• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2018

A continuous process of persulfate oxidation and citric acid washing was investigated for ex-situ remediation of complex contaminated soil containing total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons (TRPHs) and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn). The batch experiment results showed that TRPHs could be degraded by $Fe^{2+}$ activated persulfate oxidation and that heavy metals could be removed by washing with citric acid. For efficient remediation of the complex contaminated soil, two-stage and three-stage processes were evaluated. Removal efficiency of the two-stage process (persulfate oxidation - citric acid washing) was 83% for TRPHs and 49%, 53%, 24% for Cu, Zn, and Pb, respectively. To improve the removal efficiency, a three-stage process was also tested; case A) water washing - persulfate oxidation - citirc acid washing and case B) persulfate oxidation - citric acid washing (1) - citric acid washing (2). In case A, 63% of TRPHs, 73% of Cu, 60% of Zn, and 55% of Pb were removed, while the removal efficiencies of TRPHs, Cu, Pb, and Zn were 24%, 68%, 62%, and 59% in case B, respectively. The results indicated that case A was better than case B. The three-stage process was more effective than the two-stage process for the remediation of complex-contaminated soil in therms of overall removal efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 1998

For successful soil flushing process selection of appropriate flushing reagents is essential. Futhermore, obtaining operating parameters for site remediation application through various bench-scale tests is also important. In this research a series of organic acids (acetic, citric, oxalic, and succinic acids) were tested for flushing capability. Copper-contaminated natural soil was used as a test medium, and flushing experiments were performed with batch system. All the organic acids used did not provide effective flushing conditions at concentration of 1 mM. At the acid concentration of 50 and 100 mM copper was removed efficiently although 50 and 100 mM did not show any significant differences in removal efficiencies. Citric acid and oxalic acid removed copper more efficiently than the others, and especially, citric acid showed over 87% of removal efficiency of copper at near neutral pH of 5 to 7. Speciation of extracted copper using GEOCHEM simulation showed majority of extracted copper existed as complexed with organic acids and only small portion of organic acids were complexed with copper indicating promising application of soil flushing with organic acid to heavy metal-contaminated site remediation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.32-37
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• 2013

The scope of this study was to develop, design, and build an ex-situ remediation system of using the heating and water sparging treatment for the highly volatile DNAPL (Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid) contaminated groundwater, and to conduct pilot testing at the site contaminated with DNAPL. The TCE (Trichloroethylene) removal was at the highest rate of 94.6% with the water sparging at $70^{\circ}C$ in the lab-scale test. The pilot-scale remediation system was developed, designed, and fabricated based on the results of the lab-scale test conducted. During the pilot-scale testing, DNAPL-contaminated groundwater was detained at heat exchanger for the certain period of time for pre-heating through the heat exchanger using the thermal energy supplied from the heater. The heating system supplies thermal energy to the preheated DNAPL-contaminated groundwater directly and its highly volatile TCE, $CCl_4$ (Carbontetrachloride), Chloroform are vaporized, and its vaporized and treated water is return edback to the heat exchanger. In the pilot testing the optimum condition of the HWSRS was when the water temperature at the $40^{\circ}C$ and operated with water sparging concurrently, and its TCE removal rate was 90%. The efficiency of the optimized HWSRS has been confirmed through the long-term performance evaluation process.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.22-37
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• 2006

