• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.137-148
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• 2022

Recently, in the concrete industry, the development and commercialization of low-carbon products of ready-mixed concrete have emerged as part of the efforts to realize carbon neutrality. This study aims to investigate the current status of environmental product declaration(EPD) of ready-mixed concrete and to analyze the characteristics of carbon emissions by compressive strength, life cycle stage, and region. To this end, the related certification system requiring the calculation of carbon emissions in the concrete industry was analyzed. The target of analyzing the current status of carbon emissions was set as a product of ready-mixed concrete that acquired EPD certification based on the life cycle assessment method. In addition, the trend of carbon emissions according to each characteristic was reviewed by analyzing carbon emissions by the life cycle of ready-mixed concrete products, analyzing carbon emissions by standard, and analyzing carbon emissions by region. As a result, the carbon emissions in the pre-production stage were 99% compared to total carbon emissions., and as it increased from 18MPa to 40MPa, carbon emissions also increased. Even with the same specifications, the carbon emissions in the capital region were higher than in the southern region.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.263-277
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• 2011

Global atmospheric $CO_2$ distributions were simulated with a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and compared with space-borne observations of $CO_2$ column density by GOSAT from April 2009 to January 2010. The GEOS-Chem model simulated 3-D global atmospheric $CO_2$ at $2^{\circ}{\times}2.5^{\circ}$ horizontal resolution using global $CO_2$ surface sources/sinks as well as 3-D emissions from aviation and the atmospheric oxidation of other carbon species. The seasonal cycle and spatial distribution of GEOS-Chem $CO_2$ columns were generally comparable with GOSAT columns over each continent with a systematic positive bias of ~1.0%. Data from the World Data Center for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) from twelve ground stations spanning $90^{\circ}S-82^{\circ}N$ were also compared with the modeled data for the period of 2004-2009 inclusive. The ground-based data show high correlations with the GEOS-Chem simulation ($0.66{\leq}R^2{\leq}0.99$) but the model data have a negative bias of ~1.0%, which is primarily due to the model initial conditions. Together these two comparisons can be used to infer that GOSAT $CO_2$ retrievals underestimate $CO_2$ column concentration by ~2.0%, as demonstrated in recent validation work using other methods. We further estimated individual source/sink contributions to the global atmospheric $CO_2$ budget and trends through 7 tagged $CO_2$ tracers (fossil fuels, ocean exchanges, biomass burning, biofuel burning, net terrestrial exchange, shipping, aviation, and CO oxidation) over 2004-2009. The global $CO_2$ trend over this period (2.1 ppmv/year) has been mainly driven by fossil fuel combustion and cement production (3.2 ppmv/year), reinforcing the fact that rigorous $CO_2$ reductions from human activities are necessary in order to stabilize atmospheric $CO_2$ levels.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.153-153
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• 2010

The world is moving towards a post-carbon society and needs clean and renewable energy for sustainable development. There are many methodological approaches which are helping this shift based on analyzed data about energy resources and which focus on limited types of energy including liquid fossil, solid fossil, gaseous fossil, and biomass (e.g. IPCC Guidelines, ISO 14064-1, WRI Protocol, etc.). We should also consider environmental impact (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, water use, etc.) and the economic cost of the renewable energy to make a better decision. Recently, researchers have addressed the environmental impact of new technologies which include photovoltaics, wind turbines, hydroelectric power, and biofuel. In this work, we analyze the environmental impact with a carbon emission factor to present a correlation between $CO_2$ emission and the cost of energy resources standardized by the energy output. In addition, we reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as another methodology. Researchers who are studying energy systems have ignored the impacts of entire energy systems, e.g. the extraction and processing of fossil fuels. In power sector, the assessment should include extraction, processing, and transportation of fuels, building of power plants, production of electricity, and waste disposal. Therefore LCA could be more suitable tool for energy cost and environmental impact estimation.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.597-604
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• 2012

