• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2021

This study observed the release of microplastics according to washing weights and filtering conditions, measured microplastic generation rates, fiber lengths, and fiber diameters. This study attempted to present data for the development of filters that decrease microplastic generation. For test samples, polyester piled knit fabric (cut-pile) was selected, which currently has the highest amount of consumption in the clothing industry, but can easily cause marine pollution because of its low biodegradability. For test equipment, a drum washer was used and microplastics were collected using two filter pore sizes, 5 ㎛ and 20-25 ㎛. Microplastic fibers weights and lengths were measured. The results of the experiment showed the following: 1) The release of microplastics differed according to the fabric weights and washing process; 2) washing fabric weights showed a differences in the collection amount according to the filter pore size (5 ㎛, 20-25 ㎛); 3) observations of differences in the lengths of the microplastics that occur during the washing process by filter pore size were made. Fibers with shorter lengths appeared with filter pore sizes of 5㎛ in comparison to filter pore sizes of 20-25㎛. The results from this study on microplastic generation by fabric during washing, demonstrated the following conclusions that can be used to reduce the release of microplastics. First, the release of microplastics according to fabric weights and washing courses are affected by physical force. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the amount of physical force due to water flow, increase the fabric weight, or wash the material in low temperatures. Second, in the manufacturing of washing machines, microplastic filtration can be promoted or legislatation supporting microplastic filtration can be introduced.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.239-259
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• 2022

Since 2019, research on microplastics has been actively conducted around the world, so analyzing the differences between domestic and foreign microplastics research can be a milestone in establishing the direction of domestic research. In this study, microplastic papers from KCI and WoS were extracted and the differences between domestic and foreign studies were analyzed using a network analysis methodology based on big data such as author keyword co-occurrence word analysis, thesis co-citation analysis, and author co-citation analysis. As a result of the analysis, the analysis of the research topic confirmed that studies that could affect the human body and the treatment of microplastics in daily life were additionally needed in Korea. In the analysis of the depth of thesis citation that examines the quality of research, it was found that Korea was still insufficient at 2.25 overseas and 1.39 in Korea. In the analysis of the composition of the joint research front, where various researchers participate and share information, 3 out of 22 clusters in Korea are Star type. In the case of overseas, all 19 clusters have a mesh structure, so it was confirmed that information flow and sharing were insufficient in specific research fields in Korea. These research results confirmed the need to expand the research topic of microplastics, improve the quality of research, and improve the research promotion system in which various researchers participate. In addition, if the automation program is developed based on topic modeling, it will be possible to build a system capable of real-time analysis.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.337-345
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• 2023

Monitoring river microplastics is a challenging task since it is a time-consuming and high-cost process. The use of a physical model to have a better understanding of river microplastics' behaviors can complement the challenging monitoring process. However, there have been very limited studies on modeling river microplastics. In this study, therefore, we evaluated the applicability of one commonly used river water quality model, i.e., the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP), in simulating the microplastic concentration in the river environment. We simulated the microplastic concentration in the Anyangcheon stream using the WASP's biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solid (SS) variables as possible surrogate variables for the microplastics. Simulation analyses indicate that the SS state variable performs better than the BOD state variable to mimic the observed concentrations of microplastics. This is because of the characteristics of each water quality parameter; the BOD variable, a biochemical indicator, is inappropriate for modeling the behaviors of microplastics, which have generally constant biochemical features. In contrast, the SS variable, which has similar physical behaviors, followed the observed patterns of the microplastic concentrations well. To build a more advanced and accurate model for simulating the microplastic concentration, comprehensive and long-term monitoring studies of the river microplastics under different environmental conditions are needed, and the unit of microplastic concentration should be carefully addressed before its modeling application.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2022

In this paper, laser-induced fluorescence properties of four plastics were characterized through spectrometer analysis for real-time microplastic counting. Recently, environmental problems related to microplastics have emerged. In order to detect microplastics, analysis methods such as FT-IR and Raman are used. However, they have the disadvantages of being time-consuming and requiring a pretreatment process. In most plastic products on the market, 10% to 30% of plasticizers and reinforcing agents are added. Therefore, most microplastics present in seawater and freshwater emit fluorescence signals by 270 nm UV light source regardless of their type due to their molecular structure due to additives. Real-time microplastics counting is possible more easily by using the proposed laser-induced fluorescence detection method because of the fluorescence expression characteristic of 340 nm that appears due to the plasticizer of plastics.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.9 no.9
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• pp.252-257
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• 2019

