• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.1
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• pp.55-65
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• 2009

Annex I parties continued its consideration of how to address, the definitions, modalities, rules and guidelines for the treatment of Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol by the year of 2009. In the AWG-KP conference held in Accra, Ghana in 2008, four alternatives (gross-net carbon accounting, net-net with base year or base period accounting, net-net with forward looking baseline accounting, and land-based accounting method) for negotiations were decided in order to revise gross-net accounting method applied during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. In this study, alternative scenarios are set in consideration with reporting system (voluntary or compulsory), discount factors and cap about these three alternatives except for the method of net-net with forward looking baseline accounting, and then estimates the Removal Unit (RMU) among the countries. In the case that article 3.4 activities under the Kyoto Protocol revises from voluntary reporting to mandatory reporting, it is estimated that the loss of RMU would be huge in Russia, Australia, New Zealand, as well as Canada potentially. Net-net with base year or base period carbon accounting and land-based carbon accounting method have big difference of RMU in accordance with the base year or the base period. So the more unfavorable the country with a lot of old-age forests was, the closer the base year or period comes to the commitment period in the context of RMU. If it is getting lowered for the current rate of 85% in discount factors, RMU is getting higher to the whole countries. Therefore in Korea with little potential for afforestation and reforestation, there was the most sensitive response to the change of discount factors. Post-2012 LULUCF hereafter, it is strongly expected for the succession of current carbon accounting system which is voluntary reporting of gross-net carbon accounting and the activity for article 3.4. Other carbon accounting method is hard to accept in aspect that there is big differentiated interests among the countries and it is required enormous cost and time to develop reliable method. Provide for Post-2012 mandatory greenhouse gas reduction, Korea needs to have a competitive negotiation strategies differentiated from Annex I countries. The most reliable alternative would be to lower the discounting factors about the activities for forest management.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.324-332
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• 2019

Most countries including Korea and Indonesia have strong policy for implementing biofuels like biodiesel. Shortage of the oil feedstock is the main barrier for increasing the supply of biodiesel fuel. In this study, in order to improve the stability of feedstock supply and lower the biodiesel production cost, the feasibility of biodiesel production using two types of Indonesian tropical crop oils, pressed at different harvesting times, were investigated. R. Trisperma oils, a high productive non-edible feedstocks, were investigated to produce biodiesel by esterification and transesterification because of it's high impurity and free fatty acid contents. the kindly provided oils from Indonesia were required to perform the filtering and water removal process to increase the efficiency of the esterificaton and transesterification reactions. The esterification used heterogeneous acid catalyst, Amberlyst-15. Before the reaction, the acid value of two types oil were 41, 17 mg KOH/g respectively. After the pre-esterification reaction, the acid value of oils were 3.7, 1.8 mg KOH/g respectively, the conversions were about 90%. Free fatty acid content was reduced to below 2%. Afterwards, the transesterification was performed using KOH as the base catalyst for transesterification. The prepared biodiesel showed about 93% of FAME content, and the total glycerol content was 0.43%. It did not meet the quality specification(FAME 96.5% and Total glycerol 0.24%) since the tested oils were identified to have a uncommon fatty acid, generally not found in vegetable oils, ${\alpha}$-eleostearic acid with much contents of 10.7~33.4%. So, it is required to perform the further research on reaction optimization and product purification to meet the fuel quality standards. So if the biodiesel production technology using un-utilized non-edible feedstock oils is successfully developed, stable supply of the feedstock for biodiesel production may be possible in the future.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.129-142
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• 2022

