• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.25-30
• /
• 2022

Mackinawite (FeS), as a ubiquitous reduced iron mineral, is known as a key controller of redox reactions in anaerobic subsurface environment. The reaction of FeS with redox-sensitive toxic element such as arsenic is substantially affected by pH conditions of the given environments. In this study, the interaction of As(V) with FeS was studied under strict anaerobic conditions with various pH conditions. The pH-dependent arsenic removal tests were conducted under wide ranges of pH conditions and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was applied to investigate the reaction mechanisms under pH 5, 7, and 9. The removal efficiency of FeS for As(V) showed the higher removal of As(V) under low pH conditions and its removal efficiency decreased with increasing pH, and no As(V) reduction was observed in 1 g/L FeS solution. However, XAS analysis indicated the reduction of As(V) to As(III) occurred during reaction between FeS and As(V). The reduced form of As(III) was particularly identified as an arsenic sulfide mineral (As₂S₃) in all pH conditions (pH 5, 7, and 9). As₂S₃ precipitation was more pronounced in pH 5 where the solubility of FeS is higher than in other pH conditions. The linear combination fitting results of XAS demonstrated that As(V) removal mechanism is concerted processes of As₂S₃ precipitation and surface complexation of both arsenic species.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.553-565
• /
• 2002

Seasonal variations in vertical distributions of metals were investigated in the contaminated paddy soils around Siheung Cu-Pb-Zn and Deokeum Au-Ag mines. Geochemical behavior of metals was also evaluated with respect to redox changes during the cultivation of rice. Two microcosms simulating the rice-growing paddy field were set up in the laboratory. The raw paddy soils from two sites showed differences in mineralogy, metal concentrations and gecochemical parameters, and it is suggested that high proportions of exchangeable fractions in metals may give high dissolution rates at Deokeum. In both microcosms of Siheung and Deokeum, redox differences between surface and subsurface of paddy soils were maintained during the flooded period of 18 weeks. Siheung soil had neutral to alkaline pH conditions, while strongly acidic conditions and high Eh values were found at the surface soil of Deokeum. The concentrations of dissolved Fe and Mn were higher in the subsurface pore waters than in interface and upper waters from both microcosms, indicating reductive dissolution under reducing conditions. On the contrary, dissolved Pb and Zn had high concentrations at the surface under oxidizing conditions. From the Siheung microcosm, release of dissolved metals into upper waters was decreased. presumably by the trap effect of Fe- and Mn-rich layers at the interface. However, in the Deokeum microcosm, significant amounts of Pb and Zn were released into upper water despite the relatively lower contents in raw paddy soil, and seasonal variations in the chemical fractionation of metals were observed between flooded and drained conditions. Under acidic conditions, rice may uptake high amounts of metals from the surface of paddy soils during the flooded periods, and increases of exchangeable phases may also increase the bioavailability of heavy metals in the drained conditions.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.853-860
• /
• 2010

The DevSR two-component system is a major regulatory system involved in redox sensing in Mycobacterium smegmatis. The DevSR system consists of the DevS histidine kinase and its cognate DevR response regulator. When exposed to hypoxic conditions, the DevS histidine kinase is activated to phosphorylate the DevR response regulator, leading to the transcriptional activation of the DevR regulation. The ligand-binding state of the heme embedded in the N-terminal GAF domain of DevS determines the kinase activity of DevS. In this study, we demonstrated that the redox-responsive cysteine (C547) in the C-terminal kinase domain is involved in the redox-dependent control of DevS kinase activity. The formation of an intersubunit disulfide bond between the C547 residues in the presence of $O_2$ led to inactivation of DevS kinase activity. The reduction of the oxidized DevS with reductants such as $\beta$-mercaptoethanol and dithiothreitol resulted in the restoration of DevS kinase activity. It was demonstrated in vivo by complementation test that the substitution of C547 to alanine partially impaired the sensory function of DevS in M. smegmatis.

• Advances in Energy Research
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.285-297
• /
• 2016

Fundamental understanding of vanadium ion transport and the detrimental effects of cross-contamination on vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) performance is critical for developing low-cost, robust, and highly selective proton-conducting membranes for VRFBs. The objective of this work is to examine the effect of conductivity and diffusivity, two key membrane parameters, on long-cycle performance of a VRFB at different operating conditions using a transient 2D multi-component model. This single-channel model combines the transport of vanadium ions, chemical reactions between permeated ions, and electrochemical reactions. It has been discovered that membrane selecting criterion for long cycles depends critically on current density and operating voltage range of the cell. The conducted simulation work is also designed to study the synergistic effects of the membrane properties on dynamics of VRFBs as well as to provide general guidelines for future membrane material development.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.236-243
• /
• 2017

