 ppm and EBRT (i.e., empty bed residence time) was 45 seconds. Pressure drop of the biofilter bed was 4-5 mm $H_2O/m$ column height. The maximum removal capacity was in the order of PU-dolomite > PU-zeolite > PU-sepiolite > PU-barite, while the complete removal capacity was in the order of PU-dolomite > PU-sepiolite > PU-zeolite > PU-barite. The better biofiltration performance in PU-dolomite foam was because PU-dolomite foam had lower density and higher porosity than the others providing favorable conditions for microbial growth. The results of biodegradation kinetic analysis showed that PU-dolomite foam had higher maximum removal rate ($V_m\;=\;11.04\;g$ toluene/kg dry material/day) and saturation constant ($K_s\;=\;26.57\;ppm$) than the other PU foams. This supports that PU-dolomite foam was better than the others for biofilteration of toluene.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.973-978
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• 2005

Biodegradable oil gelling agent was prepared, and their oil absorption capacities using light oil, lubricant oil and corn oil were investigated. The result showed that the oil absorption capacity was depended on the amount of surfactant and starch added, and was increased in the order of light oil, lubricant oil and corn oil. Also, the oil-absorption capacity was saturated within 30 min at $18^{\circ}C$. The biodegradability of the prepared biodegradable oil gelling agent was also studied by determination of reduced sugar produced after enzymatic hydrolysis. Their surface morphologies and thermal properties of the prepared biodegradable oil gelling agent were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.260-266
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• 2007

A thermophilic bacterium capable of poly (L-lactide)(PLLA) degradation was isolated from cultivating soil in Korea. The isolate was Gram positive rod-shaped bacterium, and was identified as Geobacillus caldoxylosilyticus based on the 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The strain proved to be a new PLLA degrading bacterium which has not been reported in the open literatures yet. The degradation activity of the strain was assessed in a sterilized compost inoculated with the strain under controlled compost condition at $58^{\circ}C$ for 40 days. The strain mineralized 66%, 57%, 41% and 40% of PLLA5000, PLLA11000, PLLA34000 and PLLA256000 whose weight average molecular weights were 5000, 11000, 34000 and 256000, respectively. Incorporation of 0.1% each of gelatin, yeast extract and ammonium sulfate in the compost containing PLLA256000 as a nutritional supplement raised the biodegradation activity by 27%, 13% and 10%, respectively. Increase of the inoculum size from $10^9cfu\;g^{-1}\;to\;10^{10}cfu\;g^{-1}\;and\;10^{11}cfu\;g^{-1}$ also enhanced the biodegradation activity by 14% and 20%, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2007

Medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (MCL-PHAs), which have constituents with a typical chain length of $C_{6}-C_{14}$, are polyesters that are synthesized and accumulated in a wide variety of Gram-negative bacteria, mainly pseudomonads. These biopolyesters are promising materials for various applications because they have useful mechanical properties and are biodegradable and biocompatible. The versatile metabolic capacity of some Pseudomonas spp. enables them to synthesize MCL-PHAs that contain various functional substituents; these MCL-PHAs are of great interest because these functional groups can improve the physical properties of the polymers, allowing the creation of tailor-made products. Moreover, some functional substituents can be modified by chemical reactions to obtain more useful groups that can extend the potential applications of MCL-PHAs as environmentally friendly polymers and functional biomaterials for use in biomedical fields. Although MCL-PHAs are water-insoluble, hydrophobic polymers, they can be degraded by microorganisms that produce extracellular MCL-PHA depolymerase. MCL-PHA-degraders are relatively uncommon in natural environments and, to date, only a limited number of MCL-PHA depolymerases have been investigated at the molecular level. All known MCL-PHA depolymerases share a highly significant similarity in amino acid sequences, as well as several enzymatic characteristics. This paper reviews recent advances in our knowledge of MCL-PHAs, with particular emphasis on the findings by our research group.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.172-175
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• 1994

Xanthomonas campestris M12 carrying OCT plasmid which could dissimilate octane was able to utilize n-alkanes of eight to sixteen carbon atoms via the capacity of this plasmid. M12 strain could utilize terminal oxidation products of these primary, alkanes, alcohols, aldehydes and fatty acids but not hexanoic acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid and heptanal. This strain also biodegraded n-alkanes by monoterminal or diterminal oxdation of straight-chain fatty acids, and branched-chain alkane.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.278-288
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• 2019

In the present investigation, we attempted to design a protocol to develop a hybrid protein with better bioremediation capacity. Using in silico approaches, a Hybrid Open Reading Frame (Hybrid ORF) is developed targeting the genes of microorganisms known for degradation of organophosphates. Out of 21 genes identified through BLAST search, 8 structurally similar genes (opdA, opd, opaA, pte RO, pdeA, parC, mpd and phnE) involved in biodegradation were screened. Gene conservational analysis categorizes these organophosphates degrading 8 genes into 4 super families i.e., Metallo-dependent hydrolases, Lactamase B, MPP and TM_PBP2 superfamily. Hybrid protein structure was modeled using multi-template homology modeling (3S07_A; 99%, 1P9E_A; 98%, 2ZO9_B; 33%, 2DXL_A; 33%) by $Schr{\ddot{o}}dinger$ software suit version 10.4.018. Structural verification of protein models was done using Ramachandran plot, it was showing 96.0% residue in the favored region, which was verified using RAMPAGE. The phosphotriesterase protein was showing the highest structural similarity with hybrid protein having raw score 984. The 5 binding sites of hybrid protein were identified through binding site prediction. The docking study shows that hybrid protein potentially interacts with 10 different organophosphates. The study results indicate that the hybrid protein designed has the capability of degrading a wide range of organophosphate compounds.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.513-525
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• 2006

