• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.15 no.9
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2014

BMP test was carried out to evaluate the characteristics for co-digestion of night soil and food waste. 6 types of sludge were tested in 30 days which were raw, excess, digested, night soil/septic tank (1:1), food waste (food : dilution water = 1:1), and mixed sludge. Bio gas was produced actively after 2 days, and continued in 2 weeks. Gas generation amount was decreased rapidly after considerable space of time. Especially maximum productivity of gas was shown in 7~8 days. The ultimate methane yields of raw, excess, digested, night soil/septic tank, food waste, and mixed sludge were 64.63, 67.49, 66.45, 72.44, 107.85, and 46.71 mL $CH_4/g$ VS respectively from Modified Gompertz model. The lag growth phase time and maximum specific methane production rate of mixed sludge were 1.88 day and 80.4 mL/day respectively. The methane potential of mixed sludge was higher than individual sludge. So high methane potential was expected by controlling mixing ratio of food waste. Besides stable operation of digestion tank and the solution of oligotrophic problem were possible.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.91-97
• /
• 2006

For efficient removal of nitrogenous compounds produced in recirculating aquaculture system, the N removal characteristics of immobilized mixed microorganisms were investigated at various mixing ratios of photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) immobilized in PVA beads or CTA cubes and ammonium utilizing bacteria (AUB) immobilized in PVA beads. On the optimal medium of AUB, the maxium gas production rate was obtained at the mixing ratio of 10:40 (PSB:AUB), and the gas production rate increased as the portion of AUB beads in the mixed beads increased. When the mixing ratios of PSB:AUB beads were 50:0, 40:10, 25:25 and 10:40, the final pHs were measured to be 6.29, 6.01, 5.69 and 5.13, respectively. On the optimal medium of PSB, however, the volume and the rate of gas production decreased remarkably as the portion of AUB beads in the mixed beads increased. The final pH was measured to be approximately 6.5, regardless of the mixing ratio. In the reactions by the mixed culture of PSB cubes and AUB beads, all results showed the same tendency of those by the mixed culture of PSB and AUB beads, but the volume and the rate of gas production decreased remarkably, even with 0.2ml of gas production in control. From all the results, the use of mixed PSB and AUB beads at the ratio of 10:40 seems to be efficient to remove nitrogenous compounds in wastewater from recirculating aquaculture system.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.15-25
• /
• 2020

Biogas production potential was experimentally estimated for mono- and co-digestion of cow manure and waste grass. The two organic wastes were mixed at five different ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100) on the volatile solids basis, and were assessed using biochemical methane potential (BMP) test. Thee reaction temperatures, 25℃, 30℃ and 35℃, were applied as well, resulting in 15 different combinations for the test. The results showed that both higher temperature and waste grass mixing ratio resulted in higher methane yield and maximum methane production rate. Based on the experimental results, a theoretical farm- or community-scale (240 or 2400 ㎥) anaerobic digester was designed to evaluate the energy balance associated with mono- and co-digestion of the wastes at different temperatures. Although the energy production increased as the temperature and the waste grass mixing ratio increased, the net energy gain, energy production subtracted by energy consumption for heating and maintenance, was estimated to be the highest at 30℃, followed by at 35℃ and 25℃. Therefore, it is advised that both the experimental methane production and the detailed design parameters must be considered for the optimization of the net energy gain from these wastes.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.126-134
• /
• 2016

To produce renewable biomethane from biogas, the properties of physical absorbents such as water, methanol, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), poly(ethylene glycol) dimethylether (PEGDME), and propylene carbonate (PC) were studied, and PC was applied to membrane contactor systems. Among physical absorbents, PC exhibited a high contact angle of $58.3^{\circ}$ on polypropylene surface, and a PC/water mixture (5 wt%) increased the contact angle to $90^{\circ}$. Furthermore, the PC/water mixture presented higher $CO_2$ absorption capacities (0.148-0.157 mmol/g) than that of water (0.121 mmol/g), demonstrating a good property as an absorbent for membrane contactors. Actual operations in membrane contactors using the PC/water mixture resulted in $CO_2$ removal of 98.0-97.8% with biomethane purities of 98.5-98.3%, presenting a strong potential for biogas treatment. However, the PC/water mixture yielded moderate improved in $CO_2$ removal and methane recovery, as compared with water in the membrane contactor operation. This is originated from insufficient desorption processes to reuse absorbent and low $CO_2$ flux of the PC/water absorbent. Thus, it is requiring optimizations of membrane contactor technology including development of absorbent and improvement of operation process.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.13-28
• /
• 2023

