• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2017

Previous studies have found that firefighters have a tenfold higher prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) compare to the general population. Firefighters are constantly exposed to various occupational hazards including toxic chemicals of fire residue and the toxic chemicals can effects development and progression of PD. Nevertheless, there were no studies about the association between exposure to chemical byproducts of combustion and the development of PD among firefighters. Thus the aim of this study is to look into existing researches regarding the effect of chemical byproducts of combustion on the development of PD. An extensive literature search was conducted to identify harmful chemical components of smoke and fire residue, using the PubMed database during November of 2016. We searched for relevant articles by combining several keywords that contained "Parkinson's disease" and each of the different toxic chemicals, yielding a total of 1401 articles. After applying the selection criteria, 12 articles were chosen. Chemical substances reported to have a harmful effect on PD, in at least one article, were carbon monoxide, toluene, manganese and lead. Carbon monoxide and metal substances including manganese and lead were found to be associated with an increased PD risk in more than two articles. There was a heightened risk of PD in firefighters due to exposure of chemical byproducts of combustion including carbon monoxide, toluene, manganese and lead. However, to the best of our knowledge, to support this result we need more systematic epidemiological studies about these risk factors of PD among firefighters. In addition, further studies for the effects of prolonged exposure to toxic fire residue on the development and progression of PD in firefighters are needed.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.123-129
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• 2018

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the study of treatment of $CO_2$ generated by industrial activities and resource recycling of industrial byproducts. The aim of this study is to investigate the applicability of industrial byproducts that can be used as concrete mixed materials by carbonation curing. For this purpose, the physical and chemical changes of the pastes with research cement(RC), blast furnace slag powder (GGBFS) and circulating fluidized bed combustion ashes (CFBC) were evaluated by carbonation curing. XRD and SEM analyzes were performed to investigate micro-structural changes. As a result, it was confirmed that calcium carbonate, which is a reaction product produced by carbonation curing, filled the space inside the paste and formed a dense micro-structure. Also, as the $CO_2$ curing time increased, it was confirmed that calcium carbonate crystals were grown together to form a dense micro-structure.

• Carbon letters
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• v.27
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• pp.81-89
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• 2018

The present study aimed to prepare a novel efficient flame retardant additive for polypropylene. The new flame retardant was prepared by chemical grafting of melamine to graphene oxide with the aid of thionyl chloride. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis proved that melamine had been successfully grafted to the graphene oxide. The modified graphene oxide was incorporated into polypropylene via solution mixing followed by anti-solvent precipitatio. Homogeneous distribution as well as exfoliation of the nanoplatelets in the polymer matrix was observed using transmission electron microscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis showed a significant improvement in the thermo-oxidative stability of the polymer after incorporating 2 wt% of the modified graphene oxide. The modified graphene oxide also enhanced the limiting oxygen index of the polymer. However, the amount of improvement was not enough for the polymer to be ranked as a self-extinguishing material. Cone calorimetry showed that incorporating 2 wt% of the modified graphene oxide lowered total heat release and the average production rate of carbon monoxide during burning of the polymer by as much as 40 and 35%, respectively. Hence, it was concluded that the new flame retardant can retard burning of the polymer efficiently and profoundly reduce suffocation risk of exposure to burning polymer byproducts.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.804-815
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• 2019

Due to the depletion and environmental problems of fossil fuel, biomass has arisen as an alternative energy source. Biomass is a renewable and carbon-neutral source. However, it is moister and has lower energy density. Therefore, biomass needs thermal chemical conversion processes like gasification, and it does not only produce a flammable gas, called 'syngas', which consists of CO, H2, and CH4, but also some unwanted byproducts such as tars and some particulates. These contaminants are condensed and foul in pipelines, combustion chamber and turbine, causing a deterioration in efficiency. Thus this work attempted to find a method to remove tars and particles from syngas with a filter which adopts a pre-coating technology for preventing blockage of the filter medium. Hydrated limestone powder and activated carbon(wood char) powder were used as the pre-coat materials. The removal efficiency of the tars was 86 % and 80 % with activated carbon(wood char) coating and hydrated limestone coating, respectively.