• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.1 s.47
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• pp.39-48
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• 2006

X-ray diffaction and chemical analysis were used for mineralogical characteristics of weathering grade of granite and biotite gneiss. Granite is composed mainly of quartz, albite, and minor K-feldspar and biotite gneiss is biotite, quartz, albite. Illite and kaolinite increased in granite, and vermiculite and halloysite in biotite gneiss as increasing weathering process. The percentages of $Al{2}O_{3}$ increase but that of CaO, $Na_{2}O,\;K_{2}O$ decrease as the weathering process. $Fe_{2}O_{3}$ different from granite and biotite gneiss.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2021

The behaviors of various desorption agents were investigated during the desorption of cesium (Cs) from samples of clay minerals and actual soil. Results showed that polymeric cation exchange agents (polyethyleneimine (PEI)) efficiently desorbed Cs from expandable montmorillonite, whereas acidic desorption solutions containing HCl or PEI removed considerable Cs from hydrobiotite. However, most desorption agents could desorb only 54% of Cs from illite because of Cs's specific adsorption to selective adsorption sites. Cs desorption from an actual soil sample containing Cs-selective clay mineral illite (< 200 ㎛) and extracted from near South Korea's Kori Nuclear Power Plant was also investigated. Considerable adsorbed 137Cs was expected to be located at Cs-selective sites when the 137Cs loading was much lower than the sample's cation exchange capacity. At this low 137Cs loading, the total Cs amount desorbed by repeated washing varied by desorption agent in the order HCl > PEI > NH4+, and the highest Cs desorption amount achieved using HCl was 83%. Unlike other desorption agents with only cation exchange capabilities, HCl can attack minerals and induce dissolution of metallic elements. HCl's ability to both alter minerals and induce H+/Cs+ ion exchange is expected to promote Cs desorption from actual soil samples.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2023

In previous studies, solely ferric (Fe³⁺) and calcium (Ca²⁺) ions were commonly used for removal of PO₄-P (considered as T-P in this study) in wastewater via chemical precipitation. Herein, the removal of total phosphorus (T-P) in wastewater was performed using various mineral and lime dissolved solutions. The dissolution kinetics of different minerals (feldspar, olivine, elvan, illite, sericite, and zeolite) and lime was compared and used their solutions for T-P removal of real wastewater. The highest T-P removal (almost 90%) was obtained by the lime dissolved solution and followed by zeolite, illite, feldspar, and others. We observed a significant co-relationship (R of 0.96) between the amount of initial Ca²⁺ and T-P removal. This was induced by formation of hydroxyapatite-like mineral via Ca-P precipitation reaction at high pH solution. Furthermore, additional removal of suspended solid (SS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) was achieved by only lime dissolved solution. Finally, the lime-feldspar dissolved solutions were prepared at different ratios (10-50%), which showed a successive T-P removal up to two times by samples of 40 and 50%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.3242-3254
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• 2024

With the increasing usage of nuclear energy, how to properly dispose nuclear waste becomes a critical issue. In this study, a multiscale modeling approach combining the experimental findings is presented to address the illitization process, its impact on transport properties, and system behavior of bentonite buffer in engineered barrier systems (EBS). Through the pore-scale modeling, reactive transport properties such as illite generation rate and effective diffusion coefficient of potassium ion as a function of porosity and temperature are quantified by employing the findings of hydrothermal reaction experiments of Bentonil-WRK. The capability of pore-scale modeling has been developed based on the Darcy-Brinkmann-Stokes equation, involving the processes of smectite illitization and clay swelling. Obtained reactive transport properties are utilized as input parameters for the macroscale modeling to predict the long-term behavior of bentonite buffer in EBS. As such, this study involves the whole workflow of quantifying the reaction parameters of smectite illitization through the hydrothermal reaction experiments, and numerically modeling the reactive transport process of smectite illitization in bentonite buffer of EBS from pore-scale to macroscale. The presented multiscale modeling findings are expected to provide reliable solution for safe nuclear waste disposal with EBS.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.168-178
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• 1994

Acid sulfate soils occur extensively in Gimhae area where they have been formed from the brackish alluvial sediments along the sea coast and river estuary. The strong acid environment enhances silicate weathering and thus affects the soil clay minerals. The minerals were identified through chemical, X-ray diffraction and thermal methods. The ratio of $SiO_2$ and $Al_2O_3$ in the clay fractions ranged from 3.14 to 3.77, indicating that the distribution of the clay minerals were 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 minerals. Cation exchange capacity in the clay fractions was low due to high contents of 1 : 1 minerals and hydroxy interlayered vermiculite(HIV). The B and C horizon rich in jarosite have large amounts of yellow streaks which reflect high content of $Fe_2O_3$ and $K_2O$. Vermiculite and illite were quantified from thermogravimetry(TG), kaolin minerals from both TG and differential thermal analysis(DTA), and HIV from X-ray diffraction analysis. The dominant clay minerals were kaolin minerals, vermiculite, illite and HIV. HIV considered to be formed, especially, in acid soil environments. The minor minerals were quarts, feldspar, jarosite, pyrite, hematite and goethite. Kaolin minerals were the most abundant clay minerals throughout the acid sulfate soil. Kaolin minerals, however, increased towards the top of horizons throughout the soils and HIV decreased towards the top of horizons in the soil of Gimhae series and Haecheog series. Alteration of HIV to kaolin minerals during weathering of low pH condition in deep soil horizons may explain the high quantities of kaolin minerals and the relatively low quantities of HIV in the soil at top horizons.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.349-360
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• 2016