In recent decades, biofiltration has been widely accepted for the treatment of contaminated air stream containing low concentration of odorous compounds or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, conventional biofilters packed with flexible synthetic polyurethane (PU) foam carriers were operated to remove toluene from a contaminated air stream. PU foams containing various amounts of pulverized activated carbon (PAC) were synthesized for the biofilter media and tested for toluene removal. Four biofilter columns were operated for 60 days to remove gaseous toluene from a contaminated air stream. During the biofiltration experiment, inlet toluene concentration was in the range of 0-150 ppm and EBRT (i.e., empty bed residence time) was kept at 26-42 seconds. Pressure drop of the biofilter bed was less than 3 mm $H_2O/m$ filter bed. The maximum removal capacity of toluene in the biofilters packed with PU-PAC foam was in the order of column II (PAC=7.08%) > column III (PAC=8.97%) > column I (PAC=4.95%) > column IV (PAC=13.52%), while the complete removal capacity was in the order of column II > column I > column III > column IV. The better biofiltration performance in column II was attributed to higher porosity providing favorable conditions for microbial growth. The results of biodegradation kinetic analysis showed that PU-PAC foam with 7.08% of PAC content had higher maximum removal rate ($V_m$=14.99 g toluene/kg dry material/day) than the other PU-PAC foams. In overall, the performance of biofiltration might be affected by the structure and physicochemical properties of PU foam induced by PAC content.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.274-281
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• 2002

The competitive quantitative PCR method targeting pcbC gene was developed for monitoring 4-chlorobiphenyl(4CB)-degrading bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12, in soil microcosms. The method involves extraction of DNA from soil contaminated with 4CB, PCR amplification of a pcbC gene fragment from the introduced strain with a set of strain-specific primers, and quantification of the elec-trophoresed PCR product by densitometry. To test the adequacy of the method, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was introduced into both contaminated and non-contaminated soil microcosms amended with 4CB. Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was monitored and quantified by a competitive quantitative PCR in comparison with 4CB degradation and the result was compared to those obtained by using the conventional cultivation method. We successfully detected and monitored 4CB-degrading bacteria in each microcosm and found a significant linear relationship between the number of 4CB-degrading bacteria and the capacity for 4CB biodegradation. The results of DNA spiking and cell-spreading experiments suggest that this competitive quantitative PCR method targeting the pcbC gene for monitoring 4CB- degrading bacteria appears to be rapid, sensitive and more suitable than the microbiological approach in estimating the capacity of 4CB biodegradation in environmental samples.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.519-525
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• 2008

Biodegradation of toluene, styrene and hydrogen sulfide as model compounds of volatile organic compounds and odor from waste gas was investigated experimentally in a biotrickling filter. This study focussed on the description of experimental results with regard to operating conditions. The effect of varying $H_2S$ load rate and inlet concentration was investigated under autotropic and mixotropic environmental conditions. The $H_2S$ removal efficiencies of greater than 99% were achieved at $H_2S$ loads below $10g/m^3{\cdot}hr$ for each environment. It was observed that the maximum elimination capacity of mixotrophic filter was achieved a little greater than the one of autotrophic filter. The biofiltration of toluene and styrene in trickling bed was examined under different gas flow rates, load rates, and inlet concentrations. Below $40g/m^3{\cdot}hr$ of toluene loading, the elimination capacity and loading were identical and it was completely destroyed. In high loading of toluene, the biotrickling filter was operated at its maximum elimination capacity. In the inlet concentration of 0.2, 0.5, and $1.0g/m^3$, the maximum elimination capacity of toluene showed 40, 45, and $60g/m^3{\cdot}hr$, respectively. After a short adaptation period, it was demonstrated that the results of styrene in originally toluene adapted bioreactor was similar with the ones of toluene. However, the performance of filer for styrene is generally a little lower than for toluene. The operating conditions (including liquid flow rate etc.) allowing the highest removal efficiency should be determined experimentally for each specific case.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.762-770
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• 2005

Adsorption and biodegradation performance of chlorinated by-products such as trihalomethanes(THMs) and haloacetic acids(HAA5) on granular activated carbon were evaluated in this study. The coconut-based activated carbon was found more effective than others in adsorption of THMs due to larger pore volume of less than $20{\AA}$. The wood-based activated carbon was less effective than coconut- and coal-based activated carbon in adsorption nevertheless having larger pore volume and specific surface area than others. The maximum adsorption capacity(X/M) of coconut-based carbon for THMS was 1.1-1.5 times larger than coal based carbon and 14.1-31.4 times larger than wood based activated carbons. Activated carbon usage rate(CUR) of coconut-, coal- and wood-based activated carbons for chloroform were 9.4, 11.2 and 38 g/day respectively. In the evaluation of adsorption isotherm of THM species for coconut-, coal- and wood-based activated carbons, k value of chloroform was the lowest in the THM species, It menas that chloroform is difficult to remove by activated carbon adsorption. and BDCM, CDBM, bromoform are in the succeeding order of adsorption. In the evaluation of biodegradation rate, mean biodegradation rate was chloroform 7%, BDCM 5%, CDBM 4% and bromoform 3%, respectively THMs are difficult materials to be biodegraded. In the evaluation of characteristics of adsorption and biodegradation for HAA5 species, HAA5 species appear to be removed effectively by activated carbon. Most of the HAA5 are adsorbed at the beginning of operation periods and HAA5 except TCAA were almost biodegraded from bed volume of 2,000 and more than 90 percent of biodegradation of TCAA was started from bed volume around 4,000 and after that biodegradation rate was increased with increasing bed volume.