• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.12-18
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• 2023

In 2018, the demand for silver (referred to as Ag) in the electrical and electronics sector was 249 million tons. The demand stood at 81 million tons in the solar module production sector. Currently, due to the rapid increase in solar module installation, the demand for silver is increasing drastically in Korea. However, Korea's natural metal resources and reserves are insufficient in comparison to their consumption, and the domestic silver ore self-sufficiency rate was as low as 2.2% as of 2021. This implies that a recycling technology is necessary to recover valuable metal resources contained in the waste plating solution generated in the metal industry. Therefore, this study compared and analyzed, the results of the impact evaluation through life cycle assessment according to an improvement in the process of recovery of valuable metals in the waste plating solution. The process improvement resulted in reducing GWP (Global Warming Potential) and ADP(Abiotic Depletion Potential) by 50% and 67%, respectively. The GWP of electricity and industrial water was reduced by 98% and 93%, respectively, which significantly contributed to the minimization of energy and water consumption. Thus, the improvement in recycling technology has a high potential to reduce chemical and energy use and improve resource productivity in the urban mining industry.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.47-50
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• 1968

Two methods for separation of the impurities from bismuth metal have been found by the use of Dowex $1{\times}4,$ anion exchange resins. The first method is that Dowex $1{\times}4$ resins are packed into the two stage columns (height of under stage is 22cm and upper stage is 3cm, and diameter of columns are 1.5cm), and the impurities of Pb(II), Ag(I) and Cu(II) are separated by the eluent of 7.5M HCl soln, Zn(II), Fe(III) by 0.5M HCl solns, and Te(IV) in the upper stage by 2M NaOH soln. Remained Au(III) in the upper stage is determined by the ignition with resins. The 2nd method is that for the separation of all the impurities simultaneously the same resins are packed into single stage column(height is 10cm and diameter is 1.5cm), and all the impurities of Pb(II), Zn(II), Cu(II), Fe(III) and Ag(I) are eluted by the eluent of 0.5M HCl soln. Separated impurities are determined by the colorimetry.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

This study evaluated the relative extraction ratio (RER) of As and heavy metals (Cd, Cu and Pb) in paddy soils using the two types extractant, 0.05 M EDTA and 0.43 M HNO₃. The RER was calculated by dividing the concentrations of metals obtained by 0.05 M EDTA or 0.43 M HNO₃ extraction by those obtained by aqua regia extraction. The RER of 0.43 M HNO₃ was larger than that of 0.05 M EDTA. Correlation analysis indicated there was statistically significant correlation (p<0.001) between the concentration in aqua regia and 0.05 M EDTA or 0.43 M HNO₃. Especially, Cd showed the higher correlation than other metals. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses indicated soil pH, CEC, organic matter content, and soil texture all influenced the metal extraction rates and bioavailability of the metals.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.565-571
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• 2012

This study was conducted to investigate the tolerance of some resistant fungal strains from soils contaminated with heavy metals. Various fungal strains were isolated from soil samples collected from studied sites which heavy metals and other pollutants have been emitted in effluents for several years. Fungi isolated belong to different genera; however, Penicillium spp. showed the most frequent species. The microbial number was remarkably higher in the control soil than contaminated soil samples collected from mining areas. $Pb^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ had the highest concentration in the polluted soils ranging from 89 - 3,521 ppm and 98 - 4,383 ppm, respectively. The minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) of $Pb^{+2}$ and $Zn^{+2}$ showed the highest values against the fungal strains. $Ni^{+2}$ and $Co^{+2}$ were the lowest contaminants in the polluted soils with the concentration of 5 to 12.1 ppm and 1.8 to 4.8 ppm, respectively. The tested resistant strains showed the strongest inhibition for $Ni^{+2}$ and $Co^{+2}$ up to 200-400 ppm. Cadmium was the most highly toxic heavy metal for most of strains, however, 1 mM of $Cr^{3+}$, $Cu^{2+}$ and $Pb^{2+}$ accelerated the growth of Penicillium verrucosum KNU3. $Cu^{+2}$ and $Zn^{+2}$ at concentration of 1 mM did not affect the growth rate P. funiculosum KNU4. Tolerance of fungal species to heavy metals appears to be strain and origin dependent.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.619-626
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• 2009

