• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2015

Recently, the production of taste and odor (T&O) compounds is a common problem in water industry. Geosmin is one of the T&O components in drinking water. However, geosmin is hardly eliminated through the conventional water treatment systems. Among various advanced processes capable of removing geosmin, adsorption process using granular activated carbon (GAC) is the most commonly used process. As time passes, however GAC process changes into biological activated carbon (BAC) process. There is little information on the BAC process in the literature. In this study, we isolated and identified microorganisms existing within various BAC processes. The microbial concentrations of BAC processes examined were $3.5{\times}10^5$ colony forming units (CFU/g), $2.2{\times}10^6CFU/g$ and $7.0{\times}10^5CFU/g$ in the Seongnam plant, Goyang plant and Goryeong pilot plant, respectively. The dominant bacterial species were found to be Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Novosphingobium rosa and Afipia broomeae in each plants. Removal efficiencies of $3{\mu}g/L$ geosmin by the dominant species were 36.1%, 36.5% and 34.3% in mineral salts medium(MSM) where geosmin was a sole carbon source.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.95-106
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• 2011

Even though MBR processes have many advantages such as high quality effluents, a small footprint and convenience for operation compared to conventional activated sludge processes, there are some shortcomings in terms of the cost and potential fouling incident that keeps MBR (Membrane bioreactor) processes from being widely applied. To reduce these problems, PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) flat sheet membranes that have excellent permeability and durability were tested instead of PVDF (Polyvinylidene fluoride) membrane which is being used widely in water treatment. Low concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was also added into the membrane modules in order to prevent the membrane fouling as well as to provide the alkalinity. With conditions mentioned above, a pilot-scale MBR system based on the MLE (Modified Ludzack Ettinger) process was operated at flux of 40 $L/m^{2}/hr$ and over 15,000 mg/L MLSS concentration for about 8 months. And coagulant(alum) was added into the membrane tank to remove phosphorus. Although the more coagulant is added the more effectively phosphorus is removed, that can lead to fouling for a long operation(Ronseca et al.,2009). By the way there is a research that fouling grow up after stopping injection of coagulant(Holbrook, 2004). Stable operation of MBR systems was achieved without major chemical cleaning and the effluent quality was found to be good enough to comply with the treated waste water quality regulations of the Korea.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.17-26
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• 2002

As it is not allowed to landfill sludge from 2001 by the act of waste management, new systems of treating sludge are necessary. Life Cycle Assessment, LCA, is a method for evaluating systems in the aspect of environment and also can apply to decision making tools for policy making. The objective of this study is to assess 3 alternatives of landfill: incineration, composting, solidification by applying LCA. This study is done with operation data from incinerator in Kuri, composting facility in Nanjido, solidification facility in Kimpo and electricity and transport data of Korea in 1998 are used. The results of the LCA is that the composting system is most environmental-friendly and the solidification system is least environmental-friendly.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.214-220
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• 2004

The microcosm type wetland systems were constructed in order to treat wastewater contaminated with parathion. The microcosm reactor consisted of marsh and pond type. The experiment was carried out using batch (marsh or pond) and continuous (marsh-pond and pond-marsh type) systems. In the batch reactor, marsh-type wetland completely removed parathion in water within 8 days, while pond reactor removed 97% of parathion during the same period. During parathion degradation, the amount of 4-nitrophenol production, one of the metabolites from parathion degradation, was higher in marsh-type batch reactor. In the continuous systems, both marsh-pond and pond-marsh combination systems effectively removed parathion from water, and the production of 4-nitrophenol was also minimal. In the extraction experiment, the parathion and its metabolite were not found in the wetland soil and the plant. In order to achieve both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, the continuous wetland system combining marsh and pond type can be the alternative for the non-point source pollutants such as parathion pesticide.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.113-133
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• 1998

In activated sludge process, sludge settling condition is affected by organic loading rate or operation condition, and if settling condition is getting worse, it is common that overall process fails due to wash-out of biomass causing low concentration in the aeration tank. Also activated sludge process has such several problems as requiring large area, consuming a lot of power and producing large volume of sludge. Increased public concern over health and the environment combined with a strong desire to reduce capital, operating and maintenance costs, have created a need for innovative technologies for building new high quality effluents which vail meet 21st century crkeria. MBR(Membrane Bioreactor) process consists of a biological reactor and ultrafiltration(UF) membrane system that replaces the conventional clarifier of an activated sludge process. The main operating advantages of this system are that the quality of the effluent is independent of the settleability of the mixed liquor and that the effluent is free of suspended solids in any operating condition. It is possible to eliminate clarifier and to reduce the volume of aeration tank because it can afford to accumulate high biomass concentration in the bioreactor(20, 000~30, 000mg/L), which would not be possible in a conventional activated sludge process. Therefore, this process reduces overall treatment plant area. In addition to those advantages, Longer SRT condition enables higher sludge digestion in MBR process so the sludge volume produced is 50 to 70% lower than that of conventional activated sludge process There are two kinds of MBR process according to the allocations of membrane. One is cross flow type MBR of which module is located outside of the bioreactor and mixed liquor is driven into the membrane module. The other is submerged type MBR process of which module is submerged in the bioreactor and mixed liquor is generally sucked from the lumen side. addition to that the cake layer is often removed by the uplifting flow of bubbling air. A submerged MBR process is superior to a crossflow MBR in regard to the power consumption because suction pressure of a submerged MBR is generally lower than that of a crossflow MBR which has recirculation pump. A submerged MBR, therefore, has the potential to be applied to small wastewater treatment plants that need low cost treatment systems.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.879-887
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• 2014