In the past, interest in air pollution was concentrated on greenhouse gases, but in recent years, interest in fine dust has been increasing. The media and environmental organizations continue to emphasize air pollution caused by fine dust. The awareness of fine dust is increasing, and air pollution generated at ports is analyzed to be serious as a domestic factor excluding foreign inflows. Recognizing this, in order to reduce air pollution generated at ports, special laws on improving air quality, such as port areas, have been enacted in Korea, and attempts are being made to curb air pollution caused by ports. In this law, it is a policy that regulates air pollutants generated not only by ships but also throughout ports such as vehicles and unloading machines, and representative are ECA, VSR, and AMP. This study attempted to analyze the effects of these eco-friendly policies at Incheon Port. First of all, a study was conducted to calculate emissions assuming that there was no policy, analyze each policy, and finally calculate and compare actual emissions reflecting all policies. The methodology presented by the European Environmental Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was used, and pollutants to be analyzed were analyzed for sulfur oxides (SO_X), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_X), total floating substances (TSP), fine dust and ultrafine dust (PM₁₀, PM_2.5) and ammonia (NH₃). As a result of the analysis, it was analyzed that the actual emission reflecting all policies was about 4,097 tons/year, which had an emission reduction effect of about 760 tons/year compared to about 4,857 tons/year when the policy was not reflected. When the effects of each policy were analyzed individually, it was found that ECA 4,111 tons/year, VSR 4,854 tons/year, and AMP 4,843 tons of air pollutant emissions occurred The results of this study can be used as basic data and evidence for policy establishment related to the atmospheric environment at Incheon Port.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.303-317
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• 2022

Climate change caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions can alter the natural ecosystem, including the pollination ecosystem and agricultural ecology, which are ecological interactions between potted insects and plants. Many studies have reported that populations of wild bees, including bees and wasps (BW), which are the key pollinators, have gradually declined due to climate change, leading to adverse impacts on overall biodiversity, ultimately with agribusinesses and the life cycle of flowering plants. Therefore, we could infer that the rising temperature in Korean Peninsula (South Korea) due to global warming has led to climate change and influenced the wild bee's ecosystem. In this study, we surveyed the distributional pattern of BW (Superfamily: Apoidea, Vespoidea, and Chrysidoidea) at 51 sites from 2017 (37 sites) to 2018 (14 sites) to examine the effects of climatic factors on the nationwide distribution of BW in South Korea. Previous literature has confirmed that their distribution according to forest climate zones is significantly correlated with mean and accumulative temperatures. Based on the result, we predicted the effects of future climate changes on the BW distribution that appeared throughout South Korea and the species that appeared in specific climate zones using Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). The distributions of wild BW predicted by the SSP scenarios 2-4.5 and 5-8.5 according to the BIOMOD species distribution model revealed that common and endemic species will shift northward from the current habitat distribution by 2050 and 2100, respectively. Our study implies that climate change and its detrimental effect on the ecosystem is ongoing as the BW distribution in South Korea can change, causing the change in the ecosystem in the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, immediate efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions are warranted. We hope the findings of this study can inspire further research on the effects of climate change on pollination services and serve as the reference for making agricultural policy and BW conservation strategy

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Demand for energy consumption reduction is increasing according to the development expectations of future mobility. Lightweight structural materials are known as a method to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency. In particular, fiber reinforced polymer composite (FRP) is attracting attention as a material that can replace existing metal alloys due to its excellent mechanical properties and light weight. In this paper, industrial applications and research trends of carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRP, carbon FRP) and self-reinforced composites (SRC) were reviewed based on the reinforcement, polymer matrix, and manufacturing process. In order to overcome the expensive process cost and long manufacturing time of the epoxy resin-based autoclave method, which is mainly used in the aircraft field, mass production of CFRP-applied electric vehicles has been reported using a high-pressure resin transfer molding process including fast-curing epoxy. In addition, thermoplastic resin-based CFRP and interface enhancement methods to solve the recycling issue of carbon fiber composites were reviewed in terms of materials and processes. To form a perfect matrix-reinforcement interface, which is known as the major factor inducing the excellent mechanical properties of FRP, studies on SRC impregnated with the same matrix in polymer fibers have been reported. The physical and mechanical properties of SRC based on various thermoplastic polymers were reviewed in terms of polymer orientation and composite structure. In addition, a copolymer matrix strategy for extending the processing window of highly drawn polypropylene fiber-based SRC was discussed. The application of CFRP and SRC as lightweight structural materials can provide potential options for improving the energy efficiency of future mobility.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.79-105
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• 2023

