• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.286-296
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• 2007

Ozone creation potentials suited for Seoul metropolitan area was derived by utilizing the PAMS monitoring data and the source inventory. A simple box model with variable height was developed to calculate the incremental reactivity for all the ozone episode days in the year 2003 and 2004. RIR (Relative Incremental Reactivity) was introduced as a measure of contribution to ozone generation in the Seoul metropolitan area. RIR was defined as a function of ratio of VOC to $NO_x$ and therefore it addresses both VOC and $NO_x$ limited regime. For the days that more than 10 monitoring stations out of 27 monitoring station in Seoul recorded the daily maximum ozone concentrations higher than 70 ppb, toluene had the highest RIR value in all the type II and type III PAMS site and m/p-xylene followed with the second highest RIR value. Analyses using MIR (Maximum Incremental Reactivity) and POCP (Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential) instead of RIR also yields dominance of toluene and m/p-xylene in generating ozone concentrations to demonstrate the validity of RIR.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1067-1074
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• 2014

Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) has been carried out to evaluate the environmental impacts of glass bottle recycle. The LCA consists of four stages such as Goal and Scope Definition, Life Cycle Inventory(LCI) Analysis, Life Cycle Impact Assessment(LCIA), and Interpretation. The LCI analysis showed that the major input materials were water, materials, sand, and crude oil, whereas the major output ones were wastewater, $CO_2$, and non-hazardous wastes. The LCIA was conducted for the six impact categories including 'Abiotic Resource Depletion', 'Acidification', 'Eutrophication', 'Global Warming', 'Ozone Depletion', and 'Photochemical Oxidant Creation'. As for Abiotic Resource Depletion, Acidification, and Photochemical Oxidant Creation, Bunker fuel oil C and LNG were major effects. As for Eutrophication, electricity and Bunker fuel oil C were major effects. As for Global Warming, electricity and LNG were major effects. As for Ozone Depletion, plate glasses were major effects. Among the six categories, the biggest impact potential was found to be Global Warming as 97% of total, but the rest could be negligible.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.406-412
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• 2008

Biogas plant with anaerobic digestion is receiving high attention as a facility for both livestock waste treatment and electric power generation. Objective of this study was to perform life cycle assessment (LCA) of a biogas plant which incorporates swine and food waste (7:3) as source materials for biogas production. In addition, the biogas production process was compared with the prevalent composting method as a reference in the aspects of green house gas (GHG) reduction potential and environmental impact. The biogas method was capable of reducing 52 kg $CO_2$ eq. emission per ton of swine/food waste, but the composting process was estimated to emit 268 kg $CO_2$ eq. into air. The biogas method was evaluated as more beneficial to the environment by mitigating the impact on abiotic depletion potential (ADP), global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), eutrophication potential (EP), and photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP), but not to acidification potential (AP).

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.49-60
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• 2004

Life Cycle Assessment for the pulp, which is mainly used as the raw material of fine paper, base paper for food packaging and paper cup, has been carried out in this study to consider environmental aspects by quantifying the environmental emission and to evaluate its environmental impact potential. The system boundary was selected from cradle to gate stage(raw material acquisition, transportation of raw material and product manufacturing) of the product. Environmental impact was divided into 8 categories considering Korean situation: abiotic resource depletion, global warming, ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidant creation, ecotoxicity and human toxicity. In Life Cycle Impact Assessment(LCIA) methodology phase, Ecopoint, Eco-indicator 95 and Korean eco-indicator were used and the results carried out by each methodology were compared. The results from this study were also compared with those of foreign study to verify the reliability of the results. The results of the study could be utilized as the basic data for Environmental Management System(EMS), Design for Environment(DfE) and Type III eco-labeling in the paper and paper-related industry.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.203-209
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• 2022

