• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 2007

The water treatment plants in Seoul Metropolitan Area, which are under Korea Water Resources Corporation(KOWACO)'s management, take water from Paldang Reservoir in Han River System for drinking water supply. There are taste and odor (T&O) problems in the finished water because the conventional treatment processes do not effectively remove the T&O compounds. As part of countermeasures for taste and odor control, KOWACO is planning to introduce advanced water treatment process such as ozone and GAC in near future. This study evaluated the removal characteristics of T&O and dissolved organic matter (DOM) to find design and operation parameters of advanced water treatment processes in a pilot-scale treatment plant. The GAC adsorption capacity for DOC in the two GAC system (GAC and $O_3$-GAC) at an EBCT of 14min was mostly exhausted after 9months. The differency of the removal efficiency of DOC between $O_3$-GAC and GAC increased with increasing operation time because the bioactivity in $O_3$-GAC process was enhanced by post-ozone process. Removal by conventional treatment was unable to reach the target TON(threshold odor number) of 3 but GAC systems at an EBCT(empty bed contact time) of 14 min were able to archive the target with few exception. During the high T&O episodes, PAC as a pretreatment together with GAC could be useful option for T&O control. However, substantial TON removal continued for more than two year (> 90,000 bed volumes). At the spiking of less concentration 26 to 61 ng/L in the influent of GAC systems, GAC absorber and $O_3$-GAC processes could meet the treatment target. The better spike control after 12 and 19 months of operation compared to that after 7 months of operation is a strong indication of biological control. The results presented in this study had shown that $O_3$-GAC process was found to be more effective for T&O control than GAC process. And the main removal mechanism in GAC systems were adsorption capacity and biodegradation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.449-458
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• 2023

As an adsorption technology for dissolved organic matter, the adsorption capacity of granular activated carbon, GAC, can be applied, but activated carbon whose adsorption capacity is significantly reduced by use is inevitably replaced or regenerated. However, due to the economics of replacement cost, thermal regeneration method is used commercially, but high energy cost and loss of activated carbon occur under high temperature conditions above 800℃. In this study, the Sono-Fenton method, a multi-oxidation technology that combines Fenton oxidation and ultrasonic oxidation, was applied to improve the regeneration efficiency of spent GAC used to treat dissolved organic matter in combined sewer overflows (CSOs), and the regeneration efficiency of spent GAC by oxidant and ultrasonic frequency was investigated. In the applied Sono-Fenton treatment, the highest regeneration efficiency of 68.5% was obtained under the regeneration conditions of Fe²⁺ 10 mmol/L, H₂O₂ concentration 1,000 mmol/L, ultrasonic treatment time of 120 min, and ultrasonic frequency of 40 kHz. And similar efficiency was also obtained at 750 kHz, while ultrasonic waves of other frequencies had poor regeneration efficiency, and the magnitude of frequency and GAC regeneration efficiency did not show a linear relationship. In the case of continuous operation of the GAC adsorption tower with CSOs prepared by diluting raw sewage, about 700 hours of operation without regeneration was possible, and as a result of applying one Sono-Fenton treatment, 40-70% COD_cr removal efficiency was obtained during a total of 1,000 hours of GAC adsorption operation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.727-736
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• 2006

Granular activated carbon (GAC) has been identified as a best available technology (BAT) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for removal disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors, such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). Rapid small-scale column test (RSSCT) were used to investigate four types of carbon (F400, Norit1240, Norit40S, and Aquasorb1500) for their affinity to absorb natural organic matter (NOM). DOC, $UV_{254}$, and Total dissolved nitrogen (TON) concentrations were measured in the column effluent to track GAC breakthrough. DOC and $UV_{254}$ breakthrough occurred at around 3500 bed volumes (BVs) of operation for all GACs investigated. The $UV_{254}$ breakthrough curves showed 33% to 48% at 8000 BVs, when the DOC was 48% to 65%. All GACs showed greater removal in DOC than $UV_{254}$. The NORIT1240 GAC was determined to have the highest adsorption capacity for DOC and $UV_{254}$. The removal of nitrate (NOTN) had not broken through over BVs. The initial TON breakthrough curves were started around 50%, when the DOC breakthrough was only 10 % at 500 BVs. The curves were gradually increased after 3500 BVs and approximately 69% through 81% of TON breakthrough occurred at 8000 BVs. All of the GACs were able to remove TON, in the case of this investigation the majority of the TON was present as DON. Because nitrate nitrogen was seldom removed and ammonium nitrogen ($NH_3-N$) was not detected in the effluent from RSSCTs even though raw water. The carbon usage rate of DOC was from 2 to 6 times less than that of TON. The NORIT1240 GAC demonstrated the best performance in terms of DOC removal, while the F400 GAC was best in terms of TON removal. Excitation emission matrix(EEM) analysis was used to show that GAC adsorption successfully removed most of Humic-like DOC and Fulvic-like DOCs. However, soluble microbial product(SMP)-like DOC in the absence of raw water were detected in the NORIT40S and Aquasorb1500 GAC. The authors assumed that this results is due probably to the part of GAC in the RSSCT which was converted into biological activated carbon(BAC). To compare with organics removal by GAC according to preloading, the virgin GACs had readily accessible sites that were adsorbed DOC more rapidly than preloaded GACs, but the TDN removal had not showed differences between those GACs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.205-212
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• 2008

