• Title/Summary/Keyword: Environmental efficiency

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Studies on Reaction Parameters for Composting of Paper Mill Sludge in a Small-Scale Reactor and Static Piles (제지슬럿지의 퇴비화를 위한 반응변수 연구)

  • Han, Shin Ho;Chung, Young Ryun;Cho, Cheon Hee;Kang, Moon Hee;Oh, Say Kyun
    • Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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    • v.2 no.2
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    • pp.19-29
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    • 1994
  • A large volume of paper mill sludge(PMS) is produced every day from paper industries after treatments of waste water and it costs too much to dispose of the sludge. Since PMS consists mostly of biodegradable organic matter, cellulose, it is desirable to recycle it by proper treatments such as composting. In this study, experiments were conducted using a small scale reactor(12l) to establish optimum conditions for efficient composting of PMS of which initial pH, C/N ratio, and moisture content were 7.1, 28~30, and 60~65%, respectively. No heavy metals such as mercury, cadmimum, and lead were not detected in the PMS. Various levels of forced aeration, 1 minute aeration per every 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480 minutes were applied and 1 minute aeration per 60 and 120 minutes found to be proper for composting of 8l PMS in this system. Relationship between $CO_2$ production and temperatures was positively correlated with r> 0.82 suggesting that the normal decomposition of PMS by microorganisms occurred. However, under the condition of aeration interval over than 240 minutes, a negative relationship between two parameters was found indicating the occurrence of abnormal(maybe anaerobic) degradation. The amount of added nitrogen also affected composting of PMS resulting in the increase of $CO_2$ production and temperature. Semi-field tests using 100kg PMS in a static pile sysem showed that PMS could be composted efficiently under optimal environmental conditions. The parameters determining efficiency of composting such as C/N ratio, aeration, moisture content, and pH need to be monitored.

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Applications of "High Definition Digital Climate Maps" in Restructuring of Korean Agriculture (한국농업의 구조조정과 전자기후도의 역할)

  • Yun, Jin-I.
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.1-16
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    • 2007
  • The use of information on natural resources is indispensable to most agricultural activities to avoid disasters, to improve input efficiency, and to increase lam income. Most information is prepared and managed at a spatial scale called the "Hydrologic Unit" (HU), which means watershed or small river basin, because virtually every environmental problem can be handled best within a single HU. South Korea consists of 840 such watersheds and, while other watershed-specific information is routinely managed by government organizations, there are none responsible for agricultural weather and climate. A joint research team of Kyung Hee University and the Agriculture, forestry and Fisheries Information Service has begun a 4-year project funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and forestry to establish a watershed-specific agricultural weather information service based on "high definition" digital climate maps (HD-DCMs) utilizing the state of the art geospatial climatological technology. For example, a daily minimum temperature model simulating the thermodynamic nature of cold air with the aid of raster GIS and microwave temperature profiling will quantify effects of cold air drainage on local temperature. By using these techniques and 30-year (1971-2000) synoptic observations, gridded climate data including temperature, solar irradiance, and precipitation will be prepared for each watershed at a 30m spacing. Together with the climatological normals, there will be 3-hourly near-real time meterological mapping using the Korea Meteorological Administration's digital forecasting products which are prepared at a 5 km by 5 km resolution. Resulting HD-DCM database and operational technology will be transferred to local governments, and they will be responsible for routine operations and applications in their region. This paper describes the project in detail and demonstrates some of the interim results.

