• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 1999.07a
• /
• pp.39-42
• /
• 1999

Perfluoropolymers represent the ultimate resistance to hostile chemical environments and high service temperature, attributed to the presence of fluorine in the polymer backbone, i.e. to the high bond energy of C-F and C-C bonds of fluorocarbons. Copolymers of Tetrafluoroethylene (TEE) and 2, 2, 4Trifluoro-5Trifluorometoxy- 1, 3Dioxole (TTD), commercially known as HYFLON AD, are amorphous perfluoropolymers with glass transition temperature (Tg)higher than room temperature, showing a thermal decomposition temperature exceeding 40$0^{\circ}C$. These polymer systems are highly soluble in fluorinated solvents, with low solution viscosities. This property allows the preparation of self-supported and composite membranes with desired membrane thickness. Symmetric and asymmetric perfluoropolymer membranes, made with HYFLON AD, have been prepared and evaluated. Porous and not porous symmetric membranes have been obtained by solvent evaporation with various processing conditions. Asymmetric membranes have been prepared by th wet phase inversion method. Measure of contact angle to distilled water have been carried out. Figure 1 compares experimental results with those of other commercial membranes. Contact angles of about 120$^{\circ}$for our amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes demonstrate that they posses a high hydrophobic character. Measure of contact angles to hexandecane have been also carried out to evaluate the organophobic character. Rsults are reported in Figure 2. The observed strong organophobicity leads to excellent fouling resistance and inertness. Porous membranes with pore size between 30 and 80 nanometers have shown no permeation to water at pressures as high as 10 bars. However high permeation to gases, such as O2, N2 and CO2, and no selectivities were observed. Considering the porous structure of the membrane, this behavior was expected. In consideration of the above properties, possible useful uses in th field of gas- liquid separations are envisaged for these membranes. A particularly promising application is in the field of membrane contactors, equipments in which membranes are used to improve mass transfer coefficients in respect to traditional extraction and absorption processes. Gas permeation properties have been evaluated for asymmetric membranes and composite symmetric ones. Experimental permselectivity values, obtained at different pressure differences, to various single gases are reported in Tab. 1, 2 and 3. Experimental data have been compared with literature data obtained with membranes made with different amorphous perfluoropolymer systems, such as copolymers of Perfluoro2, 2dimethyl dioxole (PDD) and Tetrafluorethylene, commercialized by the Du Pont Company with the trade name of Teflon AF. An interesting linear relationship between permeability and the glass transition temperature of the polymer constituting the membrane has been observed. Results are descussed in terms of polymer chain structure, which affects the presence of voids at molecular scale and their size distribution. Molecular Dyanmics studies are in progress in order to support the understanding of these results. A modified Theodoru- Suter method provided by the Amorphous Cell module of InsightII/Discover was used to determine the chain packing. A completely amorphous polymer box of about 3.5 nm was considered. Last but not least the use of amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes appears to be ideal when separation processes have to be performed in hostile environments, i.e. high temperatures and aggressive non-aqueous media, such as chemicals and solvents. In these cases Hyflon AD membranes can exploit the outstanding resistance of perfluoropolymers.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.35-63
• /
• 1989

Geochemical characteristics of the Guryongsan (Ogcheon) uraniferous black slate show that this is an analogue to the conventional Chattanooga and Alum shales in occurrences. Whereas, its highest enrichment ratio in metals including uranium, among others, is explained by the cyclic sedimentation of the black muds and quartz-rich silts, and the uniform depositional condition with some what higher pH condition compared to the conditions of the known occurrences. The cyclic sedimentation, caused by the periodic open and close of the silled basin, has brought about the flush-out) of the uranium depleted water and the recharge with the new metal-rich sea water, which consequently contributed to the high concentration of metals in mud. The metal-rich marine black muds, which mostly occur in the early to middle Palaeozoic times, is attributed by the geologic conditions which related to the atmospheric oxygen contents, and these are scarcely met in the late Precambrian and/or with the onset of Palaeozoic era in the geologic evolution of the earth.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.162-171
• /
• 2021

