• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.593-601
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• 2012

Heavy metals and metalloids removal can be considered as one of the most important world challenges because of their toxicity and direct impact on human health. Many processes have been introduced but biological processes of remediation seem to offer the most suitable solution in terms of efficiency and low cost. Actinobacteria constitute one of the major microbial populations in soil, and this can be attributed to their adaptive morphological structure as well as their exceptional metabolic power. Among microbes, actinobacteria are morphologic intermediate between fungi and bacteria. Studies on microbial diversities in metal contaminated lands have shown that actinobacteria may constitute a dominantly active microbiota in addition to ${\alpha}$ Proteobacteria. Furthermore, isolation studies have shown metal removal mechanisms which are reminiscent of notable multiresistant strains, such as Cupriavidus metallidurans. Apart from members of genus Streptomyces, which produce more than 90% of commercialized antibiotics, and the nitrogen fixing Frankia, little attention has been given to other members of this phylum. This is because of difficult culture condition requirements and maintenance. In this review, we focused on specific isolation of actinobacteria and their potential applications in metal bioremediation and plant growth promotion.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.211-215
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• 2017

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) and wet etching are employed in existing texturing processes to fabricate solar cells. Laser etching is used for particular purposes such as selective etching for grooves. However, such processes require a higher level of cost and longer processing time and those factors affect the unit cost of each process of fabricating solar cells. As a way to reduce the unit cost of this process of making solar cells, an atmospheric plasma source will be employed in this study for the texturing of crystalline silicon wafers. In this study, we produced the atmospheric plasma source and examined its basic properties. Then, using the prepared atmospheric plasma source, we performed the texturing process of crystalline silicon wafers. The results obtained from texturing processes employing the atmospheric plasma source and employing RIE were examined and compared with each other. The average reflectance of the specimens obtained from the atmospheric plasma texturing process was 7.88 %, while that of specimens obtained from the texturing process employing RIE was 8.04 %. Surface morphologies of textured wafers were examined and measured through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and similar shapes of reactive ion etched wafers were found. The Power Conversion Efficiencies (PCE) of the solar cells manufactured through each process were 16.97 % (atmospheric plasma texturing) and 16.29 % (RIE texturing).

• Clean Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.147-152
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• 2005

For estblishing the best technique for the micronization of Ibuprofen using supercritical fluids, the solubility should be known. The solubility of Ibuprofen in supercritical carbon dioxide was measured by observing the cloud point. The cloud point was observed using high pressure equipment equipped a variable volume view cell between temperature of 35, 40 and $45^{\circ}C$. The solubility data was correlated by the Peng-Robinson equation of state Solute physical properties, such as critical temperature (Tc), critical pressure (Pc) and acentric factor (${\omega}$) were estimated by the some group contribution method. As pressure was increased, the solubility increased at constant temperature. The retrograde phenomenon by a solute vapor pressure and a density of solvent was observed at the pressure of around 150bar. It was found that $CO_2$ can be used as a supercritical solvent in micronization of ibuprofen by RESS.

• Clean Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 2005

The composite membranes were made by grafting using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) impregnation and polymerization procedures. The membranes were synthesized by changing amount of monomer. The polypropylene grafted polystyrene sulfonic acid (PP-g-pssa) membranes were characterized with various methods. The morphology and structure of PP-g-pssa membranes were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). As amount of monomer was increased, ion conductivity, cell performance was increased and methanol permeability was decreased. However PP-g-pssa membranes with 1.5g monomer and over had similar values of methanol permeability, ion conductivity and cell performance.

• Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.2327-2335
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• 2018

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is an important chemical process that is widely used to produce valuable petrochemical products by cracking heavier components. However, many difficulties exist in modeling the FCC process due to its complexity. In this study, a dynamic process model of a FCC process is suggested and its structural observability is analyzed. In the process modeling, yield function for the kinetic model of the riser reactor was applied to explain the product distribution. Hydrodynamics, mass balance and energy balance equations of the riser reactor and the regenerator were used to complete the modeling. The process model was tested in steady-state simulation and dynamic simulation, which gives dynamic responses to the change of process variables. The result was compared with the measured data from operating plaint. In the structural analysis, the system was analyzed using the process model and the process design to identify the structural observability of the system. The reactor and regenerator unit in the system were divided into six nodes based on their functions and modeling relationship equations were built based on nodes and edges of the directed graph of the system. Output-set assignment algorithm was demonstrated on the occurrence matrix to find observable nodes and variables. Optimal locations for minimal addition of measurements could be found by completing the whole output-set assignment algorithm of the system. The result of this study can help predict the state more accurately and improve observability of a complex chemical process with minimal cost.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.77-87
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• 2006