Evaluation of Indoor Air Quality in a Department of Radiation Oncology Located Underground (지하에 위치한 방사선종양학과에서의 실내공기 질 평가)

  • Kim, Won-Taek;Shin, Yong-Chul;Kang, Dong-Mug;Ki, Yong-Kan;Kim, Dong-Won;Kwon, Byung-Hyun
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.243-252
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    • 2005
  • Purpose: Indoor air quality (IAQ) in the radiation treatment center which is generally located underground is important to the health of hospital workers and patients treated over a long period of time. this study was conducted to measure and analyze the factors related to IAQ and subjective symptoms of sick building syndrome, and to establish the causes influencing IAQ and find a solution to the problems. Methods and Materials : Self administrated questionnaire was conducted to check the workers' symptoms and understanding of the work environment. Based on a preliminary investigation, the factors related to IAQ such as temperature, humidity, fine particulate. carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), and radon gas were selected and measured for a certain period of time in specific sites where hospital workers stay long in a day. And we also evaluated the surrounding environment and the efficiency of the ventilating system simultaneously, and measured the same factors at the first floor (outdoor) to compare with outdoor all quality, All collected data were assessed by the recommended standard for IAQ of the domestic and international environmental organizations. Results: Hospital workers were discontented with foul odors, humidity and particulate. They complained symptoms related to musculo-skeletal system, neurologic system, and mucosal-irritatation. Most of the factors were not greater than the recommended standard, but the level of TVOC was third or fourth times as much as the measuring level of some offices in the United States. The frequency and the amount of the ventilating system were adequate, however, the problem arising in the position of outdoor-air inlets and indoor-air outlets involved a risk of the indraft of contaminated air. A careful attention was a requirement in handling and keeping chemical substances including a developing solution which has a risk of TVOC emissions, and repositioning the ventilating system was needed to solve the contaminated-air circulation immediately Conclusion We verified that some IAQ-related factors and inadequate ventilating system could cause subjective symptoms in hospital workers. The evaluation of IAQ was surely needed to improve the underground working environments for hospital workers and patients. On the basis of these data, from now on, we should actively engage in designs of the department of radiation oncology or improvement in environments of the existing facilities.

Crop Growth and Nutrient leaching from Soil with Application of Urea and Compost in Volcanic Ash Soil (화산회토에서 퇴비 및 요소시용에 따른 토양중 $NO_3$-N, 양이온의 용탈)

  • 강봉균;송창길
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.101-115
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    • 2001
  • Nitrogen applied as fertilizer for crop production is partly absorbed by plant , and the remaining nitrogen in soil might be leached out through complicated processes to the subsoil layer Especially, NO$_3$-N in leachate causes environmental pollution. The purpose of this study was focused on understanding of uptake of nutrients by plants, the behaviors of nutrients in soil and the possibility of leaching loss when nitrogen fertilizer and completely decomposed compost were applied. Lysimeters(Volume 0.15㎥, Diameter 62cm, Height 62.8cm) were installed for collecting leachate in the Jeju volcanic ash soils. Lysimeter study consisted of thirteen treatments : fallow, fallow with weeding, cropping without fertilizer and compost, three N fertilizer soil surface applications(16, 32, 64kg/10a), three N fertilizer and compost soil surface applications(16+800, 32+1600, 64+32kg/10a), two water dissolved N fertilizer applications(16, 32kg/10a), and low and high plant densities. N fertilizer was applied as urea. The growth of com(preceding crop) and potatoes(succeeding crop) and leaching loss were determined during the experimental period. The results obtained were summarized as follows ; With Increased N, pH of leachate tended to decrease and NO$_3$-N concentration of leachate increased. NO$_3$-N leaching loss was remarkably greater in soil from the bare plot without fertilization and the weed control than from plots with medium N rate and was least in the cropping plot without fertilization. NO$_3$-N concentration in leachates from the water dissolved N fertilizer application plots was 64% of that from the soil surface application plots. The concentration of Ca and K ions and the leaching loss of these ions were least from the cropping plot without fertilization and were greatest from bare plots(T1 and T2) without fertilization. The proportion of leaching and residual N in soil increased as N rate increased indicting that higher N rates increase the possibility of N leaching to subsoil layer The proportion of N leaching losses was lower at the low N rate and the high plant density. In future, fertilization prescription which can maximize fertilizer use efficiency and minimize the pollution of ground water will be needed for conserving the environments.

