• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1317-1325
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• 2008

Viral safety is an important prerequisite for clinical preparations of plasma-derived pharmaceuticals. One potential way to increase the safety of therapeutic biological products is the use of a virus-retentive filter. In order to increase the viral safety of human antihemophilic factor IX, particularly in regard to non-enveloped viruses, a virus removal process using a polyvinylidene fluoride membrane filter (Viresolve NFP) has been optimized. The most critical factor affecting the filtration efficiency was operating pH and the optimum pH was 6 or 7. Flow rate increased with increasing operating pressure and temperature. Recovery yield in the optimized production-scale process was 96%. No substantial changes were observed in the physical and biochemical characteristics of the filtered factor IX in comparison with those before filtration. A 47-mm disk membrane filter was used to simulate the process performance of the production-scale cartridges and to test if it could remove several experimental model viruses for human pathogenic viruses, including human hepatitis A virus (HAV), porcine parvovirus (PPV), murine encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), and bovine herpes virus (BHV). Non-enveloped viruses (HAV, PPV, and EMCV) as well as enveloped viruses (HIV, BVDV, and BHV) were completely removed during filtration. The log reduction factors achieved were $\geq$6.12 for HAV, $\geq$4.28 for PPV, $\geq$5.33 for EMCV, $\geq$5.51 for HIV, $\geq$5.17 for BVDV, and $\geq$5.75 for BHV. These results indicate that the virus filtration process successfully improved the viral safety of factor IX.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.95-106
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• 2011

Even though MBR processes have many advantages such as high quality effluents, a small footprint and convenience for operation compared to conventional activated sludge processes, there are some shortcomings in terms of the cost and potential fouling incident that keeps MBR (Membrane bioreactor) processes from being widely applied. To reduce these problems, PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) flat sheet membranes that have excellent permeability and durability were tested instead of PVDF (Polyvinylidene fluoride) membrane which is being used widely in water treatment. Low concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was also added into the membrane modules in order to prevent the membrane fouling as well as to provide the alkalinity. With conditions mentioned above, a pilot-scale MBR system based on the MLE (Modified Ludzack Ettinger) process was operated at flux of 40 $L/m^{2}/hr$ and over 15,000 mg/L MLSS concentration for about 8 months. And coagulant(alum) was added into the membrane tank to remove phosphorus. Although the more coagulant is added the more effectively phosphorus is removed, that can lead to fouling for a long operation(Ronseca et al.,2009). By the way there is a research that fouling grow up after stopping injection of coagulant(Holbrook, 2004). Stable operation of MBR systems was achieved without major chemical cleaning and the effluent quality was found to be good enough to comply with the treated waste water quality regulations of the Korea.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.5_6
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• pp.641-659
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• 2010

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) gradually becomes a technique for ensuring the health and safety of civil infrastructures and is also an important approach for the research of the damage accumulation and disaster evolving characteristics of civil infrastructures. It is attracting prodigious research interests and the active development interests of scientists and engineers because a great number of civil infrastructures are planned and built every year in mainland China. In a SHM system the sheer number of accompanying wires, fiber optic cables, and other physical transmission medium is usually prohibitive, particularly for such structures as offshore platforms and long-span structures. Fortunately, with recent advances in technologies in sensing, wireless communication, and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), wireless sensor technique has been developing rapidly and is being used gradually in the SHM of civil engineering structures. In this paper, some recent advances in the research, development, and implementation of wireless sensors for the SHM of civil infrastructures in mainland China, especially in Dalian University of Technology (DUT) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), are introduced. Firstly, a kind of wireless digital acceleration sensors for structural global monitoring is designed and validated in an offshore structure model. Secondly, wireless inclination sensor systems based on Frequency-hopping techniques are developed and applied successfully to swing monitoring of large-scale hook structures. Thirdly, wireless acquisition systems integrating with different sensing materials, such as Polyvinylidene Fluoride(PVDF), strain gauge, piezoresistive stress/strain sensors fabricated by using the nickel powder-filled cement-based composite, are proposed for structural local monitoring, and validating the characteristics of the above materials. Finally, solutions to the key problem of finite energy for wireless sensors networks are discussed, with future works also being introduced, for example, the wireless sensor networks powered by corrosion signal for corrosion monitoring and rapid diagnosis for large structures.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.393-403
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• 2021

