• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.5 s.180
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• pp.615-626
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• 2006

The natural resources and material life-cycle include all human activities related to resources and material extraction, transportation, processing, use, recovery and disposal. Sustainable material management (SMM) is an integrated set of policy approaches targeted on economic agents throughout the material life-cycles and designed to result in economically efficient and environmentally effective material use. The material flows of industrial mineral, ores and fossil fuels have also long been a focal area for environmental policies because of the high environmental pressures associated with extraction, processing, consumption, and final disposal of these materials. OECD work on material flow is to improve the quantitative and analytical knowledge bases about natural resource and material flows within and among countries, so as to better understand the importance of material resources in member countries' economies. In several EU Member States, material flow accounts are part of official statistics. Material flow analysis (MFA) is a valuation method which assesses the efficiency of use of materials using information from material flow accounting. Material flow analysis helps to identify waste of natural resources and other materials in the economy which would otherwise go unnoticed in conventional economic monitoring systems. Resource use and resource efficiency has emerged as a major issue for long-term sustainability and environmental policy.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.480-487
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• 2012

The field study was carried out to investigate runoff characteristics of non-point source (NPS) by cultivation activity in river district. Two sites were selected mainly as G region (paddy field, green house), located in Kwangju, Gyeonggi Province, and S region (ordinary field), located in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, those belong to Paldang reservoir watershed. The paddy field with water storage capacity showed a slow increase in runoff as rainfall intensity increases. Meanwhile, both green house and ordinary filed revealed a rapid increase. The average BOD runoff concentration of paddy field, green house, and ordinary field was 2.0 mg/L, 2.8 mg/L, 7.9 mg/L, respectively. It indicates that ordinary field shows the highest value in BOD, SS, T-N, and T-P concentration due to the soil loss during rainfall. As a result of runoff load estimation according to the field, a T-N runoff load of paddy field was 1,793.9 kg/year, higher than that of ordinary field. It was estimated that a SS runoff load of ordinary field was 69,704 kg/year and accounts for more than 70% of overall runoff load.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.99 no.4
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• pp.597-602
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• 2010

The most basic matter to establish forest carbon circulation village is statistic on greenhouse gas emissions. But currently, although there is statistic on greenhouse gas emissions in the level of city or province, there is not statistic on greenhouse gas emission in village unit. According to the results, The model area is located in Seobyeok-ri, Chunyang-myeon, Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the total $CO_2$emissions caused by energy used in the model area was $1,755tCO_2$. Heating accounts for 55% of total emissions followed by 23% for power and 22% for vehicles. The model area emitted $572tCO_2$ due to rice growing and livestock raising, accounting for approximately 24.5% of total $CO_2$ emissions. It is expected that a reduction of as much as $884tCO_2$ emissions will be made from the current $964tCO_2$ to a level of 1/12th that amount, or $80tCO_2$ by replacing heating energy currently used in the model area with wood bioenergy such as wood chips or pellets. In addition, carbon emission reduction is expected for both heating and power by replacing the power consumption in houses, buildings, and street lights with solar power.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.936-941
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate formaldehyde removals by silver nano-particles attached on the surface of granular activated carbon (Ag-AC) and to compare the results to those obtained with ordinary activated carbon (AC). The BET analysis showed that the overall surface area and the fraction of micropores (less than $20{\AA}$ diameter) of the Ag-AC were significantly decreased because the silver particles blocked the small pores on the surface of the Ag-AC. The formaldehyde removal capacity of the Ag-AC determined using the Freundlich isotherm was higher than that of AC. Despite the decreased BET surface area and micropore volume, the Ag-AC had the increased removal capacity for formaldehyde, presumably due to catalytic oxidation by silver nano-particles. In contrast, the adsorption intensity of the Ag-AC, estimated by 1/n in the Freundlich isotherm equation, was similar to that of the ordinary AC, indicating that the surface modification using silver nano-particles did not affect the adsorption characteristics of AC. In a column experiment, the Ag-AC also showed a longer breakthrough time than that of the AC. Simulation results using the homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM) were well fitted to the breakthrough curve of formaldehyde for the ordinary AC, but the predictions showed substantial deviations from the experimental data for the Ag-AC. The discrepancy was due to the catalytic oxidation of silver nano-particles that was not incorporated in the HSDM. Consequently, a new numerical model that takes the catalytic oxidation into accounts needs to be developed to predict the combined oxidation and adsorption process more accurately.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.362-371
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• 2023

