• Resources Recycling
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.39-46
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• 2004

The amount of electric furnace dust has been steadily increasing due to the increase of iron scraps which are usually recycled by electric furnace melting process. To date, this electric furnace dust has usually been treated by landfilling, however, because of shortage of landfill sites and heavy metal leaching more desirable treatment schemes are urgently needed. Among several possible schemes for the proper treatment of electric furnace dust, its recycling can be said to be most desirable. In present study, the triboelectrostatic separation of zinc and zinc-containing components from electric furnace dust was attempted based on its physicochemical properties such as particle shape, size distribution, and chemical assay. The dust was found to be mixed with spherical and non-spherical shaped particles and its major component materials were $ZnFe_2$$O_4$, ZnO, Fe, Zn, and FeO. The content of zinc-containing components in the entire dust was observed to be in the range of 15～30 wt%, which reasonably justified that zinc is recyclable. The triboelectrostatic characteristic of each component material was found to be different each other since their work functions were different, and based on this characteristic zinc and zinc-containing component could be flirty separated from the dust. After selecting a proper tribo-elec-trification material, the separation features of zinc and zinc-containing component were examined by taking the distance of electrodes, electric field strength, and scavenging as the experimental variables. The highest zinc-content obtained under the optimal separating condition was found to be up to 50wt%.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2004

Spent catalysts containing platinum were generated in petroleum refinery and other chemical industries. The reclamation of platinum metals from such wastes has long been attempted in view of their rare, expensive and indispensable nature. In this study, the recovery of platinum from petroleum catalysts was attempted by a method consisting mainly of dissolving alumina carrier with sulfuric acid thereby concentrating insoluble platinum. Also, platinum dissolved partially in sulfuric acid was recovered by a cementation method using aluminum metal as a reductive agent. The effect of temperature, time, concentration of sulfuric acid, and pulp density on the dissolution of carrier was investigated. When the carrier of platinum catalyst was $\Upsilon-Al_2$O$_3$ about 95% alumina was dissolved in 6.0 M sulfuric acid at $100^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours. When the carrier was the mixture of $\Upsilon-Al_2$$O_3$ and $\alpha$-$Al_2$$O_3$ about 92% was dissolved after 4 hours. As a result, more than 99% of platinum could be recovered by this method and aluminum sulfate was also obtained as byproduct.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.127-137
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• 2019

Zr electrorefining is demonstrated herein using Zirlo tubes in a chloride-fluoride mixed molten salt in the presence of $AlF_3$. Cyclic voltammetry reveals a monotonic shift in the onset of metal reduction kinetics towards positive potential and an increase in intensity of the additional peaks associated with Zr-Al alloy formation with increasing $AlF_3$ concentration. Unlike the galvanostatic deposition mode, a radial plate-type Zr growth is evident at the top surface of the salt during Zr electrorefining at a constant potential of -1.2 V. The diameter of the plate-type Zr deposit gradually increases with increasing $AlF_3$ concentration. Scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses for the plate-type Zr deposit show that trace amount of Al is incorporated as Zr-Al alloys with different chemical compositions between the top and bottom surface of the deposit. Addition of $AlF_3$ is effective in lowering the residual salt content in the deposit and in improving the current efficiency for Zr recovery.

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2024

Globally, the demand for electric vehicles has surged due to greenhouse gas regulations related to climate change, leading to an increase in the production of used batteries as a consequence of the battery life issue. This study aims to selectively leach and recover valuable metal lithium from the cathode material of spent LFP (LiFePO₄) batteries among lithium-ion batteries. Generally, the use of inorganic acids results in the emission of toxic gases or the generation of large quantities of wastewater, causing environmental issues. To address this, research is being conducted to leach lithium using organic acids and other leaching agents. In this study, selective leaching was performed using the organic acid methane sulfonic acid (MSA, CH₃SO₃H). Experiments were conducted to determine the optimal conditions for selectively leaching lithium by varying the MSA concentration, pulp density, and hydrogen peroxide dosage. The results of this study showed that lithium was leached at approximately 100%, while iron and phosphorus components were leached at about 1%, verifying the leaching efficiency and the leaching rates of the main components under different variables.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.239-253
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• 2017

