• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.159-168
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• 2018

Climate change is believed to increase the amount of dissolved organic matter in surface water, as a result of the release of bulk organic matter, which make difficult to achieve a high quality of drinking water via conventional water treatment techniques. Therefore, the natural water treatment techniques, such as managed aquifer recharge (MAR), can be proposed as a alternative method to improve water quality greatly. Removal of bulk organic matter using managed aquifer recharge system is mainly achieved by biodegradation. Biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) and assimilable organic carbon (AOC) can be used as water quality indicators for biological stability of drinking water. In this study, we compared the change of BDOC and AOC with respect to pretreatment methods (i.e., ozone or peroxone). The oxidative pretreatment can transform the recalcitrant organic matter into readily biodegradable one (i.e., BDOC and AOC). We also investigated the differences of organic matter characteristics between BDOC and AOC. We observed the decreases in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and the tryptophan-like fluorescence intensities. Liquid chromatographic - organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) analysis also showed the reduction of the low molecular weight (LMW) fraction (15% removed, less than 500 Da), which is known to be easily biodegradable, and the biopolymers, high molecular weight fractions (66%). Therefore, BDOC consists of a broad range of organic matter characteristics with respect to molecular weight. In AOC, low molecular weight organic matter and biopolymers fraction was reduced by 11 and 6%, respectively. It confirmed that biodegradation by microorganisms as the main removal mechanism in AOC, while BDOC has biodegradation by microorganism as well as the sorption effects from the sand. $O_3$ and $O_3+H_2O_2$ were compared with respect to biological stability and dissolved organic matter characteristics. BDOC and AOC were determined to be about 1.9 times for $O_3$ and about 1.4 times for $O_3+H_2O_2$. It was confirmed that $O_3$ enhanced the biodegradability by increasing LMW dissolved organic matter.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.304-313
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• 2019

Biopolymer based on microbial β-glucan and xanthan gum is effective for vegetation and has a function of enhancing soil strength, which can be used as soil reinforcement and stabilization materials in river embankment. The purpose of this study is to verify the vegetation effect of the surface of levee by biopolymer with seed spraying method. Mixed soils with biopolymer were used to cover the surface of embankments. The strength is higher in biopolymer-treated soil and xanthan gum based biopolymer has advantage for quality control in field scale. In addition, the vegetation of F. arundinacea and L. perenne showed various reactions with types of biopolymers. Biopolymer has a positive effect on the vegetation of them. In contrast, root growth tended to decrease in biopolymer-treated soils. The results indicate that root growth is slow down due to increasing ability to retain water in biopolymer-treated soil. In order to apply biopolymer to river embankment, it is necessary to examine the effects of biopolymers on a wide range of plant species in river embankment.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2019

The civil engineering materials used to stabilize the slopes of new riverbanks have a great impact on the types and growth of vegetation introduced after the completion of construction procedure. Recently, microbial-derived, ${\beta}$-glucan- and xanthan gum-based biopolymers are attracting attention as an ecofriendly strengthening material of riverbanks that can possibly stimulate plant growth. This study aimed to assess ecological effects of biopolymer application on native plants in Korean riverbanks. In particular, since dominant plant species could shape characteristics of an ecosystem, we examined the effects of biopolymer on the dominant plant species in riverbanks. Overall, biopolymer did not affect seed germination rates of testing plant species. In contrast, plants grew more vigorously in the soil mixed with biopolymer compared to those in the control soil. The biomass of Echinochloa crus-galli especially increased around two times more in the biopolymer treatment. Plants produced heavier root biomass and leaves with larger specific leaf area, which possibly contributes to the tolerance of environmental stress like drought. These results suggest that biopolymers treated on river banks are expected to stimulate plant growth and increase stress tolerance of domestic dominant plant species.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.326-333
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• 2018

In this study, we identified methods to improve heat stability and skin permeability of functional protein biopolymers, such as growth factors, enzymes, and peptides. The biopolymers participate in cellular activation and catalytic functions in vivo. Therefore, when applied to cosmetics, their efficacies are expected to be helpful for skin care. However, they have disadvantages that include instability to heat and low skin permeability due to their high molecular weight. To overcome these problems, we searched for a composition that increases heat stability. Stability was improved using a polymeric humectant having a long polyethylene glycol length, compared with a mono-molecular structure humectant. Next, to enhance skin permeation, a permeation enhancing peptide was selected from a phage library. The permeation enhancing peptide can be commonly used to promote the permeation of growth factors, enzymes, and peptides. Screening was performed on the polymeric humectant formulation. One dominant peptide from the modified-screening method was identified. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the permeability of the peptide was better than that of the peptide developed through a screening system based on phosphate-buffered saline. The data indicate that the polymeric humectant formulation will be helpful for increasing the heat stability of protein ingredients and that skin permeability could be increased by a formulation-specific, penetration-enhancing peptide.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.65-70
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• 2021

River-side Embankment collapse involves various causes. The embankment collapse due to internal erosion around embedded structures reaches up to more than 10% in Korea. Many studies are being attempted to prevent from the collapse of the embankment rooted from overtopping and instability as well as internal erosion. One of them is the study on the application of biopolymers. The application of biopolymers to soils are divided into enhancing strength, vegetation and erosion resistance. This study investigated the effect of biopolymer treated soil on erosion resistance. The main goal of the study is to obtain basic data for real-scale experiments to verify the effectiveness of biopolymer treated soil embankment including a review of the collapse pattern in the model embankment with various test conditions. The optimized experimental conditions were selected by examining the erosion patterns according to each induction path with three compaction degree of the model embankment. As a result of the experiment, the internal erosion rate in the embankment to which the biopolymer treated soil was applied is greatly reduced, and it could be concluded that it might be applied to the actual embankment. However, in this study, the conclusion was drawn only within the scaled-down model embankment. In order to practically apply the biopolymer treated soil to the embankment, the study considering the scale effect would be needed.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2008

