• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2020

The effectiveness of in situ sediment capping as a technique for heavy metal risk mitigation in Hyeongsan River estuary, South Korea was studied. Sites in the estuary were found previously to show moderate to high levels of contamination of mercury, methylmercury and other heavy metals. A 400 m × 50 m section of the river was selected for a thin layer capping demonstration, where the total area was divided into 4 sections capped with different combinations of capping materials (zeolite, AC/zeolite, AC/sand, zeolite/sand). Pore water concentrations in the different sites were studied using diffusive gradient in thin film (DGT) probes. All capping amendments showed reduction in the pore water concentration of the different heavy metals with top 5 cm showing %reduction greater than 90% for some heavy metals. The relative maxima for the different metals were found to be translated to lower depths with addition of the caps. For two-layered cap with AC, order of placement should be considered since AC can easily be displaced due to its relatively low density. Investigation of methylmercury (MeHg) in the site showed that MeHg and %MeHg in pore water corresponds well with maxima for sulfide, Fe and Mn suggesting mercury methylation as probably coupled with sulfate, Fe and Mn reduction in sediments. Our results showed that thin-layer capping of active sorbents AC and zeolite, in combination with passive sand caps, are potential remediation strategy for sediments contaminated with heavy metals.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2007

Increasing public concerns over odors and air regulations necessitates the remediation of a wide range of odorous compounds for industrial purpose. Currently, wet scrubbing technique by neutralization using essential oils is utilized to treat methyl mercaptan odor. The chemical analysis is performed to analyze the composition of an essential oil by GC-MS. The objective of this study is to clarify the possibility of the neutralization of odors sprayed in the fixed bed and determine the removal efficiencies in the misty aerosol by different input odor concentration. It is found that methyl mercaptan is significantly removed in the wet scrubber, and their removal efficiency of methyl mercaptan is obtained by 98%.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.405-415
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• 2000

This study was carried out to understand the formation of acid mine drainage (AMD) by pyrophyllite (so-called Napseok)-rainwater interaction (weathering), dispersion patterns of heavy metals, and patterns of mixing with non-polluted water in the Tongnae pyrophyllite mine. Based on the mass balance and reaction path modeling, using both the geochemistry of water and occurrence of the secondary minerals (weathering products), the geochemical evolution of AMD was simulated by computer code of SOLVEQ and CHILLER. It shows that the pH of stream water is from 6.2 to 7.3 upstream of the Tongnae mine. Close to the mine, the pH decreases to 2. Despite being diluted with non-polluted tributaries, the acidity of mine drainage water maintains as far as downstream. The results of modeling of water-rock interaction show that the activity of hydrogen ion increases (pH decreases), the goncentration of ${HCO_3}^-$ decreases associated with increasing $H^+$ activity, as the reaction is processing. The concentration of ${SO_4}^{2-}$first increases minutely, but later increases rapidly as pH drops below 4.3. The concentrations of cations and heavy metals are controlled by the dissolution of reactants and re-dissolution of derived species (weathering products) according to the pH. The continuous adding of reactive minerals, namely the progressively larger degrees of water-rock interaction, causes the formation of secondary minerals in the following sequence; goethite, then Mn-oxides, then boehmite, then kaolinite, then Ca-nontronite, then Mgnontronite, and finally chalcedony. The results of reaction path modeling agree well with the field data, and offer useful information on the geochemical evolution of AMD. The results of reaction path modeling on the formation of AMD offer useful information for the estimation and the appraisal of pollution caused by water-rock interaction as geological environments. And also, the ones can be used as data for the choice of appropriate remediation technique for AMD.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.113-121
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• 2015

The contaminated soil at abandoned smelter areas present challenge for remediation, as the degraded materials are typically deficient in nutrients, and rich in toxic heavy metals and metalloids. Bioremediation technique is to isolate new strains of microorganisms and develop successful protocols for reducing metal toxicity with heavy metal tolerant species. The present study collected metal contaminated soil and characterized for pH and EC values, and heavy metal contents. The pH value was 5.80, representing slightly acidic soil, and EC value was 13.47 mS/m. ICP-AES analytical results showed that the collected soil samples were highly contaminated with various heavy metals and metalloids such as lead (183.0 mg/kg), copper (98.6 mg/kg), zinc (91.6 mg/kg), and arsenic (48.1 mg/kg), respectively. In this study, a bacterial strain, Bacillus cereus KM-15, capable of adsorbing the heavy metals was isolated from the contaminated soils by selective enrichment and characterized to apply for the bioremediation. The effects of heavy metal on the growth of the Bacillus cereus KM-15 was determined in liquid cultures. The results showed that 100 mg/L arsenic, lead, and zinc did not affect the growth of KM-15, while the bacterial growth was strongly inhibited by copper at the same concentration. Further, the ability of the bacteria to adsorb heavy metals was evaluated.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.579-586
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• 2010

Commercially widely used antitumor agents such as hydroxy urea, 6-mercaptopurine monohydrate, cytosine arabinoside, cyclophosphamide monohydrate and uracil were reacted with 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate and the product hydrolyzed to give silica nanoparticles bound antitumor agents ranging from 10 nm to micron-sized aggregates. The silyl isocyanate derivative was also reacted neat with water to give hybrid organicsilicananoparticles containing $-CH_2-CH_2-CH_2-NH-COOH$ or the corresponding decarboxylated propylamine groups depending on solvent and temperature employed. In vitro tests these functionalized silica nanoparticles were effective in the treatment of malignant tumor cells but had little or no effect on normal cells. Malignant human lung, ovarian, melanoma, CNS(Central nervous system) and colon tumor cells were used in this research. The use of silica as a carrier medium in the present research serves as a model material due to its ready functionalization via silation. The proof of concept established by the results suggests that the technique may be applied to other, more biocompatible carrier nanoparticles.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.169-179
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• 2012

