• Journal of Environmental Analysis, Health and Toxicology
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.229-236
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• 2018

In this study, inter-laboratory comparison was done using elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometers (EA-IRMSs) to determine carbon and nitrogen contents as well as stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions (${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$) of five environmental samples containing lake and marine sediments, higher plant leaves, and fish muscle, and one organic analytical standard (Protein (Casein) Standard OAS). Five national laboratories participated in this comparison study, and each laboratory analyzed all five samples and the analytical standard. Results showed that variations in total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents as well as ${\delta}^{13}C_{TOC}$ and ${\delta}^{15}N_{TN}$ values among the laboratories were large compared to the analytical uncertainties. The results highlighted the inhomogeneity of the test samples and thus, the need to select suitable standard reference materials for future inter-laboratory studies. Further inter-laboratory comparison exercises could promote good measurement practices in the acquisition of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition data.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.701-712
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to determine concentrations and compositions of $PM_{2.5}$ and their characteristic variations at Ieodo Ocean Research Station in the East China Sea and to examine the influence of air pollutants transported from Asia continents. $O_3$ and meteorological parameters were measured since June 2003 and $PM_{2.5}$ filter samples were collected from June 2004 to June 2008. In total, 244 samples were analyzed for water soluble ions and carbonaceous compounds. The mean mass concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ and $O_3$ were $21.8{\pm}14.9{\mu}g/m^3$ and $51.6{\pm}16.1$ ppb, respectively. The average concentrations (mass fractions) of sulfate and ammonium were $6.26{\mu}g/m^3$ (28.74%) and $1.59{\mu}g/m^3$ (7.31%), respectively. Nitrate was considered to be lost through evaporation due to long stay at the station. The mean concentrations of EC and OC were $1.01{\mu}g/m^3$ and $2.34{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, from June 2006 to June 2008. The average OC/EC ratio was 2.31. The organic matter converted from OC by multiplying 2.1 and elemental carbon constituted 22.60% and 4.66% of $PM_{2.5}$ mass, respectively.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.217-226
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• 2013

The collection of TSP and $PM_{2.5}$ aerosols has been made at the Gosan Site of Jeju Island during 2008-2011, and their ionic and elemental species were analyzed, in order to examine the seasonal variation and characteristics of aerosol compositions. The anthropogenic components ($NH_4{^+}$, $nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NO_3{^-}$, S, Zn, Pb) and the soil components ($nss-Ca^{2+}$, Al, Fe, Ca) showed high concentrations in spring as the prevailing westerly wind, but the concentrations of the sea-salt components ($Na^+$, $Cl^-$) were high in winter. In TSP, the neutralization by $NH_3$ increased in summer, but the neutralization by $CaCO_3$ increased in spring and fall seasons. The organic acids ($HCOO^-$, $CH_3COO^-$) contributed to the acidification of the aerosols by only 5.0%, so the acidification could be mostly contributed by the inorganic acids ($SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NO_3{^-}$). From the examination of the source origins by factor analysis, the compositions of TSP were influenced by the order of soil > anthropogenic > marine, on the other hand, those of $PM_{2.5}$ were by the order of anthropogenic > marine > soil. The backward trajectory analyses showed that the concentrations of $NH_4{^+}$, $nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NO_3{^-}$ and $nss-Ca^{2+}$ increased highly when the air masses had moved from China continent into Gosan area of Jeju Island.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.296-305
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• 2020

