• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.865-875
• /
• 2016

In this study, mass concentrations and chemical compositions of $PM_{2.5}$, including water-soluble ions and elements were determined at the 1,100 m-highland of Mt. Hallasan in Jeju Island across four seasons from August 2013 to August 2014. The average mass concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ was $12.5{\pm}8.41{\mu}g/m^3$ with 45.8% of the contribution from eight water-soluble ionic species. Three ionic species ($SO{_4}^{2-}$, $NH{_4}^+$, and $NO{_3}^-$) comprised 96.2% of the total concentration of ions contained in $PM_{2.5}$ and were the dominant ions, accounting for 43.5% of the $PM_{2.5}$ mass at Mt. Hallasan. On the basis of the mass concentration level, seasonal variation, enrichment factor, and relationship among elements, we can presume that Mg, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Sr, Ba, Nd, and Dy originated mainly from crust or soil and that V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb were significantly enriched in $PM_{2.5}$ owing to the effects of the anthropogenic emissions. These results and the local distribution of emission sources and topographic characteristics near this sampling site suggest that the compositions of $PM_{2.5}$ collected at the 1100 m-highland of Mt. Hallasan were largely influenced by inflow from outside of Jeju Island.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.249-256
• /
• 2013

The aim of the study was to reveal the scope and benefits derives from establishing carbon forests in a country like Bangladesh. Carbon forestry is the modernized forestry practice that evolves no cutting of trees or vegetation rather conserves them in the wood. Trees might be the source of carbon sink at large scale by establishing carbon forests. To find out how and in what extent forests of Bangladesh could contribute to global emission reduction, tree species of economic importance were taken into account about their carbon sequestration potential. Data source was a secondary one. Bangladesh has subtropical evergreen and deciduous forest tree species. Here trees can sequester almost 45-55 percent organic carbon in their biomass. On an average, trees in different types of stands can sequester 150-300 tC/ha. Carbon value of these forests might be 7,500-15,000 USD per hactre (assuming 50 USD per equivalent $tCO_2$). Thus, accounting tree carbon credits of total forested lands of Bangladesh, there might be a lump sum value of $1.89{\times}10^{10}-3.79{\times}10^{10}$ USD. If soil carbon is added, this amount would jump. Alternatively, there are two times higher spaces as marginal lands than this for starting carbon forestry. However, carbon forestry concept is still a theoretical conception unless otherwise their challenges are addressed and solved. Despite of this, forests of Bangladesh might be the key showcase for conserving biodiversity in association with carbon capture. Protected areas in Bangladesh are of government wealth, however, degraded and denuded waste and marginal lands might be the best fit for establishing carbon forests.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.543-555
• /
• 2006

