• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.41-51
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• 2023

As abnormal climatic event occur frequently due to global warming, many nations have proclaimed their commitment to achieving carbon neutrality and are actively pursuing a transition toward a hydrogen economy. At this time, ammonia has garnered significant attention not only as a high-capacity hydrogen carrier but also as a promising candidate as a carbon-free fuel. In particular, anion exchange membrane fuel cells offer the advantage of directly supplying ammonia to the fuel cell, eliminating the necessity for separate ammonia decomposition or hydrogen purification. Therefore, in this study, the operation principle and research trend of the anion exchange membrane fuel cell are reviewed, and several research using ammonia as a fuel in anion exchange membrane fuel cell are also investigated.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.431-436
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• 2023

As the industry develops, the amount of heavy metals flowing into the ecosystem is increasing. Heavy metals are difficult to decompose and remain in the ecosystem for a long time and cause toxicity, which is removed by physicochemical methods such as adsorption, filtration, and chemical precipitation during water treatment. In this study, Alginate bead was selected as a chelating resin for adsorbing and removing heavy metals, and the Jellyfish Extract at Immunity reaction (JEI) were mixed to evaluate the adsorption efficiency of heavy metals accordingly. beads mixed with JEI showed high adsorption efficiency in lead (79-99%) and copper (64-70%) according to the characteristics of Alginate, and low adsorption efficiency in cadmium (25-37%) and zinc (5-6%). Although heavy metal adsorption did not increase in proportion to the content of JEI, 50% and 100% JEI beads showed significant increases. As a result of applying the reaction rate equation, it was found that it was more suitable for the pseudo-secondary reaction equation than the pseudo-first reaction equation.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.262-271
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• 2023

Globally, the amount of waste plastics has been occurring to environmental problems. As a result, it is necessary to research methods that utilize waste plastic pyrolysis oil (WPPO) produced by pyrolysis. One such method being studied is utilizing WPPO as a naphtha feedstock. In this study, five types of WPPO were analyzed to determine whether they can be used as raw materials for naphtha. Because of their wide boiling point range, the WPPOs were fractionated into light and heavy fractions through vacuum distillation, and the separation and purification techniques were analyzed using GC-VUV to determine the content of paraffin, olefin, and other compounds. All WPPOs showed high olefin content regardless of the source and fraction. Aromatic and paraffin content varied depending on the source, and oxygen and other compounds also varied significantly by source and fraction. In addition, the light fraction showed a carbon distribution similar to that of naphtha, whereas the heavy fraction showed a carbon distribution of C₁₁ ~ C₁₄. In conclusion, additional processes and raw material selection are required to utilize waste plastic pyrolysis oil as a raw material for naphtha.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.349-358
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• 2007

In order to understand biogeochemical cycles of organic carbon in the permeable intertidal sandy sediments of the Nakdong estuary, we estimated the organic carbon production and consumption rates both in situ and in the laboratory. The Chl-a content of the sediment and the nutrient concentrations in below surface pore water in the sandy sediment were lower than in the muddy sediment. The sediment oxygen consumption rates were relatively high, especially when compared with rates reported from other coastal muddy sediments with higher organic carbon contents. This implied that both the organic carbon degradation and material transport in the sandy sediment were enhanced by advection-related process. The simple mass balance estimation of organic carbon fluxes showed that the major sources of carbon in the sediment would originate from benthic microalgae and detrital organic carbon derived from salt marsh. The daily natural biocatalzed filtration, extrapolated from filtration rates and the total area of the Nakdong estuary, was one order higher than the maximum capability of sewage plants in Busan metropolitan city. This implies that the sandy sediment contributes greatly to biogeochemical purification in the area, and is important for the re-distribution of materials in the coastal environment.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

