• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.203-204
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• 2022

This study reviewed the impact resistance properties according to the thickness of concrete as part of a research on the protection technology for high-velocity projectile that may occur during an explosion of small green energy facilities such as a hydrogen station and an energy storage system.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.126-134
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• 2024

Biogas, composed mainly of methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), is a renewable gas that can serve as an alternative energy source. In this study, we developed a new microwave reformer and analyzed its reforming characteristics. We observed that higher temperatures of the microwave receptor led to increased reforming efficiency. By supplying appropriate amounts of methane and steam, we could prevent carbon generated from the thermal decomposition reaction of carbon dioxide from depositing on the catalytic active layer, thus avoiding the inhibition of catalytic activity. Hydrogen generation was enhanced when maintaining the biogas ratio and steam supply at adequate levels. Increasing the SiC ratio in the receptor improved the uniformity of temperature distribution and growth rate, resulting in higher conversion rates of the reforming process.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.482-493
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• 2005

Biomass is originally photosynthesized from inorgainic compounds such as $CO_2$, minerals, water and solar energy. Recent studies have shown that anaerobic bacteria have the ability to convert recalcitrant biomass such as cellullosic or chitinoic materials to useful compounds. The biomass containing agricultural waste, unutilized wood and other garbage is expected to utilize as feed, food and fuel by microbial degradation and other metabolic functions. In this study we isolated several anaerobic, cellulolytic and chitinolytic bacteria from rumen fluid, compost and soil to study their related enzymes and genes. The anaerobic and cellulolytic bacteria, Clostridium thermocellum, Clostridium stercorarium, and Clostridium josui, were isolated from compost and the chitinolytic Clostridium paraputrificum from beach soil and Ruminococcus albus was isolated from cow rumen. After isolation, novel cellulase and xylanase genes from these anaerobes were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The properties of the cloned enzymes showed that some of them were the components of the enzyme (cellulase) complex, i.e., cellulosome, which is known to form complexes by binding cohesin domains on the cellulase integrating protein (Cip: or core protein) and dockerin domains on the enzymes. Several dockerin and cohesin polypeptides were independently produced by E. coli and their binding properties were specified with BIAcore by measuring surface plasmon resonance. Three pairs of cohesin-dockerin with differing binding specificities were selected. Two of their genes encoding their respective cohesin polypeptides were combined to one gene and expressed in E. coli as a chimeric core protein, on which two dockerin-dehydrogenase chimeras, the dockerin-formaldehyde dehydrogenase and the dockerin-NADH dehydrogenase are planning to bind for catalyzing $CO_2$ reduction to formic acid by feeding NADH. This reaction may represent a novel strategy for the reduction of the green house gases. Enzymes from the anaerobes were also expressed in tobacco and rice plants. The activity of a xylanase from C. stercorarium was detected in leaves, stems, and rice grain under the control of CaMV35S promoter. The digestibility of transgenic rice leaves in goat rumen was slightly accelerated. C. paraputrificum was found to solubilize shrimp shells and chitin to generate hydrogen gas. Hydrogen productivity (1.7 mol $H_2/mol$ glucos) of the organism was improved up to 1.8 times by additional expression of the own hydrogenase gene in C. paraputrficum using a modified vector of Clostridiu, perfringens. The hydrygen producing microflora from soil, garbage and dried pelletted garbage, known as refuse derived fuel(RDF), were also found to be effective in converting biomass waste to hydrogen gas.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.915-923
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• 2009

For preparation of high-quality salted mackerel using enzymatic extracts from Ecklonia cava (EEC) to process fresh mackerel caught off Jeju Island, the optimal concentration of EEC was investigated. There were no differences in proximate composition, salinity, Escherichia coli level, pH, volatile basic nitrogen content, histamine level, or peroxide value between salted mackerel samples prepared with different concentrations of EEC. However, the antiradical properties of salted mackerel, assayed by scavenging of DPPH free radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and alkyl radicals, increased with increasing concentrations of EEC. The optimal concentration of EEC for preparation of high-quality salted mackerel was 2% (w/w). Salted mackerel soaked in 2% (w/w) EEC was superior to commercial salted mackerel in antiradical properties, biogenic amine content, and other relevant chemical properties.

• Clean Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.300-305
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• 2013

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and reduced graphite oxide (rGO) composites were synthesized and tested as adsorbents for the hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$) adsorption at mid-to-high (300 to $500^{\circ}C$) temperatures. In order to investigate the critical roles of oxygen containing functional groups, such as hydroxyl, epoxy and carboxyl groups, attached on rGO surface for the $H_2S$ adsorption, various characterization methods (TGA, XRD, FT-IR, SEM and XPS) were conducted. For the reduction process for graphite oxide (GO) to rGO, a microwave irradiation method was used, and it provided a mild reduction environment which can remain substantial amount of oxygen functional groups on rGO surface. Those functional groups were anchoring and holding nano-sized ZnO onto the 2D rGO surface; and it prevented the aggregation effect on the ZnO particles even at high temperature ranges. Therefore, the $H_2S$ adsorption capacity had been increased about 3.5 times than the pure ZnO.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.95-104
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• 2022

