• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.2-4
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• 1998

Proliferation of Nocardia amarae cells in activated sludge has often been associated with the generation of nuisance foams. Despite intense research activities in recent years to examine the causes and control of Nocardia foaming in activated sludge, the foaming continued to persist throughout the activated sludge treatment plants in United States. In addition to causing various operational problems to treatment processes, the presence of Nocardia may have secondary effects on the fate of heavy metals that are not well known. For example, for treatment plants facing more stringent metal removal requirements, potential metal removal by Nocardia cells in foaming activated sludge would be a welcome secondary effect. In contrast, with new viosolid disposal regulations in place (Code o( Federal Regulation No. 503), higher concentration of metals in biosolids from foaming activated sludge could create management problems. The goal of this research was to investigate the metal sorption property of Nocardia amarae cells grown in batch reactors and in chemostat reactors. Specific surface area and metal sorption characteristics of N. amarae cells harvested at various growth stages were compared. Three metals examined in this study were copper, cadmium and nickel. Nocardia amarae strain (SRWTP isolate) used in this study was obtained from the University of California at Berkeley. The pure culture was grown in 4L batch reactor containing mineral salt medium with sodium acetate as the sole carbon source. In order to quantify the sorption of heavy metal ions to N amarae cell surfaces, cells from the batch reactor were harvested, washed, and suspended in 30mL centrifuge tubes. Metal sorption studies were conducted at pH 7.0 and ionlc strength of 10-2M. The sorption Isotherm showed that the cells harvested from the stationary and endogenous growth phase exhibited significantly higher metal sorption capacity than the cells from the exponential phase. The sequence of preferential uptake of metals by N. amarae cells was Cu>Cd>Ni. The specific surFace area of Nocardia cells was determined by a dye adsorption method. N.amarae cells growing at ewponential phase had significantly less specific surface area than that of stationary phase, indicating that the lower metal sorption capacity of Nocardia cells growing at exponential phase may be due to the lower specific surface area. The growth conditions of Nocardia cells in continuous culture affect their cell surface properties, thereby governing the adsorption capacity of heavy metal. The comparison of dye sorption isotherms for Nocardia cells growing at various growth rates revealed that the cell surface area increased with increasing sludge age, indicating that the cell surface area is highly dependent on the steady-state growth rate. The highest specific surface area of 199m21g was obtained from N.amarae cell harvested at 0.33 day-1 of growth rate. This result suggests that growth condition not only alters the structure of Nocardia cell wall but also affects the surface area, thus yielding more binding sites of metal removal. After reaching the steady-state condition at dilution rate, metal adsorption isotherms were used to determine the equilibrium distributions of metals between aqueous and Nocardia cell surfaces. The metal sorption capacity of Nocardia biomass harvested from 0.33 day-1 of growth rate was significantly higher than that of cells harvested from 0.5- and 1-day-1 operation, indicatng that N.amarae cells with a lower growth rate have higher sorpion capacity. This result was in close agreement with the trend observed from the batch study. To evaluate the effect of Nocardia cells on the metal binding capacity of activated sludge, specific surface area and metal sorption capacity of the mixture of Nocardia pure cultures and activated sludge biomass were determined by a series of batch experiments. The higher levels of Nocardia cells in the Nocardia-activated sludge samples resulted in the higher specific surface area, explaining the higher metal sorption sites by the mixed luquor samples containing greater amounts on Nocardia cells. The effect of Nocardia cells on the metal sorption capacity of activated sludge was evaluated by spiking an activated sludge sample with various amounts of pre culture Nocardia cells. The results of the Langmuir isotherm model fitted to the metal sorption by various mixtures of Nocardia and activated sludge indicated that the mixture containing higher Nocardia levels had higher metal adsorption capacity than the mixture containing lower Nocardia levels. At Nocardia levels above 100mg/g VSS, the metal sorption capacity of activate sludge increased proportionally with the amount of Noeardia cells present in the mixed liquor, indicating that the presence of Nocardia may increase the viosorption capacity of activated sludge.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 1991

