• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.45-59
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• 2023

In response to the increasing global competition for technological supremacy to address climate change, it is crucial to develop workforce development programs in the field of climate technology to accumulate the national technological capabilities. However, these programs are rarely monitored and evaluated, and research related to monitoring and evaluation in the field of climate technology workforce development is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of workforce development programs in hydrogen energy and policy sectors on students' R&D capabilities and career aspirations in these sectors. The survey and focus group interviews with beneficiaries revealed that individual students' R&D capabilities and career confidence improved, and group-level R&D capabilities were also enhanced, and students felt greater appreciation on the significance of climate technology. The results of this study suggest that the necessary R&D capabilities to train R&D workforce in climate technology have been developed, but more measures are required to promote career development in this field.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.195-221
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• 2023

As the global energy and climate crisis has complicated interests of each country, the agenda that requires a global response has recently been revived. In particular, Korea is highly dependent on energy imports and continues to have high energy consumption, low efficiency of energy consumption, and high greenhouse gas emissions, so innovative and effective energy policies are urgently needed to achieve energy efficiency and carbon neutrality. In this study, among the changes in distributed district energy policy after the integrated energy method was introduced in Korea in the mid-1980's, the case of the "National Heat Map Project" policy implementation is analyzed with a modified multi-flow model. The 10 years of the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, the period of study, was a period in which the main paradigm of energy policy shifted to a "distributed energy platform" and policy transitions such as policy agenda setting, policy drift, and policy revision were made. A study on the process would be meaningful.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.252-252
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• 2022

Genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) refers to the comparative response of genotypes to different environments conditions. Thus, understanding GEI is a fundamental component for selecting superior genotypes for breeding programs. The significance of utilizing early maturing cultivars not only provides flexibility in planting dates, but also serves as an effective strategy to reduce methane emission from the paddy fields. In this study, we conducted multi-environment trials (METs) to evaluate yield-related traits such as culm length, panicle length, panicle number, spikelet per plant, and thousand grain weight. A total of eighty-one Korean commercial rice cultivars categorized as early maturing cultivars, were cultivated in three regions, two planting seasons for two years. The genotype main effect plus genotype-by-environment interaction (GGE) biplot analysis of yield-related traits and grain yield explained 70.02-91.24% of genotype plus GEI variation, and exhibited various patterns of mega-environment delineation, discriminating ability, representativeness, and genotype rankings across the planting seasons and environments. Moreover, simultaneous selection using weighted average of absolute scores from the singular value decomposition (WAASB) and multi-trait stability index (MTSI) revealed six highly recommended genotypes with high stability and crop productivity. The winning genotypes under specific environment can be utilized as useful genetic materials to develop regional specialty cultivars, and recommended genotypes can be used as elite climate-resilient parents to improve yield-potential and reduce methane emission as part to accomplish carbon-neutrality.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.56-63
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• 2023

The development of renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wave, and wind power, has led to the diversification of water electrolysis technologies, which can be easily coupled with renewable energy sources in terms of economics and scale. Water electrolysis technologies can be classified into three types based on operating temperature: low-temperature (<100 ℃), medium-temperature (300-700 ℃), and high-temperature (>700 ℃). It can also be classified by the type of electrolyte membrane used in the system. However, the concepts of thermodynamic and thermo-neutral voltages calculations and are very important factors in the evaluation of energy consumption and efficiency of water electrolysis technologies, are often confused. This review aims to contribute to a better understanding of the calculation of operating voltage and efficiency of PEM water electrolysis technologies and to clarify the differences between thermodynamic voltage and thermo-neutral voltage.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.79-89
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• 2023

One of the foremost environmental challenges, alongside the contemporary focus on achieving carbon neutrality, pertains to the pervasive issue of plastic waste. Thermochemical recycling technology, operating under high-temperature conditions to covert organic matter and recycle it into raw materials and energy, represents a transformative approach surpassing the conventional bounds of material recycling predominantly applied in plastic waste management. The thermochemical recycling paradigm is emerging as a pivotal technology within the circular economy, capable of transforming waste plastics into raw materials for producing original plastics. Its significance extends beyond national borders, garnering global attention due to its versatility as a chemical or energy recycling method, contingent upon the subsequent processes and final products. This study aims to scrutinize three quintessential thermochemical recycling technologies: combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Furthermore, the study discusses the recent major technology trends of these technologies.