Background: PM_2.5 pollution has been a persistent problem in South Korea, with concentrations consistently exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The aging of the population in the country further exacerbates the health impacts of PM_2.5 since older adults are more susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate how the health impact (premature death) due to long-term exposure to PM_2.5 in South Korea could change in the future according to the trend of change in the country's population structure. Methods: The study employs a relative risk function, which accounts for age-specific relative risks, to assess the changes in premature deaths by age and region at the average annual PM_2.5 concentration for 2022 and at PM_2.5 concentration improvement levels. Premature deaths were estimated using the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM). Results: The findings indicate that the increase in premature deaths resulting from the projected population structure changes up to 2050 would significantly outweigh the health benefits (reduction in premature deaths) compared to 2012. This is primarily attributed to the rising number of premature deaths among the elderly due to population aging. Furthermore, the study suggests that the effectiveness of the current domestic PM_2.5 standard would be halved by 2050 due to the increasing impact of population aging on PM_2.5-related mortality. Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of considering trends in population structure when evaluating the health benefits of air pollution reduction measures. By comparing and evaluating the health benefits in reflection of changes in population structure to the predicted PM_2.5 concentration improvements at the provincial level, a more comprehensive assessment of regional air quality management strategies can be achieved.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.96-107
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• 2016

This study is an attempt to trace the origins of Korean botanical gardens prior to the construction of the botanical garden in Changgyeonggung Palace. We trace the time period during which Korean intellectuals first understood and appropriated botanical gardens based on accounts found in travel journals. These were written by members of delegations sent to Japan, Russia, and Great Britain and by students who had studied abroad, such as Tchi-Ho Yun and Kil-Chun Yu, during the open port period from 1876 to 1910. This study shows that the term "botanical garden" did not appear in any of the travel journals and the delegations did not show much interest in them until the 1880s. Japan had planned to introduce the different types of botanical gardens to the delegations from the Joseon Dynasty, but the delegations left no official records or related accounts regarding their visits. In contrast, members of delegations who were sent to Russia, Europe, and America after the 1890s began to pay attention to botanical gardens. They considered botanical gardens as a representative and essential part of Western culture and attempted to introduce them in Korea as essential tools for academic development as well as for enlightenment. Although many Korean intellectuals' opinions about the necessity of a botanical garden did not actually lead to its construction during the open port period, such a movement was significant in that it strengthened the botanical garden's image as a symbol of civilization. Apart from tracing the origins of the botanical gardens in Korea, this study serves as fundamental research material for understanding the establishment of the Changgyeongwon Botanical Garden in 1909.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.2_1
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• pp.217-229
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• 2020

Recently, weather changes in Korea have intensified due to global warming, and the five major natural disasters that occur mostly include heavy rains, typhoons, storms, heavy snow, and earthquakes. Busan is vulnerable to snow disaster, given that the amount of natural disaster damage in Busan accounts for more than 50% of the total amount in the entire metropolitan cities in Korea, and that the Busan area includes many hilly mountains. In this study, we attempted to identify vulnerable areas for snowfall disasters in Busan areas using the geographic information system (GIS) with the data for both geographical and anthropogenic characteristics. We produced the maps of vulnerable areas for evaluating factors that include altitude, slope, land cover, road networks, and demographics, and overlapped those maps to rank the vulnerability to snowfall disasters as the 5th levels finally. To weight each evaluating factor, we used an entropy method. The riskiest areas are characterized by being located in mountainous areas with roads, including Sansung-ro in Geumjeong-gu, Mandeok tunnel in Buk-gu, Hwangnyeongsan-ro in Suyeong-gu, and others, where road restrictions were actually enforced due to snowfall events in the past. This method is simple and easy to be updated, and thus we think this methodology can be adapted to identify vulnerable areas for other environmental disasters.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.171-185
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• 2013

