• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.32-43
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• 2023

The worldwide use of polyurethane foam products generates large amounts of waste, which in turn has detrimental effects on the surroundings. Hence, finding an economical and environmentally friendly way to dispose of or recycle foam waste is an utmost priority for researchers to overcome this problem. In that sense, the glycolysis of waste flexible polyurethane foam (WFPF) from automotive seat cushions using different industrial-grade glycols and potassium hydroxide as a catalyst to produce recovered polyol was investigated. The effect of different molecular weight polyols, catalyst concentration, and material ratio (PU foam: Glycols) on the reaction conversion and viscosity of the recovered polyols was determined. The obtained recovered polyols are obtained as single or split-phase reaction products. Besides, the foaming characteristics and physical properties such as cell morphology, thermal stability, and compressive stress-strain nature of the regenerated flexible foams based on the recovered polyols were discussed. It was observed that the regenerated flexible foams displayed good seating comfort properties as a function of hardness, sag factor, and hysteresis loss compared to the reference virgin foam. With the growing demand for a sustainable and circular economy, a global valorization of glycolysis products from polyurethane scraps can be realized by transforming them into profitable substances.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.8 no.2 s.28
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• pp.23-30
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• 2006

Emulsified Asphalt Mixture(EAM) is more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective than typical Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) because EAM does not produce carcinogenic substances, e.g., naphtha, kerosene, during the both of manufacturing and roadway construction process. Also, it does not require heating the aggregates and asphalt binder. However, EAM has some disadvantages. Generally EAM has a less load bearing capacity and more moisture susceptibility than conventional HMA. The study evaluated a Fiber modified EAM (FEAM) to increase load bearing capacity and to decrease moisture susceptibility of EAM. Modified Marshall mix design was developed to find Optimum Emulsion Contents (OEC), Optimum Water Contents (OWC), and Optimum Fiber Contents (OFC). A series of test were performed on the fabricated specimen with OBC, OWC, and OFC. Tests include Marshall Stability, Indirect Tensile Strength, and Resilient modulus test. Comparison analyses were performed among EAM, Fiber modified EAM (FEAM), and typical HMA to verify the applicability of EAM and FEAM in the field. Test results indicated that both of EAM and FEAM have an enough capability to resist medium traffic volume based on the Marshall mix design criteria. Also the study found that fiber modification is effective to increase the load bearing capacity and moisture damage resistance of EAM.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.30.1-30.11
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• 2019

Marine natural products isolated from the sponge Fascaplysinopsis cf reticulata, in French Polynesia, were investigated as an alternative to antibiotics to control pathogens in aquaculture. The overuse of antibiotics in aquaculture is largely considered to be an environmental pollution, because it supports the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes within the aquatic environment. One environmentally friendly alternative to antibiotics is the use of quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs). Quorum sensing (QS) is a regulatory mechanism in bacteria which control virulence factors through the secretion of autoinducers (AIs), such as acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) in gram-negative bacteria. Vibrio harveyi QS is controlled through three parallel pathways: HAI-1, AI-2, and CAI-1. Bioassay-guided purification of F. cf reticulata extract was conducted on two bacterial species, i.e., Tenacibaculum maritimum and V. harveyi for antibiotic and QS inhibition bioactivities. Toxicity bioassay of fractions was also evaluated on the freshwater fish Poecilia reticulata and the marine fish Acanthurus triostegus. Cyclohexanic and dichloromethane fractions of F. cf reticulata exhibited QS inhibition on V. harveyi and antibiotic bioactivities on V. harveyi and T. maritimum, respectively. Palauolide (1) and fascaplysin (2) were purified as major molecules from the cyclohexanic and dichloromethane fractions, respectively. Palauolide inhibited QS of V. harveyi through HAI-1 QS pathway at 50 ㎍ ml^-1 (26 μM), while fascaplysin affected the bacterial growth of V. harveyi (50 ㎍ ml^-1) and T. maritimum (0.25 ㎍). The toxicity of fascaplysin-enriched fraction (FEF) was evaluated and exhibited a toxic effect against fish at 50 ㎍ ml^-1. This study demonstrated for the first time the QSI potential of palauolide (1). Future research may assess the toxicity of both the cyclohexanic fraction of the sponge and palauolide (1) on fish, to confirm their potential as alternative to antibiotics in fish farming.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.225-228
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• 2018

Plasticizers added to thermoplastic polymers are known to shorten the life of products due to the elution to outside, and some of them are harmful to our environment and human body. Since the use of phthalate plasticizers suspected of being carcinogens has been gradually prohibited, there is a need for environmentally friendly plasticizers that can replace them. Most of the substances have a low compatibility with resin, high cost and lack of safety verification. Therefore, in this study, four kinds of norbornene dialkyl ester compounds possessing excellent physical properties, which are also reported as safe compounds from the toxicity evaluation, were added to PVC resin to evaluate the possibility of human exposure by leaching, and also the potential usage as plasticizer candidates alternative to commercial ones including DEHP, DINCH and DOTP. The test was carried out according to the American standard test method (ASTM). The results showed that di-2-ethylhexyl-5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylate (DEHN) in aqueous solvents and diisopentyl-5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylate (DIPN) compounds in oil solvents were superior or equivalent to DEHP. In addition, all four norbornene compounds showed lower values than 100 ppm, which is considered to have an influence on the environment, indicating that the polar norbornene structure affects the elution.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.19-24
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• 2007

