• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.186-194
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• 2009

Understanding the environmental fate of human and animal pharmaceuticals and their risk assessment are of great importance due to their growing environmental concerns. Although there are many potential pathways for them to reach the environment, effluents from sewage treatment plants (STPs) are recognized as major point sources. In this study, the removal efficiencies of the 43 selected priority pharmaceuticals in a conventional STP were evaluated using two simple models: an equilibrium partitioning model (EPM) and STPWIN$^{TM}$ program developed by US EPA. It was expected that many pharmaceuticals are not likely to be removed by conventional activated sludge processes because of their relatively low sorption potential to suspended sludge and low biodegradability. Only a few pharmaceuticals were predicted to be easily removed by sorption or biodegradation, and hence a conventional STP may not protect the environment from the release of unwanted pharmaceuticals. However, the prediction made in this study strongly relies on sorption coefficient to suspended sludge and biodegradation half-lives, which may vary significantly depending on models. Removal efficiencies predicted using the EPM were typically higher than those predicted by STPWIN for many hydrophilic pharmaceuticals due to the difference in prediction method for sorption coefficients. Comparison with experimental organic carbon-water partition coefficients ($K_{ocs}) revealed that log KOW-based estimation used in STPWIN is likely to underestimate sorption coefficients, thus resulting low removal efficiency by sorption. Predicted values by the EPM were consistent with limited experimental data although this model does not include biodegradation processes, implying that this simple model can be very useful with reliable Koc values. Because there are not many experimental data available for priority pharmaceuticals to evaluate the model performance, it should be important to obtain reliable experimental data including sorption coefficients and biodegradation rate constants for the prediction of the fate of the selected pharmaceuticals.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2016

Magnetic nano-based sorbents have been synthesized for the recovery of two rare earth elements (REE: Nd(III) and Yb(III)). The magnetic nano-based particles are synthesized by a one-pot hydrothermal procedure involving co-precipitation under thermal conditions of Fe(III) and Fe(II) salts in the presence of chitosan. The composite magnetic/chitosan material is crosslinked with epichlorohydrin and modified by grafting alanine and serine amine-acids. These materials are tested for the binding of Nd(III) (light REE) and Yb(III) (heavy REE) through the study of pH effect, sorption isotherms, uptake kinetics, metal desorption and sorbent recycling. Sorption isotherms are well fitted by the Langmuir equation: the maximum sorption capacities range between 9 and 18 mg REE $g^{-1}$ (at pH 5). The sorption mechanism is endothermic (positive value of ${\Delta}H^{\circ}$) and contributes to increase the randomness of the system (positive value of ${\Delta}S^{\circ}$). The fast uptake kinetics can be described by the pseudo-second order rate equation: the equilibrium is reached within 4 hours of contact. The sub-micron size of sorbent particles strongly reduces the contribution of resistance to intraparticle diffusion in the control of uptake kinetics. Metal desorption using acidified thiourea solutions allows maintaining sorption efficiency for at least four successive cycles with limited loss in sorption capacity.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.384-392
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the removal efficiency of $17{\alpha}$-methyltestosterone (MT) from aqueous solution by Salvinia cucullata Roxb. ex Bory in an active plant-based reactor with a specific focus on linear regression analysis for the sorption phenomena of MT onto the plant roots. A high performance liquid chromatographic method using UV detection (245 nm) was used to analyse the samples. The batch experiments of the active plant reactor (APR) were established to investigate the ability of Salvinia cucullata to remove MT from the liquid phase. The results revealed that 40% and 60% removal of MT from the liquid phase was observed at 5 min. and at 4 h, respectively. Salvinia cucullata can effectively remove MT from the aqueous solution in APRs. Kinetic studies revealed that the sorption phenomena of MT by Salvinia is best described using a linearized pseudo - second order model. Based on the kinetic parameters, it is likely that during the first 4 h of the contact (t = 0 to t = 4 h) sorption is the major driving mechanism of the disappearance of MT from aqueous solutions. However, at higher MT concentrations, diffusivity of MT has a significant effect on the migration of MT from the bulk stream to the root surface. The isotherm analysis revealed that the sorption kinetics favourably followed pseudo second-order. The results of isotherm analysis have indicated that the sorption of MT onto the root surfaces of Salvinia cucullata was favourable and almost irreversible.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.183-186
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• 2002

Experiments in the batch soil/aqueous systems were conducted to compare the sorption onto soil and extraction efficiency of sorbed phenanthrene in the presence of the micelle-forming anionic surfactant(SDS) or the micelle-like amphiphilic nano-sized polyurethane particles. Micelle-like amphiphilic nano-sized polyurethane(APU) particles synthesized from amphiphilic urethane acrylate anionomers(UAA) could solubilize phenanthrene within their hydrophobic interiors as the same way that surfactants micelles did in aqueous phase.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.379-381
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• 2003

Metal sorption onto the ICS (Iron oxide coated sand) was studied in batch experiments. Heavy metal cations such as Cd, Pb, and Cu, and a metal anion, As, which sporadically exist in mine sites, were tested for the sorptive removal by ICS. In low pH conditions As showed the highest removal efficiency compared to the other metal cations. And the sorption removal of As was apparently pH-independent reaction. However, removal of metal cations increased with pH and above pH 7 most metal cations showed very low soluble concentrations after treatment. Such a high removal ratio of metal cations above the neutral pH appeared predominantly due to precipitation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.497-501
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• 2005