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Sewage Treatment Using a Double Media Reed Constructed Wetland (복층여재 갈대 인공습지에 의한 생활하수 처리)

  • Seo, Jeoung-Yoon
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.379-388
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    • 2014
  • A sewage was treated using a serially combined vertical(VFCW) and horizontal flow double media (sand and zeolite for VFCW and sand and waste oyster-shell for HFCW) reed constructed wetland(HFCW) with intermittent feeding (see Fig. 1). The sewage was fed into the reed constructed wetland for 10 minutes every 6 hours at the hydraulic load of $314L/m^2{\cdot}day$. The summarized results were as follows: pH values in the effluent depended very heavily on oyster-shell height filled in the HFCW. They were maintained at less than pH 6.24 when the height of the oyster-shell layer was 200 mm. Influent DO(oxygen demand) values(average 0.19 mg/L) were increased in the VFCW(average 7.65 mg/L) and decreased again in the HFCW(average 6.49 mg/L). They were higher in the winter than in the summer. The OTR(oxygen transfer rate) was $57.15g\;O_2/m^2{\cdot}day$ in the VFCW and $5.65g\;O_2/m^2{\cdot}day$ in the HFCW. The removal efficiency of $NH_4{^+}$-N was 80.17%(6.01 $NH_4{^+}$-N mg/L in the effluent). It was lower than that in the case where only zeolite was filled in the reed constructed wetland. But it was expected that treated sewage effluent using a double media reed constructed wetland with 300 mm zeolite layer could stably meet the Korean treated sewage effluent standard(20 mg T-N/L). Average removal efficiencies were SS 88.09%, BOD 88.12%, $COD_{Cr}$ 83.11%, $COD_{Mn}$ 85.58%, T-N 57.21%, $NH_4{^+}$-N 80.17%, T-P 86.73%. Nearly, The concentration of $NO_3{^-}$-N in the effluent of the VFCW was decreased in that of the HFCW. More than half of T-N in the effluent was $NO_3{^-}$-N(7.92 mg/L) but the concentration of $NO_2{^-}$-N in the effluent was average 0.90 mg/L. The removal efficiencies of T-P were 93.24%, 86.30% and 55.44% at the height of the oyster-shell-filled constructed wetland of 800 mm, 500 mm and 200 mm, respectively and therefore, they were proportional to oyster-shell height filled in the HFCW.

Removal Effects of Chlorophyll-a and Cyanobacteria Using Laboratory-scale Biomanipulation Tests (실험적 생물조절 기법을 이용한 엽록소 및 남조류 제거 효과)

  • Lee, Sang-Jae;Lee, Jae-Yon;Lee, Jae-Hoon;Bae, Dae-Yeul;Lee, Eui-Hang;Han, Jung-Ho;Hwang, Soon-Jin;An, Kwang-Guk
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.41 no.spc
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    • pp.86-92
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    • 2008
  • This study was conducted to determine removal effect on phytoplankton (chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ as whole algae) and cyanobacteria by a fish Pseudorasbora parva and macroinvertebrate Palaemon paucidens in September 2006. Three treatments with 25 (T1), 50 (T2) and 100 (T3) individuals along with control (C1, no input fish), and two treatments with 25 (T4) and 50 (T5) individuals along with control (C1) were made for fish and macroinvertebrate, respectively. The initial concentrations of chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ $(Chl_i)$ in each 10L test tank were set up for the levels of $95{\sim}100{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ and the daily values were monitored in the test tank during 7 days. In the lab tests, P. parva did not show Chl-${alpha}$ removal effect; the removal rate of Chl-${alpha}$ for P. parva was -58% in T1, -56% in T2, and 61% in T3 during the test period. In contrast, P. paucidens. in the treatments of T4 and T5 removed the phytoplankton effectively and the removal effect were appeared to be 33% and 22%, respectively. Also, P. paucidens showed high feeding efficiency in the removal of cyanobacteria. The levels of cyanobacteria were greatly lowed from 6,048 to 927 cells $mL^{-1}$ in T4 and from 6,539 to 1,053 cells $mL^{-1}$ in T5, resulting in 85% and 84% in the removal effect, respectively. Our results for biomanipulation tests suggest that P. paucidens may be used as a potential candidate organism for algae control in spite of the preliminary results by laboratory tests.

