• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.554-564
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• 1996

Oxygen reduction in an alkaline fuel cell was studied by using perovskite of $La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}Co_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$(x=0.00, 0.01, 0.10, 0.20, 0.35, and 0.50) as an oxygen electrode catalyst. The changes in the catalytic properties as a function of Fe content were investigated by XRD, TG, and TPR. XRD patterns gave different lattice parameters of the catalysts. TG study revealed that Fe was so stabilized in the perovskite structure as to be hardly reduced even up to $900^{\circ}C$, and the amount of oxygen which was eliminated at high temperature increased with the fraction of Fe because Fe induced the increase of Co-O binding energy. From TPR study, ${\alpha}$-(low temperature peak) and ${\beta}$-(high temperature peak)states were observed. The bond strength of the ${\beta}$-species which was associated strongly with Co of the perovskite increased proportionally with the fraction of Fe. The ${\alpha}$-species, reversible oxygen, was the active species in the oxygen reduction. The ${\alpha}$-peak temperature which reflected the binding energy between Co and ${\alpha}$-state oxygen moved to lower temperature with the increase of lattice parameter of the catalytst due to the increase of Fe content. The decrease in the binding energy increased the activity in the oxygen reduction, but the decrease of ${\alpha}$-species with the increase of Fe content decreased the activity. The increase in the surface area with Fe content had little effect on the activity.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1998

For the purpose of finding new cathode materials for medium-temperature $(700\~800^{\circ}C)$ solid oxide fuel cells, $Gd_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}Co_{1-x}Fe_xO_3,\;(x=0.0\~0.5)$ are prepared, and their thermal stability and conductivity characteristics are investigated. Also, the cathodic activities are measured after the cathode layer being attached on CGO (cerium-gadolinium oxide) electrolyte disk. The X-ray analyses indicate that the materials prepared by calcining the citrate-gels at $800^{\circ}C$ have the orthorhombic perovskite structure without discernible impurities. The thermal stability of the undoped Co perovskite is so poor that it is decomposed to the individual binary oxide even at $1300^{\circ}C$. But the partially Fe-doped cobaltates exhibit a better thermal stability to retain their structural integrity up to $1400^{\circ}C$. The observation whereby both the undoped and Fe-doped cobaltates melt at ca. $1300^{\circ}C$ leads us to perform the electrode adhesion at <$1300^{\circ}C$. The cathodic activity of $Gd_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}Co_{1-x}Fe_xO_3,\;(x=0.0\~0.5)$, electrodes is superior to $La_{0.9}Sr_{0.1}MnO_3$, among the samples of $x=0.0\~0.5$, the x=0.2 cathode shows the best activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. It is likely that the Fe-doping provides a better thermal stability to the materials but in turn imparts an inferior cathodic activity, such that the optimum trade-off is made at x=0.2 between the two factors. The total electrical conductivity and ion conductivity of $Gd_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}Co_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$, are measured to be 51 S/cm and $6.0\times10^{-4}S/cm\;at\;800^{\circ}C$, respectively. The conductivity values illustrate that the materials are a mixed conductor and the reaction sites can be expanded to the overall electrode surface, thereby providing a better cathodic activity than $La_{0.9}Sr_{0.1}MnO_3$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.78-83
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• 2014

In this research, we evaluated the performance and characteristics of carbon supported PtM (M = Ni and Y) alloy catalysts (PtM/Cs) synthesized by a modified polyol method. With the PtM/Cs employed as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of cathodes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), their catalytic and ORR activities and electrical performance were investigated and compared with those of commercial Pt/C. Their particle sizes, particle distributions and electrochemically active surface areas (EAS) were measured by TEM and cyclic voltammetry (CV), while their ORR activity and electrical performance were explored using linear sweeping voltammetries with rotating disk electrodes and rotating ring-disk electrodes as well as PEMFC single cell tests. TEM and CV measurements show that PtM/Cs have the compatible particle size and EAS with Pt/C. When it comes to ORR activity, PtM/C showed the equivalent or better half-wave potential, kinetic current density, transferred electron number per oxygen molecule and $H_2O_2$ production(%) to or than commerical Pt/C. Based on results gained by the three electrode tests, when the PEMFC single cell tests were carried out, the current density measured at 0.6 V and maximum power density of PEMFC single cell adopting PtM/C catalysts were better than those adopting Pt/C catalyst. It is therefore concluded that PtM/C catalysts synthesized by modified polyol can result in the equivalent or better ORR catalytic capability and PEMFC performance to or than commercial Pt/C catalyst.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.325-335
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• 1985

