• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.205-210
• /
• 2005

There has been a growing interest in NF membrane for drinking water treatment, because it can remove simultaneously both hardness and hazardous micro pollutants such as pesticides and THM precursors. In this work, a hollow fiber NF membrane known as a composite membrane was employed for the rejection properties of both hydrophilic solutes and micro organic pollutants, where the former was used to evaluate the molecular sieving effect of this membrane and the latter was employed for the investigation of solute-membrane interaction as hydrophobic materials. This membrane effectively rejected the hydrophilic solutes and the permeation of them was mainly controlled by the molecular sieving effects such as molecular weight and molecular width. In the case of all micro organic pollutants, the rejections were varied from 42.2% for Simazine to 91.6% for Malathion, and the parameters related to the steric hindrance could significantly play an important role in the rejection. In the batch type adsorption experiments, all micro organic pollutants were entrapped mildly on the membrane in spite of lower degree compared with that of aromatic compounds, and they were correlated with log K.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.73-80
• /
• 2004

This study investigated the phenomena of membrane fouling by NOM and the effect of the fouling on removal of micro-pollutants. NOM has a great effect on decline of permeate flux. Permeate flow rate was reduced by 88% in RO and 34.8% in NF for 323hr operation period. Removal rate of $UV_{254}$, is 87.4% in RO and 78.5% in NF and removal rate of DOC is 42.7% in RO and 32.9% in NF for 2mg/l humic acid. Removal efficiency of the micro-pollutants by the RO and NF membranes fouled by humic acid was mostly lower than that by the new membrane. The concentration polarization which affects the flux and the rejection was thought to occur in the active layer of the membrane, as the membrane was getting fouled.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.237-257
• /
• 2020

The role of nano bio-composites precursor to chitosan are innumerable and are known for having different applications in various branches of physical sciences. The application to the sensor development is relatively new, where only few literature works are available to address the specific and critical analysis of nanocomposites in the subject area. The bio-composites are potential and having greater affinity towards the heavy metals and several micro-pollutants hence, perhaps are having wider implications in the low or even trace level detection of the pollutants. The nano-composites could show good selectivity and suitability for the detection of the pollutants as they are found in the complex matrix. However, the greater challenges are associated using the bio-composites, since the biomaterials are prone to be oxidized or reduced at an applied potential and found to be a hinderance for the detection of target pollutants. In addition, the materials could proceed with a series of electrochemical reactions, which could produce different by-products in analytical applications, resulting in several complex phenomena in electrochemical processes. Therefore, this review addresses critically various aspects of an evaluation of nano bio-composite materials in the electrochemical detection of heavy metals and micro-pollutants from aqueous solutions.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.147-153
• /
• 2023

Urbanization has been causing such new pollutants as micro-plastic, thus the environmental impact of new pollutants on ecosystem is rapidly increasing. When it comes to micro-plastic, a representative artificial trace pollutant, its risk has been increased at a much faster rate, however the depth study associated with stormwater sediment and wetland was relatively rare. In this research, soil samples from storm water sediment were analyzed for distribution characteristics of micro-plastics in the J wetland (registered as Ramsar wetland, May 2021 and a representative environmental site in South Korea). Analyzed soil samples found approximately 201 ± 93 particle/kg (based on unit weight, Total micro plastic particles / Total Sample weight) micro-plastics in the samples. When considering the total quantitative numbers in stormwater sediment in the entire area of the J wetland, over 15,000 micro-plastics were estimated to be contaminating such area. In addition, in terms of qualitative numbers, micro-plastics were contaminating the J wetland with 94.7 % ratio of styrofoam type (43.9%) and polyethylene type (50.8%). These research results can be used as base data sets for controlling micro-plastics in the J wetland.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.502-522
• /
• 2022

Clay minerals are natural materials that show widespread applications in various branches of science, including environmental sciences, in particular the remediation of water contaminated with various water pollutants. Modified clays and minerals have attracted the attention of researchers in the recent past since the modified materials are seemingly more useful and efficient for removing emerging water contaminants. Therefore, modified engineered materials having multi-functionalities have received greater interest from researchers. The advanced clay-based materials are highly effective in the remediation of water contaminated with organic and inorganic contaminants, and these materials show enhanced selectivity towards the specific pollutants. The review inherently discusses various methods employed in the modification of clays and addresses the challenges in synthesizing the advanced engineered materials precursor to natural clay minerals. The changes in physical and chemical properties, as investigated by various characterization techniques before and after the modifications, are broadly explained. Further, the implications of these materials for the decontamination of waterbodies as contaminated with potential water pollutants are extensively discussed. Additionally, the insights involved in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants are discussed in the review. Furthermore, the future perspectives and specific challenges in the scaling up of the treatment methods in technology development are included in this communication.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.258-271
• /
• 2022

