• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.133-138
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• 2012

Polyvinyl alcohol/alginate hydrogel beads containing Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH-PVA/alginate beads) were synthesized for phosphate removal. Results showed that blending PVA with the LDH-alginate beads significantly improved their stability in a phosphate solution. The kinetic reaction in LDH-PVA/alginate beads reached equilibrium at 12 hr-post reaction with 99.2% removal. The amount of phosphate removed at equilibrium ($q_e$) was determined to be 0.389 mgP/g. The equilibrium data were described well by the Freundlich isotherm with the distribution coefficient ($K_F$, 0.638) and the constant (n, 0.396). Phosphate removal in LDH-PVA/alginate beads was not sensitive to solution pH. Also, the removal capacity of LDH-PVA/alginate beads ($q_e$, 1.543 mgP/g) was two orders of magnitude greater than that of PVA/alginate beads ($q_e$, 0.016 mgP/g) in column experiments. This study demonstrates that LDH-PVA/alginate beads with a higher chemical stability against phosphate compared to LDH-alginate beads have the potential for phosphate removal as adsorptive media.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.414-422
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• 2006

Before applying PVA bio-beads to practical biological treatment of nitrate-containing wastewater, their characteristics were examined. PVA bio-beads could steadily produce nitrogen gas from nitrate for 28 batches with 0.04 ml/l/h of the maximum gas production rate; however, the maximum gas production rate dropped remarkably thereafter with apparent deformation of beads. Addition of 2.2% solution containing 1% casamino acid, 1% yeast extract, 0.1% mineral solution, and 0.1% vitamin solution to the culture medium resulted in not only recovery of activity of deactivated beads, but also a higher rate of gas production. Calculation of economic benefit for the use of bio-beads in a long-run operation indicated that reactivation of bio-beads by chemicals had economical advantages over packing new bio-beads in the system. The continuously stirred bioreactor exhibited a satisfactory performance at HRT of 20.0 h. With a 9.5 mg $NO_{3}^{-}N/l/h$ nitrate removal rate, nitrate could completely be removed without nitrite accumulation. The use of PVA bio-beads in nitrate removal appears very promising.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.83-87
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• 2001

In this study, the characteristics of lead removal by PVA and alginate bead which used widely as immobilizing agents were investigated, and the difference of removal amounts between pure PVA/alginate bead and Sargassum thunbergii immobilized bead was studied. All PVA beads, pure and S. thunbergii immobilized, reached an equilibrium state in about 1 hour, and S. thunbergii immobilized bead adsorbed more lead than pure one. But in the case of alginate beads, they needed much time, about 5 hours, to reach an equilibrium state, and adsorbed lead four times higher than PVA beads. Therefore, it was considered that alginate beads had more mass transfer resistance and function groups which adsorb lead such as hydroxyl, carboxyl and etc. than PVA bead. To examine the continuous usage of alginate beads, the process of adsorption/desorption of lead was conducted repeatedly. As the process proceeded, the amounts of lead adsorption decrease, so it was indicated that the non-desorbed lead from alginate bead at first adsorption/desorption process remained constantly.

• Clean Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.251-255
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• 2014

PVA gel beads were made by immobilization of thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA) and trioctylphoshineoxide (TOPO) with poly vinyl alcohol (PVA). The prepared PVA gel beads were used for the removal of $Cu^{2+}$ from aqueous solution. The removal characteristics of $Cu^{2+}$ by PVA gel beads was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. The maximum removal capacity calculated from Langmuir isotherm equation was 9.59 mg/g. The optimal pH was in the range of 3.5~6. Even when the PVA gel beads were reused 5 times, the leakage of extractant and the damage of PVA gel beads was not observed.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.115-121
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• 2007

A novel hydrogen fermentation technique by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel beads as a biomass carrier was investigated. The hydrogen gas was stably produced throughout the experimental period in a continuous reactor. Even though the hydrogen productivity was suddenly decrease by experimental troubles, the bacteria attached to the PVA gel beads played as an inoculum, it was promptly recovered. The hydrogen yield per glucose was not very high ($1.0-1.2mol-H_2/mol-glucose$), thus the optimization of the experimental conditions such as ORP and HRT should be considered to improve the hydrogen productivity. Bacterial community was stable during experimental period after the PVA gel beads applying, which indicated that applying of biomass carrier was specific to keep not only the biomass but also the bacteria commonly. Clostridium species were phylogenetically detected, which suggested that these bacteria contributed to the hydrogen production in the biofilm attached to the PVA gel beads.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1583-1591
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• 2014

