• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.30-39
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• 2021

Natural gas is globally emerging as an important energy source for environmental, political and regional reasons. In Korea, natural gas imported from oversea natural gas resources as a LNG, it is increased for an applications as a fuel and feedstock which replace the coal and nuclear energy. Because it is relied on the import market in Korea, it is very important to analyze the security for supply. Therefore, this study suggested a method for reducing supply risk and for providing stable supply and demand through risk analysis of Korea's import structure. In order to reduce the supply risk, the concentration of importing countries should be lowered and it is necessary to lower the proportion of countries with relatively low GSSI and increase the imports from Russia. Finally increasing the number of importing countries or maintaining friendly relations with countries where the supply is stable could give us the positive impact in terms of total GSSI.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1533-1544
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• 2021

n-Caproic acid (CA) is gaining increased attention due to its high value as a chemical feedstock. Ruminococcaceae bacterium strain CPB6 is an anaerobic mesophilic bacterium that is highly prolific in its ability to perform chain elongation of lactate to CA. However, little is known about the genome-wide transcriptional analysis of strain CPB6 for CA production triggered by the supplementation of exogenous lactate. In this study, cultivation of strain CPB6 was carried out in the absence and presence of lactate. Transcriptional profiles were analyzed using RNA-seq, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the lactate-supplemented cells and control cells without lactate were analyzed. The results showed that lactate supplementation led to earlier CA p,roduction, and higher final CA titer and productivity. 295 genes were substrate and/or growth dependent, and these genes cover crucial functional categories. Specifically, 5 genes responsible for the reverse β-oxidation pathway, 11 genes encoding ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, 6 genes encoding substrate-binding protein (SBP), and 4 genes encoding phosphotransferase system (PTS) transporters were strikingly upregulated in response to the addition of lactate. These genes would be candidates for future studies aiming at understanding the regulatory mechanism of lactate conversion into CA, as well as for the improvement of CA production in strain CPB6. The findings presented herein reveal unique insights into the biomolecular effect of lactate on CA production at the transcriptional level.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.226-232
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• 2022

In this study, a new manufacturing process for a multilayer-clad electrical contact material is suggested. A thin and dense BCuP-5 (Cu-15Ag-5P filler metal) coating layer is fabricated on a Ag plate using a high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) process. Subsequently, the microstructure and bonding properties of the HVOF BCuP-5 coating layer are evaluated. The thickness of the HVOF BCuP-5 coating layer is determined as 34.8 ㎛, and the surface fluctuation is measured as approximately 3.2 ㎛. The microstructure of the coating layer is composed of Cu, Ag, and Cu-Ag-Cu3P ternary eutectic phases, similar to the initial BCuP-5 powder feedstock. The average hardness of the coating layer is 154.6 HV, which is confirmed to be higher than that of the conventional BCuP-5 alloy. The pull-off strength of the Ag/BCup-5 layer is determined as 21.6 MPa. Thus, the possibility of manufacturing a multilayer-clad electrical contact material using the HVOF process is also discussed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.283-290
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• 2022

A Cu-15Ag-5P filler metal (BCuP-5) is fabricated on a Ag substrate using a high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spray process, followed by post-heat treatment (300℃ for 1 h and 400℃ for 1 h) of the HVOF coating layers to control its microstructure and mechanical properties. Additionally, the microstructure and mechanical properties are evaluated according to the post-heat treatment conditions. The porosity of the heat-treated coating layers are significantly reduced to less than half those of the as-sprayed coating layer, and the pore shape changes to a spherical shape. The constituent phases of the coating layers are Cu, Ag, and Cu-Ag-Cu3P eutectic, which is identical to the initial powder feedstock. A more uniform microstructure is obtained as the heat-treatment temperature increases. The hardness of the coating layer is 154.6 Hv (as-sprayed), 161.2 Hv (300℃ for 1 h), and 167.0 Hv (400℃ for 1 h), which increases with increasing heat-treatment temperature, and is 2.35 times higher than that of the conventional cast alloy. As a result of the pull-out test, loss or separation of the coating layer rarely occurs in the heat-treated coating layer.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2023

In additive manufacturing, the flowability of feedstock particles determines the quality of the parts that are affected by different parameters, including the chemistry and morphology of the powders and particle size distribution. In this study, the microstructures and flowabilities of gas-atomized heat-resistant alloys for additive manufacturing applications are investigated. A KHR45A alloy powder with a composition of Fe-30Cr-40Mn-1.8Nb (wt.%) is fabricated using gas atomization process. The microstructure and effect of powder chemistry and morphology on the flow behavior are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and revolution powder analysis. The results reveal the formation of spherical particles composed of single-phase FCC dendritic structures after gas atomization. SEM observations show variations in the microstructures of the powder particles with different size distributions. Elemental distribution maps, line scans, and high-resolution XPS results indicate the presence of a Si-rich oxide accompanied by Fe, Cr, and Nb metal oxides in the outer layer of the powders. The flowability behavior is found to be induced by the particle size distribution, which can be attributed to the interparticle interactions and friction of particles with different sizes.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1127-1134
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• 2022

