• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.487-496
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to create soil contamination maps using QGIS (Quantum Geographic Information System) and suggest selection methods for soil pollution sources for preferential investigation in a soil contamination survey. Method: Data from soil contamination surveys over five years in Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea (2013-2017) were used for making soil contamination maps and analyzing the density of survey points. By analyzing points exceeding the concern level of soil contamination, soil pollutant sources for priority management were identified and selection methods for preferred survey points were suggested through a study of the model area. Results: A soil contamination survey was conducted at 1,478 points over five years, with the largest number of surveys conducted in industrial complex and factory areas. Soil contamination maps for copper, zinc, nickel, lead, arsenic, fluoride, and total petroleum hydrocarbons were made, and most of the survey points were found to be below concern level 1 for soil contamination. The density of the survey points is similar to that of densely populated areas and factory areas. The analysis results of points exceeding the criteria showed that soil pollutant sources for priority management were areas where ore and scrap metals were used and stored, traffic-related facilities areas, industrial complex and factory areas, and areas associated with waste and recycling. According to the study of the model area, the preferred survey points were traffic-related facilities with 15 years or more since their construction and factories with a score of 10 or more for soil contamination risk. Conclusion: Soil contamination surveys should use GIS for even regional distribution of survey points and for the effective selection of preferred survey points. This study may be used as guidelines to select points for a soil contamination survey.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2014

The electrochemical properties using the cells assembled with the synthesized $LiCoO_2$(LCO) were evaluated in this study. The LCO was synthesized from high-purity cobalt sulfate($CoSO_4$) which is recovered from the cathode scrap in the wastes lithium ion secondary battery(LIB). The leaching process for dissolving the metallic elements from the LCO scrap was controlled by the quantities of the sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The metal precipitation to remove the impurities was controlled by the pH value using the caustic soda. And also, D2EHPA and $CYANEX^{(R)}272$ were used in the solvent extraction process in order to remove the impurities again. The high-purity $CoSO_4$ solution was recovered by the processes mentioned above. We made the 6 wt.% $CoSO_4$ solution mixed with distilled water. And the 6 wt.% $CoSO_4$ solution was mixed with oxalic acid by the stirring method and dried in oven. $LiCoO_2$ as a cathode material for LIB was formed by the calcination after the drying and synthesis with the $Li_2CO_3$ powder. We assembled the cells using the $LiCoO_2$ powders and evaluated the electrochemical properties. And then, we confirmed possibility of the recyclability about the cathode materials for LIBs.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.84-91
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• 2018

In this study, a novel soft information based most probable classification scheme is proposed for sorting recyclable metal alloys with laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Regression analysis with LIBS captured spectrums for estimating concentrations of common elements can be efficient for classifying unknown arbitrary metal alloys, even when that particular alloy is not included for training. Therefore, partial least square regression (PLSR) is employed in the proposed scheme, where spectrums of the certified reference materials (CRMs) are used for training. With the PLSR model, the concentrations of the test spectrum are estimated independently and are compared to those of CRMs for finding out the most probable class. Then, joint soft information can be obtained by assuming multi-variate normal (MVN) distribution, which enables to account the probability measure or a prior information and improves classification performance. For evaluating the proposed schemes, MVN soft information is evaluated based on PLSR of LIBS captured spectrums of 9 metal CRMs, and tested for classifying unknown metal alloys. Furthermore, the likelihood is evaluated with the radar chart to effectively visualize and search the most probable class among the candidates. By the leave-one-out cross validation tests, the proposed scheme is not only showing improved classification accuracies but also helpful for adaptive post-processing to correct the mis-classifications.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.65-72
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• 2017

APT (Ammonium paratungstate) is widely used in various industries such as metal cutting tools, drill bits, mining tools, and military inorganic materials. In order to produce high purity APT(S), an impurity purification step in an aqueous $Na_2WO_4$ convert $H_2WO_4$ solution is required. It is difficult to remove impurity Na of 200 ppm or less when $H_2WO_4(S)$ is prepared by adding HCl(Aq) to an aqueous solution of $Na_2WO_4$, which is a well-known conventional wet method. However, in this study, a more economical and efficient method of removing Na through electrodialysis using a cationic membrane was studied. A large amount of Na in aqueous solution of $H_2WO_4$ due to $Na_2CO_3(S)$ which was added to dissolve waste tungsten carbide drill and scrap was removed to 20ppm or less through electrodialysis process, and it was confirmed that the effect of Na removal was great when using electrodialysis.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2021

