• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.676-682
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• 2016

In this study, rainwater-greywater hybrid system was installed and operated for 1 year in order to evaluate its water quantity, water quality, and economic efficiency in building no. 39. This system was expected to overcome each disadvantages of and maximize each advantages. Low-greywater that was washed up from shower room was treated by MBR (Membrane Bioreactor) and ozone oxidation. Rainwater that was collected from the rooftop was stored in a reservoir, and then transferred to the storage tank that was mixed with treated greywater. After 1 year operating in building no. 39, rainwater and greywater was used to supply $2,599m^3$ of toilet flushing water. In terms of water quality, rainwater was satisfied far the greywater reuse standards except for E.coli. Moreover, low greywater quality was acceptable except for E. coli, BOD, SS, and turbidity. In addition, economic analysis was obtained from benefit-cost ratio (B/C) with 1.11. It implies that the feasibility of the project was reasonable. Furthermore, various research and policy to improve the economic efficiency of water recycling facilities is required to expand the use of water recycling facilities.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.495-504
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• 2015

This work investigated the characteristics of a packed-bed plasma reactor system and the performances of the plasma reactors connected in series or in parallel for the decomposition of ethylene. Before the discharge ignition, the effective capacitance of the ${\gamma}$-alumina packed-bed plasma reactor was larger than that of the reactor without any packing, but after the ignition the effective capacitance was similar to each other, regardless of the packing. The energy of electrons created by plasma depends mainly on the electric field intensity, and was not significantly affected by the gas composition in the range of 0~20% (v/v) oxygen (nitrogen : 80~100% (v/v)). Among the various reactive species generated by plasma, ground-state atomic oxygen and ozone are understood to be primarily involved in oxidation reactions, and as the electric field intensity increases, the amount of ground-state atomic oxygen relatively decreases while that of nitrogen atom increases. Even though there are many parameters affecting the performance of the plasma reactor such as a voltage, discharge power, gas flow rate and residence time, all parameters can be integrated into a single parameter, namely, specific input energy (SIE). It was experimentally confirmed that the performances of the plasma reactors connected in series or in parallel could be treated as a function of SIE alone, which simplifies the scale-up design procedure. Besides, the ethylene decomposition results can be predicted by the calculation using the rate constant expressed as a function of SIE.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.320-328
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• 2016

Among biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in the natural ecosystem, monoterpenes, along with isoprene, play important roles in atmospheric chemistry and make significant impacts on air pollution and climate change, especially due to their contribution to secondary organic aerosol production and photochemical ozone formation. It is essential to measure monoterpene concentrations accurately for understanding their oxidation processes, emission processes and estimation, and interactions between biosphere and atmosphere. Thus, traceable calibration standards are crucial for the accurate measurement of monoterpenes at ambient levels. However, there are limited information about developing calibrations standards for monoterpenes in pressured cylinders. This study describes about developing primary standard gas mixtures (PSMs) for monoterpenes at about 2 nmol/mol, near ambient levels. The micro-gravimetric method was applied to prepare monoterpene (${\alpha}$-pinene, 3-carene, R-(+)-limonene, 1,8-cineole) PSMs at $10{\mu}mol/mol$ and then the PSMs were further diluted to 2 nmol/mol level. To select an optimal cylinder for the development of monoterpene PSMs, three different kinds of cylinders were used for the preparation and were evaluated for uncertainty sources including long-term stability. Results showed that aluminum cylinders with a special internal surface treatment (Experis) had little adsorption loss on the cylinder internal surface and good long-term stability compared to two other cylinder types with no treatment and a special treatment (Aculife). Results from uncertainty estimation suggested that monoterpene PSMs can be prepared in pressured cylinders with a special treatment (Experis) at 2 nmol/mol level with an uncertainty of less than 4%.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.536-546
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• 2016

