• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1060-1068
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• 2007

Perchlorate contamination in aquatic system is a growing concern due to the human health and ecological risks associated with perchlorate exposure. In spite of potential risks associated with perchlorate, drinking water standard has not been established worldwide. Recently, US EPA has issued new protective guidance for cleaning up perchlorate contamination with a preliminary clean-up goal of 24.5 ppb. In Korea, the drinking water standard and discharge standard for perchlorate has not been established yet and little information is available to address perchlorate problems. Perchlorate treatment technologies include ion exchange, microbial reactor, carbon adsorption, composting, in situ bioremediation, permeable reactive barrier, phytoremediation, and membrane technology. The process description, capability, and advantage/disadvantages of each technology were described in detail in this review. One of recent trends in perchlorate treatment is the combination of available treatment options such as combined microbial reduction and permeable reactive burier. In this review, we provided a brief perspective on perchlorate treatment technology and to identify an efficient and cost-effective approach to manage perchlorate problem.

• Clean Technology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.74-86
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• 1997

Recently the treatment of industrial wastes by membrane processes has drawn much attention due to increasing demands for clean technology. In the process investigated in this study, metal species in the acidic wastes are precipitated as metal hydroxide forms in a neutralization tank, and acid and base solutions are regenerated by water-splitting electrodialysis(WSED) to be reused in the process. Material balances of the processes for treating pickle liquor and mixed wastewater were calculated to explain conceptual design of the process. Experiments for neutralization precipitation with KOH and NaOH for mixed wastewater were carried out to precipitate metal hydroxide and to recover salt solution as supernatant. Also WSED of the salt solutions producing acid and base was tested in 2 or 3 compartment stacks using KCl and NaCl to investigate the effects of stack configurations on the WSED performance.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.458-467
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• 2017

In this study, we prepared PVDF membranes via TIPS for water treatment applications. PVDF was used for its excellent chemical and mechanical properties. The effect of coagulation bath composition, temperature, and heat capacity on the overall membrane morphology was studied and observed using SEM. A mixture of DOP and DBP was used as the diluent, and silica was used as an additive. It was observed that as the heat capacity of the coagulation bath increased, the crystallization rate of PVDF decreased yielding larger pores. Also, as the heat capacity of the coagulation bath decreased, the crystallization rate of PVDF increased yielding smaller pores.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.329-338
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• 2017

Nanofiltration (NF) technology is a membrane-based separation process, which has been pervasively used as the high-effective technology for drinking water treatment. In this study, a kind of composite polyamide NF thin film is selected to investigate the removal efficiencies and mechanisms of 14 trace drugs, which are commonly and frequently detected in the drinking water. The results show that the removal efficiencies of most drugs are quite high, indicating the NF is an effective technology to improve the quality of drinking water. The removal efficiencies of carbamazepine, acetaminophen, estradiol, antipyrine and isopropyl-antipyrine in ultrapure water are $78.8{\pm}0.8%$, $16.4{\pm}0.5%$, $65.4{\pm}1.8%$, $71.1{\pm}1.5%$ and $89.8{\pm}0.38%$, respectively. Their rejection rates increase with the increasing of their three-dimensional sizes, which indicates that the steric exclusion plays a significant role in removal of these five drugs. The adsorption of estradiol with the strongest hydrophobicity has been studied, which indicates that adsorption is not negligible in terms of removing this kind of hydrophobic neutral drugs by NF technology. The removal efficiencies of indomethacin, diclofenac, naproxen, ketoprofen, ibuprofen, clofibric acid, sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin and bezafibrate in ultrapure water are $81{\pm}0.3%$, $86.3{\pm}0.5%$, $85.7{\pm}0.4%$, $93.3{\pm}0.3%$, $86.6{\pm}2.5%$, $90.6{\pm}0.4%$, $59.7{\pm}1.7%$, $80.3{\pm}1.4%$ and $80{\pm}0.5%$, respectively. For these nine drugs, their rejection rates are better than the above five drugs because they are negatively charged in ultrapure water. Meanwhile, the membrane surface presents the negative charge. Therefore, both electrostatic repulsion and steric exclusion are indispensable in removing these negatively charged drugs. This study provides helpful and scientific support of a highly effective water treatment method for removing drugs pollutants from drinking water.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2024

The removal of phosphorus, especially phosphate-form phosphorus, is necessary in wastewater treatment. Biofouling induced by the quorum sensing mechanism is also a major problem in membrane bioreactor (MBR), which reduces membrane flux. This study introduces lanthanum-doped quorum quenching (QQ) beads into MBR, confirming their inhibitory effect on biofouling due to Rhodococcus sp. BH4 and their capacity for phosphorus removal through lanthanum adsorption. A batch test was conducted to access the phosphate adsorption of lanthanum-QQ (La-QQ) beads and lab-scale MBR to verify the effect of inhibition. The study aimed to identify distinctions among the MBR, QQ MBR, and La-QQ MBR. In the batch test, the phosphate removal rate increased as the volume of beads increased, while the unit volume removal rate of phosphate decreased. In the lab-scale MBR, the phosphate removal rates were below 20% in the control MBR and QQ MBR, whereas the La-QQ MBR achieved a phosphate removal rate of 74%. There was not much difference between the ammonia and total organic carbon (TOC) removal rates. Regarding the change in transmembrane pressure(TMP), 3.7 days were taken for the control MBR to reach critical pressure. In contrast, the QQ-MBR took 9.8 days, and the La-QQ MBR took 6.1 days, which confirms the delay in biofouling. It is expected that La-QQ can be used within MBR to design a more stable MBR process that regulates biofouling and enhances phosphate removal.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2018

