• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1772-1781
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• 2007

Activated sludge was sequentially adapted to benzene, toluene, and o-xylene (BTX) to study the effects on the change of microbial community. Sludge adapted to BTX separately degraded each by various rates in the following order; toluene>o-xylene>benzene. Degradation rates were increased after exposure to repeated spikes of substrates. Eleven different kinds of sludge were prepared by the combination of BTX sequential adaptations. Clustering analyses (Jaccard, Dice, Pearson, and cosine product coefficient and dimensional analysis of MDS and PCA for DGGE patterns) revealed that acclimated sludge had different features from nonacclimated sludge and could be grouped together according to their prior treatment. Benzene- and xylene-adapted sludge communities showed similar profiles. The sludge profile was affected from the point of the final adaptation substrate regardless of the adaptation sequence followed. In the sludge adapted to 50 ppm toluene, Nitrosomonas sp. and bacterium were dominant, but these bands were not dominant in benzene and benzene after toluene adaptations. Instead, Flexibacter sp. was dominant in these cultures. Dechloromonas sp. was dominant in the culture adapted to 50 ppm benzene. Thauera sp. was the main band in the sludge adapted to 50 ppm xylene, but became vaguer as the xylene concentration was increased. Rather, Flexibacter sp. dominated in the sludge adapted to 100 ppm xylene, although not in the culture adapted to 250 ppm xylene. Two bacterial species dominated in the sludge adapted to 250 ppm xylene, and they also existed in the sludge adapted to 250 ppm xylene after toluene and benzene.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.386-389
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• 2003

Organic solvent tolerance bacteria, Pseudomonas savastanoi BCNU 106 could utilize a high contentration of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene isomers (BTEX) as a sole carbon source. It was founded that strain BCNU 106 transformed o-xylene to 2-methylbenzyl alcohol, 2-methylbenzoic acid through direct oxygenation of methyl residue on GC-MS analysis.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.625-628
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• 1991

Using uniform flat plate-like samples of ZSM-5 zeolites, diffusion coefficients were measured volumetrically for the diffusion of xylene, ethyltoluene and diethylbenzene by direct measurement of sorption rate. Toluene disproportionation over H(100)-, K(72)-and Cs(82)-ZSM-5 at 773 K and toluene methylation, toluene ethylation and ethylbenzene ethylation over Cs(75)-ZSM-5 at 623 K were carried out. The selective formation of para xylene during the toluene disproportionation, presumably due to the increased tortuosity over Cs-ZSM-5, could be explained by smaller diffusion coefficient in Cs-ZSM-5 than in K-and H-ZSM-5. The para selectivity increased in the order; toluene methylation < toluene ethylation < ethylbenzene ethylation. As the chain length of the alkyl substituent in dialkylbenzenes is increased, the para selectivity of the products was improved. It may be attributed to the differences in the ratios of diffusion coefficient of para products to that of ortho ones. Diffusion coefficient of m-xylene was about 1 order of magnitude smaller than that of o-xylene.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.16-28
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• 1991

A study on comparison of standard charcoal tube method, infrared gas analyzer, and detector tube method were conducted. Measurements were performed simultaneously at same sampling points in an air chamber containing benzene, toluene and xylene vapors. Charcoal tube samles were collected at sampling flowrates of 0.05, 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 1pm. Results are as follows : 1. Coefficients of variation of results with charcoal tube method for bezene, toluene and xylene mixture vapor were 14.34 % in benzene(0.28-11.12 ppm), 9.20 % in toluene (2.68-135.09 ppm) and 10.21 % in xylene (2.56-82.64 ppm), respectively. 2. Results of infrared gas analyzer in mixture air were non-specific on benzene and toluene. Ratio of results of infrared gas analyzer to those of charcoal tube on benzene, toluene and xylene were 696.4 %, 30.3 % and 36.6 %, respectively. 3. Ratio of responses of detector tubes to those of charcoal tube were 49.4 % in benzene, 22.1 % in toluene and 223.9 % in xylene. Xylene detector tube were interfered by toluene greately. 4. Collection efficiencies of charcoal tubes at low concentraton(benzene : 1 ppm, toluene : 10 ppm, xylene : 10 ppm) were stable on various flowrate from 0.05 to 1.0 1pm, but at high concentrations the efficiency decreased at high flowrate above 0.5 1pm. 5. Within the saturation capacity of charcoal, collection effiency decreased at 0.5-1.0 1pm. Smpling feowrates of 0.05-0.20 1pm were appropriate for sampling organic vapors.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.393-400
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• 1998

A microorganism, Klebsiella gr. 47, capable of degrading BTX(benzene, toluene and xylene) was isolated from oil-contaminated soil and its characteristics of BTX degradation were investigated. When benzene and toluene were fed to Klebstella gr. 47 simulataneously, they showed competitive ingibition. The degradation rate of xylene was enhanced as much as 3 times when xylene was fed with benzene or toluene. Degradation rate of benzene and toluene was also enhanced by cocultured with Alcaligenes xylosoxidans. When benzene-adapted microorganism was used, each BTX compound was degraded efficiently within 5 hours.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.61-65
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• 2001