This study aimed to investigate the biofilm formation, bacterial regrowth, and bacterial community structure in the granular-activated carbon (GAC) filter adsorbers (FAs) used in water treatment plants. In 2005 and 2006, raw water, settled water, GAC FA by depth, and filtered water were collected twice a year from water treatment plants (WTPs) B and S. The number of heterotrophic bacteria, including mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, in such collected waters was investigated along with the total number of coliforms therein. Heterotrophic bacteria were detected in most samples, mainly at the surface layers of the GAC FAs, and fewer such bacteria were found in the lower and bottom layers. An increase in the bacterial number, however, was observed in the samples from various depths of the GAC FAs in WTPs B and S compared with the surface layers. An increase in the bacterial number was also detected in the filtered water. This may indicate that there is a regrowth of the bacteria in the GAC FA. Considering, however, that heterotrophic bacteria were not found in the filtered water, it can be deduced that most bacteria are removed in the chlorination process. Coliforms were detected at the surface layer of the GAC FAs, but their regrowth was not observed. MicroLog systems were used to identify the bacteria community distribution. Eight genera and 14 species, including Pseudomonas spp., were detected in WTP B, and 8 genera and 9 species, including Aeromonas spp., in WTP S. Further studies are required to elucidate their role in the biofilms in water treatment processes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.586-593
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• 2007

Seed coating by a phenazine-producing bacterium, Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6, induced dose-dependent inhibition of germination in wheat and barley seeds, but did not inhibit germination of rice or cucumber seeds. In wheat seedlings grown from inoculated seeds, phenazine production levels near the seed were higher than in the roots. Deletion of the gacS gene reduced transcription from the genes required for phenazine synthesis, the regulatory phzI gene and the biosynthetic phzA gene. The inhibition of seed germination and the induction of systemic disease resistance against a bacterial soft-rot pathogen, Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, were impaired in the gacS and phzA mutants of P chlororaphis O6. Culture filtrates of the gacS and phzA mutants of P. chlororaphis O6 did not inhibit seed germination of wheat, whereas that of the wild-type was inhibitory. Our results showed that the production of phenazines by P. chlororaphis O6 was correlated with reduced germination of barley and wheat seeds, and the level of systemic resistance in tobacco against E. carotovora.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.18-23
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• 2001

Air pollutants, phenol was generated in case of thermal regeneration of used activated carbon loaded with phenol and because of this problem, removal process of phenol were studied. Electrolytic oxidation of samples, used S.company granular activated carbon (WS-GAC), used C.company granular activated carbon (WC-GAC) and used L.company granular activated carbon (WL-GAC) loaded with phenol carried out by potentiostatic method in this study. In case of experiment was to come into operation in condition of samples containing 100 mg/g phenol, supporting electrolyte was 1.0% sodium chloride solution, Ti-Ir (10$\times$10$\textrm{cm}^2$) electrode and electrode distance was 2 cm, current density was $1.25 A/dm^2$, Obtained from the results of electrolytic oxidation experiments were not detected residual phenol. And then we knew about reaction time of electrolytic oxidation, current density, concentration of supporting electrolyte and electrode and electrode distance were 60 minutes, 1.25 A/dm$^2$, 1.0%, 2 cm.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.99-109
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• 2016