This study examines the effect of submergence on phosphorus adsorption characteristics in Gangseo(paddy soil), Yesan(non-cultivated soil), and Jungdong soil(upland soil). The soils were submerged with glucose sol'n at $28^{\circ}C$ for 17 days. After the submergence, the phosphorus adsorption was conducted at three temperatures(5, 25 and $45^{\circ}C$). The phosphorus adsorption maximum($X_m$) and the equilibrium constant(K) were obtained by Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and the heat of adsorption(${\Delta}H$) was calculated by van't Hoff's equiation. Results obtained are as follows ; 1. The amounts of adsorbed P were increased with temperature, but the effects of temperature on rate of P adsorption were very small in all three soils. 2. By submergence, $X_m$ were increased from 500mg P/kg to 850mg P/kg in Gangseo soil, from 1,850mg P/kg to 3,300mg P/kg in Yesan soil, and from 310mg P/kg to 670mg P/kg in Jungdong soil. But the effects of temperature on $X_m$ were very small in all three soils. 3. Submergence decreased K for Gangseo and Yesan soils, but increased for Jungdong soil. Whereas K were increased with temperature in all three soils. 4. By submergence, ${\Delta}H$ for Gangseo soil was greatly increased (from 2.2 Kcal/mole to 3.5 Kcal/mole), whereas that for Yesan soil changed little (from 5.7 Kcal/mole to 5.5 Kcal/mole). It was 4.4 Kcal/mole in submerged Jungdong soil.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 1990

Retardation and hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient necessary for model of water and solute movement in a soil were determined for horizontal soil column with different initial soil water conditions. The soil columns were compacted with sandy loam soil. The bulk density was $1,350+50kg/m^3$, and initial water contents were 0.05, 0.08 and 0.14. Advancement of 0.05% $CaSO_4$ solution was used as the standard and advancements of 0.5% KCl, $CaCl_2$ and $KH_2PO_4$ were compared. Retardation of non-reactive $Cl^-$ was related with the initial soil water content, ${\theta}n$, as ${\theta}/({\theta}-{\theta}n)$, and anion exclusion was ignored. Retardations of active $K^+$, $Ca^{{+}{+}}$ and $H_2PO_4{^-}$ were related as 1/(R+1) $^*{\theta}/({\theta}-{\theta}n)$, in which R was retardation coefficient. Measured R was 0.64 for $K^+$, 0.80 for $Ca^{{+}{+}}$ and 2.6 for $H_2PO_4{^-}$, respectively. Calculated R using Langmuir adsorption isotherm showed fair degree of applicability. Soil water diffusivity, $D({\theta}),m^2/sec$, calculated for different initial water content showed unique function as $$log(D({\theta}))=13.448{\theta}-9.288$$ Hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient of $Cl^-$ above soil water content 0.36 was similar to soil water diffusivity and decreased to near self diffusion coefficient at soil water content near 0.2. Those of $K^+$, $Ca^{{+}{+}}$ $H_2PO_4{^-}$ at soil water content of 0.38 were $5.5{\times}10^{-6}$, $2.4{\times}10^{-6}$ and $7.1{\times}10^{-7}m^2/sec$ and decreased rapidly with decreasing soil water content lower than 0.36.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 1977

In order to study the availability of soil P and applied P to rice plant under water-logged system, a pot experiment with five soils having different levels of available P (24, 64, 100, 144 and 231 ppm) under four levels of applied P (0, 30, 60 and 90 ppm) was conducted. The availability of P was measured in terms of plant performance and the behaviors of P in soils were studied through the fractionation of various forms of P and by measuring the adsorption and desorption characteristics. The results are summarized us following. 1. The rice plant responded to applied P in the soils containing less than 144 ppm of available P as measured by Lancaster's method in terms of number of tillers in early growth stages. However, when the response of rice plant to applied P was evaluated in terms of grain yield there was no response even in the soil containing 24 ppm of available P. 2. Applied P was fixed as Al-P at the early stages and converted into Fe-P at later stages. 3. The P adsorption maxima of soils measured by Langmuir's isotherm ranged from 70 to 100mg/100g. No relationships between the level of available P and P adsorption maxima were observed. 4. There was a trend that the higher the level of available P, the higher the release of water soluble p. 5. The reduction of soil increased the level of available P by the factor of 1.8 times of air dried soils.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.529-542
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• 2020

