• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.145-150
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• 2008

In this work we have studied the antifouling properties of the hydrophobic sol-gel modified sensing membrane and its optical properties for sensor application. E. coli JM109, B. cereus 318 and P. pastoris X-33 were cultivated in confocal cultivation dishes with glass surface, respectively. The glass surface was coated with the hydrophobic sol-gels prepared by the dimethoxy-dimethyl-silane (DiMe-DMOS) and tetramethyl-orthosilicate (TMOS). After cultivation, microorganisms adhered on the surface coated with sol-gels and glass surface were dyed by gram-staining method and the numbers of microorganisms were analyzed based on the image data of the scanning electronic microscope (SEM). A great number of microorganisms, about $2{\sim}3{\times}10^4/mm^2$, was adhered on the glass surfaces which no hydrophobic sol-gels were coated. But, the antifouling effect of the hydrophobic sol-gels was large, that microorganisms of less than $200{\sim}300/mm^2$ were adhered on the coated glass surface. The performance of the sensing membranes for detection of pH and dissolved oxygen was enhanced by recoating the light insulation layer prepared with the mixture of the hydrophobic sol-gel and graphite particles.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.129-134
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• 1999

This study is related to the investigation of the direct incorporation of $CO_2$ to polymer using quaternary ammonium salt catalysts. Quaternary ammonium salts showed good catalytic activity of $CO_2$ fixation in the synthesis of poly[(1,3-dioxolane-2-oxo-4-yl)methyl methacrylate] [poly(DOMA)] by the direct incorporation of $CO_2$ to poly(glycidyl methacrylate)[poly(GMA)]. Among the salts tested, the ones with higher alkyl chain length and with more nucleophilic counter anion showed higher catalytic activity. The yield of carbon dioxide addition increased with the reaction temperature. Kinetic study was carried out by measuring the variation of $CO_2$, pressure in a high pressure batch reactor. The reaction rate was first order to the concentration of poly(GMA) and $CO_2$, respectively. The rate constant was $0.69L/mol{\cdot}h$ and Henry's constant of $CO_2$ in DMSO at $80^{\circ}C$ was $6.8{\times}10^{-4}mol/L{\cdot}KPa$.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.342-351
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• 2014

The present paper investigates the performance of direct wet mineral carbonation technology to fix carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) from relatively high $CO_2$ concentration feeding gas using wollastonite ($CaSiO_3$)-water (and 0.46 M acetic acid) suspension solution. To minimize the energy consumed on the process, the carbonation in this work is carried out at atmospheric pressure and slightly higher room temperature. As a result, carbon fixation is confirmed on the surface of $CaSiO_3$ after carbonation with wollastonite-water suspension solution and its amount is increased according to the $CO_2$ composition in the feeding gas. The leaching and carbonation ratio of wollastonite-water suspension system obtained from the carbonation with 50% of $CO_2$ composition feeding gas is 13.2% and 10.4%, respectively. On the other hand, the performance of wollastonite-acetic acid in the same condition is 63% for leaching and 1.39% for carbonation.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.102-108
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• 2008

In China, energy and environmental problems are becoming serious owing to rapid economic development. Coal is the most problematic energy source because it causes indoor and outdoor air pollution, acid rain, and global warming. One type of clean coal technology that has been developed is the coal-biomass briquette (or bio-briquette, BB) technique. BBs, which are produced from pulverized coal, biomass (typically, agricultural waste), and a sulfur fixation agent (slaked lime, $Ca(OH)_2$) under high pressure without any binder, have a high sulfur-fixation effect. In addition, BB combustion ash, that is, the waste material, can be used as a neutralization agent for acidic soil because of its high alkalinity, which originates from the added slaked lime. In this study, we evaluated the suitability of alternative biomass sources, namely, aquatic plants, as a BB constituent from the perspective of their use as a source of energy. We selected three types of aquatic plants for use in BB preparation and compared the fuel, handling, and environmental characteristics of the new BBs with those of conventional BBs. Our results showed that air-dried aquatic plants had a higher calorific value, which was in proportion to their carbon content, than agricultural waste biomass; the compressive strength of the new BBs, which depends on the lignin content of the biomass, was high enough to bear long-range intracontinental transport in China; and the new BBs had the same emission control capacity as the conventional BBs.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.235-239
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• 1997

Chlorococcum littorale has been grown in high $CO_2$ concentrations to utilize $CO_2$ gas in the polluted air. The effect of incident light intensity on the specific growth rate is expressed by a photoinhibition model, showing half- saturation constant, $K_0\;as\;8\;(W/m^2)$ and inhibition constant, Ki as 35 $(W/m^2)$. The maximum specific growth rate was also estimated as 0.095 (1/day) under this condition. This strain maintained the optimum growth rate in 20% of $CO_2$ gas but 50% of input $CO_2$ gas is the maximum concentration considering the economical efficiency. The maximum Specific $CO_2$ consumption rate, $qCO_2$ was measured as 17.48 (mg $CO_2/g$ dry wt./day) in batch cultivation, 11.2 (mg $CO_2/g$ dry wt./day) in fed-batch cultivation and 10.87 (mg $CO_2/g$ dry wt./day) at 0.065 (1/day) of dilution rate in continuous cultivation. The chemical composition of the biomass obtained from this process showed 32.5% of protein, 27.5% of lipid, 16.5% of carbohydrate and ash 11.7%.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.119-136
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• 2000