This study determined mineralogical characteristics and discussed the meaning of mineralogical changes of the lower Choseon Supergrouop in the Weondong area based on the field geological investigation and the drilling core description using X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineral quantification and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) observation. 100 samples with depth were collected from the core (250 m long) at a site in the study area. Especially, to investigate the changes from the upper Daegi Formation to the lower Hwajeol Formation, the samples were collected closely with the interval of about 0.3 m at this section. All samples were made into power using mortar for XRD. Mineral quantitative analysis was executed using Relative Intensity Ratio (RIR) method with corundum as an internal standard phase. Calcite, $2M_1$ illite and quartz are main constituents in most of samples. Dolomite and siderite are significantly observed in the Sesong Formation. As the results of quantitative analysis for the major minerals, the upper Daegi Formation is dominated by calcite with over 80%. The Sesong Formation includes high percentage of dolomite and siderite with the intercalation of thin layers containing high calcite and $2M_1$ illite contents. Hwajeol Formation is characterized by the alternation between thin layers of $2M_1$ illite and quartz-dominated layer (IQDL) and calcite-dominated layer (CDL). IQDL is more frequent in the lower part, whereas CDL is more common in the upper part. The boundary between Daegi Formation and the Sesong Formation is distinct, whereas the boundary between the Sesong Formation and the Hwajeol Formation tends to be changed gradually in mineralogy. The result of SEM observation shows that quartz and $2M_1$ illite are detrital, and a significant amount of calcite also shows detrital form with some recrystallized one, indicating that the repeated influx of terrestrial materials had changed the mineralogy of the shallow sea depositional environment in the early Paleozoic era.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.175-183
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• 2020

There have rarely been performed for the clay mineralogy of the East Sea sediments except for few studies about paleoenvironmental aspect. This study inferred the provenance of sediments based on the clay mineral characteristics and distribution pattern for the 120 sediment samples collected by the box corer from the Gangneung-Donghae area between 2017-2019. The relative proportions of the four major clay minerals are abundant in the order of illite, chlorite, kaolinite, and smectite. The continental shelf sediments below water depth 150 m have more chlorite and kaolinite content and better illite crystallinity, but less illite and smectite content, and S/I index than those of continental slope sediments. Clay mineral composition of the continental shelf sediments are influenced by the adjacent continental geology, because north site (Gangneung area) has more chlorite but south site (Donghae area) has more kaolinite. These characteristics and distribution pattern of clay minerals indicate that the provenance of sediments are different between continental shelf and continental slop. The continental shelf sediments may be introduced the study area by the adjacent small rivers whereas the continental slope sediment might be supplied by current from the south of the study area.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.662-666
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• 2016

This study investigated removal of radionuclides (Cs, Sr) in surface water by coagulation and precipitation. Jar tests were conducted with various chemical and natural coagulants to remove the stabilized radionuclides ($^{133}Cs$, $^{88}Sr$). Chemical coagulants included aluminum sulfate, poly aluminum chloride, and poly aluminum hydroxide chloride silicate (PACS); natural coagulants (minerals) included illite and zeolite. Chemical coagulant alone could achieve removals of Cs and Sr less than 10%; The removals increased up to 23.1% for Cs and 17.8% for Sr with addition of poly-dimethyldiallylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC) along with the chemical coagulants. Compared with chemical coagulants, natural coagulants (minerals) could achieve higher removals of Cs and Sr. Addition of zeolite along with PACS and polyDADMAC increased the removal rates up to 36.9% for Cs and 17.1% for Sr.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2017

Here we present the timings of reactivated events from a fault in the northern Pohang area, which should be located at the northern-end of Yangsan fault line, the major fault in the southeastern Korean Peninsula. Recently developed illite-age-analysis (IAA) approach was employed for determining the fault-activated timing, combined with illite-polytype quantification using the optimized full-pattern-fitting (FPF) method, and K-Ar age-dating for each size fraction($<0.1{\mu}m$, $0.1-0.4{\mu}m$, and $0.4-1.0{\mu}m$) of 4 fault clay samples. Two chronological records of brittle fault-activation events were recognized at $19.6{\pm}1.86Ma$ and $26.1{\pm}2.55-27.9{\pm}3.46Ma$. The ages are much younger than those of fault clays from Sangcheon-ri area (41.5~43.5 and 50.7 Ma), the southern part of Yangsan fault line, and are close to the timing of East Sea-opening event. Further chronological analysis for additional sites of the Yangsan fault should be needed to reveal the time-scheme of the tectonic events and their spatial distributions along the fault line.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.99-114
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• 2004

Mineralogical characteristics of fracture-filling minerals from deep borehole in the Yuseong area were studied for the radioactive waste disposal project. There are many fracture zones in the deep drill holes of the Yuseong granite, which was locally affected by the hydrothermal alteration. According to the results of hole rock analysis of drill core samples, $SiO_2$ contents are distinctly decreased, whereas $Al_2$$O_3$ and CaO contents and L.O.I. values are increased in the -90 m∼-130 m and -230 m∼-250 m zone, which is related to the formations of filling minerals. Fracture-filling minerals mainly consist of zeolite minerals (laumontite and heulandite), calcite, illite ($2M_1$ and 1Md polytypes), chlorite, epidote and kaolinite. The relative frequency of occurrence among the fracture-filling minerals is calcite zeolite mineral > illite > epidote chlorite kaolinite. Judging from the SEM observation and EPMA analysis, there is no systematic change in the texture and chemical composition of the fracture-filling minerals with depth. In the study area, low temperature hydrothermal alteration was overlapped with water-rock interactions for a long geological time through the fracture zone developed in the granite body. Therefore the further study on the origin and paragenesis of the fracture-filling minerals are required.