The cesium (Cs) sorption characteristics of a bead-type polysulfone carrier contained HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (3 - 5 mm in diameter) in water system were investigated and its Cs removal efficiency as an adsorbent from water was also identified by various laboratory experiments. From the results of batch sorption experiments, the bead-type polysulfone carrier with only 5% HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (P-5NBC) represented the high Cs removal efficiency of 57.8% for 1 hour sorption time. The Cs removal efficiency of P-5NBC in water after 24 hours reaction maintained > 69% at a wide range of pH and temperature conditions, attesting to its applicability under various water systems. Batch sorption experiments were repeated for P-5NBC coated with two cultivated microorganisms (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus drentensis), which were typical indigenous species inhabited in soil and groundwater. The Cs removal efficiency for two microorganisms coated polysulfone carrier (BP-5NBC) additionally increased by 19% and 18%, respectively, compared to that of only P-5NBC without microorganisms coated. The average Cs desorption rate of P-5NBC for 24 h was lower than 16%, showing the Cs was stably attached on HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal in so much as its long-term use. The maximum Cs sorption capacity (q_m) of P-5NBC calculated from the Langmuir isotherm model study was 60.9 mg/g, which was much higher than those of other adsorbents from previous studies for 1 h sorption time. The results of continuous column experiments showed that the P-5NBC coated with microorganisms packed in the column maintained > 80% of the Cs removal efficiency during 100 pore volumes flushing. It suggested that only 14.7 g of P-5NBC (only 0.75 g of HNO₃ treated bamboo charcoal included) can successfully clean-up 7.2 L of Cs contaminated water (the initial Cs concentration: 1 mg/L; the effluent concentration: < 0.2 mg/L). The present results suggested that the Cs contaminated water can be successfully cleaned up by using a small amount of the polysulfone carrier with HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2017

Cobalt ferrocyanide (CoFC) or nickel ferrocyanide (NiFC) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were fabricated for efficient removal of radioactive cesium, followed by rapid magnetic separation of the absorbent from contaminated water. The $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticles, synthesized using a co-precipitation method, were coated with succinic acid (SA) to immobilize the Co or Ni ions through metal coordination to carboxyl groups in the SA. CoFC or NiFC was subsequently formed on the surfaces of the MNPs as Co or Ni ions coordinated with the hexacyanoferrate ions. The CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs possess good saturation magnetization values ($43.2emu{\cdot}g^{-1}$ for the CoFC-MNPs, and $47.7emu{\cdot}g^{-1}$ for the NiFC-MNPs). The fabricated CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, and DLS. The adsorption capability of the CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs in removing cesium ions from water was also investigated. Batch experiments revealed that the maximum adsorption capacity values were $15.63mg{\cdot}g^{-1}$ (CoFC-MNPs) and $12.11mg{\cdot}g^{-1}$ (NiFC-MNPs). Langmuir/Freundlich adsorption isotherm equations were used to fit the experimental data and evaluate the adsorption process. The CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs exhibited a removal efficiency exceeding 99.09% for radioactive cesium from $^{137}Cs$ solution ($18-21Bq{\cdot}g^{-1}$). The adsorbent selectively adsorbed $^{137}Cs$, even in the presence of competing cations.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.749-756
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• 2019

Na-X and Na-A zeolites that give high adsorption capacity for heavy metals in an aqueous system were synthesized from the coal fly ash obtained from a thermoelectric power plant using a fusion method. The characteristics and Cu(II) adsorption capacity of the synthetic zeolites were also compared to those of using a commercial zeolite. For the selection of optimum conditions of zeolite synthesis, the effects of major parameters in the fusion method such as a dosage ratio of NaOH, aging time, hydrothermal reaction time, and also the dosage ratio of NaAlO₂ (Na-A) on the characteristics and Cu(II) adsorption capacity of the synthetic zeolites were studied. For the analysis of characteristics of the synthetic zeolites, X-ray diffraction (XRD), cation exchange capacity (CEC), Brunaue-Emmett-Teller (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used. The optimum conditions for the synthesis of zeolites with a high adsorption capacity for cationic heavy metals including Cu(II) were the aging time of 6 h, hydrothermal reaction time of 6 h and NaOH and NaAlO₂ dosage ratio of 1.5 and 0.5 (Na-A), respectively. According to the Langmuir isotherm test, maximum Cu(II) adsorption capacities of the synthetic and commercial Na-X and Na-A zeolites were found to be 90.1, 105.26, 102.05, and 109.89 mg/g, respectively. This indicates that the adsorption capacity of synthetic zeolites was comparable to commercial ones. The results of this study also suggest that the coal fly ash can be potentially used as a raw material for the zeolite synthesis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 2011

