• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.295-303
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: Anaerobic digestion process is recently adapted technology for treatment of organic waste such as animal manure because the energy embedded in the waste can be recovered from the waste while the organic waste were digested. Ever increased demand for consumption of meat resulted in the excessive use of antimicrobials to the livestocks for more food production. Most antimicrobials administered to animals are excreted through urine and feces, which might highly affect the biological treatment processes of the animal manure. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of antimicrobials on the efficiency of anaerobic digestion process and to clarify the interactions between antimicrobials and anaerobes. METHODS AND RESULTS: The experiment was consisted of two parts 1) batch test to investigate the effects of individual antibiotic compounds on production of methane and VFAs(volatile fatty acids), and removal efficiency of organic matter, and 2) the continuous reactor test to elucidate the effects of mixed antimicrobials on the whole anaerobic digestion process. The batch test showed no inhibitions in the rate of methane and VFAs production, and the rate of organic removal were observed with treatment at 1~10 mg/L of antimicrobials while temporary inhibition was observed at 50 mg/L treatment. In contrast, treatment of 100 mg/L antimicrobials resulted in continuous decreased in the rate of methane production and organic removal efficiency. The continuous reactor test conduced to see the influence of the mixed antimicrobials showed only small declines in the methane production and organic matter removal when 1~10 mg/L of combined antimicrobials were applied but this was not significant. In contrast, with the treatment of 50 mg/L of combined antimicrobials, the rate of organic removal efficiency in effluent decreased by 2~15% and the rate of biogas production decreased by 30%. CONCLUSION(s): The antimicrobials remained in the animal manure might not be removed during the anaerobic digestion process and hence, is likely to be released to the natural ecosystem. Therefore, the efforts to decline the usage of antimicrobials for animal farming would be highly recommended.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.53-62
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• 2017

Electric power which is the energy source of economy and industries requires long distance transportation due to regional difference between its production and consumption, and it is supplied through the multi-loop transmission and distribution system. Prior to its actual use, electric power flows through several transformations by voltage transformers in substations depending on the characteristics of each usage, and a transformer has the structure consisting of the main body, winding wire, insulating oil and bushings. A transformer fire that breaks out in substations entails the primary damage that interrupts the power supply to houses and commercial facilities and causes various safety accidents as well as the secondary economic losses. It is considered that causes of such fire include the leak of insulating oil resulting from the destruction of bottom part of bushings, and the chain reaction of fire due to insulating oil that reaches its ignition point within 1 second. The smoke detector and automatic fire extinguishing system are established in order to minimize fire damage, but a difficulty in securing golden time for extinguishing fire due to delay in the operation of detector and release of gas from the extinguishing system has become a problem. Accordingly, this study was carried out according to needs of active mechanism to prevent the spread of fire and block the leak of insulating oil, in accordance with the importance of securing golden time in extinguishing a fire in its early stage. A bushings fireproof structure was developed by applying the high temperature shape retention materials, which are expanded by flame, and mechanical flame cutoff devices. The bushings fireproof structure was installed on the transformer model produced by applying the actual standards of bushings and flange, and the full scale fire test was carried out. It was confirmed that the bushings fireproof structure operated at accurate position and height within 3 seconds from the flame initiation. It is considered that it could block the spread of flame effectively in the event of actual transformer fire.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.848-857
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• 2018

Recently, around the world, active development of new renewable energy sources including solar power, waves, and fuel cells, etc. has taken place. Particularly, floating offshore wind farms have been developed for saving costs through large scale production, using high-quality wind power and minimizing noise damage in the ocean area. The development of floating wind farms requires an evaluation of the Maritime Safety Audit Scheme under the Maritime Safety Act in Korea. Floating wind farms shall be assessed by applying the line and area concept for systematic development, management and utilization of specified sea water. The development of appropriate evaluation methods and standards is also required. In this study, proper standards for marine traffic surveys and assessments were established and a systemic treatment was studied for assessing marine spatial area. First, a marine traffic data collector using AIS or radar was designed to conduct marine traffic surveys. In addition, assessment methods were proposed such as historical tracks, traffic density and marine traffic pattern analysis applying the line and area concept. Marine traffic density can be evaluated by spatial and temporal means, with an adjusted grid-cell scale. Marine traffic pattern analysis was proposed for assessing ship movement patterns for transit or work in sea areas. Finally, conceptual design of a Marine Traffic and Safety Assessment Solution (MaTSAS) was competed that can be analyzed automatically to collect and assess the marine traffic data. It could be possible to minimize inaccurate estimation due to human errors such as data omission or misprints through automated and systematic collection, analysis and retrieval of marine traffic data. This study could provides reliable assessment results, reflecting the line and area concept, according to sea area usage.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.781-797
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• 2023

Recently, there has been a rapid response from mineral-demanding countries for securing critical minerals in a high tech industries. Graphite, while overwhelmingly dominated by China in production, is changing in global supply due to the exponential growth in EV battery sector, with active exploration in East Africa. Rare earth elements are essential raw materials widely used in advanced industries. Globally, there are ongoing developments in the production of REEs from three main deposit types: carbonatite, laterite, and ion-adsorption clay types. While China's production has decreased somewhat, it still maintains overwhelming dominance in this sector. Recent changes over the past few years include the rapid emergence of Myanmar and increased production in Vietnam. Nickel has been used in various chemical and metal industries for a long time, but recently, its significance in the market has been increasing, particularly in the battery sector. Worldwide, nickel deposits can be broadly classified into two types: laterite-type, which are derived from ultramafic rocks, and ultramafic hosted sulfide-type. It is predicted that the development of sulfide-type, primarily in Australia, will continue to grow, while the development of laterite-type is expected to be promoted in Indonesia. This is largely driven by the growing demand for nickel in response to the demand for lithium-ion batteries. The global lithium ores are produced in three main types: brine lake (78%), rock/mineral (19%), and clay types (3%). Rock/mineral type has a slightly higher grade compared to brine lake type, but they are less abundant. Chile, Argentina, and the United States primarily produce lithium from brine lake deposits, while Australia and China extract lithium from both brine lake and rock/mineral sources. Canada, on the other hand, exclusively produces lithium from rock/mineral type. Vanadium has traditionally been used in steel alloys, accounting for approximately 90% of its usage. However, there is a growing trend in the use for vanadium redox flow batteries, particularly for large-scale energy storage applications. The global sources of vanadium can be broadly categorized into two main types: vanadium contained in iron ore (81%) produced from mines and vanadium recovered from by-products (secondary sources, 18%). The primary source, accounting for 81%, is vanadium-iron ores, with 70% derived from vanadium slag in the steel making process and 30% from ore mined in primary sources. Intermediate vanadium oxides are manufactured from these sources. Vanadium deposits are classified into four types: vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM), sandstone-hosted, shale-hosted, and vanadate types. Currently, only the VTM-type ore is being produced.