• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.157-163
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• 2007

During PEMFC operation, low current and low humidity conditions accelerate the degradation of perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. But, there have been no studies that clearly explain why these conditions accelerate the membrane degradation. In this study, the hydrogen permeability through the membrane, I-V polarization of MEA, fluoride emission rate(FER) in effluent water were measured during cell operation under low current densities and low relative humidity(RH). The experimental results were evaluated with oxygen radical mechanism the most commonly known for membrane degradation. It seems that low RH of anode is a good condition for $H{\cdot}$ radical formation on the Pt catalyst and the low current condition accelerates the $H{\cdot}$ to form $HO_2{\cdot}$ radical attacking the polymer membrane.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

Light induced degradation is one of the major research challenges of hydrogenated amorphous silicon related thin film silicon solar cells. Amorphous silicon shows creation of metastable defect states, originating from elevated concentration of dangling bonds during light exposure. The metastable defect states work as recombination centers, and mostly affects quality of intrinsic layer in solar cells. In this paper we present results of light induced degradation in thin film silicon solar cells and discussion on physical origin, mechanism and practical solutions of light induced degradation in thin film silicon solar cells. In-situ light-soaking IV measurement techniques are presented. We also present thin film silicon material with silicon nano-quantum dots embedded within amorphous matrix, which shows superior stability during light-soaking. Our results suggest that solar cell using silicon nano-quantum dots in abosrber layer shows superior stability under light soaking, compared to the conventional amorphous silicon solar cell.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.56-63
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• 2008

In this study, thermochemical degradation of hemicellulose by Acetone-Solvolysis, the effects of reaction temperature, conversion yield, degradation properties and degradation products were investigated. Experiments were performed in a tube reactor by varying reaction temperature from $200{\circ}C$ to $400{\circ}C$ at 40 min of reaction time. The liquid products from pyrolysis-liquefaction of hemicellulose contained various kinds of ketones. ketones, as 4-methyl-3-penten-2-one, 3-methylene-2-pentanone, 22,6-dimethyl-2, 5-heptadien-4-one, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, 5-methyl-2-hexanone, 3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one, and bezenes. as 1,4-dimethylbenzene, 1-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)-benzene, 1,4-dimethyl-2-(2-methylpropyl)benzene, 4-secbutyl-ethyl benzene, could be used as high-octane-value fuels and fuel additives. Combustion heating value of liquid products from thermochemical conversion processes of hemicellulose was in the range of $6,680{\sim}7,170cal/g$. After 40min of reaction at $400{\circ}C$ in Acetone-Solvolysis of hemicellulose, the energy yield and mass yield was as high as 72.2% and 41.2g oil/100g raw material, respectively.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.333-340
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• 2004

In this study, thermochemical degradation by pyrolysis-liquefaction of cellulose, the effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, conversion yield, degradation properties and degradation products were investigated . Experiments were performed in a tube reactor by varying reaction time from 20 to 80 min at $200{\sim}500^\circ{C}$. Combustion heating value of liquid products from thermochemical conversion processes of cellulose was in the range of 6,920~6,960cal/g. After 40min of reaction at $400^\circ{C}$ in pyrolysis-liquefaction of cellulose, the energy yield and mass yield was as high as 54.3% and 34.0g oil/100g raw material, respectively. The liquid products from pyrolysis-liquefaction of cellulose contained various kinds of ketones, phenols and furans. ketones and furans could be used as high-octane-value fuels and fuel additives. However, phenols are not valuable as fuels.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.144-154
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• 2016

HT-PEMFC (high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell) using PA (phosphoric acid) doped PBI (polybenzimidazole) membrane has been researched for extending the lifetime. However, the existing work on durability of HT-PEMFC focuses on identifying degradation causes of lab scale. The short life time of HT-PEMFC is still the problem for its commercialization. In this paper, an operating method to maximize life time of 5kW HT-PEMFC stack are proposed. The proposed method includes major steps such as minimization of OCV (Open Circuit Voltage) exposure, control of the proper stack temperature, and N2 purging for the stack. This long life operating method was based on the fragmentary results of degradation from previous research works. Experimentally, the 5 kW homemade HT-PEMFC stack was operated for a long time based on the proposed method and the stack successfully can operate within the desired degradation rate for the target life time.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.888-893
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• 2016

