• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.67-79
• /
• 2016

Cyanotoxins in aquatic ecosystems have been investigated by many researchers worldwide. Cyanotoxins can be classified according to toxicity as neurotoxins (anatoxin-a, anatoxin-a(s), saxitoxins) or hepatotoxins (microcystins, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin). Microcystins are generally present within cyanobacterial cells and are released by damage to the cell membrane. Cyanotoxins have been reported to cause adverse effects and to accumulate in aquatic organisms in lakes, rivers and oceans. Possible pathways of microcystins in Lake Suwa, Japan, have been investigated from five perspectives: production, adsorption, physiochemical decomposition, bioaccumulation and biodegradation. In this study, temporal variability in microcystins in Lake Suwa were investigated over 25 years (1991~2015). In nature, microcystins are removed by biodegradation of microorganisms and/or feeding of predators. However, during water treatment, the use of copper sulfate to remove algal cells causes extraction of a mess of microcystins. Cyanotoxins are removed by physical, chemical and biological methods, and the reduction of nutrients inflow is a basic method to prevent cyanobacterial bloom formation. However, this method is not effective for eutrophic lakes because nutrients are already present. The presence of a cyanotoxins can be a potential threat and therefore must be considered during water treatment. A complete understanding of the mechanism of cyanotoxins degradation in the ecosystem requires more intensive study, including a quantitative enumeration of cyanotoxin degrading microbes. This should be done in conjunction with an investigation of the microbial ecological mechanism of cyanobacteria degradation.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.193-201
• /
• 1999

This study was conducted to check the applicability of pilot-scale co-composting for the remediation of diesel contaminated soil during the winter. Nutrients and microbes were added to enhance the efficiency of bioremediation and fermenting composts were also added to stimulate the microbial activities. As a result. the soil pile was kept at adequate temperature for the bioremediation during the test period of 30∼40 days and initial concentration(2,340mg TPH/kg dry soil) was reduced to 216mg TPH/kg dry soil (approximately 91% removal). During the initial 10∼30 days, it was found that the TPH concentration and the microbial population were rapidly reduced and increased. respectively. The co-composting technology studied can be effectively applied to remediate the diesel contaminated soil during the winter.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.670-679
• /
• 2017

An experiment to study the effect of temperature, light, and dredging on release of nutrients downstream from Gongjicheon in the Uiam reservoir was carried out in the laboratory using sediments from different depths. At various water temperatures, dissolved total nitrogen was not released, but the average nutrient flux of dissolved total phosphorus was increased (0.034 at $15^{\circ}C$, 0.005 at $20^{\circ}C$, 0.154 at $25^{\circ}C$, $0.592mg/m^2/d$ at $30^{\circ}C$). Dissolved total phosphorous was released in controlled darkness. In contrast, in controlled light, the concentrations of dissolved total phosphorous and dissolved total nitrogen in the overlying water steadily decreased during the study period (70 d), because they were continuously consumed by the growth of photosynthetic algae. However, there was no significant relationship between water nutrient concentration, nutrient release, and the depth of the sediment. We concluded that the dredging of sediment would not affect the nutrient release rate of the sediment, because there were no significant differences in the nutrient concentrations released from the sediment. When the sediment was removed from the surface to 20 cm in depth, the nutrients were not transferred to the water body, implying that the sediment removal had little effect on secondary pollution.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.97-105
• /
• 2011

In rivers and streams, biofilms are thin layers of greenish-brown slime attached to rocks, plants, and other surfaces. Biofilms play key roles in primary production and cycling of nutrients, water quality remediation, suspended sediment removal, and energy flow to higher trophic levels. In the present study, we developed a two-dimensional cellular automata model to simulate mixed biofilms of toxin-sensitive and toxin-producing species in hydrodynamic flow. The flow was generated by a stochastic process for uniform flow and by using the Navier-Stokes equation for non-uniform flow. Minimized local rules governing reproduction and mortality of the species were executed in the self-organizing processes to elucidate interactions between toxin-producing and toxin-sensitive species in competition over nutrients. We briefly discuss the morphology of the simulated biofilm under different flow conditions.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.353-359
• /
• 2013

