• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.285-295
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• 2021

The inverse spinel Cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄, CFO) is considered to be a promising alternative to commercial graphite anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, the further development of CFO is limited by its unstable structure during battery cycling and low electrical conductivity. In an effort to address the challenge, we construct three-dimensional hierarchical flower-like CFO nanoclusters (CFO NCs)-decorated carbonized cotton carbon fiber (CFO NCs/CCF) composite. This structure is consisted of microfibers and nanoflower cluster composited of CFO nanoparticle, in which CCF can be used as a long-range conductive matrix, while flower-like CFO NCs can provide abundant active sites, large electrode/electrolyte interface, short lithium ion diffusion path, and alleviated structural stress. As anode materials in LIBs, the flower-like CFO NCs/CCF exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. After 100 cycles at a current density of 0.3 A g^-1, the CFO NCs/CCF delivers a discharge/charge capacity of 1008/990 mAh g^-1. Even at a high current density of 15 A g^-1, it still maintains a charge/discharge capacity of 362/361 mAh g^-1.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.37-45
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• 2006

Recently, wood-framed houses has been built in the Korea for pension. Wood is good material for human healthy, while the construction lumbers are treated with preservative such as CCA (chromated copper arsenate), which contain some toxic elements for human body. However, if the waste woody biomass treated with various heavy metals, which has been collected from house construction or demolition, was fired in the field, and incinerated or landfilled after mass collection, such components will result in the toxic air pollutants in the burning or land fills, and spreaded into other areas. So the careful selection of wood and chemicals are required in advance for house construction, in particular, for environment-friendly housings. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the content of toxic heavy metals in woody materials such as domestic hinoki and imported hemlock treated with CCA for housing materials, and the post-treated wood components such as organic fertilizer, sludge, dry-distilled charcoal and carbonized charcoal, to be returned finally into soil. The results are as follows. 1) The chemical analysis of toxic trace elements in various solid biomass required accurate control and management of laboratory environment, and reagents and water used, because of the error of data due to various foreign substances added in various processing and transporting steps. So a systematic analyzers was necessary to monitor the toxic pollutants of construction materials. 2) In particular, the biomass treated with industrial biological or thermal conditions such as sludge or charcoals was not fully dissolvable after third addition of $HNO_3$ and HF. 3) The natural woody materials such as organic fertilizer, sludge. and charcoals without any treatment of preservatives or heavy metal components were nontoxic in landfill because of the standard of organic fertilizers, even after thermal or biological treatments. 4) The CC A-treated wood for making the construction wood durable should not be landfilled, because of its higher contents of toxic metals than the criterion of organic fertilizer for agriculture or of natural environment. So the demolished waste should be treated separately from municipal wastes.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.321-327
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• 2012

The production of functional activated carbon materials starting from inexpensive natural precursors using environmentally friendly and economically effective processes has attracted much attention in the areas of material science and technology. In particular, the use of plant biomass to produce functional carbonaceous materials has attracted a great deal of attention in various aspects. In this study the preparation of activated carbon has been attempted from rice husks via a chemical activation-assisted microwave system. The rice husks were milled via attrition milling with aluminum balls, and then carbonized under purified $N_2$. The operational parameters including the activation agents, chemical impregnation weight ratio of the calcined rice husk to KOH (1:1, 1:2 and 1:4), microwave power heating within irradiation time (3-5 min), and the second activation process on the adsorption capability were investigated. Experimental results were investigated using XRD, FT-IR, and SEM. It was found that the BET surface area of activated carbons irrespective of the activation agent resulted in surface area. The activated carbons prepared by microwave heating with an activation process have higher surface area and larger average pore size than those prepared by activation without microwave heating when the ratio with KOH solution was the same. The activation time using microwave heating and the chemical impregnation ratio with KOH solution were varied to determine the optimal method for obtaining high surface area activated carbon (1505 $m^2$/g).

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.253-266
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• 2020

This study selected three types of agglomerated wood charcoal (Agglomerated wood charcoal with charcoal powder, Carbonized wood briquette, Ignition-type of perforated charcoal) that are in circulation in Korea among fuel-type wood products and analyzed the fuel characteristics, harmful substance content, and emissions of air pollutants generated by combustion. The first results showed that charcoal-grilled carbon, which is the raw material of charcoal, produced higher CO than saw-billed carbon. The second result is that the emission standards of air pollutants generated by the combustion of molded wood coal are not up to the emission standards of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides in the entire product, compared with the emission criteria of the atmospheric environment preservation method (based on 2019, carbon monoxide: 200 ppm, nitrogen oxides, 150 ppm sulfur oxides: 100 ppm), but the carbon dioxide moulding and carbon dioxide levels were not up. Based on the analysis of combustion gas generated during combustion derived from this study, future research is needed for comparing with the emission standards of pellets, which are wood products for fuel, among the existing biomass burning standards and for reducing carbon monoxide generated during incomplete combustion of agglomerated wood charcoal.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.395-400
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• 2017

Coke strength was increased by adding ash-free coal (AFC) binder. In this study, the effect of the AFC binder on the physical and chemical properties of coke was experimentally investigated to understand the molecular mechanism for the improved coke strength. For reduced $CO_2$ emission in steelmaking industry, torrefied biomass fuel mixed with coal binder is also considered. The interface between the base coal and AFC was thus examined using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The coke strength was commonly measured by performing the indirect tensile test and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ modes. For comprehensive mechanism study of the enhanced coke strength thus obtained, ordinary coal for thermal power plant use was carbonized with AFC for subsequent SEM examination. The NMR spectroscopy results of coke samples positively revealed that the tensile strength was proportional to the average number of aromatic rings.