• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-148
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• 2014

This paper performs a historical analysis on the various factors contributing to the current carbon lock-in of Korean electricity industry by using techo-institutional complex. The possibilities of the industry's carbon lock-out toward more sustainable development are also investigated. It turns out that market, firm, consumer, and government factors are all responsible for the development of the carbon lock-in of Korean power industry; the Korean government consistently favoring large power plants based on the economy of scale; below-cost electricity tariff; inflation policy to suppress increases in power price; rapid demand growth in summer and winter seasons; rigidities of electricity tariff; and expansion of gas-fired and imported coal-fired large power plants. On the other hand, except for nuclear power generation and smart grid, environment laws and new and renewable energy laws are the other remaining factors contributing to the carbon lock-out. Considering three key points that Korea is an export-oriented economy, the generation mix is the most critical factor to decide the amounts of carbon emission in the power industry, and the share of industry and commercial power consumption is over 85%, it is unlikely that Korea will achieve the carbon lock-out of power industry in the near future. Therefore, there are needs for more integrated approaches from market, firm, consumer, and government all together in order to achieve the carbon lock-out in the electricity industry. Firstly, from the market perspective, it is necessary to persue more active new and renewable energy penetration and to guarantee consumer choices by mitigating the incumbent's monopoly power as in the OECD countries. Secondly, from the firm perspective, the promotion of distributed energy system is urgent, which includes new and renewable resources and demand resources. Thirdly, from the consumer perspective, more green choices in the power tariff and customer awareness on the carbon lock-out are needed. Lastly, the government shall urgently improve power planning frameworks to include the various externalities that were not properly reflected in the past such as environmental and social conflict costs.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 2022

The semiconductor process currently emits various by-products and unused gases. Emissions containing pollutants are generally classified into categories such as organic, acid, alkali, thermal, and cabinet exhaust. They are discharged after treatment in an atmospheric prevention facility suitable for each exhaust type. The main components of organic exhaust are volatile organic compounds (VOC), which is a generic term for oxygen-containing hydrocarbons, sulfur-containing hydrocarbons, and volatile hydrocarbons, while the main components of alkali exhaust include ammonia and tetramethylammonium hydroxide. The purpose of this study was to determine the combustion characteristics and analyze the NO_X reduction rate by maintaining a direct combustion and temperature to process organic and alkaline exhaust gases simultaneously. Acetone, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA) were used as VOCs and ammonia was used as an alkali exhaust material. Independent and VOC-ammonia mixture combustion tests were conducted for each material. The combustion tests for the VOCs confirmed that complete combustion occurred at an equivalence ratio of 1.4. In the ammonia combustion test, the NO_X concentration decreased at a lower equivalence ratio. In the co-combustion of VOC and ammonia, NO was dominant in the NO_X emission while NO₂ was detected at approximately 10 ppm. Overall, the concentration of nitrogen oxide decreased due to the activation of the oxidation reaction as the reaction temperature increased. On the other hand, the concentration of carbon dioxide increased. Flameless combustion with an electric heat source achieved successful combustion of VOC and ammonia. This technology is expected to have advantages in cost and compactness compared to existing organic and alkaline treatment systems applied separately.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.47-75
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• 2023

Compared to the EU, which legislates the Carbon Border Adjustment System (CBAM), the United States' carbon border adjustment policy movement is still relatively slow. Recently, however, a related bill has been proposed in the United States, and research institutes have been presenting research results on how to introduce an upstream carbon tax rather than an emission trading system and carry out carbon border adjustment based on it. Therefore, in this study, we looked at the economic and environmental effects of introducing this type of upstream carbon tax and carbon border adjustment in Korea. If an upstream carbon tax of KRW 30,000 per ton of CO₂ is applied to the net supply of domestic fossil energy, the expected carbon tax revenue is approximately KRW 22.9961 trillion, equivalent to about 5.7% of the total revenue of the Korean government of KRW 402 trillion in 2019. In addition, the carbon dioxide content of the steel sector, calculated based on the energy supply and demand status of the steel sector, which emits the most greenhouse gas emissions in Korea and has a considerable amount of overseas exports, was 106.22 million tons of CO₂. On the other hand, assuming that the upstream carbon tax of 30,000 won per ton of CO₂ embodied is directly passed on to the production cost of the steel sector, the carbon tax burden in the steel sector is estimated to reach approximately KRW 3.1865 trillion. Even after deducting KRW 1.1599 trillion in export refunds estimated by using the share of exports of steel products, the net carbon tax burden on steel products for domestic demand amounts to KRW 2.0266 trillion, which is analyzed to act as a factor in increasing the price of steel products.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.147-155
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• 2024

Gallium-68-prostate-specific membrane antigen-11 (⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11) is a positron emission tomography radiopharmaceutical that labels a Glu-urea-Lys-based ligand with ⁶⁸Ga, binding specifically to the PSMA. It is used widely for imaging recurrent prostate cancer and metastases. On the other hand, the preparation and quality control testing of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 in medical institutions takes over 60 minutes, limiting the daily capacity of ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga generators. While the generator provides 1,110 MBq (30 mCi) nominally, its activity decreases over time, and the labeling yield declines irregularly. Consequently, additional preparations are needed, increasing radiation exposure for medical technicians, prolonging patient wait times, and necessitating production schedule adjustments. This study aimed to reduce the ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 preparation time and optimize the automated synthesis system. By shortening the reaction time between ⁶⁸Ga and the PSMA-11 precursor and adjusting the number of purification steps, a faster and more cost-effective method was tested while maintaining quality. The final synthesis time was reduced from 30 to 20 minutes, meeting the standards for the HEPES content, residual solvent EtOH content, and radiochemical purity. This optimized procedure minimizes radiation exposure for medical technicians, reduces patient wait times, and maintains consistent production schedules, making it suitable for clinical application.