We investigated the microstructure and morphological characteristics of microplastics added to rinse off cosmetics by scanning electron microscope. The size of the microplastic was in a wide range of sizes, from $250{\mu}m$ to 1.5mm in diameter. The small microplastics were in the shape of elongated particles and the large microplastics were cuboidal. Most cubic microplastics were observed in the form of squares or rectangles. The surface of the cubic microplastic was smoothly observed without protruding portions, but irregularly many gaps were formed. The gap between openings was measured from about $5{\mu}m$ to $20{\mu}m$. It has not been confirmed that these gaps are formed from the surface of the microplastic to the inside there of.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.12-18
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• 2022

In recent years, the impact of microplastics (MPs) on ecosystems is a serious problem. Since MPs are difficult to recover once they are dispersed into the environment, it is important to remove them at the source. We proposed a magnetic separation of primary MPs (plastics manufactured in minute sizes) sized 10-100 ㎛ that has not been removed in the sewage process, based on the magnetic seeding process. In this study, we used magnetite as a magnetic seeding agent, and conducted magnetic separation experiments in the continuous process using a superconducting solenoidal magnet to investigate the feasibility of practical magnetic separation system of MPs. As a result, 85% separation rate was obtained by continuous separation using high gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) with hydrophobically treated magnetite as a magnetic seeding agent.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2021

Larvae from the marine medaka fish Oryzias javanicus were exposed with polystyrene microplastics (MPs) for 24 h. Exposure to waterborne fluorescent MPs showed clear ingestion and egestion in feces. Under constant MPs, the concentration of dissolved oxygen significantly decreased in 24 h compared to the control. Significant intracellular reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde contents were detected in larvae, indicating oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Significant elevations in mRNA expressions of heat shock protein 70 and antioxidant defense system genes (glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase) were measured with increases in enzymatic activity of oxidative stress-related proteins. Taken together, the alterations to the molecular and biochemical components suggested that waterborne MPs had an oxidative stress effect on marine medaka larvae.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.463-475
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• 2020

Presence of microplastics in soil and groundwater has recently been reported and environmental concerns are raised as to the plastic pollution. In the subsurface environment, clay minerals and metal oxide minerals are commonly found as finely dispersed states. Because the minerals have high sorption capacities for diverse pollutants, interactions with mineral surface play an important role in the transport of microplastics in groundwater. Accordingly, environmental mineralogy investigating the interactions between microplastics and mineral surfaces is the essential research area to understand the fate and transport of microplastics in the subsurface environment. The microplastic-mineral surface research requires molecular- to nano-scale analyses to be able to probe the relatively weak interactions between them. The current report introduces a nano-scale analysis tool called quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) that can measure the sorbed/desorbed mass of nanoplastics on mineral surfaces at the level of a few nanograms (~10-9 g). This report briefly reviews the main principles in the QCM measurement and discusses applications of QCM to the environmental mineralogy research.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.5_3
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• pp.835-850
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• 2022

Microplastics have arisen as a worldwide environmental concern, becoming ubiquitous in all marine compartments, and various researches on monitoring marine microplastics are being actively conducted worldwide. Recently, application of a remote detection technology that enables large-scale real-time observation to marine plastic monitoring has been conducted overseas. However, in South Korea, there is little information linking remote detection to marine microplastics and some field studies have demonstrated remote detection of medium- and large-sized marine plastics. This study introduces research cases with remote detection of marine plastics in South Korea and overseas, investigates potential feasibility of using the remote detection technology to marine microplastic monitoring, and suggests some future works to monitor marine microplastics with the remote detection.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.68-77
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• 2023

In this study, we investigated the quantitative distribution of microplastics in the surface seawater at 8 points near the Taean Peninsula using fluorescence staining. The study revealed a detection range of microplastics from 0 to 360.5 particles/l, with an average of 149.7 ± 46.0 particles/l. When classifying the microplastics by size, it was found that particles smaller than 50 ㎛ were dominant, although there were differences at Site 3. Moreover, it was not possible to identify clear correlations when comparing the number of microplastics based on collection area and particle size. Various physical and chemical factors, including plastic material, dynamic ocean conditions (such as currents, wind, waves, tides), geological characteristics (topography, slope), sediment materials including coastal organisms, human activities (fishing, development, tourism), and weather conditions (floods, rainfall), affect the behavior of microplastics. Therefore, future efforts should focus on standardizing quantitative analysis methods and conducting fundamental research on microplastic monitoring, including the analysis of environmental factors.