• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.176-182
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• 2013

Several types of mesoporous alumina adsorbents with different physical properties were prepared by spray pyrolysis and were used for the separation/purification of the anticancer agent paclitaxel. The pore diameter of the adsorbents had a greater effect than did the surface area and the pore volume on the removal of plant-derived impurities. An appropriate pore diameter (~10.8 nm) was required for effective impurity removal. At a constant pore diameter, the surface area of the adsorbent affected not only the purity but also the yield of paclitaxel. Also, increasing the surface area of the adsorbent resulted in an increase in the adsorption of paclitaxel and impurities (biomass-derived tar and wax components). Removal of these impurities was confirmed by HPLC analysis of the absorbent after the treatment and TGA of the organic substances that were bound to the adsorbent.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.289-299
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• 2014

Alkali-activated slag concretes are being extensively researched because of its potential sustainability-related benefits. For such concretes to be implemented in large scale concrete applications such as infrastructural and building elements, it is essential to understand its early and long-term performance characteristics vis-a'-vis conventional ordinary portland cement (OPC) based concretes. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the property and performance features including early-age isothermal calorimetric response, compressive strength development with time, microstructural features such as the pore volume and representative pore size, and accelerated chloride transport resistance of OPC and alkali-activated binder systems. Slag mixtures activated using sodium silicate solution ($SiO_2$-to-$Na_2O$ ratio or $M_s$ of 1-2) to provide a total alkalinity of 0.05 ($Na_2O$-to-binder ratio) are compared with OPC mixtures with and without partial cement replacement with Class F fly ash (20 % by mass) or silica fume (6 % by mass). Major similarities are noted between these binder systems for: (1) calorimetric response with respect to the presence of features even though the locations and peaks vary based on $M_s$, (2) compressive strength and its development, (3) total porosity and pore size, and (4) rapid chloride permeability and non-steady state migration coefficients. Moreover, electrical impedance based circuit models are used to bring out the microstructural features (resistance of the connected pores, and capacitances of the solid phase and pore-solid interface) that are similar in conventional OPC and alkali-activated slag concretes. This study thus demonstrates that performance-equivalent alkali-activated slag systems that are more sustainable from energy and environmental standpoints can be proportioned.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.280-285
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• 2006

Adsorption characteristics of $H_{2}S$ on KOH impregnated activated carbon were evaluated using dynamic adsorption method in a fixed bed. The pore properties, including BET's specific surface area, pore volume, pore size distribution, and mean pore diameter of these KOH impregnated activated carbons, were characterized from $N_{2}$ adsorption/desorption isotherms. Adsorption equilibrium data were correlated with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The adsorption of $H_{2}S$ onto the KOH impregnated activated carbon is better fitted by the Langmuir isotherm. An increase in the content of oxygen affects the performance of KOH impregnated activated carbon to the greatest extent.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.560-566
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• 2004

To fabricate the continuously porous alumina bodies by multi-extrusion process, carbon powder and ethylene vinyl acetate were used as a pore forming agent and a binder, respectively. As the change of extrusion pass number, reduction ratio as well as the volume fraction of core and tube, the porous alumina bodies having various kind of pore size and porosity could be obtained. The porous bodies showed continuous pore shape, high specific surface as well as high bending strength, which were compared with those of commercial alumina bodies. In-vitro study was carried out using MG-63 osteoblast cells to investigate of their biocompatibility. As a result, the cells grew well on top and bottom as well as inside surface of pore. From the result of in-vivo study of 3-dimensional porous alumina bodies using rats, it was confirmed that any inflammatory response was not found in the subcutaneous tissue around porous body. Also the porous bodies removed from the rats were fully covered with well-developed fibrous tissues and showed the formation of new capillary blood vessels.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.817-826
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• 2011

Concrete using eco-cement has a problem with long-term strength development. However, currently, a long-term strength development mechanism is not confirmed, resulting in a lack of application of eco-cement in construction fields. In this study, the curing humidity influence on development in long-term strength of concrete using eco-cement and the relationship between strength and pore structure were examined. The results showed that wet cured eco-cement with a high water/cement ratio showed serious long-term strength reduction due to non-reduction of pore volume (pore size over 10 nm) in mortar caste with eco-cement. Also, the study results on improvement of long-term strength of eco-cement by partial replacement with ordinary portland cement and finely-ground fly ash showed that both of these alternatives improved long-term strength of concrete caste with eco-cement due to gradual refinement of their micro-structure.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.537-540
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• 2008

Up to now, the RC structures have been recognized as being socially semi-permanent. But in recent years there were reports about the cases of early deterioration of RC structures. Most of all pore structure effects on the durability of concrete as well as mechanical properties of concrete. Therefore, in this study, mixing design was proportioned with the water-binder ratio 0.55 binder compositions corresponding to cement without any supplementary materials(OPC), cement with 50% blast-furnace slag replacement (BFS50), cement with 15% fly ash replacement (FA15), and ternary cement with cement, 15% fly ash, and 35% slag replacement (BFS35+FA15). And this study is to compare pore structure property of concrete by carbonation to investigate the effect of the permeation of deterioration factors such as $CO_2$ and chloride ion under the combined deterioration environments. The results showed that pore volume effects on the diffusibility of chloride ion.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2017