Being autotrophic, algae occupy a trategic place in the biosphere. They produce oxygen both directly and indirectly through the chloroplasts of all green plants. The chloroplasts are believed to have originated from archaic prokaryotic algae through endosymbiosis with primitive eukaryotic cells. Phytoplankton and other algae regulate the global environment not only by releasing oxygen but also by fixing carbon dioxide. They affect water quality, help in the treatment of sewage, and produce biomass. They can be used to produce hydrogen which is a clean fuel, and biodiesel, and fix $N_2$ for use as a biofertilizer. Some other services of algae to the environment include restoration of metal damaged ecosystems, reducing the atmospheric $CO_2$ load and citigating global warming, reclamation of saline-alkaline unfertile lands, and production of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) involved in the regulation of UV radiation. ozone concentration, and global warming. Algae can be valuable in understanding and resolving certain environmental issues.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2018

This paper presents an integrated photochemical reaction system (i.e., an artificial leaf) that uses earth-abundant catalysts for artificial photosynthesis with a carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) fixation process. The performance of the system was investigated in terms of the energy capture and conversion capabilities. A wireless configuration was achieved by directly doping cobalt oxide as an oxygen-evolving catalyst for water splitting reaction on the illuminated surface of photovoltaic (PV) cell, as well as molybdenum disulfide ($MoS_2$) as an efficient catalyst for $CO_2$ reduction on the back substrate surfaces of the PV cell. The system produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO) as sustainable fuels (i.e., synthesis gas) at around 4.5% efficiency, which implies more than 75% catalytic efficiency at the cathode. The process of solar-driven $CO_2$ conversion and water-splitting reaction is contained in one system, which is one step closer to the successful realization of artificial photosynthesis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.597-606
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• 2015

This work investigates the carbonation of KOH-dissolved methanol and ethanol solution systems carried out for $CO_2$ fixation. Potassium methyl carbonate (PMC) and potassium ethyl carbonate (PEC) were synthesized during the reaction in each solution as the solid powder, and they were characterized in detail. The amount of $CO_2$ chemically absorbed to produce the PMC and PEC precipitates were calculated to be 97.90% and 99.58% of their theoretical values, respectively. In addition, a substantial amount of $CO_2$ was physically absorbed in the solution during the carbonation. PMC precipitates were consisted of the pure PMC and $KHCO_3$ with the weight ratio of 5:5, respectively. PEC precipitates were also mixture of the pure PEC and $KHCO_3$ with the weight ratio of 8:2, respectively. When these two precipitates were dissolved in excess water, methanol and ethanol were regenerated remaining solid $KHCO_3$ in the solutions. Therefore, the process has the potential to be one of the efficient options of CCS and CCU technologies.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.363-369
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• 2018

One of the recent environmental problems is climate change due to the increase of atmospheric $CO_2$, which causes ecological changes and various environmental problems. Therefore, various studies are being carried out to reduce $CO_2$ in the world in order to solve various environmental problems caused by increase of $CO_2$. The $CO_2$ reduction using microalgae is an environmentally friendly method by using photosynthesis reaction of microalgae. However, most studies using single species. There is no study on the $CO_2$ fixing efficiency of microalgae in natural rivers. Therefore, this study was to identify the microalgae in the Sum river and to analyze the growth characteristics of microalgae in the river to obtain optimal culture conditions. And the changes of biomass and chlorophyll-a of microalgae were analyzed according to $CO_2$ concentration and injection rate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the fixing efficiency of carbon dioxide in microalgae in natural rivers. Six kinds of dominant species were observed as a result of the identification of microalgae in Sum river(Ankistrodesmus falcatus, Scenedesmus intermedius, Selenodictyum sp., Xanthidium apiculatum var. laeve, Cosmarium pseudoquinarium, Dictyosphaerium pulchellum). All of these species were green algae. Biomass and chlorophyll-a increased with the increase of $CO_2$ concentration and biomass and chlorophyll-a increased faster flow rate at the same $CO_2$ concentration. Also, the quantity of $CO_2$ fixation on the microalgae tended to be higher when the flow rate of injected gas was faster. This study can be referred as being significant in the micro-algae in river. In addition, the optimal conditions for $CO_2$ fixation of microalgae in rivers and the quantification of the quantity of $CO_2$ fixation from microalgae in rivers can be used as basic data for future policy of $CO_2$ reduction.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2021

Microalgae are primary producers of aquatic ecosystems, securing biodiversity and health of the ecosystem and contributing to reducing the impact of climate change through carbon dioxide fixation. Also, they are useful biomass that can be used as biological resources for producing valuable industrial products. However, harvesting process, which is the separation of microalgal biomass from mixed liquor, is an important bottleneck in use of valorization of microalgae as a bioresource accounting for 20 to 30% of the total production cost. This study investigates the applicability of sewage sludge-derived extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) as bioflucculant for harvesting microalgae. We compared the flocculation characteristics of microalgae using EPSs extracted from sewage sludge by three methods. The flocculation efficiency of microalgae is closely related to the carbohydrate and protein concentrations of EPS. Heat-extracted EPS contains the highest carbohydrate and protein concentrations and can be a best-suited bioflocculant for microalgae recovery with 87.2% flocculation efficiency. Injection of bioflocculant improved the flocculation efficiency of all three different algal strains, Chlorella Vulgaris, Chlamydomonas Asymmetrica, Scenedesmus sp., however the improvement was more significant when it was used for flocculation of Chlamydomonas Asymmetrica with flagella.