• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.33 no.11
• /
• pp.1403-1411
• /
• 2023

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most abundant component of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and directly creates environmental issues such as global warming and climate change. Carbon capture and storage have been proposed mainly to solve the problem of increasing CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere; however, more emphasis has recently been placed on its use. Among the many methods of using CO₂, one of the key environmentally friendly technologies involves biologically converting CO₂ into other organic substances such as biofuels, chemicals, and biomass via various metabolic pathways. Although an efficient biocatalyst for industrial applications has not yet been developed, biological CO₂ conversion is the needed direction. To this end, this review briefly summarizes seven known natural CO₂ fixation pathways according to carbon number and describes recent studies in which natural CO₂ assimilation systems have been applied to heterogeneous in vivo and in vitro systems. In addition, studies on the production of methanol through the reduction of CO₂ are introduced. The importance of redox cofactors, which are often overlooked in the CO₂ assimilation reaction by enzymes, is presented; methods for their recycling are proposed. Although more research is needed, biological CO₂ conversion will play an important role in reducing GHG emissions and producing useful substances in terms of resource cycling.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.307-312
• /
• 2017

In this study, the electrochemical performance of surface modified carbon using the PFO (pyrolyzed fuel oil) was investigated by chemical activation with KOH and $K_2CO_3$. PFO was heat treated at $390{\sim}400^{\circ}C$ for 1~3h to prepared the pitch. Three carbon precursors (pitch) prepared by the thermal reaction were 3903 (at $390^{\circ}C$ for 3h), 4001(at $400^{\circ}C$ for 1h) and 4002 (at $400^{\circ}C$ for 2h). Also, the effect of chemical activation catalysts and mixing time on the development of porosity during carbonization was investigated. The prepared carbon was analyzed by BET and FE-SEM. It was shown that chemical activation with KOH could be successfully used to develop carbon with specific surface area ($3.12m^2/g$) and mean pore size (22 nm). The electrochemical characteristics of modified carbon as the anode were investigated by constant current charge/discharge, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance tests. The coin cell using pitch (4002) modified by KOH has better initial capacity (318 mAh/g) than that of other pitch coin cells. Also, this prepared carbon anode appeared a high initial efficiency of 80% and the retention rate capability of 2C/0.1 C was 92%. It is found that modified carbon anode showed improved cycling and rate capacity performance.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.260-266
• /
• 2018

This study investigates thermal and mechanical characterization of Hafnium carbide coating on the $C_f-C$ composites. The hafnium carbide coatings by vacuum plasma spray on the C/C-SiC composites are prepared to evaluate oxidation and wear resistance. We perform the thermal durability tests by thermal cycling at $1200^{\circ}C$ for 10cycles in air and investigates the weight change of each cycle. We also evaluate the wear and indentation behavior using tungsten carbide ball indenter as a mechanical evaluation. As a result, the HfC coating is beneficial to reduce of weight loss during thermal cycling test and improve the elastic property of C/C-SiC composite. Especially, the HfC coating improves the wear resistance of C/C-SiC composite.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.30-39
• /
• 2004

In order to understand the environmental impact of marine cage fish farms, we measured the vertical fluxes of particulate to the sediment, the distribution of organic carbon in core samples, sediment oxygen consumption rate (SOD), and macrobenthos with increasing distance from a fish cage in Miruk island located in Tongyong. The experiment was performed in August 2003. Measured values gradually decreased with distance, indicating that the organic matter in the sediment derived from the fish farm. The dominant macrobenthos species were Tharyx mulifilis, Lumbrineris longifolia, Sigambra tentaculata, and Capitella capitata, occupying 88% of the total population. Capirella capirata, an opportunistic polychaete species, were especially abundant between 0 to 5 m radius range. The estimated impact regions of organic matter enrichment based on sediment consilmption rates and compositions of macrobenthos were in good agreement. Most organic matter derived from the fish farm was deposited within a 10 m radius and then dispersed horizontally to nearby (at least 50 m) surface sediment. The vertical organic carbon fluxes to the sediment at the fish farm were higher by a factor of two than those outside the area. The remineralization organic carbon in the upper sediment layer was estimated to be 50% (1.07 g C m$^{-2}$ day$^{-1}$ ) at the fish farm. In contrast, outside the area, 30% (0.30 g C m$^{-2}$ day$^{-1}$ ) of organic carbon was recycled and the remaining 70% was deposited to the deep sediment layer.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.97 no.5
• /
• pp.492-500
• /
• 2008

