• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.487-497
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• 2018

Water quality improvement processes for stagnant area consist mainly of technologies applying vegetation and artificial water circulation, and these existing technologies have some limits to handle pollution loads effectively. To improve the purification efficiency, eco-friendly technologies should be developed that can reinforce self-purification functions. In this study, a multi-functional floating island combined with physical chemical biological functions ((1) flotation and oxidization using microbubbles, (2) vegetation purification and (3) bio-filtration with improved adsorption capacity) has been developed and basic experiments were performed to determine the optimal combination conditions for each unit process. It has been shown that it is desirable to operate the microbubble unit process under conditions greater than $3.5kgf/cm^2$. In vegetation purification unit process, Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) was suggested to be suitable considering water quality, landscape improvement and maintenance. When granular red-mud was applied to the bio-filtration unit process, it was found that T-P removal efficiency was good and its value was also stable for various linear velocity conditions. The appropriate thickness of filter media was suggested between 30 and 45 cm. In this study, the optimal design and operating parameters of the multi-functional floating island have been presented based on the results of the basic experiments of each unit process.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.221-230
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• 2016

Multi-functional floating wetland island (mFWI) was developed in order to prevent algal bloom and to improve water quality through several unit purification processes. A test bed was applied in the stagnant watershed in an urban area, from the summer to the winter season. For the advanced treatment, an artificial phosphorus adsorption/filtration medium was applied with micro-bubble generation, as well as water plants for nutrient removal. It appeared that the efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total phosphorus (T-P) removal was higher in the warmer season (40.9%, 45.7%) than in the winter (15.9%, 20.0%), and the removal performance (suspended solid, chlorophyll a) in each process differs according to seasonal variation; micro-bubble performed better (33.1%, 39.2%) in the summer, and the P adsorption/filtration and water plants performed better (76.5%, 59.5%) in the winter season. From the results, it was understood that the mFWI performance was dependent upon the pollutant loads in different seasons and unit processes, and thus it requires continuous monitoring under various conditions to evaluate the functions. In addition, micro-bubbles helped prevent the formation of anaerobic zones in the lower part of the floating wetland. This resulted in the water circulation to form a new healthy aquatic ecosystem in the surrounding environment, which confirmed the positive influence of mFWI.