• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.389-397
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• 2001

The effect of sludge digestion on the leaching efficiency of heavy metals from sludge by bioleaching with Thiobacillus thiooxidans MET was investigated. The used sludges were a non- and anaerobically digested. The leaching efficiency of heavy metals was strongly dependent on the pH of the sludge solution rather than the sludge condition and stolid concentration. The lower the pH the more heavy metal was leached from 3.0 of pH. The sequent orders of leaching heavy metals were Zn, Cu, and Cr. Although the buffering capacity of non-digested sludge was similar to anaerobically digested sludge, the pH decrease rate of the anaerobically digested sludge solution was faster than that of the non-digested sludge solution due to the higher sulfur oxidation rate of T. thiooxidans MET in the anaerobically digested sludge. The amount of leached heavy metals from the anaerobically digested sludge showed higher than that of non-digested sludge at the same pH value. This result might be caused by the difference of the insoluble metal types, which were contained in the sludge. An increase in sludge solids concentration decreased the leaching efficiency of heavy metals in the range of solids concentration 10 g/L to 70 g/L. The optimum ratio of S° to sludge stolid was 0.1 in both the sludge. The bioleaching process of heavy metals with T. thiooxidans MET showed the disinfecting effect over 90% as well as the reduction effect in sludge weight of 20%.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2005

In order to recover valuable metals from the waste electronic scrap, bioleaching of Cu, Zn, Al, Co, Ni, Sn and Pb was carried out using Thiobacillus ferrooxidans as a leaching microorganism in a shaking flask. In a preliminary study, to obtain the data on the leaching of Cu, Zn, Al, Co and Ni, the metal leaching was accomplished using metal powers instead of electronic scrap. The leaching percentaga of Cu, Zn, Co, Al and Ni powers was reduced with the increase of metal power concentration in solution. Below the metal concentration of 0.5 g/L, more than 85% of Cu, Co and Zn powers was leached out. At the electronic scrap concentration of 100 g/L, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans were able to leach more than 90% of the available Cu and Co while Al, Zn and Ni were able to leach less than 40%. Pb and Sn were not detected in the leachate. Pb was precipitated as PbSO$_4$, whereas Sn precipitated probably as SnO.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.99-106
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• 2004

Pollution reduction and/or control technology becomes one of the pressing post-semiconductor research field to lead an advanced industrial structure. Soil/groundwater remediation techniques may act as a core technology which will create many demands on pollution reduction areas. A plenty numbers of abandoned metal mines were left without any remediation action in Korea, and it may be potential sources of heavy metal and As contamination in the ecosystem. In order to bring this soil contamination to a settlement, the emerging soil/groundwater remediation techniques should be introduced. Main research topics in the United States and Europe move towards the clean remediation technology without any secondary impact and the feasible application of developing technique into the field scale study. With these advantages, several soil/groundwater techniques such as electrokinetic soil processing, permeable reactive barrier, stabilization/solidification, biosorption, soil flushing with biosurfactant, bioleaching and phytoremediation will be summarized in this paper.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.1225-1230
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• 2010

본 연구는 군부대 사격장의 중금속 오염토양에 대하여 생물학적 용출기술(BT)과 전기동력학적 기술(ET)의 통합공정의 적용성 평가 연구에 대한 것이다. 사격장 오염 토양의 경우 사격에 의해 탄두가 피탄지에 박히면서 오염토양 내에 잔존하여 탄두를 구성하는 주성분인 납과 구리 등에 의해 지속적인 오염원으로 작용하는 특징을 가진다. 따라서 사격장 토양오염정화를 위해서는 이 탄두를 물리적으로 선별하는 물리적 선별공정을 전처리공정으로 수행한 후 인공적으로 조성된 셀에 통합공정 적용성 평가를 위한 현장실증시험을 수행하였다. 생물학적 용출을 통해 토양내 잔류하는 중금속을 이온화시켜 이동성을 크게 한후 전기동력학적 기술을 통해 토양내에서 전해질로 이동시켜 최종적으로 전해질을 처리하는 시스템으로써 공정 모니터링결과 납과 구리 모두 주목할 만한 제거효율을 얻을수 있었다. 오염물질별 공정 적용성 평가결과 납의 경우 황산화박테리아에 의해 이온화가 되지만 황산화박테리아의 생장 부산물인 황산염이온(${SO_4}^{2-}$)과 반응하여 안정성이 큰 Anglesite($PbSO_4 $)를 형성하므로 전체적인 제거효율이 저하되는 것을 확인하였고 기타 미생물을 이용한 생물학적 용출기술 연구의 필요성을 확인하였다. 구리의 경우 황산염박테리아를 이용한 생물학적 용출공정 및 전기동력학적 처리공정의 통합공정을 통해 주목할 만한 제거효율을 얻을수 있었으며 통합공정의 효율성을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구를 통하여 미생물학적 용출기술과 전기동력학적 기술의 통합공정은 현장특이성(Site-specific) 확인후 적용가능성이 있음을 확인하였다.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.545-549
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• 2005

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is one of the most important bacterium used in bioleaching, and can utilize $Fe^{2+}$ or sulphide as energy source. Growth curves for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans under phosphate starvation and normal condition have been tested, showing lag, logarithmic, stationary and aging phases as seen in other bacteria. The logarithmic phases were from 10 to 32 hours for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans cultivated with normal cultivating condition and from 20 to 60 hrs for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans cultivated phosphate starvation. Differences of protein patterns of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans growing in case of normal or phosphate starvation were separately investigated after cultivation at $30^{\circ}C$ by the analysis of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-Mass spectrometry. There were total 6 protein spots identified, which were Recombination protein recA, RNA helicase, AP2 domain-containing transcription factor, NADH dehydrogenase I chain D, Hyothetical protein PF1669, and Transaldolase STY3758. From the 6 identified protein spots, 3 proteins were found to be decreased in expression at the cultivating condition of phosphate starvation, while another three upregulated.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.307-313
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• 2005