An environmental evaluation was conducted by employing LCA methodology for a mechanical seal manufacturing process that uses recycled silicon recovered from end-of-cycle PV modules. The recycled silicon was purified and reacted with carbon to synthesize β-SiC particles. Then the particles underwent compression molding, calcination and heat treatment to produce a product. Field data were collected and the potential environmental impacts of each stage were calculated using the LCI DB of the Ministry of Environment. The assessment was based on 6 categories, which were abiotic resource depletion, acidification, eutrophication, global warming, ozone depletion and photochemical oxidant creation. The environmental impacts by category were 45 kg CO₂ for global warming and 2.23 kg C₂H₄ for photochemical oxide creation, and the overall environmental impact by photochemical oxide creation, resource depletion and global warming had a high contribution of 98.7% based on weighted analysis. The wet process of fine grinding and mixing the raw silicon and carbon, and SiC granulation were major factors that caused the environmental impacts. These impacts need to be reduced by converting to a dry process and using a system to recover and reuse the solvent emitted to the atmosphere. It was analyzed that the environmental impacts of resource depletion and global warming decreased by 53.9% and 60.7%, respectively, by recycling silicon from end-of-cycle PV modules. Weighted analysis showed that the overall environmental impact decreased by 27%, and the LCA analysis confirmed that recycling waste modules could be a major means of resource saving and realizing carbon neutrality.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.43-51
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• 2023

In this research, through LCA analysis, the environmental impact of automotive engine manufacturing and re-manufacturing was analyzed from the perspective of the entire process, and the greenhouse gas reduction effect was calculated based on this. The amount of greenhouse gas emitted from the process of acquiring and manufacturing raw materials for automotive engines is about 3,473 kg for new manufacturing and 872 kg for re-manufacturing. Thus, the amount of greenhouse gas reduction by engaging in re-manufacturing is about 2,601 kg; the analysis shows a reduction effect in each part of the entire process except for the processing stage. As a result of the LCA weighted analysis, the environmental impact of new product manufacturing was found to be 1.07E+03 Eco-point, and it was 2.67E+02 Eco-point for re-manufacturing. The share of GWP(Global Warming Potential) among the six major impact categories(Abiotic Depletion Potential, Acidification Potential, Eutrophication Potential, Global Warming Potential, Ozone-layer Depletion Potential, Photochemical Oxidant Creation Potential) as high at 99.72%(new manufacturing) and 99.68%(re-manufacturing).

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.645-665
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• 2024

For volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emanating from workplaces within the Noksan national industrial complex, the emission characteristics of pollutants were identified through zone-based measurements using vehicles equipped with selective ion flow tube mass spectrometry(SIFT-MS). The average concentration of total VOCs was higher in zones 2, 4, and 5 than in zones 1, 3, and 6, and was 2.1 to 4.2 times higher than background concentrations. The average concentrations of pollutants investigated were (from highest to lowest) methyl ethyl ketone, formaldehyde, methanol, and n-hexane. However, the pollutants that should be prioritized for reduction to decrease ozone generation were (from highest to lowest) methyl ethyl ketone, n-hexane, for maldehyde, and ethylbenzene+xylene. Benzene, a substance governed by atmospheric environmental standards, exhibited a frequency distribution exceeding the stipulated limits, and concentrations exceeding 100 ppb were identified for methyl ethyl ketone, methanol, toluene, and n-hexane. In certain class 4 and 5 workplace facilities, VOC emissions and emission prevention installations were inadequately managed, necessitating the formulation of management measures for small enterprises. Also, workplaces that emit large amounts of VOCs need to upgrade to VOC-prevention installations with higher processing efficiencies. To efficiently monitor VOCs in a wide range of areas, such as the Noksan national industrial complex, it is considered appropriate to monitor workplaces that emit high concentrations of VOCs using mobile SIFT-MS in real time rather than relying on fixed monitoring methods. A specialized method targeting approximately 10 VOCs is necessary to quickly track emission sources.Furthermore, it is essential to phase in a system for the intensive management of suspected workplaces based on accumulated data from SIFT-MS in areas where high VOC concentrations are measured and to establish a cooperative system for sharing data between relevant institutions.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.49-58
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• 2015

