• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.474-484
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• 2005

Biological treatment is a promising alternative to conventional air pollution control methods. Bioreactors for air pollution control have found most of their success in the treatment of dilute and high flow waste air streams containing volatile organic compounds and odor compounds. They offer several advantages over traditional technologies such as incineration or adsorption. These include lower treatment costs, absence of formation of secondary pollutants, no spent chemicals, low energy demand and low temperature treatment. The most widely used bioreactor for air pollution control is biofilter, but it has several limitations. In the past years major progress has been accomplished in the development of vapor phase bioreactor, in particular biotrickling filters. Biotrickling filters are more complex than biofilters, but are usually more effective, especially for the treatment of compounds which are difficult to degrade or compounds that generate acidic by-products. While the level of understanding of biotrickling filtration process for VOCs still remains limited, the evident success of biotreatment of VOC in air stimulated the pursue of acitve research. This paper presents fundamental and theoretical/practical aspect of air pollution control in biotrickling filter. Special emphasis is given to the operating parameters and the factors influencing performance for air pollution control in biotrickling filter.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1161-1169
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• 2008

The removals of TCE and PCE vapor with or without a supply of toluene as a primary substrate were compared in a biofiltration process, and the variations of microbial communities associated with the removal were also investigated. As a result of investigations on the removals of TCE/PCE in a biofilter B within which TCE/PCE-acclimated sludge was attached on the surface of media without a supply of primary substrate, and those in another biofilter A where toluene-acclimated sludge was attached with a supply of toluene as a primary substrate, followings were found: (i) parts of microbes responsible to the decomposition of toluene vapor participate in the removal of chlorinated VOCs such as TCE and PCE, and (ii) effective biological removals of TCE and PCE vapor do not necessarily need cometabolism. Sequencing of 16S rDNA obtained from the band profile of DGGE (Denaturating Gradient Gel Electrophoresis), it was confirmed that: (i) uncultured alpha proteobacterium, uncultured Desulfitobacterium, uncultured Rhodobacteraceae bacterium, Cupriavidus necator, and Pseudomonas putida were found to be toluene-decomposing microbes, (ii) alpha proteobacterium HTCC396 is a TCE-removing microbe, (iii) Desulfitobacterium sp. is a PCE-decomposing microbe, and (iv) particularly, uncultured Desulfitobacterium sp. is probably a microbe decomposable not only toluene but also various chlorinated VOC vapor including TCE and PCE.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.395-396
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• 2011

