• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.61-69
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• 2005

Changes in pyrene binding by dissolved and kaolinite-associated humic substances (HS) due to HS adsorptive fractionation processes were examined using purified Aldrich humic acid (PAHA) at different pH (4, 7 and 9). Irrespective of solution pH, molecular weight (MW) fractionation occurred upon adsorption of PAHA onto kaolinite, resulting in the deviation of residual PAHA MW from the original MW prior to sorption. Variation in $K_{OC}$ by bulk PAHA was observed at different pH due to relative contributions of partitioning and size exclusion effects (i.e., specific interactions). For all pH conditions investigated, carbon-normalized pyrene binding coefficients for nonadsorbed, residual fractions $(K_{OC}(res))$ were different from the original dissolved PAHA $K_{OC}$ value $(K_{OC}(orig))$ prior to contact with the kaolinite suspensions. Positive correlations between pyrene $(K_{OC}(res))$ and weight-average molecular weight $(MW_W)$ for residual PAHA fractions were observed for pH 7 and 9. However, such a positive correlation was not found at pH 4 due to the absence of the dramatic fractionation observed for high pH conditions (i.e., exclusive fractionation with respect to higher MW), suggesting that actual MW distribution pattern is more important for sorption-fractionated HS than the composite MW value. For adsorbed PAHA, conformational changes of PAHA upon adsorption seem to be important for the extent of pyrene binding. At relatively high pH (7 and 9), lower extent of pyrene binding was observed for adsorbed PAHA versus nonadsorbed PAHA. The conformation effects were more pronounced at higher pH.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.722-730
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• 2020

As one of the most serious health risk factors, air pollution can no longer be ignored. Particulate matter (PM) is an important and harmful component of air pollution that originates from a variety of sources. Numerous recent studies have linked PM to a range of conditions including cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, and skin disease. The eye, despite being directly exposed to air pollution, has been investigated in very few of these studies. In this review, we describe the evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies, as well as epidemiological investigations, that supports the association between exposure to PM and the development of ocular conditions such as surface and retinal disease and glaucoma. Based on the results of previous studies, we suggest that PM exposure can lead to oxidative stress, inflammation, autophagy, and, ultimately, ocular surface disease. Nevertheless, almost no studies focus on ocular surface damage from PM while some epidemiological and clinical studies report on the posterior of the eye. However, the underlying pathological mechanisms in the posterior following PM exposure have yet to be identified, and further studies are therefore warranted of the ocular surface as well as the posterior part of the eye.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.325-343
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• 2023

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have been attracting attention as energy conversion devices that can directly supply methanol liquid fuel without a fuel reforming process. The commercial polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) currently applied to DMFC are perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer-based PEMs, which exhibit high proton conductivity and physicochemical stability during the operation. However, problems such as high methanol permeability and environmental pollutants generated during decomposition require the development of PEMs for DMFCs using novel ionomers. Recently, studies have been reported to develop PEMs using hydrocarbon-based ionomers that exhibit low fuel permeability and high physicochemical stability. This review introduces the following studies on hydrocarbon-based PEMs for DMFC applications: 1) synthesis of grafting copolymers that exhibit distinct hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase-separated structure to improve both proton conductivity and methanol selectivity, 2) introduction of cross-linked structure during PEM fabrication to reduce the methanol permeability and improve dimensional stability, and 3) incorporation of organic/inorganic composites or reinforcing substrates to develop reinforced composite membranes showing improved PEM performances and durability.

• Clean Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.61-72
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• 2004

In this study, aqueous/semi-aqueous cleaning agents which consist of organic solvent, surfactant, cosurfactant, and water were developed by changing formulation parameters such as organic solvent type and contents, surfactant type and contents, and cosurfactant/surfactant(A/S) ratio, etc.. And physical properties and flux removal of the formulated cleaning agents have been evaluated. Also, the performance of oil-water separation from the rinse water contaminated during the cleaning process was evaluated for its recycling. The formulated cleaning agents in this work expected to have good penetration because of their low viscosity and low surface tension values of 30.2~32.5 dyne/cm. The flux removal with the terpene type cleaning agent was higher than that with hydrocarbon type cleaning agent and two commercial products (CPA(commercial product A), CPB(commercial product B)). And the performance of oil-water separation by gravity settling from the rinse water contaminated with formulated cleaning agent and soils was shown to be very good. The cleaning agents developed in this work were applied to surface mounting technology(SMT) cleaning process for manufacturing electronic parts at L electronic company. As a result, the newly developed cleaning agents showed two times better cleaning speed for removal of solder cream than the conventional ond containing ethanol and IPA(isopropyl alcohol). In addition, malodor and VOC problems generated by the previous organic cleaning agents have been solved in the manufacturing field through introduction of the non-volatile and environmental-friendly cleaning agents to the field.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.406-413
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• 2012

