• KSBB Journal
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 1993

The production of extracellular polysaccharide by Methylomonas mucosa (NRRL B-5696) was investigated. The microorganism uses methanol as the carbon source for their growth and produces exopolysaccharides. The productivity of exopolysaccharides was investigated under various culture modes: batch, fed-batch and continuous culture. In flask culture the growth of cell mass and the production of polysaccharide were inhibited at above 1% (v/v) methanol. At 1%(v/v) methanol maximum specific growth rate was obtained. As C/N ratio (g methanol/g ammonium sulfate) increased, polysaccharide production increased and cells mass decreased. Magnesium ion was also found to be essential for the polysaccharide production. In batch culture the production of polysaccharides was more affected by the specific growth rate than the cell concentration. In fed-batch culture the concentration of polysaccharide was 4 times higher than that of batch culture, but the yield was lower. The productivity of fed-batch with continuous feeding was higher than that of batch or fed-batch with intermittent feeding. This is due to no methanol limitation or inhibition that used to occur in fed-batch culture with intermittent feeding. In continuous culture pure oxygen was supplied to avoid the oxygen limitation. As the dilution rate in- creased up to 0.21 h-1, the yield and productivity increased. The solution viscosity of the produced polysaccharide obtained from above increased exponentially with the concentration of polysaccharide.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.347-351
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• 2012

This study was conducted to optim ize the composition of CEM (cabbage extract medium) and cryoprotectants on the growth of Lactobacillus plantarum, a probiotics growing in plant and milk. For this, we analyzed the growth characteristics of Lb. plantarum in CEM and subsequently optimized the medium composition by addition of carbon, nitrogen sources and buffering agents. Among carbon sources, glucose showed the best result to increase the cell density after dilution of CEM. When 0.5% yeast extract and 1% soy peptone were supplemented in the diluted CEM, Lb. plantarum grew up to the maximum cell density. Addition of buffering agents in CEM was not significantly effective to increase the cell density. Meanwhile, addition of 12% skim milk, 5% sucrose and 0.5% glycerol showed a cryoprotective effect against cell damage of Lb. plantarum during freeze drying process showing high survival rate after 150 days. This optimized CEM can be used for economical production of bacterial cells particularly originated from a plant-related ecosystem.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.236-240
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• 2004

Korean wastewaters have higher nitrogen concentrations than typical wastewaters of other countries. Most treatment processes such as activated sludge processes will need to supplement extra carbon sources for a complete removal of remaining nitrogen after the initial wastewater treatment, Because of these difficult matters, we have searched wastewater treatment methods that require no additional carbon sources. Wastewater treatment by microalgae in photobioreactors, using a green eukaryotic microalgae, Chlorella kessleri, showed a promising results and thus was selected to study further. This system is not intended to replace the conventional system but is to assist the existing biological treatment systems as a supplemental nitrogen removal process. Thus the secondary treated livestock wastewater was tested. Column type photobioreactors developed in our laboratory were used. When aerated with 5% CO$_2$ balanced with air at 1 vvm and illuminated at 100 ${\mu}$mol/㎡/s under 25$^{\circ}C$ and PH 7-8 by CO$_2$ buffering effect, the maximum nitrogen removal rate was 2.6 mg/L/hr. The results confirmed a possibility of microalgal wastewater treatment system as a secondary system to remove extra nitrogen sources. Based on these experimental results, the size of the optimal microalgal wastewater system was calculated. For the wastewater whose initial nitrogen concentration of 150 mg/L, the optimal batch system was found to be a 2 stage system with a combined retention time of 4.6 day. From the continuous experiments, nitrogen removal rates were examined under different dilution rates and 2 stage system was also found to be the optimal system. The combined retention time for the continuous system was 3.5 days. It is expected that conventional biological wastewater treatment systems followed by microalgal systems would reliably decrease the nitrogen concentration below the government criteria even for the livestock wastewater with low C/N ratio.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.440-447
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• 2007