본 논문에서는 30% 내외의 평균반사율을 가지는 다결정 실리콘 태양전지의 입사광 손실을 최소화하여 광전변환효율 극대화를 구현하기 위해서 SF6/O2 혼합가스를 이용한 RIE 표면 texturing 공정을 수행하였다. 현재 다결정 실리콘 태양전지는 다양한 방향의 grain을 가지기 때문에 단결정 실리콘에 적용되는 습식 식각 방식이 다결정 실리콘 표면 texturing에 적절하지 않은 것으로 알려져 있다. 이를 개선하기 위해서 이방성 식각 특성을 가지는 다양한 texturing 방법이 시도되고 있다. 대표적으로 기계적인 방식의 V-grooving, 레이저 grooving, 플라즈마 건식식각을 이용한 texturing 및 산 용액을 이용한 texturing 등의 연구가 보고되고 있다. 그 중에서 플라즈마 건식식각 방식의 하나인 RIE를 이용한 표면 texturing 공정이 간단한 공정과 산업계 응용의 용이성 때문에 활발히 연구되어 왔다. 특히 Sandia group과 일본 Kyocera사의 연구 결과에서는 그 가능성을 입증하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 공정의 단순화와 안전한 공정을 위해서 SF6/O2 혼합 가스를 이용하여 마스크 패턴 공정없이 RIE texturing 공정을 수행하였으며, RIE-textured 다결정 실리콘에 대해서 태양전지를 제작하여 표면 texturing이 광전변환효율에 미치는 영향에 대해서 분석하였다. 그 결과 SF6/O2 혼합 가스를 이용한 RIE texturing은 다결정 실리콘 표면에 주로 needle 구조를 형성하는 것을 확인하였다. 각 texturing 조건별 반사율의 차이는 needle 구조의 조밀도와 관련되는 것을 알 수 있었으며, 동일 공정 parameter 상에서 식각 시간 1, 2, 3, 4, 5분 기준 시간에 따른 표면 구조 분석 결과 seed 가 형성되고 그에 따라서 needle 형태로 식각되는 과정을 관찰하였다. 반사율은 분당 약 4%씩 낮아져 5분 식각 후 14.45% 까지 낮아졌으며, 표면 구조에서 폭은 약 30 nm로 모두 일정하며, 길이가 약 20, 30, 50, 80, 100 nm으로 증가되었다. 이 결과로 보아 seed로부터 needle 구조가 심화되어가는 것을 알 수 있었다. 시간에 따른 RIE texturing 후 제작된 태양전지는 효율이 1분 식각 기준 15.92%에서 약 0.35% 씩 낮아져 5분 식각 후 14.4%로 낮아졌다. Voc 는 texturing 시간에 관계없이 일정하며 Isc가 점점 감소되는 것으로 확인되었다. EQE 결과도 이와 동일하게 RIE texturing 시간이 길어질수록 전체 파장 범위에서 일정하게 낮아지는 것이 관찰되었다. Electroluminescence(EL) 이미지 결과 texturing 시간이 길어진 태양전지일수록 점점 어두운 이미지가 나타나 5분 식각의 경우 가장 어두운 결과를 나타내었다. 이런 결과는 한 가지 이유보다는 복합적인 문제로 예상되는데 궁극적으로는 RIE 공정 후 표면에 쌓인 charged particle들이 trap 준위를 형성하여 효율 및 공정상에 영향을 미친 것으로 보이며, 특히 잔류 O기가 불균일한 산화막을 형성하는 것으로 예상된다. 또한 EL 분석 결과를 볼 때 RIE texturing 공정이 길어질수록 불안정한 pn-junction을 형성하는 것을 확인하였으며, emitter 층 형성 후 PSG (phosphorous silica glass) 공정에서 needle의 상부 구조가 무너지면서 면저항이 증가된 결과로 분석된다. PSG 제거 후 측정된 면저항의 경우 3분 texturing 샘플부터 면저항이 약 4${\Omega}/sq$ 정도 증가됨을 확인하였다.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.6 s.169
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• pp.613-629
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• 2004

Contamination of groundwater by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was investigated for 168 groundwater wells in Ulsan area to study the natural attenuation of organic compounds in the aquifers. As groundwater contamination by VOCs is closely related to land use, 168 groundwater samples were classified into 4 different groups; agricultural, forestry, industrial, and residential & business. From analysis 65 out of 168 groundwater samples contained more than one VOC. Analysis of samples were performed fir 36 halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons and 25 petroleum hydrocarbons set up by NAWQA of US geological survey. Twelve petroleum hydrocarbons were detected in 26 groundwater wells, but their concentrations were less than 1.5 g/L except for MTBE. Twenty three chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, composed of 11 methanes, 6 ethanes and 6 ethenes, were detected in 63 groundwater samples. The range of methanes concentration was $ND\~330\;/gL,\;ethanes\;ND\~84\;gL$, and PCE and their derivatives $ND\~62\;g/L$. As the study area was comprised of the aerobic/denitrification zones and $Fe^{+3}$ redox condition, most of petroleum hydrocarbons were degraded well, while halogenated hydrocarbons were slowly biodegradation.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 2007

It is impossible to remove toxic organic substances that are recognized as a cancer caused suspicious element in drinking water using the conventional water purification method. This study introduces groundwater into a reaction chamber as an effective amount of water to process this water using a mixed method of AOP oxidation and M/F membrane and purifies it as a desirable level by artificially mixing such toxic substances in order to effectively process the water. Based on this fact, this study configures an optimal operation condition. The VOCs existed in toxic substances was investigated as a term of phenol and toluene, and agricultural chemicals were also investigated as a term of parathion, diazinon and carbaryl. The experiment applied in this study was performed using a single and composite soolution. In the operation condition applied to fully dissolve and remove such substances, the amount of $H_2O_2$ injected in the process was 150 mL of a fixed quantity, the value of pH was configured as $5.5{\sim}6.0$, the temperature was controlled as a range of $12{\sim}16^{\circ}C$, the dissolved amount of ozone was applied more than 5.0 mg/L, the reaction time was determined as an optimal condition, such as $30{\sim}40$ minutes, and the segregation membrane in the same reactor was determined for acquire water drinking of large quantity using a pore size of $0.45{\mu}m$ M/F membrane.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.648-653
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• 2006