This study deals with the removal of mercury species using a packed-bed column with spherical aminated chitosan material. These adsorbents revealed a high adsorption capacity for mercury species. Experiments with feed solutions of 10 ppm Hg dissolved in distilled water showed an excellent removal with a sharp increase of the filter effluent concentration after a total throughput of 900 bed volumes of feed water. Up to $95\%$ desorption was reached by using 3 bed volumes of 0.01 N EDTA solution. EDTA could be recovered by means of sulfuric acid with about $75\%$ efficiency. Almost the same results were obtained in repeated sorption and desorption experiments at identical conditions. The experiments demonstrated that the sorbents possessed practically no sorption capacity for alkaline earth ions ($Ca^{2+}\;and\;Mg^{2+}$). Their influence on the sorption of mercury was negligible. In experiments with spiked tap water of the Karlsruhe Research Centre and a feed mercury concentration of 0.01 mg/l, the breakthrough of Hg was observed only after a total throughput of about 6,000 bed volumes of feed water.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 1992

Six common tablet disintegrants (corn starch, Avicel PH102, calcium carboxymethylcellulose, Primojel, Kollidon CL and Ac-Di-Sol) were used at the concentration of 0, 2, 4 and 6% (w/w) in salicylamide tablets made with wet granulation method. Certain physical parameters of the disintegrants (moisture sorption, hydration capacity and bulk density) were determined to evaluate their relative efficiency. The disintegration time and dissolution rate of the tablets were correlated well with the ranks of initial rate of moisture sorption for each disintegrant as follows; Ac-Di-Sol, Kollidon CL, primojel, calcium CMC, corn starch and Avicel PH102. The initial rate of moisture sorption was important for the disintegration capacity as well as hydration capacity. The effect of storage at different temperatures and relative humidity upon the tablets containing various disintegrants was evaluated in terms of tablet hardness and disintegration time. Storage at high temperature reduced the hardness substantially and retarded the disintegration of the all tablets studied. Especially, the hardness of tablets containing Kollidon CL was significantly reduced. Although the tablet hardness was decreased and the disintegration time was increased under a moderate humid condition, both of them were decreased under the severely high humid condition of 80 or 90% RH, which was due to the breakrupture of tablet matrix bonds by the excessive uptake of moisture. Therefore, the stability caused by moisture sorption should be considered, when disintegrants having high moisture sorption such as Kollidon CL, Ac-Di-Sol and Primojel were employed in the tablets containing water-labile or hygroscopic drugs.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 1999

The solvent flushing apparatus for soil remediation was designed. After the soil around nuclear facilities was sampled and compulsorily contaminated by Co, the characteristics remediated by solvent flushing were analyzed. Meanwhile, the nonequilibrium sorption code was developed for modelling of the soil remediation by solvent flushing, input parameters needed for modelling were measured by laboratory experiment. Experimental results are as follows : The soil around nuclear facilities belongs to Silt Loam including a lot of silt and sand. When water was used as a solvent, the higher was the hydraulic conductivity. the higher the efficiency of soil remediation was. The values calculated by the nonequilibrium sorption code agreed with experimental values more exactly than the values calculated by the equilibrium sorption code. When EDTA solution was used as a solvent. the soil remediation efficiency by EDTA solution showed higher than that by water.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.148-156
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• 2012

In this research, the application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) membrane was tested as a simply and beginning attempt to overcome membrane fouling because CNTs importantly affect the transport of natural organic matter (NOM). Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA) as the representative of NOM was selected and its sorption results with single-walled CNT (SWCNT), multi-walled CNT (MWCNT), and oxidized MWCNT (O-MWCNT) were obtained through the batch experiment. SRFA sorption isotherms had a strong nonlinearity and its sorption capacity followed the order O-MWCNT < MWCNT < SWCNT. The adsorbed mass of SRFA on each CNT decreased as a function of pH due to their charge repulsion. For the CNT-PVDF membrane filtration experiments, the suspended CNT solution (10 mg/40 mL) was incorporated into $0.45{\mu}m$-PVDF membrane and 5 mg/L of SRFA solution was monitored using UV detector connected with high pressure pump after passing through CNT-PVDF membrane. The SRFA removal efficiency by MWCNT-PVDF membrane was the strongest among other modified membranes. This suggests that the CNT modified microfiltration (MF) membrane might effectively and selectively apply to treat the contaminated water including organic compounds in the presence of NOM.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.572-577
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• 2006

The physiochemical interactions of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and adsorbing agents can be described using a very powerful tool, inverse gas chromatography (IGC). Sorption behavior of 1-MCP on various adsorbing agents was assessed using the profile peaks of 1-MCP at an infinite dilution concentration using the IGC technique. Chromatogram peaks of 1-MCP adsorption were not observed for the adsorbing agent activated carbon. The forms of sorption isotherms followed Henry's law, and behaved according to the binding site theory. Specific retention volume and distribution coefficients for 1-MCP on the adsorbing agents were determined at 50, 60, 70, and $80^{\circ}C$, respectively. Silica gel had a much higher number of binding sites for 1-MCP compared to Tenax-TA and activated clay agents. Meanwhile, activated carbon proved to be a very strong binding agent for 1-MCP based on 1-MCP efficiency experiments on the selected adsorbing agents. However, as a proper means of delivering 1-MCP molecules to fresh food products, activated carbon is not fit for the binding and release of 1-MCP gas under dry or high humidity conditions because activated carbon has a strong affinity for 1-MCP, even when treated with distilled water.