• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.574-579
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• 2016

This study assessed feasibility of making granular fertilizer with fly ash from a sewage sludge incinerator in Korea. Composition, characteristics, strength, and heavy metal contents of the granular fertilizers were investigated. Due to its high contents of phosphorus, fly ash from a sewage sludge incinerator could be used to make fertilizers. Granulation rates (2-4 mm granules) over 80% could be achieved as the fly ash contents were 15% or less of the fertilizer. Leaching tests of the fertilizers, based upon the Korean Standard Methods for Solid Wastes, showed the concentrations of heavy metals less than the risk limits. However, contents analysis of the fertilizers, based upon the Korean Standard Methods for Soils, experienced higher levels of heavy metals than the risk limits as the fly ash content exceeded 7% of the fertilizer. Thus, the fly ash needs to be added less than 7% of the fertilizer if there is no pretreatment to remove heavy metals.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.151-160
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• 2006

Anaerobic treatment of landfill leachate was studied to investigate the behaviors of pollutant and the characteristics of microorganism for 10 months. The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor achieved about 90% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal at organic loading rates(OLR) up to $20kgCOD/m^3.d$. At higher OLR ($8-20kgCOD/m^3.d$), the propionate concentration increased, indicating that converting propionate to acetate was the rate-limiting step. Nevertheless, increase in the precipitate inside and on the surface of granules as well as on the wall of the reactor resulted in operational problems. The main inorganic precipitate in the granule was calcium compound. Although specific methanogenic activity (SMA) was not affected seriously in this study, metals had to be removed prior to anaerobic treatment so as to be free from the excessive inorganic accumulation that resulted in operational problems.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.480-487
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• 2004

This study was conducted to find the effect of electron acceptors on the formation of granular sludge by using four different types of electron acceptors. The phosphorous uptake, denitrification, and sulfate reduction in anoxic modes were simultaneously occured because of the presence of the polyphosphate accumultating organism(PAO) that utilize nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptor in the anoxic zone. Denitrirying phosphorous removal bacteria(DPB) was enriched under anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic condition with a nitrate as an electron acceptor, and desulfating phosphorous removal bacteria(DSPB) was enriched under anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic condition with a sulfate as an electron acceptor. Polyphosphate accumulating organism(PAO) were enriched in the anaerobic/aerobic SBR. PAO took up acetate faster than DPB and DSPB during the aerobic phase. The sludge with nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptors grew as a granules which possessed high activity and good settleability. In the anaerobic/aerobic modes, typical floccular growth was observed. In the result of bench-scale experiment, simultaneous reactions of phosphorus uptake, denitrification and sulfate reduction were observed under anoxic condition with nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptors. These results demonstrated that the anaerobic/anoxic modes with nitrate and sulfate as an electron acceptors played an important role in the formation of the sludge granulation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 1991

In this paper, the microscopic results of granular sludge from the two-phase UASB reactors are presented, particularly on the acidogenic phase where the distillery waste water is directly delivered. Distillery wastewater as a feed contained SS of 3.6~10.6 g/l and COD of 17.3~30.4 g/l. A 12.5 l and a 4.7 l UASB reactors were used for acidogenic and methanogenic phases, repectively. Morphological studies on the granular sludge consortia were made with both scanning and transmission electron microscopies. It was interesting enough to find the different colored and shaped granules at the acidogenic on the 90th day and at the methanogenic phase on the 120th day. The acidogenic granular sludge mainly consisted of acidogenic bacteria, such as long chains of large rods, short plump rods, and various size of cocci. Whereas the filamentous bacteria of Methanothrix spp. prevail in the methanogenic granule, with dirverse bacteria entrapped therein.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.126-137
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• 2006

Behaviors of simple organic compound and granular sludge in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating propionate at high ammonia nitrogen levels were investigated for 12 months. The UASB reactor achieved about 80% removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) at ammonia nitrogen concentration up to 6000 mg-N/L. At higher concentration of ammonia nitrogen, the propionate in the effluent increased whereas the acetate was very low. At ammonia nitrogen concentration of 8000 mg-N/L, the volatile suspended solids (VSS) increased sharply due probably to the decrease of the content of extracellular polymer (ECP) although methane production was very low. The specific methanogenic activity (SMA) using formate, acetate, and propionate as substrate to granules decreased as ammonia nitrogen concentration increased. The ammonia nitrogen concentration $I^{50}$, causing 50% inhibition of SMA were 2666, 4778 and 5572 mg-N/L, respectively. The kinetic coefficients of ammonia inhibition using formate, acetate, and propionate as substrate were 3.279, 0.999 and 0.609, respectively. The SMA using formate was severely affected by ammonia nitrogen than those using acetate and propionate. This result indicated that the hydrogenotrophic methanogens was most affected by ammonia nitrogen. Granules were mainly composed of microcolonies of methanothrix-like bacteria resembling bamboo-shape, and several other microcolonies including propionate degrader with juxtapositioned syntrophic associations between the hydrogen-producing acetogens and hydrogen-consuming methanogens.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.342-349
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• 2017

Polylactic acid (PLA) has been highlighted as an alternative renewable polymer for the replacement of petroleum-based plastic materials, and is considered to be biodegradable. On the other hand, the biodegradation of PLA by terminal degraders, such as microorganisms, requires a lengthy period in the natural environment, and its mechanism is not completely understood. PLA biodegradation studies have been conducted using mainly undefined mixed cultures, but only a few bacterial strains have been isolated and examined. For further characterization of PLA biodegradation, in this study, the PLA-degrading bacteria from digester sludge were isolated and identified using a polymer film-based screening method. The enrichment of sludge on PLA granules was conducted with the serial transference of a subculture into fresh media for 40 days, and the attached biofilm was inoculated on a PLA film on an agar plate. 3D optical microscopy showed that the isolates physically degraded the PLA film due to bacterial degradation. 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified the microbial colonies to be Pseudomonas sp. MYK1 and Bacillus sp. MYK2. The two isolates exhibited significantly higher specific gas production rates from PLA biodegradation compared with that of the initial sludge inoculum.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.77-80
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• 2000