This study assessed the biochemical methane potential (B_u-P) of three grass species-Poa pratensis (PP), Zoysia japonica (ZJ), and Agrostis stolonifera (AS). B_u-P values were determined as 0.330 Nm³/kg-VS_added for PP, 0.297 Nm³/kg-VS_added for ZJ, and 0.261 Nm³/kg-VS_added for AS. Notably, PP exhibited superior suitability for methane production. The investigation also examined the impact of silage storage duration on PP grass clippings, revealing a 19% decline in B_u-P from an initial value of 0.269 Nm³/kg-VS_added on day 0 to 0.217 Nm³/kg-VS_added on day 180. Throughout the storage period, there were significant increases in neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and crude protein (CP) contents, rising from 67.59%, 39.68%, and 3.02% on day 0 to 77.12%, 54.65%, and 6.24% on day 180, respectively. These findings highlight the influence of storage duration on the anaerobic digestibility of PP grass clippings. To effectively utilize grass clippings as a renewable resource for methane production, further studies considering factors such as initial moisture content, pretreatment methods, and potential effects of residual pesticides are necessary to optimize anaerobic digestion efficiency for herbaceous biomass.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.562-565
• /
• 2011

In this study, we developed a bioprocess using Clostridium ljungdahlii as a biological catalyst to produce bio-ethanol, and the effect of pH on microbial growth and ethanol production was investigated. From the results of fermentation at various initial pH condition without pH control, pH of fermentation broth decreased to 4.5 within 24 h due to accumulation of by-product acetic acid and both microbial growth and ethanol production were stopped. The experimental result of initial pH 8 showed the highest microbial growth and ethanol production (0.53 g/L), since the pH drop was relatively slow. From the experiment of pH 7 maintained fermentation using pH controllable bioreactor, the maximum cell dry weight of 1.65 g/L and the maximum ethanol concentration of 1.43 g/L were obtained within 24 h. In conclusion, the C. ljungdahlii growth was enhanced by pH maintenance of neutral range, and the ethanol production was also enhanced based on the growth-associated ethanol production characteristics of C. ljungdahlii.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.31-40
• /
• 2014

The Korean government made the 2nd Energy Basic Plan to achieve 11% of new and renewable energies distribution rate until 2035 as a response to cope with international discussion about greenhouse gas emission reduction. Renewable energies include solar thermal, photovoltaic, bioenergy, wind power, small hydropower, geothermal energy, ocean energy, and waste energy. New energies contain fuel cells, coal gasification and liquefaction, and hydrogen. As public and private investment to enhance the distribution of new and renewable energies, it is necessary to clarify the economic effects of the new and renewable energies sector. To the end, this study attempts to apply an input-output analysis and analyze the economic effects of new and renewable energies sector using 2012 input-output table. Three topics are dealt with. First, production-inducing effect, value-added creation effect, and employment-inducing effect are quantified based on demand-driven model. Second, supply shortage effects are analyzed employing supply-driven model. Lastly, price pervasive effects are investigated applying Leontief price model. The results of this analysis are as follows. First, one won of production or investment in new and renewable energies sector induces 2.1776 won of production and 0.7080 won of value-added. Moreover, the employment-inducing effect of one billion won of production or investment in new and renewable energies sector is estimated to be 9.0337 persons. Second, production shortage cost from one won of supply failure in new and renewable energies sector is calculated to be 1.6314 won, which is not small. Third, the impact of the 10% increase in new and renewable energies rate on the general price level is computed to be 0.0123%, which is small. This information can be utilized in forecasting the economic effects of new and renewable energies sector.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.10
• /
• pp.1152-1160
• /
• 2017