PVA-D2EHPA/TOPO beads containing two extractants, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and trioctylphoshine oxide (TOPO) were prepared for the removal of copper ions from aqueous solution. The prepared PVA-D2EHPA/TOPO beads were characterized by SEM and FT-IR. The removal characteristics of copper ions by PVA-D2EHPA/TOPO beads was investigated using batch and continuous systems. In batch experiments, the maximum removal capacity calculated from Langmuir isotherm model was 18.6 mg/g and the optimal pH was in the range of 4.5~6. The continuous experiments showed that the removal capacity of copper ions increased with increasing inlet copper ion concentrations and bed heights, but decreased with increasing inlet flow rates.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.450-457
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• 2015

In this research a adsorbent, PVA-Zeolite bead, was prepared by immobilizing zeolite with PVA. The results of XRD and SEM analysis showed that the prepared PVA-Zeolite beads had porous structure and the zeolite particles were in mobilized within the internal matrix of the beads. The adsorption properties of Sr ion and Cs ion with the adsorbent were studied by different parameters such as effect of pH, adsorption rate, and adsorption isotherm. The adsorption of Sr ion and Cs ion reached equilibrium after 540 minutes. The adsorption kinetics of both ions by the PVA-Zeolite beads were fitted well by the pseudo-second-order model more than pseudo-first-order model. The equilibrium data fitted well with Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacities of Sr ion and Cs ion calculated from Langmuir isotherm model were 52.08 mg/g and 58.14 mg/g, respectively. The external mass transfer step was very fast compared to the intra-particle diffusion step in the adsorption process of Cs ion and Sr ion by the PVA-Zeolite beads. This result implied that the rate controlling step was the intra-particle diffusion step.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 1999

The immobilization of nitrifier consortium was carried out for the application to recirculating aquaculture system(RAS). The abilities of $NH_4^+$-N removal by immobilized nitrifier consortia prepared with boric acid treated, ethanol treated, ad freezing-thawing treated PVA beads at the concentration 15% were examined. To identify the possibility of applying the beads in the fluidized bed reactor, characteristics of beads were evaluated. The suitable bead was boric acid treated beads which had highest ammonia removal rate of 16.09 g/$m^3$/day. It took 12 days for nitrifier consortium immobilized beads to be stable for the removal of $NH_4^+$-N. Life spans of the beads were more than three months with aggressive aeration in the fluidized ed reactor when nitrifier consortia immobilized in PVA beads were used. In order to apply the nitrifier consortium immobilized beads to aquaculture facility, the continuous reactor was used for 49 days with synthetic aquacultural water containing 2 mg/L ammonia. The highest ammonia removal rate of 31.87 g/$m^3$/day was observed when hydraulic residence time was 0.6 hour(36min.).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.756-762
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• 2001

As a component for a recirculating aquaculture system, a new strain of denitrifying bacterium was isolated from municipal sewage. The isolate was motile by means of one polar flagellum, catalase-positive, and a Gram-negative rod-shaped cell measuring $0.5-0.6{\mu}m$ in width and $1.3-1.9{\mu}m$ in length. The isolate was identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens and produced dinitrogen gas via the reduction of nitrate. The optimal growth conditions (pH, temperature, carbon source, and C/N ratio) of the isolate were found to be 6.8, $30^{\circ}C$, malate, and 3, respectively. Under optimal growth conditions of P. fluorescens, dinitrogen gas was first detected in the exponential growth phase, then a small amount of nitrite was developed and converted to dinitrogen gas in the stationary phase. Pseudomonas fluorescens cells were immobilized in modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel beads, and the maximum denitrification rate was measured as $36.6 {\mu}lN_2h^-1$ per bead with an optimum cell loading of $20mg {\mu}l^-1$ and $2\%$ sodium alginate added to the PVA gel. The operating stability of the modified PVA gel beads remained unchanged for up to 43 repeated batches.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 2022

Recently, an autotrophic single-stage nitrogen removal (ASSNR) process based on the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) reaction has been proven as an economical ammonia treatment. It is highly evident that double-layered gel beads are a promising alternative to the natural biofilm for ASSNR because of the high mechanical strength of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/alginate structure and efficient protection of ANAMMOX bacteria from dissolved oxygen (DO) due to the thick outer layer. However, the thick outer layer results in severe mass transport limitation and consequent lowered bacterial activity. Therefore, the effects of the thickness of the outer layer on the overall reaction rate were tested in the biofilm model using AQUASIM for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and ANAMMOX bacteria. A thickness of 0.5~1.0 mm is preferred for the maximum total nitrogen (TN) removal. In addition, a DO of 0.5 mg/L resulted in the best total nitrogen removal. A higher DO induces NOB activity and consequent lower TN removal efficiency. The optimal density of AO B and NO B density was 1~10% for a 10% ANAMMOX bacterial in the double-layered PVA/alginate gel beads. The real effects of operating parameters of the thickness of the outer layer, DO and concentrations of biomass balance should be intensively investigated in the controlled experiments in batch and continuous modes.