• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.737-744
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• 2007

Recently, one of the most interesting topic in the field of wastewater treatment is the disposal of excess sludge. The new concept of excess sludge reduction with recirculation of solubilized sludge via effective microorganisms for cell disruption within the wastewater treatment process has been developed in this study. The alkalophiles for degradation of sludge cell wall were isolated as Exiguobacterium sp., which could be more effectively solubilized sludge in the anaerobic condition. The SCOD of solubilized excess sludge by Exiguobacterium sp. was up to about 2,000mg/L and average TN and TP concentration of solubilized component were 117mg/L and 58mg/L, respectively and C/N ratio was more than 17. To investigate the effects of solubilized sludge by alkalophiles on excess sludge reduction and nutrient removal efficiency, the pilot plant of $DF^{(S)}-MBR$ process, combined with membrane bioreactor and sludge solubilization tank, was operated. In the control run(without sludge solubilization), the daily sludge production was about 4.54 kgMLVSS/day. However, in the $DF^{(S)}-MBR$(with sludge solubilization), the daily sludge production was decreased to 1.39kgMLVSS/day. The effluent quality satisfied the effluent regulation in both cases. Furthermore, the $DF^{(S)}-MBR$ showed relatively better TN removal efficiency in spite of high influent loading. So we concluded that the solubilized excess sludge by alkalophiles was effectively degraded in the MBR process as the carbon source and 70% of sludge reduction efficiency can be achieved.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.110-116
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• 2002

The aim of this study was to analyze food waste treatment cost and to estimate effect of by-product, such as wastewater and foreign materials, on amount cost. In cost analysis, man power and facility capacity are fixed, whereas operation cost, by-product treatment and et, al. are varied by treatment methods. The rate of by-product treatment cost in amount cost are between 5% and 39%. The methods which consume large electric power or generate much wastewater showed higher rate of by-product treatment cost in range of 14 to 39%. On the other hand, the methods which have simple process showed lower rate in range of 5 to 11%. Thus, this study recommend that by-products should be treated in sewage treatment facilities or landfill sites to prevent illegal disposal of by-products or to reduce burden of by-product from private sectors.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.103-108
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• 2014

Using dried sludge as a secondary fuel of a coal-fired power plant is proposed as an alternative option for sludge disposal. Because elemental contents of sludge are different from those of coal, different levels of acidic gas emissions are expected from the co-combustion of sludge with coal. In this study, sludge samples were obtained from 7 sewage treatment plants in Korea. Each sludge sample was combusted together with coal in a lab-scale combustor, and the concentrations of nitrogen oxides ($NO_x$), sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$), hydrogen chloride (HCl), chlorine ($Cl_2$) in the flue gas were analyzed. Compared to the combustion of coal only, $NO_x$ concentration was slightly higher in the flue gas from the co-combustion of coal and sludge. $SO_2$ emission increased with the combustion of sludge due to the higher content of sulfur in sludge than in coal. For most of the tested samples, the concentrations of HCl and $Cl_2$ were varied depending on the chlorine content in the sludge sample.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2018

Objectives: Based on the amount of amalgam, the duration of exposure, and the water pH, this study aims to investigate the change patterns in the mercury concentrations in water after amalgams have been introduced into sewage water. It is expected that the study results will be useful in improving the system for regulating the amount of mercury that is introduced into the environment. Methods: During the study, a glass test-tube with a cap was washed and disinfected using the glass laboratory device washing method. Then, 1, 2, 3, and 4 tabs were placed into a 10 mL pH 4 solution and 10 mL pH 7 distilled water. Each specimen was prepared in duplicate. The mean of the two mercury concentrations was used as the representative value, and the mercury concentration was measured using a mercury measurement device (DMA-80, Milestone, Italy) a total of eight times at one-week intervals. Results: The results show that the lower was the pH, the higher was the amount of amalgam. Also the longer was the duration, the more significant was the increase of mercury concentration in the water. Conclusions: Dental clinics are collected separately from dental clinics that used them. Given this, dental clinics in Korea must have the necessary facilities to separately collect mercury at their level. In addition, proper disposal systems and social attention to the proper management of dental wastes are required to prevent environmental pollution from mercury.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2015

