• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.682-689
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to find out the variation between molecular size distribution (MSD) of natural organic matter (NOM) in raw waters after different water treatment processes like conventional process (coagulation, flocculation, filtration) followed by advanced oxidation process (ozonation, GAC adsorption). The MSD of NOM of Suji pilot plant were determined by Liquid Chromatography-Organic Carbon Detection (LC-OCD) which is a kine of high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) with nondispersive infrared (NDIR) detector and $UV_{254}$ detector. Five distinct fractions were generally separated from water samples with the Toyopearl HW-50S column, using 28 mmol phosphate buffer at pH 6.58 as an eluent. Large and intermediate humic fractions were the most dominant fractions in surface water. High molecular weight (HMW) matter was clearly easier to remove in coagulation and clarification than low molecular weight (LMW) matter. Water treatment processes removed the two largest fractions almost completely shifting the MSD towards smaller molecular size in DW. No more distinct variation of MSD was observed by ozone process after sand filtration but the SUVA value were obviously reduced during increase of the ozone doses. UVD results and HS-Diagram demonstrate that ozone induce not the variation of molecular size of humic substance but change the bond structure from aromatic rings or double bonds to single bond. Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration removed 8~9% of organic compounds and showed better adsorption property for small MSD than large one.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.671-675
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• 2007

The objective of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the removed micropollutant since the breakthrough of adsorption ability was occurred in biological activated carbon(BAC) process. The removal efficiency of DOC (Dissolved Organic Carbon) was 36 % in the breakthrough of BAC occurred by NOM (Natural Organic Matter). The most of removal DOC was found out the adsorbable and biodegradable DOC (A&BDOC). But it was not clear to remove by any mechanism because A&BDOC have simultaneously the adsorption of activated carbon and biodegradation by microorganism in BAC. The removal of bromophenol was examined with BAC and rapid sand filter, for investigation of DOC removal mechanism in the breakthrough of BAC. In this experiment, BAC filter has been operated for 20 months for the treatment of reservoir water. The BAC filter was already exhausted by NOM. Bromophenol, adsorbable and refractory matter, was completely removed by BAC filter. Therefore, it might be removed by the adsorption in BAC. Adsorption isotherms of bromophenol were compared to two BACs which was preloaded with 500 daltons and 3,000 daltons of NOM. BAC preloaded with 3,000 daltons of NOM was not decreased to the adsorbability of bromophenol but BAC preloaded with 500 daltons of NOM was greatly decreased to it. These result indicated that NOM of low molecular weight can be removed by adsorption after a long period of operation and the breakthrough by NOM in BAC. Therefore, micropollutants might be removed through adsorption by saturated BAC.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2022

Dissolved organic matter (DOM), which changes according to various factors, is ubiquitously present from natural environments to engineered treatment systems. Only limited information is available regarding the environmental functions of DOM after bulk analyses are only applied for characterization. In this paper, latest DOM analytical techniques are briefly introduced, which include fluorescence excitation-emission matrix with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), size-exclusion chromatography with an organic carbon detector (SEC-OCD), carbon/nitrogen stable-isotope ratio, and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectroscopy (FT-ICR-MS). Recent examples of using advanced analyses to interpret the phenomena associated with DOM occurring in natural and engineered systems are presented here. Through EEM-PARAFAC, different components like protein-like, fulvic-like, and humic-like can be identified and tracked individually through the investigated systems. SEC-OCD allows researchers to quantify different size fractions. FT-ICR-MS provides thousands of molecular formulas present in bulk DOM samples. Lastly, carbon/nitrogen stable-isotope ratio offers reasonable tools for tracking the sources in environments. We also discuss the advantages and weakness of the above-mentioned characterizing tools. Specifically, they focus on single environmental factors (different sourced-DOM and interaction of sediment-pore water) or simple changes after individual treatment processes. Through collaboration with the advanced techniques later, they help the researchers to better understand environmental behaviors in aquatic systems and serve as essential tools for addressing various pending problems associated with DOM.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.416-423
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• 2019