Due to unprecedented extreme weather events such as global warming and climate change, many parts of the world suffer from severe pain, and economic losses are also snowballing. In order to address these problems, 'The Paris Agreement' was signed in 2016, and an intergovernmental consultative body was formed to keep the average temperature rise of the Earth below 1.5℃. Korea also declared 'Carbon Neutrality in 2050' to prevent climate catastrophe. In particular, it was found that the increase in temperature caused by greenhouse gas emissions hurts the environment and society as a whole, as well as the export-dependent economy of Korea. In addition, as the diversification of transportation types is accelerating, the change in means of choice is also increasing. As the development paradigm in the low-growth era changes to urban regeneration, interest in idle railway sites is rising due to reduced demand for routes, improvement of alignment, and relocation of urban railways. Meanwhile, it is possible to partially achieve the solar power generation goal of 'Renewable Energy 3020' by utilizing already developed but idle railway sites and take advantage of being free from environmental damage and resident acceptance issues surrounding the location; but the actual use and plan for these solar power facilities are still lacking. Therefore, in this study, using the big data provided by the Korea National Railway and the Renewable Energy Cloud Platform, we develop an algorithm to discover and analyze suitable idle sites where solar power generation facilities can be installed and identify potentially applicable areas considering conditions desired by users. By searching and deriving these idle but relevant sites, it is intended to devise a plan to save enormous costs for facilities or expansion in the early stages of development. This study uses various cluster analyses to develop an optimal algorithm that can derive solar power plant locations on idle railway sites and, as a result, suggests 202 'actively recommended areas.' These results would help decision-makers make rational decisions from the viewpoint of simultaneously considering the economy and the environment.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.993-1003
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• 2023

Due to the increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the global mean temperature has risen by 1.1℃ compared to pre-industrial levels, and significant changes are expected in functioning of water supply systems. In this study, we assessed impacts of climate change and instreamflow management on water supply reliability in the Geum River basin, Korea. We proposed univariate climate response functions, where mean precipitation and potential evaporation were coupled as an explanatory variable, to assess impacts of climate stress on multiple water supply reliabilities. To this end, natural streamflows were generated in the 19 sub-basins with the conceptual GR6J model. Then, the simulated streamflows were input into the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model. The dynamic optimization by WEAP allowed us to assess water supply reliability against the 2020 water demand projections. Results showed that when minimizing the water shortage of the entire river basin under the 1991-2020 climate, water supply reliability was lowest in the Bocheongcheon among the sub-basins. In a scenario where the priority of instreamflow maintenance is adjusted to be the same as municipal and industrial water use, water supply reliability in the Bocheongcheon, Chogang, and Nonsancheon sub-basins significantly decreased. The stress tests with 325 sets of climate perturbations showed that water supply reliability in the three sub-basins considerably decreased under all the climate stresses, while the sub-basins connected to large infrastructures did not change significantly. When using the 2021-2050 climate projections with the stress test results, water supply reliability in the Geum River basin was expected to generally improve, but if the priority of instreamflow maintenance is increased, water shortage is expected to worsen in geographically isolated sub-basins. Here, we suggest that the climate response function can be established by a single explanatory variable to assess climate change impacts of many sub-basin's performance simultaneously.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.3-49
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• 2014