During a twenty-day period in 2005, a nine-stage Andersen cascade impactor was used to determine the seasonal size distribution of atmospheric particles and its inorganic ion species sampled for 24hr in Iksan city, located southwest of the Korean peninsula. Samples were analyzed for major water-soluble ion species using Dionex-100 ion chromatograph. Average fine and coarse mass concentrations of atmospheric particles were, respectively, 31.4 and $82.6{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$ in spring and 35.8 and $73.4{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$ in fall-winter during the sampling period of 2005, while measurements of 69.8 and 9.9 were obtained in the sampling period of summer, The size distribution of particulate mass concentration during the non-Asian dust period was generally bimodal, whereas the size distribution of particulate mass concentration during the Asian dust period was unimodal due to the significant increase of coarse particles, which originated from long-range transport of soil dust particles from loess regions of the Asian continent. Among ionic species, $SO{_4}^{2-},\;NH{_4}^+,\;K^+$ were mainly distributed in fine particles due to their characteristics of emission sources and gas-to-particle conversion, while $Na^+,\;Mg^{2+}\;and\;Ca^{2+}$ were dominantly in coarse particles. However, $NO_3{^-}\;and\;Cl^-$ were distributed in both coarse particles and fine particles. Although $SO{_4}^{2-}$ was mainly distributed in fine particles, the size distributions of $SO{_4}^{2-}$ in coarse mode were significantly increased during the Asian dust events compared to those during the non-Asian dust period. $Ca^{2+}$ showed the most abundant species in the atmospheric particles during the Asian dust period. $NH{_4}^+$ was found to mainly exist as $(NH_4)_2SO_4$ in fine particles.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.538-555
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to understand $PM_{2.5}$ chemical characteristics on the Suwon/Yongin area and further to quantitatively estimate $PM_{2.5}$ source contributions. The $PM_{2.5}$ sampling was carried out by a high-volume air sampler at the Kyung Hee University-Global Campus from November, 2010 to October, 2011. The 40 chemical species were then analyzed by using ICP-AES(Ag, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Si, Ti, V and Zn), IC ($Na^+$, $K^+$, $NH_4{^+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, $NO_3{^-}$, ${SO_4}^{2-}$ and $Cl^-$), DRI/OGC (OC1, OC2, OC3, OC4, OP, EC1, EC2 and EC3) and GC-FID (acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[a] pyrene, indeno[1,2,3-cd] pyrene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene and dibenzo[a,h,]anthracene). When applying PMF model after performing proper data treatment, a total of 10 sources was identified and their contributions were quantitatively estimated. The average contribution to $PM_{2.5}$ emitted from each source was determined as follows; 26.3% from secondary aerosol source, 15.5% from soil and road dust emission, 15.3% from vehicle emission, 15.3% from illegal biomass burning, 12.2% from incineration, 7.2% from oil combustion source, 4.9% from industrial related source, and finally 3.2% from coal combustion source. In this study we used the ratios of PAHs concentration as markers to double check whether the sources were reasonably classified or not. Finally we provided basic information on the major $PM_{2.5}$ sources in order to improve the air quality in the study area.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.386-390
• /
• 2013

Recently, special attention has been given to acid rain and its problem to environment such as acid precipitation and air pollution in East Asia. In the present study, rainwater samples were collected from Apr to Nov in 2012. The samples were chemically characterized for the assessment of emission sources. Suwon and Yeoju regions, typical agricultural areas in South Korea, were chosen for study sites. Ion composition and cation-affected neutralization were determined to evaluate the contribution of cations to the acidity of rainwater. Ion and electrical conductivity between the measured and the estimated showed high correlation. The cations observed in Suwon and Yeoju were $Na^+$ > $NH_4{^+}$ > $K^+$ > $Ca^{2+}$ > $Mg^{2+}$ > $H^+$ and $Na^+$ > $K^+$ > $NH_4{^+}$ > $Ca^{2+}$ > $Mg^{2+}=H^+$, respectively. The anions of all sites were $SO{_4}^{2-}$ > $NO_3{^-}$ > $Cl^-$. While the amounts of sulfate, one of the major dissolved components of rainwater, were 77.6 and 75.6 ueq $L^{-1}$ in Suwon and Yeoju, the ones of NSS-$SO{_4}^{2-}$ (Non-Sea Salt sulfate) were 83 and 82% in Suwon and Yeoju, respectively. The comparison of observed pH values ($pH_{obs}$) with the theoretical pH values ($pH_{the}$) showed that the neutralization of rain water considerably went along during the study periods. The highest amounts of rainfall throughout the year in Suwon and Yeoju were 572.3 and 484.6 mm in July, and its corresponding nitrogen loadings in Suwon and Yeoju were 5.28 and 3.50 kg $ha^{-1}$, respectively. The major ion contents for crop growth with $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $Ca^{2+}$, $K^+$ and $Mg^{2+}$ were 51.7, 5.2, 11.8 and 1.8 kg $ha^{-1}$ in Suwon and 34.2, 4.0, 4.2 and 1.1 kg $ha^{-1}$ in Yeoju.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2004.04a
• /
• pp.100-101
• /
• 2004

