• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.291-296
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• 2016

Application of photocatalytic nanoparticles has been recently gaining an increased attention as air purifying material for sustainable urban development. The present work reports the photocatalytic removal of gaseous phase nitrogen oxides ($NO_x$) using $TiO_2$-coated zeolite to be applied as a filter media for the urban green infrastructure such as raingardens. The $TiO_2$-coated zeolite was synthesized by simple wet chemistry method and tested in a continuous-flow photo-reactor for its removal efficiency of $NO_x$ under different conditions of the weight percentage of $TiO_2$ coated on the zeolite, and gas retention time. The removal efficiency of $NO_x$ in general increased as the weight percentage of $TiO_2$ coated on the zeolite increased up to 15-20%. Greater than 90% of $NO_x$ was removed at a retention time of one minute using the $TiO_2$-coated zeolite ($TiO_2$ weight percentage = 20%). Overall, $TiO_2$-coated zeolite showed greater efficiency of $NO_x$ removal compared to $TiO_2$ powder probably by providing additional reaction sites from the porous structure of zeolite. It was presumed that the degradation of $NO_x$ is attributed to both the physical adsorption and photocatalytic oxidation that could simultaneously occur at the catalyst surface.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.682-688
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• 2016

Food waste has recognized one of useful sources for potentially agricultural application to supply organic matter and nutrients in arable soil. However, there was little information on application of food waste compost related to the maturity and NaCl content in arable soil. This study evaluated the effect of food waste compost application on yield and fertility in soil under flooding and upland condition. The yields in rice and pepper cultivation decreased with increasing the rate of food waste compost application in soil (p<0.05). Maximum yields of rice ($49.0g\;plant^{-1}$) and pepper ($204g\;plant^{-1}$) were shown at 10 and $30Mg\;ha^{-1}$ of food waste compost application, respectively. The N, P, and K contents in grain and plant residues increased by the application of food waste compost, there was no difference on Na/K ratio in plant tissue among the treatments. Application of food waste compost resulted in the increase of pH, EC, TC, available P contents in soil after crop harvest, especially, which was shown the increase of the CEC and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) contents in irrespective of water condition. In conclusion, application of food waste compost in soil was effective on the supply of the organic matter and nutrient. However, it might need caution to apply food waste compost for sustainable productivity in arable soil because of potential Na accumulation.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.277-291
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• 2012

Aquaculture is challenged by a number of constraints with future efforts towards sustainable production. Global climate change has a potential damage to the sustainability by changing environmental surroundings unfavorably. The damaging parameters identified are water temperature, sea level, surface physical energy, precipitation, solar radiation, ocean acidification, and so on. Of them, temperature, mostly temperature elevation, occupies significant concern among marine ecologists and aquaculturists. Ocean acidification particularly draws shellfish aquaculturists' attention as it alters the marine chemistry, shifting the equilibrium towards more dissolved CO2 and hydrogen ions ($H^+$) and thus influencing signaling pathways on shell formation, immune system, and other biological processes. Temperature elevation by climate change is of double-sidedness: it can be an opportunistic parameter besides being a generally known damaging parameter in aquaculture. It can provide better environments for faster and longer growth for aquaculture species. It is also somehow advantageous for alleviation of aquaculture expansion pressure in a given location by opening a gate for new species and aquaculture zone expansion northward in the northern hemisphere, otherwise unavailable due to temperature limit. But in the science of climate change, the ways of influence on aquaculture are complex and ambiguous, and hence are still hard to identify and quantify. At the same time considerable parts of our knowledge on climate change effects on aquaculture are from the estimates from data of fisheries and agriculture. The consequences may be different from what they really are, particularly in the temperature region. In reality, bivalves and tunicates hung or caged in the longline system are often exposed to temperatures higher than those they encounter in nature, locally driving the farmed shellfish into an upper tolerable temperature extreme. We review recent climate change and following environment changes which can be factors or potential factors affecting shellfish aquaculture production in the temperate region.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 1997.05a
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• pp.8-11
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• 1997

