• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.100-101
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• 2004

Many researches in Korea have been performed to understand the pollution of stream waters by acid mine drainage. However, few studies have been conducted regarding the effect of particulate and colloidal fractions on the transport of trace metals. To estimate harmful effects of trace metals, it is important to evaluate the particulate and colloidal metals as well as dissolved metals, because particulate and colloidal fractions of trace metals play an important role in transport of trace metals and may adversely affect habitats and organisms in riverine system. Colloids are solids with effective diameters in size range from 0.001 $\mu$m to 1 $\mu$m. According to Jone et al. (1974), metals in surface water, like Al, Fe, and Mn, require filtration with pore-size membranes smaller than 0.45 $\mu$m to define dissolved concentrations. The main objective of this study is to understand the effects of particulate, colloidal, and truly dissolved fractions on the transport and fate of trace metals in acid mine drainage. This study was conducted for the Onjeong creek in the Uljin mine area. Sampling was carried out in 13 sites, spatially covering the area from mine dumps to the downstream Onjeong reservoir. To examine the metal partitioning between particulate, colloidal, and truly dissolved fraction, we used successive filtration techniques consisting of conventional method (using 0.45 $\mu$m membranes) and tangential-flow ultrafiltration (using 0.001 $\mu$mm membranes). Ultrafiltration may seperate much smaller particles from aqueous phase (Josephson, 1984; Hernandez and Stallard, 1988). The analysis of metals were performed by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES: model Perkin Elmer OPTIMA3000XL). Anions such as SO$_4$, Cl and NO$_3$ were measured with ion chromatograph (IC: model Dionex 120). Sample analysis is still in progress. The preliminary data show that the studied creek is severely polluted by Al, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn. Toward upstream sites with relatively lower pH, less than 50% of Al and Fe occur in the sorbed form on particles or colloids, whereas more than 80% of Al and Fe occur in the sorbed form in downstream sites or tributaries with relatively higher pH. Less than 30% of Zn is present in particle or colloidal forms in the whole range of creek. Truly dissolved fraction of trace metals is negatively correlated with pH. The Kd values for Al, Fe and Zn consistently increase with increasing pH and decrease with increasing particle concentration.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.20-28
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• 2021

Perfluorinated compounds(PFCs), an emerging environmental pollutant, are environmentally persistent and bioaccumulative organic compounds that possess a toxic impact on human health and ecosystems. PFCs are distributed widely in environment media including groundwater, surface water, soil and sediment. PFCs in contaminated solid can potentially leach into groundwater. Therefore, understanding PFCs partitioning between the aqueous phase and solid phase is important for the determination of their fate and transport in the environment. In this study, the sorption equilibrium batch and kinetic experiment of PFCs were carried out to estimated the sorption coefficient(K_d) and the fraction between aqueous-solid phase partition, respectively. Sorption branches of the PFDA(Perfluoro-n-decanoic acid), PFNA(Perfluoro-n-nonanoic acid), PFOA(Perfluoro-n-octanoic acid), PFOS(Perfluoro-1-octane sulfonic acid) and PFHxS(Perfluoro-1-hexane sulfonic acid) isotherms were nearly linear, and the estimated K_d was as follow: PFDA(1.50) > PFOS(1.49) > PFNA(0.81) > PFHxS(0.45) > PFOA(0.39). The sorption kinetics of PFDA, PFNA, PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS onto soil were described by a biexponential adsorption model, suggesting that a fast transport into the surface layer of soil, followed by two-step diffusion transport into the internal water and/or organic matter of soil. Shorter times(<20hr) were required to achieve equilibrium and fraction for adsorption on solid(F₁, F₂) increased with perfluorinated carbon chain length and sulfonate compounds in this study. Overall, our results suggested that not only the perfluorocarbon chain length, but also the terminal functional groups are important contributors to electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between PFCs and soils, and organic matter in soils significantly affects adsorption maximum capacity than kinetic rate.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.235-242
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• 1992

Organic ligands in the environments are expected to play an important role in regulating the biotoxicity and fate of pesticides. Influences of dissolved humic and fulvic acids on the phytotoxicity of Paraquat were investigated using a bioassay with hydroponically grown rye as indicator species. Levels of Paraquat in water culture media were ranged from 0 to $12_{{\mu}M}$ and those of humic or fulvic acid were 1.0mM as a soluble carbon. Media were prepared in a factorial combination with pHs of 4.5, 6.5 and 8.5, Standard curves of necrosis days, fresh weight, and growth rates, as Phytotoxicity Indices, versus Paraquat concentrations were employed to evaluate the effects of organic ligands on phytotoxicity of paraquat. Organic ligand itself had little effect on rye growth, but Paraquat showed a high degree of toxicity. Paraquat started to show an intensive injury to rye at $0.4{\sim}0.6{{\mu}M}$ and upper critical phytotoxic concentration was estimated to be 11.0${{\mu}M}$ In the presence of organic ligands, times required to cause necrosis due to Paraquat were delayed upto 40%. Fresh weights and growth rates were upto 20% higher in treatments of organic ligands plus Paraquat than that of Paraquat alone. Results demonstrated that complexation of organic ligand with Paraquat reduced the bioabailability of Paraquat to rye.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 1999.04a
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• pp.149-156
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• 1999