Many researches in Korea have been performed to understand the pollution of stream waters by acid mine drainage. However, few studies have been conducted regarding the effect of particulate and colloidal fractions on the transport of trace metals. To estimate harmful effects of trace metals, it is important to evaluate the particulate and colloidal metals as well as dissolved metals, because particulate and colloidal fractions of trace metals play an important role in transport of trace metals and may adversely affect habitats and organisms in riverine system. Colloids are solids with effective diameters in size range from 0.001 $\mu$m to 1 $\mu$m. According to Jone et al. (1974), metals in surface water, like Al, Fe, and Mn, require filtration with pore-size membranes smaller than 0.45 $\mu$m to define dissolved concentrations. The main objective of this study is to understand the effects of particulate, colloidal, and truly dissolved fractions on the transport and fate of trace metals in acid mine drainage. This study was conducted for the Onjeong creek in the Uljin mine area. Sampling was carried out in 13 sites, spatially covering the area from mine dumps to the downstream Onjeong reservoir. To examine the metal partitioning between particulate, colloidal, and truly dissolved fraction, we used successive filtration techniques consisting of conventional method (using 0.45 $\mu$m membranes) and tangential-flow ultrafiltration (using 0.001 $\mu$mm membranes). Ultrafiltration may seperate much smaller particles from aqueous phase (Josephson, 1984; Hernandez and Stallard, 1988). The analysis of metals were performed by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES: model Perkin Elmer OPTIMA3000XL). Anions such as SO$_4$, Cl and NO$_3$ were measured with ion chromatograph (IC: model Dionex 120). Sample analysis is still in progress. The preliminary data show that the studied creek is severely polluted by Al, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn. Toward upstream sites with relatively lower pH, less than 50% of Al and Fe occur in the sorbed form on particles or colloids, whereas more than 80% of Al and Fe occur in the sorbed form in downstream sites or tributaries with relatively higher pH. Less than 30% of Zn is present in particle or colloidal forms in the whole range of creek. Truly dissolved fraction of trace metals is negatively correlated with pH. The Kd values for Al, Fe and Zn consistently increase with increasing pH and decrease with increasing particle concentration.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.665-676
• /
• 2003

To investigate the chemical characteristics of PM$\_$2.5/ in Seoul, Korea, atmospheric particulate matters were collected using a PM$\_$10/ dichotomous sampler including PM$\_$10/ and PM$\_$2.5/ inlet during the period of October 2000 to September 2001. The Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectromety (ICP-MS), ion Chromatography (IC) methods were used to determine the concentration of both metal and ionic species. A statistical analysis was performed for the heavy metals data set using a principal component analysis (PCA) to derived important factors inherent in the interactions among the variables. The mean concentrations of ambient PM$\_$2.5/ and PM/sub10/ were 24.47 and 45.27 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥, respectively. PM$\_$2.5/ masses also showed temporal variations both yearly and seasonally. The ratios of PM$\_$2.5/PM$\_$10/ was 0.54, which similar to the value of 0.60 in North America. Soil-related chemical components (such as Al, Ca, Fe, Si, and Mn) were abundant in PM$\_$10/, while anthropogenic components (such as As, Cd, Cr, V, Zn and Pb) were abundant in PM2s. Total water soluble ions constituted 30∼50 % of PM$\_$2.5/ mass, and sulfate, nitrate and ammonium were main components in water soluble ions. Reactive farms of NH$_4$$\^$+/were considered as NH$_4$NO$_3$ and (NH$_4$)$_2$SO$_4$ during the sampling periods. In the results of PCA for PM$\_$2.5/, we identified three principal components. Major contribution to PM$\_$2.5/ seemed to be soil, oil combustion, unidentified source. Further study, the detailed interpretation of these data will need efforts in order to identify emission sources.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.213-232
• /
• 2009