Enzymes are important class of catalyst for biotransformation. Stability and reusability of enzymes during the catalysis process is a key issue. Activity of enzyme can be enhanced by its immobilization on a suitable substrate by creation of specific microenvironment. A variety of membranes has been used as substrate due to the biocompatibility and simpler method to tune hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity property of the membrane surface. In this review, polymer membranes including cellulose, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethersulfone (PES) are introduced and discussed in detail. Biodegradation of organic contaminants by immobilized enzyme is an environmental friendly process to reduce the contamination of environment in pharmaceutical company and textile industries. The controlled hydrolysis of oil can be performed in enzyme immobilized membrane bioreactor (EMBR), resulting in reducing carbon emission and reduced environmental pollution. Bioethanol and biodiesel are considered alternative fossil fuels that can be prepared in EMBR.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.235-243
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• 2022

The paper presents the effect of operating temperatures and flow rates on the distillate flux that can be obtained from a hydrophobic membrane having the characteristics: pore size of 0.15 ㎛; thickness of 130 ㎛; and 85% porosity. That membrane in the present investigation could be the direct contact (DCMD) or the air-gap membrane distillation (AGMD). To model numerically the membrane distillation processes, the two-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is used for the DCMD and AGMD cases here. In this work, DCMD and AGMD models have been validated with the experimental data using different flows (Parallel and Counter-current flows) in non-steady-state situations. A good agreement is obtained between the present results and those of the experimental data in the literature. The new approach in the present numerical modeling has allowed examining effects of the nature of materials (Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymers, copolymers, and blends) used on thermal properties. Moreover, the effect of the area surface of the membrane (0.021 to 3.15 ㎡) is investigated to explore both the laminar and the turbulent flow regimes. The obtained results found that copolymer P(VDF-TrFE) (80/20) is more effective than the other materials of membrane distillation (MD). The mass flux and thermal efficiency reach 193.5 (g/㎡s), and 83.29 % using turbulent flow and an effective area of 3.1 ㎡, respectively. The increase of feed inlet temperatures and its flow rate, with the reduction of cold temperatures and its flow rate are very effective for increasing distillate water flow in MD applications.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.307-311
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• 2022

With the development of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, numerous people worldwide connect with various electronic devices via Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs). Considering that HMIs are a new concept of dynamic interactions, wearable electronics have been highlighted owing to their lightweight, flexibility, stretchability, and attachability. In particular, wearable strain sensors have been applied to a multitude of practical applications (e.g., fitness and healthcare) by conformally attaching such devices to the human skin. However, the stretchable elastomer in a wearable sensor has an intrinsic stretching limitation; therefore, structural advances of wearable sensors are required to develop practical applications of wearable sensors. In this study, we demonstrated a 3-dimensional (3D), porous, and piezoelectric strain sensor for sensing body movements. More specifically, the device was fabricated by mixing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyvinylidene fluoride nanoparticles (PVDF NPs) as the matrix and piezoelectric materials of the strain sensor. The porous structure of the strain sensor was formed by a sugar cube-based 3D template. Additionally, mixing methods of PVDF piezoelectric NPs were optimized to enhance the device sensitivity. Finally, it is verified that the developed strain sensor could be directly attached onto the finger joint to sense its movements.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.85-93
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• 2023