Wetland has been known as a major biogenic source of $CH_4$ in globe. In a global scale, the amounts of 55~150 Tg $CH_4$ are released into the atmosphere annually from wetlands; and it accounts for about 21% of total $CH_4$ annual global emission. From August 2010 to August 2011, measurements of major greenhouse gas ($CO_2$, $CH_4$, $N_2O$) emissions were conducted from a freshwater wetland at Kunsan ($35^{\circ}56^{\prime}38.94^{\prime\prime}N$, $126^{\circ}43^{\prime}16.62^{\prime\prime}E$), Korea by using floating closed static chamber method. Flux measurements for these gases from western coastal tidal flat at Seocheon ($36^{\circ}07^{\prime}13.85^{\prime\prime}N$, $126^{\circ}35^{\prime}43.18^{\prime\prime}E$), Korea were managed from July 2011 to February 2012 by using closed static chamber method. The average gas fluxes and ranges from freshwater wetland experiment were $0.155{\pm}0.29\;mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$ (-0.054~0.942 $mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$) for $CH_4$, $17.30{\pm}73.27\;mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$ (-52.44~261.66 $mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$) for $CO_2$, and $0.004{\pm}0.01\;mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$ (-0.02~0.07 $mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$) for $N_2O$, respectively. Monthly base flux measurement results revealed that $CH_4$ fluxes during summer months in high water temperature were significantly high, and at least order of one higher than those during other months. The average fluxes and ranges of these greenhouse gases from tidal flat during the experimental period were $0.002{\pm}0.08\;mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$ (-0.16~0.22 $mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$) for $CH_4$, $-31.18{\pm}75.33\;mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$ (-298.87~101.93 $mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$) for $CO_2$, and $0.001{\pm}0.01\;mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$ (-0.017~0.03 $mg\;m^{-2}\;hr^{-1}$) for $N_2O$, respectively. Comparing the results of gas emissions from tidal flat to those from freshwater wetland, we found significantly lower emissions from tidal flat based on the experiment. Physicochemical parameters of water and soil at these experimental plots were also sampled and analyzed for understanding their correlation with these gas emissions.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.33-41
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• 2015

The vertical bearing capacity of a bucket foundation installed in sand can be calculated as sum of the skin friction and end bearing capacity. However, the current design equations are not considering the non-associated flow characteristics of sand and the reduction in the skin friction and increase in the end bearing capacity when the vertical load is applied. In this study, we perform two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element analyses following non-associated flow rule and calculate the vertical bearing capacity of circular bucket foundation of various sizes installed in sand of different friction angles. After calculating the skin friction and end bearing force at the ultimate state, design equations are derived for each. The skin friction of bucket foundation is shown significantly small compared to the end bearing capacity. Considering the difference with the available design equation for piles, it is recommended that the equation for piles is used for the bucket foundation. A new shape-depth factor ($s_q{\cdot}d_q$) for bucket foundation is recommended which also accounts for the increment of the end bearing capacity due to skin friction. Additionally, the shape and depth factor of embedded foundation proposed from the associated flow rule can overestimate the bearing capacity in sand, so it is more adequate to use the shape-depth factor proposed in this study.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.710-716
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• 2013

New and renewable energy sources have drawn attention because of climate change. Many studies have been carried out in waste-to-energy field. Fast pyrolysis of waste lignocelluosic biomass is one of the waste-to-energy technologies. Bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) reactor is widely used for fast pyrolysis of the biomass. In BFB pyrolyzer, bubble behavior influences on the chemical reaction. Accordingly, in the present study, hydrodynamic characteristics and fast pyrolysis reaction of waste lignocellulosic biomass occurring in a BFB pyrolyzer are scrutinized. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the fast pyrolysis reactor is carried out by using Eulerian-Granular approach. And two-stage semi-global kinetics is applied for modeling the fast pyrolysis reaction of waste lignocellulosic biomass. To summarize, generation and ascendant motion of bubbles in the bed affect particle behavior. Thus biomass particles are well mixed with hot sand and consequent rapid heat transfer occurs from sand to biomass particles. As a result, primary reaction is observed throughout the bed. And reaction rate of tar formation is the highest. Consequently, tar accounts for 66wt.% of the product gas. However, secondary reaction occurs mostly in the freeboard. Therefore, it is considered that bubble behavior and particle motions hardly influences on the secondary reaction.