In developing countries threat of cholera is a significant health concern whenever water purification and sewage disposal systems are inadequate. Vibrio cholerae is one of the responsible bacteria involved in cholera disease. The complete genome sequence of V. cholerae deciphers the presence of various genes and hypothetical proteins whose function are not yet understood. Hence analyzing and annotating the structure and function of hypothetical proteins is important for understanding the V. cholerae. V. cholerae O139 is the most common and pathogenic bacterial strain among various V. cholerae strains. In this study sequence of six hypothetical proteins of V. cholerae O139 has been annotated from NCBI. Various computational tools and databases have been used to determine domain family, protein-protein interaction, solubility of protein, ligand binding sites etc. The three dimensional structure of two proteins were modeled and their ligand binding sites were identified. We have found domains and families of only one protein. The analysis revealed that these proteins might have antibiotic resistance activity, DNA breaking-rejoining activity, integrase enzyme activity, restriction endonuclease, etc. Structural prediction of these proteins and detection of binding sites from this study would indicate a potential target aiding docking studies for therapeutic designing against cholera.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.240-248
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• 2003

Sulfur compounds which are well-known odor-active compounds in industrial area have very low detection threshold values. Trace amounts of volatile sulfur compounds in enviroment air around several odor sources were concentrated in liquid argon bath and determined by gas chromatograph with flame photometric detector (FPD) which exhibits very good selectivity and sensitivity. 25% ${\beta}$,${\beta}$-Oxydipropionitrile on 60/80 Chromosorb W was used as adsorbent for the preconcentration of sulfur compounds in air sample and also as packing material for a packed glass column. Concentration volume of air sample was different from place to place in the range of 0.1~3.0L. Atmospheric concentrations of sulfur compounds in air of residential districts and boundaries of business establishments, and also those in the exhausted gases of emission points such as a sewage disposal plant in industrial area were measured.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Resources Recycling Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.78-85
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• 2006

In textile industries, waste effluent containing zinc is generated during the manufacture of rayon yarn from the wood pulp or cotton linters. Due to the strict environmental regulations and the presence of toxic metallic and other constituents, the discharge of industrial effluents in the sewage or disposal of solid sludge as landfill is restricted. Before recycling of zinc as zinc sulphate solution to the spinning-bath of the rayon manufacturing plant the zinc sulphate solution must be free from calcium, which is deleterious to the process as gypsum precipitates with the increase in concentration and forms scale in the bath. In the present work an attempt has been made to develop a process following solvent extraction technique using thiophosphinic extractants, Cyanex 272 and 302 modified with isodecanol and diluted in kerosene to recover zinc from rayon effluent. Various process parameters viz. extraction of zinc from different concentration of solution, distribution ratio, selective extraction, O/A ratio on extraction and stripping from the loaded organic, complex formation in the organic phase etc. have been studied to see the feasibility of the process. The extractant Cyanex 302 has been found selective for the recovery of 99.99% of zinc from the effluent above equilibrium pH 3.4 maintaining the O/A ratio of 1/30 leaving all the calcium in the raffinate. It selectively extracted zinc in the form of complex $[R_{2}Zn.3RH]_{org}$ and retained all the calcium in the aqueous raffinate. The zinc from the loaded Cyanex 302 can be stripped with 10% sulphuric acid at even O/A ratio of 10 without affecting the stripping efficiency. The stripped solution thus obtained could be recycled in the spinning bath of the rayon plant. The raffinate obtained after the recovery of zinc could be disposed safely without affacting environment.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.79-87
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• 2014

