• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.83-90
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• 2007

This study aimed at examining the effect of rooms decorated by eco-friendly finishing materials in a newly built wooden house on the emission of indoor air pollutions. According to the results of examination, the levels of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and styrene in all the rooms were below criteria of indoor air quality of newly-constructed houses. The levels of natural volatile organic compounds (NVOC), anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (AVOC) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) in room R1-1 which had Hwangto wall covering on it, were relatively higher than in room phytoncide wallpaper covered R2-1. The room R2-2 where bamboo charcoal panel used for wall covering showed higher level of AVOC compared to the room R1-2. Living room R1-3 was found to contain less TVOC, compared to the other four rooms. In addition, the ratio of NVOC to TVOC in the living room was higher than in the other rooms. This seemed to be attributed to Cryptomeria Japonica the living room finished material.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.445-460
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• 2018

Exposure to indoor air pollution is an emerging world-wide problem, with growing evidence that it is a major cause of morbidity worldwide. Whilst most indoor air pollutants are of outdoor origin, these combine with a range of indoor sourced pollutants that may lead to high pollutant levels indoors. The pollutants of greatest concern are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM), both of which are associated with a range of serious health problems. Whilst current buildings usually use ventilation with outdoor air to remove these pollutants, botanical systems are gaining recognition as an effective alternative. Whilst many years research has shown that traditional potted plants and their substrates are capable of removing VOCs effectively, they are inefficient at removing PM, and are limited in their pollutant removal rates by the need for pollutants to diffuse to the active pollutant removal components of these systems. Active botanical biofiltration, using green wall systems combined with mechanical fans to increase pollutant exposure to the plants and substrate, show greatly increased rates of pollutant removal for both VOCs, PM and also carbon dioxide ($CO_2$). A developing body of research indicates that these systems can outperform existing technologies for indoor air pollutant removal, although further research is required before their use will become widespread. Whilst it is known that plant species selection and substrate characteristics can affect the performance of active botanical systems, optimal characteristics are yet to be identified. Once this research has been completed, it is proposed that active botanical biofiltration will provide a cheap and low energy use alternative to mechanical ventilations systems for the maintenance of indoor environmental quality.

• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2009

This study examined the emission characteristics and psychological effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from wooden boards made of Pinus densiflora and Chamaecyparis obtusa, conifer commonly found in korean forests. Boards made of those species were used to decorate interior of a test room. Different proportions of interior (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% against the entire interior of the room) were decorated. Electroencephalogram and VOCs in the test room were measured 24 hours after interior decorated. As the results, when 40% of interior of the room decorated with both species of boards, the largest amount of alpha wave was detected. For board made of P. densiflora, as the proportion of interior decorated increased both natural VOCs(NVOCs) and anthropogenic VOCs(AVOCs) were increased. on the other hand, When interior decorated with board made of C, obtusa, little differences in VOCs with different area of interior decorated was detected. Board made of P. densiflor emitted a slightly higher amount of AVOCs than boards made of C. obtusa. NVOCs emitted from board made of P. densiflora was three to fifteen times more than NVOCs emitted from board made of C. obtusa.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.291-295
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• 2011

A bake-out process using auto switchgear for five days was performed to evaluate the reduction effect of the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde in a newly-built elementary school gymnasium. Reduction rates of VOCs were observed as followings: 38.2, 64.2, 86.3, 80.2, and 71.5% for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and styrene, respectively, which satisfies the indoor air quality standards of newly-built apartment houses in Korea. The reduction rate of total VOCs and formaldehyde were 67.0 and 24.7%, respectively. Those results proved that the bake-out process using auto switchgear was effective for reducing indoor air pollutants.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.26-33
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• 2002

