• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.216-220
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• 2013

A 46-year-old man who had worked as a bumper spray painter in an automobile body shop for 15 years developed lung cancer. The patient was a nonsmoker with no family history of lung cancer. To determine whether the cancer was related to his work environment, we assessed the level of exposure to carcinogens during spray painting, sanding, and heat treatment. The results showed that spray painting with yellow paint increased the concentration of hexavalent chromium in the air to as much as $118.33{\mu}g/m^3$. Analysis of the paint bulk materials showed that hexavalent chromium was mostly found in the form of lead chromate. Interestingly, strontium chromate was also detected, and the concentration of strontium chromate increased in line with the brightness of the yellow color. Some paints contained about 1% crystalline silica in the form of quartz.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.595-599
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• 2002

A homogeneous and stable, amorphous-type, anorthite (CaO $Al_2$$O_3$ $2SiO_2$)powder was synthesized by an organic-inorganic steric entrapment route. Polyvinyl alcohol ( PVA) was used as an organic carrier for the precursor ceramic gel. The PVA content, its degree of polymerization and type of silica sol had a significant influence on the calcination and crystallization behavior of the precursors. For densifiction and crystallization at low temperature, porous and soft, amorphous-type anorthite powder was planetary milled for 20h. The milled powder crystallized to stable anorthite phase and densified to a relative density of 94% below $1000^{\circ}C$. In the development of crystalline phases of the planetary milled powder, omisteinbergite phase was unusually observed at $900^{\circ}C$, and then anorthite was observed at $950^{\circ}C$. The sintered anorthite had a thermal expansion coefficient of $4.6$\times$10^{-6}$ /$^{\circ}C$ and a dielectric constant of 7.5 at 1 MHz. Finally, the anorthite synthesized by the new process is expected to be an useful material for low-firing ceramic substrate.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.634-638
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• 2004

Titanium silicalite-1 (TS-1) molecular sieve was produced by microwave heating of amorphous titanium-containing solid precursors after impregnation with aqueous TPAOH solution. $SiO_2-TiO_2$ xerogel, sub-micron sized $SiO_2-TiO_2$ prepared by thermal plasma process, and Ti-containing mesoporous silica, Ti-HMS, were tested as the solid phase substrates. Highly crystalline product was obtained within 30 min. after microwave irradiation with yields over 90% using $SiO_2-TiO_2$ xerogel, which showed essentially identical physicochemical properties to TS-1 prepared by conventional hydrothermal method. Excellent catalytic activity was also obtained for 1-hexene epoxidation using $H_2O_2.\;SiO_2-TiO_2$ particles prepared by thermal plasma and Ti-HMS were found inferior as a substrate for TS-1, probably due to difficulties in wetting the surface uniformly with TPAOH.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.76.1-76.1
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• 2011

석탄 가스화기 내에서 슬래그의 축적에 의한 막힘 현상 등으로 발생 가능한 조업중단을 예방하기 위해 탄의 종류에 따른 슬래그의 유동을 정확히 예측하는 것은 중요하다. 슬래그의 유동은 원료인 석탄의 회 성분 조성 그리고 가스화기 온도의 영향을 크게 받는다. 회가 용융된 형태인 슬래그의 융점 특성을 파악하여 슬래그 거동을 예측하기 위해서는 회를 조성하고 있는 주성분의 비율 뿐 아니라 소량의 성분들도 고려하여야 한다. 또한, 가스화기 조업 조건 중 수증기 분압이 슬래그 점도에 미치는 변화를 파악하여 공정 조건 확립 및 슬래그 계통 제어 로직에 반영 할 수 있다. 따라서, 대표적 열화학 평형계산 프로그램인 Factsage를 이용하여 슬래그 성분의 액상선 온도를 예측해보았다. 슬래그는 회 성분의 조성에 따라 결정 슬래그와 유리 슬래그로 나눌 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 결정 슬래그로는 Alaska Usibelli 탄을, 유리 슬래그로는 Kideco 탄의 조성을 사용하여, 가스화기 조업 조건 중 수증기의 분압에 따라 석탄 슬래그의 형성 및 점도 변화에 직접적인 영향을 미치는 결정 형성에 대한 상관관계를 예측해 보았다. 또한, 슬래그 유동에 영향을 줄 수 있는 요인으로써, 석탄의 품질을 결정하는 인자인 Base/Acid Ratio, Iron in Ash, Calcium in Ash, Silica-to-Alumina Ratio, Inron-to-Calcium Ratio를 달리 변화시켜가며 슬래그 점도 변화에 직접적인 영향을 미치는 결정 형성을 예측하였다. 이 예측결과는 향후 실험 데이터와 비교하여, 슬래그 처리 부분의 모니터링에 기초 자료로 활용될 뿐 아니라, 슬래그점도 측정 시스템의 운전 파라미터를 도출하는데 이용 가능할 것이다.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.68
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• pp.173-179
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• 2018

Electrochemical characterization was conducted on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-ceramic composite (PVA-CC) separators for supercapacitor applications. The PVA-CC separators were fabricated by mixing various ceramic particles including aluminum oxide ($Al_2O_3$), silicon dioxide ($SiO_2$), and titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) into a PVA aqueous solution. These ceramic particles help to create amorphous regions in the crystalline structure of the polymer matrix to increase the ionic conductivity of PVA. Supercapacitors were assembled using PVA-CC separators with symmetric activated carbon electrodes and electrochemical characterization showed enhanced specific capacitance, rate capability, cycle life, and ionic conductivity. Supercapacitors using the $PVA-TiO_2$ composite separator showed particularly good electrochemical performance with a 14.4% specific capacitance increase over supercapacitors using the bare PVA separator after 1000 cycles. With regards to safety, PVA becomes plasticized when immersed in 6 M KOH aqueous solution, thus there was no appreciable loss in tear resistance when the ceramic particles were added to PVA. Thus, the enhanced electrochemical properties can be attained without reduction in safety making the addition of ceramic nanoparticles to PVA separators a cost-effective strategy for increasing the ionic conductivity of separator materials for supercapacitor applications.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.697-700
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• 2020

