• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.290-298
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• 2020

A large residual fraction of aliphatic components of diesel prevails in soil, which has adverse effects on the environment. This study identified the most bio-recalcitrant aliphatic residual fraction of diesel through total petroleum-hydrocarbon fractional analysis. For this, the strain Acinetobacter sp. K-6 was isolated, identified, and characterized and investigated its ability to degrade diesel and n-alkanes (C₁₈, C₂₀, and C₂₂). The removal efficiency was analysed after treatment with bacteria and nutrients in various soil microcosms. The fractional analysis of diesel degradation after treatment with the bacterial strains identified C₁₈-C₂₂ hydrocarbons as the most bio-recalcitrant aliphatic fraction of diesel oil. Acinetobacter sp. K-6 degraded 59.2% of diesel oil and 56.4% of C₁₈-C₂₂ hydrocarbons in the contaminated soil. The degradation efficiency was further improved using a combinatorial approach of biostimulation and bioaugmentation, which resulted in 76.7% and 73.7% higher degradation of diesel oil and C₁₈-C₂₂ hydrocarbons, respectively. The findings of this study suggest that the removal of mid-length, non-volatile hydrocarbons is affected by the population of bio-degraders and the nutrients used in the process of remediation. A combinatorial approach, including biostimulation and bioaugmentation, could be used to effectively remove large quantities of aliphatic hydrocarbons persisting for a longer period in the soil.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.263-271
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• 2018

In this study, we analyzed the removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen and phosphate dependant on the column depths using various absorbents such as zeolite silica sand, and activated carbon through the column test. In addition, we analyzed electrochemical adsorption behaviors of ammonia nitrogen and phosphate through the quantum mechanical calculation based on density functional theory calculation. Experimental results represent the removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen and phosphate are zeolite > activated carbon > silica sand, and activated carbon > zeolite > silica sand, respectively. Zeolite shows high adsorption property for ammonia nitrogen over 90%, regardless of the column depth, while activated carbon exhibits high adsorption property for both ammonia nitrogen and phosphate as the column depth for filter media increases. Theoretical findings using DFT calculation for the adsorption behaviors of adsorbents (activated carbon and silica sand) and nutrients ($PO_4{^{3-}}$, $NH_4{^{+}}$) show that activated carbon represented narrower HOMO-LUMO band gap with high adsorption energy, and even more favorable environment for electron adsorption than silica sand, which leads to the effective removal of nutrients.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.232-238
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to investigate a small sewage treatment system. This system was developed to improve a nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency and generate less solid using upflow septic tank(UST) - aerobic filter(AF) system. The UST equipped with an aerobic filter, the filter was fed with both raw sewage and recycled effluent from the UST to induce the denitrification and solid reduction simultaneously. Overall removal efficiencies of COD and total nitrogen(TN) were above 96% and 73% at recycle ratio of 200%, respectively. Critical coagulant dose without the biochemical activity was found to be 40 mg/L. Removal efficiency of total phosphorus(TP) in influent was above 90% by chemical and biological reactions. Although the phosphorus concentration was low under the high alkalinity in raw sewage, the pH value was unchanged by the coagulant dose.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.46-51
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• 2007

This research work aims at treating saline wastewater generated from a fish market using four Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBR) operated under different conditions. The effect of C/N ratio (3, 6) and salt concentration (0.5~2%) on organic and nitrogen removal was studied. The synthetic wastewater prepared with glucose ($C_6H_{12}O_6$) as the primary carbon source along with ammonium chloride ($NH_4Cl$) was used in the three reactors. The fill, anoxic, aeration, settle and draw conditions were 2 hr, 4 hr, 4 hr and 2 hr respectively. The fourth reactor was operated at different conditions to investigate the practical feasibility of SBR application to handle fish market wastewater generated in Ulsan city that had fluctuating loading characteristics. Though the unacclimated sludge was initially affected by the salt concentration, the acclimated sludge removed 95% of the organics irrespective of the NaCl concentration and C/N ratio. However, the removal of nitrogen was affected more by C/N ratio than the salt concentration. While handling fish market wastewater, though the organic and nitrogen loading rate were varying between $0.009{\sim}0.259gCOD_{OH}/gVSS/day$ and 0.005~0.034 gN/gVSS/day, the effluent concentrations were far less than the effluent standard of $120mgCOD_{OH}/L$ and 60 mgN/L respectively, except when loading rates were fluctuating and 4 times higher than the average.

• Clean Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.167-172
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• 2002

The adaptability of earthworm casts produced form the waste sludge of pulp and paper plants for a biocarrier used in the advanced wastewater treatment was investigated. Removal efficiencies of nutrients in the activated sludge technology without carrier were compared with those treated with carrier made of casts under the different conditions such as the composition of the input and kinds of carrier. When the waste water was treated in the activated sludge technology without carriers, removal efficiencies of T-P and T-N were average values of 31% and 52%, respectively. On the contrary, pellet type carrier and pack type carrier increased the removal efficiencies of T-P and T-N by 1.3~1.4 and 1.9~2.0 times, respectively. At the same time, the high removal of T-P and T-N were observed irrespective of the types of carrier in which many kinds of microorganisms were grown. The difference in the removal efficiencies of BOD and COD between the treatment with and without carrier was negligible. According to this research, the carrier made of casts was thought to be highly applicable in the advanced wastewater treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.306-317
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• 2014