In the United States (U.S.), the monitored natural attenuation (MNA) approach has been used as an alternative remedial option for organic and inorganic compounds retained in soil and dissolved in groundwater. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines the MNA as“in-situ naturally-occurring processes include biodegradation, diffusion, dilution, sorption, volatilization, and/or chemical and biochemical stabilization of contaminants and reduce contaminant toxicity, mobility or volume to the levels that are protective of human health and the environment”. The Department of Soil Environment. National Institute Environmental Research (NIER) is in the process for demonstrating the MNA approach as a potential remedial option for the BTEX contaminated site in Uiwang City. The project is charactering the research site in terms of the nature and extend of contamination, biological degradation rate, and geochemical and hydrological properties. The microbial-degradation rate and effectiveness of nutrient and redox supplements will be determined through laboratory batch and column tests. The geochemical process will be monitored for determining the concentration changes of chemical species involved in the electron transfer processes that include methanogenesis, sulfate and iron reduction, denitrification, and aerobic respiration. Through field works, critical soil and hydrogeologic parameters will be acquired to simulate the effects of dispersion, advection, sorption, and biodegradation on the fate and transport of the dissolved-phase BTEX plume using Bioplume III model. The objectives of this multi-years research project are (1) to evaluate the MNA approach using the BTEX contaminated site in Uiwang City, (2) to establish a standard protocol for future application of the approach, (3) to investigate applicability of the passive approach as a secondary treatment remedy after active treatments. In this presentation, the overall picture and philosophy behind the MNA approach will be reviewed. Detailed discussions of the site characterization/monitoring plans and risk-based decision-making processes for the demonstration site will be included.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.325-345
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• 2020

Determination of Best available technology (BAT) was suggested to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a petrochemical industrial complex, by conducting human health risk, environmental, and economic assessment based on multimedia fugacity model. Fate and distribution of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) was predicted by the multimedia fugacity model, which represent VOCs emitted from the industrial complex in U-city. Media-integrated human health risk assessment and sensitivity analysis were conducted to predict the human health risk of BTEX and identify the critical variable which has adverse effects on human health. Besides, the environmental and economic assessment was conducted to determine the BAT for VOCs reduction. It is concluded that BTEX highly remained in soil media (60%, 61%, 64% and 63%), and xylene has remained as the highest proportion of BTEX in each environment media. From the candidates of BAT, the absorption was excluded due to its high human health risk. Moreover, it is identified that the half-life and exposure coefficient of each exposure route are highly correlated with human health risk by sensitivity analysis. In last, considering environmental and economic assessment, the regenerative thermal oxidation, the regenerative catalytic oxidation, the bio-filtration, the UV oxidation, and the activated carbon adsorption were determined as BAT for reducing VOCs in the petrochemical industrial complex. The suggested BAT determination methodology based on the media-integrated approach can contribute to the application of BAT into the workplace to efficiently manage the discharge facilities and operate an integrated environmental management system.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.135-139
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• 2001

To observe the changes in isotopic composition (${\delta}^{15}N$) of $NO_3{^-}$ during denitrification, an incubation experiment using soil treated with nitrification inhibitor (2-chloro-6-trichloromethyl-pyridine) under water-saturated condition was conducted for 153 h. The $NO_3-N$ concentration decreased from 73.3 to $20.6mg\;kg^{-1}$ during the incubation period, with denitrification rate constant of $0.00905h^{-1}$, and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of $NO_3-N$ increased from +0.9 to +25.5‰ with decreasing the $NO_3-N$ concentration. The increase in the ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of $NO_3-N$ is due to kinetic isotope fractionation, which always results in $^{15}N$ enrichment of the substrate. The isotopic fractionation factor calculated in this study was 1.0196, an indication that 1.96% more $^{14}NO_3{^-}$ reacted at a given time interval than a comparable number of $^{15}NO_3{^-}$. The ${\delta}^{15}N$ values measured through the incubation study showed a good agreement with the results calculated from the Fochts isotope fractionation model. Our results suggest that when the ${\delta}^{15}N$ of $NO_3{^-}$ is used for tracing the fate of N, the kinetic isotope fractionation associated with denitrification must be taken into consideration.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.287-294
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• 2012