Influence of Dietary Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) and Carotenoids on Growth, Fatty Acid Composition, and 3T3-L1 Cells in Black Seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegeli) (CLA 첨가사료가 감성돔(Acanthopagrus schlegeli) 성장과 지방산 조성 및 내장 추출지방이 지방세포 3T3-L1에 미치는 영향)

  • Guo, Rui;Rohmah, Zuliyati;Choi, Kwang-Soo;Park, Si-Hyang;Ha, Yeong-Lae;Kang, Seok-Joong;Choi, Byeong-Dae
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.25 no.5
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    • pp.548-556
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    • 2015
  • Three groups of black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegeli) were fed with treatment diets containing certain concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and carotenoids. The control group feed contained 0% CLA and 0% carotenoids, the CP10 group feed contained 1% CLA and 0.1% carotenoids, and the CP25 group feed contained 2.5% CLA and 0.1% carotenoids. The CP10 and CP25 groups demonstrated the enhanced growth and increased feed conversion efficiency of black seabream. The specific growth rates (SGRs) were 0.74, 0.81, and 0.97, while the feed conversion ratios (FCRs) were 2.65, 2.46, and 2.04 for the control, CP10, and CP25 groups, respectively. The total contents of high unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) for the control, CP10, and CP25 groups were 41.0%, 41.7%, and 43.5%, respectively. CLA was deposited to the extent of 2.8% and 5.6% in the muscle, and 4.0% and 8.3% in the viscera of the CP10 and CP25 groups, respectively. Meanwhile, treatment with the viscera lipid extract (VLE) from CP25 fish evidently lowered 3T3-L1 adipocytes viability. The lipid extract from the muscle and viscera of black seabream contained ample amounts of beneficial substances, such as CLA, carotenoids, EPA, and DHA. CLA, which enriched black seabream muscle, could be categorized as a functional food and serve as a well-being food. Meanwhile, the fish oil from its viscera could serve as a high function supplement.

A Study on the Hydraulic Characteristics of Rashig Super-Ring Random Packing in a Counter-Current Packed Tower (역류식 충전탑에서 Raschig Super-ring Random Packing의 수력학적 특성에 대한 연구)

  • Kang, Sung Jin;Lim, Dong-Ha
    • Clean Technology
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.102-108
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    • 2020
  • In recent years, packed column has been widely used in separation processes, such as absorption, desorption, distillation, and extraction, in the petrochemical, fine chemistry, and environmental industries. Packed column is used as a contacting facility for gas-liquid and liquid-liquid systems filled with random packed materials in the column. Packed column has various advantages such as low pressure drop, economical efficiency, thermally sensitive liquids, easy repairing restoration, and noxious gas treatment. The performance of a packed column is highly dependent on the maintenance of good gas and liquid distribution throughout a packed bed; thus, this is an important consideration in a design of packed column. In this study, hydraulic pressure drop, hold-up as a function of liquid load, and mass transfer in the air, air/water, and air-NH3/water systems were studied to find the geometrical characteristic for raschig super-ring experiment dry pressure drop. Based on the results, design factors and operating conditions to handle noxious gases were obtained. The dry pressure drop of the random packing raschig super-ring was linearly increased as a function of gas capacity factor with various liquid loads in the Air/Water system. This result is lower than that of 35 mm Pall-ring, which is most commonly used in the industrial field. Also, it can be found that the hydraulic pressure drop of raschig super-ring is consistently increased by gas capacity factor with various liquid loads. When gas capacity factor with various liquid loads is increased from 1.855 to 2.323 kg-1/2 m-1/2 S-1, hydraulic pressure drop increases around 17%. Finally, the liquid hold-up related to packing volume, which is a parameter of specific liquid load depending on gas capacity factor, shows consistent increase by around 3.84 kg-1/2 m-1/2 S-1 of the gas capacity factor. However, liquid hold-up significantly increases above it.