Biogas production from agricultural wastes were summarized as follows: 1. Biogas Generation Characteristics of Various Manures and Residues a. Gas yield from crop residues like rice straw, rice hull, corn stalk and coconut husk can be improved by addition of animal manures. b. Gas yield from coconut husk can be improved through aerobic fermentation for at least one week before loading in the digester. c. Gas yield from fresh rice straw is better than from pre-fermented one, whether alone or in combination with animal manures. d. Initial study has shown that fresh azolla can be substituted for animal manures in manurerice straw combinations and gas yield derived based on unit volatile solids loaded is actually better than for manure-residue combinations. e. Gas production is highly sensitive to substrate pH and becomes almost nil at a pH of below 6. 2. Effect of ambient conditions and other factors on biogas production in a house hold-size digester. a. Results showed that compaction of rice straw in straw-manure combination can reduce gas yield compared with loosely mixed straw. b. The effective gas production period extended to 70 days using freshly threshed rice straw and fresh cattle manure as feed material. c. Underground and above ground digesters with shade have relatively more stable substrate temperature than aboveground exposed digesters. This relative temperature instability may likely be the reason for lower gas yield for the exposed aboveground digester loaded with loose straw-cattle manure substrate, compared with the underground digester with the same substrate. 3. Economic Analysis a. Based on prevailing costs of fuel, materials, and labor in the Philippines, biogas produced from the household size system is cheaper than either LPG or kerosene. b. If other benefits like organic fertilizer, pollution control and convenience are considered, biogas will surely be the best alternative fuel source.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.183-202
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• 2019

For design and performance assessment of a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behavior. However, in previous studies for the Korean Reference HLW Disposal System (KRS), thermal analysis was performed to determine the spacing of disposal tunnels and interval of disposition holes without consideration of the coupled THM behavior. Therefore, in this study, TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D is used to conduct THM modeling for performance assessment of the Korean Reference HLW Disposal System (KRS). The peak temperature remains below the temperature limit of $100^{\circ}C$ for the whole period. A rapid rise of temperature caused by decay heat occurs in the early years, and then temperature begins to decrease as decay heat from the waste decreases. The peak temperature at the bentonite buffer is around $96.2^{\circ}C$ after about 3 years, and peak temperature at the rockmass is $68.2^{\circ}C$ after about 17 years. Saturation of the bentonite block near the canister decreases in the early stage, because water evaporation occurs owing to temperature increase. Then, saturation of the bentonite buffer and backfill increases because of water intake from the rockmass, and bentonite buffer and backfill are fully saturated after about 266 years. The stress is calculated to investigate the effect of thermal stress and swelling pressure on the mechanical behavior of the rockmass. The calculated stress is compared to a spalling criterion and the Mohr-Coulumb criterion for investigation of potential failure. The stress at the rockmass remains below the spalling strength and Mohr-Coulumb criterion for the whole period. The methodology of using the TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator can be applied to predict the long-term behavior of the KRS under various conditions; these methods will be useful for the design and performance assessment of alternative concepts such as multi-layer and multi-canister concepts for geological spent fuel repositories.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.421-433
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• 2023

The final disposal of spent nuclear fuel(SNF) from nuclear power plants takes place in a deep geological repository. The metal canister encasing the SNF is made of cast iron and copper, and is engineered to effectively isolate radioactive isotopes for a long period of time. The SNF is further shielded by a multi-barrier disposal system comprising both engineering and natural barriers. The deep disposal environment gradually changes to an anaerobic reducing environment. In this environment, sulfide is one of the most probable substances to induce corrosion of copper canister. Stress-corrosion cracking(SCC) triggered by sulfide can carry substantial implications for the integrity of the copper canister, potentially posing a significant threat to the long-term safety of the deep disposal repository. Sulfate can exist in various forms within the deep disposal environment or be introduced from the geosphere. Sulfate has the potential to be transformed into sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria(SRB), and this converted sulfide can contribute to the corrosion of the copper canister. Bentonite, which is considered as a potential material for buffering and backfilling, contains oxidized sulfate minerals such as gypsum(CaSO4). If there is sufficient space for microorganisms to thrive in the deep disposal environment and if electron donors such as organic carbon are adequately supplied, sulfate can be converted to sulfide through microbial activity. However, the majority of the sulfides generated in the deep disposal system or introduced from the geosphere will be intercepted by the buffer, with only a small amount reaching the metal canister. Pyrite, one of the potential sulfide minerals present in the deep disposal environment, can generate sulfates during the dissolution process, thereby contributing to the corrosion of the copper canister. However, the quantity of oxidation byproducts from pyrite is anticipated to be minimal due to its extremely low solubility. Moreover, the migration of these oxidized byproducts to the metal canister will be restricted by the low hydraulic conductivity of saturated bentonite. We have comprehensively analyzed and summarized key research cases related to the presence of sulfates, reduction processes, and the formation and behavior characteristics of sulfides and pyrite in the deep disposal environment. Our objective was to gain an understanding of the impact of sulfates and sulfides on the long-term safety of high-level radioactive waste disposal repository.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.133-146
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• 2017

