• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.90-98
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• 2001

The slow degradation rate of sewage sludge in anaerobic digesters is due to the rate limiting step of sludge hydrolysis. Therefore, the pre-treatment process had been carried out using acidic(pH 1.5, 3, 4, 5) and alkaline(pH9, 10, 13), thermal(50, 100, 150, $200^{\circ}C$) and ultrasonic treatment(400W, 20kHz, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60min). In the best conditions of each treatment, the SCOD ratio(%) of treated/untreared samples were increased 102% in acid(pH5), 986% in alkali(pH13), 959% in thermal($200^{\circ}C$) and 1123% in ultrasonic(35min) treatment. As the result, the ultrasonic treatment was most effective, followed by alkali, thermal, acidic treatment. In the effects of total gas productivity, the thermal($200^{\circ}C$) pretreatment was the highest, followed by thermal($150^{\circ}C$), ultrasonic(90min), alkaline(pH9) and ultrasonic(50min).

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2012

In this article, I will introduce recent developments of environmental-friendly materials fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Advantages of ALD include fine control of the thin film thickness and formation of a homogeneous thin fim on complex-structured three-dimensional substrates. Such advantages of ALD can be exploited for fabricating environmental-friendly materials. Porous membranes such as anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) can be used as a substrate for $TiO_2$ coating with a thickness of about 10 nm, and the $TiO_2$-coated AAO can be used as filter of volatile organic compound such as toluene. The unique structural property of AAO in combination with a high adsorption capacity of amorphous $TiO_2$ can be exploited in this case. $TiO_2$ can be also deposited on nanodiamonds and Ni powder, which can be used as photocatalyst for degradation of toluene, and $CO_2$ reforming of methane catalyst, respectively. One can produce structures, in which the substrates are only partially covered by $TiO_2$ domains, and these structures turns out to be catalytically more active than bare substrates, or complete core-shell structures. We show that the ALD can be widely used not only in the semiconductor industry, but also environmental science.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.19-29
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• 2012

Numerous studies suggested that fish assemblage structure reflects the status of stream ecosystems. The status of streams integrity, including various trophic levels, water quality and habitat degradation, can be assessed by fish assemblages. In this study, we investigated the relationships between fish assemblages and streamline geometry of streams. Previous studies suggested that geomorphologic parameter can be a critical factor of permeability between adjacent two systems. From a landscape ecological perspective, edges may partially control the flow rate of energy between two adjacent systems. Thus, the Streamline geometry can be a geomorphologic parameter that exhibits the integrity of stream. We selected the Nakdong river for study areas, which is one of major rivers and the longest (525 km) River in South Korea. We used the revised IBI representing overall ecological characteristics of Korean fish assemblages and eight sub-assessment criteria of IBI, collected from 82 sampling sites in the Nakdong River. For calculating the Streamline geometry, we measured fractal dimension index that generally used in biology, ecology and landscape ecology. We used the digital land-use/land-cover map and generated a 1-km buffer for each sampling site and refined the shape of the Streamlines. Pearson correlation analyses were performed between Streamline geometry and IBI and sub-assessment criteria of IBI. The results show that IBI and eight sub-assessments of fish are significantly correlated with geometry of Streamline. The fractal dimension of Streamline geometry were related with IBI (r = 0.48) and six sub-assessments of IBI, including total number of native fish and native species, the number of riffle benthic species, sensitive species, tolerant species and native insectivore. Especially, the number of tolerant species(r = -0.52) and native insectivore(r = 0.52) show strong correlation with geometry of Streamline. These results indicate that lower Streamline geometry can result in poor fish assemblages, while higher geometry of Streamline can enhance fish assemblages by potentially supplying insects and better habitat conditions. We expect the results of our study to be useful for stream restoration and management. However, we see the necessity of study investigating the mechanisms how Streamline geometry affect fish assemblages.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.555-561
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• 2005

A new graphical method was developed to separate two distinctive decay rate coefficients($k_1$ and $k_2$) at their respective degradable substrate fractions($S_1 and $S_2$). The mesophilic batch reactor showed $k_1$ of $0.151\;day^{-1}$ for wasted activated sludge(WAS), $0.123\;day^{-1}$ for thickened sludge(T-S), $0.248{\sim}0.358\;day^{-1}$ at S/I ratio of $1{\sim}3$ for sorghum and $0.155{\sim}0.209\;day^{-1}$ at S/I ratio $0.2{\sim}1.0$ for swine waste, whereas their long term batch decay rate coefficients($k_2$) were $0.021\;day^{-1}$, $0.001\;day^{-1}$, $0.03\;day^{-1}$ and $0.04\;day^{-1}$ respectively. At least an order of magnitude difference between $k_1$ and $k_2$ was routinely observed in the batch tests. The portion of $S_1$, which degrades with each $k_1$ appeared 71% for WAS, 39% for T-S, 90% for sorghum, and $84{\sim}91%$ at S/I ratio of $0.2{\sim}1.0$ for swine waste. Ultimate biodegradabilities of 50% for WAS, 40% of T-S, $82{\sim}92%$ for sorghum, and $81{\sim}89%$ for swine waste were observed.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.255-260
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• 2008