Micro- or nano-size particles are required to improve the combustion efficiency and stability in the case of solid explosives and propellants. The micro-structural properties of an energetic material strongly influence the combustion and explosion behavior. However, the traditional size reduction techniques, including milling, are not suitable for production of ultra-fine size particles. As an alternative to the traditional techniques, various re-crystallization processes based on supercritical fluids have recently been proposed. Supercritical fluids are fluids at temperatures and pressures above their critical point. In principle, they do not give problems of solvent contamination as they are completely released from the solute when the decompression occurs. Rapid Expansion Supercritical Solutions(RESS) and Supercritical Anti-Solvent Process(GAS/SAS) are representatives of a nano-size particle formation process of energetic materials using supercritical fluids. In this work, various fine particle formation processes using supercritical fluids are discussed and the results are presented.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.101-104
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• 2004

Among biological hydrogen production processes, fermentative processes have some advantages. In this research, the hydrogen producing bacterium was isolated from domestic landfill area and identified as Enterobacter sp. The strain was named Enterobacter sp. SNU-1453. Important parameters for the hydrogen process include pH, temperature, concentration of initial glucose, and kind of sugars. The pH of the culture medium significantly decreased as fermentation proceeded due to the accumulation of various organic acids, and this inhibited the $H_2$ production seriously. When pH was controlled at pH 7.0, hydrogen production was 2614.5 m1/1 in 17 hours. The increase of glucose concentration resulted in higher $H_2$ production. The productivity of this strain was 6.87 mmol $H_2/l$ per hi on concentration of 25g glucose/l. Enterobacter sp. SNU-1453 could utilize various sugars. These results indicate that Enterobacter sp. SNU-1453 has a high potential as a fermentative $H_2$ producer.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.91-103
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• 1992

Synthetic membrane processes are being increasingly integrated into existing reaction, isolation, and recovery schemes for the production of valuable biological molecules. In many cases they are replacing traditional unit processes. The properties of membrane systems which are most often exploited for both upstream and downstream processing and their permselectivity, high surface area per unit volume, are their potential for controlling the level of contact and/or mixing between two separate phases. Advances in both membrane materials and module design and operation have led to better control of concentration polarization and membrane fouling. After presenting some recent advances in membrane materials and fluid mechanics, we demonstrate how membranes have been integrated into cellular and enzymatic reaction schemes. This is followed by a review of established and emerging synergism between biological processes and synthetic membranes.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 2010

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) in combustion flue gas are currently mitigated by chemical processes such as catalytic reduction, absorption and adsorption. However, development of environmentally sustainable biological processes is necessary in the near future. In this paper, the up-to-dated R&D trend of biological methodologies regarding NOx removal was reviewed, and their advantages and disadvantages were discussed. The principles and applications of bacterial system including nitrification and denitrification and photosynthetic microalgae system were compared. In order to enhance biological treatment rate and performance, the insoluble nitric oxide (NO) should be first absorbed using a proper solubilization agent, and then microbial degradation or fixation is to be followed. The use of microalgal system has a good prospect because it can fix $CO_2$ and NOx simultaneously and requires no additional carbon for energy source.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.398-402
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• 2005

The enzyme Xeronine was investigated as a microbial activating substance in biological wastewater treatment processes. Xeronine as bio-stimulant was injected in the anaerobic sludge and the activated sludge treating wastewater in order to examine the effect of hidden benefits. Bio-stimulant did not show significant improvement of anaerobic treatablity. In the aerobic system, higher bio-stimulant dose condition resulted in slightly more removal of nitrogen and phosphorus. Floc aggregation and zone settling velocity as solid-liquid separation factors in activated sludge systems was enhanced by bio-stimulant. Effects of bio-stimulants injection on improvement of water quality and microbial activity did not clear in terms of normal operation conditions.