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans is one of the most important bacterium used in bioleaching, and can utilize $Fe^{2+}$ or sulphide as energy source. Growth curves for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans have been tested, which show lag, logarithmic, stationary and aging phases as seen in other bacteria. The logarithmic phases were from 10 to 32 hours for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cultivated with $Fe^{2+}$ and from 4 to 12 days for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cultivated with elemental sulphur. Differences of protein patterns of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans growing on elemental sulphur and $Fe^{2+}$ separately were investigated after cultivation at $30^{\circ}C$ by the analysis of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization (MALDI)-Mass spectrometry and ESI-MS/MS. From the 7 identified protein spots, 11 spots were found more abundant when growing on elemental sulphur. By contrast 6 protein spots were found decreased at elemental cultivation condition. Among the proteins identified, cytochrome C have been previously identified as necessary elements of electron-transfering pathway for Thiobacillus ferrooxidans to oxidize $Fe^{2+}$; ATP synthase alpha chain and beta are expressed increased when Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cultivated with $Fe^{2+}$ as energy source. ATP synthase Beta chain is the catalytic subunit, and ATP synthase alpha chain is a regulatory subunit. The function of ATPase produces ATP from ADP in the presence of a proton gradient across the membrane.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2015

The aim of this study was leaching valuable metal ions from mine waste rocks which were abandoned mine site using indigenous aerobic bacteria. In order to tolerate the the indigenous aerobic bacteria to the heavy metal ions they were repeatedly adapted in $CuSO_4{\cdot}5H_2O$ environment. As the repeated generation-adaptation progressed, the pH values of the growth-medium were gradually decreased. During bio-leaching experiments with indigenous aerobic bacteria raised in a heavy metal ion environment for 42 days, the pH of the leaching solution was decreased while increasing the adaptation period. The indigeous bacteria were much more active on the surface of Younhwa waste rocks which contained relatively few the chalcopyrite and Cu content than the Goseong mine waste rocks, and also the amount of Cu and Fe ions were leached more in the Younhwa sample(leaching rate of 92.79% and 55.88%, respectively) than the Goseong sample(leaching rate of 66.77% and 21.83%, respectively). Accordingly, it is confirmed that valuable metal ions can be leached from the mine waste rocks, if any indigenous bacteria which inhabits a mine environment site for a long time with heavy metal ions can be used, and these bacteria can be progressively adapted in the growth-solutions containing the target heavy metals.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.4 s.50
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• pp.265-275
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• 2006

It is in its infancy to use bacteria as a novel biotechnology for leaching precious and heavy metals from raw materials. The objective of this study was to investigate biogeochemical processes of iron leaching from magnetite reduction by iron-reducing bacteria isolated from intertidal flat sediments, southwestern part of Korea. Microbial leaching experiments were performed using commercial magnetite, Aldrich magnetite, in well-defined mediums with and without bacteria. Water soluble Fe production was determined by ICP analysis of bioleached samples in comparison to uninoculated controls, and the resulting precipitated solids were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The extent of iron leaching from magnetite in the aerobic conditions (Fe = 107 ppm) was higher than that in the anaerobic environments (Fe = 94 ppm). In the anaerobic conditions, Fe(III) in commercial magnetite was also reduced to Fe(II), but no secondary mineral phases were observed. Amorphous iron oxides formed in the medium under aerobic conditions where there was sufficient supply of oxygen from the atmosphere. SEM observation suggests that the reduction process involves dissolution-precipitation mechanisms as opposed to solid state conversion of magnetite to amorphous iron oxides. The ability of bacteria to leach soluble iron and precipitate amorphous iron oxides from crystalline magnetite could have significant implications for biogeochemical processes in sediments where Fe(III) in magnetite plays an important role in the largest pool of electron acceptor as well as the tool as a novel biotechnology for leaching precious and heavy metals from raw materials.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.1319-1336
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• 2006

The successive round of talks oil Korea-USA Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has continued, and it also has the Intellectual property(IPR) unit. Until now, tile one of most disputing concerns in IPR unit through talks is the limitation of compulsory license of claimed invention. The US is urging to establish a safeguard for IPR, as similar measure of the US, to protecting the profit of the US enterprises through these on-going talks, it is more likely expected to take the offensive about infringement of the patent seriously. Based on the current circumstances, the provision strategy study is needed to obtain Korea inventors the first inventor defense under the US patent law system as well as understand the current Korea's patent law and its revision against that in the US. In patent Law, both nations with first to file system and first to invent system permit a prior user of an invention to continue to use the invention notwithstanding its subsequent patenting by another under being subject to certain qualifications and limitations, even though a patent by a later inventor is granted. Normally, the first inventor defense has been used to compensate the drawbacks of the first to file system. The US patent Law, however, adopting the first to invent system admits the first inventor defense. Therefore, pursuing counteract provision under consideration with Korean patent Law system and research environment along with investigating the reason why the US adopted its patent law system, the scope of right, and the new reform of Act. 2005 of the institute, which promotes the first Korean inventor to possess the defense right of the US, provides certain preparations for Korean companies against the expected offensive from the US ones under the US patent Law system.