In this study, a biosensor was developed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to rapidly measure the fungicide iprovalicarb residues in agricultural products. The biosensor was designed to include micro-pumps and solenoid valves for fluid transport, a spectrophotometer cuvet as a reaction chamber, a photodiode with a light-emitting diode for optical density measurement, and a control microcomputer to implement assay. The rate of change in optical density of the cuvet was read as final signal output. Micro-pumps were evaluated to investigate their delivery capability, the highest values of the error and the coefficient of variation were 4.3% and 4.6% respectively. As the incubation period was reduced from 15 minutes to 11 minutes to shorten the total processing time, the sensor sensitivity was decreased as the antibody dilution ratio was reduced to a half. The maximum usable period of the coated cuvet was found to be two days with 1% error limit. To predict the concentration of the iprovalicarb residue in agricultural products, a linear calibration model was obtained with r-square values of 0.992 for potato and 0.985 for onion. In validation test for the samples of potatoes and onions against the high performance liquid chromatography, very high correlation values were obtained as 0.996 and 0.993 respectively. Using the cuvet immobilized with antigen, it took 21-minutes for the biosensor to complete the measuring process of the iprovalicarb residues.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.430-435
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• 1987

A chitin-immobilized enzyme amyloglucosidase(AMG) and a bacterium Zymomonas mobilis were coentrapped in alginate gel beads. Ethanol production was performed in a packed bed column reactor in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation(SSF) mode using liquefied sago starch as a substrate. It was found that this process eliminated product inhibition and reverse reaction of glucose enhancing the rate of saccharification and ethanol production. At a low dilution rate of D = 0.11 hr$^{-1}$, the steady-state ethanol concentration was 46.0g/$m\ell$ (96.8 % of theoretical yield). The maximum ethanol productivity was 17.7g/$m\ell$, h at D = 0.83 hr$^{-1}$ when the calculation was based on the total working volume. The continuous production of ethanol was maintained stably over 40 days without problems in this reactor system.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.174-179
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• 2006

Chinese cabbage, Braccica campestris has long been consumed as a staple food for Koreans in various forms of fresh, salted, and fermented Kimchi. Cultivation of the crop under greenhouse has become a general practices to fulfill its off-seasonal consumer's demand. However, agricultural practices of the crop have always accompanied with heavy applications of pesticides caused by severe outbreaks of diseases and pose under warm and humid circumferences. Since dissipation patterns of pesticide residues in/on the crop under greenhouse conditions ate quite different from those in the open-air, changes of diazinon, O,O-diethyl O-2-isopropyl-6-methylpyrimidin-4-yl phosphornthioate, in/on the Chinese cabbage applied by foliar spraying under greenhouse were studied. Diazinon 34% EC was applied with dilution of recommended and double dose to the crop. The shoots of crop were harvested immediately after this application and at regular intervals over a 10-day. After sample preparations, the diazinon residue was analyzed using gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector (GC/ECD). Initially deposited amount of the chemical in/on the crop right after applications with recommended and double doses were 8.3 and 15.2 mg/kg, respectively. The residue levels after 10 days of application were 0.03 and 0.09 mg/kg with 1.3 and 1.5 days of half-life in/on the crop, respectively. In consequent 10 days of pre-harvest interval (PHI) for diazinon EC formulation in/on Chinese cabbage under greenhouse condition was fulfill maximum residue level set by Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA, 0.1 mg/kg).

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.273-282
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• 2000