The influence of salt concentration on the stability of sodium caseinate (CAS)-stabilized emulsions (20 wt% corn oil, 3.2 wt% CAS, 5 mM imidazole/acetate buffer, pH 7) was examined. In the absence of salt, laser diffraction measurements and optical microscopy measurements indicated there were some large oil droplets ($d>10\;{\mu}m$) in the emulsions stabilized by 0.8 to 3.2 wt% of CAS. The droplet aggregation (mostly droplet coalescence) observed in the emulsions containing ${\leq}2.8\;wt%$ CAS tended to decrease as the CAS concentration increased, however, after which concentration (at 3.2 wt% CAS) depletion flocculation occurred. The addition of $CaCl_2$ (5-20 mM) into the emulsions stabilized by 3.2 wt% CAS prevented the depletion flocculation although there was a small fraction of relatively large individual droplets in the emulsions, which was attributed to electrostatic screening effect and bridging effect of calcium ion. This study has shown that calcium ion that has been reputed to promote droplet aggregation could improve emulsion stability against droplet aggregation in CAS-stabilized emulsions.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3218-3224
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• 2012

Uniform and well dispersed metal sulfide semiconductor nanoparticles incorporated into matrices of alginate biopolymer are prepared by using a facile in situ method. The reaction was accomplished by impregnation of alginate with divalent metal ions followed by reaction with thioacetamide. XRD analysis showed that the nanoparticles incorporated in the polymer matrix were of cubic structure with the average particle diameter of 1.8 to 4.8 nm. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicated that the particles were well dispersed and distributed uniformly in the matrices of alginate polymer. FT-IR spectra confirmed the presence of alginate in the nanocomposite. The crystalline nature and thermal stability of the alginate polymer was found to be influenced by the nature of the divalent metal ions used for the synthesis. The proposed method is considered to be a simple and greener approach for large scale synthesis of uniform sized nanoparticles.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.20 no.A
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• pp.39-44
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• 2000

Highly viscous biopolymer from alkali-tolerant Bacillus sp. was purified and its solution properties were investigated. The intrinsic viscosities for crude biopolymer and biopolymers purified by dialysis or CPC(cetylpyridinium chloride) treatment were 58.24, 73.60 and 42.18 dL/g, respectively. The intrinsic viscosity of biopolymer showed the maximum value at the neutral pH but it was decreased remarkably at the alkaline or acidic pH. Biopolymer exhibited the property of polyelectrolyte, showing the sharp decrease of intrinsic viscosity by the addition of NaCl. Intrinsic viscosity of dilute solution at the low NaCl concentration was exponentially dependent on temperature and its temperature dependency was increased with NaCl concentrations. The chain stiffness, coil overlap parameter, and critical concentration were 0.09, 5.25 and 0.07g/dL, respectively. Temperature dependency on intrinsic viscosity of biopolymer solution was different each other at $45^{\circ}C$. Flow activation energies at temperatures above $45^{\circ}C$ were constant, while those at temperatures below $45^{\circ}C$ increased with increase of added NaCl concentration.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.413-422
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• 2020

The choice of eco-friendly materials for ground improvement is a necessary way forward for sustainable development. Adapting naturally available biopolymers will render the process of soil stabilization carbon neutral. An attempt has been made to use β-glucan, a natural biopolymer for the stabilization of lean clay as a sustainable alternative with specific emphasis on comprehending the effect of confining stresses on lean clay through triaxial compression tests. A sequence of laboratory experiments was performed to examine the various physical and mechanical characteristics of β-glucan treated soil (BGTS). Micro-analysis through micrographs were used to understand the strengthening mechanism. Results of the study show that the deviatoric stress of 2% BGTS is 12 times higher than untreated soil (UTS). The micrographs from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the results of the Nitrogen-based Brunauer Emmett Teller (N₂-BET) analysis confirm the formation of new cementitious fibres and hydrogels within the soil matrix that tends to weld soil particles and reduce the pore spaces leading to an increase in strength. Hydraulic conductivity (HC) and compressibility reduced significantly with the biopolymer content and curing period. Results emphases that β-glucan is an efficient and sustainable alternative to the traditional stabilizers like cement, lime or bitumen.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.97-102
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• 2009

Translocation of biopolymers such as DNA and RNA through a nano-pore is an important process in biotechnology applications. The translocation process of a biopolymer through an artificial nano-pore in the presence of a fluid solvent is simulated. The polymer motion is simulated by Langevin molecular dynamics (MD) techniques while the solvent dynamics are taken into account by lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM). The hydrodynamic interactions are considered explicitly by coupling the polymer and solvent through the frictional and the random forces. From simulation results we found that the hydrodynamic interactions between polymer and solvent speed-up the translocation process. The translocation time ${\tao}_T$ scales with the chain length N as ${{\tau}_T}^{\propto}N^{\alpha}$. The value of scaling exponents($\alpha$) obtained from our simulations are $1.29{\pm}0.03$ and $1.41{\pm}0.03$, with and without hydrodynamic interactions, respectively. Our simulation results are in good agreement with the experimentally observed value of $\alpha$, which is equal to $1.27{\pm}0.03$, particularly when hydrodynamic interaction effects are taken into account.