• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.580-602
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• 2011

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the 2007 CAPSS (Clean Air Protection Supporting System) emissions inventory are chemically speciated for the SAPRC99 (Statewide Air Pollution Research Center 99) mechanism, following the Source Classification Code (SCC) matching method to borrow the U.S.EPA's chemical speciation profiles. CMAQ simulations with High-order Direct Decoupled Method (HDDM) are in turn applied to evaluate uncertainty in the method by comparing the simulated model VOC species to the observations in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) for a 2007 June episode. Simulations under-predicted ALK1 to ALK4 in SAPRC99 by a factor of 2 to 5 and over-predicted ALK5 by a factor of 7.5 while ARO1, ARO2, OLE1, and ethylene (ETH) are comparable to the observations, showing relative difference by 10 to 30%. OLE2 emissions are roughly 4 times overestimated. Emission rates for individual VOC model species are revised referring to the ratio of simulated to observed concentrations. Impact of the VOC emission changes on the overall ozone prediction was insignificant for the days of which 1-hr maximum ozone are lower than 100 ppb. However, simulations showed ozone difference by 5 to 10 ppb when high ozone above 120 ppb was observed in the vicinity of Seoul. This result suggests that evaluations on individual model VOC emissions be necessary to lead ozone control plans to the right direction. Moreover, the simulated ratios of ARO1 and ARO2 to $NO_x$ are roughly 50% lower than the observed ones, which imply that adjustment in $NO_x$ and VOC emission rates may be required to mimic the real VOC/$NO_x$ condition over the area.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.648-658
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• 2016

Preservation of fresh algae plays an important role in algae seed subculture and aquaculture. The determination and examination of the changes of cell viability, composition, and bacterial species during storage would help to take suitable preservation methods to prolong the preservation time of fresh algae. Nostoc flagelliforme is a kind of edible cyanobacterium with important herbal and dietary values. This article investigated the changes of bacterial species and biochemical characteristics of fresh N. flagelliforme concentrate during natural storage. It was found that the viability of cells decreased along with the storage time. Fourteen bacteria strains in the algae concentrate were identified by PCR-DGGE and were grouped into four phyla, including Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Among them, Enterococcus viikkiensis may be a concern in the preservation. Eleven volatile organic compounds were identified from N. flagelliforme cells, in which geosmin could be treated as an indicator of the freshness of N. flagelliforme. The occurrence of indole compound may be an indicator of the degradation of cells.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.767-774
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• 2008

This study was carried out to evaluate the characteristics of atmospheric concentrations of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) and aldehydes for near a large shipyard. Most of the painting work in marine coating is performed indoor and outdoor. Most of the VOCs are emitted to the atmosphere as the paint is applied and cures. The massive scale of a ship makes it difficult to capture the emissions from outdoor painting. The VOCs are an important health and contributors to photochemical smog. The VOCs and aldehydes samples were collected using adsorbent tube and 2,4-DNPH cartridge, and were determined by an automatic thermal desorption coupled with GC/MS and HPLC-UV analysis, respectively. A total of 16 aromatic VOCs and 12 aldehydes of environmental concern were determined. At indoor coating facilities, the most abundant compound among 16 target VOCs appeared to be m,p-xylene, being followed by o-xylene. But most of the aldehydes were extremely lower concentrations. The atmospheric concentration of VOCs, m,p-xylene concentrations were the highest and the mean value were outdoor workshop 11.323 ppb, residental area 5.134 ppb, and green area 2.137 ppb, respectively. However, the most aldehydes were extremely lower concentrations such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and non-detection such as iso-valeraldehyde, n-valeraldehyde and o-tolualdehyde.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.145-152
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• 2008

A cell-based in vitro exposure system was developed to determine whether oxidative stress plays a role in the cytotoxic effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, xylene, and chlorobenzene, using human epithelial HeLa cells. Thin films based on cysteine-terminated synthetic oligopeptides were fabricated for immobilization of the HeLa cells on a gold (Au) substrate. In addition, an immobilized cell-based sensor was applied to the electrochemical detection of the VOCs. Layer formation and immobilization of the cells were investigated with surface plasmon resonance (SPR), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The adhered living cells were exposed to VOCs; this caused a change in the SPR angle and the VOC-specific electrochemical signal. In addition, VOC toxicity was found to correlate with the degree of nitric oxide (NO) generation and EIS. The primary reason for the marked increase in impedance was the change of aqueous electrolyte composition as a result of cell responses. The p53 and NF-${\kappa}B $ downregulation were closely related to the magnitude of growth inhibition associated with increasing concentrations of each VOC. Therefore, the proposed cell immobilization method, using a self-assembly technique and VOC-specific electrochemical signals, can be applied to construct a cell microarray for onsite VOC monitoring.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.7 no.2 s.19
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• pp.7-13
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• 2003