Since vegetation significantly influences on soil carbon and nutrient storage, vegetation change has been focused on terrestrial carbon and nutrient cycling studies. In this study we investigated soil carbon and major nutrient capitals at the abandoned fields, which had different vegetation composition: a three year abandoned field ($AGR_3$), two ten years abandoned fields ($PD_{10}$ dominant with Pinus densiflora and Fraxinus rhynchophylla and $PM_{10}$ dominant with Populus maximowiczii), and an over sixty years forest ($FOR_{60}$). which were located at Hongcheon-gun, Kangwon-do, South Korea. Both main effects for organic matter (%) were significant: shallow soil > deep soil and $FOR_{60}=PM_{10}$ > $AGR_3=PD_{10}$. Nitrogen concentrations at $PM_{10}$ were the highest, while the lowest at $PD_{10}$. Available phosphorus concentrations were the highest at $PD_{10}$, which were over 10 times of site $FOR_{60}$ and $AGR_3$ at 0-10 cm soil depth. The average organic matter ($173Mg\;ha^{-1}$) and nitrogen contents ($10Mg\;ha^{-1}$) of $PM_{10}$ and $FOR_{60}$ were higher than those of $AGR_3$ and $PD_{10}$ by 57% and 42%, respectively. The available phosphorus contents above 30 cm mineral soil at $PD_{10}$ ($3.8Mg\;ha^{-1}$) and $PM_{10}$ ($1.3Mg\;ha^{-1}$) were over 120 times and 40 times more than at $FOR_{60}$. Calcium ($3.7Mg\;ha^{-1}$) and magnesium contents ($2.8Mg\;ha^{-1}$) at $FOR_{60}$ were twice or three times higher than at other sites. Organic matter amounts in 0-10 cm and 10-30 em soil had significant positive relationships with nitrogen, calcium, and magnesium contents, but not available phosphorus and potassium contents. This study could not identify the effect of chronological factor and vegetation composition on soil carbon and nutrient capital owing to diverse topography as well as limited study sites. However, this study suggests the accuracy of investigation for regional carbon and nutrient sequestration can be achieved by considering the period of abandoned time on the fields and the land use types. These results may suggest the benefits of forest restoration for soil carbon and nutrient accumulation in marginal agricultural lands in South Korea.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.98-107
• /
• 2001

Dielectric properties and shape memory characteristics of SBS composites filled with carbon black as conductive filler and (Ba,Ca)$(Sn,Ti)O_3$ or $SrTiO_3$ as dielectrics were investigated for the development of phantom model. SBS/carbon black composite showed an increment of complex dielectric constant with increasing the content of carbon black and the frequency dependence that the dielectric constant decreases with the frequency. The complex dielectric constant and the conductivity of SBS/carbon black/dielectrics composites increased with the increase of dielectrics and the characteristics of the frequency dependence also occurred by the effect of carbon black. Phantom materials with the dielectric properties and the conductivity corresponding to human tissues for the measurement of specific absorption rate(SAR) within the frequency range of current mobile phones(775MHz~2GHz) could be developed by adjusting the composition ratios of carbon black, dielectrics and SBS and by controlling the characteristic of frequency dependence of composite. From thermomechanical cycling test good shape recoverability could be obtained in SBS composite even though the residual strain was increased by the effect of filler.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.1199-1205
• /
• 2017

Global energy consumption is rapidly increasing yearly due to drastic industrial advances, requiring the development of new energy storage devices. For this reason, supercapacitors with fast charge-discharge, long life cycle and high power density is getting attention, and have been considered as one of the potential energy storage systems. In this research, we developed a supercapacitor that consists of amorphous manganese oxide($MnO_2$) electrodes deposited onto carbon cloth substrates using the hydrothermal method. The Fe-doped amorphous $MnO_2$ samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX), as well as scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The electrochemical analysis of the prepared samples were performed using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements in 1M $Na_2SO_4$ electrolyte. The test results demonstrate that the supercapacitor based on the Fe-doped amorphous $MnO_2$ electrodes has a specific capacitance as high as 163F/g at 1A/g current density, and good cycling stability of 87.34% capacitance retention up to 1000 cycles.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.220-227
• /
• 2024

