• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.919-929
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• 2020

Aromatic compounds are widely used in the chemical, food, polymer, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries and are produced by mainly chemical synthesis using benzene, toluene, and xylene or by plant extraction methods. Due to many rising threats, including the depletion of fossil fuels, global warming, the strengthening of international environmental regulations, and the excessive harvesting of plant resources, the microbial production of aromatic compounds using renewable biomass is regarded as a promising alternative. By integrating metabolic engineering with synthetic and systems biology, artificial biosynthetic pathways have been reconstituted from L-tryptophan biosynthetic pathway in relevant microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum, enabling the production of a variety of value-added aromatic compounds, such as 5-hydroxytryptophan, serotonin, melatonin, 7-chloro-L-tryptophan, 7-bromo-L-tryptophan, indigo, indirubin, indole-3-acetic acid, violacein, and dexoyviolacein. In this review, we summarize the characteristics, usage, and biosynthetic pathways of these aromatic compounds and highlight the latest metabolic engineering strategies for the microbial production of aromatic compounds and suitable solution strategies to overcome problems in increasing production titers. It is expected that strain development based on systems metabolic engineering and the optimization of media and bioprocesses using renewable biomass will enable the development of commercially viable technologies for the microbial production of many aromatic compounds.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.167-177
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• 2011

Renewable energy resources and technologies have the potential to provide long-lasting solutions of the global energy-requirements faced by the economic and environmental sectors of a nation. Therefore, waste money bills were used as renewable energy source for the production of bio-ethanol. In this study, different concentrated NaOH 0.5%. 1.0%, 2.0%, 3.0% and 0.0% (as a control) were used for 10, 20 and 30 mins at $121^{\circ}C$/15 psi in an autoclave. Saccharification and fermentation (aerobic and anaerobic) were carried out through commercial enzyme Celluclast 1.5 L, Novozymes 188 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae KCCM 11304 respectively. The results of pretreatment showed that the NaOH pre-treated substrate enhanced enzyme action and released more amount of glucose. The amount of glucose was found with the increasing concentration of NaOH and time $44996.95{\pm}6.30$, $46763.10{\pm}3.56$, $53421.32{\pm}4.72$, $63431.25{\pm}6.95$ and $56850.98{\pm}6.75\;ng/{\mu}l$ for 30 min respectively. As for bioethanol, the conversion rate of NaOH resulted $1010.08{\pm}4.71$, $1050.25{\pm}4.37$, $1109.49{\pm}4.39$, $1139.25{\pm}3.26$ and $1020.77{\pm}3.89$ ppm for aerobic; $16730.54{\pm}6.67$, $17076.45{\pm}6.25$, $17516.17{\pm}4.49$, $19782.68{\pm}6.19$ and $17973.39{\pm}7.50$ ppm for anaerobic and $18935.02{\pm}4.59$, $19895.45{\pm}5.39$, $21912.95{\pm}4.83$, $24895.21{\pm}6.72$ and $18961.21{\pm}4.90$ ppm for anaerobic condition with benzoic acid for respective condition. Thus, the results of the present work clearly revealed that with the increasing of alkali concentration might be more effective for bio-ethanol production from waste money bill, which is economic and environmental friendly.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.245-253
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• 2011

Due to the imprudent spending of the fossil fuels, the environment was contaminated seriously and the exhaustion problems of the fossil fuels loomed large. Therefore people become taking a great interest in alternative energy resources which can solve problems of fossil fuels. The wind power energy is one of the most interested energy in the new and renewable energy. However, the plants of wind power energy and the traditional power plants should be balanced between the power generation and the power consumption. Therefore, we need analysis and prediction to generate power efficiently using wind energy. In this paper, we have performed a research to predict power generation patterns using the wind power data. Prediction approaches of datamining area can be used for building a prediction model. The research steps are as follows: 1) we performed preprocessing to handle the missing values and anomalous data. And we extracted the characteristic vector data. 2) The representative patterns were found by the MIA(Mean Index Adequacy) measure and the SOM(Self-Organizing Feature Map) clustering approach using the normalized dataset. We assigned the class labels to each data. 3) We built a new predicting model about the wind power generation with classification approach. In this experiment, we built a forecasting model to predict wind power generation patterns using the decision tree.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.63-75
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this research is to explore the total heavy metals from a coal-fired power plant burning bituminous coal with wood pellets due to the implementation of the Renewable Portfolio Standard policy (RPS, 10% of electricity from renewable energy resources by 2023). Methods: The research was carried out by collecting archival data and using the USEPA's AP-42 & EMEP/EEA compilation of emission factors for use in calculating emissions. The Monte Carlo method was also applied for carrying out the calculations of measurement uncertainty. Results: In this paper, the results are listed as follows. Sb was measured at 110 kg (2015) and calculated as 165 kg (2019) and 201 kg (2023). Cr was measured at 1,597 kg (2015) and calculated as 1,687 kg (2019) and 1,728 kg (2023). Cu was measured at 2,888 kg (2015) and calculated as 3,133 kg (2019) and 3,264 kg (2023). Pb was measured at 2,580 kg (2015) and calculated as 2,831 kg (2019) and 2,969 kg (2023). Mn was measured at 3,011 kg (2015) and calculated as 15,034 kg (2019) and 23,014 kg (2023). Hg was measured at 510 kg (2015) and calculated as 513 kg (2019) and 537 kg (2023). Ni was measured at 1,720 kg (2015) and calculated as 1,895 kg (2019) and 1,991 kg (2023). Zn was measured at 7,054 kg (2015) and calculated as 9,938 kg (2019) and 11,778 kg (2023). Se was measured at 7,988 kg (2015) and calculated as 7,663 kg (2019) and 7,351 kg (2023). Conclusion: This shows that most heavy metals would increase steadily from 2015 to 2023. However, Se would decrease by 7.9%. This analysis was conducted with EMEP/EEA's emission factors due to the limited emission factors in South Korea. Co-firewood pellets in coal-fired power plants cause the emission of heavy metals. For this reason, emission factors at air pollution control facilities would be presented and the replacement of wood pellets would be needed.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.645-668
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• 2022