Microbiological calcium carbonate precipitation (MCCP) is being applied for the aesthetic restoration of cement buildings destroyed by biochemical processes and to block water penetration into the cement's inner structure. After determining the advantages of this technique, many related studies in the area of architecture concerning the application of microorganisms to improve construction material have been reported in both America and Europe. The techniques compatibility with cement material is especially interesting because of the needed screening of various calcium carbonate forming-bacteria and the required development of their application methods. The purpose of this review is to describe the mechanism of MCCP and related researches with eco-friendly construction materials. Mainly, we describe the methodological studies focused on biodeposition on the surface of building materials and the research trends concerning the addition of microorganisms to improve the durability of cement structures. Additionally, the concepts and technical aspects focused on the development of self-healing smart concrete, with the use of multi-functional bacteria, have been considered.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.283-300
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• 2015

Visual condition inspections remain paramount to assessing the current deterioration status of a bridge and assigning remediation or maintenance tasks so as to ensure the ongoing serviceability of the structure. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing backlog of maintenance activities. Existing research reveals that this is attributable to the labour-intensive, subjective and disruptive nature of the current bridge inspection method. Current processes ultimately require lane closures, traffic guidance schemes and inspection equipment. This not only increases the whole-of-life costs of the bridge, but also increases the risk to the travelling public as issues affecting the structural integrity may go unaddressed. As a tool for bridge condition inspections, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or, drones, offer considerable potential, allowing a bridge to be visually assessed without the need for inspectors to walk across the deck or utilise under-bridge inspection units. With current inspection processes placing additional strain on the existing bridge maintenance resources, the technology has the potential to significantly reduce the overall inspection costs and disruption caused to the travelling public. In addition to this, the use of automated aerial image capture enables engineers to better understand a situation through the 3D spatial context offered by UAV systems. However, the use of UAV for bridge inspection involves a number of critical issues to be resolved, including stability and accuracy of control, and safety to people. SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) is a technique that could be used by a UAV to build a map of the bridge underneath, while simultaneously determining its location on the constructed map. While there are considerable economic and risk-related benefits created through introducing entirely new ways of inspecting bridges and visualising information, there also remain hindrances to the wider deployment of UAVs. This study is to provide a context for use of UAVs for conducting visual bridge inspections, in addition to addressing the obstacles that are required to be overcome in order for the technology to be integrated into current practice.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.97-103
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• 2005

Recent development of marine magnetic gradient systems, using arrays of sensors, has made it possible to survey large contaminated areas very quickly. However, underwater Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) can be moved by water currents. Because of this mobility, the cleanup process in such situations becomes dynamic rather than static. This implies that detection should occur in near real-time for successful remediation. Therefore, there is a need for a fast interpretation method to rapidly detect signatures of underwater objects in marine magnetic data. In this paper, we present a fast method for location and characterization of underwater UXOs. The approach utilises gradient interpretation techniques (analytic signal and Euler methods) to locate the objects precisely. Then, using an iterative linear least-squares technique, we obtain the magnetization characteristics of the sources. The approach was applied to a theoretical marine magnetic anomaly, with random errors, over a known source. We demonstrate the practical utility of the method using marine magnetic gradient data from Japan.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.27-32
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• 2017

In this study, a remedial investigation using reductive stabilization was conducted to treat Cr(VI)-contaminated soil. The influences of various operational parameters, including reaction time and the mass of ferrous iron, were also evaluated. The study site was contaminated with a large amount of Cr(III) and Cr(VI), and the selected treatment method was to stabilize Cr(VI) with ferrous iron, which reduced Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and stabilized the chromium, although a greater mass of ferrous iron than the stoichiometric amount was required to stabilize the Cr(VI). However, some Cr(III) re-oxidized to Cr(VI) during the drying process, and addition of a strong reducing agent was required to maintain reducing conditions. With this reducing agent, the treated soil met the required regulatory standard, and the mass of Cr(III) re-oxidized to Cr(VI) was significantly reduced, compared to the use of only Fe(II) as a reducing agent.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.753-767
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• 2013

Soil contamination has continuously increased worldwide, thus the remediation for the contaminated soils has risen steadily. However, the consideration of ecological safety for the remediated soils and their agricultural uses has been very limited. Therefore, this study was to investigate the influences of selected environmentally-friendly agricultural materials, organic by-product fertilizer (OF), charcoal (CC), and biochar (BC), as soil conditioners for improving poor chemical properties of fuel-oil removed soil by land farming technique. Two different remediated soils, remediated soil A (RSA) and remediated soil B (RSB), were selected. Soil texture of both RSA and RSB was sandy loam. The chemical properties of RSA and RSB were as follows: soil pHs of 8.5 and 8.7, soil organic matter contents of 7.4 and 5.5g $kg^{-1}$, total nitrogen contents of 0.26 and 0.10g $kg^{-1}$, available phosphorus concentrations of 7.2 and 4.4mg $kg^{-1}$, and exchangeable calcium concentrations of 14.8 and $11.7cmol_c$ $kg^{-1}$, respectively. Results of the properties were not reached for the optimal values for cultivating crops that were recommended by National Academy of Agricultural Science at Rural Development Administration in Korea. However, after applying OF, CC, and BC, the chemical properties of soils were selectively improved, which were that soil organic matter content and available phosphorus concentration increased, whereas the soil pH were not changed. In particular, the chemical properties were positively changed more with the application of 5.0% biochar. Thus, continuous management of the remediated soils with applying the eco-friendly agricultural materials can improve the quality of reme-diated soils.