This study was conducted to analyse the effects of the UFCA for treating polluted water in a reservoir. The UFCA mixes water by circulation of surface and bottom water layers. The circulation supplies oxygen to bottom of the reservoir, resulting in water quality improvement. With a UFCA in use, we surveyed the changes of temperature, pH, transparency, depth, conductivity, DO, COD, BOD, T-N, T-P and Chlorophyll-a for 7 months from Feb. to Aug. in 2004 in our experimental reservoir. There was little difference in the surface and bottom temperatures of the reservoir because of water mixing by the UFCA. However, pH was changed from 7 to 9. The transparency of water was about 80 cm through the all periods. Conductivity was $150\;{\mu}S/cm$ in early Feb., but increased to $270\;{\mu}S/cm$ in early March. Little change was seen in DO with depth, but it was maintained above 6 mg/l in June and July. BOD increased from 2.1 to 12.2 mg/l. The study reservoir did not undergo any eutrophication during the period of our experiment, but the comparison reservoir had an algae-bloom. The COD in the experimental reservoir increased from 5.4 to 14.5 mg/l. The COD concentration of the experimental reservoir was higher than comparison reservoir at the beginning of the study but in August this situation was reversed. SS concentration increased from 13.5 to 23.5 mg/l in Feb., but it fell from between 8.5 to 11.2 mg/l in July. T-N was increased from 1.3 to 4.9 mg/l. It increased up to 3 times in the rainy season as compared to other components. However the comparison reservoir increased up to 40 times higher than the experimental reservoir in the same period. T-P increased from 0.04 to 0.17 mg/l. The ratio of T-N to T-P increased from 20:1 to 40:1 which means that T-P was a growth limiting factor for algae and aquatic plants. Chlorophyll-a increased from 20 to 120 mg/l, and its concentration was correlated with T-P, such that Chlorophyl-a concentration increased with increased of T-P concentration. The concentrations of COD, T-N, T-P and other parameters were higher in the experimental reservoir than in the comparison reservoir but this situation was reversed in July, when the most severe eutophication occurred. The results show that overall the experimental reservoir was greatly remedied by UFCA. The UFCA accelerated the degradation of aquatic organic materials through effective supply of air with up-flow and circulation of water. We conclude that the UFCA can be very effective in aspect of the remediation of water quality incontaminated reservoirs and lakes.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.131-135
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• 2008

In this study, Fe(VI) was employed as a multi-functional agent to treat the simulated industrial wastewater contaminated with Cu(II)-EDTA through oxidation of EDTA, decomplexation of Cu(II)-EDTA and subsequent removal of free copper through precipitation. The decomplexation of $10^{-4}\;M$ Cu(II)-EDTA species was performed as a function of pH at excess concentration of Fe(VI). It was noted that the acidic conditions favor the decomplexation of Cu(II)-EDTA as the decomplxation was almost 100% up to pH 6.5, while it was only 35% at pH 9.9. The enhanced degradation of Cu(II)-EDTA with decreasing the pH could be explained by the different speciation of Fe(VI). $HFeO_4^-$ and $H_2FeO_4$, which are relatively more reactive than the unprotonated species $FeO_4^{2-}$, are predominant species below neutral pH. It was noted that the decomplexation reaction is extremely fast and within 5 to10 min of contact, 100% of Cu(II)-EDTA was decomplexed at pH 4.0. However, at higher pH (i.e., pH 10.0) the decomplexation process was relatively slow and it was observed that even after 180 min of contact, maximum ca 37% of Cu(II)-EDTA was decomplexed. In order to discuss the kinetics of the decomplexation of Cu(II)-EDTA, the data was slightly fitted better for the second order rate reaction than the first order rate reaction in the excess of Fe(VI) concentration. On the other hand, the removal efficiency of free Cu(II) ions was also obtained at pH 4.0 and 10.0. It was probably removed through adsorption/coagulation with the reduced iron i.e., Fe(III). The removal of total Cu(II) was rapid at pH 4.0 whereas, it was slow at pH 10.0. Although the decomplexation was 100% at lower pH, the removal of free Cu(II) was relatively slow. This result may be explicable due to the reason that at lower pH values the adsorption/coagulation capacity of Fe(III) is greatly retarded. On the other hand, at higher pH values the decomplexation of Cu(II)-EDTA was partial, hence, slower Cu(II) removal was occurred.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.144-150
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• 2013