We investigated the relation between the presence of geosmin in water and the bacterial community structure within the granular activated carbon (GAC) system of water treatment plants in South Korea. GAC samples were collected in May and August of 2014 at three water treatment plants (Sungnam, Koyang, and Yeoncho in Korea). Dissolved organic carbon and geosmin were analyzed before and after GAC treatment. Geosmin was found in raw water from Sungnam and Koyang water treatment plants but not in that from Yeoncho water treatment plant. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the 16S rRNA clone library indicated that the bacterial communities from the Sungnam and Koyang GAC systems were closely related to geosmin-degrading bacteria. Based on the phylogenetic tree and multidimensional scaling plot, bacterial clones from GAC under the influence of geosmin were clustered with Variovorax paradoxus strain DB 9b and Comamonas sp. DB mg. In other words, the presence of geosmin in water might have inevitably contributed to the growth of geosmin degraders within the respective GAC system.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.65-72
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• 2013

Adsorption of melamine was examined using columns packed with granular activated carbon (GAC). Raw GAC was sieved with 20, 40, 60 and 80 mesh to determine the influence of adsorbent particle size on reaction and diffusion. The mass ratio of the adsorption capacity of GAC for melamine ranged from 9.19 to 11.06%, and adsorption rates increased with decreasing particle size within this range. Rate constants between 3.295 ~ 4.799 $min^{-1}$ were obtained using a pseudofirst-order equation that was used to determine adsorption kinetics. A surface diffusion model was adapted to take into account the unsteady-state equation of a spherical adsorbent by converting the surface concentration from a constant to a variable governed by a dispersion equation. The calculated values were fit with the experimental results by using the diffusion coefficients as regression parameters. The modified equation exhibited a more precise agreement with respect to the sum of the absolute error (SAE).

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.419-424
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• 2007

According to increase of consumer's desire for clean tap water, advanced treatment processes include with membrane, ozone, and granular activated carbon(GAC) were introduced. In order to evaluate the effect of advanced treatment processes for residual chlorine decay and trihalomethane(THM) formation in water distribution system, dissolved organic matter(DOC) removal of each advanced treatment process was investigated. The residual chlorine decay and THM formation using bottle tests were also evaluated. $UV_{254}$ removal in all advanced treatment was better than DOC removal. Especially, DOC by ozone treated was removed as 4% in contrast with sand filtered water, but $UV_{254}$ was removed about 17%. This result might be due to convert from hydrophobic DOC to hydrophilic DOC by ozonation. Ozone/GAC process was most effective process for DOC removal. The residual chlorine decay constants in treated water by sand filtration, ozonation, GAC adsorption, and ozone/GAC processes were 0.0230, 0.0307, 0.0117 and 0.0098 $hr^{-1}$, respectively. The sand filtered water was produced 81.8 ${\mu}g/L$ of THM after 190 hours of reaction time, as the treated water by ozone, GAC, and Ozone/GAC was less produced 6.0, 26.2, 30.3% in contrast with sand filtered water, respectively. Consequently, the durability of residual chlorine and reduction of THM formation were improved by advanced treatment processes.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.289-292
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• 2014

The effect of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) on global warming is serious problem. The adsorption with solid sorbents is one of the most appropriate options. In this study, the most interesting adsorbent is granular activated carbon (GAC). It is suitable material for $CO_2$ adsorption because of its simple availability, many specific surface area, and low-cost material. Afterwards, GAC was impregnated with chitosan solution as impregnated granular activated carbon (CGAC) in order to improve the adsorption capacity of GAC. This research aims to compare the physical and chemical characteristics of GAC and CGAC. The experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of $CO_2$ adsorption between GAC and CGAC. The results indicated that the iodine number of GAC and CGAC was 137.17 and 120.30 mg/g, respectively. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller results (BET) of both GAC and CGAC show that specific surface area was 301.9 and $531.3m^2/g$, respectively; total pore volume was 0.16 and $0.29cm^3/g$, respectively; and mean diameter of pore was 2.18 and 2.15 nm, respectively. Finally, the $CO_2$ adsorption results of both GAC and CGAC in single column how the maximum adsorption capacity was 0.17 and 0.25 mol/kg, respectively; how degeneration time was 49.6 and 80.0 min, respectively; and how the highest efficiency of $CO_2$ adsorption was 91.92% and 91.19%, respectively.