In order to investigate the extent and degree of arsenic and heavy metal contamination and the bioavailability of toxic elements around the abandoned mine in Korea, an environmental geochemical survey was undertaken in the Daduk mine. After appropriate preparation, tailings, soil, stream sediment, crop plant and fingernail samples were analysed for As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Elevated levels of 8,782 mg/kg As, 8.3 mg/kg Cd, 489 mg/kg Cu, 3,638 mg/kg Pb and 919 mg/kg Zn were found in tailings from the Daduk mine. These significant concentrations can impact on soils and sediments around the tailing ponds. Mean concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn in soils are significantly higher than those in world average soil, especially for As and Pb. Element concentrations in sediments decrease with distance from the tailing ponds due to a dilution effect by the mixing of uncontaminated sediments. Arsenic and Cd are elevated in rice grains and stalks, and Cu and Zn concentrations in chinese cabbage, sesame and bean leaves are higher than the upper limit values for normal plant. Arsenic concentration in fingernails of farmers are higher than the normal level with a maximum value of 1.5 mg/kg. The post-ingestion bioavailability of toxic heavy metals in some paddy and farmland soils has been also investigated using the SBET (simple bioavailability extract test) method. The method utilises synthetic leaching fluids closelyanalogous to those of the human stomach. The quantities of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn extracted from paddy soils after 1 hour indicated 15.9, 65.4, 46.2, 39.4 and 29.4% bioavailability, respectively and for farmland soils, 12.4, 26.0, 31.2, 29.3 and 19.4% bioavailability, respectively. The results of the SBET indicate that regular ingestion of soils by the local population could pose a potential health threat due to long-term toxic element exposure.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.693-699
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• 1998

The relationship between bioluminescence of immobilized Photobacterium phosphoreum and toxic substances was investigated to monitor toxic substances in aqueous solution. The sodium alginate was used as an immobilization matrix. A bioluminescence intensity was maximum when OD660 for cell concentration were between 1.0 and 1.2 and the biolumescence was stable at the pH range of between 6.0 and 8.0. The optimum concentration of alginate for immobilization was found to be 5.0%(w/v) in which dilution was carried out with 2.5%(w/v) NaCl solution that is an optimum environmental condition for the growth of P. phosphoreum. The bioluminescence intensity responded against the toxic substances was proportional to the concentration and a regression curve were established with linearity by using specific bioluminescence reduction rate and Gamma values. It was also found that the response was very rapid and sensitive. The response with such rapidity and sensitivity is a very important factor for the real time monitoring. The immobilized cells showed higher sensitive response to the toxic substances than free cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.519-524
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• 1996

The kinetics of growing microalga, Spirulina platensis was investigated to treat swine wastes with optimum growth conditions. Temperature was varied from 15 to 40$\circ$C at three different light intensities, 6 W/m$^{2}$, 12 W/m$^{2}$ and 24 W/m$^{2}$. The specific growth rate was increased as temperature increased up to 30$\circ$C. The activation energy was estimated as 13.5 kcal/mol by an Arrhenius relationship. 0.24 (1/day) of specific growth rate was obtained from batch cultivation with 30% swine wastes, compared to 0.31 (1/day) from clean culture. It was found that Spirulina platensis was able to reduce 70-93% of PO$_{4}$$^{3-}$ -P, 67-93% of inorganic nitrogen, 80-90% of COD and 37-56% organic nitrogen by adding various concentrations of swine wastes for 12 days of batch cultivation. Rate constants for removing nitrates and phosphates in treating swine wastes were estimated as 0.17 (1/day) and 0.14 (1/day) in the first order reaction, respectively. 1.52 (g/L) of maximum cell density was maintained at 0.20 (1/day) of dilution rate in continuous culture, adding 20% swine wastes for 30 days. The chemical composition of the biomass obtained from the process showed 58.7% of protein, 11.0% of lipid and 15.6% of ash.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.511-517
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• 2013

In this work, a fibrous bed bioreactor with high specific surface area and good adsorption efficacy for S. cerevisiae cells was used as the immobilization matrix in the production of ethanol. In batch fermentation, an optimal ethanol concentration of 91.36 g/l and productivity of 4.57 g $l^{-1}\;h^{-1}$ were obtained at an initial sugar concentration of 200 g/l. The ethanol productivity achieved by the immobilized cells was 41.93% higher than that obtained from free cells. Ethanol production in a 22-cycle repeated batch fermentation demonstrated the enhanced stability of the immobilized yeast cells. Under continuous fermentation in packed-bed reactors, a maximum ethanol concentration of 108.14 g/l and a productivity of 14.71 g $l^{-1}\;h^{-1}$ were attained at $35^{\circ}C$, and a dilution rate of 0.136 $h^{-1}$ with 250 g/l glucose.