Evaluation of the removal efficiencies of Fe(II) by reactive sand media coated with manganese (MCS), iron (ICS) and both of iron and manganese (IMCS) was investigated as functions of solution pH ranging from 2 to 9, reaction time and concentration of Fe(II) in a batch reactor using each reactive medium and additional oxidants such as $KMnO_4$ and NaOCl. When only Fe(II) was present in solution without any reactive medium, removal of Fe(II) was quite low below pH 5 due to a slow oxidation of Fe(II) and/or negligible precipitation but greatly increased above pH 5 due to a rapid oxidation of Fe(II) and subsequent precipitation of oxidized Fe species. ICS showed negligible efficiency on the removal of Fe(II) through adsorption. However, an efficient removal of Fe(II) was observed at low solution pH in the presence of IMCS or MCS through rapid oxidation and subsequent precipitation. Removal efficiency of Fe(II) by IMCS in the presence or absence of NaOCl was quite similar. Removal rate of Fe(II) by IMCS and additional oxidants gradually increased as the solution pH increased. From the kinetic experiments, removal pattern of Fe(II) was better described by pseudo-second-order equation than pseudo-first-order equation. A rapid removal of Fe(II) using IMCS in the presence of $KMnO_4$ was observed in the first 10 min. The initial removal rate of Fe(II) using $KMnO_4$ was 14,286 mg/kg hr. In case of using NaOCl, the removal of Fe(II) occurred rapidly in the first 6 hrs and then reached the near-equilibrium state. Removal of Fe(II) on IMCS was well expressed by Langmuir isotherm and the maximum removal capacity of Fe(II) was calculated as 1,088 mg/kg.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.344-350
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• 2004

This study was conducted to develop and assess the applicability of mixed-bed ion exchange resin capsules for water quality monitoring in small agricultural watershed. Recoveries of resin capsules for inorganic N and P ranged from 96 to 102%. The net activation energies and pseudo-thermodynamic parameters, such as ${\Delta}G^{o\ddag},\;{\Delta}H^{o\ddag},\;and\;{\Delta}S^{o\ddag}$ for ion adsorption by resin capsules, exhibited relatively low values, indicating the process might be governed by chemical reactions such as diffusion. However, those values increased with temperature coinciding with the theory. The reaction reached pseudo-equilibrium within 24 hours for $NH_4-N\;and\;NO_3-N$, and only 8 hours for $PO_4-P$, respectively. The selectivity of resin capsules were in the order of $NO_3\;^-\;>\;NH_4\;^+\;>\;PO_4\;^{3-}$, coinciding with that of encapsulated Amberlite IRN-150 resin. At the initial state of equilibrium, the resin adsorption quantity was linearly proportional to the mass of ions in the streams, but the rate of movement leveled off, following Langmuir-type sorption isotherm. The overall results demonstrated that the resin capsule system was suitable for water quality monitoring in small agricultural watershed, judging from the reaction mechanism(s) of the resin capsule and the significance of model in field calibration.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.193-200
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• 2010

This study evaluated treatability of soluble Mn(II) using multifunctional sand media simultaneously coated with iron and manganese. In the preparation of IMCS(Iron and Manganese Coated Sand), 0.05 M Mn(II) solution and Fe(III) solution was mixed with sand at pH 7. The mineral type of IMCS was identified as the mixture of ${\gamma}-MnO_2$, goethite and magnetite($F_{e3}O_4$). The contents of Mn and Fe coated onto sand were 826 and 1676 mg/kg, respectively. The $pH_{pzc}$ of IMCS was measured as 6.40. The removal of soluble Mn(II) using IMCS and oxidants such as NaOCl and $KMnO_4$ was investigated with variation of the solution pH, reaction time and Mn(II) concentration in a batch test. The removal of Mn(II) on IMCS was 34% at pH 7.4 and the removals of Mn(II) on IMCS in the presence of NaOCl(13.6 mg/L) at pH 7 and $KMnO_4$(4.8 mg/L) at pH 7.6 were 96% and 89%, respectively. The removal of Mn(II) using IMCS and oxidants followed a typical cationic type, showing a gradual increase of removal as the solution pH increased. The removal of Mn(II) was rapid in the first 6 hrs and then a constant removal was observed. The maximum removed amount of Mn(II) on IMCS-alone and IMCS in the presence of oxidants such as NaOCl(13.6 mg/L) and $KMnO_4$(4.8mg/L) were 833.3, 1428.6 and 1666.7 mg/kg, respectively. Mn(II) removal onto the IMCS in the presence of oxidants was well described by second-order reaction and Langmuir isotherm expression.