• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2007

The dynamic release behavior of Cs from high burn-up spent PWR fuel was experimentally performed under the conditions of a thermal treatment process such as voloxidation and sintering conditions. In voloxidation process, influence of the oxidation and reduction atmosphere on the Cs release characteristic using fragment type of spent fuel heated up to $1,500^{\circ}C$ was compared. In sintering process, temperature history effect on Cs release behavior was evaluated using green pellet under 4% $H_2/Ar$ environment. Temperature range for complete Cs release from spent fuel fragment under voloxidation condition was about $800^{\circ}C{\sim}1,200^{\circ}C$, but that of green pellet under the reduction atmosphere was $1,100^{\circ}C{\sim}1,400^{\circ}C$. Key parameters on Cs release behavior from spent fuel was powder formation as well as the diffusion rate of Cs compound to grain boundary and fuel surface.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

The rare earth oxide wastes consisting of major 8 nuclides Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd, are generated during the salt waste treatment of PyroGreen process. The final form of the rare earth is generated as the oxide state. In this study, six candidate glasses were developed to evaluate the feasibility for vitrifying the rare earth oxide wastes within the borosilicate glass system. The solubilities of the mixture of the rare earth oxide waste showed less than 25wt% at $1,200^{\circ}C$, less than 30wt% at $1,300^{\circ}C$, respectively. It means that solubility is increased with the temperature increment. The liquidus temperature of the homogeneous glass with 20wt% waste loading was determined as less than $950^{\circ}C$. In more than solubility of rare earth oxides glass, formation of rare earth-oxide-silicate crystal in glass-ceramic occurred as the secondary phase. As their viscosity at melting temperature $1,200{\sim}1,300^{\circ}C$ was less than 100 poise, electrical conductivity was higher than 1 S/cm, 20~25wt% waste loading glasses with good surface homogeneity are judged to have good operability in cold crucible induction melter. Other physicochemical properties of the developed glasses are going to be experimented in the future.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2006

In this study, an experimental study on the sorption properties of uranium(VI) onto a bentonite colloid generated from Gyeongju bentonite which is a potential buffer material in a high-level radioactive waste repository was performed as a function of the pH and the ionic strength. The bentonite colloid prepared by separating a colloidal fraction was mainly composed of montmorillonite. The concentration and the size fraction of the prepared bentonite colloid measured using a gravitational filtration method was about 5100 ppm and 200-450 nm in diameter, respectively. The amount of uranium removed by the sorption reaction bottle walls, by precipitation, and by ultrafiltration was analyzed by carrying out some blank tests. The removed amount of uranium was found not to be significant except the case of ultrafiltration at 0.001 M $NaClO_4$. The ultrafiltration was significant in the lower ionic strength of 0.001 M $NaClO_4$ due to the cationic sorption onto the ultrafilter by a surface charge reversion. The distribution coefficient $K_d$ (or pseudo-colloid formation constant) of uranium(VI) for the bentonite colloid was about $10^4{\sim}10^7mL/g$ depending upon pH and ionic strength of $NaClO_4$ and the $K_d$ was highest in the neutral pH around 6.5. It is noted that the sorption of uranium(VI) onto the bentonite colloid is closely related with aqueous species of uranium depending upon geochemical parameters such as pH, ionic strength, and carbonate concentration. As a consequence, the bentonite colloids generated from a bentonite buffer can mobilize the uranium(VI) as a colloidal form through geological media due to their high sorption capacity.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.307-313
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• 2006

In order to improve the efficiency of methane steam reforming process, a part of the system which produces hydrogen from heavy hydrocarbon resources such as coal, we combined metal catalyst with CaO sorbent and fabricated catalyst/sorbent. To increase the porosity and the compressive strength of sorbent, carbon black and ${\alpha}-alumina$ were mixed with CaO powder during preparation. The effects of sorbent composition on the physical properties were investigated by SEM, TGA, BET, XRD, abrasion strength measuring device and adsorption-desorption instrument. Sorbent with 5 wt％ $Al_2O_3$ and 10 wt％ carbon black showed the best physical features with $7.61kg_f$ strength and 47％ $CO_2$ adsorption capability. Various metal catalysts such as Ni, Co and Fe were supported on the sorbent developed and 10 wt％ Ni/sorbent was selected for methane steam reforming process based on the result of reaction experiment. The reaction system using the catalyst/sorbent showed better $H_2$ productivity compared to the detached system with catalyst and sorbent, indicating the effectiveness of the system developed in this study.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.495-502
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• 2005

Copper was plated on the tungsten substrate by use of a direct copper electroless plating. The optimum deposition conditions were found to be with a concentration of $CuSO_4$ 7.615 g/L, EDTA of 10.258 g/L, and glyoxylic acid of 7 g/L, respectively. The solution temperature was maintained at $60^{\circ}C$. The pH was varied from 11.0 to 12.8. After the deposition, the properties of the copper film were investigated with X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Field emission secondary electron microscope (FESEM), Atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), and Rutherford backscattering spectroscope (RBS). The best deposition condition was founded to be the solution pH of 11.8. In the case of 10 min deposition at the pH of 11.8, the grain shape was spherical, Cu phase was pure without impurity peak ($Cu_2O$ peak), and the surface root mean square roughness was about 11 nm. The thickness of the film turned out to be 140 nm after deposition for 12 min and the deposition rate was found to be about 12 nm/min. Increase in pH induced a formation of $Cu_2O$ phase with a long rectangular grain shape. The pH control seems to play an important role for the orientation of Cu in electroless deposition. The deposited copper concentration was 99 atomic percent according to RBS. The resulting Cu/W film yielded a good adhesive strength, because Cu/W alloy forms during electroless deposition.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.78-82
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• 2015