In recent years, the development and market participation of major makers of next-generation eco-green vehicles has been accelerating. Consumer interest has also increased. Consumer characteristics, consumption type, characteristics of next-generation eco-friendly vehicles, and government policies on next eco-green vehicles. The results of this study are as follows. In Korea, there was no significant difference by gender, age, monthly average income, and consumer type. However, there was no significant difference in purchase intention by gender, age, and monthly income, Respectively. In the case of Japan, there was no significant difference by gender, age, monthly income, and consumer type. In Korea, on the other hand, images such as brand, color, and design have positive effects on eco-friendly vehicles. In the case of Japan, image and stability have a positive effect on consumers' purchasing behavior. Therefore, it is important for Japanese consumers to consider not only the image of purchasing an eco-friendly vehicles, but also the safety of the vehicles body, appear. In the case of Korea, the socio-environmental value-seeking type has a significant relationship with the purchasing intention. In the case of socio-environmental value-seeking type, the government's support policy such as carbon dioxide tax, direct support from the national or local governments, gasoline tax, Carbon tax and fuel related tax relief showed positive effects. In the case of Japan, the price-seeking type and the socio-environmental value-seeking type were found to have a significant relationship with the purchasing intention. Both the price-seeking type and the socio-environmental value-seeking type showed that the carbon dioxide tax, Direct support, gasoline tax, gasoline tax, and carbon tax, etc. have positive effects.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.327-340
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• 2017

This article reviews the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering during 2016. It is intended to understand the status of current research in the areas of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation, and indoor environments of buildings and plant facilities. Conclusions are as follows. (1) The research works on the thermal and fluid engineering have been reviewed as groups of flow, heat and mass transfer, the reduction of pollutant exhaust gas, cooling and heating, the renewable energy system and the flow around buildings. CFD schemes were used more for all research areas. (2) Research works on heat transfer area have been reviewed in the categories of heat transfer characteristics, pool boiling and condensing heat transfer and industrial heat exchangers. Researches on heat transfer characteristics included the results of the long-term performance variation of the plate-type enthalpy exchange element made of paper, design optimization of an extruded-type cooling structure for reducing the weight of LED street lights, and hot plate welding of thermoplastic elastomer packing. In the area of pool boiling and condensing, the heat transfer characteristics of a finned-tube heat exchanger in a PCM (phase change material) thermal energy storage system, influence of flow boiling heat transfer on fouling phenomenon in nanofluids, and PCM at the simultaneous charging and discharging condition were studied. In the area of industrial heat exchangers, one-dimensional flow network model and porous-media model, and R245fa in a plate-shell heat exchanger were studied. (3) Various studies were published in the categories of refrigeration cycle, alternative refrigeration/energy system, system control. In the refrigeration cycle category, subjects include mobile cold storage heat exchanger, compressor reliability, indirect refrigeration system with $CO_2$ as secondary fluid, heat pump for fuel-cell vehicle, heat recovery from hybrid drier and heat exchangers with two-port and flat tubes. In the alternative refrigeration/energy system category, subjects include membrane module for dehumidification refrigeration, desiccant-assisted low-temperature drying, regenerative evaporative cooler and ejector-assisted multi-stage evaporation. In the system control category, subjects include multi-refrigeration system control, emergency cooling of data center and variable-speed compressor control. (4) In building mechanical system research fields, fifteenth studies were reported for achieving effective design of the mechanical systems, and also for maximizing the energy efficiency of buildings. The topics of the studies included energy performance, HVAC system, ventilation, renewable energies, etc. Proposed designs, performance tests using numerical methods and experiments provide useful information and key data which could be help for improving the energy efficiency of the buildings. (5) The field of architectural environment was mostly focused on indoor environment and building energy. The main researches of indoor environment were related to the analyses of indoor thermal environments controlled by portable cooler, the effects of outdoor wind pressure in airflow at high-rise buildings, window air tightness related to the filling piece shapes, stack effect in core type's office building and the development of a movable drawer-type light shelf with adjustable depth of the reflector. The subjects of building energy were worked on the energy consumption analysis in office building, the prediction of exit air temperature of horizontal geothermal heat exchanger, LS-SVM based modeling of hot water supply load for district heating system, the energy saving effect of ERV system using night purge control method and the effect of strengthened insulation level to the building heating and cooling load.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1013-1019
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• 2007