A unicellular green alga was axenically isolated from a tidal pool on Ulleung-do, Korea. Morphological, molecular, and biochemical analyses revealed that the isolate belonged to Auxenochlorella protothecoides. The current study is the first record of this species in Korea. The microalgal strain was named as A. protothecoides MM0011 and its growth, lipid and pigment compositions, and biomass properties were investigated. The strain is able to thrive in a wide range of temperatures ($5{\sim}35^{\circ}C$) and to withstand up to 1.5 M NaCl. The results of GC/MS analysis showed that the isolate was rich in nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Its major fatty acids were linoleic acid (27.6%) and ${\alpha}-linolenic$ acid (39.6%). Thus, this indigenous microalga has potential as an alternative source of ${\omega}3$ and ${\omega}6$ PUFAs, which currently come from fish and plant oils. Also, the HPLC analysis revealed that the value-added antioxidant, lutein, was biosynthesized as the accessory pigments by the microalga. A proximate analysis showed that the volatile matter content was 85.6% and an ultimate analysis indicated that the gross calorific value was $20.3MJ\;kg^{-1}$. Since 40.5% of total nitrogen and 27.9% of total phosphorus were removed from the medium, respectively, it also has potential as a feedstock for biofuel applications which could be coupled to wastewater treatment. In addition, the biomass may also serve as an excellent animal feed because of its high protein content (51.4%). Therefore, A. protothecoides MM0011 shows promise for application in production of microalgae-based biochemicals and as a biomass feedstock.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.103-107
• /
• 2014

Acrylic acid is a commodity chemical which is applicable for various industries such as polymer and textile industry. Currently, it has been produced by chemical synthesis from petroleum. However, due to the high price of petroleum and global $CO_2$ emission, renewable materials such as sugar are interesting alternative carbon sources for the biological production of acrylic acid. For an economic production of acrylic acid from renewable carbon sources, a cost effective separation process for acrylic acid should be needed. In this study, reactive extraction by TOA (tri-n-octylamine) was used for the recovery of acrylic acid from its aqueous solutions. The effects of polarity of diluents and concentration of TOA on extraction equilibrium were investigated. The extraction efficiency was proportional to concentration of TOA and polarity of diluents and its value was more than 95% in the case of sufficient concentration of TOA. From IR spectroscopy, it was concluded that the ratio of (1,1) acid-amine complex was increased and the ratio of acid dimer was decreased with concentration of TOA. Equilibrium model based on IR spectroscopy was well fitted with experimental data.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2015.08a
• /
• pp.97-97
• /
• 2015

전 세계적으로 화석연료의 고갈 및 환경오염 문제를 해결하기 위해 신재생에너지에 대한 관심이 급증하고 있다. 이러한 신재생에너지에는 수소 에너지, 자연 에너지(태양열, 지열 등), 바이오 매스 에너지 등이 포함된다. 이 중 수소 에너지는 지구상에 풍부하게 존재하고 있는 물과 탄화수소로부터 얻어지며, 연소 시에도 다시 물을 형성하여 오염 물질을 배출하지 않는 차세대 무공해 에너지원으로써 주목을 받고 있다. 수소 제조를 위한 공정에는 수증기 개질 공정(steam reforming), 부분 산화(partial oxidation) 및 자열개질(autothermal reforming) 등이 있으며 실제로 생산되는 대부분의 수소는 탄소/수소비(1:4)가 높은 메탄($CH_4$) 가스를 이용한 메탄 수증기 개질 공정(steam methane reforming)을 통하여 제조된다. 이 때 수소 제조의 고효율화 및 저비용화를 위해서는 반응물에 대한 높은 선택도, 고활성도 및 높은 안정성을 갖는 촉매가 반드시 필요하며, 대표적으로 Ni, Pt, Ru 등이 보고되고 있다. 이러한 촉매들은 대부분 세라믹 pellet 형태로 제작되어 왔으나 열전도도가 낮고 물리적 충격에 취약하다는 단점이 존재한다. 따라서 우리는 이러한 단점을 극복하고, 촉매의 활성을 높이기 위하여 다공성 금속 합금 폼을 촉매 지지체로 도입하였다. 또한, 다공성 금속 합금 폼 표면에 촉매의 분산 및 안정성을 향상시키기 위해 지지체와 촉매 사이에 원자층 증착법을 이용하여 inter-layer를 도입하였다. 이들의 구조, 형태, 및 표면의 화학적 상태는 주사전자현미경, EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy)가 탑재된 주사전자현미경, X-선 회절, 및 X-선 광전자 분광법을 이용하여 규명하였다. 더하여 정전압-전류 측정법 및 유도 결합 플라즈마 분광 분석기을 이용하여 전기 화학 반응을 유도하고, 반응 후 전해질의 성분분석을 통해 촉매와 지지체 간의 안정성을 평가하였다. 따라서 본 결과들은 한국진공학회 하계정기학술대회를 통해 좀 더 자세히 논의될 것이다.