• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.214-220
• /
• 2019

Thermochemical cycles have been predominantly used for energy transformation from heat to stored chemical free energy in the form of hydrogen. The thermochemical cycle based on uranium (UTC), proposed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been considered as a better alternative compared to other thermochemical cycles mainly due to its safety and high efficiency. UTC process includes three steps, in which only the first step is unique. Hydrogen production apparatus with hectogram reactants was designed in this study. The results showed that high yield hydrogen was obtained, which was determined by drainage method. The results also indicated that the chemical conversion rate of hydrogen production was in direct proportion to the mass of $Na_2CO_3$, while the solid product was $Na_2UO_4$, instead of $Na_2U_2O_7$. Nevertheless the thermochemical cycle used for hydrogen generation can be closed, and chemical compounds used in these processes can also be recycled. So the cycle with $Na_2UO_4$ as its first reaction product has an advantage over the proposed UTC process, attributed to the fast reaction rate and high hydrogen yield in the first reaction step.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.3-16
• /
• 2017

Chemical catalyst products are applied to various fields such as petrochemical process, air pollution prevention facility and automobile exhaust gas purifier. The domestic and overseas chemical catalyst market is increasing every year, and the amount of waste catalyst generated thereby is also increasing. Most of the used chemical catalyst products, such as desulfurized waste catalysts and automobile waste catalysts containing valuable metals are important recyclable resources from a substitute resource point of view. The recycling processes for recovering valuable metals have been commercialized through some urban mining companies, and SCR denitration catalysts have been recycled through some remanufacturing companies. In this paper, the amount of domestic production and recycling of major catalyst products have thus been investigated and analyzed so as to be used as basic data for establishing industrial support policy for recycling of used chemical catalyst products. Also tasks for promoting the recycling of used chemical catalyst products are suggested.

• Journal of Korea Society of Waste Management
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.205-213
• /
• 2017

The current study was performed to investigate the effect of recycling coir substrates on the growth, fruit yield, and quality of strawberry plants. Analysis of physical properties revealed that the pH of a fresh coir substrate was 5.04 while those of substrates reused for one and two years were 5.20 and 5.33, respectively. The electrical conductivity (EC) of a new substrate was as high as $4.58dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$. This can cause salt stress after transplanting. The EC tended to decrease as the substrate was recycled, and the EC of a two-year recycled substrate was $1.48dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$. The fresh substrate had lower nitrogen and calcium concentrations, but higher phosphate, potassium, and sodium concentrations than the recycled coir substrate. The coir substrates recycled for one or two years maintained better chemical properties for plant growth than the fresh substrate. Strawberry growth varied depending on the number of years that the coir substrate was recycled. In general, strawberries grown in substrates that had been reused for two years did better than those grown in substrates that had been reused once or were fresh. Ninety days after transplanting, a plant grown in a substrate that had been reused for two years contained 25 leaves, which was 3.6 more than with a fresh substrate. In addition, the plants grown in a substrate that had been reused for two years exhibited larger leaf areas than those grown in other substrates. Coir substrates that had been reused for one year increased the number and area of leaves, but not as much as the substrate that had been reused for two years. One- and two-year reused coir substrates increased the weight of strawberries produced relative to the unused substrate, but the difference was not statistically significant. The plants grown in two-year reused substrates were longer and wider, as well. Also, the number of fruits per plant was higher when substrates were reused. Specifically, the number of fruits per plant was 28.7 with a two-year reused substrate, but only 22.2 with a fresh substrate. The fruit color indices (as represented by their Hunter L, a, b values) were not considerably affected by recycling of the coir substrate. The Hunter L value, which indicates the brightness of the fruit, did not change significantly when the substrate was recycled. Neither Hunter a (red) nor b (yellow) values were changed by recycling. In addition, there were no significant changes in the hardnesses, acidities, or soluble solid-acid ratios of fruits grown in recycled substrates. Thus, it is thought that recycling the coir substrate does not affect measures of fruit quality such as color, hardness, and sugar content. Overall, reuse of coir substrates from hydroponic culture as high-bed strawberry growth substrates would solve the problems of new substrate costs and the disposal of substrates that had been used once.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.24-34
• /
• 2003

For gaseous fuel combustion with inherent $CO_2$ capture and low NOx emission, chemical-looping combustion may yield great advantages for the savings of energy to $CO_2$ separation and suppressing the effect on environment, In chemical-looping combustor, fuel is oxidized by metal oxide medium in a reduction reactor. Reduced particles are transported to oxidation reactor and oxidized by air and recycled to reduction reactor. The fuel and the air are never mixed, and the gases from reduction reactor, $CO_2$ and $H_2O$, leave the system as separate stream. The $H_2O$ can be easily separated by condensation and pure $CO_2$ is obtained without any loss of energy for separation. In this study, five oxygen carrier particles such as NiO/bentonite, NiO/YSZ, $(NiO+Fe_2O_3)VYSZ$, $NiO/NiAl_2O_4$, and $Co_{\chi}O_y/CoAl_2O_4$ were examined &om the viewpoints of reaction kinetics, oxygen transfer capacity, and carbon deposition characteristics. Among five oxygen particles, NiO/YSZ particle is superior in reaction rate, oxygen carrier capacity, and carbon deposition to other particles. However, at high temperature ($>900^{\circ}C$), NiO/bentonite particle also shows enough reactivity and oxygen carrier capacity to be applied in a practical system.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.685-690
• /
• 2011