Konbaung Dynasty was the last unified dynasty that ruled Myanmar from 18^th to 19^th century. During this time Buddhist art flourished in Myanmar due to the interest of the rulers toward their traditional culture. Metal decorative artifacts in the 18^th century are classified into structures and Buddha statues. They are further subdivided into gilt-bronze and bronze objects, depending on their material component. Three-dimensional gilt-bronze decorative artifacts were cast with a brass alloy of Cu-Zn-Sn-Pb and their surfaces were gilded with extremely thin gold leaves (less than 1 ㎛ in thickness). The gilded layer approximately comprised 10 wt% silver in addition to the main element, gold. The lack of Hg in the gilded layer, indicated that the amalgam gilding technique was not applied. The analysis results indicated that the lacquered gilding technique was applied to the objects. Bronze decorative artifacts without gilding were cast with materials containing Cu-Sn-Pb. The bronze pavilions and bronze Buddha staues were crafted using the same alloy of high-tin bronze, which approximately contained 20 wt% Sn. No heat treatment was applied to reduce the brittleness of the objects after they were cast with a large amount of Sn. The most significant difference between the gilt-bronze and bronze decorative artifacts lie in their elemental compositions. The gilt-bronze decorative artifacts with their gilded surface were manufactured using brass containing zinc, while the unplated bronze decorative artifacts were composed of bronze containing tin. Artifacts of the same type and size are classified differently depending on the materials utilized in the surface treatment such as gilding.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• 제11권5호
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• pp.1754-1759
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• 2010

Because the stone cultural properties located outdoors, they have been altered and deteriorated in external appearance due to environmental factors such as acid rain, extreme change in temperature, and salts. Damage to stone cultural properties is accelerated particularly due to recent industrial development and environmental pollution. An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effect of environmental contaminants(sea water and air pollutants such as, $SO_2$, NO, $CO_2$) on the weathering of granite. And as part of the developing of conservation method, $TiO_2$ catalyst was prepared and tested. After expose a granite to sea water and air pollutants, the mineral compositions of the tested granite surface were lower then that of the fresh granite. And absorption capacity of the weathered granite was steadily increased. From these results, it was expected that granite could be weathered by sea water and air pollutants. For the $TiO_2$ coated granite, absorption capacity was slightly enhanced compared to the $TiO_2$ non-coated granite. Therefore, the $TiO_2$ coating method tested in this study considered to be a viable method to assist in the conservation of granite from environmental contaminants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권5호
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• pp.1444-1450
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• 2019

The fast-neutron shielding behaviour (FNSB) of two clay-materials (Ball clay and Kaolin)of Southwestern Nigeria ($7.49^{\circ}N$, $4.55^{\circ}E$) have been investigated using effective removal cross section, ${\Sigma}_R(cm^{-1})$, mass removal cross section, ${\Sigma}_{R/{\rho}}(cm^2g^{-1})$ and Mean free path, ${\lambda}$ (cm). These parameters decide neutron shielding behaviour of any material. A computer program - WinNC-Toolkit has been used for computation of these parameters. The toolkit evaluates these parameters by using elemental compositions and densities of samples. The proficiency of WinNC-Toolkit code was probe by using MCNPX and GEANT4 to model fast neutron transmission of the samples under narrow beam geometry, intending to represent the actual experimental setup. Direct calculation of effective removal cross section ($cm^{-1}$) of the samples was also carried out. The results from each of the methods for each types of the studied clay-materials (Ball clay and Kaolin) shows similar trend. The trend might be the fingerprint of water content retained in each of the samples being baked at different temperature. The compositions of each sample have been obtained by Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) technique (Tandem Pelletron Accelerator: 1.7 MV, Model 5SDH). The FNSB of the selected clay-materials have been compared with standard concrete. The cognizance of various factors such as availability, thermo-chemical stability and water retaining ability by the clay-samples can be analyzed for efficacy of the material for their FNSB.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.109-120
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• 2010

