• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.501-512
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• 2016

The study evaluated methods to measure condensable fine particles in flue gases and measured particulate matter by fuel and material to get precise concentrations and quantities. As a result of the method evaluation, it is required to improve test methods for measuring Condensable Particulate Matter (CPM) emitted after the conventional Filterable Particulate Matter (FPM) measurement process. Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) based on the evaluated analysis process showed that RSD percentages of FPM and CPM were around 27.0~139.5%. As errors in the process of CPM measurement and analysis can be caused while separating and dehydrating organic and inorganic materials from condensed liquid samples, transporting samples, and titrating ammonium hydroxide in the sample, it is required to comply with the exact test procedures. As for characteristics of FPM and CPM concentrations, CPM had about 1.6~63 times higher concentrations than FPM, and CPM caused huge increase in PM mass concentrations. Also, emission concentrations and quantities varied according to the characteristics of each fuel, the size of emitting facilities, operational conditions of emitters, etc. PM in the flue gases mostly consisted of CPM (61~99%), and the result of organic/inorganic component analysis revealed that organic dusts accounted for 30~88%. High-efficiency prevention facilities also had high concentrations of CPM due to large amounts of $NO_x$, and the more fuels, the more inorganic dusts. As a result of comparison between emission coefficients by fuel and the EPA AP-42, FPM had lower result values compared to that in the US materials, and CPM had higher values than FPM. For the emission coefficients of the total PM (FPM+CPM) by industry, that of thermal power stations (bituminous coal) was 71.64 g/ton, and cement manufacturing facility (blended fuels) 18.90 g/ton. In order to estimate emission quantities and coefficients proper to the circumstances of air pollutant-emitting facilities in Korea, measurement data need to be calculated in stages by facility condition according to the CPM measurement method in the study. About 80% of PM in flue gases are CPM, and a half of which are organic dusts that are mostly unknown yet. For effective management and control of PM in flue gases, it is necessary to identify the current conditions through quantitative and qualitative analysis of harmful organic substances, and have more interest in and conduct studies on unknown materials' measurements and behaviors.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.287-301
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate size distribution characteristics of water-soluble ionic components in the airborne particulate matter (PM) collected from an urban area in Busan using a MOUDI cascade impactor from March to October 2010. The inorganic constituents in the fine particles (${\leq}1.8{\mu}m$) predominantly consisted of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and potassium. Sulfate and ammonium concentrations showed a high correlation and similar equivalent concentrations in the fine modes including $0.18{\sim}0.32{\mu}m$, $0.32{\sim}0.56{\mu}m$, and $0.56{\sim}1.0{\mu}m$. This indicates that the main chemical component in the fine particles would be forms of ammonium sulfate such as $(NH_4)_3H(SO_4)_2$, $(NH_4)_2SO_4$, and $(NH_4)HSO_4$. Back trajectory analysis showed that relatively higher concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate in the fine mode, compared to the coarse mode, are caused both by domestic sources and long-range transports originated from China continent. High concentration episodes of PM both in the fine mode and the coarse mode were attributed both by anthropogenic sources, such as ship emissions and traffic emissions, and by natural sources such as seawater (sea salt), respectively.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.509-518
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• 2008

Distribution of bacterial abundance and production was investigated in seawater around Saemangeum dike 7 times during March, $2007{\sim}July$, 2008. In the inner area of the dike, salinity variation was great due to river runoff from Mangyung and Dongjin Rivers and high chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations up to $124.3{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ was found. In the outer area of the dike, salinity was higher than in the inner area of the dike, and chl a was lower up to 10 times than in the inner area of the dike. Thus, the area of Saemangeum showed meso- to hypereutrophic conditions. Bacterial abundance and production ranged from 0.3 to $4.3{\times}10^9\;cells\;l^{-1}$ and from 5.2 to $570 pmol\;l^{-1}h^{-1}$ in outer area of the dike, respectively, while in the inner area of the dike bacterial abundance and production was 3 to 4 times higher ($0.4{\sim}12.7{\times}10^9\;cells\;l^{-1}$ and $12.3{\sim}1309\;pmol\;l^{-1}h^{-1}$, respectively) than those in the outer area. In both areas, bacterial abudance and production was highest in summer and lowest in winter. However, the variations of bacterial parameters was very large in each season. These large variations seemed to be related with the supply of organic matter. Bacterial abundance and production showed significant negative correlations with salinity in the inner area, suggesting that allochthonous organic matter input by river runoff could be an important factor in regulating the distribution of bacterial abundance and production. In addition, bacterial production also correlated positively with chl a in the inner area, suggesting that autochthonous substrate might be another regulating factor of bacterial growth in the area. These results suggest that the supply of both allochthonous organic substrates introduced by river runoff and autochthonous substrates produced by phytoplankon could be important in regulating bacterial growth and utilization of organic matter in the area. Thus, to manage water quality in the inner area of dike, it seems to be important to lower the load of both organic and inorganic nutrients from adjacent rivers.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2000