Hydrogen energy is emerging as an important means of carbon neutrality in the various sectors including power, transportation, storage, and industrial processes. Fuel cell power plants are the fastest spreading in the hydrogen ecosystem and are one of the key power sources among means of implementing carbon neutrality in 2050. However, high volatility in system marginal price (SMP) and renewable energy certificate (REC) prices, which affect the profits of fuel cell power plants, delay the investment timing and deployment. This study applied the real option methodology to analyze how the dual uncertainties in both SMP and REC prices affect the investment trigger price level in the irreversible investment decision of fuel cell power plants. The analysis is summarized into the following three. First, under the current Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), dual price uncertainties passed on to plant owners has significantly increased the investment trigger price relative to one under the deterministic price case. Second, reducing the volatility of REC price by half of the current level caused a significant drop in investment trigger prices and its investment trigger price is similar to one caused by offering one additional REC multiplier. Third, investment trigger price based on gray hydrogen and green hydrogen were analyzed along with the existing byproduct hydrogen-based fuel cells, and in the case of gray hydrogen, economic feasibility were narrowed significantly with green hydrogen when carbon costs were applied. The results of this study suggest that the current RPS system works as an obstacle to the deployment of fuel cell power plants, and policy that provides more stable revenue to plants is needed to build a more cost-effective and stable hydrogen ecosystem.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2023

As problems such as difficulties in securing stable energy resources and global warming due to the emission of greenhouse gases due to the use of fossil fuels have emerged, interest in the development of renewable energy is increasing. Since the tidal phenomenon has a regularity that occurs regularly with a certain period, it is possible to predict accurately in advance, which has a advantage in terms of energy recovery. Therefore, various methods have been devised to utilize the tide as an energy source. Tidal power using barrages is a representative method that is widely operated, but the promotion of tidal power generation projects is being delayed or stopped due to the decrease in the level of water in the tidal basin, changes in water quality and in the ecosystem. In this study, a field experiment was conducted to develop and verify the performance of a tidal power device applicable to sea areas where dykes are already installed. As a result of carrying out four cases of experiments using two water tanks, pipe lines, open channels, weirs, and water turbine and generator, the possibility of developing a power generation system capable of 10 kW output or more and 60% efficiency or more was confirmed. These research results can be used for small-scale tidal power by utilizing the existing dykes.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.34-45
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• 2016

