• 상하수도학회지
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.317-324
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• 2018

SWRO-PRO hybrid desalination technology is recently getting more attention especially in large desalination markets such as USA, Middle East, Japan, Singapore, etc. because of its promising potential to recover a considerable amount of osmotic energy from brine (a high-concentration solution of salt, 60,000 - 80,000 mg/L) and also to minimize the impact of the discharged brine into a marine ecosystem. By the research and development of the core technologies of the SWRO-PRO desalination system in a national desalination research project (Global MVP) supported by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) and Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA), it is anticipated that around 25% of total energy consumption rate (generally 3 to $4kWh/m^3$) of the SWRO desalination can be reduced by recovering the brine's osmotic energy utilizing wastewater treatment effluent as a PRO feed solution and an isobaric pressure exchanger (PX, ERI) as a PRO energy converter. However, there are still several challenges needed to be overcome in order to ultimately commercialize the novel SWRO-PRO process. They include system optimization and integration, development of efficient PRO membrane and module, development of PRO membrane fouling control technology, development of design and operation technology for the system scaling-up, development of diverse business models, and so on. In this paper, the current status and progress of the pilot study of the newly developed SWRO-PRO hybrid desalination technology is discussed.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.45-53
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• 2015

The objective of this study is to develop a gas pro-treatment system for DME synthesis, wherein this system separates $CO_2$ from Flaring gas as Membrane, in order to save raw material ($CH_4$) cost of DME. In this study, hollow fiber membrane is developed, which is able to separate high-pressure gas, supported by polysulfone and coated with amorphous fluorinated polymer. Throughout the evaluation of the membrane's separation characteristics, the membrane is applied to this system. The membrane is designed by 2 stages for over 90% removal rate of $CO_2$ and over 90% recovery rate of $CH_4$. The bench scale of pro-treatment system is developed as $25Nm^3/hr$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.25-32
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• 2021

Inflammatory reactions activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria can lead to severe septic shock. With the recent emergence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria and a lack of efficient ways to treat resulting infections, there is a need to develop novel anti-endotoxin agents. Antimicrobial peptides have been noticed as potential therapeutic molecules for bacterial infection and as candidates for new antibiotic drugs. We previously designed the 9-meric antimicrobial peptide Pro9-3 and it showed high antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria. Here, to further examine its potency as an anti-endotoxin agent, we examined the anti-endotoxin activities of Pro9-3 and elucidated its mechanism of action. We performed a dye-leakage experiment and BODIPY-TR cadaverine and limulus amebocyte lysate assays for Pro9-3 as well as its lysine-substituted analogue and their enantiomers. The results confirmed that Pro9-3 targets the bacterial membrane and the arginine residues play key roles in its antimicrobial activity. Pro9-3 showed excellent LPS-neutralizing activity and LPS-binding properties, which were superior to those of other peptides. Saturation transfer difference-nuclear magnetic resonance experiments to explore the interaction between LPS and Pro9-3 revealed that Trp3 and Tlr7 in Pro9-3 are critical for attracting Pro9-3 to the LPS in the gram-negative bacterial membrane. Moreover, the anti-septic effect of Pro9-3 in vivo was investigated using an LPS-induced endotoxemia mouse model, demonstrating its dual activities: antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria and immunosuppressive effect preventing LPS-induced endotoxemia. Collectively, these results confirmed the therapeutic potential of Pro9-3 against infection of gram-negative bacteria.

• 한국산학기술학회논문지
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• 제15권7호
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• pp.4698-4706
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• 2014

본 연구에서는 디메틸에테르(dimethyl ether) 생산 공정에 포함된 이산화탄소 제거공정에서 이산화탄소 제거 방법으로 복합막(composite membrane)을 사용하는 공정에 대해 공정구성과 모사를 수행하였다. 복합막은 (주)에어레인에서 제조한 PEI-PDMS(polyetherimide-polydimethyl siloxane) 복합막을 대상으로 하였으며 복합막 공정을 모델링하기 위해서 상용성 화학공정 모사기인 Invensys 사의 PRO/II with PROVISION 9.2를 사용하였다. 그리고 복합막 공정을 모사하기 위해 필요한 각 순수성분들의 투과도 상수는 (주)에어레인에서 수행한 실험 데이터를 회귀분석 하여 새롭게 결정 하였다. 결국 실험을 통해 얻은 투과도 상수와 상용성 화학공정 모사기를 활용하여 이산화탄소를 제거하기 위한 복합막 공정을 구성하고 제거에 필요한 분리막 면적과 Utility 비용을 도출하였다.