Hollow fiber (HF) membranes are gaining wide interest over flat membranes due to their compaction and high area to surface volume ratio. This work addresses the fabrication of HF from polysulfone (PS) and polyethersulfone (PES) using N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent in addition to other additives to achieve desired characteristics. The semi-pilot spinning system includes jacketed vessel, four spinneret block, coagulation and washing baths in addition to dryer and winder. Different parameters affecting dry-wet spinning phase inversion process were investigated. Dope compositions of PES, NMP and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) of varying molecular weights as additive were addressed. Some critical parameters of importance were also investigated. Those include dope flow rate, air gap, coagulation & washing baths and drying temperatures. The measured dope viscosity was in the range from 1.7 to 36.5 Pa.s. Air gap distance was adjusted from 20 to 45 cm and coagulation bath temperature from 20 to $46^{\circ}C$. The HF membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and mechanical properties. Results indicated prevalence of finger like structure and average surface roughness from about 29 to 78.3 nm. Profile of stress strain characteristics revealed suitability of the fibers for downstream interventions for fabrication of thin film composite membrane. Different empirical correlations were formulated which enable deeper understanding of the interaction of the above mentioned variables. Data of pure water permeability (PWP) confirmed that the fabricated samples fall within the microfiltration (MF)-ultrafiltration (UF) range of membrane separation.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.405-419
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• 2018

Persulfates (i.e., peroxymonosulfate and peroxydisulfate) are capable of oxidizing a wide range of organic compounds via direct reactions, as well as by indirect reactions by the radical intermediates. In aqueous solution, persulfates undergo self-decomposition, which is accelerated by thermal, photochemical and metal-catalyzed methods, which usually involve the generation of various radical species. The chemistry of persulfates has been studied since the early twentieth century. However, its environmental application has recently gained attention, as persulfates show promise in in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) for soil and groundwater remediation. Persulfates are known to have both reactivity and persistence in the subsurface, which can provide advantages over other oxidants inclined toward either of the two properties. Besides the ISCO applications, recent studies have shown that the persulfate oxidation also has the potential for wastewater treatment and disinfection. This article reviews the chemistry regarding the hydrolysis, photolysis and catalysis of persulfates and the reactions of persulfates with organic compounds in aqueous solution. This article is intended to provide insight into interpreting the behaviors of the contaminant oxidation by persulfates, as well as developing new persulfate-based oxidation technologies.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2018

Coagulation process using aluminum sulfate ($Al_2(SO_4)_3$) and ferric chloride ($FeCl_3$) was employed as a treatment method for decolorization of a synthetic textile wastewater containing red dye in this paper. Factors such as initial pH, coagulant dosage, initial concentration, conductivity and mixing conditions that influence color removal efficiency were experimentally tested. It was found that $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ is more efficient than $FeCl_3$ as coagulant. When $40mgL^{-1}$ aluminum sulfate was used, results showed that color induced by the red dye was efficiently removed (> 90 %) and was obtained in a large range of initial pH from 4 to 8 with, and for a dye concentration lower than $235mg\;L^{-1}$. After addition of the coagulant, the medium had to be mixed for 30 min at 60 rpm, then allowed to settle for 40 min. The effects of water conductivity in the range $0.035-2.42mS\;cm^{-1}$ and dye concentration up to $380mg\;L^{-1}$ were also followed and discussed.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 2023

Algal organic matters (AOMs) are challenging to remove using traditional water treatment methods. Additionally, they are recognized as disinfection by product (DBP) precursors during the chlorination process. These compounds have the potential to seriously harm aquatic creatures. Despite the fact that AOMs and DBPs formed from algae can harm aquatic species by impairing their cognitive function and causing behavioral problems, only a few studies on the effects of AOMs and associated DBPs have been conducted. To assess the impact of extracellular organic materials (EOMs) produced by three different hazardous algal species and the chlorinated EOMs on zebrafish, this study used fish acute embryo toxicity (FET) and cognitive function tests. With rising EOM concentrations, the embryo's survival rate and mental capacity both declined. Of the three algal species, the embryo exposed to Microcystis aeruginosa EOM exhibited the lowest survival rate. On the other hand, the embryo exposed to EOMs following chlorination demonstrated a drop in CT values in both the survival rate and cognitive ability. These findings imply that EOMs and EOMs treated with chlorine may have detrimental effects on aquatic life. Therefore, an effective EOM management is needed in aquatic environment.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

The process of electromembrane transformation of L-lysine monohydrochlorides into their zwitterionic form in four- and two-chamber electrodialysis apparatus was investigated. The process of transformation at various concentrations of lysine monohydrochloride (0.1-0.6 mol.L-1) was studied and it was established that at the optimum density of current optimal concentrations of lysine hydrochloride during electrodyalisis was in the range of 0.2-0.4 mol.L-1. It was determined that the process of total transformation was accomplished when pH of the lysine solution achieved 10. Changes of concentrations of $Cl^-$ ions and lysine diffused into the neighboring chamber were determined depending on the time. The method developed by us allows adjusting the removal coefficient of $Cl^-$ ions during transformation to a maximal value, the losses of lysine diffused into the next chamber after its return to the technological cycle being less than 1.0 %. The specific energy consumption during the process of transformation in two- and four-chamber electrodialyzers was 0.19 and 0.205 A.h.kg-1 and the current efficiency was 75.9 and 73.1 %, correspondingly. Study of the process of electromembrane transformation allowed obtaining zwitterionic form of L-lysine from L-lysine monohydrochloride with minimal reagent and energy consumption.