• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.147-154
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• 2015

Environmental impact assessment techniques have been developed as a result of the worldwide efforts to reduce the environmental impact of global warming. By using the quantification method in the construction industry, it is now possible to manage the greenhouse gas is to systematically evaluate the impact on the environment over the entire construction process. In particular, the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions at the production stage of construction material occupied is high, and efforts are needed in the construction field. In this study, intended for concrete products for the construction materials, by using the LCA evaluation method, we compared the results of environmental impact assessment and carbon emissions of developing products that have been applied low-carbon technologies compared to existing products. As a result, by introducing a raw material of industrial waste, showed carbon reduction. Through a comparison of the carbon emission reduction effect of low-carbon technologies, it is intended to provide academic data for the evaluation of greenhouse gases in the construction sector and the development of low-carbon technologies of the future.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.16-19
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• 2012

Increasing rice grain yield is critical for feeding rapid increasing of Asian population. However, global warming effect may be negative for sustainable rice production. Therefore it is essential to develop technologies not only for increasing grain yield but also for reducing global warming effect. Biochar, which is carbonized biomass, has a great potential of carbon sequestration and soil quality improvement, which can contribute grain yield increasing. In this study, rice yield responses to biochar application on the rice cropping system were evaluated with field experiments under different water management practices at the research farm of the University of Missouri-Columbia Delta Research Center, Portageville, MO. Biochar (i.e., $4Mg\;ha^{-1}$) was produced using field scale pyrolyzer and incorporated into the field 4 months prior to planting. Rice was grown under three different water management practices. Result showed that no significant yield difference was found in the biochar application plots compared to rice hull and control plots from the 2 years field study at the very fertile soil. However, rainfed management results in severe reduction of yield. Research concludes that the biochar application does not significantly influence on rice yield increasing especially for very fertile soils.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2015

The potential impact of water temperature on sea level and air temperature rise in response to recent global warming has been noticed. To predict the effect of temperature change on river water quality and aquatic environment, it is necessary to understand and predict the change of water temperature. Air-water temperature relationship was analyzed using air temperature data at Buan and water temperature data of Shinsi, Garyeok, Mangyeong and Dongjin. Maximum and minimum water temperature was predicted by neural network and the results show a very high correlation between measured and predicted water temperature.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.165-179
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• 2012

Indirect $CO_2$ effect due to non-methane volatile organic compound (NMVOC) emissions from solvent and product use and fugitive NMVOC emissions from fuels in the Republic of Korea and 13 Annex I countries under United Nations Framework on Climate Change were estimated and the proportions of them to total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ranged from 0.092% to 0.45% in 2006. Indirect greenhouse effect ($CO_2$, $CH_4$, and $O_3$) were estimated at 13 photochemical assessment monitoring sites in the Republic of Korea using concentrations of 8 NMVOCs of which indirect global warming potential (GWP) were available. The contribution of toluene to mixing ratio was highest at 11 sites and however, the contribution of toluene to indirect greenhouse effect was highest at nine sites. In contrast to toluene, the contributions of ethane, butane, and ethylene were enhanced. The indirect greenhouse effects of ethane and propane, of which ozone formation potentials are the lowest and the third lowest respectively among targeted 10 NMVOCs, ranked first and fourth highest respectively. Acetaldehyde has relatively higher maximum incremental reactivity and is classified as probable human carcinogen however, its indirect GWP ranked second lowest.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.547-552
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• 2014

As global warming in recent years has raised ever more critical concern, refrigerants with high global warming potentials (GWP) are facing the challenge of being phased out. R410A, with a GWP of 2,088, has been widely used in residential air-conditioning and heat pump systems. A potential substitute for R410A is R32, which has a GWP of 675. The present study presents experimental results of an inverter heat pump system that uses R32 as an alternative refrigerant to R410A. Drop-in tests with R32 indicated that the energy efficiency ratio of the system increased by 5.3% in cooling standard mode, and by 4.2% in heating standard mode at the same capacity; and that the cooling and heating capacity increased by about 12% at the same compressor operating frequency, while the annual performance factor (APF) of the system increased by 5.3%.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2022

SF₆ is used as an insulating gas because of its excellent electrical insulation properties, non-toxicity, and non-inflammability. On the other hand, the global warming potential of SF₆ is 23,900 times higher than that of CO₂. The Korea electric power cooperation (KEPCO) is responsible for 80% of the domestic SF₆ usage, and approximately 6,000 tons are currently charged in electrical and power facilities. KEPCO will gradually replace the insulating gas with SF₆-free gas from 2023. SF₆ decomposition facilities are required because more than 60 tons of SF₆ will need to be disposed of annually from existing equipment. This study developed a novel decomposition and pollution control system that can process 60 tons of SF₆ per year. This facility can decompose more than 97.7% of SF₆, with the emissions of hazardous and toxic materials below the legal limit.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2021.05a
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• pp.146-147
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• 2021