The dynamics of physico-chemical factors and biomass of epilithic attached algae was determined by bimonthly sampling in the Kyechon and Yudongchon situated in the upper part of Som River from March 1998 to February 1999. Among environmental factors, average of $NH_4$, $NO_3$, SRP and SRSi concentration ranged $8.9{\sim}86.6{\mu}g$ N/l, $663.9{\sim}2,018.1{\mu}g$ N/l, $0{\sim}15.0{\mu}g$ P/l and 1.6~2.6 mg Si/l, respectively. The contents of chlorophyll-a and organic matter per unit area, which ranged from 21.1 to 231.8 $mg/m^2$ and ranged from 5.2 to 52.6 $g/m^2$, respectively, showed very high in the spatial and temporal variations. Both were high in February and May and low in March seasonally. The fluctuation of epilithic biomass related the concentration of $NH_4$, SRP and current velocity. In relationship between biomass and current velocity, >200 and 100~200 mg chl-a/$m^2$ corresponded to <0.2 and <0.8 m/s, respectively. The evaluation of water quality with chl-a and organic matter of periphyton resulted on over eutrophic condition. Periphytic algae in a small stream were more effective as indicator of water quality than planktonic algae. More researches on periphytic algae in relation to water quality evaluation are needed.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.162-169
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• 2024

Particulate matter (PM) constitutes a hazardous blend of organic and inorganic particles that poses health risks. Inhalation of fine airborne PM with a diameter of ≤ 2.5 ㎛ (PM_2.5) can lead to significant lung impairments. (+)-afzelechin (AZC), a natural compound sourced from Bergenia ligulata, boasts a range of attributes, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, and cardiovascular effects. However, knowledge about the therapeutic potential of AZC for patients with PM_2.5-induced lung injuries remains limited. Thus, in this study, we investigated the protective attributes of AZC against lung damage caused by PM_2.5 exposure. AZC was administered to the mice 30 min after intratracheal instillation of PM_2.5. Various parameters, such as changes in lung tissue wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio, total protein/total cell ratio, lymphocyte counts, levels of inflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), vascular permeability, and histology, were evaluated in mice exposed to PM_2.5. Data demonstrated that AZC mitigated lung damage, reduced W/D weight ratio, and curbed hyperpermeability induced by PM_2.5 exposure. Furthermore, AZC effectively lowered plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines produced by PM_2.5 exposure. It reduced the total protein concentration in BALF and successfully alleviated PM_2.5-induced lymphocytosis. Additionally, AZC substantially diminished the expression levels of Toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4), MyD88, and autophagy-related proteins LC3 II and Beclin 1. In contrast, it elevated the protein phosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Consequently, the anti-inflammatory attribute of AZC positions it as a promising therapeutic agent for mitigating PM_2.5-induced lung injuries by modulating the TLR4-MyD88 and mTOR-autophagy pathways.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.252-261
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• 2006

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of organic or inorganic acid supplementation on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts of weanling pigs. In growth trial (Exp I), a total of 100 crossbred pigs ({$Landrace{\times}Yorkshire$}${\times}$Duroc), weaned at $23{\pm}2$ days of age and $7.25{\pm}0.10kg$ average initial body weight (BW), were allotted to 5 treatments by body weight and sex in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Three different organic acids (fumaric [FUA], formic [FOA] or lactic acid [LAA]) and one inorganic acid (hydrochloric acid [SHA]) were supplemented to each treatment diet. Each treatment had 5 replicates with 4 pigs per pen. During 0-3 wk, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed efficiency (G/F ratio) were not significantly different among treatments. However, pigs fed LAA or SHA diet showed improved ADG by 15 or 13% respectively and 12% greater ADFI in both treatments compared to CON diets. Moreover, compared to organic acid treatments, better ADG (p = 0.07) and ADFI (p = 0.09) were observed in SHA diet compared to pigs that were fed the diet containing organic acids (FUA, FOA or LAA). However, during 4-5 wk, no differences in ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were observed among treatments. Overall, ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were not affected by acidifier supplementation. Although it showed no significant difference, pigs fed LAA or SHA diets showed numerically higher ADG and ADFI than pigs fed other treatments. In metabolic trial (Exp II), 15 pigs were used to evaluate the effect of acidifier supplementation on nutrient digestibility. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) was not improved by acidifier supplementation. Although the amount of fecal-N excretion was not different among treatments, that of urinary-N excretion was reduced in acidsupplemented treatments compared to CON group (p = 0.12). Subsequently, N retention was improved in acid-supplemented groups (p = 0.17). In anatomical trial (Exp III), the pH and $Cl^-$ concentrations of digesta in gastrointestinal (GI) tracts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. No detrimental effect of intestinal and lingual (taste bud) morphology was observed by acidifier supplementation particularly in inorganic acid treatment. In white blood cell assay (Exp IV), 45 pigs were used for measuring white blood cell (WBC) counts. In all pigs after LPS injection, WBC counts had slightly declined at 2 h and kept elevating at 8 h, then returned to baseline by 24 h after injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, overall WBC counts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. In conclusion, there was no difference between organic and inorganic acidifier supplementation in weanling pigs' diet, however inorganic acidifier might have a beneficial effect on growth performance and N utilization with lower supplementation levels. Furthermore, inorganic acidifier had no negative effect on intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts in weanling pigs. These results suggested that inorganic acidifier might be a good alternative to organic acidifiers in weanling pigs.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.314-322
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• 2012