The applicability of biobarrier or in situ microbial filter technology for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvent was investigated through batch microcosm study. The efficiency and rates of reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are known to be highly dependent on hydrogen concentration. In this study, the effect of electron donors on the reductive dechlorination of PCE was investigated using vermicompost (or worm casting) and peat as a biobarrier medium. The effect of organic acids (lactate, butyrate and benzoate), yeast extract and vitamin $B_{12}$ on the reductive dechlorination was investigated. In the absence of biobarrier medium (adsorbent), addition of electron donors stimulated the dechlorination rate of PCE compared to the control experiment (i.e., no electron donor added). Among the treatments, addition of lactate or lactate/benzoate as hydrogen donor exhibited the highest dechlorination rate ($k_1=0.0260{\sim}0.0266\;day^{-1}$). In case of using vermicompost as a biobarrier medium, amendment of lactate/benzoate exhibited the highest dechlorination rate following with a pseudo-first-order degradation rate constant of $k_1=0.0849\;day^{-1}$. In contrast, when Pahokee peat was used as a biobarrier medium, either butyrate or lactate addition exhibited the highest dechlorination rate with $k_1$ values of 0.1092 and $0.1067\;day^{-1}$, respectively. The results of this study showed the potential applicability of in situ biobarrier technology using vermicompost or peat as a barrier material for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvent.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.127-130
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• 2005

The feasibility of stimulating in situ aerobic cometabolic activity of indigenous microorganisms was investigated in a trichloroethene(TCE)-contaminated aquifer, A series of single-well natural drift tests (SWNDT) was conducted by injecting site groundwater amended with a bromide tracer and combinations of toluene, oxygen, nitrate, ethylene and TCE into an existing monitoring well and by sampling the same well over time. Transformation of ethylene, a surrogate of overall TCE transformation activity, was also observed, and its transformation results in the production of ethylene oxide, suggesting that some tolune-oxidizing microorganisms stimulated may express a monooxygenase enzymes. Also in situ transformation of TCE was confirmed by dilution-adjusted data analysis developed in this study. These results indicate that, in this environment, toluene and oxygen additions stimulated the growth and aerobic cometabolic activity of indigenous microorganisms expressing monooxygenase enzymes and that these are responsible for observed toluene utilization and cometabolism of ethylene and TCE. The simple, low-cost field test method provides an effective method for conducting rapid field assessments and pilot testing of aerobic cometabolism of TCE, which has previously hindered application of this technology to groundwater remediation.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2022

With a small particle size, specific surface area and chemical nature, Pd/Cu-Fe nanocomposites can efficiently remove the organic compounds. In order to understand the applicability for in situ remediation of contaminated groundwater, the degradation of p-nitrophenol by Pd/Cu-Fe nanoparticles was investigated. The degradation results demonstrated that these nanoparticles could effectively degrade p-nitrophenol and near 90% of degradation efficiency was achieved by Pd/Cu-Fe nanocomposites for 120 min treatment. The efficiency of degradation increased significantly when the Pd content increased from 0.05 wt.% and 0.10 wt.% to 0.20 wt.%. Meanwhile, the removal percentage of p-nitrophenol increased from 75.4% and 81.7% to 89.2% within 120 min. Studies on the kinetics of p-nitrophenol that reacts with Pd/Cu-Fe nanocomposites implied that their behaviors followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. Furthermore, the batch experiment data suggested that some factors, including Pd/Cu-Fe availability, temperature, pH, different ions (SO42-, PO43-, NO3-) and humic acid content in water, also have significant impacts on p-nitrophenol degradation efficiency. The recyclability of the material was evaluated. The results showed that the Pd/Cu-Fe nanoparticles have good recycle performance, and after three cycles, the removal rate of p-nitrophenol is still more than 83%.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.87-91
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• 2002

Lab scale batch and column tests were performed to investigate the treatability of petroleum contaminated soil using the in-situ soil flushing method. The pyrex column (4.5$\times$25 cm) was used to investigate optimal washing agent, surfactant concentration, mixing ratio, and inlet velocity. The miked surfactant of $POE_{14}$ and SDS were determined as ideal systems for the batch tests. From the results of preliminary tests, mixed surfactant was found to be more harmful for microorganisms. So $POE_{5}$ and $POE_{14}$ were chosen as the surfactant system for the batch study. The washing efficiency for the diesel contaminated soil was increased until 1 %, and decreased after l %. When applied as selected mixed surfactant, the ideal mixed ratio was recognized as 1:1. Therefore we selected miked surfactant $POE_{5}$ and $POE_{14}$, surfactant concentration 1%, and mixed ratio 1:1 for the remediation of diesel contaminated soil. In column tests, the total removal efficiency was improved as the flux of washing agent was increased. At the same pore volume, small flux showed better removal efficiency.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.35-48
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• 2021

