• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.149-159
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• 2017

We investigated the mineralogical and chemical characteristics of oyster shell as the possible substitute for the limestone used as an absorbent of $SO_2$ gas. The oyster shells from Taean and Tongyeong were used for the comparison with limestone and those from Boyreong and Yeosu were additionally investigated. XRD results show that all shells are composed of calcite with the exception of the myostracum layer attached to adductor muscle and ligament, which is composed of aragonite. The marine sediments as impurities exist on the surface of shells or as inclusions in the shells. Calcite is the main mineral composition of the shell of barnacle which is also one of the impurities. The oyster shell is composed of three main layers; prismatic, foliated, and chalk. The oyster shell from Tongyeong with the largest shell size, has the smallest thickness of prismatic and foliated layers which contain protein called conchiolin, whereas that from Taean with the smallest shell size has the largest prismatic and foliated layers. The sizes of those two layers of the shells from Boryeong and Yeosu are larger than that from Tongyeong but smaller than Taean. Those differences are supposed to be due to the different growth environments because the oysters from Tongyeong are cultured under the sea while those from Taean are in the tidal zone. The oyster shells generally show higher amount of sulfur and phosphorus than limestone, mainly due to the composition of protein. Some elements such as Mg show significant variations in different layers. As for trace elements, Li shows much higher amount in oyster shells than limestone, suggesting the influence of the composition of the sea water on the formation of the oyster shells.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.401-410
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• 2003

Three beaches of the Seogwang-ri coast in the western part of Wu Island, Jeju-do, are solely composed of rhodoliths (red algal nodules). The beach sediments are coarse sand to granule in size and they show the banded distribution according to size. Commonly the larger pebble-sized rhodoliths are concentrated near the rocky coast, resulting from the transportation of the nodules from shallow marine environments by intermittent typhoons. Based on the internal texture of the rhodoliths, it appears that crustose red algae, Lithophyllum sp., is the main contributor for the formation of the rhodolith. The coarse sand to granule-sized grains show that they started to grow from the nucleus as rhodoliths, but the surface was severely eroded by waves. However, the pebble to cobble-sized grains exhibit the complete growth pattern of rhodoliths and sometimes contain other calcareous skeletons. It is common that encrusting red algae are intergrown with encrusting bryozoan. The surface morphology of rhodolith tends to change from the concentric to domal shape towards the outer part. This suggests that the rhodolith grew to a certain stage by rolling, but it grew in more quiet condition without rolling as it became larger. Aragonite and calcite cements can be found in the pores within rhodoliths (conceptacle, intraskeletal pore in bryozoan, and boring), and this means that shallow marine cementation has occurred during their growth. Growth of numerous rhodoliths in shallow marine environment near the Seogwang-ri coast indicates that this area has suitable oceanographic conditions for their growth such as warm water temperature (about 19$^{\circ}C$ in average) and clear water condition due to the lack of terrestrial input of volcanoclastic sediments. Fast tidal current and high wave energy in the shallow water setting can provide suitable conditions enough for their rolling and growth. Typhoons passing this area every summer also influence on the growth of rhodoliths.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2023

The nucleation mechanism was studied using a calcium ion selective electrode (Ca ISE) to observe the formation of CaCO₃, a representative mineral in the CO2 cycle, and to analyze the effect of the Mg/Ca-ratio and temperature on the formation of pre-nucleation cluster (PNC) and CaCO₃. As a result of the experiment, a small amount of crystal was formed. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used for surface element analysis, and a field emission scanning-electron microscope (FE-SEM) was used for the morphology analysis of synthesized carbonates. These results showed that various shapes of crystalline CaCO₃ (calcite, aragonite, etc.) were observed for each Mg/Ca ratio and temperature. In addition, the calibration plot obtained from Ca ISE showed information on the formation process of CaCO₃. Our results showed that as magnesium ions interfered with the binding of calcium and carbonate ions and delayed the aggregation between PNCs, the nucleation and formation of CaCO₃ were delayed. On the other hand, the temperature showed an opposite trend as compared to the effect of magnesium under our experimental conditions, indicating that temperature accelerated the formation of CaCO₃. Furthermore, the morphology of CaCO₃ clearly changed according to the Mg/Ca ratio and temperature, and it was confirmed that the two factors are very important for CaCO₃ formation in that they could affect the overall process.