The Korean government proposed the K-SDGs in 2019 to promote the UN SDGs, but the role and tasks of science and technology, an important means of implementing the SDGs, have not been materialized. Accordingly, the role of science and technology ODA for the SDGs was established through the Ministry of Science and ICT's policy research project 'Science and Technology ODA Promotion Roadmap for Spreading the New Southern Policy and Realizing the 2030 SDGs'. In addition, goals, strategies, and core tasks for the next 10 years were derived in 10 fields such as water, climate change, energy, and ICT. In this paper, we analyze 30 key tasks of the ODA promotion roadmap for science and technology for the realization of SDGs, and propose mid- and short-term tasks and implementation plans for effective roadmap promotion. Among the key tasks in each field, four common elements were derived: ICT/smartization, a global problem-solving center, cooperation/communication platform, and business model/startup support platform/living lab that can create and integrate roadmap implementation conditions. In addition, the four mid- and short-term tasks, 1) Establishment of science and technology ODA network, 2) Establishment of living lab business platform linked to start-up support business, 3) Local smartization of recipient countries, and 4) Expand and secure sustainability of global problem-solving centers, were set in relation to the implementation of the detailed roadmap. For the derived mid- and short-term tasks, detailed implementation plans based on the ICTization of global problem-solving centers were presented. The implementation of the mid- and short-term tasks presented in this paper can contribute to the more effective achievement of the science and technology ODA roadmap, and it is expected that Korea's implementation of SDGs will also achieve high performance.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.204-212
• /
• 2022

The LID technique began to be applied in Korea after 2009, and LID facilities are installed and operated for rainwater management in business districts such as the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and LH Corporation, public institutions, commercial land, housing, parks, and schools. However, looking at domestic cases, the application cases and operation periods are insufficient compared to those outside the country, so appropriate design standards and measures for operation and maintenance are insufficient. In particular, LID facilities constructed using LID techniques need to maintain the environment inside LID facilities because hydrological and environmental effects are expressed by material circulation and energy flow. The LID facility is designed with the treatment capacity planned for the water circulation target, and the proper maintenance, vegetation, and soil conditions are periodically identified, and the efficiency is maintained as much as possible. In other words, the soil created in LID is a very important design element because LID facilities are expected to have effects such as water pollution reduction, flood reduction, water resource acquisition, and temperature reduction while increasing water storage and penetration capacity through water circulation construction. In order to maintain and manage the functions of LID facilities accurately, the current state of the facilities and the cycle of replacement and maintenance should be accurately known through various quantitative data such as soil contamination, snow removal effects, and vegetation criteria. This study was conducted to investigate the current status of LID facilities installed in Korea from 2009 to 2020, and analyze soil changes through the continuity and current status of LID facilities applied over the past 10 years after collecting soil samples from the soil layer. Through analysis of Saturn, organic matter, hardness, water contents, pH, electrical conductivity, and salt, some vegetation-type LID facilities more than 5 to 7 years after construction showed results corresponding to the lower grade of landscape design. Facilities below the lower level can be recognized as a point of time when maintenance is necessary in a state that may cause problems in soil permeability and vegetation growth. Accordingly, it was found that LID facilities should be managed through soil replacement and replacement.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.194-203
• /
• 2022

Cultivation of tomatoes in Korea grown in soil covers 89% of the total area for tomato cultivation. Tomatoes grown in soil often encounter various environment stresses including not only salt stress and soil-borne diseases but also cold stress in the winter season. This study was conducted to comparatively analyze the performance of rootstocks with cold stress by measuring the growth, yield, and photosynthetic efficiency in tomatoes grown in soil. The rootstocks were used 'Powerguard', 'IT173773', and '20LM' for the domestic rootstock cultivars and 'B-blocking' for a control cultivar. The tomato cultivar 'Red250' was used as the scion and the non-grafted tomatoes. Stem diameter, flowering position, leaf length, and leaf width were investigated for the growth parameters. The stem diameter of the non-grafted tomatoes decreased by 15% compared to the grafted tomatoes at 80 days after transplanting when exposed to low temperatures of 9-14℃ for 14 days. The leaf length and width of the non-grafted tomatoes were the lowest with 42.4 cm and 41.8 cm at 80 days after transplanting. The total yield per plant was the highest in tomato plants grafted on 'Powerguard' with 1,615 g and lowest in non-grafted tomatoes with 1,299 g. As the result of measuring the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, PI_ABS and DI₀/RC, which mean the performance index and dissipated energy flux, 'Powerguard' was the highest with 3.73 in PI_ABS and the lowest with 0.34 in DI₀/RC, whereas non-grafted tomatoes was the lowest with 2.62 in PI_ABS and the highest with 0.41 in DI₀/RC at 80 days after transplanting. The stem diameter has positive correlation with PI_ABS, while it has negative correlation with DI₀/RC. The results indicate that can be analyzed by chlorophyll fluorescence parameters can be used for analyzing the differences in the growth of tomato plants grafted on different rootstocks when exposed to cold stress.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.40-47
• /
• 2023

