• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.72-80
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• 2010

Possibility of the usage of sludge generated in coal mine drainage treatments as a briquette additive was investigated by the combination of industrial, elemental, and combustion experiments. A series of briquettes having 2% and 6% of sludge were used for the experiments. Compared to the control sample, our results show that all experimental values for the briquettes are very similar. In particular, it is worthy to note that there is no obvious difference in calorific values for the briquettes containing 2% or 6% of sludge. The calorific values are 4,250~4,360 kcal/kg, 4,240~4,250 kcal/kg, 4,180~4,210 kcal/kg, and 4,270~4,360 kcal/kg for the control sample, briquette containing 6% of Hambaek sludge, briquette containing 6% of Hamtae sludge, and briquette containing 2% of Hambaek sludge, respectively. Results of ash fusion temperature show that the temperature is greater than $1,550^{\circ}C$ for the control sample. However, the temperature for the briquettes with 6% of Hambaek sludge and 2% of Hambaek or Hamtae sludge is $1,510^{\circ}C$. For a briquette containing 6% of Hamtae sludge, the temperature of ash fusion is $1,530^{\circ}C$. After combustion, environmental impacts of the briquettes with sludge were tested. Little environmental influence was observed for the combusted briquettes with sludge.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to assess respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure levels in workers who collect and dispose used coal briquette ash (CBA) in sanitation companies that are subcontracted by one medium-sized local government on the collection of municipal household waste (MHW), and to analyze the quartz content in CBA. When the CBA powder that undergone specialized pretreatment in several steps were subjected to mineral identification and quantitative analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD), it was found that quartz represented 18%, and in addition, mullite, and plagioclase were included. For two CBA collectors, samples were collected by the personal sampling evaluation method. After respirable dust was collected in accordance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 7500 method, the concentration of quartz was analyzed using XRD. Meanwhile, a portable real-time dust monitor (Sidepak AM520, TSI Inc., USA) was also used to observe the dust exposure level for each time zone and job task. The RCS exposure level of one worker was as high as 0.024 mg/㎥, which was the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLV) level. The other worker also exhibited a concentration of 0.013 mg/㎥, which was more than half of TLV. The Sidepak results revealed that the work of collecting CBA and loading it onto a vehicle was hardly exposed to the dust of a significant level. It was found, however, that the work of transferring the collected CBA to a container through a conveyor belt was exposed to a very high average respirable dust concentration of 2.238 mg/㎥. The results of this study confirmed that quartz, which is crystalline silica and a carcinogen, is contained in CBA, one of municipal household waste (MHW), in high concentration. It was also confirmed that workers are exposed to high RCS concentrations while transferring collected CBA into a container. Although each local government in South Korea handles CBA in different ways, it is imperative to investigate the CBA exposure level of sanitation workers and improve their working conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2023

Coal ash generated from thermal power plants using briquettes contains Si, Al, and Fe components. These components are the main components required for the manufacture of cement clinker. In particular, Al and Fe components form the interstitial phase of cement clinker and have an important effect on the sintering of cement clinker. In this study, a large amount of coal ash was applied as a raw material for cement clinker by content, and the mineral formation process of cement clinker to which coal ash was applied was confirmed by sintering temperature. It was confirmed that the intermediate phase was generated in the sintering temperature range of 1050 ~ 1150 ℃ in the cement clinker to which a large amount of coal ash was applied. As the content of coal ash increased, the production amount of the intermediate phase increased. The phase produced by the addition of coal ash is expected to be converted to calcium silicate phase and interstitial phase and disappear above 1350 ℃. The cement clinker applied with a large amount of coal ash at 1450 ℃ formed well-developed minerals equivalent to the standard cement clinker.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 2023

Mongolia is experiencing some of the world's most serious air pollution problems. The air pollution is especially severe during the winter when raw coal and low-grade fuels are used to heat homes in Ger villages. The impact of this pollution has created significant health and socioeconomic challenges for the country. In order to mitigate this air pollution, this study analyzed the fuel quality of the low-grade fuels and Mongolian waste cooking oils used in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Then the environmental characteristics of traditional stove combustion and a prototype combustion heating device were compared and analyzed. In addition, the effect of replacing the heating devices was evaluated by analyzing their risks to humans. Analysis of the fuel characteristics showed that briquettes had relatively low environmental properties as a result of their high ash, N and S content. Also, after analyzing the combustion characteristics, it was found that the air quality improvement effect was higher when waste cooking oil was burned compared to the three types of coal that were analyzed. Finally, this study evaluated the impact of replacing the Mongolia traditional stove with a prototype stove that uses waste cooking oil. The results of this study are expected to help to mitigate the air quality problems currently observed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.