In order to determine how much a new green building reduce the environmental impacts, it is necessary to establish the reference target for comparison. Therefore, this study aims to establish the reference target by evaluating the environmental impacts of existing buildings. To ensure this end, this study evaluated the environmental impacts(Global warming potential, ozone layer depletion potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, and abiotic depletion potential) of 17 existing elementary school buildings, which are located in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and Gwangju, by using the hybrid LCA model. As a result, the environmental impacts of the case buildings were clearly distinguished in different regions. Therefore, this study presented the reference targets which are appropriate to each region. For example, the reference targets for global warming potential, which can be used in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and Gwangju, are 3.76E+03, 1.90E+03, 2.63E+03, $2.81E+03kg-CO_2\;eq./m^2$, respectively. The presented reference targets are expected to be useful for understanding how much environmental impacts can be reduced when a new green school building is constructed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.698-705
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• 2017

Environmental impact of a mobile phone charger containing recycled plastic was quantified using LCA and the environmental benefits from the use of recycled and virgin plastic were compared. The assessment considers potential environmental impacts across the whole life cycle of the charger including; pre-manufacturing; manufacturing; distribution; product use; and end-of-life stages and quantified six environmental impact categories; Abiotic depletion; Acidification; Eutrophication; Global warming; Ozone layer depletion; and Photochemical oxidants creation. The study showed that the environmental impacts of the use stage accounted for 94.4% and 70% in the resource depletion and global warming impact categories, respectively, and the environmental impacts of the pre - manufacturing stage accounted for more than 98% in the other impact categories. The main cause of the environmental impacts in the use stage was electricity consumed by the charger. The main cause in the pre-manufacturing stage was PBA (Printed Board Assembly) and external case manufacturing. In order to quantify the environmental benefits of recycled PC (Polycarbonate) in the exterior case, the environmental impacts of 1 kg production of recycled PC and virgin PC were evaluated. The environmental impact on the abiotic depletion of the recycled PC is estimated to be 30% compared to the virgin PC, and the impacts on the other impact categories of the recycled PC were less than 5% of the virgin plastic. Sensitivity analysis was performed for 12 items including site data and assumptions made. The sensitivity of each item was less than 10%. The results of this study confirm that designing compact and light PBA, improving charging efficiency, and use of recycled plastic are important design factors to reduce the environmental impact of a charger.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.269-274
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• 2018

In this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of wet tissue manufacturing process was performed. The wet tissue manufacturing process consists of preparation of wetting agent (chemical liquid), impregnation of nonwoven fabric into wetting agent and primary and secondary packaging. Data and information were collected on the input and output of the actual process from a certain company and the database of the Korea Ministry of Environment and some foreign countries (when Korean unavailable) were employed to connect the upper and the lower process flow. Based on the above and the potential environmental impacts of the wet tissue manufacturing process were calculated. As a result of the characterization, Ozone Layer Depletion (OD) is 3.46.E-06 kg $CFC_{11}$, Acidification (AD) is 5.11.E-01 kg $SO_2$, Abiotic Resource Depletion (ARD) is $3.52.E+00\;1yr^{-1}$, Global Warming (GW) is 1.04.E+02 kg $CO_2$, Eutrophication (EUT) is 2.31.E-02 kg ${PO_4}^{3-}$, Photochemical Oxide Creation (POC) was 2.22.E-02 kg $C_2H_4$, Human Toxicity (HT) was 1.55.E+00 kg 1,4 DCB and Terrestrial Ecotoxicity (ET) was 5.82.E-04 kg 1,4 DCB. In order to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing process, it is necessary to improve the overall process as other general cases and change the raw materials including packaging materials with less environmental impact. Conclusively, the energy consumed in the manufacturing process has emerged as a major issue, and this needs to be reconsidered other options such as alternative energy. Therefore, it is recommended that a process system should be redesigned to improve energy efficiency and to change to an energy source with lower environmental impact. Due to the nature of LCA, the final results of this study can be varied to some extent depending on the type of LCI DB employed and may not represent of all wet tissue manufacturing processes in the current industry.