• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.181-189
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• 2015

A composite material was tested to eliminate phenol in aqueous solution combining adsorption on activated carbon and photocatalysis with $TiO_2$ in two different ways. A first implementation involved a sequential process with a loop reactor. The aim was to reuse this material as adsorbent several times with in situ photocatalytic regeneration. This process alternated a step of adsorption in the dark and a step of photocatalytic oxidation under UV irradiation with or without $H_2O_2$. Without $H_2O_2$, the composite material was poorly regenerated due to the accumulation of phenol and intermediates in the solution and on $TiO_2$ particles. In presence of $H_2O_2$, the regeneration of the composite material was clearly enhanced. After five consecutive adsorption runs, the amount of eliminated phenol was twice the maximum adsorption capacity. The phenol degradation could be described by a pseudo first-order kinetic model where constants were much higher with $H_2O_2$ (about tenfold) due to additional ${\bullet}OH$ radicals. The second implementation was in a continuous process as with a fixed bed reactor where adsorption and photocatalysis occurred simultaneously. The results were promising as a steady state was reached indicating stabilized behavior for both adsorption and photocatalysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1772-1781
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• 2007

Activated sludge was sequentially adapted to benzene, toluene, and o-xylene (BTX) to study the effects on the change of microbial community. Sludge adapted to BTX separately degraded each by various rates in the following order; toluene>o-xylene>benzene. Degradation rates were increased after exposure to repeated spikes of substrates. Eleven different kinds of sludge were prepared by the combination of BTX sequential adaptations. Clustering analyses (Jaccard, Dice, Pearson, and cosine product coefficient and dimensional analysis of MDS and PCA for DGGE patterns) revealed that acclimated sludge had different features from nonacclimated sludge and could be grouped together according to their prior treatment. Benzene- and xylene-adapted sludge communities showed similar profiles. The sludge profile was affected from the point of the final adaptation substrate regardless of the adaptation sequence followed. In the sludge adapted to 50 ppm toluene, Nitrosomonas sp. and bacterium were dominant, but these bands were not dominant in benzene and benzene after toluene adaptations. Instead, Flexibacter sp. was dominant in these cultures. Dechloromonas sp. was dominant in the culture adapted to 50 ppm benzene. Thauera sp. was the main band in the sludge adapted to 50 ppm xylene, but became vaguer as the xylene concentration was increased. Rather, Flexibacter sp. dominated in the sludge adapted to 100 ppm xylene, although not in the culture adapted to 250 ppm xylene. Two bacterial species dominated in the sludge adapted to 250 ppm xylene, and they also existed in the sludge adapted to 250 ppm xylene after toluene and benzene.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.335-347
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• 2007

Green composites composed of long maize fibers and poly $\varepsilon$-caprolactone (PCL) biodegradable polyester matrix were manufactured by the thermo-mechanical processing termed as 'Sequential Molding and Forming Process' that was developed previously by the authors' research group. A variety of processing parameters such as fiber area fraction, molding temperature and forming pressure were systematically controlled and their influence on the tensile properties was investigated. It was revealed that both tensile strength and elastic modulus of the composites increase steadily depending on the increase in fiber area fraction, suggesting a general conformity to the rule of mixtures (ROM), particularly up to 55% fiber area fraction. The improvement in tensile properties was found to be closely related to the good interfacial adhesion between the fiber and polymer matrix, and was observed to be more pronounced under the optimum processing condition of $130^{\circ}C$ molding temperature and 10 MPa forming pressure. However, processing out of the optimum condition results in a deterioration in properties, mostly fiber and/or matrix degradation together with their interfacial defect as a consequence of the thermal or mechanical damages. On the basis of microstructural observation, the cause of strength degradation and its countermeasure to provide a feasible composite design are discussed in relation to the optimized process conditions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.401-412
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• 2013

Multi-stage shear test has been performed using joint specimens of gneiss, granite and shale to investigate the influence of micro-scale asperity change on the shear strength of joint plane. For each shear test asperity degradation characteristics of joint specimens of different joint surface strength have been analyzed by utilizing the optimum asperity parameter which can reflect the sequential asperity degradation. Elevation of joint surface profile has been measured and both the changes of asperity parameters and micro-scale asperity distribution have been investigated. Two distinctive variation modes of cohesion and friction angle have been delineated and major cause of shear strength parameter change has been analyzed by considering the micro-scale asperity angle change resulting from the abrasion, fracturing and regeneration of micro-scale asperities. Effects of micro-scale asperity variation on the joint shear strength have been also investigated.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2016