The present study assessed the $CO_2$ emissions of concrete according to the type and replacement ratio of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) and concrete compressive strength using a comprehensive database including 2464 cement concrete specimens and 776 cement concrete mixes with different SCMs. The system studied in $CO_2$ assessment of concrete based on Korean lifecycle inventory was from cradle to pre-construction, which includes consistent materials, transportation and production phases. As the performance efficiency indicators, binder and $CO_2$ intensities were analyzed, and simple equations to evaluate the amount of $CO_2$ emission of concrete were then formulated as a function of concrete compressive strength and the replacement ratio of each SCM. Hence, the proposed equations are expected to be practical and useful as a guideline to determine the type and replacement ratio of SCM and unit content of binder in concrete mix design that can satisfy the target compressive strength and $CO_2$ reduction percentage relative to cement concrete.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.499-520
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• 2013

This study proposes an iterative approach to the estimation of the marginal abatement costs of undesirable outputs by computing the slope of the efficient production possibilities frontier on the basis of the efficient projection points generated by the directional output distance function approach due to Fare et al. (2005) based on duality theory. In case of the latter methodology, the estimated marginal abatement costs differ significantly depending on the choice of the directional output vector. In addition, depending on the curvature of the underlying PPF the efficient projection points may be located at a significant distance away from their actually observed counterparts. While it would be more logical to estimate marginal abatement costs as a PPF slope at a point corresponding to the actually observed emissions level, the methodology based on duality theory is likely to produce unstable results due to the problems associated with applying the theorem of implicit function differentiation. Since our methodology is not based on duality theory, our results are immune to both of these problems. We apply our methodology to a sample of Western European countries for the period of 1995-2011 to illustrate our approach.

• Architectural research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.53-59
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• 2023

Concrete is widely used in the construction industry; however, it has the disadvantage of deteriorating durability due to cracks occurring because of climate change and shrinkage. In addition, when cement is used as a binder, CO₂ emitted during the manu-facturing process accounts for ~8% of global CO₂ emissions. In this study, ecofriendly cementitious materials such as blast furnace slag powder and fly ash (FA) were used as cement substitutes in the production of mortar containing a chitosan-based polymer (CP), and their fluidity, compressive strength, and self-healing performance were examined. The 28-day compressive strength of the control sample was ~32.4 MPa (the lowest for all tested samples), while that of the sample containing 5% CP and 20% FA was ~49.6 MPa (the highest for all tested samples) and ~53.1% higher than that of the control sample. Even at a healing age of 56 days, the control sample exhibited the lowest healing performance, whereas the samples containing CP (5%, 10%) and 20% FA demonstrated excellent healing performance. After 28 days, the decrease in crack size for the control sample was minimal; however, for the sample containing only cement and CP, a significant decrease in crack size was observed even after 28 days. This study confirmed that the appropriate use of CP and cementitious materials improves not only compressive strength but also the selfhealing performance of mortar.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.374-380
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• 2014

To estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, the inventory of rice cultivation at the farming without agricultural chemicals was established from farmers in Gunsan, Jeonbuk province in 2011~2012. The objectives of this study were to calculate carbon footprint and analyse the major factor of GHGs. To do this, we carried out a sensitivity analysis using the analyzed main factors of GHGs and estimated the mitigation potential of GHGs. Also we suggested agricultural methods to reduce GHGs that can be appled by farmers at this region. At the farming system without agricultural chemicals, carbon footprint of rice production unit of 1 kg was 2.15 kg $CO_2.-eq.kg^{-1}$. Although the amount of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) emission was the largest among GHGs, methane ($CH_4$) emission had the highest contribution to carbon footprint on rice production system when it was converted to carbon dioxide equivalent ($CO_2-eq.$) multiplied by the global warming potential (GWP). Main source of $CO_2$ emission in the rice farming system without agricultural chemicals was combustion of fossil fuels used by agricultural machinery. Most of the $CH_4$ was emitted during rice cultivation practice and its major emission factor was flooded paddy field in anaerobic condition. Also, most of the $N_2O$ was emitted from rice cultivation process. Major sources of the $N_2O$ emission was application of fertilizer such as compound fertilizer. As a result of sensitivity analysis in energy consumption, diesel had the highest sensitivity among the energy inputs. With the reduction of diesel consumption by 10%, it was estimated that $CO_2$ potential reduction was about 2.0%. With reducing application rate of compound fertilizer by 10%, the potential reduction was calculated that $CO_2$ and $N_2O$ could be reduced by 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. At the condition of 10% reduction of silicate and compost, $CO_2$ and $CH_4$ could be reduced by 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively. With 8 days more drainage than the ordinary practice, $CH_4$ emission could be reduced by about 4.5%. Drainage and diesel consumption were the main sources having the largest effect on the GHG reduction at the farming system without agricultural chemicals. Based on the above results, we suggest that no-tillage and midsummer drainage could be a method to decrease GHG emissions from rice production system.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2014