Herein , the effect of changes in the organic loading rate in anaerobic digestion was evaluated. The experiment was carried out by a laboratory -scale semi-continuous stirred tank reactor, and feedstock was food-waste leached. The organic loading rate was increased by 0.5 kgVS/m3 in each phase from 1.0 kgVS/m3 to 4.0 kgVS/m3. At the end of the operation, to check the failure of the reactor, the organic loading rate was increased by 1.0 kgVS/m3 in each phase and reached 6.0 kgVS/m3. This shows that the biogas yield decreased as organic loading rate increased. Biogas production seemed to be unstable at 3.5-6.0 kgVS/m3. Moreover, biogas production dramatically fell to approximately 0 mL at 6.0 kgVS/m3, which was decided as the operation failure on the 16th day of the las tphase. The result of the reactor analysis shows that the cumulation of volatile fatty acid increased as the organic loading rate increased. This seems to occur due to the decreasein pH in the reactor and led to extinction of anaerobic bacteria, which were the biogas products. Although the buffer compound (alkalinity) could prevent the decline in pH, the concentration of alkalinity was found to be lacking at a high organic loading rate

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.257-261
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• 2022

Additive manufacturing (AM, also known as 3D printing) applied to the construction industry is implemented and verified for various effects since advantages such as high design freedom, improving worker safety, and predictable construction period. However, due to the low maturity compared to the existing technology, studies are underway to solve new problems that occur in the overall of AM technology. In this paper, we confirm the effect of low construction surface flatness on the stacked features in the process of on-site AM construction. In particular, unstable AM features are determined through quantitative analysis by laser scanning, and a construction strategy is proposed for the surface flattening.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2019.10a
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• pp.83-83
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• 2019

Increasing the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere induce high temperature and rising sea levels. So the technology that capture and reuse of the CO₂ have been recently become popular. Among other methods, CRR(CO2₂ reduction reaction) is typical method of CO₂ reusing. Electrocatalyst can show more higher efficiencies in CRR than photocatalyst because it doesn't use nature source. Nowadays, finding high efficient electrocatalyst by controlling electronic (affected by stoichiometry) and geometric (affected by atomic arrangement) factors are very important issues. Mono-atomic electro-catalyst has limitations on controlling binding energy because each intermediate has own binding energy range. So the Multi-metallic electro-catalyst is important to stabilize intermediate at the same time. Carbon monoxide(CO) which is our target product and important feedstock of useful products. Au is known for the most high CO production metal. With copper, Not only gold/copper has advantages which is they have FCC packing for easily forming solid solution regardless of stoichiometry but also presence of adsorbed CO on Cu promotes the desorption of CO on Au because of strong repulsion. And gold/copper bi-metal catalyst can show high catalytic activity(mass activity) although it has low selectivity relatively Gold. Actually, multi-metallic catalyst structure control method is limited in the solution method which is takes a lot of time. In here, we introduce CTS(carbo thermal shock) method which is using heat to make MMNP in a few seconds for making gold-copper system. This method is very simple and efficient in terms of time(very short reaction time and using carbon substrate as a direct working electrode) and increasing reaction sites(highly dispersed and mixing alloy structures). Last one is easy to control degree of mixing and it can induce 5 or more metals in one alloy system. Gold/copper by CTS can show higher catalytic activity depending on metal ratio which is altered easily by changing simple variables. The ultimate goals are making CO₂ test system by CTS which can check the selectivity depending on metal types in a very short time.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.561-569
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• 2023

Furfural is a platform chemical that is produced from xylose, one of the hemicellulose components of lignocellulosic biomass. Furfural can be used as an important feedstock for phenolic compounds or biofuels. In this study, we compared and optimized the conditions for producing furfural from xylose in a batch system using two types of catalysts: sulfuric acid, which is commonly used in the furfural production process, and formic acid, which is an environmentally friendly catalyst. We investigated the effects of xylose initial concentration (10 g/L~100 g/L), reaction temperature (140~200 ℃), sulfuric acid catalyst (1~3 wt%), formic acid catalyst (5~10 wt%), and reaction time on the furfural yield. The optimal conditions according to the type of catalyst were as follows. For sulfuric acid catalyst, 3 wt% of catalyst concentration, 50 g/L of xylose initial concentration, 180 ℃ of temperature, and 10min of reaction time resulted in a maximum furfural yield of 59.0%. For formic acid catalyst, 5 wt% of catalyst concentration, 50 g/L of xylose initial concentration, 180 ℃ of temperature, and 150 min of reaction time resulted in a furfural yield of 65.3%.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2023.04a
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• pp.12-12
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• 2023

Plant biomass, or lignocellulose, is one of the most abundant natural resources on earth. Lignocellulosic biomass, such as agricultural and forestry residue, serves as a renewable feedstock for microbial cell factories due to its low price and abundant availability. However, the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass requires a pretreatment process prior to microbial fermentation, from which fermentable sugars including xylose and glucose are generated along with various inhibitory compounds. The presence of furan derivatives, such as 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde and 2-furaldehyde (furfural), hampers the microbial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added commodities. In this study, furfural tolerance was improved by investigating the detoxification mechanism in non-model yeast. The genes encoding aldehyde dehydrogenases were overexpressed to enhance furfural tolerance and resulted in improving cell growth and lipid production that can be converted into biofuel. Taken together, this approach contributes to the understanding of the reducing toxicity mechanism of furfural by the aldehyde dehydrogenases and provides a promising strategy that the use of microorganism as an industrial workhorse to treat efficiently lignocellulosic biomass as sustainable plant derivatives.