Current methods of evaluating soil contamination by heavy metals rely on analyzing samples for total contents of metals or quantities recovered in various chemical extracting solutions. Results from these approaches provide only an index for evaluation because these methodologies yield values not directly related to bioavailability of soil-borne metals. In addition, even though concentrations of metals may be less than those required to cause toxic effects to biota, they may cause substantial effects on soil chemical parameters that determine soil quality and sustainable productivity. The objective of this research was to characterize effects of Cu or Cd additions on soil solution chemistry of soil quality indices, such as pH, EC, nutrient cation distribution and quantity/intensity relations (buffer capacity). Metals were added at rates ranging from 0 to 400 mg/kg of soil. Soil solution was sequentially extracted from saturated pastes using vacuum. Concentrations of Cu or Cd remaining in soil solutions were very low as compared to those added to the soils, warranting that most of the added metals were recovered as nonavailable (strongly adsorbed) fractions. Adsorption of the added metals released cations into soil solution causing increases of soluble cation contents and thus ionic strength of soil solution. At metal additions of 200~400 mg/kg, EC of soil solution increased to as much as 2~4 dS/m; salinity levels considered high enough to cause detrimental effects on plant production. More divalent cations (Ca+Mg) than monovalent cations (K+Na) were exchanged by Cu or Cd adsorption. The loss of exchangeable nutrient cations decreased long-term nutrient supplying capacity or each soil. At 100 mg/kg or metal loading, the buffering capacity was decreased by 60%. pH of soil solution decreased linearly with increasing metal loading rates, with a decrement of up to 1.3 units at 400 mg Cu/kg addition. Influences of Cu on each of these soil quality parameters were consistently greater than those of Cd. These effects were of a detrimental nature and large enough in most cases to significantly impact soil productivity. It is clear that new protocols are needed for evaluating potential effects of heavy metal loading of soils.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.2098-2105
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• 2016

Massive reserves of methane ($CH_4$) remain unexplored as a feedstock for the production of liquid fuels and chemicals, mainly because of the lack of economically suitable and sustainable strategies for selective oxidation of $CH_4$ to methanol. The present study demonstrates the bioconversion of $CH_4$ to methanol mediated by Type I methanotrophs, such as Methylomicrobium album and Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum. Furthermore, immobilization of a Type II methanotroph, Methylosinus sporium, was carried out using different encapsulation methods, employing sodium-alginate (Na-alginate) and silica gel. The encapsulated cells demonstrated higher stability for methanol production. The optimal pH, temperature, and agitation rate were determined to be pH 7.0, $30^{\circ}C$, and 175 rpm, respectively, using inoculum (1.5 mg of dry cell mass/ml) and 20% of $CH_4$ as a feed. Under these conditions, maximum methanol production (3.43 and 3.73 mM) by the encapsulated cells was recorded. Even after six cycles of reuse, the Na-alginate and silica gel encapsulated cells retained 61.8% and 51.6% of their initial efficiency for methanol production, respectively, in comparison with the efficiency of 11.5% observed in the case of free cells. These results suggest that encapsulation of methanotrophs is a promising approach to improve the stability of methanol production.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.466-472
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• 2016

The objectives of the study were to analyze the various nutrient contents of ready-to-use-supplemental-food (RUSF) developed with Eastern African ethnic plants and compare them with commercially available supplemental food (CASF) for infants. RUSF was made with three African plants, including Ficus sur, Amaranthus caudatus, and Prosopis juliflorafa and locally available food ingredients in DR Congo and Ethiopia and was cooked at $180^{\circ}C$ for 20 min in a conventional oven. Macronutrients were analyzed by the AOAC method. Contents of 17 amino acids were analysed with amino acid analyzer, and vitamin $B_1%$ niacin, vitamin $B_6$, and vitamin C were analyzed with HPLC. Isomers of vitamin E were analyzed by GC-FID. The price of RUSF was 0.133 USD per 100g. Contents of macronutrients were not significantly different between developed RUSF and CASF. Results of amino acid analysis showed that most amino acid contents were similar or higher in RUSF compared with CASF. However, glutamic acid and lysine contents were less in RUSF than in CASF. Vitamin E and vitamin $B_1$ contents were more than five times higher in RUSF (22.40, 6.26 mg/100 g, respectively) than in CASF (4.00, 0.80 mg/100 g, respectively). Niacin was about three times higher while vitamin $B_6$ was almost 20 times higher in RUSF than in CASF. However, ascorbic acid was significantly lower in RUSF (3.43 mg/100 g) than in CASF (42.08 mg/100 g). Our study found that the developed localized RUSF showed higher nutrient contents in most micronutrients analyzed except for ascorbic acid. Out of 17 amino acids, glutamic acid and lysine contents in RUSF were less than in CASF. Therefore, further study is needed in order to improve these nutrients contents.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.579-587
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• 2006