Various analytical methods such as electron microscopy, quinone analysis, and 16S rDNA sequencing studies were used to investigate the microbial communities and to identify the microorganisms responsible for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) in an anaerobic/aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with acetate. Electron photomicrographs showed that oval-shaped microorganisms of about $0.7\;{\sim}\;1\;{\mu}m$ in diameter dominated the microbial sludge. These microorganisms contained polyphosphate granules and glycogen inclusions, which suggests that they are a kind of phosphorus accumulating organism. Quinone and 16S rRNA sequence analyses showed that the members of Proteobacteria beta subclass were the most abundant species, which were affiliated with the Rhodocyclus-likes group. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the two dominating clones of the beta subclass were most distantly related to Propionivibrio dicarboxylicus DSM 5885 and Rhodocyclus tenuis DSM 109 with about 95% and 96% sequence similarity, respectively. Therefore, it was concluded that the oval-shaped organisms related to the Rhodocyclus-likes group are likely to be responsible for biological phosphorus removal in SBR operation supplied with acetate.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2007

Two phase UASB reactors for treating wastewater with sulfate were operated to assess the performance and competition of organics between sulfate reducing bacteria(SRB) and methane producing bacteria(MPB), and the change of characteristics of microorganisms. The reactors were fed in parallel with a synthetic wastewater of 4,000-5,000 mgCOD/L and sulfate concentration of $800-1,000\;mgSO_4/L$. In the MPR(methane producing reactor) and CR(control reactor), COD removal efficiencies were 90% and 60%, respectively, at the OLR(organic loading rate) of 6 gCOD/L, while the amount of biogas and methane content were 6.5 L/day and 80%, and 3 L/day and 50%, respectively. However, the portion of electron flow used by SRB at the OLR of 6 gCOD/L day in MPR and CR was 3% and 26%, respectively. This indicated that the increase of OLR of wastewater containing high sulfate like CR resulted in activity decrease and cell decay of MPB, while SRB was adapted immediately to new environment. The MPB activities in MPR and CR were 2 and $0.38\;kgCH_4-COD$/gVSS day at the OLR of 6 gCOD/L. This indicated hat SRB dominated gradually over MPB during long-term operation with wastewater containing sulfate as a consequence of outcompeting of SRB over MPB. In addition, the solution within AFR was maintained around pH 5.0, the MPB such as Methanothrix spp. which was very important to formation of granules was detached from the surface of granules due to the decrease of activity by limitation of substrate transportation into MPB. Therefore, a significant amount of sludge was washed out from the reactor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1798-1807
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• 2017

The differentiations in nitrogen-converting activity and microbial community structure between granular size fractions in a continuous completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) reactor, having a superior specific nitrogen removal rate of $0.24g/(g\;VSS{\cdot}h)$, were investigated by batch tests and high-throughput pyrosequencing analysis, respectively. Results revealed that a high dissolved oxygen concentration (>1.8 mg/l) could result in efficient nitrite accumulation with small granules (0.2-0.6 mm in diameter), because aerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (genus Nitrosomonas) predominated therein. Meanwhile, intermediate size granules (1.4-2.0 mm in diameter) showed the highest nitrogen removal activity of $40.4mg/(g\;VSS{\cdot}h)$ under sufficient oxygen supply, corresponding to the relative abundance ratio of aerobic to anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (genus Candidatus Kuenenia) of 5.7. Additionally, a dual substrate competition for oxygen and nitrite would be considered as the main mechanism for repression of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, and the few Nitrospira spp. did not remarkably affect the overall performance of the reactor. Because all the granular size fractions could accomplish the CANON process independently under oxygen limiting conditions, maintaining a diversity of granular size would facilitate the stability of the suspended growth CANON system.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.259-265
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• 2008

Generally speaking, there are two widely used methods of Nitrogen removal from waste water: 1) nitrification using autotrophic microorganisms, and 2) denitrification using heterotrophic microorganisms. The C/N ratio is an important factor of the denitrification process. In this case, if methanol is added to increase the lacking organic matter, a high economic cost is incurred and methanol is left in the processed water. In an effort to fix these issues, autotrophic denitrification through the use of Hydrogen, Iron and Sulfur is being studied, and among those Sulfur is cheaper and carries out denitrification effectively, and therefore is being studied the most. In this study, after cultivating T. denitrificans, the presence of T. denitrificans was determined and the effectiveness of denitirification via T. denitrificans was studied. In order to find out about the inhibition of T. denitrificans from the loading of organic matter, this shows that the greater the loading of organic matter, the more the denitrification ability of T. denitrificans is hindered. In order to research the hindrance of T. denitrificans resulting from the loading of $NO_3{^-}-N$, these results show that concentrations less than 100mg/L per 100mL of gel volume do not hinder T. denitrificans. In order to research the optimization of denitrification resulting from T. denitrificans, three 500mL samples of Sulfur granules were prepared: 1) one with only T. denitrificans attached (Mode I), 2) one with both T. denitrificans and active sludge attached (Mode II), and 3) one with only active sludge attached (Mode III). The results showed that autotrophic denitrification using S from Mode I was the most active.