This document was prepared to review and summarize the analytical methods for airborne and bulk asbestos. Basic principles, shortcomings and advantages for asbestos analytical instruments using phase contrast microscopy(PCM), polarized light microscopy(PLM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were reviewed. Both PCM and PLM are principal instrument for airborne and bulk asbestos analysis, respectively. If needed, analytical electron microscopy is employed to confirm asbestos identification. PCM is used originally for workplace airborne asbestos fiber and its application has been expanded to measure airborne fiber. Shortcoming of PCM is that it cannot differentiate true asbestos from non asbestos fiber form and its low resolution limit ($0.2{\sim}0.25{\mu}m$). The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber can be performed by EPA's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) method, World Health Organization (WHO) method, International Standard Organization (ISO) 10312 method, Japan's Environmental Asbestos Monitoring method, and Standard method of Indoor Air Quality of Korea. The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber in workplace can be performed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7400 method, NIOSH 7402 method, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ID-160 method, UK's Health and Safety Executive(HSE) Methods for the determination of hazardous substances (MDHS) 39/4 method and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) CODE-A-1-2004 method of Korea. To analyze the bulk asbestos, stereo microscope (SM) and PLM is required by EPA -600/R-93/116 method. Most bulk asbestos can be identified by SM and PLM but one limitation of PLM is that it can not see very thin fiber (i.e., < $0.25{\mu}m$). Bulk asbestos analytical methods, including EPA-600/M4-82-020, EPA-600/R-93/116, OSHA ID-191, Laboratory approval program of New York were reviewed. Also, analytical methods for asbestos in soil, dust, water were briefly discussed. Analytical electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope equipped with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray analyser(EDXA), has been known to be better to identify asbestiform than scanning electron microscope(SEM). Though there is no standard SEM procedures, SEM is known to be more suitable to analyze long, thin fiber and more cost-effective. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) imaging protocol was developed to identify asbestos fiber. Although many asbestos analytical methods are available, there is no method that can be applied to all type of samples. In order to detect asbestos with confidence, all advantages and disadvantages of each instrument and method for given sample should be considered.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.43-53
• /
• 2023

This batch experiment evaluated the impacts of major plant nutrient releases by applying the modified Hyperbola model on the leachates and N₂O emissions from incorporated rice hull biochar with organic fertilizer materials. The treatments consisted of the control as incorporated with organic fertilizer materials, the incorporated rice hull biochar with organic fertilizer materials, and the incorporated plasma-activated rice hull biochar with organic fertilizer materials under redox conditions. The results indicated that the maximum release amount of NH₄-N was 3486.3 mg L^-1 in the control, and their reduction rates of NH₄-N, NO₃-N, PO₄-P, and K were 8.0%, 17.5% 44.3.0% and 8.7%, respectively, relative to the control. In the control, the highest soluble amount of PO₄-P was 681.0 mg L^-1. The estimations for accumulated NH₄-N, NO₃-N, PO₄-P, and K-releases in all the treatments were significantly (p<0.01) fitted with a modified Hyperbola model. For greenhouse gas emissions, the lowest cumulative N₂O was 340.4 mg kg^-1 in the soil incorporated with plasma-activated rice hull biochar, and the reduction rates were 27.8% and 86.4% in the rice hull biochar and plasma-activated rice hull biochar treatments, respectively, compared to the control. Therefore, it concluded that the incorporated rice hull biochar can be especially useful for controlling PO₄-P release and N₂O emissions for bio-fertilizer applications.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.302-313
• /
• 2008

The purposes of this study are to investigate the concentration levels of fine particles, so called PM$_{2.5}$, to identify the affecting sources, and to estimate quantitatively the source contributions of PM$_{2.5}$. Ambient air sampling was seasonally carried out at two sites in Pohang(a residential and an industrial area) during the period of March to December 2003. PM$_{2.5}$ samples were collected by high volume air samplers with a PM$_{10}$ Inlet and an impactor for particle size segregation, and then determined by gravimetric method. The chemical species associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometery(ICP) and ion chromatography(IC). The results showed that the most significant season for PM$_{2.5}$ mass concentrations appeared to be spring, followed by winter, fall, and summer. The annual mean concentrations of PM$_{2.5}$ were 36.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial and 30.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area, respectively. The major components associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were the secondary aerosols such as nitrates and sulfates, which were respectively 4.2 and 8.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial area and 3.7 and 6.9 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area. The concentrations of chemical component in relation to natural emission sources such as Al, Ca, Mg, K were generally higher at both sampling sites than other sources. However, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr in the industrial area were higher than those in the residential area. Based on the principal component analysis and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis for both areas, it was found that soil/road dust and secondary aerosols are the most significant factors affecting the variations of PM$_{2.5}$ in the ambient air of Pohang. The source apportionments of PM$_{2.5}$ were conducted by chemical mass balance(CMB) modeling. The contributions of PM$_{2.5}$ emission sources were estimated using the CMB8.0 receptor model, resulting that soil/road dust was the major contributor to PM$_{2.5}$, followed by secondary aerosols, vehicle emissions, marine aerosols, metallurgy industry. Finally, the application and its limitations of chemical mass balance modeling for PM$_{2.5}$ was discussed.