• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2014

Mesoporous SAPO-34 catalyst was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method using carbon nanotube (CNT) as a secondary template. The effects of CNT contents (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 4.5 mol%) on catalytic performances were investigated. The synthesized catalysts were characterized with XRD, SEM, nitrogen physisorption isotherm and $NH_3$-TPD. Among the synthesized catalysts, SAPO-34 catalyst prepared by the addition of 1.5 mol% CNT (1.5C-SAPO-34) observed not only the largest amounts of mesopore volume but also acid sites. However, the mesopore volume was relatively decreased by further increasing of CNT contents due to the formation of small crystalline. The catalytic lifetime and the selectivity of light olefins ($C_2{\sim}C_4$) were examined for the dimethyl ether to olefins reaction. As a result, the 1.5C-SAPO-34 catalyst showed an improvement of ca. 36% in a catalytic lifetime and a better selectivity to light olefins as compared with the general SAPO-34 catalyst.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.45-63
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• 2019

In view of the growing industrial use of Bacterial cellulose (BC), and taking into account that it might become airborne and be inhaled after industrial processing, assessing its potential pulmonary toxic effects assumes high relevance. In this work, the murine model was used to assess the effects of exposure to respirable BC nanofibrils (nBC), obtained by disintegration of BC produced by Komagataeibacter hansenii. Murine bone marrow-derived macrophages ($BMM{\Phi}$) were treated with different doses of nBC (0.02 and 0.2 mg/mL, respectively 1 and $10{\mu}g$ of fibrils) in absence or presence of 0.2% Carboxymethyl Cellulose (nBCMC). Furthermore, mice were instilled intratracheally with nBC or nBCMC at different concentrations and at different time-points and analyzed up to 6 months after treatments. Microcrystaline $Avicel-plus^{(R)}$ CM 2159, a plant-derived cellulose, was used for comparison. Markers of cellular damage (lactate dehydrogenase release and total protein) and oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxidase, reduced glutathione, lipid peroxidation and glutathione peroxidase activity) as well presence of inflammatory cells were evaluated in brochoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids. Histological analysis of lungs, heart and liver tissues was also performed. BAL analysis showed that exposure to nBCMC or CMC did not induce major alterations in the assessed markers of cell damage, oxidative stress or inflammatory cell numbers in BAL fluid over time, even following cumulative treatments. $Avicel-plus^{(R)}$ CM 2159 significantly increased LDH release, detected 3 months after 4 weekly administrations. However, histological results revealed a chronic inflammatory response and tissue alterations, being hypertrophy of pulmonary arteries (observed 3 months after nBCMC treatment) of particular concern. These histological alterations remained after 6 months in animals treated with nBC, possibly due to foreign body reaction and the organism's inability to remove the fibers. Overall, despite being a safe and biocompatible biomaterial, BC-derived nanofibrils inhalation may lead to lung pathology and pose significant health risks.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.358-364
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• 2019

To improve the optical characteristics and antifouling of anti-reflective coating (AR) films, various AR coating films were prepared by varying the mixing ratio of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS)/base and methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS)/acid hybrid solution. Prepared AR coating films were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, contact angle analyzer, atomic force microscope (AFM), FT-IR and pencil scratch hardness test. In an AR coating film that prepared from the hybrid solution with a 10 wt% MTMS/acid solution, the glass substrate showed an excellent optical property (97.2% transmittance), good antifouling ($121^{\circ}$ water contact angle and $90^{\circ}\;CH_2I_2$ contact angle) and moderate mechanical strength (pencil hardness of 4 H). In particular, it is considered that the good antifouling was due to the well dispersion of the methyl group ($-CH_3$), derived from a small amount of MTMS/acid solution in the hybrid solution, on the substrate surface. From results of the pencil hardness test, the mechanical strength of AR coating film was improved as the content of MTMS/acid solution increased.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.556-561
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• 2020

The aging and declining agricultural population in the modern society requires improvement of the agricultural environment and is one of the representative problems. And since most of the work systems always require a transport work, the ratio of labor consumed in the transport work is very high. Accordingly, many types of transport vehicles are being developed and sold, and in the early days, most of them are powered transport vehicles using fossil fuels. However, it is paying attention to next-generation eco-friendly energy such as hydrogen, fuel cells, solar power, and bio due to the strengthening of international environmental regulations such as global warming and the Convention on Climate Change and the depletion of fossil fuels. Therefore, in this study, the ultimate goal is to develop an eco-friendly, easy-to-operate, safe agricultural electric vehicle that replaces fossil fuels. It was designed with a focus on controlling a wide range of vehicle speeds and securing stability of electric agricultural vehicles. Considering the performance and design, it is composed of a frame, a driving part, a steering part, and a controller system, and we are going to review and manufacture each part. It is believed that the manufactured electric vehicle for agriculture can be easily and conveniently operated in an agricultural society where young manpower is scarce, and can be helpful to the agricultural society through high efficiency.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.33-45
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Ginseng extract (GSE) and taurine (TR) are widely used antifatigue resources in functional foods. However, the mechanism underlying the antifatigue effects of GSE and TR are still unclear. Hence, we investigated whether GSE and TR have synergistic effects against fatigue in mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: L6 cells were treated with different concentrations of TR and GSE, and cell viability was determined using 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium. Oxidative stress was analyzed by immunocytochemistry using MitoTracker^TM Red FM and an anti-8-oxoguanine antibody. Respiratory gas analysis was performed to investigate metabolism. Expression of an activated protein kinase was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Gene expression of cluster of differentiation 36 and pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 4 was measured using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Mice were orally administered TR, GSE, or their combination for 30 days, and then fatigue-related parameters, including lactate, blood urea nitrogen, and glycogen, were measured after forced swimming. RESULTS: TR and GSE reduced oxidative stress levels in hydrogen peroxide-stimulated L6 cells and enhanced the oxygen uptake and lipid metabolism in mice after acute exercise. After oral administration of TR or GSE for 30 days, the fatigue-related parameters did not change in mice. However, the mice administered GSE (400 mg/kg/day) alone for 30 days could swim longer than those from the other groups. Further, no synergistic effect was observed after the swimming exercise in mice treated with the TR and GSE combination for 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our data suggest that TR and GSE may exert antifatigue effects in mice after acute exercise by enhancing oxygen uptake and lipid oxidation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.362-367
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• 2023

