• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.381-389
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• 2009

Confined spaces are inherently dangerous workplace and many fatal and nonfatal accidents have been reported. Even though these accidents occur in various kinds of confined spaces, there has rarely been reported on the health hazard agent, i.e., the types of gases and their concentration ranges. Therefore in this study, we evaluated several toxic and asphyxiating gas concentrations in various confined spaces. We surveyed 57 manholes, 3 sewage treatment plants, 2 yellow radish manufacturing companies and 7 barges to measure the concentrations of oxygen($O_2$), hydrogen sulfide($H_2S$), carbon monoxide(CO), ammonia($NH_3$). Lower Explosion Limits(LEL) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Those four types of confined spaces occupies 56% of accidents during last 9 years in Korea. In 57 manholes, the concentration varied according to the types of manholes; rainfall and sewage, and by location; residential and industrial areas. Sewage manhole in industrial area was evaluated as the most hazardous than other types of manhole like rainfall manholes, residential sewage manholes. The highest $H_2S$ concentration and the lowest $O_2$ concentration at sewage manhole in industrial area were 300 ppm, 8.7% respectively. In 3 sewage treatment plants, $H_2S$ and $NH_3$ concentrations were reached up to the 500 ppm and 200 ppm respectively. Two yellow radish manufacturing companies showed the concentrations of 316 ppm, 505.2 ppm, 90 ppm and 15.7% for $H_2S$, CO, VOCs and $O_2$, respectively. Seven barges showed 15.9%~20.9% oxygen concentration. Gas species and concentration ranges varied by the types and location of confined spaces; CO, $H_2S$, $O_2$ could be hazardous in manhole, especially manhole connected to sewage plants. CO, $H_2S$, LEL, $O_2$, $NH_3$ should be controlled in sludge silo and sluge pumping confined spaces in sewage treatment plant. The activity of lifting out radish from the storage tank was evaluated more hazardous rather than the other activities in yellow radish manufacturing industry. The employers must conduct the survey to identify all possible confined spaces in their local workplace prior to performing the tasks. At the national level to reduce the accidents in the confined spaces, we suggest that systemic approach and active education program including possible hazards, standard operation procedures, ventilation plan, and personal protective equipment in confined spaces should be implemented.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.293-301
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• 2008

A study on the operational variables of the UV-TiO$_2$ based photocatalytic air cleaning system was tried. In this study, to examine effects as various air cleaning system conditions, a duct-type reactor was made, and TiO$_2$ was immobilized on a stainless mesh. Benzene was chosen as a target compound. Removal experiments for benzene were done under different initial benzene concentration, air velocity, TiO$_2$ loading, area coated TiO$_2$ as the same TiO$_2$ loading, and UV light intensity conditions. During the experiments, relative humidity was 55%, and reactor temperature was 45$^{\circ}C$. As a result, the photocatalytic degradation of benzene decreased as the inlet concentration increased. But the photocatalytic degradation increased as the concentration boundary layer thickness, amount of TiO$_2$, area coated TiO$_2$ as the same amount of TiO$_2$, and UV light intensity increased. Based on results of current study, they can be applied to the design of air cleaning system over low level VOCs in the indoor air.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2004

Two biofilter tests were conducted under different operating conditions. Test # 1 was performed to treat VOCs generated from a paint booth. The second test was performed to treat VOCs generated from chemical manufacturing processes. The volume of biofilter media was 4.3 $m^3$. For the test # 1, the biofilter was operated for 30 days with 99.9% reduction ratio. Range of temperature of each stage of the biofilter media was measured between $34^{\circ}C$ and $73^{\circ}C$. All the temperatures of stages reduced gradually after the initial dramatic increase. For the test # 2, the biofilter experiment was conducted for 14 days. In this case, the biofilter was installed outdoor and the experiment was performed during wintertime. Therefore, temperature management for the biofilter was needed. Seven-centimeter thick fiberglass insulation and $150^{\circ}C$ steam heating were used to overcome the outside freezing cold weather during test # 2. Temperature of stage # 5 was measured the highest and that of stage # 1 was the lowest. More acclimation time and test period was needed to determine the maximum loading rate.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.112-119
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• 2017

