• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.672-678
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• 2019

The electrochemical properties of pitch-coated natural graphite(NG) were investigated as an anode for lithium-ion batteries. The anode materials were prepared by heat-treatment of mixture of NG and petroleum pitch at $1000^{\circ}C$. The pitches with various softening points were used as carbon precursor. The physical properties of anode materials were analyzed by TGA, SEM, PSA and BET. As the softening point increased, the thickness of the coating layer increased and the specific surface area decreased. The electrochemical performances were investigated by initial charge/discharge efficiency, cycle stability, cyclic voltammetry, rate performance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The carbon-coated NG using pitch with softening points of $250^{\circ}C$ showed an initial discharge capacity of 361 mAh/g and a coulombic efficiency of 92.6%. Also, the rate performance(5 C/0.2 C) was 1.6 times higher than that of NG, and it had a capacity retention (90%) after 50 cycles at 0.5 C.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.621-631
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• 2018

In this study, catalyst was made through incipient wetness method using palladium (Pd) as noble metal, indium (In) as secondary metal, and montmorillonite (MK10) and Al pillared montmorillonite (Al-MK10) as supporters. The nitrate reduction rate of the catalysts was measured by batch experiments where H2 gas was used as reducing agent and formic acid as pH controller. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were all used to determine the elemental distribution of Pd, In, Al, and Si on catalysts. It was observed that Al pillaring increased the Al/Si elemental composition ratio and point of zero charge of MK10, but decreased its BET specific surface area and pore volume. The nitrate reduction rate of Al-MK10 Pd/In was 2.0 ~ 2.5 times higher than that of MK10 Pd/In using artificial groundwater (GW) in ambient temperature and pressure. Nitrate reduction rates in GW were 1.2 ~ 1.7 times lower than those in distilled deionized water (DDW). Nitrate reduction rates in acidic conditions were higher than those in neutral condition in both GW and DDW. The amount of produced NH3-N over degraded NO3- at acid conditions was lower than that of neutral condition. Even though the leaching of Pd after reaction was measured in DDW it was not detected when both Al-MK10 Pd/In and MK10 Pd/In were used in GW. The modification of montmorillonite as a supporter significantly increased the reductive catalytic activities of nitrates. However, the ratio of producing ammonia by-products to degraded nitrates in ambient temperature and pressure was similar.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.344-359
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• 2019

Effects of various types of zeolite on the catalytic performance of hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of bio-oil obtained from waste larch wood pyrolysis were investigated herein. Bifunctional catalysts were prepared via wet impregnation. The catalysts were characterized through XRD, BET, and SEM. Experimental results demonstrated that HDO enhanced the fuel properties of waste wood bio-oil, such as higher heating values (HHV) (20.4-28.3 MJ/kg) than bio-oil (13.7 MJ/kg). Water content (from 19.3 in bio-oil to 3.1-16.6 wt% in heavy oils), the total acid number (from 150 in bio-oil to 28-77 mg KOH/g oil in heavy oils), and viscosity (from 103 in bio-oil to $40-69mm^2/s$ in heavy oils) also improved post HDO. In our experiments, depending on the zeolite support, NiFe/HBeta exhibited a high Si/Al ratio of 38 with a high specific surface area ($545.1m^2/g$), and, based on the yield of heavy oil (18.3-18.9 wt%) and HHV (22.4-25.2 MJ/kg), its performance was not significantly affected by temperature and solvent concentration variations. In contrast, NiFe/zeolite Y, which had a low Si/Al ratio of 5.2, exhibited the highest improved quality for heavy oil at high temperature, with an HHV of 28.3 MJ/kg at $350^{\circ}C$ with 25 wt% of solvent.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.793-807
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• 2020

The policy for Green New Deal will promote the shift of the application to coal as feedstock from coal as fuel. Coal can be used as fuel for production of hydrogen and as feedstock materials such as synthetic graphite or activated carbon. Hydrogen is obtained from syngas produced through Steam carbon(SC), Water-Gas Shift(WGS), and Carbonation reactions, and these processes should be used in conjunction with CO2 sequestration technology. Anthracite has a potential in terms of cost advantage as a feedstock compared to a petroleum pitch, because Synthetic graphite is prepared by heat treating an anthracite with high rank to a graphitization temperature which is in the range of 2400~2800℃, in the presence of inorganic catalyst such as silicon or iron. From several studies, it has been confirmed that coal-based activated carbon(AC) is manufactured with quality similar to the large specific surface area and much micropore volume of lignin-based AC, can be prepared. Therefore it is expected that lignin-based AC is replaced to coal-based AC.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2021