Recently, research and development of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) membranes are progressing in the direction of thinning to reduce prices and improve performance. Demand for hydrogen-powered vehicles for commercial vehicles is also increasing, and their durability should be five times greater than those for passenger vehicles. Despite the thinning of the membranes, the durability of the membranes must be increased five times, so the improvement of the durability of the membranes has become more important. Since the acceleration durability evaluation time also needs to be shortened, the protocol using oxygen instead of air in the existing protocol was applied to a 10 ㎛ thin membrane to evaluate durability. The accelerated durability test (Open circuit voltage holding) was terminated at 720 hours. If the air-based department of energy (DOE) protocol was used, a lifespan of 450,000 km of driving hours would be expected, with a durability of about 1,500 hours. During the chemical durability evaluation, the active area of the electrode decreased by 51%, suggesting that catalyst degradation had an effect on membrane durability. Reducing the catalyst degradation rate is expected to increase membrane durability.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.517-522
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• 2023

A chemical/mechanical durability test of polymer membrane evaluation method is used in which air and hydrogen are supplied to the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and wet/dry is repeated in the open circuit voltage (OCV) state. In this protocol, when wet/dry is repeated, voltage increase/decrease is repeated, resulting in electrode degradation. When the membrane durability is excellent, the number of voltage changes increases and the evaluation is terminated due to electrode degradation, which may cause a problem that the original purpose of membrane durability evaluation cannot be performed. In this study, the same protocol as the department of energy (DOE) was used, but oxygen was used instead of air as the cathode gas, and the wet/dry time and flow rate were also increased to increase the chemical/mechanical degradation rate of the membrane, thereby shortening the durability evaluation time of the membrane to improve these problems. The durability test of the Nafion 211 membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was completed after 2,300 cycles by increasing the acceleration by 2.6 times using oxygen instead of air. This protocol also accelerated degradation of the membrane and accelerated degradation of the electrode catalyst, which also had the advantage of simultaneously evaluating the durability of the membrane and the electrode.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.77-84
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• 2023

In the agricultural sector, power sources are being developed that use alternative energy sources such as electric tractors and hydrogen tractors, away from internal combustion engine tractors. As parts such as engines and transmissions used in conventional internal combustion engine tractors are replaced with motors and batteries, the center of gravity changes, and thus the risk of rollover should be considered. The purpose of this study is to analyze the overturn angle of the main parts of the electric tractor through dynamic simulation to minimize the overturn accident and to derive the optimal arrangement of parts to improve stability. A total of nine dynamics simulations were conducted by designing three components of the PTO motor, drive motor and the battery pack, and three factors of the arrangement method. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that Type3 Level3, in which the drive motor and the PTO motor are located at the front and rear of the tractor, and two battery packs are located in the middle of the tractor, has a high rollover angle. As a result of this study, the stability increased as the center of gravity was placed backward and located below. Future research needs to be done to find the optimal location of parts considering their performance and placement efficiency.

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2024

Globally, the demand for electric vehicles has surged due to greenhouse gas regulations related to climate change, leading to an increase in the production of used batteries as a consequence of the battery life issue. This study aims to selectively leach and recover valuable metal lithium from the cathode material of spent LFP (LiFePO₄) batteries among lithium-ion batteries. Generally, the use of inorganic acids results in the emission of toxic gases or the generation of large quantities of wastewater, causing environmental issues. To address this, research is being conducted to leach lithium using organic acids and other leaching agents. In this study, selective leaching was performed using the organic acid methane sulfonic acid (MSA, CH₃SO₃H). Experiments were conducted to determine the optimal conditions for selectively leaching lithium by varying the MSA concentration, pulp density, and hydrogen peroxide dosage. The results of this study showed that lithium was leached at approximately 100%, while iron and phosphorus components were leached at about 1%, verifying the leaching efficiency and the leaching rates of the main components under different variables.

• Journal of Korea Foresty Energy
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.25-33
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• 2002

One of the critical problems to preserve books and documents in libraries and archives is the deterioration. Some of previous results showed that the major cause of paper deterioration was the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the cellulose in paper fibres and aging rate of acidic paper was faster than that of alkaline paper. Therefore, It is necessary to remove the acid in the paper for reducing the rate of paper deterioration. It has been reported to extend the useful life of acidic paper by three to five times. Recently, It has been recognized the need for an effective method of deacidifying large quantities of books and document. However, in the previous many reports little attention was paid to the effect of paper additives. In this paper, We carried out experiment about the effect of additives on paper aging and the effect of deacidification by the gaseous ethanolamines (monoehtanolamine, diethanolamine, triehtanolamine). In result, it was found that the strength of aging was in the order of the alum＋rosin＞alum ＞AKD＞ control and the rate of deacidification was in the order of the monoethanolamine＞diethanolamine＞triethanolamine. The treatment with the gaseous ethanolamines caused decreasing of brightness and dropping of fold endurances. However, deacidification by combination treatment of the various gaseous ehtnaolamines prevented from decreasing of brightness and dropping of folding endurances.