Ferrate (VI) [Fe(VI)] has multi-functional features, which include potential oxidant, coagulant, and disinfectant. Because of these distinctive properties, numerous studies on the synthesis of ferrate (VI) and its possible applications in a wide research areas have been investigated. This review highlights the recent development made on different synthesis methods for ferrate including wet chemical, electrochemical, and thermal methods. The recent advancements achieved in ferrate (VI) oxidation and the synergistic effect of the oxidative properties of ferrate (VI) in the presence of various compounds or materials are also included. Moreover, this review discusses the applications of ferrate (VI) for degrading various types of water pollutants and its reaction mechanism. The optimized experimental conditions and interaction mechanisms of ferrate (VI) with micro-pollutants, dyes, and other organic compounds are also elaborated upon to provide greater insight for future studies. Lastly, the limitations and prospects of the ferrate use in the treatment of polluted water are described.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.5 no.6
• /
• pp.400-406
• /
• 2000

Since the 1950s, the numbers of species and chemicals produced have significantly increased. Despite the fact that industrial chemicals have given us numerous benefits, there is no doubt that they have damaged the environment. The chemicals being dispersed on the earth should be carefully controlled to prevent adverse effects. Bioassay is one of the methods to assess chemical safety. In bioassay systems, chemical safety is estimated by monitoring biological responses to environmental pollutants and newly synthesized chemicals. This report introduces multiple-point bioassay systems that are based on chemical sensitivities of microorganisms, responses of one kind of organism, and micro-array technology. Multiple-end-point bioassays enable the prediction of chemicals in the environment and the understanding of toxicities of newly synthesized chemicals.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2003.09a
• /
• pp.479-482
• /
• 2003

In this study, the solubilization of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) using oil-based emulsion was investigated for aquifer remediation. The micro-sized oil emulsion has large surface areas and buoyancy force, therefore it can be effective in treating DNAPL pool of the aquifer without downward migration of DNAPLs. The emulsion was prepared using silicone oil and mechanical homogenization. And the prepared emulsion had micro-sized similar distribution: 99 % in number and 80 % in volume were less than 10${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. As target pollutants, trichloroethylene and 1, 2 dichlorobenzene were selected. All of used DNAPLs were solubilized successfully in oil-based emulsion. Even at low oil percentage, emulsion showed good solubility against pollutants. Therefore, the remediation using oil-based emulsion was considered as an effective alternative in dealing with DNAPLs of the aquifer.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.8
• /
• pp.579-587
• /
• 2014

Various kinds of micro organic pollutants have frequently been detected from a water system. Therefore, it is considered to be very important part in the drinking water treatment system. And the research about removal process and processing efficiency have been being conducted briskly. In this study, the removal efficiency was evaluated using advanced water treatment process and nanofiltration process. The removal efficiency of nanofiltration process was very different according to physical and chemical characteristics of materials. The molecular weight of cutoff was the most influential factor in the removal efficiency. And when pKa value was higher than pH of raw water or Log Kow value was below 2, the removal efficiency of material was decreased. In case of oxidation reaction, the bigger the molecular weight of material was and the more hydrophobic a material was, the less oxidation reaction occurred. And the removal efficiency was decreased. Most unoxidized materials were removed by absorption. And the more actively oxidation reaction occurred by $H_2O_2$, the more absorption reaction increased.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.323-329
• /
• 2007

There is no certain definition about advanced drinking water treatment but it is generally known as activated carbon process, membrane process or ozone process which can remove non-conventional pollutants such as taste and odor compounds, and micro-pollutants. There are more than 20 processes related to activated carbon as adsorber or biological activated carbon in Korea. The saturated carbon by pollutants can be reused by reactivation. However, the effect of reactivation on activated carbon is not well-understood in terms of changing physical properties of carbon to adsorption capacity of natural organic matter (NOM). In this study, the effects of reactivation on physical properties of activated carbon were investigated by isotherm and breakthrough of NOM. Ash content was increased from 8% to 13.3%. Iodine number is commonly used as an indicator for performance of reactivation. The iodine number was decreased about 20% after reactivating twice. The degree of reactivation can be evaluated by not only iodine number but also apparent density.