In this study, the availability of cow manure as raw material for solid fuel production was investigated. Since the water content of the cow manure was too high, it was dewatered using a laboratory hydraulic compressure ($11.3kg/cm^2$). The moisture content of the cow manure decreased from 82.01% to 73.36 wt.%. The dewatered cow manure was homogenized by the experimental apparatus and then put into the rotating cylindrical apparatus. From the consecutive processes, the cow ball-shaped pellet which size ranged from 3.0 to 25.0 mm was produced. The major factor for making palletized fuel from cow manure was the moisture content. Based on the experimental data, the moisture content of cow manure for pelletizing cow manure was identified as 65~75 wt.%. When the moisture content of the cow manure was lower than 30 wt.%, the diameter of the pellets maded from cow manure was smaller than 3 mm. On the other hand, when the water content of the cow manure was higher than 75 wt/%, the diameter of the processed pellets tended to be larger than 25 mm. The characteristics of the processed cow manure pellets was analyzed to be in accordance with the livestock solid fuel quality standard. The pyrolysis characteristic of the pellet was analyzed by raising the heating temperature of the experimental equipment from 200 to $900^{\circ}C$. The mass change between of 20 and $130^{\circ}C$ corresponds to the amount of moisture contained in the cow manure. The amount of moisture was about 15% of the total weight of cow manure samples. The cow manure pellet was thermally stable up to $280^{\circ}C$. It can be interpreted that combustion of cow manure pellet does not occur until the surface temperature reaches $280^{\circ}C$. The mass change of pellet between of 280 and $450^{\circ}C$ was considered to be due to the vaporization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in the cow manure pellet. The maximum production of VOCs was showed near $330^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2007

Porous silicon exhibiting dual optical properties, both $Febry-P{\acute{e}}rot$ fringe (optical reflectivity) and photoluminescence had been developed and used as chemical sensors. Porous silicon samples were prepared by an electrochemical etch of p-type silicon wafer (boron-doped, <100> orientation, resistivity ; $1-10{\Omega}cm$). Two different types of porous silicon, fresh porous silicon (Si-H terminated) and oxidized porous silicon (Si-OH terminated)by the thermal oxidation, were prepared. Then the samples were exposed to the vapor of various organics, such as methanol, acetone, hexane, and toluene. Both reflectivity and photoluminescence were simultaneously measured under the exposure of organic vapors for sensing VOC's. These surface-modified samples showed unique respond in both reflectivity and photoluminescence with various organic vapors. While polar molecules exhibit greater quenching photoluminescence, molecules having higher vapor pressure show greater red shift for reflectivity.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.385-397
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• 2015

Harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) are chemical compounds in tobacco smoke that cause harm to smokers and non-smokers. This study established and validated methods for the analysis of HPHCs from mainstream cigarette smoke. The analyzed HPHCs were categorized into seven groups: aromatic amines, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), ammonia, and carbonyl compounds. The methods were validated by specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), accuracy, precision, and recovery. These validated methods were then applied to the reference cigarettes (1R5F, 3R4F). The correlation coefficients (r²) for the calibration curves of the seven groups were over 0.995. The LODs showed values of 0.01-0.04 ng/cig cig for aromatic amines, 0.01-0.16 μg/cig for VOCs, 0.01-1.27 ng/cig for heavy metals, 0.06-0.28 ng/cig for TSNAs, 0.04 ng/cig for benzo[a]pyrene, 0.08 μg/cig for ammonia, and 0.78-1.77 μg/cig for carbonyl compounds. The precisions obtained from the intra and inter-day batches were less than 15%. The accuracy and the recovery range were less than 15% and 79.2-117.5%, respectively. The proposed methods can therefore be applied for determining HPHCs in tobacco mainstream smoke.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.8
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• pp.201-210
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• 2012

