• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.3755-3759
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• 2010

A on-line SPE (solid phase extraction)-HPLC preconcentration method was developed for the determination of phenolic compounds at trace levels in environmental water sample. XAD-4 and Dowex 1-X8 were used as sorbent in the on-line SPE-HPLC method for the selective enrichment of nine phenolic compounds, which are included in the priority pollutants list of the US EPA. Also alumina prefiltering considerably reduced the amount of interfering peaks due to humic substances that could accumulated due to the preconcentration step and prevent quantification of polar phenolic compounds in environmental water samples. This method was used to determine the phenolic compounds in tap and river water and superiority to the US EPA 625 method in its enrichment factor, pretreatment time, recoveries, and detection limit. The limits of detection were in the range of $0.3-0.9\;{\mu}g/L$ in tap water sample.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2016

Acoustic cavitation can induce various sonochemical effects including pyrolysis and radical reactions and sonophysical effects including microjets and shockwave. In environmental engineering field, ultrasound technology using sonochemical effects can be useful for the removal and mineralization of recalcitrant trace pollutants in aqueous phase as one of emerging advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). In this study, the effect of liquid height, the distance from the transducer to the water surface, on sonochemical oxidation reactions was investigated using KI dosimetry. As the liquid height/volume increased (40~400 mm), the cavitation yield steadily increased even though the power density drastically decreased. It was found that the enhancement at higher liquid height conditions was due to the formation of standing wave field, where cavitation events could stably occur and a large amount of oxidizing radicals such as OH radicals could be continuously provided.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.371-381
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• 1997

Precipitation sampls were collected in Chonju-city during October 1994 to September 1995 and were analysed for major ions (N $a^{+}$, $K^{+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, C $l^{[-10]}$ , NO/$_3$, S $O_4$$^{2-}$) and trace metals (Al, Cd, Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn) in addition to pH, in order to understand the chemical characteristics of acid rain and to estimate the origin of the determined ions. Most rain showed a neutral or alkaline character, and only 35% had a pH lower than 5.6. S $O_4$$^{2-}$ and N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ are identified as the primary contributors to precipitation acidity in this region. Neutralization of precipitation acidity occurs as a result of the dissolution of alkaline compounds containing $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and $K^{+}$. S $O_4$$^{2-}$ and N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ precipitation concentrations exhibit a seasonal pattern in which higher concentrations are observed during spring months and lower concentrations during summer months. However, the seasonal behavior of $H^{+}$ concentrations differs from this pattern, in that the highest concentrations occur during autumn months, owing to the different influence of neutralization processes. In all rain, S $O_4$$^{2-}$ concentration exceeded NO/$_3$$^{[-10]}$ concentration. The contribution of maritime sources to the total S $O_4$$^{2-}$ concentration was very low or negligible. For rain strongly affacted by yellow sand, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and $K^{+}$ ions show a sharp increase in concentration, reflecting the increased amount of dust and soil suspended in atmosphere. At the same time, S $O_4$$^{2-}$ and N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ concentrations are at their highest levels while $H^{+}$ values are not comparably elevated, presumably beacause much of the acidity has been neutralized by alkaline substances. The seasonal variance of trace metal concentrations in rainwater is similar to that of major cations. The annual wet flux of acidic pollutants and trace metals wat calculated to be as follows: N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ ; 2.32 g/$m^2$, S $O_4$$^{2-}$, 5.34 g/$m^2$, Al; 6.30 mg/$m^2$, Cd; 0.62 mg/$m^2$, Ni; 4.08 mg/$m^2$, Pb: 9.76 mg/$m^2$, Sr; 5.94 mg/$m^2$, Zn; 111 mg/$m^2$./$m^2$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.501-505
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• 2017

Due to the rapid urbanization and increased population, there is an increase in airtight nature of buildings which causes serious indoor air pollution. Among several indoor air pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from paint are of major concern. Therefore, there is an urge for the development of environmental friendly paint products. In this wok, a natural wall paint (NWP) was prepared by utilizing a natural clay material "sericite" as a main component. A small chamber test was carried out to identify the toxic substances release from NWP and the results were compared with two eco-friendly commercial paints. The total VOCs were detected in trace level inside the test chamber and their concentrations were below the recommended indoor air quality standards. Toluene was not detected for NWP, whereas formaldehyde was observed in trace level. The toxicity index results were compared with two commercial paints and found that NWP exhibited less harmful gas emission. Based on certification rating of building materials, NWP can be classified as the first grade of building materials. Due to the above advantages, the use of sericite as a major component in NWP will be a useful technique to maintain the indoor air quality.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.120-128
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• 2013

