• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.329-337
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• 2017

A major concern regarding most auto-repair shops in residential areas is the emission of odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the local atmosphere, especially during painting operations. VOCs contribute to poor local air quality and are responsible for the perceived odor and discomfort experienced by local residents. Sixteen major VOCs (6 aromatic hydrocarbons and 10 aliphatic carbonyl compounds) were selected as potential target compounds. The site was an auto-repair shop located in a central region of Seoul, South Korea, where the air quality of the site has been a subject of residents' complaints. The sampling points were as follows: 1) in the painting booth with new (NB) or old (OB) removal system, (2) in the exhaust duct after new (ND) or old (OD) odor removal filter, and (3) 2 m below the discharge vent (4 m above the ground) (outdoor air, OA). Each sample was coded: (1) before painting (BP), (2) during painting (DP), and (3) after painting (AP). The toluene level in the duct with the new removal filter during painting (ND-DP) was 1.5 ppm (v/v), while it was 3.8 ppm (v/v) in the right duct with an old removal filter during painting (OD-DP). Accordingly, the effect of filter replacement was reflected by differences in VOC levels. Therefore, accurate monitoring of odorous VOCs is an important step to reduce odor nuisance from local sources.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2013

This study examined the feasibility of phosphorus removal from dewatering centrate/filtrate in wastewater treatment by struvite formation. Since dewatering centrate/filtrate obtained after anaerobic digestion contains a high content of ammonia, magesium addition and pH adjustment could remove phosphorous. The optimum magnesium dose, reaction time, settling time, and pH value was found at 2 mol Mg/mol $PO_4^{3-}$, 10 min, 120 min, and 8.5, respectively. A bench-scale continuous operation at the optimum condition showed 80% of total phosphorus removal and 82% of phosphate removal in dewatering centrate. The elemental composition and crystal structure of the chemical precipitate was similar to the reported values of struvite.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.583-588
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• 2004

This research examined the treatment efficiency and methane production rate in treating slurry-type swine waste using UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) reactor. The UASB reactor was operated at an organics volumetric loading rate (VLR) of $2.6-15.7kgCOD/m^3/day$. A stepwise increase of the VLR resulted in a temporary deterioration in the COD removal rate in UASB reactor but recovered quickly. The COD removal rate were 65-70% for VLR up to $5 kgCOD/m^3/day$. When organics VLR was $10kgCOD/m^3/day$, the COD removal rate decreased sharply and there was loss of 17.537g of the seeding biomass due to sludge washout. This result indicated that the UASB system cannot be adapted to more than $10kgCOD/m^3/day$ of VLR. As the organic load increased from 2.6 to $15.7kgCOD/m^3/d$, the biogas production rate varied from 3.2 to 10.8 L/d and the methane conversion rate of the organic matter varied from 0.30 to $0.23m^3CH_4/kg\;COD_{removed}$. The methane content showed the range of 70.1-81.5% during the experimental period. The volatile solids (VS) removal efficiency was similar at the low VLR (< $5 kgCOD/m^3/day$), but it decreased sharply at the high VLR (> $5 kgCOD/m^3/day$). The VS reduction rate was, moreover, large those of COD. The result shows that hydraulic retention time above 2 days is essential in case of treating wastewater containing 1% of solids.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.754-768
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• 2017

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a group of industrial aromatic organobromine chemicals that have been used since the 1970s as flame retardants in a wide range of consumer products and articles, including plastics, computers, textiles and upholstery. Commercial PBDEs were added to Annex A of the Stockholm Convention as persistent organic pollutants in May 2009. PBDEs are still frequently found in sludge and effluent from wastewater treatment plants, even though commercial PBDEs were prohibited or voluntarily phased out several years ago. Conventional wastewater treatment processes are not designed to effectively remove PBDEs. This indicates that there is an urgent need for new developments and improvements to enhance upon the treatment techniques which are currently available. Several studies have suggested the potential removal and degradation technologies for PBDEs in wastewater. In this study, the concentrations and compositional profiles of PBDE congeners in sludge and effluent are investigated by analyzing the relevant literature data in relation to their usage patterns in commercial products in North America and South Korea. The strengths and weaknesses of the current PBDEs removal techniques (i.e., biodegradation, zero-valent iron, photolysis, sorption, etc.) are discussed critically. In addition, future research direction regarding the treatment and removal of PBDEs from wastewater is also suggested, based on the literature review.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.203-209
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• 2017

