• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.231-239
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• 2022

In this study, we applied ENERWATER to evaluate the energy consumption labeling of wastewater treatment plants in Korea using the Korea sewerage statistics data. The results showed that the energy label status was excellent in the SBR process for small and medium-scale wastewater treatment plants and the A2O process for large-scale wastewater treatment plants. The energy labeling of wastewater treatment plants of 50,000 tons capacity was excellent. The statuses of metropolitan cities and Jeollanam-do province were excellent. We analyzed the effects of renewable energy on wastewater treatment plants' energy consumption and found out that digestion gas for large-scale plants and photovoltaic energy for small-scale plants were effective in improving energy labeling. In addition, we compared the energy labels of four wastewater treatment plants in "Z" city and wastewater treatment plant "X" had the best energy label, and the wastewater treatment plants "V" and "Y" had to be selected as priorities for the energy diagnosis and improvement project. In a comprehensive conclusion, the applicability of ENERWATER was confirmed based on sewage statistics data and labeling can be used to set priorities for the energy diagnosis and improvement project.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.145-150
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• 2023

Tele-metering systems have been useful tools for managing domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) over the last decade. They mostly generate water quality data for discharged water to ensure that it complies with mandatory regulations and they may be able to produce every operation parameter and additional measurements in the near future. A sub-big data group, comprised of about 150,000 data points from four domestic WWTPs, was ready to be classified and also analyzed to optimize the WWTP process. We used the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 25 package in order to statistically treat the data with linear regression and correlation analysis. The major independent variables for analysis were water temperature, sludge recycle rate, electricity used, and water quality of the influent while the dependent variables representing the water quality of the effluent included the total nitrogen, which is the most emphasized index for discharged flow in plants. The water temperature and consumed electricity showed a strong correlation with the total nitrogen but the other indices' mutual correlations with other variables were found to be fuzzy due to the large errors involved. In addition, a multilayer perceptron analysis method was applied to TMS data along with root mean square error (RMSE) analysis. This study showed that the RMSE in the SS, T-N, and TOC predictions were in the range of 10% to 20%.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.168-174
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• 2008

Diagnosis on setteability based on human operator's experimental knowledge, which could be established by long term operation, is a limit factor to construction of automation control system in wastewater treatment plant. On-line SVI(Sludge Volume Index) analyzer was developed which can measure SV30 automatically by image capture and image analysis method. In this paper, information got by settling process was studied using On-line SVI analyzer for better operation & management of WWTPs. First, SV30 detection algorithm was developed using image capture and image analysis for settling test and it showed that automatic detection is feasible even if deflocculation and bulking was occurred. Second, turbidity assessment model was developed using image analysis.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.391-407
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• 2013

Micropollutants emerge in surface water through untreated discharge from sewage and wastewater treatment plants (STPs and WWTPs). Most micropollutants resist the conventional systems in place at water treatment plants (WTPs) and survive the production of tap water. In particular, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors (ECDs) are micropollutants frequently detected in drinking water. In this review, we summarized the distribution of micropollutants at WTPs and also scrutinized the effectiveness and mechanisms for their removal at each stage of drinking water production. Micropollutants demonstrated clear concentrations in the final effluents of WTPs. Although chronic exposure to micropollutants in drinking water has unclear adverse effects on humans, peer reviews have argued that continuous accumulation in water environments and inappropriate removal at WTPs has the potential to eventually affect human health. Among the available removal mechanisms for micropollutants at WTPs, coagulation alone is unlikely to eliminate the pollutants, but ionized compounds can be adsorbed to natural particles (e.g. clay and colloidal particles) and metal salts in coagulants. Hydrophobicities of micropollutants are a critical factor in adsorption removal using activated carbon. Disinfection can reduce contaminants through oxidation by disinfectants (e.g. ozone, chlorine and ultraviolet light), but unidentified toxic byproducts may result from such treatments. Overall, the persistence of micropollutants in a treatment system is based on the physico-chemical properties of chemicals and the operating conditions of the processes involved. Therefore, monitoring of WTPs and effective elimination process studies for pharmaceuticals and ECDs are required to control micropollutant contamination of drinking water.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.387-398
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• 2010