In order to elucidate temporal variations of temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), suspended particulate matter (SPM), dissolved inorganic nutrients, and chlorophyll a, we performed 25-hour continuous monitoring in the Seomjin River Estuary in March (dry season) and July (rainy season) 2006. We also investigated spatial variations of marine environmental parameters across a saline gradient. In the Seomjin River Estuary, continuous monitoring results revealed that salinity variations were mainly affected by tidal cycle in the dry season and by river discharge in the rainy season. In the dry season, the spatio-temporal distribution of dissolved inorganic nutrient (nitrate, nitrite, and silicate) concentrations showed a good correlation with tidal cycle. While nutrient concentrations in rainy season showed not much variance in time. There were 6 and 4 times higher dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the rainy season than those in the dry season, respectively. Silicate concentration was 43 times higher in the rainy season than that in the dry season. Chlorophyll a concentration was higher in the dry season than that in the rainy season showing high nutrient concentrations. The results of this study, spatio-temporal variations of marine environmental factors are determined by both tidal cycle and river discharge. It seems that chlorophyll a concentration is related to the river discharge than dissolved inorganic nutrient distribution.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.360-372
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• 2010

Concentrations of ambient air particles such as total suspended particulates (TSP), particulate matter $(PM)_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$, were monitored simultaneously from May to June, 2007, at four locations at Alashan and Beijing in China, and Seoul and Gosan in South Korea. These monitoring sites are in the pathway of Asian dust (AD) storms traveling from China to the Korean peninsula. An AD event was observed in the Korean peninsula on May 25-26. During the sampling period, the average concentrations of TSP and PM10 were each higher than $150\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in Alashan and Beijing, but not in Seoul and Gosan. The concentration of TSP in Alashan (where the dust storm originated) on the day of the AD event reached $1824.7\;{\mu}g/m^3$, this being the highest concentration of air particles observed during the sampling period. The level was decreased to 15% of this ($274.7\;{\mu}g/m^3$) in Seoul and to 8.7% ($159.0\;{\mu}g/m^3$) in Gosan when the AD was observed two days later in Korea. Gosan, a representative background site in East Asia, displayed the lowest concentration of particles, with this maximal TSP concentration of $159\;{\mu}g/m^3$. Inorganic element contents in the air particles were also measured, and the concentrations in the four different regions compared. Concentrations of anthropogenically-enriched heavy metals in $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, were higher in the metropolitan cities of Beijing and Seoul compared to non-industrialized regions of Alashan and Gosan. However, the concentrations of inorganic soil elements including iron, magnesium, aluminum sodium, and manganese, were higher in Alashan compared to those in other sampling sites.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.15-25
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• 2018

This study was conducted to obtain proper amount of solid poultry manure in the beginning phase of Deutzia crenata growth. Seedling growth increment, dry weight, inorganic matter uptake and chemical changes of soil according to the concentration of solid poultry manure fertilization. 1. When treated with solid poultry manure, seed germination rate was highest on the control. However, germination rates tended to decrease when treated with at high concentrations. 2. The growth of seedlings treated with poultry manure was always higher than that in control. At the 1.0% of poultry manure treatment, the growth rate and dry weight of the seedlings was highest. 3. The amount of inorganic nutrients absorbed by the seedling was generally high with the 1.0% treatment, declined sharply with the 2.0% treatment. 4. For the planting soil of Deutzia crenata, the higher the concentration of poultry manure, the lower the soil pH. However, nitrogen, available P, K, Na and Mg contents in the soil have increased with higher concentrations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.607-628
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• 1999

The swine waste industry is growing rapidly along with the world human population. The trend is toward more concentrated piggeries with numbers of herds in the thousands. Associated with these increased herds are large quantities of wastes, including organic matter, inorganic nutrients, and gaseous emissions. The trend in swine waste management is toward treatment of these wastes to minimize negative impact on the health and comfort of workers and animals and the atmosphere, water, and soil environments. Treatment of these wastes has traditionally involved land application, lagoons, oxidation ditches, and conventional batch and continuously stirred reactor designs. More sophisticated treatment systems are being implemented, involving advanced anaerobic digester designs, integrated with solids separation, aerobic polishing of digester effluents, and biological nutrient removal. This review discusses the present and future role of anaerobic processes in piggery waste treatment with emphasis on reactor design, operating and performance parameters, and effluent processing.