Four gilded bronze objects and a gilded silver object were examined for elemental diffusion between the gilding layer and the mating matrix. The gilded bronzes consist of three objects from three different historical periods, the Korean Three Kingdoms period, the Koryo and the Choseon periods and one from an unknown period. The gilded silver was from the Koryo period. The amalgam process seems to have been the major technique employed for all of them in gilding. The occurrence of substantial diffusion was observed in all but the anonymous object, particularly in the Choseon artifact where evidence was found that the diffusion phenomenon was intentionally utilized in gilding. The gold content in the gilded bronzes decreases gradually from surface to interior while the copper content increases to the interior, making it difficult to locate the boundary between the gilding layer and the matrix. This gradual change in composition must have resulted from elemental diffusion at elevated temperatures. The oxygen content negligible in the gilding layer precludes the possibility of corrosion being responsible for the varying composition. It is observed that non-uniform diffusion caused variation of colors in the surface of gilded bronzes. The change of colors induced by diffusion, which is always accompanied by the unique surface morphology and chemical compositions, is distinguished from the color change by corrosion. In the gilded silver object, diffusion of mercury was observed along with that of gold and silver.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.85-92
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• 2008

In this present study, we have synthesized Fe-containing AC(activated carbon)/$TiO_2$ composites with titanium (VI) n-butoxide (TNB) as a titanium source to Fe treated AC through an impregnation method. The result of the textural surface properties demonstrates that there is a slight decrease in the BET surface area of composite samples with an increase of the amount of Fe treated. The surface properties of scanning electron microscope (SEM) presented a characterization of a porous texture on the Fe-containing AC/$TiO_2$ composites and homogenous compositions for Fe and titanium dioxide distributed on the sample surfaces. Fe compound peaks and a titanium dioxide structure were observed in the X-ray diffraction patterns for the Fe-containing AC/$TiO_2$ composites. The results of chemical elemental composition for the Fe-containing AC/$TiO_2$ composites showed that most of the spectra for these samples gave stronger peaks for C, O, treated Fe components and Ti metal than that of any other elements. From the photo degradation results for the piggery waste, the Fe-containing AC/$TiO_2$ composites showed an excellent degradation activity for the chemical oxygen demand (COD) due to a photocatalysis of the supported $TiO_2$, radical reaction by Fe species and the adsorptivity and absorptivity of porous carbon.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.114-123
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• 2016

A change in chemical compositions of Asian dust (AD) particles can dramatically alter their optical properties, cloud-forming properties, and health effects. The present study was undertaken to evaluate this aging of AD particles by means of two complementary methods (i.e., the traditional spot test and the most advanced micro-PIXE analytical technique) for single particle analysis. Size-classified particles were sampled at the rural peninsula of Korea (Byunsan, 35.37N; 126.27E) during AD event and non-AD period in 2004. Sulfate was principally enriched on the particles in the size range of $7.65-10.85{\mu}m$ collected during AD event. The average number fraction of coarse particles ($>2.05{\mu}m$) containing chloride was 16.2% during AD event. Relatively low particles containing nitrate compared to those containing sulfate and chloride were found in AD event. Micro-PIXE elemental maps indicated that a large number of AD particles were internally mixed with man-made zinc. The highest peaks of EC and OC concentrations were appeared at $0.01-0.43{\mu}m$ particle aerodynamic diameter. High EC concentration in $PM_1$ was might be caused by the Saemangeum Seawall Project that was being conducted during our field measurement.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.53-59
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• 2016

This study deals with the distribution of the clay minerals separated from clay fractions of ranch pastures in Korea and their chemical and mineralogical properties. Crystalline phases of the clay minerals were identified by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and FT-IR spectra, and their relative chemical compositions were also analyzed by X-ray flourescence spectrometry (XRF). Primary minerals consisted mainly of quartz and mica and chlorite and kaolinite along with a trace of swelling micas were identified as secondary clay minerals. However, the relative content of these clay minerals was different with the locations, which led to significant effects on physical and chemical properties of soils like inorganic elemental composition. In particular, $SiO_2$ content was higher in Gochang ranch pasture than in other ranch pasture. Infrared (IR) spectra did not indicate any significant differences in organic functional groups among the locations. This study clearly showed that ranch pastures had different relative content of clay minerals and chemical properties depending on the location and consequently that those properties are worthy to be taken into account for soil amendment.