• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.70-75
• /
• 1998

A model of pond system is developed for treatment and recycling of excreta from twenty-five adult dairy cattle. It is composed of wastewater treatment ponds and small fish ponds. Those are three facultative ponds in series; primary-secondary-tertiary pond and these are designed to rear carps without feeding. A pit is constructed at the bottom of primary pond for efficient sludge sedimentation and effective methane fermentation. It is contrived to block into it the penetration of oxygen dissolved in the upper layer of pond water. The excreta from the cattle housed in stalls are diluted by water used for clearing them. The washed excreta flow into the pit. The average yearly $BOD_5$ concentration of influent is 398.7mg/l. That of the effluent from primary, secondary and tertiary pond of the system is 49.18, 27.9, and 19.8.mg/l respectively. Approximate 88, 93, and 95 % of BOD5 are removed in each pond. The mean yearly SS concentration of influent is 360.5 mg/l That of the effluent from each pond is 53.4, 45.7, and32.7mg/l respectively. Approximate 86, 88, and 91% of SS are removed in each pond. The $BOD_5$ concentration of secondary and tertiary pond can satisfy 30mg/l secondary treatment standard. The SS concentration of effluent from tertiary pond, however, is slightly greater than the standard, which results from activities of carps growing in the pond. The average yearly total nitrogen concentration of influent is 206.8mg/l and that of the effluent from each pond is 48.6, 30.8, and 21.0mg/l respectively. Approximate 74, 88, and 90% of total nitrogen are removed in each pond. The mean yearly total phosphorous concentration of influent is 20.7mg/l and that of the effluent from each pond is 5.3, 3.2, and 2.1mg/l respectively. Approximate 97, 98, and 99% of total phosphorous are removed in each pond. The high removal of nitrogen and phosphorous results from active growth of algae in the upper layer of pond water. Important pond design parameters for southern part of Korea -- areal loading of BOD5, liquid depth, hydraulic detention time, free board, and pond arrangement -- are taken up.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.390-401
• /
• 2022

This study investigated the characteristics of fish communities and inhabiting status of endangered species in the Bukcheon (Stream) of Seoraksan National Park, Korea from April to September 2020. A total of 4,356 fish of 7 families and 22 species were collected from 17 survey stations during the survey period. The dominant species was Zacco koreanus (relative abundance, 41.8%), and subdominant species was Rhynchocypris kumgangensis (relative abundance, 15.1%), followed by Pungtungia herzi (10.1%), Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa (5.0%), Coreoleuciscus splendidus (4.1%), Zacco platypus (3.8%), Microphysogobio longidorsalis (3.5%), and Hemibarbus mylodon (2.2%). Among the fish species collected, 14 species (63.6%) were identified as Korean endemic species. There was one natural monument species (Hemibarbus mylodon), and four species of class II endangered wildlife that were designated by the Ministry of Environment (Acheilognathus signifer, Pseudopungtungi tenuicorpa, Gobiobotia brevibarba, and Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis). Among the four species of class II endangered wildlife, B. lenok tsinlingensis inhabited in the upper stream, and A. signifer, P. tenuicorpa and G. brevibarba inhabited mainly in the middle-lower stream. Also, P. tenuicorpa, H. mylodon, and B. lenok tsinlingensis were inhabited in large numbers. Additionally, two cold-water fish species (R. kumgangensis and B. lenok tsinlingensis) and one landlocked species (B. lenok tsinlingensis) were collected. According to the results of cluster analysis, the dominance index decreased from upstream to downstream, but the diversity, evenness, and richness index increased; the cluster structure was divided into the uppermost, upstream, midstream, and downstream. The water quality of Bukcheon was evaluated as good overall since the river health (index of biological integrity) evaluated using fish was evaluated as very good (11 stations), good (2 stations), and normal (4 stations). However, river repair work was being carried out in some areas and some wastewater was flowing in from the midstream, therefore, supplementary measures to preserve fish habitats are required.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.667-682
• /
• 2014

