• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.745-754
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• 2013

This study evaluated the optimal soil washing conditions for toxic metals considering the removal efficiency of toxic metals from contaminated soils as well as from soil washing effluents. In the contaminated soils, As was the major contaminant and extracted by sodium hydroxide solution better than by sulfuric acid. However, in the case of the treatment of soil washing effluents, sodium hydroxide was less effective extractant because soil organic matter extracted by sodium hydroxide prevented the solid-liquid phase separation and toxic metal removal. In the treatment of soil washing effluents with sulfuric acid, toxic metals in the effluents were mostly precipitated at the pH above 6.5. In addition, granular ferric oxide (GFO) as an adsorbent enhanced the removal of As and Pb indicating that toxic metals in the washing effluents can be removed almost completely by the use of combined adsorption-neutralization process. This study suggests that soil washing techniques for toxic metals should be optimized based on the physical and chemical properties of the contaminated soils, the nature of chemical extractant, and the removal efficiency and effectiveness of toxic metals from the soils as well as soil washing effluents.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.513-519
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• 2019

Typically, contaminated sediments cause clogging of the drain pipe, which increases the residual water pressure in the drain pipe; this study constructed a system for improving drainage efficiency of tunnels by reducing physical and chemical obstructions through ultrasonic energy generated by a PVDF film. The developed hybrid drainage system utilized a PVDF material film fused with an existing drainage tunnel and maintenance system resulting in the ability to initialize the reverse piezoelectric effect, which was evaluated through an on site application. In order to investigate the maintenance performance of the tunnel drainage system, contaminated sediments were simulated in a drainage pipe to test the effect of ultrasonic conditions on drainage efficiency in the laboratory. As a result of applying the developed portable equipment, the ultrasonic energy was generated for about 20 minutes resulting in a reduction of 74.62% of the contaminated sediments and improving drainage efficiency. From the tunnel, acoustic pressure measurements were taken to calculate the response rate while taking into account the laboratory results. In addition, PVDF film was attached to the transverse and longitudinal side of the drainage pipes where contaminated sediments occur most often in the field tunnel. these calculations show contaminant removal was 90% effective.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1035-1043
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• 2007

A leachate containing an elevated concentration of organic and inorganic compounds has the potential to contaminate adjacent soils and groundwater as well as downgradient areas of the watershed. Moreover high-strength ammonium concentrations in leachate can be toxic to aquatic ecological systems as well as consuming dissolved oxygen, due to ammonium oxidation, and thereby causing eutrophication of the watershed. In response to these concerns landfill stabilization and leachate treatment are required to reduce contaminant loading sand minimize effects on the environment. Compared with other treatment technologies, leachate recirculation technology is most effective for the pre-treatment of leachate and the acceleration of waste stabilization processes in a landfill. However, leachate recirculation that accelerates the decomposition of readily degradable organic matter might also be generating high-strength ammonium in the leachate. Since most landfill leachate having high concentrations of nitrogen also contain insufficient quantities of the organic carbon required for complete denitrification, we combined a shortcut biological nitrogen removal (SBNR) technology in order to solve the problem associated with the inability to denitrify the oxidized ammonium due to the lack of carbon sources. The accumulation of nitrite was successfully achieved at a 0.8 ratio of $NO_2^{-}-N/NO_x-N$ in an on-site reactor of the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) type that had operated for six hours in an aeration phase. The $NO_x$-N ratio in leachate produced following SBR treatment was reduced in the landfill and the denitrification mechanism is implied sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification and/or heterotrophic denitrification. The combined leachate recirculation with SBNR proved an effective technology for landfill stabilization and nitrogen removal in leachate.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.399-408
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• 2021

Natural soil was artificially contaminated with heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Zn), and the movement of earthworm was characterized in real time using the ViSSET system composed of vibration sensor and the other components. The manifestation mechanism of ecological toxicity of heavy metals was interpreted based on the accumulative frequency of earthworm movement obtained from the real-time monitoring as well as the conventional indices of earthworm behavior, such as the change in body weight before and after tests and biocumulative concentrations of each contaminant. The results showed the difference in the earthworm movement according to the species of heavy metal contaminants. In the case of Cd, the earthworm movement was decreased with increasing its concentration and then tended to be increased. The activity of earthworm was severely increased with increasing Pb concentration, but the movement of earthworm was gradually decreased with increasing Zn concentration. The body weight of earthworm was proved to be greatly decreased in the Zn-contaminated soil, but it was similarly decreased in Cd- and Pb-contaminated soils. The bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was higher in the sequence of Cd > Zn > Pb, and particularly the biocumulative concentration of Pb did not show a clear tendency according to the Pb concentrations in soil. It was speculated that Cd is accumulated as a metallothionein-bound form in the interior of earthworm for a long time. In particular, Cd has a bad influence on the earthworm through the critical effect at its higher concentrations. Pb was likely to reveal its ecotoxicity via skin irritation or injury of sensory organs rather than ingestion pathway. The ecotoxicity of Zn seemed to be manifested by damaging the cell membranes of digestive organs or inordinately activating metabolism. Based on the results of real-time monitoring of earthworm movement, the half maximal effective concentration (EC50) of Pb was estimated to be 751.2 mg/kg, and it was similar to previously-reported ones. The study confirmed that if the conventional indices of earthworm behavior are combined with the results of newly-proposed method, the mechanism of toxicity manifestation of heavy metal contaminants in soils is more clearly interpreted.