The price fluctuation of minerals are commonly occurred through the change of market condition, and the redevelopment of closed mines are usually happened if commercial requirement can be satisfied. After 2003, as the price of most of metals increased very rapidly, Korea government tried to find the possibility of reopening for some closed metal mines. The purpose of this article is to suggest the proper ways how effectively to regulate the mine pollution concerning the redevelopment of closed mines. For this work, with the recent price trends of metals and reopening possibility of closed metal mines in Korea were reviewed. And analysing the problems of regulations for the mine development permission and mine pollution control and reclamation process of Korea, several amendments of environmental and mining regulation regimes for redevelopment of closed mines were proposed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1119-1128
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• 2015

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, which is encoded by some bacteria, can reduce the amount of ethylene, a root elongation inhibitor, and stimulate the growth of plants under various environmental stresses. The presence of ACC deaminase activity and the regulation of ACC in several rhizospheric bacteria have been reported. The nitrogen-fixing Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501 is capable of endophytic association with rice plants and promotes the growth of rice. However, the functional identification of ACC deaminase has not been performed. In this study, the proposed effect of ACC deaminase in P. stutzeri A1501 was investigated. Genome mining showed that P. stutzeri A1501 carries a single gene encoding ACC deaminase, designated acdS. The acdS mutant was devoid of ACC deaminase activity and was less resistant to NaCl and NiCl₂ compared with the wild-type. Furthermore, inactivation of acdS greatly impaired its nitrogenase activity under salt stress conditions. It was also observed that mutation of the acdS gene led to loss of the ability to promote the growth of rice under salt or heavy metal stress. Taken together, this study illustrates the essential role of ACC deaminase, not only in enhancing the salt or heavy metal tolerance of bacteria but also in improving the growth of plants, and provides a theoretical basis for studying the interaction between plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and plants.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.331-335
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• 1999

The transition metal oxides have been of interest as bifunctional electrocatalysts for bifunctional air electrodes. The amorphous citrate precursor (ACP) process has been optimized to prepare perovskite (La0.6Ca0.4CoO3) and pyrochlore (Pb2Ru2O6) powders with high surface area, and consequent improvement of The electrocatalytic performance in an air electrode with thermal treatment. PTFE -bonded gas diffusion electrodes loaded with perovskitc and pyrochlore catalysts showed good bifunctional performances. The electrodes were fairly stable up to 100 hour in the galvanostatic mode at ${\pm}25mA/cm^2$, from which these electrodes offer promise as practical bifunctional air electrodes.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 1987

The geology of the Bupyeong mine area is consisted of Precambrian Gyeonggi gneiss complex and Mesozoic igneous rocks; i.e., pyroclastic rocks, intrusive breccia, granite and felsic porphyries which were formed during a Jurassic to early Cretaceous resurgent caldera evolution. Granites are not observed on the surface and in the underground of the mine. Bupyeong silver deposits occur as stockworks of base metal sulfides- minor silver minerals-quartz - carbonate veinlets, hosted by pyroclastic rocks and intrusive breccia at the southwestern margin of the caldera. Silver occurs mainly as native silver, and other silver minerals, minor in quantity, are argentite, tetrahedrite-freibergite, pyrargyrite, polybasite, canfieldite and dyscrasite. The average grade of silver ore is about 180g/t Ag. Discrimination of silver ore from the country rocks depends largely on the chemical analyses of rock samples taken every two meters from tunnels, diamond-drilling cores and mining stopes, because silver minerals are hardly observed in the ore by crude eye, and silver orebodies do not properly coincide with the concentrated zone of base metal sulfides which were precipitated at the earlier stage than the stage of precipitation of native silver. General characteristics of the loci of the silver orebodies are as follows; (1) The host rocks of orebodies are pyroclastic rocks and intrusive breccia. (2) Many of the orebodies are distributed around Gyeonggi gneiss complex. Especially where the paleotopography of gneiss complex shows a gradual slope, the basal stratigraphic horizon of the pyroclastic rocks unconformably overlying the gneiss complex offered a favorable loci of high grade ore. (3) $N5^{\circ}W$ to $N15^{\circ}$ E-striking faults played an important role in the localization of the orebodies. (4) Conduits of intrusive breccia within the gneiss complex, through which the intrusive breccia intruded into the upper pyroclastic rocks, exist beneath most of the main orebodies. This suggests that the conduits of intrusive breccia served as channelways for the migration of ore fluids.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.305-313
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• 1996