Neodymium is a future-oriented material due to its unique properties, and its use is increasing in various industrial fields worldwide. However, the toxicity caused by repeated exposure to this metal has not been studied in detail thus far. The present study was carried out to investigate the potential inhalation toxicity of nano-sized neodymium oxide ($Nd_2O_3$) following a 28-day repeated inhalation exposure in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Male rats were exposed to nano-sized $Nd_2O_3-containing$ aerosols via a nose-only inhalation system at doses of $0mg/m^3$, $0.5mg/m^3$, $2.5mg/m^3$, and $10mg/m^3$ for 6 hr/day, 5 days/week over a 28-day period, followed by a 28-day recovery period. During the experimental period, clinical signs, body weight, hematologic parameters, serum biochemical parameters, necropsy findings, organ weight, and histopathological findings were examined; neodymium distribution in the major organs and blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and oxidative stress in lung tissues were analyzed. Most of the neodymium was found to be deposited in lung tissues, showing a dose-dependent relationship. Infiltration of inflammatory cells and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) were the main observations of lung histopathology. Infiltration of inflammatory cells was observed in the $2.5mg/m^3$ and higher dose treatment groups. PAP was observed in all treatment groups accompanied by an increase in lung weight, but was observed to a lesser extent in the $0.5mg/m^3$ treatment group. In BALF analysis, total cell counts, including macrophages and neutrophils, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, increased significantly in all treatment groups. After a 4-week recovery period, these changes were generally reversed in the $0.5mg/m^3$ group, but were exacerbated in the $10mg/m^3$ group. The lowest-observed-adverse-effect concentration of nano-sized $Nd_2O_3$ was determined to be $0.5mg/m^3$, and the target organ was determined to be the lung, under the present experimental conditions in male rats.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.309-314
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• 2000

The quantitative analysis of various trace metals including fission products in lithium molten salts has been performed using a inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). The spectral interferences of lithium content, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/L, in the sample solution were investigated using an optimum wavelength for the respective metal species. As a result, the line intensities for Y, Nd, Sr, and La had no influences from the lithium content up to 2,000 mg/L, while Mo, Ba, Ru, Pd, Rh, Zr and Ce showed spectral interferences of 10% to 50%. The group separation of metals from lithium in the molten salts solution was carried out by adding ammonia water into the solution. The recovery of Ru, Y, Rh, Zr, Nd, Ce, La and Eu was found to be over 90%, while Mo, Ba, Pd, and Sr provided low recovery percentages.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.3-12
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• 2003

Physical separation containing grinding, sieving, dry magnetic separation and air classification were carried out in order to recover Ta anode from waste Ta condenser. Roll crusher wat used for the liberation of resin and metals in closed circuit system. The liberation between Ta anode and resin was easily achieved, whereat some of metals did not liberated from the Ta anode when the waste condenser was crushed below 8 mesh. When the crushed sample were divided into 8/10 mesh, 10/18 mesh and -18 mesh, metals was mainly remained in 8/10 mesh in contrast to Ta anode was in +18 mesh. It was shown that resin was more easily crushed rather than metals from the result of that resin content was 71.5％ in -18 mesh. The liberation efficiency was different with the input size of the crushed sample and average efficiency was 62.3% due to the locked Ta anode particles. The results of air classification test for the crushed samples showed that optimal air flow are 39㎥/h, 32㎥/h, 20㎥/h. respectively. When the sample were separated with optimal condition, 94.45％ Ta anode containing 97.47 wt.％ Ta anode, 0.93 wt.％ resin. 1.61 wt.％ metal was recovered with 49.39 wt.％ yield.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2020