The objectives of this study were to investigate effectiveness of the Compressed Air Jet (CAJ) System for cleaning up shorelines contaminated with crude oils and to examine effects of the system on total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal and microbial community changes before and after remediation of the oil-contaminated shorelines. These data will lead to better understanding of optimized remediation process. About 66% of TPH reduction was observed when the contaminated site was treated with the CAJ System 2, 3, 4, and 5 times. This treatment system was more efficient than the seawater pumping system under similar treatment conditions (by 40%). By the way, little oil degrader communities were observed despite a potential function of the air jet system to stimulate aerobic oil degraders. The apparent low population density of the oil degraders might be as a result of low concentration of TPH as a carbon source and limiting nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. It was proposed that the CAJ System would contribute significantly to removal of residual oils on the shorelines in combination with addition of these limiting nutrients.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.33 no.9
• /
• pp.1520-1532
• /
• 2020

Objective: Due to rapid economic return, mixed crop-swine farming systems in Korea have become more intensive. Intensive farming practices often cause nutrient surpluses and lead to environmental pollution. Nutrient budgets can be used to evaluate the environmental impact and as a regulatory policy instrument for nutrient management. This study was conducted to select a nutrient budgeting approach applicable to the mixed crop-swine farms in Korea and suggest an effective manure treatment method to reduce on-farm nutrient production. Methods: In this study, we compared current and ideal gross nutrient balance (GNB) approaches of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and soil system budget (SSB) approach with reference to on-farm manure treatment processes. Data obtained from farm census and published literature were used to develop the farm nutrient budgets. Results: The average nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) surpluses were approximately 11 times and over 7 times respectively higher in the GNB approaches than the SSB. After solid-liquid separation of manure, during liquid composting a change in aeration method from intermittent to continuous reduced the N and P loading about 50% and 47%, respectively. Although changing in solid composting method from turning only to turning+aeration improved the N removal efficiency by 30.5%, not much improvement in P removal efficiency was observed. Conclusion: Although the GNB approaches depict the impact of nutrients produced in the mixed crop-swine farms on the overall agricultural environment, the SSB approach shows the partitioning among different nutrient loss pathways and storage of nutrients within the soil system; thus, can help design sustainable nutrient management plans for the mixed cropswine farms. The study also suggests that continuous aeration for liquid composting and turning+aeration for solid composting can reduce nutrient loading to the soil.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.199-206
• /
• 2001

Behavior of nutrients along the salinity gradients in the Seomjin River estuary was investigated in March July, September and November, 1999. Sampling sites were set based on the surface salinity during each cruise rather than geographic locations. The results suggest that source of nitrate and silicate was the Seomjin River discharge, while that of nitrite and phosphate was waste disposal from the Gwangynng Bay near the mouth of Seomjin River estuary. Ammonia was supplied inside the estuary at the region about $6\~8$ km far from Nancho Island. Strong removal behavior of some nutrient such as ammonia, phosphate and silicate was observed at $5\~15$ psu salinity area in November, where high concentrations of $chlorophyll\;a\;(>8{\mu}g/L$) occurred. High N : P ratios and entirely removal of phosphate at chlorophyll a peak region suggest that phosphate is the limiting factor for phytoplankton growth. Relatively high ratios of Rb to Ra (Rb: Fluorescence before acidification, Ra: Fluorescence after acidification) at $5\~15$ psu salinity region in November indicate that phytoplankton were in good physiological condition.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.583-591
• /
• 2002