In this study, a BTX degrading microbial consortium was obtained from the activated sludges of a BTX releasing sewage water and city sewage water treatment plant. The MY microbial consortium was developed for benzene and toluene degradation, whereas the MA microbial consortium was developed for xylene isomers. The major microorganism of the MA consortium was identified as Rhodococcus ruber DSM 43338T, whereas that of the MY consortium was Rhodococcus sp. In terms of the degradation of a single component, the removal rate of benzene was fastest and decreased in order; toluene, o-xylene, p-xylene and m-xylene. For degradation of mixed BTX, most BTX were degraded within 108 hours and the degradation rate showed either stimulatory or inhibitory effects depending on the composition. MA and MY microbial consortium obtained in this study may be used effectively to remove BTX biologically.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2011

In order to develop the methods for exposure assessment and find susceptibility markers for the workers who are exposed to low doses of toluene, xylene and other chemical in petroleum industries, we investigated the application of P-450 expression in human lymphocytes utilizing mouse monoclonal anti-rat CYP2B1/2, the levels of toluene and xylene in air and their metabolite levels in urine with the levels of expressed CYP2B1/2 proteins. The general characteristics such as age, smoking and drinking habit were no significant difference between the control and exposed workers, but the working durations and working hours were significantly different. Workers in exposed group were exposed to the mean of 2.1 ppm (range, 0.00-4.54) of toluene and 0.3 ppm (rang, 0.00-1.23) of xylene. The mean concentration of urinary hippuric acid was low and less than 1/5 of the biological exposure index recommended by the Ministry of Employment and Labor Korea. Methyl hippuric acid in urine was not detected in control and exposed workers. Also, there were no significant differences in the levels of the urinary metabolites between the control and exposed group. When chemiluminescence dot blottings were carried out utilizing mouse monoclonal antibody against CYP2B1/2, the strong density dots corresponding to a mouse monoclonal antibody was observed in the human lymphocytes from the exposed workers. These results suggested that the chemiluminescence dot blot assay for CYP of lymphocytes should be valuable for identifying CYP expression as biomarkers in the workers exposed to toluene and xylene.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.96-100
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• 1998

The effects of electron acceptors and acclimation of inoculum on the anaerobic degradation of benzene, toluene, and m-xylene (BTX) were investigated to enhance the rate of degradation by estuarine sediment inoculum. With the fresh sediment inocula, degradation of BTX ensued after a 10-week acclimation period, and 37~61% of benzene and 57~61% of toluene were degraded after 16 weeks. Sediments from heavily contaminated sites showed higher degradation rates of BTX. After a 6-month of acclimation, degradation onset rapidly from the time of BTX addition and no difference was found among the sediment inocula. Single compound of BTX was slowly degraded in the methanogenic conditions, however, the degradation of BTX mixture was slow in the denitrifying conditions. Although the degradation rate of m-xylene was the fastest among the components of BTX mixture, longer acclimation enhanced the degradation rate of BTX, especially that of benzene. When the culture fluids were tested with Microtox, anaerobic degradation of BTX reduced the toxicity of BTX as well.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.343-349
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• 2000

Volatile Organic Compounds(VOCs) emitted form electronicSince toluene, xylene, cyclohexanone, and benzofuran will bring on the deleterious smell and the health risk, eventhough very small amount of these areexposed to human body, quantitative analysis was achieved by GC-MS system. As a result of these analyses, except PCB(CEM-1) of which is one of the electronic parts, the left of electronic parts represented, imme-diately form 30 minutes to 1 hour after heating, the trends that toluene, xylene, cyclohexanone and phenol were consecuticely emitted very high. and toluene, xylene, phenol, cyclohexanone, and benzofuran from most of the electronic parts were emitted very frequently within the measuring period. Finally, Trans of electronic parts showed the highest concentration of emission, and xylene(550~2482 ${\mu}g/m^2$) was the most noticeably emitting compound of VOCs.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2000

A suitable packing material for biofiltration of monoaromatic solvent vapors was selected among various types of packing materials such as peat, bark chips, vermiculite, and Hydroballs. A previously isolated strain, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes BTXO2, which could utilize toluene, m-and p-xylene as carbon and energy sources was used as a biofilter inoculum. Four glass biofilters (6 cm dia. x 60 cm) were individually packed with each of the packing materials and solvent vapors were passed through the columns. During three weeks of peat biofilter operation, average removal efficiencies of toluene, m-and p-xylene were 90.4%, 95.3%, and 82.1%, respectively. With the other packings, the efficiencies were in the range of 10.1 to 58.6％ which were significantly lower than those of the peat biofilter. The peat biofilter was continually operated for approximately nine months and the biofilter sustained its degradation activity during the operation period with minimal maintenance. At steady state, average removal rates of toluene, m- and p-xylene vapors were estimated as 14.2, 5.5, and 8.1 g m$\^$-3/ packing h$\^$-1/, respectively.