As the demand for lithium-ion batteries with high capacity and high energy density has rapidly increased, silicon anodes (theoretical capacity = 3,570 mA h g^-1) have garnered attention as potential replacements for conventional graphite anodes (theoretical capacity = 372 mA h g^-1). However, silicon anodes suffer from severe volume expansion (~360%) during lithiation, low ionic conductivity (10^-14 ~ 10^-13 cm² S^-1), and low electrical conductivity (10^-2 S cm^-1), resulting in poor cycling and rate performance. To address these issues, this study synthesized core@shell-structured silicon@carbon nanoparticles (Si@C NPs) via a one-pot spray pyrolysis process using Pluronic-F127. Pluronic-F127 in the spray solution contributes to the synthesis of nanoparticles by preventing the formation of silicon nanoparticle/dextrin agglomerates and by undergoing pyrolysis simultaneously. Additionally, dextrin derived amorphous carbon was coated on the surface of the silicon nanoparticles to act as an electron transport pathway within the anodes and enhance the electrical contact between the silicon nanoparticles. The Si@C NPs exhibited a discharge capacity of 1,912 mA h g^-1 after 50 cycles at 1.0 A g^-1 and high rate capabilities (discharge capacity of 1,493 mA h g^-1 at 3.0 Ag^-1). The silicon@carbon composite nanoparticle synthesis strategy based on the spray pyrolysis process presented in this study is expected to offer a new direction for improving the performance of silicon anode materials.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.29-37
• /
• 2013

The study was carried out in two different forest types viz., Banj oak and Chir pine forests to assess the variation in forest species composition and soil properties along altitudinal gradients in the Garhwal Himalayas. The results of the study showed that between the forests soil moisture was higher in Banj oak forest because of closed canopy and dense forest compared to Chir pine forest. The sand particles were reported higher in Banj oak forest which might be due to the addition of organic matter favouring coarse structure of soil, helping in holding maximum water in soils. However in the Chir pine forest low amount of soil organic matter and presence of clayey soil, develops soil compactness which reduces the penetration of water resulting in high soil bulk density. The higher accumulation of litter and presence of moisture in Banj oak forest favours higher nutrient level of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compared to Chir pine forest. The soil organic carbon also reduced with increasing altitude at both gradients. While bulk density has reverse trend with soil organic carbon in both the forests at different peaks of same region. In Banj oak forest, the highest density and total basal cover was reported 1,100 tree $ha^{-1}$ and 58.86 $m^2\;ha^{-1}$ respectively. However, the highest values of density and total basal cover of Chir pine forest was 560 tree$ha^{-1}$ and 56.94 $m^2\;ha^{-1}$ respectively. The total density and basal cover of both the forests reduced with increasing altitude. The study concludes that Banj oak forest has better nutrient cycling ability, well developed foest floor and has a greater protective and productive features compared to the Chir pine forest which is without lower vegetation cover and having only pine litter accumulation which does not allow any other species to grow.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.18 no.9
• /
• pp.457-462
• /
• 2008

Through the electrostatic interaction between the poly-diallydimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) modified Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) and $SnO_2$ suspension in 1mM $NaNo_3$ solution, MWNT-$SnO_2$ nanocomposites (MSC) for anode electrodes of a Li-ion battery were successfully fabricated by colloidal heterocoagulation method. TEM observation showed that most of the $SnO_2$ nanoparticles were uniformly deposited on the outside surface of the MWNT. Galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling tests showed that MSC anodes exhibited higher specific capacities than bare MWNT and better cyclability than unsupported nano-$SnO_2$ anodes. Also, after 20 cycles, the MSC anode fabricated by heterocoagulation method showed more stable cycle properties than the simply mixed MSC anode. These improved electrochemical properties are attributed to the MWNT, which adsorbs the mechanical stress induced from volume change and increasing electrical conductivity of the MSC anode, and suppresses the aggregation between the $SnO_2$ nanoparticles.