SWAT model would be applied to evaluate the pollutant removal capacity with various best management practices (BMPs) in Kyongan stream watershed which plays an important role in water quality conservation and improvement of Paldang reservoir. The methods for the representation of various BMPs scenarios with SWAT is developed and evaluated. Riparian buffer strip, agricultural conservation practices to reduce fertilizer, sediment, and nutrients occurring from farm field (Grassed swale, Contour farming/Parallel terrace, Field border, Farm retention pond, Grade stabilization structure), and washland such as wetland and pond to extend detention and improve water quality are represented in SWAT. And to represent the expansion of existing Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) in Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), reduction effect for point source pollutants was simulated. As the result of simulation, the removal rates of SS, TN, TP from scenarios of Kyongan stream watershed are the average annual SS yield by 5.2% to 69.2%, the average annual TN yield by 0.5% to 26.3%, and the average annual TP yield by 1.3% to 32.5%, respectively. This study has demonstrated that the SWAT is a very reliable and useful water quality and quantity assessment tool, and the BMPs representation in SWAT for watershed management is able to effectively simulate in Kyongan Stream watershed.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.47-60
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• 2007

The rapid development of economy in China at the expense of consuming huge amount of energy and resources, water resource in particular, which has resulted in the production and discharge of increasing amount of wastewater to the water environment. In order to effectively control the increasing water pollution trend, the State Council has stipulated that all the cities with population over 500,000 should reach wastewater treatment rate of 60% by 2005, and all the cities should reach the rate of 60% by 2010, of which Capital Beijing and all the province capital cities and important tourism cities should reach 70% then. By the end of 2005, of the 661 cities in China, 393 have built and operated municipal wastewater treatments with a total number of 790 sets, total treatment capacity of $80.91{\times}106m^3/d$ and total treatment rate of > 48%. Other 73 cities have started the construction of municipal wastewater treatment plants, and other 168 cities have started to prepare, planning and design of wastewater treatment plants. Most of municipal wastewater treatment plants in big cities in China operate normally and perform well with good quality of effluent in terms of wastewater treatment train, but the sewage sludge treatment is usually poor with big problems. It has been found that the small scale WWTPs using activated sludge process in the towns are usually operated and maintained abnormally because of lack of fund, skilled operators and energy. It is therefore suggested that the small scale MWWTPs in small cities and towns adopt appropriate technologies, of which the most available ones are multi-stage ponds, constructed wetlands and the combination of them for further purification and reuse of treated wastewater.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.735-745
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• 2014

This paper presents PKES(PuKyung -Excel based Simulator) for WWTPs(wastewater treatment plants) by using MS Excel and VBA(Visual Basic for Application). PKES is a user-friendly simulator for the design and optimization of the whole plant including biological and physico-chemical processes for the wastewater and sludge treatment. PKES calculates the performance under steady or dynamic state and allows changing the mathematical model by the user. Mathematical model implemented in PKES is a improved integration model based on ASM2d and ADM1 for simulation of AS(activated sludge) and AD(anaerobic digestion). Gaseous components of $N_2$, $N_2O$, $CO_2$ and $CH_4$ are added for estimation of GHGs(greenhouse gases) emission. The simulation results for comparison between PKES and Aquasim(EAWAG) showed about the same effluent concentrations. As a result of verification using by measured data of BOD, TSS, TN and TP for 2 years of operation, calculated effluent concentrations were similar to measured effluent concentrations. The values of average RMSE(root mean square error) were 1.9, 0.8, 1.6 and 0.2 mg/L for BOD, TSS, TN and TP, respectively. Total GHGs emission of WWTP calculated by PKES was 138.5 ton-$CO_2$/day and GHGs emissions of $N_2O$, $CO_2$ and $CH_4$ were calculated at 21.7, 28.9 and 87.9 ton-$CO_2$/day, respectively. GHGs emission of activated sludge was 32.5 % and that of anaerobic digestion was 67.5 %.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.36 no.3 s.104
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• pp.356-368
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• 2003

Water quality of effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPS) was reviewed to examine the feasibility of agricultural reuse using USEPA and WHO guidelines. It might meet the guidelines for BOD and SS, however, the most critical microbiological concentration was too high and further treatment is required. The pilot study of three treatments were performed to reduce microbiological concentrations. The UV irradiation was proved to be very effective in disinfection of secondary level effluent, and about 30 mW ${\cdot}$ s/$cm^2$ of dose was suggested to meet the even most stringent USEPA guidelines. Slow sand filter demonstrated effective removal of bacteria, and effluent concentration of total coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC), and E. coli. dropped from about 10,000/100 mL to 300, 200, and 150 MPN/100 mL, respectively, showing over 95% removal. These level of bacterial concentration sufficiently meet the WHO guidelines ($10^3\;{\sim}\;10^5$ FC/100 mL), and could meet the more stringent USEPA guidelines (200 FC/100 mL) if properly applied. Slow sand filter also provided about 50% removal of SS, turbidity, and BOD in addition to bacterial removal. The removal efficiency of pond system was relatively poor, but still showed over 85% removal and effluent concentration of TC, FC, and E. coli was all below 10,000/100 mL. The pond system alone could meet the WHO guidelines, but hardly meet the USEPA guidelines and further treatment might be necessary. Overall, three methods evaluated in the study treat the effluent to meet the WHO microbiological guidelines for agricultural reuse. The UV disinfection and slow sand filter might also could the USEPA guidelines, while the pond system can hardly meet the USEPA guidelines if applied alone. The WHO and USEPA guidelines were made based on data from upland field agricultural system and may not be directly applicable to the paddy field agricultural system. Therefore, national standards for agricultural reuse of reclaimed water should be made considering domestic agricultural systems as well as international guidelines. Also, further investigation is recommended to develop optimum and feasible treatment measures for agricultural reuse of effluent from WWTPs.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.102-114
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• 2013