This research investigated the preparation of activated carbon derived from Krabok (Irvingia malayana) seed shells to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained during biodiesel production. The activated carbon was prepared using a dry chemical activation method with NaOH, utilizing an innovative biomass incinerator. The results revealed that the resulting KC/AC-two-step exhibited favorable physicochemical adsorption properties, with a high surface area of 758.72 m²/g and an iodine number of 611.10 mg/g. These values meet the criteria of the industrial product standard for activated carbon No. TIS 900-2004, as specified by the Ministry of Industry in Thailand. Additionally, the adsorption efficiency for methylene blue reached an impressive 99.35 %. This developed activated carbon was then used to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained from biodiesel production. The experimental results showed that the KC/AC-two-step increased the purity of crude glycerol to 73.61 %. In comparison, commercially available activated carbon (C/AC) resulted in a higher crude glycerol purity of 81.19 %, as analyzed by the GC technique. Additionally, the metal content (Zn, Cu, Fe, Pb, Cd, and Na) in purified glycerol using KC/AC-two-step was below the standards for heavy metals permitted in food and cosmeceuticals by the Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and the European Committee for Food Contact Materials and Articles. As a result, it can be inferred that Krabok seed shells have favorable properties for producing activated carbon suitable as an adsorbent to enhance crude glycerol purity. Furthermore, the improved crude glycerol from this research has potential for various industrial applications.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.116-125
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• 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over despite the emergency use authorization as can see recent COVID-19 daily confirmed cases. The viruses are not only difficult to diagnose and treat due to random mutations, but also pose threat human being because they have the potential to be exploited as biochemical weapons by genetic manipulation. Therefore, it is inevitable to the rapid antibody-based therapeutic platform to quickly respond to future pandemics by new/re-emerging viruses. Although numerous researches have been conducted for the fast development of antibody-based therapeutics, it is sometimes hard to respond rapidly to new viruses because of complicated expression or purification processes for antibody production. In this study, a novel rapid antibody-based therapeutic platform using single B cell sorting method and mRNA-antibody. High immunogenicity was caused to produce antibodies in vivo through mRNA-antigen inoculation. Subsequently, antigen-specific antibody candidates were selected and obtained using isolation of B cells containing antibody at the single cell level. Using the antibody-based therapeutic platform system in this study, it was confirmed that novel antigen-specific antibodies could be obtained in about 40 days, and suggested that the possibility of rapid response to new variant viruses.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.98-104
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• 2023

Effective and alternative strategies to control methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are consistently needed. Previous study presented that 7,10-epoxy-octadeca-7,9-dienoic acid (EODA) was produced from 7,10-dihydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic acid through one-step heat treatment. Further studies confirmed that EODA was highly active against broad range of pathogenic bacteria including MRSA, promising development of a novel antibacterial agent to control MRSA. However, there are some practical huddles for industrialization of EODA, especially high cost for fine purification. To address this problem, this study was focused on determination of any changes in the antibacterial activities of EODA when used as a crude extract. As a result, any significant changes in the antibacterial activities of EODA was not detected and additional synergistic effect for commercial antibiotics on antibacterial activity was sustained as it was.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.287-302
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• 2017

The carbonate rocks of the Daegi Formation are composed of the limestone at the upper and lower zones, and the dolomite at the middle zone, in which the upper zone has higher CaO content than others. The colors of carbonate rock in the Daegi Formation can be divided into five types; white, light brown, light gray, gray, and dark gray. The white to light gray colored rocks correspond to the high purity limestone with 53.15 ~ 55.64 wt. % CaO, and the light brown colored rocks contain 20.71 ~ 21.67 wt. % MgO. The bleaching of carbonate rocks are not related to CaO composition of the rocks, as light gray rocks tend to be higher in CaO content than those of the white rocks at the lower zone. The pelitic components are also occasionally increased in white limestone than light grey one. $Al_2O_3$ is one of the most difficult content to remove during hydrothermal processes, so the interpretation that the limestone is purified together with hydrothemral bleaching, has little merit. The wide range (over 16 ‰) of ${\delta}^{18}O_{SMOW}$, smaller variation (within 2 ‰) of ${\delta}^{13}C_{PDB}$ are apparent in both the upper and lower zones, which indicate the Daegi Formation had been affected overall by hydrothermal fluids. The K-Ar isotopic age of hydrothermal alteration in the GMI limestone mine is $85.1{\pm}1.7Ma$. Gradual change from grey through light grey to white limestone is accompaned by lower oxygen stable isotope values, which is major evidence that the hydrothermal effect is the main process of the bleaching. Although the Daegi Formation has suffered from hydrothermal activity and increase in whiteness, there is no clear evidence demonstrating the relationship between bleaching and high purity of limestone. The purification of limestone has nothing to do with the hydrothermal activity in this area. Instead, it should be considered that the change of sedimentary environment related to see-level fluctuation which can prevent deposition of pelitic components especially $Al_2O_3$ contrbuted to the formation of the high purity limestone in the upper zone of the Daegi Formation. Considering the evidences such as increase in CaO content of limestone by depth, gradual change from calcite to dolomite at the lower zones, and occurring the high purity limestone at the upper zone, the interpretation of sequence stratigraphic aspect to the formation of the high purity Daegi limestone appears to be more suitable than that of hydrothermal alteration origin.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.154-155
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• 2012