• Journal of Life Science
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.94-98
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• 2001

Type I signal peptidase cleaves the signal sequence from the amino terminus of membrane and secreted proteins afters these protein insert across the membrane. This enzyme serves as a potential target for the development of novel antibacterial agents due to its unique physiological and biochemical properties. Despite considerable research, the signal peptidase assay still remains improvement to provide further understanding of the mechanism and high-throughput inhibitor screening of this enzyme. In this paper, three known signal peptidase assays are tested with an E. coli D276A mutant signal peptidase to distinguish the sensitivity of each assays. In vitro assay using the procoat synthesized by in vitro transcription translation shows that the D276A signal peptidase I was inactive while in vivo processing of pro-OmpA expressed in the temperature-sensitive E. coli strain IT41 as well as in vitro assay using pro-OmpA nuclease A substrate show that D276A signal peptidase I has activity like wild-type signal peptidase. These results suggest that in vitro assay using the pro-OmpA nuclease A and in vivo pro-OmpA processing assay are more sensitive monitors than in vitro assay using the pro-coat. In conculsion, caution should be used when interpreting the in vitro results using the procoat.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• 제8권5호
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• pp.449-462
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• 2017

Direct treatment of municipal wastewater by forward osmosis (FO) process was evaluated in terms of water flux decline, reverse salt diffusion, pollutants rejection and concentration efficiency by using synthetic seawater as the draw solution. It was found that when operating in PRO mode (active layer facing the draw solution), although the FO membrane exhibited higher osmotic water flux, more severe flux decline and reverse salt diffusion was also observed due to the more severe fouling of pollutants in the membrane support layer and accompanied fouling enhanced concentration polarization. In addition, although the water flux decline was shown to be lower for the FO mode (active layer facing the feed solution), irreversible membrane fouling was identified in both PRO and FO modes as the water flux cannot be restored to the initial value by physical flushing, highlighting the necessity of chemical cleaning in long-term operation. During the 7 cycles of filtration conducted in the experiments, the FO membrane exhibited considerably high rejection for TOC, COD, TP and $NH_4{^+}-N$ present in the wastewater. By optimizing the volume ratio of seawater draw solution/wastewater feed solution, a concentration factor of 3.1 and 3.7 was obtained for the FO and PRO modes, respectively. The results demonstrated the validity of the FO process for direct treatment of municipal wastewater by using seawater as the draw solution, while facilitating the subsequent utilization of concentrated wastewater for bioenergy production, which may have special implications for the coastline areas.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권11호
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• pp.3267-3274
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• 2014

In order to investigate the effects of the double replacement of $\small{L}$-Pro, $\small{D}$-Pro, $\small{D}$-Leu or Nleu (the peptoid residue for Leu) in the hydrophobic face (positions 9 and 13) of amphipathic ${\alpha}$-helical non-cell-selective antimicrobial peptide $L_8K_9W_1$ on the structure, cell selectivity and mechanism of action, we synthesized a series of $L_8K_9W_1$ analogs with double replacement of $\small{L}$-Pro, $\small{D}$-Pro, $\small{D}$-Leu or Nleu in the hydrophobic face of $L_8K_9W_1$. In this study, we have confirmed that the double replacement of $\small{L}$-Pro, $\small{D}$-Pro, or Nleu in the hydrophobic face of $L_8K_9W_1$ let to a great increase in the selectivity toward bacterial cells and a complete destruction of ${\alpha}$-helical structure. Interestingly, $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{L}$-Pro, $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{D}$-Pro and $L_8K_9W_1$-Nleu preferentially interacted with negatively charged phospholipids, but unlike $L_8K_9W_1$ and $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{D}$-Leu, they did not disrupt the integrity of lipid bilayers and depolarize the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. These results suggested that the mode of action of $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{L}$-Pro, $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{D}$-Pro and $L_8K_9W_1$-Nleu involves the intracellular target other than the bacterial membrane. In particular, $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{L}$-Pro, $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{D}$-Pro and $L_8K_9W_1$-Nleu had powerful antimicrobial activity (MIC range, 1 to $4{\mu}M$) against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDRPA). Taken together, our results suggested that $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{L}$-Pro, $L_8K_9W_1$-$\small{D}$-Pro and $L_8K_9W_1$-Nleu with great cell selectivity may be promising candidates for novel therapeutic agents, complementing conventional antibiotic therapies to combat pathogenic microorganisms.