Abstract This paper presents new emission mechanism and emission estimation model in volatile organic compounds(VOCs) emission sources. Also classifies applicable emission reduction techniques and presents new economical evaluation method for each techniques. We ultimately developed VEER(VOCs Emission Estimation and Reduction) software, which is backed by above mentioned model, emission source DB, Chemical properties DB, meteorological DB, and emission factor DB. With VEER, users in enterprise, central government and local self-governing body can get reliable emission results easily, and choose suitable emission reduction techniques.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.523-529
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the pretreatment technologies of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which is a problem as the semiconductor and display industry develops recently. The conventional concentrator used in the direct combustion system, is easily contaminated by the exhaust gas in the manufacturing process of the display, resulting in the low treatment efficiency of generated VOCs. Physical/Chemical analyses of the exhaust gas showed high boiling point and viscosity in addition to a large amount of molecular weight alcohols and oil components. In this study, we tried to treat degrading materials by using the heat exchanger in a pretreatment facility and some materials degrading the concentrator were condensed more than 90%. In addition, it was also confirmed that an auxiliary device of the grease filter could remove the redispersion polymer oil from the heat exchanger.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.633-638
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• 2019

Indoor air quality underground facilities are not equipped for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and they are usually treated by diffusion methods such as ventilation. In this study, an adsorption filter was prepared using various coating methods such as carbon nano fiber (CNF) and dip coating. As a result, the adsorption performance was improved by 2 to 20 times or more compared to that of using the metal foam support. This is maybe due to the enhancement of pore distribution which was confirmed by SEM. In addition, the adsorption performance was 13.95 mg/g by adding lignin, and also an average adsorption performance of 13.25 mg/g was maintained after washing indicating that a highly durable adsorption filter material was prepared. It can be suggested that the developed adsorption filter material can be a potential solution that can fundamentally control VOCs, not via the concentration reduction of mechanical ventilation in underground facilities.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.217-223
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to measure the indoor air quality of small-scale apartments and then proposed a method to improve the indoor air quality of the small-scale apartments by comparing with the result of indoor air quality in the Clean-Healthy House. In case of formaldehyde, a highly volatile organic compound, the concentrations of indoor measured both in small-scale apartments and the Clean Healthy houses did not exceed- the guideline of Korea. The guideline of Korea for acetaldehyde was not available, so the guidelines of Japan and the World Health Organization were used to measure the concentration of acetaldehyde. The study results demonstrated that three out of seven small-scale apartments investigated exceeded the guideline of Japan; and the preliminary research on the Clean-Health Houses was low at about 30-60% of the guideline of Japan. The result of the VOCs measurement showed that toluene, ethylbenzene, and styrene in some small-scale apartments exceeded the guideline of Korea. However, the Clean-Healthy Houses in the previous studies did not exceed the guideline of Korea with regard to all the pollutants. Therefore, this study suggests the application of the construction standards of the Clean-Healthy house in order to improve the indoor air quality of small-scale apartments. In addition, the current study anticipates that improvement of the indoor air quality in the residential environments should be universally applied, not limited to the type and size of the residence.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.78-88
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• 2023

Background: Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can have acute and chronic health effects on human beings in general and in working environments. In particular, VOCs are often emitted in large quantities in industrial settings. In such circumstances, there is a need to improve the indoor air quality at workplaces. Objectives: The purposes of this study were to verify the effectiveness of air cleaning devices in workplaces and provide alternative solutions for improving working environments. Methods: Personal exposure and area level of VOCs for workers were evaluated in a car-part adhesive process before and after installing an air cleaning device with a TiO₂-coated filter. Passive samplers and direct reading instruments were used to collect and analyze the VOCs, and the removal efficiency and improvement of air quality were evaluated. We also calculated the exposure index (EI) to assess the risk level in the workplace. Results: The removal efficiency for VOCs through the installation of the air cleaning device was approximately 26.9~69.0% as determined by the concentration levels before and after installation. The measured substances did not exceed the exposure limits for the work environment and the EI was less than 1. However, carcinogenic substances such as benzene, formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride, and trichloroethylene were detected. Conclusions: The application of an air cleaning device can be a solution for controlling the indoor air quality in a workplace, particularly in cases where ventilation systems cannot be installed due to process limitations.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.401-406
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• 2023

With the development of industry, fine dust is causing difficulties in various fields such as environment, health, and life, and a large amount of pollutants generated from human social activities are emerging as a serious environmental problem due to air pollution. Therefore, in this study, activated carbon was added to remove fine dust and volatile organic compounds by spinning cellulose acetate polymer fibers on a silicon support using the electrospinning method. By varying the activated carbon ratio and electrospinning time, the fine dust blocking effect and toluene adsorption performance were confirmed according to the activated carbon ratio and filter thickness. As a result, it was shown that the particles were effectively blocked with the increase in the electrospinning time due to the filter thickness increase. Adsorbed amount of toluene was increased with increase in activated carbon amount. Light transmittance was decrease with increase in electrospinning time, showing that there were light transmittance in filters electrospun for 20~30 minutes.