The effects of liquid pig manure (LM) on the yield and quality of rice as well as soil chemical properties were determined in the field of sandy loam soil under the different fertilizer management. Treatments consisted of 100%, 130% and 160% N application rates of liquid manure as calculated on the basis of the recommended rate of nitrogen (9 kg N/10a) for rice cultivation. Chemical fertilizer (CF) was used as control. Concentrations of T-N and T-P in paddy water were measured by 5-day intervals up to 20days after application. LM treatments significantly increased T-N concentrations in paddy water proportionally with increasing rates of LM (13.2 to 25.7 mg/L). Similarly Total-P content in paddy water was increased right after LM applications but was well below the quality standard of wastewater and manure. Plant height and tillers in 100% and 130% N LM treatments were lower than those in CF control. In the 160% LM treatment, however, plant height and numbers of tillers were higher than those in the CF control. Yields in 100% LM and 160% LM plots were decreased by 3 and 5%, respectively, as compared with 422 kg per 10a in the CF plot. Rice protein contents were similar between 100% LM and CF control (about 6.8%) but it was increased to 7.2% and 7.7% in 130% LM and 160% LM treatments, respectively. Toyo-taste value in the 100% LM treatment was higher than in CF control plot. The proportions of perfect grain of the brown rice were lower in 130% LM and 160% LM treatments than that in CF control. Soil organic matter content, heavy metal and exchangeable cations were highest in the 160% LM plot. Thus considering yield and quality of rice and heavy metals contents in soil, 130% N basal application of liquid manure can be recommended for rice cultivation in this experiment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.22 no.10
• /
• pp.1905-1919
• /
• 2000

The main motivation of this research is to develop an intelligent control strategy for Activated Sludge Process (ASP). ASP is a complex and nonlinear dynamic system because of the characteristic of wastewater, the change in influent flow rate, weather conditions, and etc. The mathematical model of ASP also includes uncertainties which are ignored or not considered by process engineer or controller designer. The ASP is generally controlled by a PID controller that consists of fixed proportional, integral, and derivative gain values. The PID gains are adjusted by the expert who has much experience in the ASP. The ASP model based on $Matlab^{(R)}5.3/Simulink^{(R)}3.0$ is developed in this paper. The performance of the model is tested by IWA(International Water Association) and COST(European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) data that include steady-state results during 14 days. The advantage of the developed model is that the user can easily modify or change the controller by the help of the graphical user interface. The ASP model as a typical nonlinear system can be used to simulate and test the proposed controller for an educational purpose. Various control methods are applied to the ASP model and the control results are compared to apply the proposed intelligent control strategy to a real ASP. Three control methods are designed and tested: conventional PID controller, fuzzy logic control approach to modify setpoints, and fuzzy-PID control method. The proposed setpoints changer based on the fuzzy logic shows a better performance and robustness under disturbances. The objective function can be defined and included in the proposed control strategy to improve the effluent water quality and to reduce the operating cost in a real ASP.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.27-41
• /
• 2017

This study dealt with the characteristics and the interrelations of hydrogeological parameters such as hydraulic conductivity, dispersivity and effective porosity of unconsolidated sediments for providing the basic data necessary for the planning of the management and preservation of groundwater quality in the Nakdong River Delta of Busan City, Korea. Groundwater quality in this area has been deteriorated due to seawater intrusion, agricultural fertilizer and pesticide, industrial wastewater, and contaminated river water. The physical properties (grain size distribution, sediment type, sorting) and aquifer parameters (hydraulic conductivity, effective porosity, longitudinal dispersivity) were determined from grain size analysis, laboratory permeability test and column tracer test. Among 36 samples, there were 18 Sand (S), 7 Gravelly Sand (gS), 5 Silty Sand (zS), 5 Muddy Sand (mS), and 1 Sandy Silt (sZ). Hydraulic conductivity was determined through a falling head test, and ranged from $9.2{\times}10^{-5}$ to $2.9{\times}10^{-2}cm/sec$ (0.08 to 25.6 m/day). From breakthrough curves, dispersivity was calculated to be 0.35~3.92 cm. Also, effective porosity and average linear velocity were obtained through the column tracer test, and their values were 0.04~0.46 and 1.06E-04~6.49E-02 cm/sec, respectively. Statistical methods were used to understand the interrelations among aquifer parameters of hydraulic conductivity, effective porosity and dispersivity. The relation between dispersivity and hydraulic conductivity or effective porosity considered the sample length, because dispersivity was affected by experimental scale. The relations between dispersivity and hydraulic conductivity or effective porosity were all in inverse proportion for all long and short samples. The reason was because dispersivity was in inverse proportion to the groundwater velocity in case of steady hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient, and groundwater velocity was in proportion to the hydraulic conductivity or effective porosity. This study also elucidated that longitudinal dispersivity was dependent on the scale of column tracer test, and all hydrogeological parameters were low to high values due to the sand quantity of sediments. It is expected that the hydrogeological parameter data of sediments will be very useful for the planning of groundwater management and preservation in the Nakdong River Delta of Busan City, Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.937-945
• /
• 2020