A novel non-enzymatic oxalic acid (OA) sensor based on the platinum/carbon black-nickel-reduced graphene oxide (Pt/CBNi-rGO) nanocomposite is reported. The nanocomposites were prepared by the ethylene glycol reduction method. Their morphology and chemical composition were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results clearly demonstrated the formation of the Pt/CB-Ni-rGO nanocomposite. The electrocatalytic activity of the Pt/CB-Ni-rGO electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. It was determined that the appropriate amount of Pt enhanced the catalytic activity of Pt for oxalic acid electro-oxidation. Moreover, the modified electrode was determined to be highly selective for oxalic acid without interference from compounds commonly found in urine including uric acid and ascorbic acid. The chronoamperometric signal gave a wide linearity range of 20 μM-60 mM and the detection limit (3σ) was found to be 2.35 μM. The proposed method showed high selectivity, stability, and good reproducibility and could be used with micro-volumes of sample for the detection of oxalic acid. Finally, the oxalic acid content in artificial and control urine samples were successfully determined by our proposed electrode.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.42-51
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• 2009

Saturated n-dicarboxylic acids ($C_2-C_7$, $C_9$), unsaturated dicarboxylic acids (maleic, fumaric, phthalic acid), ketocarboxylic acids (pyruvic, glyoxylic acid), and dicarbonyls (glyoxal, methylglyoxal) were determined in size-segregated samples with a high-volume Andersen air sampler at a suburban site in Saitama, Japan, May 12-17 and July 24-27, 2007 and January 22-31, 2008. The seasonal average concentrations of these detected organic acids were 670 $ng/m^3$, accounting for about 4.4-5.7% (C/C) of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and 2.3-3.6% (C/C) of organic carbon (OC). The most abundant species of dicarboxylic acids was oxalic acid, followed by malonic, phthalic, or succinic acids. Glyoxylic acid and methyglyoxal were most abundant ketocarboxylic acid and dicarbonyl, respectively. Seasonal differences, size-segregated concentrations, and the correlations of these acids with ambient temperatures, oxidants, elemental carbon (EC), OC, WSOC, and ionic components were also discussed in terms of their corresponding sources and possible secondary formation pathways. The results suggested that photochemical reactions contributed more to the formation of particulate organic acids in Saitama suburban areas than did direct emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources. However, direct emissions of vehicles were also important sources of several organic acids in particles, such as phthalic and adipic acids, especially in winter.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.288-288
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• 2006

Natural rubbers (NR) reinforced by multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was found to show extraordinary improvement of mechanical property. We speculated that this was owing to the interfacial phase that surrounded CNT and investigated about the phase by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Using force modulation mode and force-distance curve analyses, we succeeded in obtaining the information of its nanometer-scale rheological property. We found that was actually surrounded by the interfacial phase, that had softer modulus than NR matrix.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.419-423
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• 2006

Basic studies on natural gas hydrates in the East Sea were been carried out by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) from 2000 to 2004 involving 2D multichannel seismic lines and piston coring. 27 piston cores recovered from the deed-water Ulleung Basin of the East Sea were analyzed in this study. In piston cores cracks generally developed parallel to bedding suggest significant gas content. The core analyses showed high total organic carbon (TOC) content, sedimentation rate and heat flow of sediments. The cores recovered from the southern study area show also high residual hydrocarbon gas concentrations for the formation of natural gas hydrates. This study indicates that there is the potential for the generation of biogenic gas and the formation of natural gas hydrates in the near seafloor sediments of the study area.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.462-462
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• 2022

Wetlands are one of the most vital natural habitats on the planet. India is incredibly blessed to have a number of multifunctional wetland ecosystems. Wetlands, in addition to their functional importance, can act as sources or sinks for greenhouse gases (GHGs) depending on their intrinsic factors. Carbon (CO2) and Methane (CH4) are the major greenhouse gases (GHG's) emitted in wetlands. It is demonstrated that, despite having 4.6 percent of its area covered by natural or man-made wetlands, being home to a large number of wetlands, and being the world's second largest cultivator of paddy, India's wetlands, including paddy fields that are intermittently flooded as typical wetlands, have been very poorly studied in terms of GHG emissions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of Indian wetlands and wetlands in terms of CH4 and CO2 emissions. The present study also reviews various literature to provide the equations, parameters that are required for estimating carbon and methane and some of the best strategies for conserving carbon in wetlands. The findings suggest that both non-manipulative and manipulative measures can be used to improve Carbon Sequestration (CS). Non-manipulative measures aim to improve CS by increasing the spatial extent of wetlands, whereas manipulative measures aim to change the characteristics of specific wetland components that influence CS. Uncertainty in carbon dynamics projections under changing environmental conditions is caused by a number of Knowledge gaps: i) There is a lack of knowledge on how organic matter mineralizes and partitions into carbon dioxide, methane, and dissolved organic carbon, ii) With the notable exception of methane dynamics, models that represent the dynamic interaction of processes and their controls have yet to be established. As a result, more research is needed to fully understand the importance of wetlands in terms of GHG emissions and carbon sequestration in India.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.159-168
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• 2018