Reefs are the marine structure that can give resting, inhabiting, feeding and nursing spaces for a variety of fishes. Usually artificial reefs are made of cement and steels respectively in Japan as well as in Korea. However since resources deficiency has been getting serious, other materials are taken into consideration for the basic bodies of artificial reefs. About 300 thousand tons of waste agricultural plastic films are generated every yew in Korea, but no effective recycling techniques have been developed. In this sense, artificial reefs made of waste agricultural plastic films are the most representative symbol of the recycled products in the Resource Recycling Era. In particular, since these reefs could be made of the semi-cleaned waste agricultural plastic films that still contain high portion of soil, it is very environmentally friendly not only in manufacturing process but also in using under water. Furthermore they have some evident advantages as follows; 1) high fish swarming effect 2) good initial attachment of the marine growths 3) extremely low corrosion to brine 4) easy adjustment of the gravity 5) economical manufacture, transportation and jettison 6) excellent safety to ecosystem caused by lower elution of toxic substances 7) good recyclable property after application and so on.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.157-163
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• 2006

A supercritical fluid process, called aerosol solvent extraction system(ASES), is especially suitable to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries due to its environmentally-friendly, non-toxic and residual solvent-free properties. In particular, the application of the ASES process to the processing of thermo-labile bioactive compounds has received attention of many scientists and engineers because of its low-temperature operating conditions. Unstable substances such as Vitamin-C and Vitamin-A can be effectively protected from degradation during the preparation process, because the ASES process is free from oxygen and moisture. In this study, Vitamin-C was formulated with 2-hydroxypropyl-${\beta}$-cyclodextrin (HP-${\beta$-CD) for enhancement of Vitamin-C stability and bioavailability using the ASES process. To investigate the influence of the preparation process on the stability of Vitamin-C, Vitamin-C/HP-${\beta}$-CD inclusion complexes were prepared using both conventional solvent evaporation method and ASES process, and stored in a 50 mM phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.0 at $25^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. From the experimental results, the stability of the Vitamin-C/HP-${\beta}$-CD inclusion complex prepared from the ASES process was found to be much higher than that of pure Vitamin-C and the Vitamin-C/HP-${\beta}$-CD inclusion complex prepared by the solvent evaporation method. The stability of Vitamin-C was observed to increase with the decrease of temperature at a constant pressure or with the increase of pressure at a constant temperature.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.222-229
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• 2024

The use of low-toxic, hypoallergenic, and environmentally friendly natural pigments has increased. With growing interest in health, research on natural extracts containing beneficial substances for the human body is actively underway. In this study, natural pigments were extracted from sprout barley using a solvent extraction method and CCD-RSM was used to optimize the extraction process. The experiment's independent variables included extraction temperature, alcohol/ultra-pure volume ratio, and extraction time. The response variables were set to achieve a target chromaticity (L = 45, a = -35, b = 45), and to maximize DPPH radical scavenging activity evaluating the antioxidant capacity. The statistical significance of the main effect, interaction effect, and effect on the response value was evaluated and analyzed through the F and P values for the regression equation variables calculated using RSM optimization. Additionally, the reliability of the experiment was also confirmed through the P values of the probability plot graph. The extraction conditions for optimizing the four reaction values are 76.1 vol.% alcohol/ultra pure water volume ratio, an extraction temperature of 52.9 ℃ , and an extraction time of 49.6 min. Under these conditions, the theoretical values of the reaction values are L = 45.4, a = -36.8, and b = 45.0 DPPH radical scavenging activity = 30.9%. When the actual experiment was conducted under these optimal extraction conditions and analyzed, the measured values were L = 46.2, a = -36.1, and b = 48.2, and antioxidant capacity = 31.1% with an average error rate of 2.9%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.827-833
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• 2023

CT(Computed Tomography) contrast agents are commonly used in general hospitals and university hospitals when taking radiographic examinations. The CT contrast medium contains a mixture of a substance called "Iodine", which absorbs radiation energy and makes it appear white in the CT image, further improving the image quality. In addition, the CT contrast agent, which moves like blood in the blood vessels, clearly differentiates it from muscle and water, so CT contrast agents are widely used in hospitals. These CT contrast agents absorb X-rays, but in order to absorb X-rays, they must have a high density or a high radiation absorption coefficient. Since the CT contrast agent is injected into the blood vessels, if the density is high, the blood vessels are strained and the patient is in shock. For this reason, it is necessary to match the density similar to that of water and always pay attention to side effects. In addition, the amount of CT contrast medium is adjusted according to the patient's body shape, and the remaining contrast medium is discarded. However, This study tried to find out the idea of recycling it as a radiation shielding material. Since the CT contrast medium has a high radiation absorption coefficient at a density similar to that of water, the amount to absorb radiation is adjusted, the amount of contrast medium and the amount of water are adjusted, and the amount of radiation absorbed is determined by mixing with water. In addition, a study was conducted to find out the result of the difference in radiation absorption in various ways by comparing the radiation quality coefficient and absorption coefficient with other substances or materials in an environmentally friendly method harmless to the human body by mixing CT contrast medium and water.