An increase in carbon emissions leads to the problem of global warming and is an issue to be solved in other countries. The problem of carbon dioxide has many effects not only on global warming but also on people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 4.3 million people have died because harmful substances generated indoors cannot be discharged to the outside and accumulate in the human body through the respiratory tract. In response to this situation, in order to reduce the generation of pollutants in the building itself, soak into lightweight bubble concrete to adsorb and purify indoor pollutants, mix charcoal, investigate the appropriate amount and physical characteristics, and check carbon dioxide This is an experiment for grasping the adsorption capacity, and the results are as follows. As the replacement rate of rice husk charcoal increased, the compressive strength tended to decrease, and the carbon dioxide reduction rate tended to increase. It is judged that the charcoal of rice husks shows a low density and the physical adsorption is smooth due to the porous structure. Since it is excellent in the basic physical properties and carbon dioxide adsorption surface of this experiment, it is judged that it has sufficient potential for use as an indoor finishing material.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.203-209
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• 2022

An environmental evaluation was conducted by employing LCA methodology for a mechanical seal manufacturing process that uses recycled silicon recovered from end-of-cycle PV modules. The recycled silicon was purified and reacted with carbon to synthesize β-SiC particles. Then the particles underwent compression molding, calcination and heat treatment to produce a product. Field data were collected and the potential environmental impacts of each stage were calculated using the LCI DB of the Ministry of Environment. The assessment was based on 6 categories, which were abiotic resource depletion, acidification, eutrophication, global warming, ozone depletion and photochemical oxidant creation. The environmental impacts by category were 45 kg CO₂ for global warming and 2.23 kg C₂H₄ for photochemical oxide creation, and the overall environmental impact by photochemical oxide creation, resource depletion and global warming had a high contribution of 98.7% based on weighted analysis. The wet process of fine grinding and mixing the raw silicon and carbon, and SiC granulation were major factors that caused the environmental impacts. These impacts need to be reduced by converting to a dry process and using a system to recover and reuse the solvent emitted to the atmosphere. It was analyzed that the environmental impacts of resource depletion and global warming decreased by 53.9% and 60.7%, respectively, by recycling silicon from end-of-cycle PV modules. Weighted analysis showed that the overall environmental impact decreased by 27%, and the LCA analysis confirmed that recycling waste modules could be a major means of resource saving and realizing carbon neutrality.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.313-327
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• 2021

Background: Citizen science is becoming a mainstream approach of baseline data collection to monitor biodiversity and climate change. Dragonflies (Odonata) have been ranked as the highest priority group in biodiversity monitoring for global warming. Ischnura senegalensis Rambur has been designated a biological indicator of climate change and is being monitored by the citizen science project "Korean Biodiversity Observation Network." This study has been performed to understand changes in the distribution range of I. senegalensis in response to climate change using citizen science data in South Korea. Results: We constructed a dataset of 397 distribution records for I. senegalensis, ranging from 1980 to 2020. The number of records sharply increased over time and space, and in particular, citizen science monitoring data accounted for the greatest proportion (58.7%) and covered the widest geographical range. This species was only distributed in the southern provinces until 2010 but was recorded in the higher latitudes such as Gangwon-do, Incheon, Seoul, and Gyeonggi-do (max. Paju-si, 37.70° latitude) by 2020. A species distribution model showed that the annual mean temperature (Bio1; 63.2%) and the maximum temperature of the warmest month (Bio5; 16.7%) were the most critical factors influencing its distribution. Future climate change scenarios have predicted an increase in suitable habitats for this species. Conclusions: This study is the first to show the northward expansion in the distribution range of I. senegalensis in response to climate warming in South Korea over the past 40 years. In particular, citizen science was crucial in supplying critical baseline data to detect the distribution change toward higher latitudes. Our results provide new insights on the value of citizen science as a tool for detecting the impact of climate change on ecosystems in South Korea.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2010

Biodiesel is a type of biofuel obtained from bioresources and able to use in diesel vehicles as an alternative/additive to petro diesel. In recent biodiesel research, there are three main issues which include high quality biodiesel, low cost feed stock and a highly efficient biodiesel production process. The sustainable production and use of biodiesel are attracting much attention in the renewable energy field. In this paper, we review some of the literatures related to environmental and economic evaluation for biodiesel production and analysis the issues including life cycle assessment (LCA), global warming potential (GWP), energy consumption, biodiesel production cost, production technologies and feedstock.