Climate change is believed to increase the amount of dissolved organic matter in surface water, as a result of the release of bulk organic matter, which make difficult to achieve a high quality of drinking water via conventional water treatment techniques. Therefore, the natural water treatment techniques, such as managed aquifer recharge (MAR), can be proposed as a alternative method to improve water quality greatly. Removal of bulk organic matter using managed aquifer recharge system is mainly achieved by biodegradation. Biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) and assimilable organic carbon (AOC) can be used as water quality indicators for biological stability of drinking water. In this study, we compared the change of BDOC and AOC with respect to pretreatment methods (i.e., ozone or peroxone). The oxidative pretreatment can transform the recalcitrant organic matter into readily biodegradable one (i.e., BDOC and AOC). We also investigated the differences of organic matter characteristics between BDOC and AOC. We observed the decreases in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and the tryptophan-like fluorescence intensities. Liquid chromatographic - organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) analysis also showed the reduction of the low molecular weight (LMW) fraction (15% removed, less than 500 Da), which is known to be easily biodegradable, and the biopolymers, high molecular weight fractions (66%). Therefore, BDOC consists of a broad range of organic matter characteristics with respect to molecular weight. In AOC, low molecular weight organic matter and biopolymers fraction was reduced by 11 and 6%, respectively. It confirmed that biodegradation by microorganisms as the main removal mechanism in AOC, while BDOC has biodegradation by microorganism as well as the sorption effects from the sand. $O_3$ and $O_3+H_2O_2$ were compared with respect to biological stability and dissolved organic matter characteristics. BDOC and AOC were determined to be about 1.9 times for $O_3$ and about 1.4 times for $O_3+H_2O_2$. It was confirmed that $O_3$ enhanced the biodegradability by increasing LMW dissolved organic matter.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.549-563
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• 2010

The environmental behaviors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are mainly governed by their solubility and partitioning properties on soil media in a subsurface system. In surfactant-enhanced remediation (SER) systems, surfactant plays a critical role in remediation. In this study, sorptive behaviors and partitioning of naphthalene in soils in the presence of surfactants were investigated. Silica and kaolin with low organic carbon contents and a natural soil with relatively higher organic carbon content were used as model sorbents. A nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100, was used to enhance dissolution of naphthalene. Sorption kinetics of naphthalene onto silica, kaolin and natural soil were investigated and analyzed using several kinetic models. The two compartment first-order kinetic model (TCFOKM) was fitted better than the other models. From the results of TCFOKM, the fast sorption coefficient of naphthalene ($k_1$) was in the order of silica > kaolin > natural soil, whereas the slow sorbing fraction ($k_2$) was in the reverse order. Sorption isotherms of naphthalene were linear with organic carbon content ($f_{oc}$) in soils, while those of Triton X-100 were nonlinear and correlated with CEC and BET surface area. Sorption of Triton X-100 was higher than that of naphthalene in all soils. The effectiveness of a SER system depends on the distribution coefficient ($K_D$) of naphthalene between mobile and immobile phases. In surfactant-sorbed soils, naphthalene was adsorbed onto the soil surface and also partitioned onto the sorbed surfactant. The partition coefficient ($K_D$) of naphthalene increased with surfactant concentration. However, the $K_D$ decreased as the surfactant concentration increased above CMC in all soils. This indicates that naphthalene was partitioned competitively onto both sorbed surfactants (immobile phase) and micelles (mobile phase). For the mineral soils such as silica and kaolin, naphthalene removal by mobile phase would be better than that by immobile phase because the distribution of naphthalene onto the micelles ($K_{mic}$) increased with the nonionic surfactant concentration (Triton X-100). For the natural soil with relatively higher organic carbon content, however, the naphthalene removal by immobile phase would be better than that by mobile phase, because a high amount of Triton X-100 could be sorbed onto the natural soil and the sorbed surfactant also could sorb the relatively higher amount of naphthalene.