There are many different types of cultivation in tomatoes for year-round production. One of them, semi-forcing cultivation is characterized by growing seedlings in winter season. If grafted seedlings are used in winter season that energy cost can be reduced, because they have tolerance to cold stress. This study was conducted to analyze the rootstock performance by measuring the growth, yield, and leaf-macronutrient content of cherry tomatoes grown in semi-forcing hydroponics. Three domestic rootstocks 'HSF4', '21LM', '21A701', and a control cultivar 'B-blocking' were grafted onto jujube-shaped cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) commercial cultivar 'Nonari'. The total yield per plant with grafted cherry tomato '21A701' was 3,387g, which was 11%, 22% and 24% higher than the yield with 'B-blocking', non-grafted one and 'HSF4'. The stem diameter of '21A701' was thick with 8.26mm, whereas non-grafted one was thin with 7.23mm at 160 days after transplanting. The flowering position of '21LM' was 34% and 47% higher than the flowering position of 'B-blocking' and non-grafted one at 153 days after transplanting. The NO₃-N concentration in petiole sap of '21LM' was the highest with 1,746mg·L^-1 and non-grafted one and 'HSF4' were the lowest with 1,252mg·L^-1 and 1,245mg·L^-1 at 167 days after transplanting. The results indicated that rootstock/scion combinations in cherry tomatoes can affect the plant growth, yield, and the concentration of different NO₃-N in leaves at the late growth stage. Both '21A701' and '21LM' have vigorous root system, which influence the growth and yield increased.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.181-190
• /
• 2023

Domestic hop (Humulus lupulus L.) production has been suspended since the early 1990s due to foreign imports, but interest in local production is rising due to the recent craft beer boom in Korea. This study was conducted focusing on the development of growth characteristics and propagation technology for 6 introduced hop cultivars as a basic study for domestic hop production and breeding program. In the hop growth survey conducted in 2021 and 2022, the 5-year-old plants after planting generally showed a tendency to increase the height of strobile setting, strobile size, number and weight of strobile per hill compared to the 4-year-old plants. As a result of the experiment with hop vine cuttings, the average rooting rate of all cultivars was as high as 88% even in only water treatment that were not added with Atonik (Atonik, Arysta, Japan), a rooting agent. There were differences between cultivars in rooting length and rooting rate according to the Atonik treatment method. When checking the survival rate of the rooted cuttings seedlings after transplanting into the soil, it was confirmed that the survival rate of the cuttings in the tissue culture room was significantly lower than that of the cuttings in the greenhouse. However, in transplanting step, cutting plants from culture room condition was strongly inhibited plant growth because of changing environment conditions. As a results of tissue culture, the thidiazuron (TDZ) 1 ㎎/L treatment in the media generated 6 to 9 shoots/explant, while the 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) 1 ㎎/L treatment generated only 1 to 2 shoots/explant. Therefore, it is more effective to culture by adding TDZ rather than BAP. These results indicated that the development of technology to manage stably after transplanting of cutting or micropropagating plants into potting soil is important for mass propagation of hops.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.61 no.4
• /
• pp.605-614
• /
• 2022