With rapid increasing production and installation, recycling of photovoltaic modules has become the main issue. According to the research, the accumulation of waste modules will reach to 8600 tons in 2030. Moreover, Crystalline-silicon (c-Si) Photovoltaic modules account for more than 90% of the waste. C-Si PV modules contain 1.3% of weight of photovoltaic ribbon inside which contains the most of lead, tin and copper in the PV modules, which would cause environmental and humility problem. This study provided a valuable metal separation process for PV ribbons. Ribbons content 82.1% of Cu, 8.9% of Sn, 5.2% of Pb, and 3.1% of Ag. All of them were leached by 3M of hydrochloric acid in the optimal condition. Ag was halogenated to AgCl and precipitated. Cu ion was extracted and separated from Pb and Sn by Lix984N then stripped by 3M H2SO4. The effect of the optimal parameters of extraction was also studied in this essay. The maximum extraction efficiency of Cu ion was 99.64%. The separation condition of Pb and Sn were obtained by adjusting the pH value to 4 thought ammonia to precipitate and separate Pb and Sn. The recovery of Pb and Sn can reach 99%.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6187-6195
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• 2012

Recycling process of iron should be developed for efficient recovery of neodymium(Nd), rare metal, from acid-leaching solution of neodymium magnet. In this study, $FeCl_3$ solution as iron source was used for synthesis of iron nanoparticle with the condition of various factors, etc, reductant, surfactant. $Na_4O_7P_2$ and polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) as surfactants, $NaBH_4$ as reductant, and palladium chloride($PdCl_2$) as a nucleation seed were used. Iron powder was analyzed with instruments of XRD, SEM and PSA for measuring shape and size. Iron nanoparticles were made at the ratio of 1 : 5(Fe (III) : $NaBH_4$) after 30 min of reduction time. Size and shape of iron particles synthesized were round-form and 50 nm ~ 100 nm size. Zeta-potential of iron at the 100 mg/L of $Na_4O_7P_2$ was negative value, which is good for dispersion of metal particle. When $Na_4O_7P_2$(100 mg/L), PVP($FeCl_3$ : PVP = 1 : 4, w/w) and Pd($FeCl_3$ : $PdCl_2$ = 1 : 0.001, w/w) were used, iron nanoparticles which are round-shape, well-dispersed, near 100 nm-sized can be made.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.269-280
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• 2018

This paper reports the results of field evaluation to determine the levels of heavy metals in major industrial complexes in Korea over a seven year period (2007~2013). The measurement of heavy metal was conducted using quartz fiber filter sampling and ICP-AES analysis. In order to validate the analytical performance of these methods, studies were also carried out to investigate data quality control(QC) parameters, such as the method detection limit (MDL), repeatability, and recovery efficiencies. The average concentrations of total suspended particulates (TSP) for the nine industrial complexes in Korea were $104{\sim}169{\mu}g/m^3$, which was higher than other industrial complexes and urban areas. The Sihwa and Banwol industrial complexes were shown to be the biggest contributing sources to high TSP emission ($159{\mu}g/m^3$ and $169{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively). The concentrations of heavy metals in TSP were higher in the order of Fe>Cu>Zn, Pb, Mn>Cr, Ni, As and Cd. It was observed that Fe was the highest in the Gwangyang and Pohang steel industrial complexes. The concentrations of Zn and Pb were high in Onsan, Sihwa and Banwol industrial complexes, and this was attributed to the emission from the nonferrous industry. Additionally, Cr and Ni concentrations were high in the Sihwa and Banwol industrial complexes due to plating industry. On the other hand, Ulsan and Onsan industrial complexes showed high Cr and Ni concentrations as a response to the emission of metal industry related to automobile. The correlation analysis revealed the high correlation between Cr and Ni in plating industry from Sihwa and Banwol industrial complexes. Adding to this, components related to coal combustion and road dust showed high correlation in Pohang and Gwangyang industrial complexes. Then Onsan and Ulsan industrial complexes showed high correlation among components related to the nonferrous metals.