Recently, each country has been trying to promote Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) development for industrial sustainability. Technological modeling is required to realize EIP practically even though the project contains the political concerns for many companies, government, and self-governing bodies. The four main technologies of the EIP developments include energy exchange, material flow analysis, water pinch, and life cycle assessment. Material flow analysis (MFA) methodology can be utilized in EIP modeling in view of the fact that the analysis of material flows and the optimized modeling are major purposes for the technological modeling of EIP. Through MFA methodology in POHANG EIP project, how to apply MFA modeling to EIP modeling and how to utilize software for MFA modeling are shown in this research.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.244-244
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• 2015

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) in the form of Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) systems are being applied for numerous water augmentation projects both in developed and developing countries. Given the onset of Climate Change and its influence on weather patterns and land use, it has been acknowledged the utilization of this technology will be ever increasing. This technique like all others does have its drawbacks or disadvantages, whereby to overcome these drawbacks or disadvantages it is recommended that logical planning process be followed. In this study, we developed a decision framework known as "Decision framework for the planning, designing, construction/testing and implementation of subsurface water storage system" to further standardize the planning and design process of subsurface water storage system to increase the probability of having a successful ASR/ASTR project. The formulation of this framework was based on earlier frameworks, guidelines, published papers and technical reports which were compiled into a data collection database. The database of which consider both qualitative and quantitative aspect for example recharge objectives, site location, water chemistry of the native, source and recovered water, aquifer characteristics(hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, porosity), injection/pumping rate, ecological constraints, societal restrictions, regulatory restrictions etc. The assimilation of these factors into a singular framework will benefit the broad spectrum of stakeholder as it maps the chronological order under which ASR project should be undertaken highlighting at each stage the feasibility of the project. The final stage of which should result in fully operational ASR system. The framework was applied to two case studies and through the application of a modified ASR site selection suitability index (Brown et al., 2005) a score was derived to identify the performance of each site. A high score of which meant a maximize chance of success given the reduce presence of project constraints.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.172-182
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• 2022

Background: The coronavirus problem is an ecological problem stemming from a sudden change in the relationship between parasites and hosts. Ecologists judge organisms that are established out of their original territory as exotic species. Unlike in their original habitat, these exotic species become very aggressive in their newly settled habitat. Coronavirus infection damage was bigger in Europe or the United States than that in the country of its origin, China, and its neighboring countries. Therefore, coronavirus infection damage resembles the damage due to the invasive species. Results: Exotic species are found in places with similar environmental conditions to those of their origin when introduced to other ecological regions. However, there are few ecological ill effects in their place of origin, while the damage is usually severe in the ecological regions in which it is introduced. According to historical records, exotic infectious diseases, such as European smallpox and measles, also showed a similar trend and caused great damage in newly established places. Therefore, it is expected that measures to manage exotic species could be used for the prevention of exotic infectious diseases such as the coronavirus. Conclusions: Prevention comes first in the management of exotic species, and in order to come up with preventive measures, it is important to collect information on the characteristics of related organisms and their preferred environment. In this respect, ecosystem management measures such as exotic species management measures could be used as a reference to prevent and suppress the spread. To put these measures into practice, it is urgently required to establish an international integrated information network for collecting and exchanging information between regions and countries. Furthermore, a systematic ecosystem-management strategy in which natural and human environments could continue sustainable lives in their respective locations may serve as a countermeasure to prevent infectious diseases.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.388-396
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• 2023

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a vital source of clean and sustainable hydrogen energy. Moreover, the large-scale H₂ production is currently necessary, while long-term stability and high PEC activity still remain important issues. In this study, a GaN-based photoelectrode was modified by an additional NH₃ treatment (900℃ for 10 min) and its PEC behavior was monitored. The bare GaN exhibited a highly crystalline wurtzite structure with the (002) plane and the optical bandgap was approximately 3.2 eV. In comparison, the NH₃-treated GaN film exhibited slightly reduced crystallinity and a small improvement in light absorption, resulting from the lattice stress or cracks induced by the excessive N supply. The minor surface nanotexturing created more surface area, providing electroactive reacting sites. From the surface XPS analysis, the formation of an N-Ga-O phase on the surface region of the GaN film was confirmed, which suppressed the charge recombination process and the positive shift of E_FB. Therefore, these effects boosted the PEC activity of the NH₃-treated GaN film, with J values of approximately 0.35 and 0.78 mA·cm^-2 at 0.0 and 1.23 V_RHE, respectively, and an onset potential (V_on) of -0.24 V_RHE. In addition, there was an approximate 50% improvement in the J value within the highly applied potential region with a positive shift of V_on. This result could be explained by the increased nanotexturing on the surface structure, the newly formed defect/trap states correlated to the positive V_on shift, and the formation of a GaO_xN_1-x phase, which partially blocked the charge recombination reaction.