• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.453-459
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• 2007

This study is for investigation of indoor conditions with air contamination after occupation 120 households in brand-new apartments by measuring the concentration of VOCs and carbonyl compounds. It has been found that TVOC (total volatile organic compounds; TVOCs) were $688.61{\mu}g/m^3$ after moving in. And formaldehyde, toluene, m, p-xylene, acetone and ethylbenzene were $158.56{\mu}g/m^3$, $146.58{\mu}g/m^3$, $69.28{\mu}g/m^3$, $63.80{\mu}g/m^3$ and $29.65{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. The mean concentrations of indoor air pollutants tend to decrease along an increase dwelling period. But, the mean concentration of d-limonene increased from 2 months to 10 months. Also, toluene, ethylbenzene, m, p, o-xylene amounted to 38.8 % among VOCs studied, this ratio tend to decrease along with and increased dwelling period.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.47-54
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• 2007

The partitioning tracer method has been studied as an alternative method for detecting and characterizing the distribution of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) contaminants in subsurface. The reliability of the partitioning tracer method depends on accurate measurements of partition coefficients of the partitioning tracers between water and NAPLs. In this study, partition coefficients of several alcohol tracers between water and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and BTEX mixtures are estimated using the modified approach of equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN). Agreements between the measured and estimated partition coefficients were generally observed in experiments. Based on these results, it is confirmed that the partition coefficients of tracers are readily obtained without experiments if the EACN values for the tracers and LNAPLs are known.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.243-247
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• 2009

The usage of ethanol (EtOH)-blended gasoline (gasohol), has been increasing in recent years. EtOH has influence on the distribution and biodegradation of aromatic compounds such as BTEX (benzene (B), toluene (T), ethylbenzene (B), and xylene (X)) that are gasoline compositions. In this study, the effect of EtOH on the aerobic biodegradation of B, T and E was investigated using a BTEX and EtOH-degrading bacterium, Rhodococcus sp. EH831. The degradation rates of B in the conditions of 1:1, 1:4, and 1:0.25 mixtures with EtOH (B:EtOH, mol:mol) were ranged from $3.82{\pm}0.20$ to $5.00{\pm}0.37{\mu}mol{\cdot}g-dry$ cell wight $(DCW)^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$. The degradation rate of T was the fastest in the 1:0.25 mixture ($6.63{\pm}0.06{\mu}mol{\cdot}g-DCW^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$), and it was the lowest in the 1:4 mixture ($4.41{\pm}0.04{\mu}mol{\cdot}DCW^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$). The degradation rates of E were increased with increasing the addition amount of EtOH: The degradation rate of E was the highest in the 1:4 mixture ($1.60{\pm}0.03{\mu}mol{\cdot}g-DCW^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$), and the rates were $1.42{\pm}0.06$, $1.30{\pm}0.01$, and $1.01{\pm}0.30{\mu}mol{\cdot}g-DCW^{-1}{\cdot}h^{-1}$ in the 1:1, 1:0.25, 1.0 mixtures, respectively. In conclusion, the biodegradation of B, T, E by Rhodococcus sp. EH831 was not significantly inhibited by the co-existence of EtOH.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.85-96
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• 1999

Biofiltration is an attractive technique for elimination of VOCs and odorous compounds from low-concentration, high-volume waste gas streams because of its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. The objective of this study was to estimate the removal characteristics of Odorous Compounds including $H_2$S, $NH_3$End BTEX in MSW landfill gases. This Study was conducted at Nanjido landfill site. A compost from the Nanjido composting facility was used as a filling material for biofiltration. Extracted landfill gases were injected into biofilter reactors after mixing with air. Experiments were performed in an incubator being set to $20^{\circ}C$ $H_2$S concentrations were monitored at the depths of 25, 50, 75 and 100cm from the bottom Of the biofilter reactors. 98% of $H_2$S was removed at the filling depth of only 25cm. NH$_3$removal rate was about 85%. Toluene removal rate was the highest among BTEX. Significant pH drop of a filling material was not observed during the biofilter operation of 1 month. Without mixing the landfill gas stream with all, the removal rate of $H_2$S decreased down to 30%.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.35-44
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• 2002

In order to determine the contamination of the aromatic hydrocarbons in soil, a fiber-optic sensing technique with fluorescence detector has been proposed. Previous researches have shown that the optimal condition for detecting benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX) was 260 nm /290 nm (excitation/emission wavelength). However, broader fluorescence spectra of BTEX-polluted soil sample ranging from 300 nm to 600 nm were observed. Additionally, the intensity of fluorescence increased with increasing BTEX concentration, which was conspicuous in the fine-particle soil, The overall results indicated that the suggested technique could be useful for in-situ monitoring system for subsurface oil-storage tank.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.263-268
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• 2017