N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing (QS) plays a major role in development of biofilms, which contribute to rise in infections and biofouling in water-related industries. Interference in QS, called quorum quenching (QQ), has recieved a lot of attention in recent years. Rhodococcus spp. are known to have prominent quorum quenching activity and in previous reports it was suggested that this genus possesses multiple QQ enzymes, but only one gene, qsdA, which encodes an AHL-lactonase belonging to phosphotriesterase family, has been identified. Therefore, we conducted a whole genome sequencing and analysis of Rhodococcus sp. BH4 isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. The sequencing revealed another gene encoding a QQ enzyme (named jydB) that exhibited a high AHL degrading activity. This QQ enzyme had a 46% amino acid sequence similarity with the AHL-lactonase (AidH) of Ochrobactrum sp. T63. HPLC analysis and AHL restoration experiments by acidification revealed that the jydB gene encodes an AHL-lactonase which shares the known characteristics of the α/β hydrolase family. Purified recombinant JydB demonstrated a high hydrolytic activity against various AHLs. Kinetic analysis of JydB revealed a high catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_M) against C4-HSL and 3-oxo-C6 HSL, ranging from 1.88 x 10⁶ to 1.45 x 10⁶ M^-1 s^-1, with distinctly low K_M values (0.16-0.24 mM). This study affirms that the AHL degrading activity and biofilm inhibition ability of Rhodococcus sp. BH4 may be due to the presence of multiple quorum quenching enzymes, including two types of AHL-lactonases, in addition to AHL-acylase and oxidoreductase, for which the genes have yet to be described.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.2 s.82
• /
• pp.266-271
• /
• 2007

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been widely used as a monomer for production of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics. The annual production of BPA exceeds 640,000 metric tons in worldwide. BPA, a suspected phenolic endocrine disrupter, is moderately soluble and frequently detected in industrial wastewater. To date, HPLC and GC has been used for BPA analysis. However, HPLC and GC-analysis need high operation lost, experts, and an elaborate pre-treatment of samples, and is difficult to apply on-time and mass analysis. Therefore, simple, mass and rapid detection of BPA in environments is necessary. In the present study, spectrophotometric method of BPA quantification was developed. Based on blue-color product formation with BPA and ferric chloride/ferricyanide under the optimized conditions, the standard curve was acquired $({\lambda}_{750}=0.061\;BPA\;[{\mu}M]+0.07155,\;R^2=0.992)$. Using an established method, the BPA contents in the soil extract, and different water samples and living products, including disposable syringe, cup and plastic tube, were analyzed. The results suggested that the method is useful for BPA determination from different massive samples. Since the BPA metabolites, nontoxic 4-hydroxyacetophenone or 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, did not form blue-color product, this method is also useful to screen a microorganism for BPA bioremediation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.73-91
• /
• 2001