Globally, there are environmental problems due to greenhouse gas emissions. $CO_2$ emissions rate of the cement industry is very high, but the continued demand of cement is needed in the future. In this study, in order to reduce the environmental impact of $CO_2$ emissions from cement production. The experiments were carried out for the development of non-sintered cement (have not undergone firing burning) by granulated ground blast furnace slag. In order to compare the characteristics by curing, an experiment was conducted by changing the curing conditions such as atmospheric steam curing, observe the mechanical properties for the measurement of flexural compressive strength by mortar, observe the chemical properties such as acid resistance, $Cl^-$ penetrate resistance and analyzed the mechanism of hydration by XRD, SEM experiments. From the experimental results, as compared with portland cement usually confirm the mechanical and chemical properties excellent, it is expected be possible to apply to the undersea, underwater and underground structures that require superior durability. In addition, based on the excellent compressive strength by steam curing, it is expected to be possible to utilize as a cement replacement material in the secondary product of concrete. In the future, to solve the problem through continued research, it will be expected to reduce the effect of environmental load and to be excellent economics.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.636-642
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• 2022

The "Hydrogen Economic Activation Road map" was announced in 2019, and hydrogen demand is expected to exceed 470,000 tons per year in 2022 and keep increasing. Under this circumstance, it has become important to understand the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with various hydrogen production pathways. In this study, the evaluation of life cycle GHG emissions regarding the hydrogen produced as by-product from coke oven gas (COG) in steel mill is conducted. To cover the possible range of operations, three literatures were reviewed and their data of inputs and outputs for the process were adopted for calculation. Life cycle inventories and emission factors were mostly referred to GaBi and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines, respectively. When there are multiple products from a single process, the energy allocation method was applied. Based on these sources and the assumptions, the life cycle emission values of COG-based hydrogen were found to be 3.8 to 4.7 kg/CO₂-eq./kg-H₂.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.279-309
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• 2009

Greenhouse gas emissions should be precisely forecast to reduce the emissions from industrial production processes. This study calculated the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries using the Input-Output tables 2003 and statistical data on the amount of energy use. This study had some limitations in drawing study findings because overseas data were used given the lack of domestic data. Other limiting factors included the oil distribution problems in the oil refinery sector, re-review of carbon neutral, and insufficient consideration of waste treatment. Nonetheless, this study is very meaningful since the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries were calculated. Specifically, this study considered from the zero-waste perspective the effects of waste, which attract interest worldwide since coke gas and gas from the steel industry are obtained as byproducts for the first time in Korea. According to the results of the analysis of $CO_2$ emission intensity per industry, typical industries whose indirect $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include crude steel making, Remicon, steel wire rods & track rail, cast iron, and iron reinforcing rods & bar steel. These industries produce products using the raw materials produced in the industrial sector whose $CO_2$ emission intensity is high. The representative industries whose direct $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include cement, pig iron, lime & plaster products, andcoal-based compounds. These industries extract raw ore from nature and refine them into raw materials that are useful in other industries. The findings in this study can be effectively used for the following case: estimation of target $CO_2$ emission reduction level reflecting each industrial sector's characteristics, calculation of potential emission reduction of each policy to reduce $CO_2$ emissions, identification of a firm's $CO_2$ emission level, and setting of the target level of emission reduction. Moreover, the findings in this study can be utilized widely in fields such as System of integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting(SEEA) and Material Flow Analysis(MFA) as the current topic of research in Korea.