Effect of three additives, chitosan, ferric chloride, and MPE50 on membrane fouling reduction was studied. They were introduced with various dosing rate into activated sludge, and changes in filtration resistance measured by the batch cell filtration test were evaluated. Both the filtration resistance and the specific cake resistance were minimized at 20 mg/g-MLSS with chitosan, 70 mg/g-MLSS with ferric chloride, and 20 mg/g-MLSS with MPE50 addition, respectively. Introduction of the additives into the activated sludge resulted in reduction of not only cake resistance, but also fouling resistance. However, the chitosan addition to three different activated sludge resulted in three different optimal dose of 10, 20, 30 mg/g-MLSS, respectively. This implies that the optimal dose is dependent on sludge characteristics rather than a constant value. Overdose above the optimal dosage always aggravated filterability in all cases. Zeta potential of sludge flocs, relative hydrophobicity, floc size distribution, soluble EPS concentration and supernatant turbidity were measured in order to analyze fouling reduction mechanism. Nearly neutral surface charge along with the largest particle size was observed at the optimal dose. This could be explained by particle destabilization and restabilization mechanism as positively charged additives were injected into sludge flocs of negative surface charge. Both soluble EPS concentration and supernatant turbidity also showed the lowest value at the optimal dose. These foulants are believed to be coagulated and entrapped in sludge flocs during flocculation. Chitosan and MPE50 which are cationic polymeric substances showed higher reduction in both soluble EPS and fine particles comparing with ferric chloride.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 1997

Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effects of pH and salt level on the soil sorption equilibrium of pentachlorophenol (PCP) which is hydrophobic and ionogenic. Experimental results indicated that the sorption equilibrium constant (Kp) of PCP increased with decreasing pH. A quantitative sorption model involving linear isotherms was estabilished to predict the pH effect on the PCP sorption equilibrium over the pH range from 3 to 8. The model prediction was in good agreement with the experimental data. Also, the Kp increased with salt concentration over the entire pH range. At added salt levels less than 0.1M, increase in Kp was larger than when the added levels were higher than 0.1M. Salt might increase the PCP sorption by inducing 'salting out-effect' or by forming deprotonated PCP-cation ion pairs such as PCP$\^$-/K$\^$＋/. Taking the pH range (5-8) and the salt content (up to 50 g/L) in the groundwater of Metropolitan landfill sites into consideration, the results indicated that the retardation factor of PCP in this area might range from 3 to 550 depending upon pH and salt content.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.153-164
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• 1999

The solubilization of BTEX was evaluated in aqueous surfactant solutions with and without several additives. Anionic surfactant(Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate, SDS) and nonionic surfactants (NEODOL(equation omitted)25-3 and $SOFTANOL\circledR-90$ were used as test surfactants. The effects of surfactant HLB(Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance) Number and hydrocarbon molar volume and polarity of BTEX on the MSR(Molar Solubilization Ratio), micelle-water partition coefficient of BTEX, and CMC(C,itical Micelle Concentration) were investigated. Optimizing treatment conditions applicable to enhanced solubilization was also studied by manupulating salinity or electrolyte control with additives of ethyl alcohol, hydrotrope, and electrolyte solution. The most effective surfactant for solubilization was found $SOFTANOL\circledR-90$, since HLB number of 13.6 is similar to those values of BTEX ranging between 11.4 and 12.2, which was also proved experimentally. Ethyl alchohol of 3% was the most effective additives in reducing CMC and improving solubilization among the conditions using SDS, NEODOL(equation omitted)25-3, and $SOFTANOL\circledR-90$ with three additives. The partitioning of BTEX between surfactant micelles and aqueous solutions was characterized by a mole fraction micelle-phase/aqueous phase partion coefficient, $K_m$. Values of log $K_m$. for BTEX compounds in surfactant solutions of this study range from 2.95 to 3.76(100mM SDS) and 2.95 to 3.49(117mM $SOFTANOL\circledR-90$. Log $K_m$ appears to be a linear function of log $K_{ow}$ for SDS and $SOFTANOL\circledR-90$. A knowledge of partitioning of BTEX in aqueous surfactant system can be a prerequisite for the understanding of the behavior of hydrophobic organic compounds in soil-water systems in which surfactants play a role in remediation of contaminated soil and facilitated transport.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.188-202
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• 2022

In the insect industry, as the scope of application of insects is expanded from pet insects and natural enemies to feed, edible and medicinal insects, the demand for quality control of insect raw materials is increasing, and interest in securing the safety of insect products is increasing. In the process of expanding the industrial scale, controlling the temperature and humidity and air quality in the insect breeding room and preventing the spread of pathogens and other pollutants are important success factors. It requires a controlled environment under the operating system. European commercial insect breeding facilities have attracted considerable investor interest, and insect companies are building large-scale production facilities, which became possible after the EU approved the use of insect protein as feedstock for fish farming in July 2017. Other fields, such as food and medicine, have also accelerated the application of cutting-edge technology. In the future, the global insect industry will purchase eggs or small larvae from suppliers and a system that focuses on the larval fattening, i.e., production raw material, until the insects mature, and a system that handles the entire production process from egg laying, harvesting, and initial pre-treatment of larvae., increasingly subdivided into large-scale production systems that cover all stages of insect larvae production and further processing steps such as milling, fat removal and protein or fat fractionation. In Korea, research and development of insect smart factory farms using artificial intelligence and ICT is accelerating, so insects can be used as carbon-free materials in secondary industries such as natural plastics or natural molding materials as well as existing feed and food. A Korean-style customized breeding system for shortening the breeding period or enhancing functionality is expected to be developed soon.