In this study, the assessment of field applicability of in-situ remediation of nitrate-contaminated groundwater located in Yesan-gun was performed. Zero-valent iron/bio composite media injected PRB (Permeable Reactive Barrier) and monitoring well were installed in the contaminated groundwater site and monitored main remediation indicators during the PRB operation. Nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, Fe ion, TOC, and turbidity were analyzed and the diversity and population of microorganism in the PRB installed site were investigated for the verification of effect of injected PRB. In the study site where is an agricultural area, a river flows from west to east that forms a river boundary and the southern area has an impermeable sector. It was found that nitrate flows into the river, which is similar as groundwater flow. Simulation result for the fate of nitrate in groundwater showed steady state of nitrate arrived after 3~5 years passed. However, it is just to consider current conditions with no additional input of contaminant source, if additional input of contaminant source occurs contamination dispersion and time for steady state are expected to be increased. The monitoring results showed that Fe ion, TOC and turbidity in groundwater were not clearly changed in concentration after PRB installation, which indicates adaptability of the injected PRB for remediation of groundwater with no additional harmful effect to water quality. The concentration of nitrate maintained less than 5mg/L until 42 days after PRB installation and recovered its initial concentration after 84 days passed and showed termination of reactivity of injected zero-valent iron/bio composite media for removal nitrate. Nitrite and ammonia ions found after installation of PRB indicates reductive removal of nitrate. And the outstanding increase of microorganism diversity and population of Betaproteobacteria Class which includes denitrification microorganism explains biologically reductive removal of nitrate in injected PRB.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.560-568
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• 2007

The objectives of this study were to analyze ecological effects on effluents from the Sagok Stream (Chonnam province) as an abandoned mine drainage through necropsy-based health assessments and fish exposure tests, and to conduct In situ field pilot tests for restoration of stream water. Also, we analyzed water quality including general parameters and heavy metals. The tests were performed three times on April 2005, April 2006, and April 2007. Also, we constructed a reactor facility in the outflowing point of the abandoned mine for the remediation of AMD wastewater. In lab test, death rates in all three treatments were ${\geq}50%$ in the experiments. Necropsybased fish tissue assessments using the Health Assessment Index (HAI), indicated that the most frequently damaged tissue was liver (average: 20.8). Values of Health Assessment Index were lower in the control than any other treatments of T1, T2, and T3 and three treatments showed a distinct toxicity impacts by the AMD. In situ lethal test, concentration of Fe, Al and Zn decreased particularly by 85%, 99% and 94%, respectively through the disposal facility. Values of pH, ranged from 3.1 to 7.0, increased by 2.3 fold (mean=5.1) along with the reduction of metal contents. All fishes in P1 cage died 100% on 3 days later after the experimental setting, while all fishes in the P6 died 100% on 9 days later. Overall, these results evidently provide a key methodology for pilot test using the disposal facility and also clarify the toxicity of AMD once again, so this approach used in the pilot facilities here may reduce the acidic and toxic effects in the abandoned mining drainage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.118-121
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• 2002

The kinetics and stoichiometry of the reduction of hexavalent chromium (Cr(Ⅵ)) with ferrous iron (Fe(II)) were examined in systems with and without aquifer solids. Cr(Ⅵ) reduction was rapid in the absence of solids, but demonstrated slower and more complex kinetics in the presence of aquifer solids. The aquifer solids removed Fe(II) from solution and a portion of the reducing capacity of Fe(II) was transferred to the aquifer solids. The solid phases were then able to continue to remove Cr(Ⅵ). This suggests in-situ treatment of Cr(Ⅵ) by Fe(II) injection would be feasible in the aquifer environment. In general, re-oxidation of reduced chromium by molecular oxygen was not observed in our systems over time periods of nearly one year.