The enrichment with nutrients in rivers and lakes becomes serious problems in Korea. As the environmental friendly solution, the phytoremediation are getting more attention and the water hyacinth could be a strong candidate plant for this. Water hyacinth is a free floating freshwater plant proven to be a effective plant used for a purification of a polluted lakes, sewage wastewater, and livestock wastewater. The biggest obstacles for application of water hyacinth in Korea could be the disposal of the water hyacinth before winter, because there is no feasible use for the water hyacinth until now. In this study, the characteristics of water hyacinth were deeply investigated for providing background data to develop appropriate application of the water hyacinth. The water hyacinth was fractioned three parts, leaf, air blader, root of which morphological properties were evaluated with microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The water contents of each parts of the water hyacinth were 87% for leaf, 96.5% for air bladder, 94.6% for root. The chemical compositions of each parts were also measured and showed around 29% of hot water extract in leaf and air bladder, 42% holocellulose for leaf, 47% holocellulose for air bladder. The application of water hyacinth biomass without root parts to papermaking provided bulkier structure, but the tensile strength was decreased.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.151-164
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• 2010

Field observations on the seasonal variations of environmental factors and phytoplankton community were carried out four times at 30 stations in the narrow strait between Yeosu and Dolsan Island of the Korean South Sea from September 2005 to May 2006. The ranges of water temperature, salinity and extinction coefficient in the surface waters were 5.6~26.3, 25.36~33.92 psu and 0.13~2.13, respectively. The water temperature measured higher at Gamak Bay in summer and spring. It measured higher at Yeosuhae Bay in autumn and winter. Salinity showed uniformity of distributions in almost all areas, except for an area near a sewage disposal outlet. Extinction coefficient indicated that the turbidity of Gamak Bay and the area near the sewage disposal outlet were higher than that of the Yeosuhae Bay. In the phytoplankton community were identified a total of 99 species belonging to 51 genera. The species composition showed itself to be various in summer and autumn, but poor in winter and spring with a high ratio of centric diatoms all the year round. Seasonal succession of dominant species were Skeletonema costatum and Chaetoceros curvisetus in summer, Eucampia zodiacus in autumn and winter, and Chaetoceros affinis and Thalassionema nitzschioides inspring. Standing crops of phytoplankton and Chlorophyll $\alpha$ concentration were greatly higher at Gamak Bay in summer with ranges of $0.2{\times}10^4\;cells\;L^{-1}$ to $296{\times}10^4\;L^{-1}$, and $1.94\;L^{-1}$ to $22.12\;L^{-1}$, respectively. From the results of principal component analysis (PCA), the northern part of Dolsan Island was divided into two or three regions from the characteristics of marine environment and phytoplankton community.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.43-71
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• 1999

This research is an experimental work of developing a construction material using municipal wastewater sludge as liner and cover materials for waste disposal landfill. Weathered granite soil and flyash, produced as a by-product in the power plant, were used as the primary additives to improve geotechnical engineering properties of sludge. For secondary additives, bentonite and cement were mixed with sludge to decrease the permeability and to increase the shear strength, respectively. Various laboratory test required to evaluate the design criteria for liner and cover materials, were carried out by changing the mixing ratio of sludge with the additives. Basic soil properties such as specific gravity, grain size distribution, liquid and plastic limits were measured to analyze their effects on permeability, compaction, compressibility and shear strength properties of mixtures. Laboratory compaction tests were conducted to find the maximum dry densities and the optimum moisture contents of mixtures, and their effectiveness of compaction in field was consequently evaluated. Permeability tests of variable heads with compacted samples, and the stress-controlled consolidation tests with measuring permeabilities of samples during consolidation process were performed to obtain permeability, and to find the compressibility as well as consolidational coefficients of mixtures, respectively. To evaluate the long term stability of sludges, creep tests were also conducted in parallel with permeability tests of variable heads. On the other hand, for the compacted sludge decomposed for a month, permeability tests were carried out to investigate the effect of decomposition of organic matters in sludges on its permeability. Direct shear tests were performed to evaluate the shear strength parameters of mixed sludge with weathered granite, flyash and bentonite. For the mixture of sludge with cement, unconfined compression tests were carried out to find their strength with varying mixing ratio and curing time. On the other hand, CBR tests for compacted specimen were also conducted to evaluate the trafficability of mixtures. Various test results with mixtures were assessed to evaluate whether their properties meet the requirements as liner and cover materials in waste disposal landfill.