• Journal of Advanced Technology Convergence
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.43-48
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• 2023

Globally, there is a collaborative effort to achieve global carbon neutrality in response to climate change. In the case of South Korea, greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly increasing, presenting an urgent situation that requires resolution. In this context, this study developed a thermal energy collection device named a 'steam trap' and created an AI model capable of predicting future electricity usage by collecting energy usage data through steam traps. The average accuracy of electricity usage prediction with this AI model was 96.7%, demonstrating high precision. Consequently, the AI model enables the prediction and management of days with high electricity consumption and identifies which facilities contribute to elevated power usage. Future research aims to optimize energy consumption efficiency through efficient equipment operation using anomaly detection in steam traps and standardizing energy management systems, with the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.2-10
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• 2023

The current mandatory domestic biodiesel blending ratio is 3.5%, which is planned to be gradually increased to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The aim of this study was to improve domestic self-sufficiency in biodiesel raw oil by conducting a technical review on the possibility of utilizing waste oils, such as soup oil, chicken oil, and leather oil, as biodiesel feedstocks. These waste oils have an acid value that is too high to be converted directly into biodiesel. Therefore, a pretreatment to reduce the acid value is necessary. The neutralization process was examined as a potential technology for reducing the acid value. The oil recovery rate of the soup oil after neutralization was significantly low at 37.6 wt%. The oil recovery rates of leather oil and chicken oil were 66.49 wt% and 79.08 wt%, respectively. Based on biodiesel conversion experiment using waste oil with a reduced acid value, the conversions were analyzed as 89 wt%, 91.1 wt%, and 90.5 wt% for soup oil, leather oil, and chicken oil, respectively. Thus, it is technically possible to use soup oil, leather oil, and chicken oil as raw materials for producing biodiesel.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.715-726
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• 2023

This study suggested that protective panels should be installed as sacrificial members as a safety design method for structures with potential explosions such as hydrogen charging stations to minimize direct damage to the structure and have resilience. To this end, the focus of the experiment is on quantitatively evaluating the impact of the structure when the protection panel is installed closely or spaced apart from the structure in a high-speed collision situation of the projectile. The experimental design used steel plates instead of concrete structural members mainly used in the past for excellent reproducibility, and the impact of structural members was compared and analyzed through deformation differences on the back of the steel plate. In addition, the impact of changes in the physical properties of the elastic body used as a separation material for the protective member and the difference in shock wave transmission time according to the protective member and the elastic body on the structural member was investigated.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.131-139
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• 2024

This study investigated the chemical properties of Organic Soil Amendments (OSAs) made from organic waste. It also assessed the effectiveness of using these OSAs in the soil layer of Green Infrastructure (GI) to reduce stormwater runoff and non-point source pollutants. The goal was to improve the national environmental value through resource recycling and contribute to the circular economy transformation and carbon neutrality of urban GI. The OSAs used in this study consisted of spent coffee grounds and food waste compost. They were found to be nutrient-rich and stable as artificial soils, indicating their potential use in the soil layer of GI facilities. Applying OSAs to bio-retention cells and permeable pavement resulted in a reduction of approximately 11-17% in stormwater runoff and a decrease of about 16-18% in Total Phosphorus (TP) discharge in the target area. Increasing the proportion of food waste compost in the OSAs had a positive impact on reducing stormwater runoff and pollutant emissions. This study highlights the importance of utilizing recycled resources and can serve as a foundation for future research, such as establishing parameters for assessing the effectiveness of GI facilities through experiments. To enable more accurate analysis, it is recommended to conduct studies that consider both the chemical and biological aspects of substance transfer in OSAs.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.967-976
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• 2023

Biochar is emerging as a promising substance for achieving carbon neutrality and climate change mitigation. It can absorb several nutrients via ion bonding on its surface functional groups, resulting in slow dissociation of the bonds. Biochar, like organic fertilizers, contributes to sustainable nutrient management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nutrient-coated biochar amendments on leafy vegetables production and soil fertility. The nutrient-coated biochar was produced by soaking rice husk biochar in a nutrient solution containing nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium for 24 hours. Nutrient-coated biochar and organic fertilizers were applied to soil at a rate of 120 kg·N·ha^-1. The growth components of the leafy vegetables showed that nutrient-coated biochar led to the highest fresh weight (FW) of both lettuce and kale (i.e., 146.67 and 93.54 g·plant^-1 FW, respectively). As a result, nutrient-coated biochar amendments led to superior yield compared to the control treatment and organic fertilization. The elemental composition of leafy vegetables revealed that soil amended with nutrient-coated biochar resulted in higher nutrient contents, which was attributed to the high nutrient contents supplied by the rice husk biochar. Soil amendment with nutrient-coated biochar positively enhanced the soil fertility compared to amendment with organic fertilizer. Therefore, nutrient-coated biochar is a promising substance for enhancing agronomic performance of leafy vegetables and improving soil fertility.