A fixed-bed zinc/nickel redox flow battery (RFB) is designed and developed. The proposed cell has been established in the form of a fixed bed RFB. The zinc electrode is immersed in an aqueous NaOH solution (anolyte solution) and the nickel electrode is immersed in the catholyte solution which is a mixture of potassium ferrocyanide, potassium ferricyanide and sodium hydroxide as the supporting electrolyte. In the present work, the electrode area has been maximized to $1500cm^2$ to enforce an increase in the energy efficiency up to 77.02% at a current density $0.06mA/cm^2$ using a flow rate $35cm^3/s$, a concentration of the anolyte solution is $1.5mol\;L^{-1}$ NaOH and the catholyte solution is $1.5mol\;L^{-1}$ NaOH as a supporting electrolyte mixed with $0.2mol\;L^{-1}$ equimolar of potassium ferrocyanide and potassium ferricyanide. The outlined results from this study are described on the basis of battery performance with respect to the current density, velocity in different electrolytes conditions, energy efficiency, voltage efficiency and power of the battery.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.30-35
• /
• 1996

Distillery wastewater was used in a thermophilic laboratory-scale two stage anaerobic digester to test the effects of the redox potential of the first acidogenic reactor on the performance of the system. The digester consisted of first a acidogenic reactor and the an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The digestor was operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 48 h. Under these conditions, about 90% of the chemical oxygen demand as measured by the chromate method ($COD_{cr}$) was removed with a gas production yield of 0.4 l/g-COD removed. The redox potential of the acidogenic reactor was increased when the reactor was purged with nitrogen gas or agitation speed was increased. The increase in reduction potential was accompanied by an increase in acetate production and a decrease in butyrate formation. A similar trend was observed when a small amount of air was introduced into the acidogenic reactor. It is believed that the hydrogen partial pressure in the acidogenic reactor was decreased by the above mentioned treatments. The possible failure of anaerobic digestion processes due to over-loading could be avoided by the above mentioned treatments.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.29-35
• /
• 1993

This study was performed to obtain optimal conditions for reduction of color in dye wastewaters using coagulation-sedimentation processes with redox reactions. The reduction of color as well as organic matters variation was observed after coagulation-sedimentation processes using FeSO$_4$ $\cdot$ 7H$_2$O and NaOCl. Coagulation-redox reaction was done with the dose of Coagulant and oxidant at various pH values. Redox reaction was done through jar-mixing and aeration. The results of study were as follows: 1. In the coagulation-sedimentation processes using FeSO$_4$ $\cdot$ 7H$_2$O, color reduction was heigher at pH 3. With variance of dosage of FeSO$_4$ $\cdot$ 7H$_2$O, color reduction was higher at 250 mg/l. When coagulation-sedimentation using FeSO$_4$ $\cdot$ 7H$_2$O 250 mg/l was added at pH 3, the reduction of color, COD$_{Mn}$, and COD$_{Cr}$ showed 47.6%, 21.3% and 22.1%, respectively. 2. When NaOCI was added at level of 100 ppm in raw wastewater at pH 3, the reduction of color, COD$_{Mn}$, and COD$_{Cr}$ showed 30.2%, 5.5% and 6.2%, respectively. 3. After coagulation-sedimentation processes by addition of FeSO$_4$ $\cdot$ 7H$_2$O, when NaOCl was added at level of 250 mg/l in supernant, color reduction was 47.8% in aeration and 37.5% in jar-mixing. 4. Color reduction by aeration was higher than that by jar-mixing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
• /
• 2002.04b
• /
• pp.124-124
• /
• 2002

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.11 no.5
• /
• pp.863-869
• /
• 2001

A systematic study of microbial fuel cells comprised of alkalophilic Bacillus sp. B-31 has been carried out under various operating conditions. A significant amount of electricity was generated when redox mediators were used. Among the phenothiazine-type redox dyes tested, azure A was found to be the most effective both in maintaining a high cell voltage and for the long-term operation. The maximum efficiency was and for the long-term operation. The maximum efficiency was obtained at ca. $50^{\circ}C$ giving an open circuit voltage of 0.7V. A small change in temperature did not significantly affect the cell performance, but a rapid decrease in performance was observed below $20^{\circ}C$ and above $70^{\circ}C$. It was noticeable that fuel cell efficiency and discharge pattern depended strongly on the carbon source used in the initial culture medium. Regardless of the initial carbon sources, only glucose and trehalose were utilized as substrates. Galactose, however, was not substantially utilized except when galactose was used in the initial medium. Glucose, in particular, showed $87\%$ coulombic efficiency, which was the highest value ever reported, when Bacillus sp. was cultured in a maltose-containing medium. This study demonstrates that highly efficient microbial fuel cells can be constructed with alkalophilic microorganisms by fine-tuning the operating conditions and by carefully selecting carbon sources in the initial culture medium.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.17 no.10
• /
• pp.746-749
• /
• 2009

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabric/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) composite with stable and high electrochemical activity was fabricated by chemical and electrochemical polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) on a PET fabric in sequence. Effects of polymerization conditions on the following characteristics of the composite were studied: electrical conductivity and surface morphology. The electrochemical properties were also investigated by cyclic voltammetry and cyclic charge/discharge experiments. The specific volume resistivity, electrical conductivity and specific discharge capacitance of the composite were 0.034 $\Omega-cm$ and 25 S/cm, and 54.5 F/g, respectively.