As an alternative for the traditional materials packed in biofilters treating gaseous VOCs, a novel packing material has been developed and tested. In the packing material(named as Hydrogel Bead, HB), pollutant-degrading microorganisms were immobilized in hydrogel consisted of alginate, polyvinyl alcohol(PVA), and powdered activated carbon. A closed-bottle study showed that the HB rapidly removed gaseous styrene without the losses of adsorption and biodegradation capacity. Biofilter column experiments using the HBs also demonstrated that greater than 95% of removal efficiencies were found at an inlet styrene loading rate of $245g/m^3/hr$, which was higher biofilter performance than other elimination capacity reported earlier. Furthermore, when the inlet styrene concentration increased stepwise, the adsorption played an important role in overall styrene removals. The absorbed styrene was found to be biodegraded in the following low inlet loading condition. Consequently, the new HB material is able to successfully minimize the drawbacks of activated carbon(necessity of regeneration) and biological processes(low removal capacity at dynamic loading conditions), and maximize the overall performance of biofilter systems treating VOCs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1218-1224
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• 2008

A liquid culture of yeast "Candida tropicalis" was used in a fluidized bioreactor to achieve high removal efficiencies of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, granular activated carbon (GAC) was used as a fluidized material to improve adsorptive capacity as well as mass transfer of gaseous toluene, the model VOC. The GAC fluidized bioreactor demonstrated toluene removal efficiencies ranging from 50 to 80%, when inlet toluene loading varied in a range between 13.1 and 37.4 g/m$^3$-hr. The maximum elimination capacity determined in the GAC fluidized bioreactor was 172 g/m$^3$-hr at a toluene loading of 291 g/m$^3$-hr. Transient loading experiments revealed that the removal efficiency was remained unchanged during an increased loading period, and toluene introduced to the bioreactor was first absorbed to GAC and then slowly desorbed and became available to the yeast culture. Hence the fluidized GAC helped to achieve an improved mass transfer between the gas and liquid phases, resulting in high toluene removal capacity. Consequently, the GAC fluidized bioreactor using C. tropicalis can be successfully applied for the removal of VOCs, and is a feasible alternative over conventional processes such as packed-bed biofilters.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.266-274
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• 2014

To extend the understanding of the pyrolysis mechanism of wood, we have investigated wood dust charcoal and condensate of volatile organic compounds (VOC) obtained during the pyrolysis of red pine (Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc.) at $180{\sim}450^{\circ}C$ using elemental analysis, IR and GC/Mass. The effect of activation process on the charcoal structure also has been studied by comparing elemental analysis and IR data of charcoal carbonated at $600^{\circ}C$ and charcoals activated at $750^{\circ}C$. The results show that pyrolysis of wood has mainly started near at $240^{\circ}C$ and its chemical components did not changed much up to $270^{\circ}C$. However, the element contents and IR spectra drastically changed at $300^{\circ}C$. The fact that IR peaks related to the aromatic ring of lignin are observed in the charcoal pyrolized at $450^{\circ}C$ indicates that a small part of lignin still remains at this temperature. The chemical structure of the activated charcoal seems almost unaffected by the activation time.

• Clean Technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.153-161
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• 2003

This study was carried out as a basic experiment for development of adsorption process in which benzene and toluene was adsorbed on activated carbon. In the static adsorption experiment, Adsorption character of benzene and toluene was studied by change of temperature and pressure. Activated carbon 12~20mesh and activated carbon 20~40mesh was used as adsorbents, Benzene, toluene and nitrogen as adsorbates. Experimental data were obtained to fitted to Langmuir isotherm and dependence was acquired. Parameters of adsorption heat and adsorption constant was obtained. Static adsorption experiment for binary mixtures confirmed that Langmuir isotherm parameters could be applicable to Extended Langmuir isotherm. Experimental technique used in this study only requires pressure measurement and this technique is different from the conventional method which measures gas mole compositions before adsorption and after adsorption. The dynamic adsorption experiment was carried out and the experimental results was compared with the computer simulation results. In this study, basic data was acquired to decide adsorption conditions in the process.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.2439-2444
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• 2011

We investigated the adsorption/desorption property of volatile organic compounds(VOC) by using activated carbon fibers(ACF) instead of activated carbon(AC) which is conventionally used. The adsorption behavior of the fixed bed and the breakthrough characteristics were also studied. As a result, ACFj showed 1.15 times higher adsorption amount as compared to AC. The breakthrough Point and adsorption amount of VOCs were decreased with the increase of temperature. In the case of AC, desorption time having 99% removal efficiency was about as minutes, but that of ACF was about 5 minutes at same condition.