Innovations in the biofiltration process can provide effective solutions to overcome crucial water pollution problems. The elimination of pollutants is a result of the combined effects of biological oxidation, adsorption and filtration processes. This research aims to evaluate the performance of quartz sand biofiltration for removing total suspended solids, turbidity, color, organic matter, and ammonium from polluted river water and develop an empirical model for designing quartz sand biofilters for the treatment of polluted river water. Experiments were conducted using two biofilter units filled with quartz sand as filter media. A set of experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of hydraulic retention time on biofilter performance in removing water contaminants. The kinetics of organic matter removal were also determined to describe the performance of the biofilter. The results show that biofiltration can significantly remove river water pollutants. Removal efficiency depends on the applied hydraulic retention time. At a hydraulic retention time of two hours, removal efficiencies of total organics, ammonium and total suspended solids were up to 78%, 82%, and 91%, respectively. A model for designing quartz sand biofiltration has been developed from the experimental data.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.445-460
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• 2018

Exposure to indoor air pollution is an emerging world-wide problem, with growing evidence that it is a major cause of morbidity worldwide. Whilst most indoor air pollutants are of outdoor origin, these combine with a range of indoor sourced pollutants that may lead to high pollutant levels indoors. The pollutants of greatest concern are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM), both of which are associated with a range of serious health problems. Whilst current buildings usually use ventilation with outdoor air to remove these pollutants, botanical systems are gaining recognition as an effective alternative. Whilst many years research has shown that traditional potted plants and their substrates are capable of removing VOCs effectively, they are inefficient at removing PM, and are limited in their pollutant removal rates by the need for pollutants to diffuse to the active pollutant removal components of these systems. Active botanical biofiltration, using green wall systems combined with mechanical fans to increase pollutant exposure to the plants and substrate, show greatly increased rates of pollutant removal for both VOCs, PM and also carbon dioxide ($CO_2$). A developing body of research indicates that these systems can outperform existing technologies for indoor air pollutant removal, although further research is required before their use will become widespread. Whilst it is known that plant species selection and substrate characteristics can affect the performance of active botanical systems, optimal characteristics are yet to be identified. Once this research has been completed, it is proposed that active botanical biofiltration will provide a cheap and low energy use alternative to mechanical ventilations systems for the maintenance of indoor environmental quality.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.259-262
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• 2005

This study aims to identify the relationship between characteristics of aqueous organic matter and chlorination by-products formation potential according to temporal effect of Juam reservoir in Sun-Choen. The molecular weight distribution and chemical composition of precursors and their relationship with disinfection by-products(DBPs) were investigated. Most of the organic matters was responsible for the major DBP precursors in the raw water are small compounds with a molecular weight less than IKDa, Aromatic contents determined by SUVA correlated well with DBPs, THMs, and HAAs formation. Especially, THMFP/DOC showed better correlation with SUVA than HAAFP/DOC and DBPFP/DOC with SUVA in Juam reservoir. Therefore, effective removal of small molecules or hydrophobic organic matter prior to disinfection process will significantly reduce the DBP concentration in the finished water.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.34-39
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• 1996

There is much recent interests in applying membrane separation technologies, especially for organic liquid and vapor separation or removing dissolved organics from water. Pervaporation separation can separate azeotropic mixtures and mixtures close to boiling point, and it has a potential for energy saving process instead of distillation. Removal of chlorinated oraganics from water is other measure application for pervaporation separation. Contaminated pollutant must be removed from water, and a pervaporation can effectively remove the pollutant. Air pollution by organic vapor recently became serious enviromncntal problem, and removing organic vapor from air is important application of the membrane technology.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3640-3644
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• 2012

An efficient synthetic method for direct Henry reaction catalyzed by a biguanide; namely metformin, as an organosuper-base, between a variety of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes and nitromethane under neat conditions has been developed. Convenient procedure for removal of the catalyst, chemoselective acquiring of ${\beta}$-nitroalcohols as predominant products, as far as possible short reaction time with excellent conversions are advantages of the developed protocol.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.69-76
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• 1996

Biological process have the potential to remove pollutants such as biodegradable organic fraction, $NH_3-N$, ABS, etc. that may be partially removed by conventional water treatment. This study was performed to evaluate four different processes of biological pretreatment as Biological Fluidized Bed(BFB), Biological Filter(BF), Rotating Biological Contactor(RBC) and Honey Comb(HC). In a given condition it proved out that BFB and BF are prospective biological pretreatment processes because they were the most effective on the removal of organic matter and ammonia. Preozonation of raw water for biological processes increased in biodegradable organic fraction about 10-40% with 0.425-0.85 mg $O_3/mg$ DOC.