Membrane separation is widely used for several applications such as water treatment, membrane reactors and climate change. Cross-linked organic-inorganic hybrid polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) / Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was adopted for the preparation of optimized hollow membrane (HFM) for membrane distillation or other low pressure separators for mechanical properties and permeability under varying pretreatment schemes. HFMs were prepared on semi-pilot membrane fabrication system. Novel adopted post-treatment schemes involved soaking in glycerol, magnesium sulphate (MgSO₄), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), and isopropanol for different durations. All fibers were characterized for morphology using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), surface roughness using atomic force microscope (AFM), elemental composition by examining Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), water contact angle (CA°) and porosity. The performance of the fibers was evaluated for pure water permeation flux (PWF). Post-treatment with MgSO₄ gave the highest both tensile modulus and flux. Assessment of properties and performance revealed comparable results with other organic-inorganic separators, HF or flat. In spite of few reported data on post treatment using MgSO₄ in presence of TEOS, this proves the potential of low cost treatment without negative impact on other membrane properties. The flux is also comparable with hypochlorite which manifests substantial precaution requirements in actual industrial use.The relatively high values of flux/bar for sample treated with TEOS, post treated with MgSO₄ and hypochlorite are 88 and 82 LMH/bar respectively.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.164-171
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• 2006

If the velocities of longitudinal, transverse and leaky surface acoustic waves in an isotropic material are given, the elastic constants and density of the material can be deduced analytically. Those velocities have been measured using three ultrasonic transducers with different vibrational modes so far. In this paper a line-focusing PVDF transducer with divided electrodes was newly proposed and designed for measuring approximate velocities of the three waves. The measurement method established in this study for each waves using the transducer was applied to several isotropic materials including fused quartz. The elastic stiffness constants and densities of the materials were calculated using the measured velocities, and the accuracies were discussed. It was shown that the obtained results are in good accord with the reference values.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.79-88
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• 2024

Modification of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) characteristics and performance were investigated via post treatment using different oxidants. sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and potassium persulfate (KPS). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) results revealed no structural differences after post treatment. Cross-sectional micrographs show finger-like structures at the outer and inner walls of the HFMs and sponge-like structures in middle, where NaOCl and KPS post treated fibers exhibited a decrease in finger-like structures in addition to aggregates appearing on the surface, consequently leading to an increase in the surface roughness (Ra) from 48 nm to 52.8nm and 56 nm, respectively. Hydrogen peroxide post treatment only was observed to decrease the water contact angle from 98° to 81.4°. It was also observed that the elongation at break and the modulus deceased after NaOCl post treatment from 34.5 to 28.5% and from 19.3 Mpa to 16.6 Mpa, respectively. Moreover, pure water flux after H₂O₂ post treatment increased from 87.8 LMH/bar to 113 LMH/bar at 0.45 bar, while no changes were detected for the methylene blue dye rejection (74%) between raw and hydrogen peroxide post treated fibers at the same pressure. According to the findings hydrogen peroxide post treated PVDF HFMs have the most uniform surfaces, with almost no alterations in structural and mechanical properties or porosities with enhanced hydrophilicity and pure water flux maintaining appropriate rejection. Therefore, it is considered an efficient surface modifying agent for UF/NF membranes or low-pressure separators.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.39-46
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• 2020

Composite electrodes for rechargeable batteries generally consist of active material, electric conductor, and polymeric binder. And their composition and distribution within the composite electrode determine the electrochemical activity in the electrochemical systems. However, it is not easy to quantify the physical properties of composite electrodes themselves using conventional experimental analysis tools. So, 3D structural modeling and simulation can be an efficient design tool by looking into the contact areas between particles and electric conductivity within the composite electrode. In this study, while maintaining the composition (LiCoO₂ : Super P Li^® : Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVdF) = 93 : 3 : 4 by wt%) and loading level (13 mg cm^-2) of the composite electrode, the effects of LiCoO₂ size (10 ㎛ and 20 ㎛) and electrode density (2.8 g cm^-3, 3.0 g cm^-3, 3.2 g cm^-3, 3.5 g cm^-3, 4.0 g cm^-3) on the physical properties are investigated using a GeoDict software. With this tool, the composite electrode can be efficiently designed to optimize the contact area and electric conductivity.