The diurnal variations of $O_3$ and $NO_2$ in an urban park and the effects of air temperature and wind speed on the diurnal variations are investigated. $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations were observed at a site in an urban park of Seoul from 27 July 2015 to 9 August 2015. The $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations observed in the urban park are compared to those observed at the Gangnam air quality monitoring station (AQMS). The $O_3$ concentration is higher in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS in the daytime because the amount of $O_3$ dissociated by NO is smaller as well as partly because the amount of $O_3$ produced in the oxidation process of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is larger in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS. The $NO_2$ concentration is lower in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS during day and night because the observation site in the urban park is relatively far from roads where $NO_x$ is freshly emitted from vehicles. The difference in $NO_2$ concentration is larger in the daytime than in the nighttime. To examine the effects of air temperature and wind speed on the diurnal variations of $O_3$ and $NO_2$, the observed $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations are classified into high or low air temperature and high or low wind speed days. The high $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations in the daytime appear for the high air temperature and low wind speed days. This is because the daytime photochemical processes are favorable when the air temperature is high and the wind speed is low. The scatter plots of the daytime maximum $O_3$ and minimum $NO_2$ concentrations versus the daytime averages of air temperature and wind speed show that the daytime maximum $O_3$ and minimum $NO_2$ concentrations tend to increase as the air temperature increases or the wind speed decreases. The daytime maximum $O_3$ concentration is more sensitive to the changes in air temperature and wind speed in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.689-697
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• 2005

Hydrogen peroxide is a reservoir of OH radical which is the powerful oxidant in the atmosphere. Therefore, the status of the oxidizing atmosphere could be reflected on the concentration of $H_{2}O_{2}$. In this study, the distribution of $H_{2}O_{2}$ was determined during the intensive aircraft measurements over the Yellow sea in March, December 2002, April, November 2003 and March, October 2004. Flights covered from $124^{circ}E\;to\;129^{circ}E\;and\;35^{circ}N\;to\;37^{circ}N$, and extending to 3,000 m. The flight patterns were set properly to assess the altitudinal and longitudinal distribution for $H_{2}O_{2}$. $H_{2}O_{2}$ was extracted onto aqueous solution using a continuously flowing glass coil and analyzed by a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) accompanied with a fluorescence detector using postcolumn enzyme derivatization. Mixing ratios of $O_{3},\;NO_{x}\;and\;SO_{2}$ were measured in real time by commercial analysis instruments. Along the heights, the maximum concentration of $H_{2}O_{2}$ appeared around 1,500 m then gradually decreased with increasing altitude. The vertical behavior of ozone showed the similar trend to $H_{2}O_{2}$. The mean mixing ratio of $NO_{x}$ was about 2 ppbv and not showed clear vertical distribution patterns. The mean value of was the same as $NO_{x}$ however $SO_{2}$ appeared extreme concentration in low altitude. $H_{2}O_{2}\;and\;O_{3}$ showed even longitudinal distribution however $NO_{x}$ mixing ratio in land ($127^{circ}E$) was much higher than over the sea. $SO_{2}$ rather decreased with increasing longitude. $H_{2}O_{2}$ was in inverse proportion to $NO_{x}$ in spring and summer and $SO_{2}$ in spring, which indicated its significant role to NO and $SO_{2}$ oxidation pathways.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.181-193
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• 2018

Nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) is a potent greenhouse gas as well as an ozone-depleting substance. $N_2O$ is emitted during the biological nitrogen removal process in wastewater treatment systems (WTSs), and has significant environmental impacts. In this study, $N_2O$ emission in WTSs was comprehensively reviewed to better understand the effects of key parameters on $N_2O$ emission and obtain useful guidelines for $N_2O$ mitigation strategies in WTSs. Three biological pathways leading to $N_2O$ emission are hydroxylamine oxidation, nitrifier denitrification, and heterotrohic denitrification. Measurements at lab-, pilot- and full-scale WTSs have shown large variations in $N_2O$ emission (0-95% of N-loaded) during wastewater treatment. In the full-scale WTSs (0-14.6% $N_2O$ of N-loaded), the average and median values were 1.95% and 0.2% of N-loaded, respectively. Dissolved oxygen, nitrite concentrations, and chemical oxygen demand (COD)/N ratio are the most important parameters leading to $N_2O$ emission. A variety of operational strategies have been suggested to minimize $N_2O$ emission from WTSs. A new $N_2O$ mitigation strategy involving the introduction of microorganisms with high $N_2O$ reductase activity or oxygenic denitrification ability has been proposed as an alternative canonical denitrification.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.371-376
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• 2016