Ultimate objective of industrial hygiene is the prevention of health impairment that may result from exposure to chemicals at workplace. Workers in solvent thinner-using occupation environment may be highly exposed to VOCs (volatile organic compounds) because solvent thinner has been used extensively such as painting, spraying, degreasing, coating and so on in Korea. The purpose of this study was to recognize, evaluate, and propose the control methods of VOCs from solvent thinner-using workplace. Five target volatile organic compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, and m-xylene) were monitored in H company of Shiwa Industrial Complex and analyzed in perosnal, occupational indoor and outdoor during working hours simultaneously. Engineering control such as local ventilation should be made in considering the long-term exposure, though measured VOCs concentration did not exceed the workplace exposure standards. In addition, air cleaning device should be installed in local ventilation because Shiwa Industrial Complex has had the serious ambient air pollution. Currently, environmental purification using $TiO_2$ photocatalyst have attracted a great deal of attention with increasing number of recent environmental problems. In this study, $TiO_2$ sol coated on the ceramic bead was prepared by sol-gel method and the photodegradation of target compounds was investigated in gas phase by the exposure to UV-A lamp(365nm) in a batch system.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.397-405
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• 2018

As regulations governing the control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have become increasingly stringent in China, regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) have been more frequently applied in medium- and high-concentration VOCs treatments. However, due to the lack of existing RTO-related research, experience remains a dominant factor for industrial application. This paper thus aimed to establish a model for industrial RTOs, using a transient simulation method and thermal equilibrium model to simulate the internal velocities and temperature distributions of an RTO across multiple cycles. A comparison showed an error of less than 5% between most correlating simulated and experimental measurement points, verifying that the simulation method was accurate. After verification, the velocity and temperature fields inside the RTO were simulated to study the uniformity of temperature and velocity within the packed beds: both fields displayed high uniformity after gas flowed through the honeycomb regenerator. The effects of air volume, VOCs concentrations, and valve switching times on the oxidation chamber temperature, RTO outlet temperature, and thermal efficiency (as well as their averages) were studied. The VOCs removal rate in this study was constantly above 98%, and the average thermal efficiency reached 90%.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.143-151
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• 2016

Many people interested in indoor air quality monitoring since they spend a majority of their time indoors such as homes and offices. This paper proposes the effective indoor air quality monitoring system and it can gauge carbon dioxide, particulate matter and VOCs(Volatile Organic Compounds) which can be harmful to humans. The proposed system is composed of three main modules which are device, web server, and mobile application. In order to evaluate the performance, we tested two cases which are candle and smoke. We monitor the condition of indoor air quality with our mobile application. Also, we developed the information graphics to compare the condition of air quality between indoor and outdoor and this mobile application improves usability.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.190-202
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• 2012

Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) by aircraft at the Gimhae International Airport (GIA) were investigated using the Emissions and Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS) version 5.1.3. The number of Landing and Take-Off (LTO) at the GIA for aircraft B737 was dominant, accounting for more than 60% of the total LTOs. For air pollutant emissions, CO was the most dominant pollutant by aircraft, followed by $NO_x$, VOCs, $SO_x$, etc. The emissions of CO, $NO_x$, and VOCs in 2009 (and 2010) at the GIA were 974 (968), 447 (433), 118 (122) ton/yr, respectively. The emissions of GHGs such as $CO_2$, $CH_4$, and $N_2O$ in 2009 (and 2010) were 110,795 (111,114), -0.157 (-0.151), and 1,989 (1,998) ton/yr, respectively. The negative number in $CH_4$ emission represents the consumption of atmospheric $CH_4$ in the engine. In addition, the emissions of most air pollutants (except for $PM_{10}$) and GHGs were estimated to be high in Taxi-Out and Climb-Out modes.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.281-292
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• 1998

Ambient concentrations of gaseous, particulate phase ionic species, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) were measured at two monitoring sites in the City of Ulsan during August 1997: one in industrial area and the other in downtown area. At each site, a three- stage filter pack sampler was used to collect fine particles and gaseous species, and air for VOC analysis was collected in stainless steel canisters. Concentrations of the ionic species at both sites were similar to each other. The VOC concentrations at the industrial site were approximately twice higher than those at the downtown site. This might be mainly due to the release of VOCs from the petrochemical industries. Daily variations of VOC concentrations at the industrial site were higher than that at the downtown site. This might be explained by the fact that emissions from industries were more irregular than those in downtown. The VOC concentrations in downtown were affected by both the local emissions and the emission from the petrochemical industries. The concentrations of selected hazardous organic components (HAPs) at the industrial site were similar to those of Yocheon industrial area but slightly higher than other cites and industrial areas, while those at the downtown site were comparable to those in other urban areas.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 1999.04a
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• pp.300-301
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• 1999