Bacteria that mediate the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium (anammox) have been detected in natural ecosystems, as well as various wastewater treatment systems. In this study, sludge from a particular landfill leachate anaerobic treatment system was selected as the incubation seed for anammox microorganism enrichment owing to its possible anammox activity. Transmission electron microscopy observation, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis, and cloning/sequencing techniques were applied to identify the diversity of anammox microorganisms throughout the incubation. During the early stage of operation, the diversity of anammox microorganisms was similar to the original complex microbes in the seed sludge. However, as incubation time increased, the anammox microorganism diversity within the system that was originally dominated by Candidatus (Ca.) Brocadia sp. was replaced by Ca. Anammoxoglobus propionicus. The domination of Ca. Anammoxoglobus propionicus produced a stable removal of ammonia (70 mg-N/l) and nitrite (90 mg-N/l), and the total nitrogen removal efficiency was maintained at nearly 95%. The fluorescence in situ hybridization results showed that Ca. Anammoxoglobus propionicus was successfully enriched from $1.8{\pm}0.6%$ initially to $65{\pm}5%$ after 481 days of operation. Therefore, the present results demonstrated the feasibility of enriching Ca. Anammoxoglobus propionicus from leachate sludge, even though the original cell count was extremely low. Application of this seldom found anammox organism could offer an alternative to current ammonia-nitrogen treatment.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.50-59
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• 2018

During the course of investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, a total of 30 bacterial strains belonging to the phylum Firmicutes were isolated from diverse environmental sites such as soil, avian feces, wastewater treatment plants, fermented vegetables, seawater, algae, sea cucumber, octopus and tidal flat sediment. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that each strain showed high sequence similarity (${\geq}98.7%$) to the closest type strain and formed a robust phylogenetic clade with the most closely related species in the phylum Firmicutes. To date, there is no official record of these 30 species in Korea. Therefore, we report 26 species of 12 genera in the order Bacillales and 4 species of 4 genera in the order Lactobacillales which have not been reported in Korea. Morphological and biochemical characteristics, isolation sources and NIBR deposit numbers are described in the species descriptions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.189-194
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• 2012

In this study, a 3-stage biological aerated filter (BAF) system was proposed to enhance nitrogen removal in the treatment of low carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) municipal wastewater. Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of dynamic-flow at the HRT of 6 h. Results of the long-term operation of 3-stage BAF systems showed that the dynamic-flow enabled the total nitrogen removal (T-N) removal efficiency of the system to be about 7 % higher than that of non-dynamic-flow system in treating domestic wastewater due to the more efficient use of organic substrates. The overall $NH_4$-N removal performance was stable during the operational period due to the unique system configuration where independent nitrification occurred. It was concluded that the 3-stage BAF system proposed in this study provided excellent performance in the removal of nitrogen by employing dynamic-flow and three columns functioning as sorption, denitrification and nitrification, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.177-184
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• 2003

Although clay can sorb significant amounts of inorganic contaminants from soils and wastewater, the hydration of exchangeable cations in clay minerals makes it hydrophilic at the clay mineral surfaces and interlayers. Thus, natural clays are often ineffective in complexing and stabilizing toxic organic contaminants in soils and groundwater environment. But, substituting these hydrated cations with cationic surfactant such as QAC(Quaternary ammonium Compound) can change the natural clay from hydrophilic to hydropobic. Furthermore functionalized organoclay can act as a powerful dual function sorbent for both toxic metals and organic compounds. It also can be used as landfill clay liners, slurry walls, nano-composite materials, petroleum tank farms, waste treatment, and filter systems. To use this modified clay minerals effectively, it is required to understand the fundamental chemistry of organoclay, synthetic procedures, its engineering application, bioavailability of sorbed ion-clay complex, and potential risk of organoclay. In this review, we investigate the use, application and historical background of the organoclay in remediation technology. The state-of-the-art of organoclay research is also discussed. Finally, we suggest some future implications of organoclay in environmental research.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.42-53
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• 1999

A study on the synthesis of zeolite from coal fly ash from power plant was carried out to reduce environmental problems and reuse industrial waste. The synthesized zeolite was proved to be Zeolite 4A type by means of the XRD and SEM analysis, and then the synthesized zeolite was used as an absorbent to remove the $NH_4^+$ ions in the wastewater and water. In the ion exchange of single $NH_4^+$ ions by the natural zeolite and the synthesized zeolite, the ion exchange reached equilibrium within 10 min. and 1hr, respectively. The amount of ion exchanged $NH_4^+$ to the unit weight of natural zeolite and zeolite 4A were 1.09 and 3.54 meq/g respectively, and the amount of $NH_4$ ion exchanged by the synthesized zeolite was higher than by the natural zeolite. The ion exchange kinetics fitted very well to the Feundlich and Langmuir isotherm. The effects of coexisting cations on the ion-exchange properties of zeolites were studied in order to apply them to water treatment. In the bisolute-system of the $NH_4^+-K^+$ and $NH_4^+-Na^+$ systems, the ion exchange capacity was smaller than the single $NH_4^+$ ion system. The effects of coexisting cations on the ion exchange system by the natural zeolite and the synthesized zeolite were found to be $K^+>Na^+$ and $Na^+>K^+>>Mg^{2+}>Ca^{2+}$, respectively.