compounds (VOCs) were selected for assessment of VOCs contamination in some urban runoff and groundwater samples in Seoul. They included 3 aromatic hydrocarbons, 13 alkyl benzenes, 1 ether, 26 halogenated alkanes, 10 halogenated alkenes, and 9 halogenated aromatics. The levels of VOCs in urban runoff and groundwater were measured for samples collected in March 2000, June 2000 and November 2000 in Seoul City. A total of 78 samples (44 run-off water, 27 groundwater, and 7 samples from 4 urban wastewater treatment plants in Seoul) were collected and analysed by GC-MS with purge and trap. After examination of the runoff, it was concluded that alkyl benzenes and aromatic hydrocarbons were organic compounds which were significantly impacted by traffic flows in Seoul. Of 62 VOCs, only 11 VOCs were not detected in runoff samples, while 14 VOCs were detected in 27 groundwater samples. The toluene content in the runoff was extremely variable from 0.1ppb to 29,310ppb, depending on the different sampling sites. The concentrations of xylene ranged between 0.07ppb and 2970ppb in the runoff. The concentrations ranged from 0.05ppb to 33.0ppb for benzene, 0.05ppb to 960ppb for ethylbenzene, 0.08ppb to 20ppb for trichloromethane (chloroform) , 0.03ppb to 4.30ppb for trichloroethylene(TCE) and 0.1ppb to 50ppb for 1,1,2-trichloroethane. From the preliminary study of groundwater from some wells in Seoul, the most frequently detected VOCs are djchlorornethane(methylene chloride), trichloromethane(chloroform) and toluene. Most of aromatic hydrocarbons, alkyl benzenes and other solvents generally lower than detection limits.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.172-182
• /
• 2009

This study was to analyze characteristics based on tolerance and trophic guilds and to determine the level of total mercury in tissues of sentinel species, Zacco platypus at 3 sampling sites of the Mangyeong River in 2007. Total sampled fishes were 26 species and the most dominant species was Zacco temminckii (47%). Fish community analysis was resulted that eveness index and diversity index showed low value at S1. However, diversity index and richness index at other sites showed high. According to various guilds analysis, relative abundance of sensitive species was 70% and 42% at S1 and S2, respectively. While sensitive species were decreased (1%) and tolerant species were increased (60%) at S3. It was mainly carried to the impacts of wastewater treatment plants near the location. Relative abundance of insectivore species was decreased from up (S1) to midstream area (S3). In addition, chemical water quality, based on analyses of BOD, COD, TP, TN, EC, MPN and SS concentration showed similar trends. Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) was averaged 164, judged as "good" habitat condition. Average concentrations of total [Hg] was 146.9 ${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$. In the muscles of total [Hg] was the highest, and then followed by kidney, vertebrae, liver, and gills. According to FDA standards (500 ${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$) of Korea, total [Hg] has not affected to the individual fish health.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.181-190
• /
• 2023

Wastewater purification is one of the most important techniques for controlling environmental pollution and fulfilling the demand for freshwater supply. Various technologies, such as different types of distillations and reverse osmosis processes, need higher energy input. Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an alternative method in which power consumption is deficient and works on the supercapacitor principle. Research is going on to improve the electrode materials to improve the efficiency of the process. A reverse electrodialysis (RED) is the most commonly used desalination technology and osmotic power generator. Among many studies conducted to enhance the efficiency of RED, MXene, as an ion exchange membrane (IEM) and 2D nanofluidic channels in IEM, is rising as a promising way to improve the physical and electrochemical properties of RED. It is used alone and other polymeric materials are mixed with MXene to enhance the performance of the membrane further. The maximum desalination performances of MXene with preconditioning, Ti₃C₂T_x, Nafion, and hetero-structures were respectively measured, proving the potential of MXene for a promising material in the desalination industry. In terms of osmotic power generating via RED, adopting MXene as asymmetric nanofluidic ion channels in IEM significantly improved the maximum osmotic output power density, most of them surpassing the commercialization benchmark, 5 Wm^-2. By connecting the number of unit cells, the output voltage reaches the point where it can directly power the electronic devices without any intermediate aid. The studies around MXene have significantly increased in recent years, yet there is more to be revealed about the application of MXene in the membrane and osmotic power-generating industry. This review discusses the electrodialysis process based on MXene composite membrane.