The concentration and composition of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can directly reflect the environmental pollution. The atmospheric pollution in some Cameroonian cities is increasing with the industrial development and urbanization. Air pollution is inherently complex, containing PM of varied size and composition. This PM exists as a dynamic cloud interacting with sunlight and is modified by the meteorology. The reflectometer and the EDXRF spectrometry are applied to determine the concentration of some specific elements at four sites in the city of Yaound$\acute{e}$. The particular aim of the present work is to put in place data base on air pollution in urban area and elaborate regulations on the emissions issued to industrial and vehicle activities. This study provides an overview of the concentration of black carbon and some specific elements in the air, which have impacts on human health. The measurement was done by distinguishing the size of particle. So that, the particle with aerodynamic diameter between $2.5-10{\mu}m$ (so-called coarse particle) and aerodynamic diameter < $2.5{\mu}m$ (so-called fine particle) were considered to obtain more information about levels of the inhalable fraction of the location. The results obtained in four locations of the city of Yaound$\acute{e}$ show that the black carbon concentration is very considerable, the element sulfur is a major pollutant and the concentration of fine particle is very greater. The results obtained of fine and coarse filters range from $5-17{\mu}g/m^3$ and $10-18{\mu}g/m^3$ for the black carbon. S, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, As, Se and Hg are the specific findings of this work. The pollutants with a greater concentration are S, Pb, and Zn. These later seem to be non-uniformly, non-regular in some location and high compared to other countries. This work allows us to make a potential relation between pollutants and emission sources. In this framework, some suggestions have been proposed to reduce emissions for an improvement of the air quality in the environment and thus, the one of the city of Yaound$\acute{e}$.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 1994

The purpose on this study was to develop a new improved chromatographic method for determination of trace phenols from environmental waste water. The research was carried out with selected 8 phenols, and solid-phase extraction was employed as sample pretreatment method. The coupling of XAD-4 and Dowex $1{\times}8$ resin as preconcentration column increased the selectivities toward interferences coexisted in matrix. Automation was accomplished with on-line process of pretreatment and HPLC system. After elution of sample through XAD-4 column, phenols were adsorbed by dispersion force, then displaced from it by ACN basified, simultaneously and selectively readsorbed via anion exchange on Dowex $1{\times}8$. Dowex $1{\times}8$ column was washed by water. Phenols readsorbed were removed from Dowex $1{\times}8$ column by a minimum volumn of methanol containing HCl. Each pretreatment step was connected by switching valves and the eluate was directly on-line injected to obtain fast and reliable results into the HPLC. Recovery of phenols was greater than 90%. To examine utility of this method, analysis of phenols from laboratory waste water sample which was added some organic pollutants to find with phenols on environmental waste water were also accomplished without their interference effects.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.553-573
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• 2013

This paper aims to give a summary and review of the research trend about subjects of Asian Dust (AD) storm in the last three decades. The AD research was focused on classification of synoptic scale data and finding inflow pathway in early stage. Recently, new approaches have been made to explain chemical composition, transportation, transboundary movement reaction of AD, using satellite data, 3D modeling, the aerosol time of flight mass spectroscopy, etc. During AD events, a large amount of dust particles flow into Korea and Japan from AD source areas, and they are highly likely to be mixed with toxic substances when air mass contained AD particles pass over seriously polluted areas. We concluded that, considering that AD events were classified into two cases according to the source area and pathway, the concentrations of crustal components did not increase at the initial stage of AD events, Whereas ammonium-sulfate, trace metal element, OC, EC relatively increased in the early stage. This explains AD events have the possibility of being accompanied with polluted air mass or particles. Also, we further need to compare and summarize the results of AD studies which already have been conducted, and prepare strategies for particle management, particularly for Black Carbon (BC) and Brown Carbon (BrC) which are considered to induce climate change effects.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.615-617
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• 2003

Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the important trace gases because its concentration in the troposphere directly influences the concentrations of tropospheric hydroxyl (OH), which controls the lifetimes of tropospheric trace gases. CO traces the transport of global and regional pollutants from industrial activities and large scale biomass burning. The distributions of CO were analyzed using the MOPITT data for East Asia, which were compared with the ozone distributions. In general, seasonal CO variations are characterized by a peak in the spring, which decrease in the summer. The monthly average for CO shows a similar profile to that for O$_3$. This fact clearly indicates that the high concentration of CO in the spring is possibly due to one of two causes: the photochemical production of CO in the troposphere, or the transport of the CO into East Asia. The seasonal cycles for CO and O$_3$ in East Asia are extensively influenced by the seasonal exchanges of different air mass types due to the Asian monsoon. The continental air masses contain high concentrations of O$_3$ and CO, due to the higher continental background concentrations, and sometimes to the contribution from regional pollution. In summer this transport pattern is reversed, where the Pacific marine air masses that prevail over Korea bring low concentrations of CO and O$_3$, which tend to give the apparent summer minimums.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.61-72
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• 2004