In this study, the survey of bisphenol-A in indoor water service pipes rehabilitated with epoxy resin was conducted and the risk assessment was done to investigate the effect on the human health to drink tap water. Bisphenol-A in raw water was detected in a range of 50~118 ng/L in all samples, where the limit of quantification was 10 ng/L. This is caused by inflow of the sewage effluent or the tributaries of the surrounding area containing bisphenol-A. Bisphenol-A was not detected in finished water after the advanced water treatment process. It was achieved by its removal from the processes of flocculation-precipitation and oxidation of ozone and chlorine and by being changed to other by-product materials. For the indoor water service pipe, bisphenol-A was not detected in all cases which was not coated with epoxy resin. However, when epoxy resin is lined within the indoor water service pipe, bisphenol-A was identified at maximum level of 521 ng/L and was detected above the limit of quantitation at 68 percentages of all samples. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) at the maximum level (521 ng/L) of the detected bisphenol-A is 0.004, which is less than the reference value of 0.1 for the tap water intake. Therefore, it is considered that the detected levels of bisphenol-A in this study would be safe to drink tap water.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.178-182
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• 2006

The purpose of this research is to remove the bromate that is a disinfection by-poduct of water purification by ozone. I achieved a high rate of removal with iron, copper, or silver impregnated activated carbon by using both the adsorbing power of granular activated carbon and the oxidizing power of metal ions as deoxidizing agents. In the removal test of bromate with the quantity of activated carbon input I injected each activated carbon by 0.1, 0.3, 0.1, and 1.0 g and let them react for 240 minutes. I found the quantity of removed bromate was in proportion to the amount of input. The removal rate of bromate increased about 20% when I used acid treated activated carbon. The metal impregnated activated carbon had a higher removal rate of bromate than that of general activated carbon by about $30{\sim}50%$. Iron impregnated activated carbon showed a 92% removal rate of bromate. Iron, copper, or silver impregnated activated carbon removed about $0.9{\sim}1.5mg\;{BrO_3}^-/g$ while general activated carbon removed about $0.02{\sim}0.45mg\;{BrO_3}^-/g$. In the continuous column reaction, there were breakthrough phenomena at 96, 180, and 252 hours when I tested EBCT by 1, 2 and 3 minutes while I was changing the flux rate of bromate from 15.6 to 46.8 mL/min.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.800-805
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• 2016

Rapid growth in nanotechnologies promises novel benefits through the exploitation of their unique industrial applications. However, as the production volume of nanomaterials increases, their unintentional exposure to the environment has been occured. Potential impacts of nanoproducts on the environment can be evaluated in the life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is the systematic analysis of the resource usages and emissions over the life time from the primary resources to the moment of disposal. In this study, we performed LCA for fabrication processes of superhydrophilic oil/water separator using nano-$TiO_2$. $TOTAL^{TM}$ freeware was used to analyze for all fabrication processes, and 6-environmental impact factors (resource depletion, climate change, ozone depletion, acidification, eutropication, and photochemical oxidation) were introduced. In addition, the use of nano-$TiO_2$ in the fabrication of superhydrophilic oil/water separator was actively contributed to the environmental impact factors, compared to the bulk-$TiO_2$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.433-437
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• 2013

Electrical discharge plasma created in a multi-channel porous ceramic membrane-supported catalyst was applied to the decomposition of a volatile organic compound (VOC). For the purpose of improving the oxidation capability, the ceramic membrane used as a low-pressure drop catalyst support was loaded with zinc oxide photocatalyst by the incipient wetness impregnation method. Alternating current-driven discharge plasma was created inside the porous ceramic membrane to produce reactive species such as radicals, ozone, ions and excited molecules available for the decomposition of VOC. As the voltage supplied to the reactor increased, the plasma discharge gradually propagated in the radial direction, creating an uniform plasma in the entire ceramic membrane above a certain voltage. Ethylene was used as a model VOC. The ethylene decomposition efficiency was examined with experimental variables such as the specific energy density, inlet ethylene concentration and zinc oxide loading. When compared at the identical energy density, the decomposition efficiency obtained with the zinc oxide-loaded ceramic membrane was substantially higher than that of the bare membrane case. Both nitrogen and oxygen played an important role in initiating the decomposition of ethylene. The rate of the decomposition is governed by the quantity of reactive species generated by the plasma, and a strong dependence of the decomposition efficiency on the initial concentration was observed.