This study investigates the characteristics of thermal decomposition of an epoxy-based intumescent paint using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and numerical simulation. A mathematical and numerical model is introduced to describe mass loss profiles of the epoxy-based intumescent coating induced by the thermal decomposition process. The decomposition scheme covers a range of complexity by employing simplified 4-step sequential reactions to describe the simultaneous thermal decomposition processes. The reaction rates are expressed by the Arrhenius law, and reaction parameters are optimized to fit the degradation behavior seen during thermogravimetric (TG) experiments. The experimental results show a major 2-step degradation under nitrogen and a 3-step degradation in an air environment. The experiment also shows that oxygen takes part in the stabilization of the intumescent coating between 200 and $500^{\circ}C$. The simulation results show that the proposed model effectively predicts the experimental mass loss as a function of time except for temperatures above $800^{\circ}C$, which were intentionally not included in the model. The maximum error in the simulation was less than 3%.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.300-304
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• 2011

Phytases are hydrolytic enzymes that catalyze the sequential hydrolysis of phytic acid (myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate) to myo-inositols with lower numbers of phosphate groups. Two types of phytases have been identified which initiate hydrolysis of the phytic acid at either the 3- or 6- position of the inositol ring. In the present investigation, a mathematical model was proposed and computed to estimate maximum enzyme reaction rate constants which fit the experimental data obtained by other authors. Although the data points were scattered to some extent, good agreement was found between the model and the experiment data. It appears that the maximum rate constants of removal of the first, second, and third phosphate groups were not equal. Also there was neither a steady trend upward or downward in the rate constants with the stepwise hydrolysis reactions.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2007

Amygdalin is a cyanogenic glycoside which is commonly found in almonds, bamboo shoots, and apri-cot kernels, and peach kernels. Amygdalin was first hydrolysed into prunasin, then degraded into cyanohydrin by sequential two-stage mechanism. The objective of this study was to examine the amygdalin decomposition and cyanide formation at various in vitro conditions, including acid, enzyme and anaerobic microbes (AM) in human feces (HF). In acid hydrolysis mimicking gastric environment, amygdalin was degraded to cyanide up to 0.2% in specific pH. In contrast, enzyme assay showed higher cyanide generation either by ${\beta}$-glucosidase, or by incubation with microbe. In conclusion, we are convinced of cyanide generation are occurred mainly by microbiological activities of the gut flora up to 41.53%. After ingestion with some staff, the degree and site of degradation in an organism is a key parst of regulatory decision making of that staff.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.1386-1390
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• 2007

This paper presents the equipment condition monitoring technology for the process or the equipment using statistical techniques. The equipment condition monitoring system consists of an empirical model to estimate the expected sensor values of process variables and a diagnose model to detect the abnormal condition and to identify the root source of the problem. The empirical model is constructed by the analysis of historic data. The diagnose model uses the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) technique. The monitoring system was tested with real operating data acquired from the Reactor Coolant Pump Seal in the Nuclear Power Plant. It can detect the system degradation or failure at the early stage since it is able to catch the subtle deviation of process variables from normal condition.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.539-543
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• 2000

A new bacteriocin, named lacticin 10790, was purified from Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris KFCC 10790 by sequential adsorption, immobilized metal-affinity, cation-exchange, and $C_{18}$ reverse-phase chromatographies. The molecular mass of the bacteriocin was estimated to be between 3,000 and 3,500 Da. Lacticin 10790 showed a broad antimicrobial spectrum against many gram-positive bacteria. The bacteriocin was stable to heat and in the pH range between 2 and 6. Lacticin 10790 was destroyed by digestion with proteases and exhibited a bactericidal mode of action. An amino acid composition analysis of purified lacticin 10790 revealed a high concentration of hydrophobic amino acids. The N terminus of the bacteriocin was found to be blocked, upon analysis by Edman degradation. The results suggest that lacticin 10790 is a class I bacteriocin.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.355-361
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• 2014

The wastewater treatment with a two-phase expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) system for anaerobic degradation of acetate, benzoate, terephtalate and p-toluate from purified terephtalic acid (PTA) production was studied. The feasibility and effectiveness of the system was evaluated in terms of organic oxidation by chemical oxygen demand (COD), gas production, bacterial adaptability and stability in the granular sludge. Average removal efficiencies 93.5% and 72.7% were achieved in the EGSB reactors under volumetric loading rates of $1.0-15kg-COD/m^3/day$ and terephtalate and p-toluate of 351-526 mg/L, respectively. Gas production reached total methane production rate of 0.30 L/g-COD under these conditions in the sequential EGSB reactor system. Higher strength influent COD concentration above 4.8 g-COD/L related to field conditions was fed to observe the disturbance of the EGSB reactors.