The promise of nano-crystalites (nc) as a technological material, for applications including display backplane, and solar cells, may ultimately depend on tailoring their behavior through doping and crystallinity. Impurities can strongly modify electronic and optical properties of bulk and nc semiconductors. Highly doped dopant also effect structural properties (both grain size, crystal fraction) of nc-Si thin film. As discussed in several literatures, P atoms or radicals have the tendency to reside on the surface of nc. The P-radical segregation on the nano-grain surfaces that called self-purification may reduce the possibility of new nucleation because of the five-coordination of P. In addition, the P doping levels of ${\sim}2{\times}10^{21}\;at/cm^3$ is the solubility limitation of P in Si; the solubility of nc thin film should be smaller. Therefore, the non-activated P tends to segregate on the grain boundaries and the surface of nc. These mechanisms could prevent new nucleation on the existing grain surface. Therefore, most researches shown that highly doped nc-thin film by using conventional PECVD deposition system tended to have low crystallinity, where the formation energy of nucleation should be higher than the nc surface in the intrinsic materials. If the deposition technology that can make highly doped and simultaneously highly crystallized nc at low temperature, it can lead processes of next generation flexible devices. Recently, we are developing a novel CVD technology with a neutral particle beam (NPB) source, named as neutral beam assisted CVD (NBaCVD), which controls the energy of incident neutral particles in the range of 1~300eV in order to enhance the atomic activation and crystalline of thin films at low temperatures. During the formation of the nc-/pm-Si thin films by the NBaCVD with various process conditions, NPB energy directly controlled by the reflector bias and effectively increased crystal fraction (~80%) by uniformly distributed nc grains with 3~10 nm size. In the case of phosphorous doped Si thin films, the doping efficiency also increased as increasing the reflector bias (i.e. increasing NPB energy). At 330V of reflector bias, activation energy of the doped nc-Si thin film reduced as low as 0.001 eV. This means dopants are fully occupied as substitutional site, even though the Si thin film has nano-sized grain structure. And activated dopant concentration is recorded as high as up to 1020 #/$cm^3$ at very low process temperature (＜ $80^{\circ}C$) process without any post annealing. Theoretical solubility for the higher dopant concentration in Si thin film for order of 1020 #/$cm^3$ can be done only high temperature process or post annealing over $650^{\circ}C$. In general, as decreasing the grain size, the dopant binding energy increases as ratio of 1 of diameter of grain and the dopant hardly be activated. The highly doped nc-Si thin film by low-temperature NBaCVD process had smaller average grain size under 10 nm (measured by GIWAXS, GISAXS and TEM analysis), but achieved very higher activation of phosphorous dopant; NB energy sufficiently transports its energy to doping and crystallization even though without supplying additional thermal energy. TEM image shows that incubation layer does not formed between nc-Si film and SiO2 under later and highly crystallized nc-Si film is constructed with uniformly distributed nano-grains in polymorphous tissues. The nucleation should be start at the first layer on the SiO2 later, but it hardly growth to be cone-shaped micro-size grains. The nc-grain evenly embedded pm-Si thin film can be formatted by competition of the nucleation and the crystal growing, which depend on the NPB energies. In the evaluation of the light soaking degradation of photoconductivity, while conventional intrinsic and n-type doped a-Si thin films appeared typical degradation of photoconductivity, all of the nc-Si thin films processed by the NBaCVD show only a few % of degradation of it. From FTIR and RAMAN spectra, the energetic hydrogen NB atoms passivate nano-grain boundaries during the NBaCVD process because of the high diffusivity and chemical potential of hydrogen atoms.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.161-170
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• 2018

The epidemic of disorders associated with synthetic stimulants, such as methamphetamine (MA) and amphetamine (AP), is a health, social, legal, and financial problem. Owing to the high potential of their abuse and addiction, reliable analytical methods are required to detect and identify MA, AP, and their metabolites in biological samples. Thus, a dilute-and-shoot liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrophotometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for simultaneous determination of MA, 4-hydroxymethamphetamine (4HMA), AP, and 4-hydroxyamphetamine (4HA) in urine. Urine sample ($100{\mu}L$) was mixed with $50{\mu}L$ of mobile phase consisting of 0.4 % formic acid and methanol and $50{\mu}L$ of working internal-standard solution. Aliquots of $8{\mu}L$ diluted urine was injected into the LC-MS/MS system. For all analytes, chromatographic separation was performed using a C18 reversed-phase column with gradient elution and a total run time of 5 min. The identification and quantification were performed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Linear least-squares regression was conducted to generate a calibration curve, with $1/x^2$ as the weighting factor. The linear ranges were 2.0-200, 1.0-800, and 10-2500 ng/mL for 4HA and 4HMA, AP, and MA, respectively. The inter- and intraday precisions were within 6.6 %, whereas the inter- and intraday accuracies ranged from -14.9 to 11.3 %. The low limits of quantification were 2.0 ng/mL (4HA and 4HMA), 1.0 ng/mL (AP), and 10 ng/mL (MA). The proposed method exhibited satisfactory selectivity, dilution integrity, matrix effect, and stability, which are required for validation. Moreover, the purification efficiency of high-speed centrifugation was clearly higher than 6-15 % for QC samples (n=5), which was higher than that of the membrane-filtration method. The applicability of the proposed method was tested by forensic analysis of urine samples from drug abusers.