Micro hydropower is a readily available renewable energy source that can be harvested utilizing hydrokinetic turbines from shallow water canals, irrigation and industrial channel flows, and run-off river stream flows. These sources generally have low head (<1 m) and low velocity which makes it difficult to harvest energy using conventional turbines. A horizontal-axis screw turbine was designed and numerically tested to extract power from such low-head water sources. The 3-bladed screw-type turbine is placed horizontally perpendicular to the incoming flow, partially submerged in a narrow water channel at no-head condition. The turbine hydraulic performances were studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics models. Turbine design parameters such as the shroud diameter, the hub-to-shroud ratios, and the submerged depths were obtained through a steady-state parametric study. The resulting turbine configuration was then tested by solving the unsteady multiphase free-surface equations mimicking an actual open channel flow scenario. The turbine performance in the shallow channel were studied for various Tip Speed Ratios (TSR). The highest power coefficient was obtained at a TSR of 0.3. The turbine was then scaled-up to test its performance on a real site condition at a head of 0.3 m. The highest power coefficient obtained was 0.18. Several losses were observed in the 3-bladed turbine design and to minimize losses, the number of blades were increased to five. The power coefficient improved by 236% for a 5-bladed screw turbine. The fluid losses were minimized by increasing the blade surface area submerged in water. The turbine performance was increased by 74.4% after dipping the turbine to a bottom wall clearance of 30 cm from 60 cm. The final output of the novel horizontal-axis screw turbine showed a 2.83 kW power output at a power coefficient of 0.63. The turbine is expected to produce 18,744 kWh/year of electricity. The design feasibility test of the turbine showed promising results to harvest energy from small hydropower sources.

• Clean Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.320-326
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• 2013

Nano-sized PtRu-Ni/VC and PtRu-Sn/VC electrocatalysts were synthesized by a one-step radiation-induced reduction (RIR) (30 kGy) process using distilled water as the solvent and Vulcan XC-72 as the supporting material. The obtained electrocatalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope energy dispersive spectroscopic (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The catalytic efficiency of electrocatalysts was examined for oxygen reduction, MeOH oxidation and CO stripping decreased in the following order, Hydrogen stripping : PtRu-Sn/VC > PtRu-Ni/VC > PtRu/VC$^{(R)}$ (E-TEK). MeOH oxidation : PtRu-Sn/VC > PtRu-Ni/VC > PtRu/ VC$^{(R)}$ (E-TEK). Unit cell performance : PtRu-Sn/VC > PtRu-Ni/VC > PtRu/VC$^{(R)}$ (E-TEK) catalysts.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.332-342
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• 2013

In the present study, carbon molecular sieve (CMS) hollow fiber membranes were prepared by carbonizing a methyl imide hollow fiber precursor, which was spun by non-solvent induced phase separation process. And effects of carbonization parameters such as pre-oxidation, pyrolysis, and post-oxidation on the gas permeation were systematically investigated. CMS membrane having the highest gas flux was obtained by carbonizing the precursor through a combined process of air pre-oxidation at $250^{\circ}C$ for 2h, nitrogen pyrolysis at $550^{\circ}C$ for 2h, and oxygen post-oxidation at $250^{\circ}C$ for 2h. The optimized membrane showed a considerable gas permeance : the $H_2$, He, $CO_2$ permeances were 69.72, 35.61, 31.01 GPU, respectively, and the $O_2$ and $N_2$ permeances were ignorable. Therefore, it was clear that the prepared CMS hollow fiber membrane was a promising membrane for recovering small gases such as hydrogen and hellium and carbon dioxide.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.549-564
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between harmful free radicals and antioxidants. Long-term oxidative stress can lead to an "exhausted" status of antioxidant defense system triggering development of metabolic syndrome and chronic inflammation. Green perilla (Perilla frutescens) is commonly used in Asian cuisines and traditional medicine in southeast Asia. Green perilla possesses numerous beneficial effects including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions. To investigate the potentials of green perilla leaf extract (PE) on oxidative stress, we induced oxidative stress by high-fat diet (HFD) in aging mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: C57BL/6J male mice were fed HFD continuously for 53 weeks. Then, mice were divided into three groups for 12 weeks: a normal diet fed reference group (NDcon), high-fat diet fed group (HDcon), and high-fat diet PE treated group (HDPE, 400 mg/kg of body weight). Biochemical analyses of serum and liver tissues were performed to assess metabolic and inflammatory damage and oxidative status. Hepatic gene expression of oxidative stress and inflammation related enzymes were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: PE improved hepatopathology. PE also improved the lipid profiles and antioxidant enzymes, including hepatic glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in serum and liver. Hepatic gene expressions of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory related enzymes, such as SOD-1, CAT, interleukin 4 (IL-4) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) were significantly enhanced by PE. PE also reduced the levels of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the serum and liver; moreover, PE suppressed hepatic gene expression involved in pro-inflammatory response; Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin 6 (IL-6). CONCLUSIONS: This research opens opportunities for further investigations of PE as a functional food and possible anti-aging agent due to its attenuative effects against oxidative stress, resulting from HFD and aging in the future.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.49-53
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• 2016

The present study demonstrates the effect of freezing conditions on the pore structure of porous Cu-10 wt.% Sn prepared by freeze drying of $CuO-SnO_2$/camphene slurry. Mixtures of CuO and $SnO_2$ powders are prepared by ball milling for 10 h. Camphene slurries with 10 vol.% of $CuO-SnO_2$ are unidirectionally frozen in a mold maintained at a temperature of $-30^{\circ}C$ for 1 and 24 h, respectively. Pores are generated by the sublimation of camphene at room temperature. After hydrogen reduction and sintering at $650^{\circ}C$ for 2 h, the green body of the $CuO-SnO_2$ is completely converted into porous Cu-Sn alloy. Microstructural observation reveals that the sintered samples have large pores which are aligned parallel to the camphene growth direction. The size of the large pores increases from 150 to $300{\mu}m$ with an increase in the holding time. Also, the internal walls of the large pores contain relatively small pores whose size increases with the holding time. The change in pore structure is explained by the growth behavior of the camphene crystals and rearrangement of the solid particles during the freezing process.