Two major problems currently threaten human survival on Earth: climate change and the rapid aging of the population in developed countries. Climate change is a result of the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere due to the increase in the use of fossil fuels owing to economic and transportation development. The rapid increase in the age of the population is a result of the rise in life expectancy due to the development of biomedical science and technology and the improvement of personal hygiene in developed countries. To avoid irreversible global climate change, it is necessary to quickly transition from the current fossil fuel-based economy to a zero-carbon renewable energy-based economy that does not emit GHGs. To achieve this goal, the dairy and livestock industry, which generates the most GHGs in the agricultural sector, must transition to using low-carbon emission production methods while simultaneously increasing consumers' preference for low-carbon diets. Although 77% of currently available arable land globally is used to produce livestock feed, only 37% and 18% of the proteins and calories that humans consume come from dairy and livestock farming and industry. Therefore, using edible insects as a protein source represents a good alternative, as it generates less GHG and reduces water consumption and breeding space while ensuring a higher feed conversion rate than that of livestock. Additionally, utilizing the functionality of medicinal insects, such as silkworms, which have been proven to have certain health enhancement effects, it is possible to develop functional foods that can prevent or delay the onset of currently incurable degenerative diseases that occur more frequently in the elderly. Insects are among the first animals to have appeared on Earth, and regardless of whether humans survive, they will continue to adapt, evolve, and thrive. Therefore, the use of various edible and medicinal insects, including silkworms, in industry will provide an important foundation for human survival and prosperity on Earth in the near future by resolving the current two major problems.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.408-419
• /
• 2023

Background: Ginsenoside compound K (CK), the main active metabolite in Panax ginseng, has shown good safety and bioavailability in clinical trials and exerts neuroprotective effects in cerebral ischemic stroke. However, its potential role in the prevention of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of ginsenoside CK against cerebral I/R injury. Methods: We used a combination of in vitro and in vivo models, including oxygen and glucose deprivation/reperfusion induced PC12 cell model and middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion induced rat model, to mimic I/R injury. Intracellular oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification rate were analyzed by Seahorse multifunctional energy metabolism system; ATP production was detected by luciferase method. The number and size of mitochondria were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and MitoTracker probe combined with confocal laser microscopy. The potential mechanisms of ginsenoside CK on mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergy were evaluated by RNA interference, pharmacological antagonism combined with co-immunoprecipitation analysis and phenotypic analysis. Results: Ginsenoside CK pretreatment could attenuate mitochondrial translocation of DRP1, mitophagy, mitochondrial apoptosis, and neuronal bioenergy imbalance against cerebral I/R injury in both in vitro and in vivo models. Our data also confirmed that ginsenoside CK administration could reduce the binding affinity of Mul1 and Mfn2 to inhibit the ubiquitination and degradation of Mfn2, thereby elevating the protein level of Mfn2 in cerebral I/R injury. Conclusion: These data provide evidence that ginsenoside CK may be a promising therapeutic agent against cerebral I/R injury via Mul1/Mfn2 mediated mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergy.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.3
• /
• pp.426-438
• /
• 2023

Lithium-sulfur batteries, recently attracting attention as next-generation batteries, have high energy density but are limited in application due to sulfur's insulating properties, shuttle phenomenon, and volume expansion. This study used an economical and simple vacuum filtration method to prepare a freestanding electrode without a binder and collector. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used to improve the electrical conductivity of sulfur, where CNT also acts as both collector and conductor. In addition, metal oxides (MO_x, M=Ni, Mg), which are easy to adsorb lithium polysulfide, are added to the CNT/S electrode to suppress the shuttle reaction in lithium-sulfur batteries, which is a result of suppressing the loss of active sulfur material due to the excellent adsorption of lithium polysulfide by metal oxides. The MO_x@CNT/S electrode exhibited higher capacity characteristics and cycle stability than the CNT/S electrode without metal oxides. Among the MO_x@CNT/S electrodes, the NiO@CNT/S electrode displayed a high discharge capacity of 780 mAh g^-1 at 1 C and an extreme capacity decrease to 134 mAh g^-1 after 200 cycles. Although the MgO@CNT/S electrode exhibited a low discharge rate of 544 mAh g^-1 in the initial cycle, it showed good cycle stability with 90% of capacity retention up to 200 cycles. Further, to achieve high capacity and cycle stability, the Ni_0.7Mg_0.3O@CNT/S electrode, mixed with Ni:Mg in the ratio of 0.7:0.3, manifested an initial discharge rate of 755 mAh g^-1 (1 C) and a capacity retention rate of more than 90% after 200 cycles. Therefore, applying binary metal oxides to CNT/S provides a freestanding electrode for developing economical and high-performance Li-S batteries, effectively improving lithium polysulfide's high capacity characteristics and dissolution.