Because sensing odor varies depending on each person, even if the odor is released in line with the legal emission permission concentration levels, it can still become a social issue if a civil complaint is made. The purpose of this research is to study the possibility of putting Mn-Cu metallic oxide catalysts into practical use to economically eliminate acetaldehyde which produces a odor in the industrial process. An optimal operating parameter to eliminate acetaldehyde was deduced through a performance evaluation in the research laboratory and the performance was verified by applying the parameter into an actual facility as an on-the-site experiment through a Scale-up of pilot size. The operating temperature of the metallic oxide catalysts researched so far was at the minimum close to $220^{\circ}C$, and the $220^{\circ}C$ elimination efficiency was 50% or below. However, having experimented by using a Mn-Cu metallic oxide catalyst in this research, optimum elimination efficiency showed when space velocity (GHSV) was equal to or below 6,000 $hr^{-1}$. The average elimination efficiency was 61.2% when the catalyst controlling temperature was $120^{\circ}C$, 93.3% when the catalyst controlling temperature was $160^{\circ}C$, and 94.9% when catalyst controlling temperature was $180^{\circ}C$, thereby reflecting high elimination efficiency. The specific surface area of the catalyst was $200m^2/g$ before use, however, was reduced to $47.162m^2/g$ after 24 months and therefore showed that despite the decrease in specific surface area as time passed, there was no significant influence on the performance. Having operated Mn-Cu metallic oxide catalyst systems for at least two years on a site where there was no inflow of toxins like sulfur compounds and acidic gases, we were able to confirm that elimination efficiency of at least 90% was maintained.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2018

After signing the WHO FCTC in 2003, South Korea ratified the FCTC in 2005. This study was conducted to provide data on toxic constituents that can be used as useful information for the level of exposure to Korean smokers. Emissions data from five brands of cigarettes were tested under the ISO and "Canadian Intense (HCI)" smoking regimes, respectively. We conducted an analysis of 25 compounds containing nicotine, tar, carbonyls, phenolics, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-VOC cigarette smoke. Tar and nicotine showed levels of 4.3 to 5.8 mg/cig and 0.4 to 0.5 mg/cig, respectively, which are within the range of tolerance presented in ISO 8243. In the case of carbonyls, formaldehyde was detected within a range of 8.2 to $14.3{\mu}g/cig$, and acetaldehyde was present within a range of 224.7 to $327.2{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO smoke regime. Crotonaldehyde was not detected under the ISO regime, and all of the carbonyls showed values 2.3 to 4.5 times higher under the HCI regime than those under the ISO regime. Catechol, which showed a level of 47.0 to $80.5{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 117.5 to $184.7{\mu}g/cig$ under the HCI regime, was the highest constituent among the phenols. The amount of isoprene was 91.7 to $158.3{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 221.0 to 377.0 under the HCI regime. To summarize, most of the constituents showed a tendency to be detected at levels 2 to 4 times higher under the HCI regime than under the ISO regime. Above all, these results represent the first analysis in Korea from an independent institute of tobacco companies under accreditation of ISO 17025.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1281-1293
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• 2019

The rhizosphere is the active zone where plant roots communicate with the soil microbiome, each responding to the other's signals. The soil microbiome within the rhizosphere that is beneficial to plant growth and productivity is known as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). PGPR take part in many pivotal plant processes, including plant growth, development, immunity, and productivity, by influencing acquisition and utilization of nutrient molecules, regulation of phytohormone biosynthesis, signaling, and response, and resistance to biotic- and abiotic-stresses. PGPR also produce secondary compounds and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that elicit plant growth. Moreover, plant roots exude attractants that cause PGPR to aggregate in the rhizosphere zone for colonization, improving soil properties and protecting plants against pathogenic factors. The interactions between PGPR and plant roots in rhizosphere are essential and interdependent. Many studies have reported that PGPR function in multiple ways under the same or diverse conditions, directly and indirectly. This review focuses on the roles and strategies of PGPR in enhancing nutrient acquisition by nutrient fixation/solubilization/mineralization, inducing plant growth regulators/phytohormones, and promoting growth and development of root and shoot by affecting cell division, elongation, and differentiation. We also summarize the current knowledge of the effects of PGPR and the soil microbiota on plants.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.255-262
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• 2006

In this study, we attempted to evaluate the sorptive loss of VOC upon their contact with different material surfaces including clothing pieces. For the purpose of this study, we developed a method to evaluate such loss by employing a filter holder pack in the thermal desorption line of the GC/FID system. The calibration curves of different aromatic VOCs including benzene, toluene, and xylene were made by loading them at different quantities through the analytical line. A series of experiments were conducted repetitively to draw calibration data sets for all three materials covering glass fiber, cotton, and nylon. The results were then compared in terms of both material types and of VOC types. The extent of sorptive loss increased in a highly systematic manner across different materials such as glass fiber, cotton, and nylon. The patterns of sorptive loss also increased gradually across VOC type such toward in the direction of increasing molecular weights: benzene, toluene, and xylene. According to this experimental study, it is concluded that sorptive behavior of pollutint compounds like VOC can be controlled by the combined effects of both chemical properties and material characteristics.