• 대한환경공학회지
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• 제36권11호
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• pp.791-802
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• 2014

에너지 소비량은 지속적으로 증가하고 있는 반면 사용가능한 부존자원은 한정되어 있어 전 세계적으로 에너지 위기가 심화되고 있다. 화석연료 고갈 및 에너지 생산으로 인한 환경오염 문제를 해소하기 위하여 새로운 방식의 에너지 생산 기술 개발이 요구되고 있으며, 소수력, 지열, 태양열 광, 풍력, 바이오매스 등의 신재생 에너지기술이 이미 개발되었거나 활발히 연구되고 있다. 최근 지구상에 풍부하게 존재하는 해수와 담수를 이용하여 에너지를 생산하는 염도차 발전이 관심을 얻고 있으며, 그 중에 대표적인 공정이 압력지연삼투(Pressure retarded osmosis, PRO)이다. 압력지연삼투는 에너지 생산 시 이산화탄소 배출이 없고 외부 환경요인으로 인한 제약이 적다는 장점이 있으나, 전용막 및 최적화 기술의 부재로 인해 아직 상용화 단계에 이르지 못 하였다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 압력지연삼투 기술의 현황과 한계를 다양한 측면에서 분석해보고, 이를 통해 압력지연삼투의 기술 개발 방향에 대해 논의해보고자 한다.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제52권1호
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• pp.68-74
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• 2014

해수-담수 염도 차 발전을 위한 압력지연삼투(pressure-retarded osmosis: PRO) 시스템의 나권형(spiral wound) 모듈에서 공급채널과 유도채널 사이의 입구 압력차의 영향이 수치적으로 연구되었다. 그리하여 막을 통한 물과 용질-플럭스들의 변화와 전력이 예측되었다. 막을 통한 물-플럭스의 크기는 두 채널 간 입구 압력차가 증가할수록 x축 방향으로 감소하고 y축 방향으로 증가하였다. 반면에 막을 통한 용질-플럭스의 크기는 반대의 경향을 보였다. 공급채널 내 유체의 농도는 y축 방향으로 크게 증가하였고, 유도채널 내 농도는 x축 방향으로 크게 감소하였다. 본 시스템에서 입구 압력차가 1~11 atm일 때 공급채널 내 유량은 8~13% 가량 감소하였고, 유도채널 내 유량은 그만큼 증가하였다. 전력밀도는 입구 압력 차가 증가할수록 증가하다가 감소하였다.

• Macromolecular Research
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• 제17권8호
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• pp.597-602
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• 2009

Although the existing design principle of full-sequence ionic complement is convenient for the development of peptides, it greatly constrains the exploration of peptides with other possible assembly mechanisms and different yet essential functions. Herein, a novel designed half-sequence ionic complementary peptide (referred to as P9), AC-Pro-Ser-Phe-Asn-Phe-Lys-Phe-Glu-Pro-$NH_2$, is reported. When transferred from pure water to sodium chloride solution, P9 underwent a dramatic morphological transformation from globular aggregations to nanofibers. Moreover, the rheological experiment showed that the P9 could form a hydrogel with a storage modulus of about 30 Pa even at very low peptide concentration (0.5% (wt/vol)). The P9 hydrogel formed in salt solution could recover in a period of about 1,800 sec, which is faster than that in the pure water. The data suggestcd that the half-sequence, ionic complementary peptide might be worthy of further research for its special properties.