Hybrid ceramic membrane (HCM) processes that combined ozonation with a ceramic membrane (CM) or a reactive ceramic membrane (RM), an iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) incorporated-CM were investigated for membrane fouling control. Alumina disc type microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes doped with IONs by sintering method were tested under varying mass fraction of IONs. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that IONs were well-doped on the CM surface and doped IONs were approximately 50 nm in size. Change in the pure water permeability of RM was negligible compared to that of CM. These results indicate that IONs incorporation onto CM had little effect on CM performance in terms of the flux. Natural organic matter (NOM) fouling and fouling recovery patterns during HCM processes confirmed that the RM-ozonation process enhanced the destruction of NOM and reduced the extent of fouling more than the CM-ozonation process by hydroxyl radical formation in the presence of IONs on RM. In addition, analyses of NOM in the feed water and the permeate showed that the efficiency of membrane fouling control results from the NOM degradation during HCM processes; leading to removal and transformation of relatively high contents of aromatic, high molecular weight and hydrophobic NOM fractions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.268-274
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: A large scale of sediment load delivered from watershed causes substantial waterway damages and water quality degradation. Controlling sediment loading requires the knowledge of the soil erosion and sedimentation. The various factors such as watershed size, slope, climate, land use may affect sediment delivery processes. Traditionally sediment delivery ratio prediction equations have been developed by relating watershed characteristics to measured sediment yield divided by predicted gross erosion. However, sediment prediction equations have been developed for only a few regions because of limited sediment data. Besides, little research has been done on the prediction of sediment delivery ratio for asia monsoon period in mountainous watershed. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study Tank model was expanded and applied for estimating sediment yield to Oship River of east coast. The rainfall-runoff in 2006 was verified using the Tank model and we derived good result between observed and calculated discharge in 2009 at the same conditions. In relation to sediment yield, the sediment delivery rate of 2006 was very high than 2009 regardless of methods for estimating sediment load. It was thought to be affected by heavy rainfall due to the typhoon. CONCLUSION(s): For estimating sediment volume from watershed, long-term monitoring data on discharge and sediment is needed. This model will be able to apply to predict discharge and sediment yield simultaneously in ungauged area. This approach is more effective and less expensive method than the traditional method which needs a lot of data collection.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.43-60
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• 2019

Background: Tropical montane forests played an important role in the provision of ecosystem services. The intense degradation and deforestation for the need of agricultural land expansion result in a significant decline of forest cover. However, the expansion of agricultural land did not completely destruct natural forests. There remain forests inaccessible for agricultural and grazing purpose. Studies on these forests remained scant, motivating to investigate biomass and soil carbon stocks. Data of biomass and soils were collected in 80 quadrats ($400m^2$) systematically in 5 forests. Biomass and disturbance gradients were determined using allometric equation and disturbance index, respectively. The regression modeling is employed to explore the spatial distribution of carbon stock along disturbance and environmental gradients. Correlation analysis is also employed to identify the relation between site factors and carbon stocks. Results: The result revealed that a total of 1655 individuals with a diameter of ${\geq}5cm$, representing 38 species, were measured in 5 forests. The mean aboveground biomass carbon stocks (AGB CS) and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks at 5 forests were $191.6{\pm}19.7$ and $149.32{\pm}6.8Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. The AGB CS exhibited significant (P < 0.05) positive correlation with SOC and total nitrogen (TN) stocks, reflecting that biomass seems to be a general predictor of SOCs. AGB CS between highly and least-disturbed forests was significantly different (P < 0.05). This disturbance level equates to a decrease in AGB CS of 36.8% in the highly disturbed compared with the least-disturbed forest. In all forests, dominant species sequestrated more than 58% of carbon. The AGB CS in response to elevation and disturbance index and SOC stocks in response to soil pH attained unimodal pattern. The stand structures, such as canopy cover and basal area, had significant positive relation with AGB CS. Conclusions: Study results confirmed that carbon stocks of studied forests were comparable to carbon stocks of protected forests. The biotic, edaphic, topographic, and disturbance factors played a significant variation in carbon stocks of forests. Further study should be conducted to quantify carbon stocks of herbaceous, litter, and soil microbes to account the role of the whole forest ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.610-619
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• 2018

This study was carried out in August and September 2016 to investigate the species composition and biomass of benthic diatoms in Yubu Island, Gomso Bay, Imja Island, and Yeoja Bay tidal flat of Southwestern coast. There were 181 species of 48 genera in Yubu Island tidal flats, 194 species of 51 genera in Gomso Bay tidal flats, 224 species of 64 genera in Imja Island tidal flats and 188 species of 56 genera in Yeoja Bay tidal flats. A total of 274 species of 70 genera appeared. Pennales appeared more widely than Centrales and were dominated by Paralia sulcata and Navicula spp. Biomass of Yubu Island tidal flat ranged from $18.8-136.1mg\;m^{-2}$, $31.9-215.7mg\;m^{-2}$ in Gomso Bay, $2.9-120.2mg\;m^{-2}$ in Imja Island and $10.1-147.7mg\;m^{-2}$ in Yeoja Bay. The range of total biomass from 4 areas was $2.9-215.7mg\;m^{-2}$. The concentration of phaeopigment and degradation product of chlorophyll-a was $1.7-470.8mg\;m^{-2}$ in Yubu Island tidal flat, $52.3-277.2mg\;m^{-2}$ in Gomso Bay, $0.6-78.9mg\;m^{-2}$ in Imja Island and $39.1-346.3mg\;m^{-2}$ in Yeoja Bay. Compared with the results reported in this study area and the domestic tidal flats, it cannot be directly compared and evaluated due to various factors such as the timing of the survey, the frequency of the survey, the analysis method and geography. The southwestern coast of Korea has a variety of benthic diatoms and the high concentration of chlorophyll-a is the main determinant of primary productivity.