Development of Water Footprint Inventory Using Input-Output Analysis (산업연관분석을 활용한 물발자국 인벤토리 개발)

  • Kim, Young Deuk;Lee, Sang Hyun;Ono, Yuya;Lee, Sung Hee
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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    • v.46 no.4
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    • pp.401-412
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    • 2013
  • Water footprint of a product and service is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured in the life cycle or over the full supply chain. Since water footprint assessment helps us to understand how human activities and products relate to water scarcity and pollution, it can contribute to seek a sustainable way of water use in the consumption perspective. For the introduction of WFP scheme, it is indispensable to construct water inventory/accounting for the assessment, but there is no database in Korea to cover all industry sectors. Therefore, the aim of the study is to develop water footprint inventory within a nation at 403 industrial sectors using Input-Output Analysis. Water uses in the agricultural sector account for 79% of total water, and industrial sector have higher indirect water at most sectors, which is accounting for 82%. Most of the crop water is consumptive and direct water except rice. The greatest water use in the agricultural sectors is in rice paddy followed by aquaculture and fruit production, but the greatest water use intensity was not in the rice. The greatest water use intensity was 103,263 $m^3$/million KRW for other inedible crop production, which was attributed to the low economic value of the product with great water consumption in the cultivation. The next was timber tract followed by iron ores, raw timber, aquaculture, water supply and miscellaneous cereals like corn and other edible crops in terms of total water use intensity. In holistic view, water management considering indirect water in the industrial sector, i.e. supply chain management in the whole life cycle, is important to increase water use efficiency, since more than 56% of total water was indirect water by humanity. It is expected that the water use intensity data can be used for a water inventory to estimate water footprint of a product for the introduction of water footprint scheme in Korea.

Protective Effect of Saengshik Supplementation on Lead Induced Toxicity in Rats (생식의 섭취가 납중독 흰쥐의 피해 경감에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Oh, Young-Joo;Kim, Jae-Min;Song, Si-Wan;Ha, Hyo-Cheol;Kim, Hyun-Su
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.34 no.7
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    • pp.959-967
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    • 2005
  • Lead is a ubiquitous environmental and industrial pollutant that causes a major health concerns. It is known to induce a broad range of physiological, biochemical, and behavioral dysfunctions in laboratory and humans, including hematopoietic system, kidneys, liver, and reproductive system. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Saengshik supplementation on the lead-induced toxicity in rats. Five week old male Sprague­Dawley rats were randomly assigned to five groups for six weeks as followings: control group (CT), lead acetate treated group (PT), and lead acetate groups administered with three different dosages of Saengshik $(SI2.5-12.5\%,\;S25-25\%,\;and\;S50-50\%).$ Lead acetate (12 mg/rat) was intragastrically administered daily for 6 weeks. The results were summarized as follows; Weight gain and food efficiency ratio were significantly lower (p<0.05) in lead administered group compared with those of the control group. Also, significant lead-induced alteration in blood hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and reticulocyte distribution width (RDW) were observed. In the liver of lead-exposed animals, there was an increase in the lipid peroxidation (MDA) and the level of glutathione (GSH), but superoxiede dismutase (SOD) activity did not change. Lead-exposed animals with $25\%\;and\;50\%$ Saengshik supplementation showed marked improvements in the values of MCH, MCV, and RDW. Also, the level of HCT was significantly increased by $50\%$ Saengshik supplementation. The levels of liver MDA in $12.5\%\;and\;50\%$ Saengshik administered groups and GSH level in $50\%$ Saengshik administered group were significantly decreased compared to the lead administered group. Also, hepatic SOD activity tended to increase in the presence of Saengshik supplementation. Furthermore, the accumulation of lead in liver and kidney was reduced by presence of Saneghshik supplementation. Liver lead concentration was significantly reduced by both $25\%\;and\;50\%$ Saengshik supplementations and kidney lead concentration was significantly reduced by the $25\%$ Saengshik supplementation. These results show that Saengshik may have a protective effect against lead intoxication but the mechanism of their effects remains unclear.