The soil samples were collected from the paddy field near the mine tailing dumps in the abandoned Duckum mine in Korea. In the laboratory, the soil solution was extracted from the soil using centrifuge, and analysed for the chemical composition. Physical and chemical soil properties were also analysed. Kaolinite is the main clay minerals in the paddy soil and the CEC value is therefore relatively low. Nearly all soil samples show enrichment in their trace elemental concentrations(Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) compared with natural background level. Some soil samples exceed the soil remediation intervention values for Cd, Pb and Zn and target value for Cu, when compared with Dutch standard, whereas As, Ni and Cr are in normal range. Lead concentrations in some samples near the mine tailing dumps also exceed the standard for remediation act for agricultural area set by Korean soil conservation law. The trace elemental concentrations are higher in the paddy soil nearer the mine tailing dumps and lower for the samples from distance. Similar trend with distance is found for the soil solution chemistry but the decrease with distance from the mine tailing dumps are sharper than the changes in soil chemistry. Cadmium, Cu and Pb concentrations in the soil solution are very low, ranging from a tenth and hundredths to a maximum of several mg/l, whereas their concentrations in soils are highly enriched for natural background. Most of the trace elements are thought to be either removed by reduced iron sulphides or iron oxides, depending on the redox changes. Geochemical equilibrium modelling indicate the presence of solubility controlling solid phases for Cd and Pb, whereas Zn and Cu might have been controlled by adsorption/desorption processes. Although pollutants migration through solution phase are thought to be limited by adsorption onto various Fe, Mn solid phases, the pollutants exist as easily releasable fractions such as exchangeable site. In this case, the paddy soil would act as pollutant pool, which will supply to plants in situ. whenever the geochemical conditions favour.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.555-569
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• 2004

Size -segregated measurements of aerosol composition using 8-stage DRUM impactor are used to determine the transport of natural and anthropogenic aerosols at Gosan site from 29 March to 30 May in 2002. Separation of ambient aerosols by DRUM impactor offers many Advantages over other standard filtration techniques. Some of the most important advantages are the ability to segregate into details by particle tire, to better preserve chemical integrity since the air stream doesn＇t pars through the deposit, to collect samples as a function of time, and to have a wide variety of impaction surfaces available to match analytical needs. Although the transport of Yellow sand is a well-known phenomenon in springtime, the result of measurement shows that not only soil dust but also anthropogenic aerosols, including sulfur, enriched trace metals such as Pb, Ni, Zn. Cu, Cr, As, Se, Br, are transported to Gosan in springtime. This study combines the size- and time-resolved aerosol composition measurements with isentropic, backward air-mass trajectories in order to identify some potential source regions of anthropogenic aerosols. As a result, during the NYS period, the average concentration of PM$_{10}$ was 46$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥, Si, Al. S, Fe, Cl, K, Ca were higher than 1,000 ng/㎥ and Ti was about 100 ng/㎥. The concentrations of Zn, Mn, Cu. Pb, Br, Rb, V, Cr, Ni. At, Se ranged between 1 and 70 ng/㎥. More than 50% typical soil elements, tuck as Al, Si, Fe, Cd. Ti, Cr, Cu, Br. were distributed in a coarse particle range(5.0-12${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$). In other hand, anthropogenic pollutants, luck as S, N, Vi, were mainly distributed in a fine particle range (0.09-0.56${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$). During the YS period, PM$_{10}$ increased about 8 times than NYS period, and main soil elements, such as Al, Si, S, K, V, Mn, Fe also doubled in coarse particle range (1.15-12${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$). But Zn, As, Pb, Cu and Se, which distributed in the time aerosols (0.09-0.56${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$), were on the same level with or decreased than NYS period. Finally. except the YS Period, coarse particles (2.5-12${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) are inferred to be influenced by soil, coal combustion, waste incineration, ferrous and nonferrous sources through similar pathways with Yellow Sand. But fine particles have different sources, such as coal combustion, gasoline vehicle, biomass burning, oil or coal combustion, nonferrous and ferrous metal sources, which are transported from China, Korea peninsula and local sources.ces.