This study has been executed to understand the additional and removal processes of nutrients in the Saemangeum Salt-water Lake, and discussed with other monthly-collected environmental parameters such as water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, and Chl-a from 2008 to 2010. $NO_3$-N, TP, $PO_4$-P, and DISi showed the removal processes along with the salinity gradients at the surface water of the lake, whereas $NO_2$-N, $NH_4$-N, and Chl-a showed addition trend. In the bottom water all water quality parameters except $NO_3$-N appeared addition processes indicating evidence of continuous nutrients suppliance into the bottom layer. The mixing modelling approach revealed that the biogeochemical processes in the lake consume $NO_3$-N and consequently added $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P to the bottom water during the summer seasons. The $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P appeared strong increase at the bottom water of the river-side of the lake and strong concentration gradient difference of dissolved oxygen also appeared in the same time. DISi exhibited continuous seasonal supply from spring to summer. Internal addition of $NH_4$-N and $PO_4$-P in the river-side of the lake were much higher than the dike-side, while the increase of DISi showed similar level both the dike and river sides. The temporal distribution of benthic flux for DISi indicates that addition of nutrients in the bottom water was strongly affected by other sources, for example, submarine ground-water discharge (SGD) through bottom sediment.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2005

Nutrients are built up in paddy soils after greenhouse vegetable cultivations with relatively high rates of chemical fertilizers and composts during winter season, and the continuous nutrient accumulation is problematic in crop cultivation. Rice cultivation after greenhouse vegetables is one option for removing the accumulated nutrients in the soils. The object of this experiment was to examine the effect of reduced fertilization to rice on the removal of accumulated soil nutrients and rice yield in greenhouse vegetables and rice cropping system. Experiments were carried out at Changwon and Uiryeong in Gyeongnam province in 2001. The cropping systems were watermelon-rice and pumpkin-watermelon-watermelon-rice in Changwon and Uiryeong, respectively. The soils were Gangseo series (coarse loamy, mixed, nonacid, mesic family of Aquic Fluventic Eutrochrepts) at Changwon and Hampyeong series (fine loamy, mixed, mesic family of Fluvaquentic Dystrochrepts) at Uiryeong. Treatments of conventional fertilization ($N-P_2O_5-K_2O=11-4.5-5.7$, $kg\;10a^{-1}$), no basal fertilization, no top dressing, and no fertilization were included in the experiments. Plant growth and total nitrogen content in the plant were greater as the amount of fertilizer applied were increased. Whereas $SiO_2/T-N$ rate in rice plant and nitrogen use efficiency were greater as the amount of fertilizer applied were reduced. Rice yields were not significantly different among the treatments of conventional, no top-dressed, and no-basal fertilization in Uiryeong, and the rice yields were significantly also not different between the treatments of conventional and no top-dressed in Changwon. The removal of salts in soils after rice cultivation was the highest at the treatment of no-basal fertilization in both of the sites. Therefore, reduced fertilization for rice cultivation after greenhouse vegetables could remove salts accumulated in paddy soils without any significant reducing of rice yield.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.344-351
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• 2015

In this study, bio-electrokinetics was used to increase migration of arsenic by activating endemic microorganisms in the soil. In this technology, bio-electrokinetics which the cultured soil microorganisms and nutrients injected combines with biological technology. This technology using electrical movement of microorganisms could overcome the weakness of late degradation speed and low removal efficiency. And, various soil microorganisms reduce ferreous, manganese, etc., using organic matter by as an electron donor by injecting mixture of soil microorganisms and nutrients instead of using electrolyte of the electrode. Accordingly, surrounding metal oxide microorganisms convert arsenic (III) to arsenic (V) to increase migration of arsenic (III), in consequence, migration of arsenic increased in 60 to 70% compared to about 30% of conventional electrokinetics.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.121-125
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• 2002

Rhodococcus rhodochrous IGTSS (ATCC 5396S) can break organo sulfur compounds such as dibenzothiophene. Since the environment for biodesulfurization process is invariably hydrophobic, parameters in hydrophobic systems should be examined. For the model oil, hexadecane-containing 5.43mM dibenzothiophene, the volumetric desulfurization rate was decreased with the oil-to-aqueous phase ratio up to 50%. The rate declined sharply after 48h because the cell activity, which is refreshed by medium exchange, was lost. To supply the exhausted nutrients, medium exchange was performed. At 30% oil phase, most of DBT was removed by medium exchange on 48h, and the rate was 2.03mg $DBT_{removed}/L_{dispersion}-hr.$ At 50% oil phase, medium exchange on 60h was performed and the rate was 1.79mg $DBT_{removed}/L_{dispersion}-hr.$ The 300mL flask system was scaled up to a 5-L bioreactor system. On 60 h, a medium exchange was performed and the rate was 5.28mg $DBT_{removed}/L_{dispersion}-hr.$ and all of DBT was removed. It means that we can use the biodesulfurization process even 10 the high oil-to-water phase by some appropriate methods such as controlled feeding of key nutrients and the dilution or removal of some toxic metabolites by continuous reactor.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2013

Although the quantity of dredged soils has increased owing to recent new harbor construction, sea course management, polluted sediment dredging, and four-river project, the reuse or recycling of those dredged soils has not done properly in Korea. To develop measures to utilize them in various ways for reuse or recycling, the biophysicochemical properties of dredged soils and sediment were assessed in this study. Samples were classified according to their sources-river and sea-by location, and as dredged soil and sediment depending on storage time. The results showed that dredged materials from the sea have high clay content and can be used for making bricks, tiles, and lightweight backfill materials, while dredged materials from the river have high sand content and can be used in sand aggregates. Separation procedures, depending on the intended application, should be carried out because all dredged materials are poorly sorted. All dredged soils and sediments have high salinity, and hence, salts should be removed before use for cultivation. Since dredged materials from the sea have adequate concentrations of nutrients, except phosphate, they can be used for creating and restoring coastal habitats without carrying out any additional removal processes. The high overall microbial activities in dredged materials from the river suggested that active degradation of organic matter, circulation of nutrients, and provision of nutrients may occur if these dredged materials are used for cultivation purpose.