• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.514-522
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• 2020

To understand the ecotoxicological differences between representative Skeletonema sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta, both producers as international standard test species for marine ecotoxicity testing, we compared each standard test method, and comparatively analyzed the suitability of the species for environmental assessment and their sensitivity to various test substances. Although most of the test conditions were the same in each method, there were differences in limitation of pH changing and the initial inoculation density in the validation criteria, which is supposed to originate from the low growth rate of D. tertiolecta. In terms of suitability, both species showed consistency in test performance by repeatedly meeting the validation criteria required by the standard test methods. The salinity ranges available for testing were 20 and 10 psu for Skeletonema sp. and D. tertioelecta, respectively. Finally, regarding sensitivity, the toxicity sensitivity of Skeletonema sp. was relatively higher than that of D. tertiolecta for the reference toxicant, actual polluted water discharged (ballast water), and other chemicals. This implies that using at least two species of microalgae from different classification groups could help increase the reliability and objectivity of test results in the performance of marine ecotoxicity tests using producers.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.311-316
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• 2018

As the lives of people have improved, the demand for improved indoor air quality has increased. Various methods are used to remove biological air pollutants, such as UV/photocatalytic devices and ozone generators. However, these methods have disadvantages such as energy consumption, high corrosivity and toxicity. To overcome these disadvantages, an antibacterial copper filter was fabricated and its antimicrobial activity was then tested against two fungi (P. pinophilum, C. globosum) and one bacteria (S. aureus) Moreover, the ability to remove suspended microorganisms was tested step by step from the chamber stage to the air conditioning system. The results revealed 100% antimicrobial activity after 24 hours for the two fungi, while this value was 99.9% after 18 hours for the bacteria. Moreover, the antibacterial activity was higher when the chamber and air purifier were used than was obtained using a general antibacterial HEPA filter. Also, as a filter for system air conditioner, the antibacterial activity was lowered in offices and hospitals. In conclusion, the copper filter was found to have sufficient antibacterial activity for use as an antibacterial filter; however, further research on its preparation methods and materials is warranted.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2018

In this study, Material life cycle evaluation was performed to analyze the environmental impact characteristics of TiN-Zr membrane manufacturing process. The software of MLCA was Gabi. Through this, environmental impact assessment was performed for each process. Transition metal nitrides have been researched extensively because of their properties. Among these, TiN has the most attention. TiN is a ceramic materials which possess the good combination of physical and chemical properties, such as high melting point, high hardness, and relatively low specific gravity, high wear resistance and high corrosion resistance. With these properties, TiN plays an important role in functional materials for application in separation hydrogen from fossil fuel. Precursor TiN was synthesized by sol-gel method and zirconium was coated by ball mill method. The metallurgical, physical and thermodynamic characteristics of the membranes were analyzed by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermo Gravimetry/Differential Thermal Analysis (TG/DTA), Brunauer, Emmett, Teller (BET) and Gas Chromatograph System (GP). As a result of characterization and normalization, environmental impacts were 94% in MAETP (Marine Aquatic Ecotoxicity), 2% FAETP (Freshwater Aquatic Ecotoxicity), 2% HTP (Human Toxicity Potential). TiN fabrication process appears to have a direct or indirect impact on the human body. It is believed that the greatest impact that HTP can have on human is the carcinogenic properties. This shows that electricity use has a great influence on ecosystem impact. TiN-Zr was analyzed in Eco-Indicator '99 (EI99) and CML 2001 methodology.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.135-142
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• 2021

Biopolymers have been known as eco-friendly soil strengthening materials and studied to apply levees. However, the effect of biopolymer on vegetation is not fully understood. In this study, we analyzed the root growth of Camelina sativa L. (Camelina) when the xanthan gum was amended to soil in Aluminum (Al) stress conditions. Amendment of 0.05% xanthan gum increased root growth of Camelina under Al stress conditions. Under the Al stress condition, expression of aluminum activate malate transporter 1 (ALMT1) gene of Camelina root was induced but showed a lower level of expression in xanthan gum amended soil than non-amended soil. Additionally, the binding capacity of xanthan gum with Al ions in the solution was confirmed. Using morin staining and ICP-OES analysis, the Al content of the roots in the xanthan gum soil was lower than in the non-xanthan gum soil. These results suggest that xanthan gum amended soils may reduce the detrimental effects of Al on the roots and positively affect the growth of plants. Therefore, xanthan gum is not only an eco-friendly construction material but also can protect the roots in the disadvantageous environment of the plant.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.209-222
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• 2024

The Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) shield Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is widely used for underground tunnel construction for its advantages, such as eliminating the need for additional facilities compared to the slurry shield TBM, which requires Slurry Treatment Plant (STP). During EPB shield TBM excavation, a soil conditioning technique is employed to enhance the physical properties of the excavated soil by injecting additives, thus broadening the range of applicable ground conditions to EPB shield TBMs. This study explored the use of xanthan gum, a type of biopolymer, as an alternative to the commonly used polymer additive. Biopolymers, derived from biological sources, are fully biodegradable. In contrast to traditional polymers such as polyacrylic acid, which contain environmentally harmful components, xanthan gum is gaining attention as an eco-friendly material due to its minimal toxicity and environmental impact. Test conditions with similar workability were established through slump tests, and the rheological characteristics were assessed using a laboratory pressurized vane shear test apparatus. The experiments demonstrated that, despite exhibiting similar workability, the peak strength in the flow curve decreased with increasing the content of xanthan gum. Consequently, a correlation between the xanthan gum content and peak strength was established. Replacing the traditional polymers with xanthan gum could enable stable EPB shield TBM operation by reducing equipment load, in addition to offering environmental benefits.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.677-685
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• 2005

Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) and Design for Environment(DfE) method were applied to design the environmentally sound manufacturing process of f31k lift in this study. Not only external movement of LCA and DfE method in the legal and systemic phase, but also active researches of those in the development phase of case study and application to the industrial field, have been going on. In concretely, the manufacturing processes of the folk lift generating the most environmental impact were examined by applying LCA method, and the environmentally sound manufacturing process was designed by applying, DfE method to the processes. As the results of LCA, environmental impacts for the eco-toxicity and human toxicity of seven major environmental categories were in high value, and so be in the cutting & welding process and painting process among the manufacturing processes. High solid paints, increasing the solid content of the existing solvent paints used in painting process, were developed to reduce the environmental impacts generated in the painting process. By utilizing the high solid paints, about 20% of environmental impacts (as environmental index of LCA) could be reduced.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2022

The development of the electrical, electronic, and telecommunication industries has increased the share of electricity in total energy consumption. With the enforcement of the Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use, and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy in 2021, the mandatory supply ratio of new and renewable energy is expected to expand, and the amount of waste cables generated in the stage of replacing and discarding cables used in the industry is also expected to increase. The purpose of this study was to quantify the environmental burden of waste cable recycling through the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The results showed that the higher the amount of glue contained in the waste cable, the greater was the amount of fine dust and greenhouse gases generated. In addition, by assigning weights to 10 environmental burden items, it was confirmed that the marine aquatic eco-toxicity potential (MAETP) and human toxicity potential (HTP) had the greatest environmental burden. The main causes were identified as heptane and ethanol, which were the glue contained in the waste cable and the cleaning solutions used to remove them. Therefore, it is necessary to refrain from using glue in the cable production process and reduce the environmental burden by reducing the use of waste cable cleaning solutions used in the recycling process or using alternative materials.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.491-495
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• 2014

Phytoremediation is a technology using plants and associated soil microbes to reduce the concentrations or toxic effects of contaminants in the environments. It is regarded as a cost-effective, efficient, eco-friendly, and solar-driven technology with good public acceptance. This study was conducted to find the plants accumulating heavy metals in soils contaminated with Cd and Pb. Experimental plots (plot size: $0.81m^2$) was artificially contaminated using a contaminated soil collected from a field in vicinity of Wondong mine (WD). Sunflower, corn and castor were tested for their potential to remove heavy metals from the contaminated soils. The results indicated that sunflower was most effective in accumulating heavy metals and thus remedying the soils among the three crops. Dry weight and heavy metal uptake of sunflower shoot differed with growth period. For example, the Cd content of shoots including leaf and stem were 0.31mg, 2.23 mg, and 0.96 mg per plot at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after planting in Cd4-WD treatment; in addition, the dry weight of the shoots in Cd8-WD treatment was reduced due to heavy metal toxicity. This experiment showed that sunflower absorbed Cd, Pb and Zn in their shoots up to 8 weeks of planting; thereafter heavy metals uptake was diminished. This implies that the efficiency of these plants in cleaning the contaminated soils may be high at the early stage of plant growth.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.857-864
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• 2018

Demand for developing artificial green pearl that meets the needs of modern people has been increasing. In this paper, eco-friendly inorganic pearlescent pigment was used instead of organic pigment and urethane resin was substituted for nitrocellulose which has been used as main materials in previous preparation method, increasing gloss from 73.4% to 86.7%. Urethane was coated on substrate before finishing with CVD, resulting high gloss of 96%. Colorimeteric analysis shows that a* and b* of CIE value was changed from +37.7 and +24.5 to +31.9 and +14.2 respectively because of CVD finishing, obtaining colorful, high gloss and durable artificial pearl. Quality and toxicity of samples was established by chemical resistance, glossiness, colorimeter, surface roughness, wear resistance, content of heavy-metal, and salt water test.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.203-217
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• 2013

This study looked at how to establish effluent limitation standards for formaldehyde, a toxic chemical widely used in industries. To this end, we reviewed Water Quality Based Effluent Limitation (WQBEL), Technology Based Effluent Limitation (TBEL), and water quality criteria for protection of human health and aquatic organism. Based on the results, we estimated formaldehyde effluent limitation standards appropriate to control water quality of industrial wastewater in Korea. However, this study has limits due to the lack of some data necessary in estimating formaldehyde effluent limitation. For example, although water quality criteria based on non-carcinogenic properties of formaldehyde were calculated, those based on carcinogenic properties were not be able to estimate because of the absence of applicable cancer potency factor q1. Without applicable factor, we calculated water quality standards for formaldehyde based on water quality criteria of advanced countries including the United States, while with no water quality standard we referred to applicable drinking water quality standards of other countries. For eco-toxicity based on water quality criteria, proper figures could not be calculated since there have been few reliable data.