Novel acidic ionic liquids, 1-(${\omega}$-sulfonicacid)propyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([$HSO_3$pmim]Br)and 1-(${\omega}$-sulfonicacid)butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([$HSO_3$bmim]Br), were prepared and used as brominating agents, catalysts and solvents in the synthesis of 1,7-dibromoheptane, respectively. 1,7-dibromoheptan with a yield of 95% was obtained at $100^{\circ}C$ for 2 h by simple phase separation. The acidic ionic liquid [$HSO_3$pmim]Br was recycled for 5 times and the yield of 1,7-dibromoheptane did not decrease remarkably, which indicates that catalysts still maintain good selectivity and activity after recycling. The structure of the acidic ionic liquid [$HSO_3$pmim]Br was characterized with IR, and it was found that [$HSO_3$pmim]Br had stronger acidity than other ionic liquid.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.691-696
• /
• 2011

CTAB or CTAB-Nafion catalyst were successfully supported on siliceous hollow tubular MCM-41 which synthesized by hydrothermal method using CTAB as a single template or CTAB and Nafion-Na as mixed templates. The properties of two kinds of catalysts were characterized with XRD, SEM and adsorption and desorption isotherms of nitrogen and pore diameter distribution, respectively. Then they were applied to catalyze brominating reaction of 1,7-heptanediol, moreover the rate of brominating reaction with different catalysts was compared. The results showed that catalytic activities of CTAB/MCM-41 and CTAB-Nafion/MCM-41 are better than CTAB, and that of CTAB-Nafion/MCM-41 is the best because of its phase-transfer and strong acidity function. The two kinds of catalysts can be separated from the reactive products and recycled.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.272-278
• /
• 2013

Ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) has been usually used for various applications. Bottom ash generated in thermoelectric power plant is hardly recycled. In this study, EPDM/bottom ash/talc composites were prepared by using roll-mill. Bottom ashes obtained from thermoelectric power plant were modified using surfactant. The processing materials used in this study were antioxidant, processing oil, cross-linking co-agent and softening agent. Morphology and physical properties of EPDM composites are investigated by using SEM, TGA, UTM and Rheometer. As a result, when modified ash and talc are added to EPDM composites, the tensile strength and modulus of EPDM composites were remarkably enhanced.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.382-390
• /
• 2013

Foaming process of waste soda lime glasses by just chemical composition control of vitreous feed materials was investigated to find a novel and efficient recycling process. For the chemical composition control of feed materials, 10 wt. parts of $SiO_2$, 0.5 wt. parts of $Na_2SO_4$, 3.0 wt. parts of $B_2O_3$, and 0.3 wt. parts of carbon black as the foaming agent were mixed with 100 wt. parts of soda-lime vitreous feed powder. Proper conditions for foaming process in tunnel kiln are the foaming temperature of $830{\sim}850^{\circ}C$, the foaming time of 30~35 min, and the vitreous feed powder particle size of -325 mesh. Properties of foamed glass blocks obtained under these foaming conditions showed the density of $0.17{\sim}0.21g/cm^3$, thermal conductivity of $0.06{\pm}0.005kcal/h{\cdot}m{\cdot}^{\circ}C$, moisture absorption of 1.1~1.5%, and compressive strength of $20{\sim}30kgf/mm^2$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.167-173
• /
• 2014

The adsorption characteristics of the pellet-type adsorbent prepared from water treatment sludge for trimethylamine and ammonia were studied. The surface area and pore volume of the pellet-type adsorbent increased during calcination at $500^{\circ}C$. It was confirmed that the adsorbent prepared from water treatment sludge contained Br$\ddot{o}$nsted and Lewis acid sites. The breakthrough time of the adsorbent for both trimethylamine and ammonia was measured at different adsorbent weights and linear velocities while maintaining constant amounts of trimethylamine and ammonia. The kinetic saturation capacity and the adsorption rate constant for trimethylamine and ammonia were determined at different linear velocities by using the Wheeler equation. It was found that the kinetic saturation capacity and the adsorption rate constant were dependent on the linear velocity. An experimental equation could be derived to predict the breakthrough time of the adsorbent prepared from water treatment sludge for trimethylamine and ammonia at different adsorption conditions.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.133-142
• /
• 2022

The increased production and consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-based products over the past several decades has resulted in the discharge of countless tons of PET waste into the marine environment. PET microparticles resulting from the physical erosion of general PET wastes end up in the ocean and pose a threat to the marine biosphere and human health, necessitating the development of new technologies for recycling and upcycling. Notably, enzyme-mediated PET degradation is an appealing option due to its eco-friendly and energy-saving characteristics. PETase, a PET-hydrolyzing enzyme originating from Ideonella sakaiensis, is one of the most thoroughly researched biological catalysts. However, the industrial application of PETase-mediated PET recycling is limited due to the low stability and poor reusability of the enzyme. Here we developed the whole-cell catalyst (WCC) in which functional PETase is attached to the outer membrane of Escherichia coli. Immunoassays are used to identify the surface-expressed PETase, and we demonstrated that the WCC degraded PET microparticles most efficiently at 30℃ and pH 9 without agitation. Furthermore, the WCC increased the PET-degrading activity in a concentration-dependent manner, surpassing the limited activity of soluble PETase above 100 nM. Finally, we demonstrated that the WCC could be recycled up to three times.