Demand for lithium-based secondary batteries is greatly increasing with the explosive growth of related industries, such as mobile devices and electric vehicles. In Korea, there are several top-rated global lithium-ion battery manufacturers accounting for 40% of the global secondary battery business. Most discarded lithium secondary batteries are recycled as scrap to recover valuable metals, such as Nickel and Cobalt, but residual wastes are disposed of according to the residual lithium-ion concentration. Furthermore, there has not been an attempt on the possibility of water discharge system contamination due to the concentration of lithium ions, and the effluent water quality standards of public sewage treatment facilities are becoming stricter year after year. In this study, the as-received waste water generated from the cathode electrode coating process in the manufacturing of high-nickel-based NCM cathode material used for high-performance and long-term purposes was analyzed. We suggested a facile recycling process chart for waste water treatment. We revealed a correlation between lithium-ion concentration and pH effect according to the proposed waste water of each recycling process through analyzing standard water quality tests and daphnia ecological toxicity. We proposed a realistic waste water treatment plan for lithium electrode manufacturing plants via comparison with other industries' ecotoxicology.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.67-78
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• 2023

The rare metals used as raw materials in high-tech industries undergo changes in demand structures and supply chains following domestic industrial structural shifts and technological advancements, exhibiting high price volatility. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically analyze changes in the demand structures of rare metals. Since domestic demand for most rare metals relies on imports in Korea, the changes in domestic demand for rare metals can be identified by analyzing changes in their trade structure. In the present study, we analyze the changes in trade volume, trade growth rate, trade rankings, and trading countries from 2000 to 2022 for 35 rare metals, categorized into five types-ores, metals, alloys, compounds, and scrap. The trade of the raw materials of rare metals in Korea has generally increased since the 2000s, except for a significant decline in 2009 and 2016. The total trade volume, encompassing both exports and imports, has increased by approximately tenfold in 2022 compared to 2001. Until the mid-2010s, the trade of the raw materials of rare metals was primarily focused on those used in steel-manufacturing such as silicon, nickel, chrome, molybdenum, manganese, and others. However, after that period, there has been an increase in the trade of platinum group metals like palladium, rhodium, platinum, and the raw materials of rare metals for secondary battery-manufacturing such as lithium and cobalt. Particularly in 2022, lithium has become the largest share in trade of the raw materials of rare metals in Korea, due to the price surge and increase in demand.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.660-664
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• 2003

The exposure dose form recycling on a large amount of the steel scrap from the KRR-1&2 decommissioning activities was evaluated, and also the clearance level was derived. The maximum individual dose and collective dose were evaluated by modifying internal dose conversion factor which was based on the concept of effective dose in ICRP 60, applied to the RESRAD-RECYCLE ver 3.06 computing code, IAEA Safety Series III-P-1.1 and NUREG-1640 as the assessment tool. The result of assessment for individual dose and collective dose is 23.9 ${\mu}Sv$ per year and 0.11 man$\cdot$Sv per year respectively. The clearance levels were ultimately determined by extracting the most conservative value form the results of the generic assessment and specific assessment methodologies. The result of clearance level for radionuclides($Co^60$, $Cs^137$) is less than $1.67{\times}10^{-1}$ Bq/g to comply with the clearance criterion(maximum individual dose : 10 $\muSv$ per year, collective dose : 1 man$\cdot$Sv per year) provided for Korea Atomic Energy Act and relevant regulations.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.616-622
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• 2009

In-depth understanding of the influence of hot pressing and melt processing on the properties of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is critical for effective mechanical recycling of TPU scraps. Therefore, this study focused on the effects of hot pressing and melt mixing on molecular weight (MW), polydispersity index (PDI), melt index (MI), characteristic IR peaks, hardness, thermal degradation and mechanical properties of TPU. The original TPU pellet (o-TPU) showed two broad peaks at lower and higher MW regions. However, four TPU film samples, TPU-0 prepared only by hot pressing of o-TPU pellet and TPU-1, TPU-2 and TPU-3 obtained by hot pressing of melt mixed TPUs (where the numbers indicate the run number of melt mixing), exhibited only a single peak at higher MW region. The TPU-0 film sample had the highest $M_n$ and the lowest PDI and hardness. The TPU-1 film sample had the highest $M_w$ and tensile modulus. As the run number of melt mixing increased, the peak-intensity of hydrogen bonded C=O stretching increased, however, the free C=O peak intensity, tensile strength/elongation at break and average MW decreased. All the samples showed two stage degradations. The degradation temperatures of TPU-0 sample (359 $^{\circ}C$ and 394 $^{\circ}C$)were higher than those of o-TPU (342 $^{\circ}C$ and 391 $^{\circ}C$). While all the melt mixed samples degraded at almost the same temperature (365 $^{\circ}C$ and 381 $^{\circ}C$). The first round of hot pressing and melt mixing was found to be the critical condition which led to the significant changes of $M_n$/$M_w$/PDI, MI, mechanical property and thermal degradation of TPU.