Hollow silica particles were prepared using sodium silicate and organic templates. Polystyrene latex (PSL) particles produced by dispersion polymerization were used as organic templates. PSL particles ranged from $1{\mu}m$ to $3{\mu}m$ in diameter were synthesized by adjusting the amount of 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). The PSL/$SiO_2$ core-shell particles were prepared by coating of silica nanoparticles originated from sodium silicate using sol-gel method. The organic templates were removed by the organic solvent, tetrahydrofuran (THF). Morphology of hollow silica particles was investigated with respect to types of the reaction medium and pH during the process. By changing the solvent from ethanol to water, hollow silica particles were successfully formed. Hollow silica particles with the uniform shell thickness were produced at low pH as well. The reflectivity of the as-prepared silica particles was measured in the range of the wavelength of UV and visible light. Hollow silica particles showed much better reflective properties than the commercial light reflector, Insuladd.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2012

Barium zirconate exhibits good thermo-chemical stability and proton conduction at high temperatures, but shows poor electron conductivity. Therefore, for high efficiency of hydrogen separation, a very thin and dense Pd-Barium zirconate membrane has to be coated on a porous substrate. A thin and dense Pd-Barium zirconate membrane was successfully synthesized on a porous substrate by means of dual sputtering method. The structural and chemical features of the $BaZr_{0.85}Y_{0.15}O_{3-{\delta}}$ membranes sputtered at $300^{\circ}C$ and $400^{\circ}C$ were investigated by X-ray diffractometry, and it was found that a well-crystallized membrane, Pm-3m space group of $BaZrO_3$, was synthesized. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of membrane were assessed by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and TEM(transmission electron microscopy) of the surface and of cross sections. The cross sectional observation of Pd-$BaZr_{0.85}Y_{0.15}O_{3-{\delta}}$ membrane by dual sputtering shows that the coating is quite dense with columnar structure.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.211-217
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• 2011

In this study, ion exchange membranes were prepared using high impact polystyrene(HIPS) with various crosslinking and sulfonation time. Degree of sulfonation(DS) of sulfonated HIPS(SHIPS) membrane was increased with sulfonation time and decreased with crosslinking time. The highest value of DS was 66%. Also, water uptake and ion exchange capacity(IEC) of SHIPS membrane were decreased with degree of crosslinking and increased with sulfonation time. Then their values were 35.2% and 1.55 meq/g, respectively. Electrical resistance and ion conductivity of the membranes were showed more excellent value with sulfonation time. The maximum value of electrical resistance and ion conductivity were $0.4\Omega{\cdot}cm^{2}$ and 0.1 S/cm, respectively. It is indicated that the SHIPS membrane has the higher performance compare with Nafion 117. Durability of SHIPS membranes in a organic solvent was increased with increasing crosslinking time. The surface roughness of HIPS membranes were confirmed with SEM that was become uneven surface with progressing sulfonation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.328-334
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• 2014

This study examined the effect of concentration polarization on permeate flux in forward osmosis (FO) membrane process for saline and sucrose solution. The reduction in permeate flux during the FO membrane process is largely due to the formation of concentration polarization on membrane surfaces. The flux reduction due to internal concentration polarization formed on the porous support layer was larger than that due to the external concentration polarization on the active membrane surface. Water permeate flux through the FO membrane increased nonlinearly with the increase in osmotic pressure. The water permeability coefficient was $1.8081{\times}10^{-7}m/s{\cdot}atm$ for draw solution on active layer (DS-AL) mode and $1.0957{\times}10^{-7}m/s{\cdot}atm$ for draw solution on support layer (DS-SL) mode in NaCl solution system. The corresponding membrane resistance was $5.5306{\times}10^6$ and $9.1266{\times}10^6s{\cdot}atm/m$, respectively. With respect to the sucrose solution, the permeate flux for DS-AL mode was 1.33~1.90 times higher than that for DS-SL mode. The corresponding variation in the permeation flux (J) due to osmotic pressure (${\pi}$) would be expressed as $J=-0.0177+0.4506{\pi}-0.0032{\pi}^2$ for the forward and $J=0.0948+0.3292{\pi}-0.0037{\pi}^2$ for the latter.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.75-80
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• 1999

Li-ion cells employ lithium transtion metal oxide as the cathode material and carbon as anode material. To manufacture Li-ion cell with higher capacity and better cycle life, the utilization of electrode materials should be as high as possible without lithium deposition onto the carbon surface during charging. A careful design of cell balance between cathode and anode materials as well as a proper charge method is a key factor to design Li-ion cell with long cycle life. In this study, we investigated the effect of cathode/anode weight ratio on the performance of $LiCoO_2/MPCF$ cell. First we evaluated the charge-discharge behaviours of half-cells. And cylindrical Li-ion cells were fabricated using graphitized MPCF anode and $LiCoO_2$ cathode. The voltage profiles for each half-cell in $LiCoO_2/MPCF$ cell were measured by using lithium metal as a reference electrode. Also, we evaluated the cyclic performance of $LiCoO_2/MPCF$ cells according to weight ratio. From the result of experiment $LiCoO_2$ cathode utilization was independent of weight ratio, but MPCF anode utilization was dependant on weight ratio. Also, the optimal weight ratio of $LiCoO_2/MPCF$ cell was found to be $2.0\~2.2$.