Electronic wastes have increased tremendously. However, any reliable treatment methodologies have rarely been established. Electronic wastes have posed serious disposal problem due to their physico-chemical stability. This paper investigated the application possibility of pyrolysis for the purpose of recycling the p-CCL(phenol based Copper Clad Laminate). Thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) was used to investigate the thermal decomposition pattern of p-CCL. We elucidated the characteristics of pyrolysis by-products at operating temperatures of 280, 350 and $600^{\circ}C$. GC/MS and FT-IR were used to characterize the liquid by-products along with general characterization methods such as Ultimate Analysis, Proximate Analysis and Heating Value, whereas general characterization methods were only introduced for the solid by-products. At a heating rate of $5^{\circ}C$/min, TGA curves exhibited three decomposition stages: (1) low-temperature decomposition region$(<280^{\circ}C)$, (2) medium temperature region$(280\sim350^{\circ}C)$ and (3) high-temperature region$(>350^{\circ}C)$. The major compounds of liquid by-products at low- and medium-temperatures were accounted for by water and phenol, whereas branched phenols and furans were major compounds at high-temperatures. As the temperature increases, volatile quantities decreased but the fixed carbon increased. High heating values of solid by-products($7,400\sim7,600$ kcal/kg) would suggest that the solid by-products could be applicable as fuel. In addition, high fixed carbon but low ash content of the solid by-products offered an implication that they are capable of being upgradable for adsorbent after applying appropriate activating process.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.715-732
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• 2009

This article reviews the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering during 2008. It is intended to understand the status of current research in the areas of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation, and indoor environments of buildings and plant facilities. Conclusions are as follows. (1) Research trends in thermal and fluid engineering have been surveyed in the categories of general fluid flow, fluid machinery and piping, new and renewable energy, and fire. Well-developed CFD technologies were widely applied in developing facilities and their systems. New research topics include fire, fuel cell, and solar energy. Research was mainly focused on flow distribution and optimization in the fields of fluid machinery and piping. Topics related to the development of fans and compressors had been popular, but were no longer investigated widely. Research papers on micro heat exchangers using nanofluids and micro pumps were also not presented during this period. There were some studies on thermal reliability and performance in the fields of new and renewable energy. Numerical simulations of smoke ventilation and the spread of fire were the main topics in the field of fire. (2) Research works on heat transfer presented in 2008 have been reviewed in the categories of heat transfer characteristics, industrial heat exchangers, and ground heat exchangers. Research on heat transfer characteristics included thermal transport in cryogenic vessels, dish solar collectors, radiative thermal reflectors, variable conductance heat pipes, and flow condensation and evaporation of refrigerants. In the area of industrial heat exchangers, examined are research on micro-channel plate heat exchangers, liquid cooled cold plates, fin-tube heat exchangers, and frost behavior of heat exchanger fins. Measurements on ground thermal conductivity and on the thermal diffusion characteristics of ground heat exchangers were reported. (3) In the field of refrigeration, many studies were presented on simultaneous heating and cooling heat pump systems. Switching between various operation modes and optimizing the refrigerant charge were considered in this research. Studies of heat pump systems using unutilized energy sources such as sewage water and river water were reported. Evaporative cooling was studied both theoretically and experimentally as a potential alternative to the conventional methods. (4) Research papers on building facilities have been reviewed and divided into studies on heat and cold sources, air conditioning and air cleaning, ventilation, automatic control of heat sources with piping systems, and sound reduction in hydraulic turbine dynamo rooms. In particular, considered were efficient and effective uses of energy resulting in reduced environmental pollution and operating costs. (5) In the field of building environments, many studies focused on health and comfort. Ventilation. system performance was considered to be important in improving indoor air conditions. Due to high oil prices, various tests were planned to examine building energy consumption and to cut life cycle costs.