Growing interest of stakeholders on corporate responsibilities for environment and tightening environmental regulations are highlighting the importance of environmental management more than ever. However, companies' awareness of the importance of environment is still falling behind, and related academic works have not shown consistent conclusions on the relationship between environmental performance and economic performance. One of the reasons is different ways of measuring these two performances. The evaluation scope of economic performance is relatively narrow and the performance can be measured by a unified unit such as price, while the scope of environmental performance is diverse and a wide range of units are used for measuring environmental performances instead of using a single unified unit. Therefore, the results of works can be different depending on the performance indicators selected. In order to resolve this problem, generalized and standardized performance indicators should be developed. In particular, the performance indicators should be able to cover the concepts of both environmental and economic performances because the recent idea of environmental management has expanded to encompass the concept of sustainability. Another reason is that most of the current researches tend to focus on the motive of environmental investments and environmental performance, and do not offer a guideline for an effective implementation strategy for environmental management. For example, a process improvement strategy or a market discrimination strategy can be deployed through comparing the environment competitiveness among the companies in the same or similar industries, so that a virtuous cyclical relationship between environmental and economic performances can be secured. A novel method for measuring eco-efficiency by utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is able to combine multiple environmental and economic performances, is proposed in this report. Based on the eco-efficiencies, the environmental competitiveness is analyzed and the optimal combination of inputs and outputs are recommended for improving the eco-efficiencies of inefficient firms. Furthermore, the panel analysis is applied to the causal relationship between eco-efficiency and economic performance, and the pooled regression model is used to investigate the relationship between eco-efficiency and economic performance. The four-year eco-efficiencies between 2010 and 2013 of 23 companies are obtained from the DEA analysis; a comparison of efficiencies among 23 companies is carried out in terms of technical efficiency(TE), pure technical efficiency(PTE) and scale efficiency(SE), and then a set of recommendations for optimal combination of inputs and outputs are suggested for the inefficient companies. Furthermore, the experimental results with the panel analysis have demonstrated the causality from eco-efficiency to economic performance. The results of the pooled regression have shown that eco-efficiency positively affect financial perform ances(ROA and ROS) of the companies, as well as firm values(Tobin Q, stock price, and stock returns). This report proposes a novel approach for generating standardized performance indicators obtained from multiple environmental and economic performances, so that it is able to enhance the generality of relevant researches and provide a deep insight into the sustainability of environmental management. Furthermore, using efficiency indicators obtained from the DEA model, the cause of change in eco-efficiency can be investigated and an effective strategy for environmental management can be suggested. Finally, this report can be a motive for environmental management by providing empirical evidence that environmental investments can improve economic performance.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.283-291
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• 2009

Methyl Bromide that was used as fumigation gas turned out to be the substance of destroying the ozone layer. For that reason, at the Montreal Protocol in 1987 the use of methyl bromide was forbidden starting 2005 in the advanced country. Also according to the 2007 Bali Protocolly methyl bromide is expected to be forbidden and therefore the purpose of this study is to find out the effects of substitution fumigation gas (Ethylene Oxide+HFC 134a, Methyl Iodide, Cyanogen and Argon) on the metal(silver, copper and iron), wood(oregon pine), pigment(yellow, red, blue, white and black), textile(hemp, ramie, jute, silk1 and silk2 / indigo, safflower and cork) and paper. After the fumigation test, ethylene oxide+HFC 134a did not have changes in the weight and color of the material itself before and after the experiment. On exterior alteration, color change occurred partly on paper and metal. Also, in most materials color change extent was 0.5 to 1.5 on the average and showed scanty difference. The materials after the fumigation test with methyl iodide did not show weight changes after the test. However, color changes more than 1.0 was shown in most of the materials especially in dyed textile material. In blue pigment, the discoloration on the surface could be seen by naked eyes. Fumigation test with cyanogen gas did not show weight changes and discoloration is more than 1.5 before and after the test. The weight changes of test materials with the argon gas was decreased about 3 to 6%. It can be observed that discoloration on paper was generated. Color changes can be seen on jute dyed with safflower and cork for two weeks with argon gas and the extent was 6.3 and 6.0.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.24-35
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• 2023

Recently, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport presented the '6th Construction Technology Promotion Basic Plan' and 'Smart Construction Revitalization Plan (2022.7.20)'. Off-Site Construction (OSC), which involves construction and production of PC (Precast Concrete) and Modular, etc., has advantages in shortening the construction period, reducing costs, improving quality, reducing construction waste, and reducing safety accidents. However, the construction cost is high compared to the traditional RC construction method, which has hindered its utilization and spread. In this study, OSC utilization was improved. An economic analysis indicator and methodology that can support decision-making in the planning and design stages for multi-unit housing were proposed. The factors used in the economic analysis of OSC (based on the PC method) of apartment houses were reviewed. As for the indicators used in the cost and benefit section, 'Construction Period', 'Disaster Occurrence', 'Waste Generation', and 'Greenhouse gas Emission', which reflect the technical advantages of OSC, were derived. In addition, a scenario analysis was conducted based on actual apartment housing case data for the presented economic analysis indicators and benefit calculation standards. The level of benefit that offsets the difference between the existing RC construction method and the construction cost was reviewed. In future studies, it will be necessary to conduct additional case studies to apply the measurement criteria for detailed indicators and supplement the benefit indicators.