The significance of maintaining the soil environment is gradually increasing owing to soil and underground water contamination by petroleum leak accidents. However, the purification of soil is an expensive and more time-consuming process than the purification of contaminated water and air. Moreover, determining the source and people responsible for soil pollution gets often embroiled in legal conflicts, further delaying the cleanup process of the contaminate site. Generally, TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) pattern analysis is used to determine the petroleum species and polluter responsible for soil contamination. However, this process has limited application for petroleum products with a similar TPH pattern. In this study, we analyze the TPH pattern and specific sectional ratio (${\sim}C_{10}$, $C_{10}-C_{12}$, $C_{12}-C_{36}$, and $C_{36}{\sim}$) of various domestic petroleum products to identify the petroleum product responsible for soil contamination. Also, we perform BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene) quantitative analysis and determine B:T:E:X ratio using GC-MS. The results show that gasoline grade 1 and 2 have a similar TPH pattern but different BTEX values and ratios. This means that BTEX analysis can be used as a new method to purify soil pollution. This complementary TPH and BTEX method proposed in this study can be used to identify the petroleum species and polluters present in the contaminated soil.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.784-790
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• 2010

VOCs such as acetone, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene were adsorbed in a fixed-bed adsorber using zeolite synthesized from coal fly ash and 4 kinds of activated carbon at 101.3 kPa. The adsorber was operated batchwise with the charge of 5 g adsorbent to obtain the breakthrough curve of VOCs. Experiments were carried out at $40^{\circ}C$, nitrogen flow rate of $70cm^3/min$ and sparger temperature of $30^{\circ}C$. The deactivation model was tested for these curves by combining the adsorption of VOCs and the deactivation of adsorbent particles. The observed values of the adsorption rate constant and the deactivation rate constant were evaluated through analysis of the experimental breakthrough data using a nonlinear least square technique. The experimental breakthrough data were fitted very well to the deactivation model than the adsorption isotherm models in the literature. Also, adsorption capacities of adsorbents were obtained from the breakthrough curve to observe the correlation between adsorption capacity and the physical properties of VOCs.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.325-334
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• 2009

Many bacteria that are capable to tolerate and degrade organic solvents have been isolated from seawater. However, their roles in the biodegradation of organic solvents in the marine environment have remained unknown. Aeromonas hydrophila IB$B_{ct4}$, isolated from Constanta seawater, was able to tolerate and degrade different organic solvents. Toluene, styrene, xylene isomers, ethylbenzene, with the logarithm of the partition coefficient in octanol-water mixture (log $P_{ow}$) between 2.64 and 3.17, were more toxic for bacterial cells, compared with propylbenzene, n-hexane, n-heptane, with log $P_{ow}$ between 3.69 and 4.39. There were revealed cellular and molecular modifications induced by organic solvents to Aeromonas hydrophila IB$B_{ct4}$. The study of cellular and molecular modifications induced by different organic solvents showed a complex response of bacterial cells to the presence of organic solvents in the culture media.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.291-295
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• 2011

A bake-out process using auto switchgear for five days was performed to evaluate the reduction effect of the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde in a newly-built elementary school gymnasium. Reduction rates of VOCs were observed as followings: 38.2, 64.2, 86.3, 80.2, and 71.5% for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and styrene, respectively, which satisfies the indoor air quality standards of newly-built apartment houses in Korea. The reduction rate of total VOCs and formaldehyde were 67.0 and 24.7%, respectively. Those results proved that the bake-out process using auto switchgear was effective for reducing indoor air pollutants.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.843-848
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• 1996

Porous resin beads of Poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) have been prepared by suspension polymerization. The bead could be made porous in the region above 30wt% of the crosslinking agent(divinylbenzene ) and the porogenic agent(toluene), respectively. The specific surface area of porous beads increased with increasing the concentrations of divinylbenzene and toluene. The specific surface area of the porous resin bead decreased, when sulfonated with concentrated sulfuric acid. The catalytic activity of sulfonated resin catalyses increased with increasing the degree of crosslinking in the liquid-phase reesterification of ethyl acetate with 1-propanol. The adsorbed quantity of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate in an aqueous solution also increased with increasing surface area of porous resins.