In order to investigate the extent and degree of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn contamination affected by mining activities of the Dalsung Cu~W mine, sampling of stream sediments and waters has been undertaken up to 1.5 km downstream from the mine at 50~150 meter intervals. Analysis of the samples was carried out using ICP-AES for Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. Physical and chemical properties of sediments (pH, organic matter contents, cation exchange capacity) and waters (pH, Eh and temperature) were also measured. The properties of the sediment samples were characterized by low pH (3.0~5.5), low organic matter contents (2~5%) and a moderate degree of cation exchange capacity (7~15 meq/100 g) with a high proportion of sand fraction. The pH values of water samples ranged from 3.0 to 5.0 and the Eh levels were in the range of 350~530 mV. Concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in the sediments averaged 3.2 mg/kg, 1,390 mg/kg, 451 mg/kg and 262 mg/kg with the range of 0.6~11.4 mg/kg, 15~3,800 mg/kg, 14~1,330 mg/kg and 63~1,060 mg/kg, respectively. Significant levels of the heavy metals were also found in the water samples with the range of $10{\sim}170{\mu}gCd/l$, $300{\sim}41,600{\mu}gCu/l$, $10{\sim}80{\mu}gPb/l$ and $700{\sim}15,400{\mu}gZn/l$. These elevated concentrations in the sediments and waters may be caused by the weathering of mine waste materials and their high solubilities under acidic and/or oxidizing conditions. Although metal concentrations in the samples decrease with the distance from the mine, heavy metal contamination of sediments and waters were also found at the 1.5 km downstream due to the mobile conditions of the heavy metals, with particular reference to Cd and Zn in stream waters.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1809-1818
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• 2008

Biotechnological treatment of sulfate- and metal-ions-containing acidic wastewaters from mining and metallurgical activities utilizes sulfate-reducing bacteria to produce sulfide that can subsequently precipitate metal ions. Reducing sulfate at a low pH has several advantages above neutrophilic sulfate reduction. This study describes the effect of sulfide removal on the reactor performance and microbial community in a high-rate sulfidogenic gas-lift bioreactor fed with hydrogen at a controlled internal pH of 5. Under sulfide removal conditions, 99% of the sulfate was converted at a hydraulic retention time of 24 h, reaching a volumetric activity as high as 51 mmol sulfate/l/d. Under nonsulfide removal conditions, <25% of the sulfate was converted at a hydraulic retention time of 24 h reaching volumetric activities of <13 mmol sulfate/l/d. The absence of sulfide removal at a hydraulic retention time of 24 h resulted in an average $H_2S$ concentration of 18.2 mM (584 mg S/I). The incomplete sulfate removal was probably due to sulfide inhibition. Molecular phylogenetic analysis identified 11 separate 16S rRNA bands under sulfide stripping conditions, whereas under nonsulfide removal conditions only 4 separate 16S rRNA bands were found. This shows that a less diverse population was found in the presence of a high sulfide concentration.