The basin of Lake Shihwa is one of highly industrialized region of Korea and a current environmental issue of study area is the operation of tidal power plant (TPP) to improve water quality. The application of water quality index (WQI) which integrates five physiochemical parameters (transparency, DO, DIN, DIP and chlorophyll-a) of water quality in Lake Shihwa and outer sea during 2011~2012 were performed not only to evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of the water quality but also to assess the effect of water quality improvement by the operation of tidal power plant. The higher WQI values were observed in monitored sites near the industrial complexes in Lake Shihwa and the outfall of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in outer sea. This indicates that the quality of seawater is influenced by diffuse non-point sources from industrial, municipal and agricultural areas in Lake Shihwa and by point sources from the effluence of municipal and industrial wastewater throughout WWTPs in outer sea. Mean WQI value decreased from 53.0 in 2011 to 42.8 in 2012 of Lake Shihwa. Water quality has improved significantly after TPP operation because enhancement of seawater exchange between Lake Shihwa and outer sea leads to improve a hypoxic condition which is primarily a problem in Lake Shihwa. Mean WQI of outer sea showed similar values between 2011 and 2012. However, the results of hierarchical cluster analysis and the deterioration of water quality in summer season indicate that the operation of tidal power plant was not improved the water quality in the upper most area of Lake Shihwa. To successfully improve overall water quality of Lake Shihwa, it is urgently necessary to manage and reduce of non-point pollution sources of the basin of Lake Shihwa.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.99-110
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• 2023

Non-point source (NP) pollutants in an agricultural landuse are discharged from a large area compared to those in other land uses, and thus effective source control measures are needed. To develop appropriate control measures, it is necessary to quantify discharge load of each source and evaluate the degree of water quality improvement by implementing different options of the control measures. This study used Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) to quantify pollutant discharge loads from different sources and effects of different control measures on water quality improvements, thereby supporting decision making in developing appropirate pollutant control strategies. The study area is the Gyeseong river watershed in Changnyeong county, Gyeongsangnam-do, with agricultural areas occupying the largest proportion (26.13%) of the total area except for the forest area. The main pollutant sources include chemical and liquid fertilizers for agricultural activities, and manure produced from small scale livestock facilities and applied to agriculture lands or stacked near the facilities. Source loads of chemical fertilizers, liquid fertilizers and livestock manure of small scale livestock facilities, and point sources such as municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), community WWTPs, private sewage treament plants were considered in the HSPF model setup. Especially, NITR and PHOS modules were used to simulate detailed fate and transport processes including vegitation uptake, nutrient deposition, adsorption/desorption, and loss by deep percolation. The HSPF model was calibrated and validated based on the observed data from 2015 to 2020 at the outlet of the watershed. The calibrated model showed reasonably good performance in simulating the flow and water quality. Five Pollutants control scenarios were established from three sectors: agriculture pollution management (drainge outlet control, and replacement of controlled release fertilizers), livestock pollution management (liquid fertilizer reduction, and 'manure management of small scale livestock facilities) and private STP management. Each pollutant control measure was further divided into short-term, mid-term, and long-term scenarios based on the potential achievement period. The simulation results showed that the most effective control measure is the replacement of controlled release fertilizers followed by the drainge outlet control and the manure management of small scale livestock facilities. Furthermore, the simulation showed that application of all the control measures in the entire watershed can decrease the annual TN and TP loads at the outlet by 40.6% and 41.1%, respectively, and the annual average concentrations of TN and TP at the outlet by 35.1% and 29.2%, respectively. This study supports decision makers in priotizing different pollutant control measures based on their predicted performance on the water quality improvements in an agriculturally dominated watershed.