Biodegradation of fat, oil, and grease (FOGs) plays an Important role in wastewater management and water pollution control. However, many industrial food-processing and food restaurants generate FOG-containing waste waters for which there Is no acceptable technology for their pretreatment. To solve these problems, this study evaluated the feasibility of effective FOG-degrading microorganisms on the biodegradation of olive oil and FOG-containing wastewater. Twenty-two strains capable of degrading FOGs were isolated from five FOG-contaminated sites for the evaluation of their FOG degradation capabilities. Among twenty-two strains tested, the lipase-producing Pseudomonas sp. strain D2D3 was selected for actual FOG wastewater treatment. Its biodegradability was performed at 3$0^{\circ}C$ and pH 8. The extent of FOG removal efficiency was varied for each FOG tested, being the highest for olive oil and animal fat (94.5% and 94.4%), and the lowest for safflower oil (62%). The addition of organic nitrogen sources such as yeast extract, soytone, and peptone enhanced the removal efficiency of FOGs, but the addition of the inorganic nitrogen nutrients such as $NH_4$Cl and $(NH_4)_2SO_4$ did not increase. The $KH_2PO_4$ sources in 0.25% to 0.5% concentrations showed more than 90% degradability. As a result, the main pathway for the oxidation of fatty acids results in the removal of two carbon atoms as acetyl-CoA with each reaction sequence: $\beta$-oxidation. Its lipase activity showed 38.5 U/g DCW using the optimal media after 9 h. Real wastewater and FOGs were used for determining the removal efficiency by using Pseudomonas sp. strain D2D3 bioadditive. The degradation by Pseudomonas sp. strain D2D3 was 41% higher than that of the naturally occurring bacteria. This result indicated that the use of isolated Pseudomonas sp. strain D2D3 in a bioaugmentating grease trap or other processes might possibly be sufficient to acclimate biological processes for degrading FOGs.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.80-89
• /
• 2017

Researches about NPS(Non-point Pollution Source) reduction have been widely carried out in recent years. A pilot channel-type constructed wetland (wet swale) was constructed in Rongyin area to treat stormwater generated from a green house agro-land of 22.7 ha. From 2006 to 2008, monitoring was conducted to evaluate its performance on the removal effect for organic pollutants as well as nutrients. Totally, sampling trips of 17 rainfall events were made and they covered most types of storm events in Korea. The channel-type constructed wetland have average removal efficiencies of 78.3~92.0%, 56.4~66.1%, 28.2~45.5% and 50.6~66.4% for SS, COD, TN and TP, respectively. According to four methods for estimating the removal efficiency, the average efficiencies of TSS, COD, TN and TP are 86.0%, 60.1%, 30.1% and 53.5%, respectively. From 2006 to 2008, annual efficiency improved due to infiltration potential increase. It was found that most of the pollutants removed in this channel type of wetland was particulate solids bound pollutants, which is assumed fact that it lacks of physico-chemical treatment conditions which are commonly observed in the retention type of constructed wetlands.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.100-109
• /
• 2016

Low impact development (LID) facilities are established for the purpose of restoring the natural hydrologic cycle as well as the removal of pollutants from stormwater runoff. Improved efficiency of LID facilities can be obtained through the optimized interaction of their major components (i.e., plant, soil, filter media, microorganisms, etc.). Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the performances of LID facilities in terms of runoff and pollutant reduction and also to provide an optimal maintenance method. The monitoring was conducted on four LID technologies (e.g., bioretention, small wetlands, rain garden and tree box filter). The optimal SA/CA (facility surface area / catchment area) ratio for runoff reduction greater than 40% is determined to be 1 - 5%. Since runoff reduction affects the pollutant removal efficiency in LID facilities, SA/CA ratio is derived as an important factor in designing LID facilities. The LID facilities that are found to be effective in reducing stormwater runoff are in the following order: rain garden > tree box filter > bioretention> small wetland. Meanwhile, in terms of removal of particulate matter (TSS), the effectiveness of the facilities are in the following order: rain garden > tree box filter > small wetland > bioretention; rain gardens > tree box filter > bioretention > small wetland were determined for the removal of organic matter (COD, TOC), nutrients (TN, TP) and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn). These results can be used as an important material for the design of LID facilities in runoff volume and pollutant reduction.