Global warming and climate change have been caused by combustion of fossil fuels. The greenhouse gases contributed to the rise of temperature between $0.6^{\circ}C$ and $0.9^{\circ}C$ over the past century. Presently, fossil fuels account for about 88% of the commercial energy sources used. In developing countries, fossil fuels are a very attractive energy source because they are available and relatively inexpensive. The environmental problems with fossil fuels have been aggravating stress from already existing factors including acid deposition, urban air pollution, and climate change. In order to control greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2, fossil fuels must be replaced by eco-friendly fuels such as biomass. The use of renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly necessary. The biomass resources are the most common form of renewable energy. The conversion of biomass into energy can be achieved in a number of ways. The most common form of converted biomass is pellet fuels as biofuels made from compressed organic matter or biomass. Pellets from lignocellulosic biomass has compared to conventional fuels with a relatively low bulk and energy density and a low degree of homogeneity. Thermal pretreatment technology like torrefaction is applied to improve fuel efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass, i.e., less moisture and oxygen in the product, preferrable grinding properties, storage properties, etc.. During torrefacton, lignocelluosic biomass such as palm kernell shell (PKS) and empty fruit bunch (EFB) was roasted under an oxygen-depleted enviroment at temperature between 200 and $300^{\circ}C$. Low degree of thermal treatment led to the removal of moisture and low molecular volatile matters with low O/C and H/C elemental ratios. The mechanical characteristics of torrefied biomass have also been altered to a brittle and partly hydrophobic materials. Unfortunately, it was much harder to form pellets from torrefied PKS and EFB due to thermal degradation of lignin as a natural binder during torrefaction compared to non-torrefied ones. For easy pelletization of biomass with torrefaction, pellets from PKS and EFB were manufactured before torrefaction, and thereafter they were torrefied at different temperature. Even after torrefaction of pellets from PKS and EFB, their appearance was well preserved with better fuel efficiency than non-torrefied ones. The physical properties of the torrefied pellets largely depended on the torrefaction condition such as reaction time and reaction temperature. Temperature over $250^{\circ}C$ during torrefaction gave a significant impact on the fuel properties of the pellets. In particular, torrefied EFB pellets displayed much faster development of the fuel properties than did torrefied PKS pellets. During torrefaction, extensive carbonization with the increase of fixed carbons, the behavior of thermal degradation of torrefied biomass became significantly different according to the increase of torrefaction temperature. In conclusion, pelletization of PKS and EFB before torrefaction made it much easier to proceed with torrefaction of pellets from PKS and EFB, leading to excellent eco-friendly fuels.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.177-185
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• 2012

The interest to develop adhesives from renewable resources is growing to substitute petroleum-based adhesive resins in the manufacture of wood based panels. In our study, rapeseed flour (RSF), which is the by-product of bio-diesel produced from rapeseed, were hydrolyzed with acid and alkali. As a crosslinking agents of the RSF hydrolyzates, phenol-formaldehyde prepolymers (PF) were prepared. The RSF hydrolyzates and PF were mixed to complete the formulation of RSF-based adhesive resins, and the resins were applied to make the medium density fiberboard (MDF). The physical and mechanical properties of the MDF were measured to examine whether RSF can be used as raw materials of adhesive resins for the manufacture of MDF or not. The average moisture content and density of the MDF made with RSF-based adhesive resins satisfied the minimum requirement of KS standard, but the thickness swelling was not. The bending strengths of the MDF made with RSF-based adhesive resins were lower than that of the MDF made with commercial UF resins, but the internal bonding strengths of tested MDF in some make-up conditions of RSF-based adhesive resins were higher than that of MDF made with commercial UF resins. These results showed the potential of RSF as a raw material of adhesives for the production of MDF. Future works on the optimal manufacturing process conditions of MDF made with RSF-based adhesive resins are required to improve the performance of MDF made with RSF-based resins.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.631-635
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• 2015

Water quality investigation was conducted for small/medium sized reservoirs in A city in June and November 2014 as a preliminary step for further use. Water quality analysis experiments were conducted for 21 reservoirs managed by a local government and water quality data were obtained from Korea Rural Community Corporation for 12 reservoirs. It was found that relatively poor water quality, not satisfied with the regulation level (somewhat poor(IV)) for agricultural use, was observed for some reservoirs and worse water quality (poor(V) and very poor(VI) grade) was observed for more reservoirs during autumn /winter season due to the decrease in water volume. Correspondingly, the trophic state was obtained as "Eutrophic" or "Hypertrophic" using the Korean trophic state index for most reservoirs. It was also revealed that significant contamination in sediments was not observed for selected 8 reservoirs considering water quality in each reservoir. The results in this study could be useful for the use of small/medium sized reservoirs as alternative water resources, tourism resources, inland fishery resources, renewable energy production sites, and anti-flooding reservoirs.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.965-982
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• 2011

Currently, dependency of natural and energy resources on world economy may not be more serious than any before increasing the uncertainty of Korea's national economy, especially as China uses unexpectedly fast glowing portion of world resources. Due to insufficient natural resources and unmatured renewable energy system, it is very important for Korea to secure the energy sources not only for national prosperity but also security for the future. In this regard, importance and necessity of nuclear energy as a major electric power source in Korea are in need to be emphasized. Korea currently imports all the necessary enriched uranium for fabrication of nuclear fuel from abroad. Thus, it is extremely important to establish a secured supply system for enriched uranium regardless of the global political unstability as well as economic fluctuation. In order to build the nuclear fuel procurement system, it is required to analyze the global market status, current enrichment service systems, and the future technology under development. For this purpose, this study comparatively analyzes the laser based advanced technology for uranium enrichment under development in the United States, which is assumed to be 2~3 times more economically viable than currently available technologies.