In this study, the solution plasma process was utilized with the aim of degrading synthetic dyes in water at atmospheric pressure. The experiments were conducted in a batch-type reactor consisting of a symmetric wire-wire electrode configuration with rhodamine B (RhB) as the target synthetic dye. The effects of the plasma treatment time and initial dye concentration on the RhB degradation were investigated by monitoring the change in absorbance of RhB solutions. The RhB solutions turned lighter in color and finally colorless with prolonged plasma treatment time, indicating the destruction of dye molecules. The RhB solutions were found to have degraded, following the first-order kinetic process. However, for high initial RhB concentrations, another kinetic process or factor seems to play a dominant role at the initial degradation stage. The fitted first-order rate constant decreased as the initial concentration increased. This result suggests that the degradation behavior and kinetic process of the RhB solution strongly depends on its initial concentration. The RhB degradation is considered to be due to a combination of factors, including the formation of chemically oxidative species, as well as the emission of intense UV radiation and high-energy electrons from the plasma. We believe that the solution plasma process may prove to be an effective and environment-friendly method for the degradation or remediation of synthetic dye in wastewater.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.48 no.12
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• pp.945-952
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• 2020

In this study, the effects of Low Earth Orbit(LEO) environments on the degradation behavior of epoxy nano silica composite materials were investigated. The nanocomposite materials containing silica particles in different weight ratios of 10% and 18% were prepared and degraded in a LEO simulator to compare with the neat epoxy cases. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed on the degraded nanocomposites and the activation energies were calculated by Friedman method, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) method, Kissinger method, and DAEM (Distributed Activation Energy Method) based on the iso-conversional method. As the results, for the neat epoxy sample cases, it was found that the average activation energy was increased as the degradation was progressed. When the nano particles were mixed, however, the energy increased to the 15 environmental test cycles, and decreased afterwards, meaning that the particle mixture contributed adversely to the thermal degradation. Discussions on the results of the different calculation methods were also given.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.405-408
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• 2005

To induce the enhanced mutants of dinitroaniline herbicide pendimethalin degrading bacterium, Bacillus sp. MS202 was irradiated with gamma radiation at the dose of $LD_{99}$ (3.35 kGy). Three enhanced mutants (MS202m7, MS202m14, MS202m18) were isolated from the candidates by the generation - isolation method. Clear zone formation and the GC analysis confirmed that the degrading activity of each enhanced mutant (MS202m7, MS202m14, MS202m18), the formation of pendimethalin metabolite, increased by $11\%,\;45\%,\;and\;32\%$ than a wild type, respectively. It suggested that these mutants induced by gamma radiation could be useful for the application of pesticide degradation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.747-752
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• 2019

Environmental pollution remains a considerable health risk source all over the world; however, hazards are usually higher in developing countries. Iraq has long been suffering from the problem of pollution and how to treat pollution. Photocatalytic degradation has turned out to be most productive process for dye degradation. In this investigation, Rhodamine B (RhB), dye has been selected for degradation under visible light illumination. To address this issue, we fabricate erbium trioxide nanoparticles (Er₂O₃/NPs). Erbium trioxide nanoparticles are prepared and utilized for photo-catalytic degradation. The characterization of Er₂O₃/NPs is described and confirmed by utilizing of XRD (X-ray diffraction) and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). The average size of Er₂O₃ nanoparticles is observed to be 16.00 nm. Er₂O₃/NPs is investigated for its ability of photo-catalytic degradation through certain selected parameters such as concentration and time. The methodological results show that the synthesized Er₂O₃/NPs is a good photo-catalytic for Rhodamine degradation.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.969-980
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the lifetime, and verify the target lifetime at steady state temperature, of communication cable jackets used in nuclear power plants. Method: This study was completed according to test and analysis methods required by international standards. After measuring the residual elongation(%) of specimens at specific points in time with the accelerated degradation test, average failure time of each temperature was computed. Thus, the activation energy could be derived by applying the temperature-Arrhenius law to estimate cable jacket lifetime at steady state temperature. Results: The cable jacket lifetime was estimated as 363.8 years assuming a normal nuclear power plant operating temperature of $90^{\circ}C$. Conclusion: To ascertain stable operating conditions for a nuclear power plant, accelerated degradation tests were performed according to the Arrhenius law for components of the nuclear power plants. The lifetime was estimated from the degradation data collected during the accelerated degradation test.