• KIEAE Journal
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.29-36
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• 2011

The aim of this study was to study the functions and roles of Green Community Rediscovery Center (GCRC) in terms of community integration, to design GCRC with various types of green roofs, and to investigate the possibility of applying a renewable energy system (e.g., PV) to the building greenery systems. The four major functional modules for GCRC were suggested: implementation of ecopark and community gardens with environmental education programs, implementation of green housing model with education programs, Discover Science Center, and implementation of green business model with education programs. Three major functions of the center are also presented in terms of design: 1) functions of community gardens; 2) establishment of a green business model, community composting system and an urban farming system; and 3) roles of community gardens in social interactions within GCRC. GCRC provides residents with the opportunities of community gardens, urban farming based on a successful recycling system, as well as a green business model and environmental education programs near their homes. The air temperature of the green roof (utilizing Sedum sarmentosum as a cover plant) was approximately $3^{\circ}C$ lower than that of the non-green roof, indicating a potential efficiency increase in PV systems for GCRC. It was concluded that the GCRC suggested would enhance the neighborhood satisfaction, improve the quality of life and contribute to social integration and community regeneration.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.402-407
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• 2016

Ground-coupled heat pump systems have been widely used, as they are regarded as a renewable energy source and ensure a high annual efficiency. Among the system components, borehole heat exchangers (BHE) play an important role in decreasing the entering water temperature (EWT) to heat pumps in the cooling season, and consequently improve the COP. The optimal sizing of the BHEs is crucial for a successful project. Other than the existing sizing methods, a simulation-based design tool is more applicable for modern complex geothermal systems, and it may also be useful since design and engineering works operate on the same platform. A simulation-based sizing method is proposed in this study using the well-known Duct STorage (DST) model in Trnsys. TRNOPT, the Trnsys optimization tool, is used to search for an optimal value of the length of BHEs under given ground loads and ground properties. The result shows that a maximum EWT of BHEs during a design period (10 years) successfully approaches the design EWT while providing an optimal BHE length. Compared to the existing design tool, very similar lengths are calculated by both methods with a small error of 1.07%.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.488-499
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• 2016

We present a design and optical simulation of a cost-effective hybrid daylighting/LED system composed of mixing sunlight and light-emitting diode (LED) illumination powered by renewable solar energy for indoor lighting. In this approach, the sunlight collected by the concentrator is split into visible and non-visible rays by a beam splitter. The proposed sunlight collector consists of a Fresnel lens array. The non-visible rays are absorbed by the solar photovoltaic devices to provide electrical power for the LEDs. The visible rays passing through the beam splitters are coupled to a stepped thickness waveguide (STW) by tilted mirrors and confined by total internal reflection (TIR). LEDs are integrated at the end of the STW to improve the lighting quality. LEDs’ light and sunlight are mixed in the waveguide and they are coupled into an optical fiber bundle for indoor illumination. An optical sensor and lighting control system are used to control the LED light flow to ensure that the total output flux for indoor lighting is a fixed value when the sunlight is inadequate. The daylighting capacity was modeled and simulated with a commercial ray tracing software (Lighttools^TM). Results show that the system can achieve 63.8% optical efficiency at geometrical concentration ratio of 630. A required accuracy of sun tracking system achieved more than ±0.5^o . Therefore, our results provide an important breakthrough for the commercialization of large scale optical fiber daylighting systems that are faced with challenges related to high costs.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.87.2-87.2
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• 2011

Many type of fuel cell stacks have been developed to improve the efficiency of reactants usage. The cascade type fuel cell stack using dead end operation is able to attain above 99% usage of hydrogen and oxygen. It is sectionalized to several parts and the residual reactants which are used previous parts would be supplied again to next parts which have less number of cells in dead end operation stack. The oversupply of reactants which is usually 120%~150% of the theoretical amount to generate current for preventing the flooding effect could be provided to each part except the last one. The final section which is called monitoring cells is supposed to be supplied insufficient the fuel or oxidant that would have some accumulated inert gas from former parts. It makes some voltage drop in the part and the fresh reactants must be supplied to the part for recovering it by venting the residual gas. So the usage of fuel and oxidant is depend on the time and frequency of opening valves for venting of residual gas and it is important to optimize the vent logic for achieving higher usage of hydrogen and oxygen. In this research, many experiments are performed to find optimal condition by evaluating the effect of time and frequency under several power conditions using over 100kW class fuel cell module. And the characteristics of the monitoring cells are studied to know the proper cell voltage which decide the condition of opening the vent valve for stable performance of the cascade type fuel cell module.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2019.10a
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• pp.134-134
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• 2019

Utilization of organic waste as a renewable energy source is promising for sustainability and mitigation of climate change. Pyrolysis converts organic waste to gas, oil, and biochar by incomplete biomass combustion. Biochar is widely used as a soil conditioner and adsorbent. Biochar adsorbs/desorbs metals and ions depending on the soil environment and condition to act as a nutrient buffer in soils. Biochar is also regarded as a carbon storage by fixation of organic carbon. Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are strictly controlled in many wastewater treatment plants because it causes eutrophication in water bodies. P and N is removed by biological and chemical methods in wastewater treatment plants and transferred to sludge for disposal. On the other hand, P is an irreplaceable essential element for all living organisms and its resource (phosphate rock) is estimated about 100 years of economical mining. Therefore, P and N recovery from waste and wastewater is a critical issue for sustainable human society. For the purpose, intensive researches have been carried out to remove and recover P and N from waste and wastewater. Previous studies have shown that biochars can adsorb and desorbed phosphates implying that biochars could be a complementary fertilizer. However, most of the conventional biochar have limited capacity to adsorb phosphates and nitrate. Recent studies have focused on biochar impregnated with metal salts to improve phosphates and nitrate adsorption by synthesizing biochars with novel structures and surface properties. Metal salts and metal oxides have been used for the surface modification of biochars. If P removal is the only concern, P adsorption kinetics and capacity are the only important factors. If both of P and N removal and the application of recovery are concerned, however, P and N desorption characteristics and bioavailability are also critical factors to be considered. Most of the researches on impregnated biochars have focused on P removal efficiency and kinetics. In this study, coffee waste is thermally treated to produce biochar and it was impregnated with Mg/Al to enhance phosphates and nitrate adsorption/desorption and P bioavailability to increase its value as a fertilizer. Kinetics of phosphates and nitrate adsorption/desorption and bioavailability analysis were carried out to estimate its potential as a P and N removal adsorbent in wasewater and a fertilizer in soil.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.113-117
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• 2016