Mercury intrusion and nitrogen sorption porosimetry were employed to investigate the pore structure of calcium sulfoaluminate ($C{\bar{S}}A$) and portland cement pastes with cement-to-water ratio (w/c) of 0.40, 0.50, and 0.60. A unimodal distribution of pore size was drawn for $C{\bar{S}}A$ cement pastes, whereas a bimodal distribution was established for the portland cement pastes through analysis of mercury intrusion porosimetry. For the experimental results generated by nitrogen sorption porosimetry, the $C{\bar{S}}A$ cement pastes have a smaller and coarser pore volume than cement paste samples under the same w/c condition. The relative dynamic modulus and percentage weight loss were used for investigation of the concrete durability in freeze-thaw condition. When coarse aggregate with good freeze-thaw durability was mixed, air entrained portland cement concrete has the same durability in terms of relative dynamic modulus as $C{\bar{S}}A$ cement concrete in a freeze-thaw environment. The $C{\bar{S}}A$ cement concrete with poor performance of durability in a freeze-thaw environment demonstrates the improved durability by 300 % over portland cement concrete. The $C{\bar{S}}A$ concrete with good performance aggregate also exhibits less surface scaling in a freeze-thaw environment, losing 11 % less mass after 297 cycles.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.44 no.6 s.301
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• pp.291-296
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• 2007

Porous $Al_2O_3-(m-ZrO_2)$ composites were fabricated by pressureless sintering, using different volume percentages (40% - 60%) of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) powders as a pore-forming agent. The pore-forming agent was successfully removed, and the pore size and shape were well-controlled during the burn-out and sintering processes. The average pore size in the porous $Al_2O_3-(m-ZrO_2)$ bodies was about $200\;{\mu}m$ in diameter. The values of relative density, bending strength, hardness, and elastic modulus decreased as the PMMA content increased; i.e., in the porous body (sintered at $1500^{\circ}C$) using 55 vol % PMMA, their values were about 50.8%, 29.8 MPa, 266.4 Hv, and 6.4 GPa, respectively. To make the $Al_2O_3-(m-ZrO_2)$/polymer hybrid composites, a bioactive polymer, such as PMMA, was infiltrated into the porous $Al_2O_3-(m-ZrO_2)$ composites. After infiltration, most of the pores in the porous $Al_2O_3-(m-ZrO_2)$ composites, which were made using 60 vol % PMMA additions, were infiltrated with PMMA, and their values of relative density, bending strength, hardness, and elastic modulus remarkably increased.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.71-88
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• 2016

Metakaolin, a dehydroxylated product of the mineral kaolinite, is one of the most valuable admixtures for high-performance concrete applications, including constructing reinforced concrete bridges and impact- and fire-resistant structures. Concretes produced using metakaolin become more homogeneous and denser compared to normal-strength concrete. Yet, these changes cause a change of volume throughout hardening, and increase the brittleness of hardened concrete significantly. In order to examine how the use of metakaolin affects the fracture and mechanical behavior of high-performance concrete we produced concretes using a range of water to binder ratio (0.42, 0.35 and 0.28) at three different weight fractions of metakaolin replacement (8%, 16% and 24%). The results showed that the rigidity of concretes increased with using 8% and 16% metakaolin, while it decreased in all series with 24% of metakaolin replacement. Similar effect has also been observed for other mechanical properties. While the peak loads in load-displacement curves of concretes decreased significantly with increasing water to binder ratio, this effect have been found to be diminished by using metakaolin. Pore structure analysis through mercury intrusion porosimetry test showed that the addition of metakaolin decreased the critical pore size of paste phases of concrete, and increasing the amount of metakaolin reduced the total porosity for the specimens with low water to binder ratios in particular. To determine the optimal values of water to binder ratio and metakaolin content in producing high-strength and high-performance concrete we applied a multi-objective optimization, where several responses were simultaneously assessed to find the best solution for each parameter.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.151-159
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• 2018

Annually, the global production of construction aggregates reaches over 40 billion tons, making aggregates the largest mining sector by volume and value. Currently, the aggregate industry is shifting from sand to hard rock as a result of legislation limiting the extraction of natural sands and gravels. A major implication of this change in the aggregate industry is the need for understanding rock fragmentation and energy absorption to produce more cost-effective aggregates. In this paper, we focused on incorporating dynamic rock and soil mechanics to understand the effects of loading rate and water saturation on the rock fragmentation and energy absorption of three different sandstones (Red, Berea and Buff) with different pore sizes. Rock core samples were prepared in accordance to the ASTM standards for compressive strength testing. Saturated and dry samples were subsequently prepared and fragmented via fast and dynamic compressive strength tests. The particle size distributions of the resulting fragments were subsequently analyzed using mechanical gradation tests. Our results indicate that the rock fragment size generally decreased with increasing loading rate and water content. In addition, the fragment sizes in the larger pore size sample (Buff sandstone) were relatively smaller those in the smaller pore size sample (Red sandstone). Notably, energy absorption decreased with increased loading rate, water content and rock pore size. These results support the conclusion that rock fragment size is positively correlated with the energy absorption of rocks. In addition, the rock fragment size increases as the energy absorption increases. Thus, our data provide insightful information for improving cost-effective aggregate production methods.