We report the synthesis and characterization of quartz nanocrystals (NCs). Quartz NCs were synthesized from the dissolution of amorphous silica nanoparticle precursors under the mild hydrothermal condition of ~250 ℃ and autogenic pressure. It was confirmed that the average size of the nanostructure with a highly crystalline phase of α-quartz can be tuned in a relatively narrow range from 407.5 to 826.2 nm with respect to the reaction time. α-Quartz NCs have potential uses for technological applications in optoelectronics, sensing, and rechargeable battery devices.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2767-2774
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• 2024

In this study, investment casting shell waste successfully utilized to produce cordierite/mullite/zircon composites. Green pellets, consisting of investment casting shell waste, alumina, and magnesia, were prepared and sintered at temperatures between 1250 and 1350 ℃. The influence of the sintering temperature on the crystalline phase composition, densification behavior, flexural strength, microstructure, and radiation shielding properties of the cordierite/mullite/zircon composites is investigated. Phase analysis showed that characteristic cordierite peaks appear at 1250 ℃, but the complete conversation of silica from investment casting shell waste into cordierite requires a sintering temperature of at least 1300 ℃. Notably, the cordierite/mullite/zircon composite sintered at 1350 ℃ exhibited a sixfold increase in flexural strength compared to the ceramic composite directly fabricated from investment casting shell waste at the same sintering temperature. Furthermore, the effect of Y₂O₃ addition on composites' radiation shielding properties is investigated. The results show that the Y₂O₃ addition improves densification behavior, enhancing the shielding capabilities of the composites against fast neutron and gamma radiation. Our findings suggest that the developed ceramic composites show significant potential for gamma-ray and neutron shielding applications.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.452-460
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• 2007

Ultra-low loss ZERODUR and fused silica mirrors were manufactured and their light scattering characteristics were investigated. For this purpose, ZERODUR and fused silica substrates were super-polished by the bowl feed method. The surface roughness were 0.292 ${\AA}$ and 0.326 ${\AA}$ in rms for ZERODUR and fused silica, respectively. To obtain the high reflectivity, 22 thin film layers of $SiO_2$ and $Ta_2O_5$ were deposited by Ion Beam Sputtering. The measured light scattering of ZERODUR and fused silica mirror were 30.9 ppm and 4.6 ppm, respectively. This shows that the substrate surface roughness is not the only parameter which determines the light scattering of the mirror. In order to investigate the mechanism for additional light scattering of the ZERODUR mirror, the surface roughness of the mirror was measured by AFM and was found to be 2.3 times higher than that of the fused silica mirror. It is believed that there is some mismatch at the interface between the substrate and the first thin film layer which leads to the increased mirror surface roughness. To clarify this, the contact angle measurements were performed by SEO 300A, based on the Giriflaco-Good-Fowkes-Young method. The fused silica substrates with 0.46 ${\AA}$ in its physical surface roughness shows lower contact angle than that of the ZERODUR substrate with 0.31 ${\AA}$. This indicates that the thin film surface roughness is determined by not only its surface roughness but also the surface energy of the substrate, which depends on the chemical composition or crystalline orientation of the materials. The surface energy of each substrate was calculated from a contact angle measurement, and it shows that the higher the surface energy of the substrate, the better the surface roughness of the thin film.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2017

Refractories used in low-rank coal gasification reactors are usually exposed in a highly corrosive $H_2S$ gas at less than $1000^{\circ}C$, and their mechanical properties such as erosion resistance and fracture strength decline with the exposure time. However, the cause of the degradation of the mechanical properties has little reported yet. In this paper, two kinds of castable refractories with different refractoriness had been exposed in a $H_2O/N_2/H_2S$ mixed gas with high $H_2S$ content for 100 hours at $900^{\circ}C$, and the changes of microstructure, crystalline phases and erosion resistance were compared before and after the corrosion test. The weight of the refractories decreases due to the elution of silica in the specimens after the corrosion test. The capillary porosities of the samples are reduced, but the erosion resistance of the samples is fatally weakened after the corrosion test. There also are changes in constituent phases; dmitryivanovite ($CaAl_2O_4$) and amorphous silica ($SiO_2$) disappear, and gypsum ($CaSO_4{\cdot}2H_2OS$) and kaolinite ($Al_2Si_2O_5(OH)_4$) newly appear after the corrosion test. It is obvious that the phase change from dmitryivanovite that works as a binding agent in the castable refractory to gypsum is the main reason of the degradation of the erosion resistance, because the mechanical properties of gypsum are much poorer than those of dmitryivanovite.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.684-689
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• 2005

Silicosis is a chronic fibrosing lung disease that is initiated by prolonged and extensive exposure to respirable free crystalline silica. Accelerated silicosis is rare and is clinically identical to the classic form of silicosis with the exception that the time from initial exposure to the onset of the disease is shorter and the rate of disease progression is dramatically faster. We describe a case of accelerated silicosis, which mimicked miliary pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient had worked in a mine coal for a period of 9 years. Subsequently, he worked in construction dealing with cement and sand for 14 years until he visited this clinic. The clinical course was notable for the rapid progression of the radiological features of silicosis over a period of 2 months. Polarizing light microscopic studies of the biopsied specimens by a transbronchial lung biopsy showed polarizing particles, which were typical of silica. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of accelerated silicosis in Korea.