Recently, hydrogen is regarded as important energy in the future, because it is clean and renewable. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) system, which produce hydrogen using water splitting by solar energy, is one of the most promising energy systems because it has abundant energy sources and good theoretical efficiency. GaN has recently been regarded as suitable photoelectrode that could be used to split water to generate hydrogen without extra bias because its band edge position include water redox potential ($V_{redox}=1.23$ vs. SHE). GaN also shows considerable corrosion resistance in aqueous solutions and it is possible to control its properties, such as structure, band gap, and catalyst characteristics, in order to improve solar energy conversion efficiency. But, even if the band edge position of GaN make PEC reaction facilitate without bias, the overpotential of oxygen evolution reaction could reduce the efficiency of system. One of the ways to decrease overpotential is introduction of co-catalyst on photoelectrode. In this paper, we will investigate the effect of manganese dioxide ($MnO_2$) as a co-catalyst. $MnO_2$ particles were dispersed on GaN photoelectrode by spincoater and analyzed properties of the PEC system using potentiostat (PARSTAT4000). After coating $MnO_2$, the flat-band potential ($V_{fb}$) and the onset voltage ($V_{onset}$) were moved negatively by 0.195 V and 0.116 V, respectively. The photocurrent density increased on $MnO_2$ coated sample and time dependence was also improved. These results showed $MnO_2$ has an effect as a co-catalyst and it would enhance the efficiency of overall PEC system.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2018

This study conducted the Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) on waste rubber recycling technology for recovering rubber product from the waste tires. Environmental impacts were assessed for the five categories of impacts: global warming, resource depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxide production, and ozone layer depletion. When recycling 1ton of waste tire containing rubber, global warming impact was 1.77E+02 kg $CO_2-eq.$, resource depletion impact was 1.23E+00 kg Sb-eq., acidification impact was 5.92E-01 kg $SO_2-eq.$, eutrophication impact was 1.23E-01 kg $PO{_4}^{3-}-eq.$, photochemical oxide production impact was 3.42E-01 kg $C_2H_4-eq.$, and ozone layer depletion impact was 1.87E-04 kg CFC11-eq. In terms of overall environmental impacts, carbon, softener and electricity the greatest impact, so it is necessary to compare the environmental impacts of the raw materials to replace carbon and softener, and a method to reduce the filler usage in the process is needed. In addition, it is necessary to improve energy efficiency, change to low-energy sources, and apply renewable energy.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.187-192
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• 2019

Hybrid power storage system with emergency power function for demand management and power outage minimizes the investment cost in the building of buildings and factories requiring emergency power generation facilities, We propose a new business model by developing technology that can secure economical efficiency by reducing power cost at all times. Normally, system power is supplied to load through STS (Static Transfer Switch), and PCS is connected to system in parallel to perform demand management. In order to efficiently operate the electric power through demand forecasting, the EMS issues a charge / discharge command to the ESS as a PMS (Power Management System), and the PMS transmits the command to the PCS controller to operate the system. During the power outage, the STS is rapidly disengaged from the system, and the PCS becomes an independent power supply and can supply constant voltage / constant frequency power to the load side. Therefore, it is possible to secure reliability through verification of actual system linkage and independent operation performance of hybrid ESS, By enabling low-carbon green growth technology to operate in conjunction with an efficient grid, it is possible to improve irregular power quality and contribute to peak load by generating renewable energy through ESS linkage. In addition, the ESS is replacing the frequency follow-up reserve, which is currently under the charge of coal-fired power generation, and thus it is anticipated that the operation cost of the LNG generator with high fuel cost can be reduced.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 2020

Methanol synthesized from renewable hydrogen and captured CO2 has recently attracted great interest as a sustainable energy carrier for large-scale renewable energy storage. In this study, molten carbonate fuel cell's performance was investigated with the direct conversion of methanol into syngas inside the anode chamber of the cell. The internal reforming of methanol may significantly improve system efficiency since the heat generated from the electrochemical reaction can be used directly for the endothermic reforming reaction. The porous Ni-10 wt%Cr anode was sufficient for the methanol steam reforming reaction under the fuel cell operating condition. The direct supply of methanol into the anode chamber resulted in somewhat lower cell performance, especially at high current density. Recycling of the product gas into the anode gas inlet significantly improved the cell performance. The analysis based on material balance revealed that, with increasing current density and gas recycling ratio, the methanol steam reforming reaction rate likewise increased. A methanol conversion more significant than 90% was achieved with gas recycling. The results showed the feasibility of electricity and syngas co-production using the molten carbonate fuel cell. Further research is needed to optimize the fuel cell operating conditions for simultaneous production of electricity and syngas, considering both material and energy balances in the fuel cell.