Sedimentary environment in coastal zone has been changing due to a large number of coastal structures and continuous coastal development. As a result, the environment has been changing. In particular, the economic and environmental damage can occur due to cohesive sediment transport closely related with the fate of pollutants. Due to large sea wall construction the ebb dominance in the Mokpo coastal waters has been clearer. Cohesive sediment transport was simulated by the EFDC model. The simulated SS showed good agreements with the observed SS. From the sensitivity analysis of sediment parameters, we found out that the erosion rate, the critical shear stresses for erosion and deposition, and the settling velocity are important factors in cohesive sediment transport modeling.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.8
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• pp.588-595
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• 2014

Carbon nanomaterials such as fullerene, carbon nanotube and graphene are representative nanomaterials and widely used in various fields. Carbon nanomaterials can be exposed to environments during their production, usage and disposal, spreading to different systems and posing a great threat to various ecological receptors. Researches are conducted in order to determine the possibility of groundwater exposure to carbon nanomaterials due to their release and passage through soils. If soils can play a significant role in limiting the transport of carbon nanomaterials, the possibility of groundwater exposure to carbon nanomaterials can be reduced greatly. This review paper presented the research works performed for the mobility of carbon nanomaterials in soil media. Also, the paper provided the factors affecting the transport of carbon nanomaterials in soil media along with the DLVO theory/colloid filtration theory/transport model, which are used to describe the transport of carbon nanomaterials in soil media. Recently, production of carbon nanomaterials and their commercial and environmental applications increase rapidly in Korea. Therefore, researches regarding the fate and transport of domestic carbon nanomaterials in soil environments should be performed in various environmental conditions.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.345-353
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• 2022

A wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is a major gateway for the engineered nano-particles (ENPs) entering the water bodies. However existing studies have reported that many WWTPs exceed the No Observed Effective Concentration (NOEC) for ENPs in the effluent and thus they need to be designed or operated to more effectively control ENPs. Understanding and predicting ENPs behaviors in the unit and \the whole process of a WWTP should be the key first step to develop strategies for controlling ENPs using a WWTP. This study aims to provide a modeling tool for predicting behaviors and removal efficiencies of ENPs in a WWTP associated with process characteristics and major operating conditions. In the developed model, four unit processes for water treatment (primary clarifier, bioreactor, secondary clarifier, and tertiary treatment unit) were considered. Additionally the model simulates the sludge treatment system as a single process that integrates multiple unit processes including thickeners, digesters, and dewatering units. The simulated ENP was nano-sized TiO₂, (nano-TiO₂) assuming that its behavior in a WWTP is dominated by the attachment with suspendid solids (SS), while dissolution and transformation are insignificant. The attachment mechanism of nano-TiO₂ to SS was incorporated into the model equations using the apparent solid-liquid partition coefficient (Kd) under the equilibrium assumption between solid and liquid phase, and a steady state condition of nano-TiO₂ was assumed. Furthermore, an MS Excel-based user interface was developed to provide user-friendly environment for the nano-TiO₂ removal efficiency calculations. Using the developed model, a preliminary simulation was conducted to examine how the solid retention time (SRT), a major operating variable affects the removal efficiency of nano-TiO₂ particles in a WWTP.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.236-246
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• 2014

Pesticide is used to protect the crops, but also become a cause of polluting the environment. Perform a risk assessment using physical and chemical properties, environmental fate and toxicity data in order to determine the pesticide registration. The aquatic model estimates pesticide concentrations in water bodies that result from pesticide applications to rice paddies and apple orchard. The used models are the PRZM, EXAMS and AGRO shell (PA5), Rice Water Quality Model (RICEWQ) and Screening Concentration In GROund Water (SCI-GROW). The residual concentration of water body was estimated using meteorological data, crop calendar and soil series of Korea. The chosen pesticides were butachlor, carbofuran, iprobenfos and tebuconazole. It has shown the potential that the RICEWQ is possible to predict residue level in water of butachlor and iprobenfos, because the maximum value in water monitoring data is lower than the peak concentration of the model, and the minimum value is lower than the average annual concentration of the model. But RICEWQ was insufficient to predict exposure concentrations in ground water. The estimated exposure concentrations of carbofuran in ground water is very higher than in surface water because of its low soil adsorption coefficient. Although tebuconazole were not detected in the water monitoring that means very low concentration, it is possible that the PA5 can be used to predict residue level in water.