NiO and Co3O4-doped porous La(CoNi)O3 perovskite oxides were prepared from excess Ni addition by a hydrothermal method using porous silica template, and characterized as bifunctional catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for Zn-air rechargeable batteries in alkaline solution. Excess Ni induced to form NiO and Co3O4 in La(CoNi)O3 particles. The NiO and Co3O4-doped porous La(CoNi)O3 showed high specific surface area, up to nine times of conventionally synthesized perovskite oxide, and abundant pore volume with similar structure. Extra added Ni was partially substituted for Co as B site of ABO3 perovskite structure and formed to NiO and Co3O4 which was highly dispersed in particles. Excess Ni in La(CoNi)O3 catalysts increased OER performance (259 mA/㎠ at 2.4 V) in alkaline solution, although the activities (211 mA/㎠ at 0.5 V) for ORR were not changed with the content of excess Ni. La(CoNi)O3 with excess Ni showed very stable cyclability and low capacity fading rate (0.38 & 0.07 ㎶/hour for ORR & OER) until 300 hours (~70 cycles) but more excess content of Ni in La(CoNi)O3 gave negative effect to cyclability.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.51-58
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• 2021

Solar water pumping system (SWPS) is reliable and beneficial for Indian farmers in irrigation and crop production without accessing utility. The capability of easy installation and deployment, makes it an attractive option in remote areas without grid access. The selection of portable solar based pumps is pertaining to its longer life and economic viability due to lower running cost. The work presented in this manuscript intends to demonstrate performance analysis of portable systems. Consequent investigation reveals PSWS as the emerging option for rural household and marginal farmers. This can be attributed to the fact that, a considerable portion (around 45.7%) of the country's land is farmland and irrigation options are yet to reach farmers who entirely rely on rain water at present for harvesting of the crops. According to census 2010-2011 tube wells are the main source for irrigation amongst all other sources followed by canals. Out of the total 64.57-million-hectare net irrigation area, 48.16% is accounted by small and marginal holdings, 43.77% by semi-medium and medium holdings, and 8.07% by large holdings. As per 2015-16 census data, nearly 100 million farming households would struggle to make ends meet. The work included in this manuscript, presents the performance of different commercial brands and different technologies of DC surface solar water micro pumping systems have been studied (specifically, the centrifugal and reciprocating type pumps have been considered for analysis). The performance of the pumping systems has been analyzed and data is evaluated in terms of quantity of water impelled for specific head. The reciprocating pump has been observed to deliver the best system efficiency.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.185-189
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• 2011

In this work, nano-sized M-ferrites (M=Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) for the decomposition of carbon dioxide were synthesized by the chemical co-precipitation. From the thermogravimetric analysis, it was clear that the maximum weight loss of each sample took place below $350^{\circ}C$. High temperature calcination resulted in more systematic crystallines, smaller specific surface area and larger particle size. An analysis by FTIR in the range of $375{\sim}406cm^{-1}$ revealed the presence of chelates at the octahedral site, which implies the formation of spinel structure in the ferrites. The current work showed that a $500^{\circ}C$ is the optimum heat treatment temperature of metal ferrites for $CO_2$ decomposition reaction.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.229-236
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• 2021

During the last two decades, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been drawn attention due to their high specific surface area, porosity, and catalytic activities that allow to use in many applications such as sensor, catalysis, energy storage, etc. To synthesize MOFs hydrothermal or solvothermal method were generally used. However, these methods require high-cost equipment and long time-spend for the synthesis with multi-step process. In contrast, electrochemical synthesis has been considered as a simple and easy process under the ambient conditions. In this review, we described the mechanism of electrochemical MOFs synthesis by the number of configured electrodes system, with the recent reports of various applications.

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.336-340
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• 2020

In this study, carbon aerogels (CA) were prepared by sol-gel polycondensation of resorcinol and furfural in isopropanol using hexamethylenetetramine as a catalyst, and then directly drying the organic gels under isopropanol freeze-drying conditions, followed by carbonization under a nitrogen atmosphere. The preparation conditions of the CA were explored by changing the mole ratio of resorcinol to furfural. The effect of the preparation conditions on the pore structure of the CA was studied by nitrogen adsorption isotherms. The characteristics of the CA were studied by scanning and transition electron microscopy, and infrared spectrometry. The accessibility of pores and performance of the CA as an electrode in electric double layer capacitors were also electrochemically investigated. As a result, BET surface area and specific capacitance increased with the molar ratio of resorcinol to catalyst (R/C) ratio; the maximum values of 765 ㎡/g and 132 F/g were achieved at the R/C ratio of 200, respectively. Consequently, it was confirmed that increasing the R/C ratio increased the average pore size of the CA electrode, which improved the rate capability of the system.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.668-673
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• 2020

In this work, ultrathin and two-dimensional (2D) cobalt hydroxide [Co(OH)2] nanosheets were synthesized by a sonication assisted liquid-phase exfoliation of bulk Co(OH)2. The resulting exfoliated Co(OH)2 is a hexagonal mono-layered nanosheet with a high specific surface area of 27.5 ㎡ g-1. The depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) based on glycolysis reaction was also performed using an exfoliated Co(OH)2 catalyst. Excellent catalytic reaction performances were demonstrated; a high PET conversion and bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) yield of both 100% using the nanosheet catalyst were achieved within a reaction time and temperature of 30 min and 200 ℃, respectively. The long-term stability of exfoliated Co(OH)2 catalysts was also demonstrated by recyclability tests of the catalyzed glycolysis reaction of PET over four cycles, showing both 100% of high PET conversion and BHET yield.