• Toxicological Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.293-300
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• 2010

tert-Butyl acetate (TBAc) is an organic solvent, which is commonly used in architectural coatings and industrial solvents. It has recently been exempted from the definition of a volatile organic compound (VOC) by the Air Resources Board (ARB). Since the use of TBAc as a substitute for other VOCs has increased, thus its potential risk in humans has also increased. However, its inhalation toxicity data in the literature are very limited. Hence, inhalation exposure to TBAc was carried out to investigate its toxic effects in this study. Adult male rats were exposed to TBAc for 4 h for 1 day by using a nose-only inhalation exposure chamber (low dose, $2370\;mg/m^3$ (500 ppm); high dose, $9482\;mg/m^3$ (2000 ppm)). Shamtreated control rats were exposed to clean air in the inhalation chamber for the same period. The animals were killed at 2, 7, and 15 days after exposure. At each time point, body weight measurement, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) analysis, histopathological examination, and biochemical assay were performed. No treatment-related abnormal effects were observed in any group according to time course. Based on those findings, the median lethal concentration ($LC_{50}$) of TBAc was over $9482\;mg/m^3$ in this study. According to the MSDS, the 4 h $LC_{50}$ for TBAc for rats is over $2230\;mg/m^3$. We suggested that this value is changed and these findings may be applied in the risk assessment of TBAc which could be beneficial in a sub-acute study.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.497-507
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• 2011

This research studied human health risk assessment of benzene from industrial complexes of Chungcheong Province (Seosan industrial complex) and Jeonla Province (Iksan industrial complex and Yeosoo industrial complex). The residents near the industrial complexes areas can be often exposed to volatile organic compounds (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylenes) through a number of exposure pathways, including inhalation of the organic pollutant via various environmental matrices (air, water and soil), contaminated water, and soil intake. Benzene is well known to be a common carcinogenic and toxic compound that is produced from industrial and oil refinery complexes. In this study, a number of samples from water, air, and soil were taken from the residential settings and public school zones located near the industrial complex sites. Based on the carcinogenic risk assessment, the risk estimates were slightly above $10{\times}10^{-6}$ at all three industrial sites. According to deterministic risk assessment, inhalation was the most important route. The distribution of benzene in the environment would be dependent on vapor pressure, and the physical property influencing the extent of the potential risks. Non-carcinogenic risk assessment of benzene shows that the values of Hazard Index(HI) were much lower than 1.0 at all industrial complexes. Therefore, benzene was not a cause of concern in terms of non-carcinogenic risk posed to the residents near the sites. When compared to probabilistic risk assessment, the CTE(central tendency exposure) cancer risk values of deterministic risk assessment were close to the mean values predicted by the probabilistic risk assessment. The RME(reasonable maximum exposure) values fell within the range of 95% to 99.9% estimated by the probabilistic risk assessment. Since the values of carcinogenic risk assessment were higher than $10{\times}10^{-6}$, further detailed monitoring and refined risk assessment for benzene may be warranted to estimate more reliable and potential inhalation risks to receptors near the industrial complexes.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.441-450
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• 2016

A pilot scale biostimulation experiment was performed under field conditions to degrade organic pollutants and PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds) in contaminated coastal sediment. During the experiment, the seawater temperature around the sediment varied from $16.5^{\circ}C$ to $21^{\circ}C$, while the sediment pH was stable at 8.4-8.5. The experiment was conducted over a one year period with a control group and a sample group with a applied biostimulant composed of acetate, sulfate, and nitrate. Chemical oxygen demand decreased 39% in the control group and 79% in the sample group. Volatile solids were reduced from 15 to 7 g/kg in the control group and 2.5 g/kg in the sample group. Out of the 2-, 3- ,4- ,5-, and 6-rings of the 16 vital PAHs, the compound including naphthalene (2-ring), took 2 months to degrade completely, while the degradation efficiency was 55.6% in the control group during the same period. In the case of the 3-ring and 4-ring PAHs, complete degradation in the sample and 46% - 100% degradation in control was observed after one year of the experiment. The 5-ring and 6-ring PAHs were degraded to about 77%-100% in the sample group and 26%-87% in the control group during the one year of the experiment. The study results show that biostimulation is a very effective method to improve the degradation rate of organic pollutants and PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds) in contaminated coastal sediment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.531-537
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• 2014

A catalytic plasma reactor was employed for the oxidation of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) classified as a volatile organic compound (VOC). Copper oxide (Cu : 0.5% (w/w)) supported on a multichannel porous ceramic consisting of ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ was used as a catalyst, which was directly exposed to the plasma created in it. The effects of discharge voltage and reaction temperature on the concentrations of IPA and its byproducts were examined to understand the behavior of the catalytic plasma reactor. Without thermal insulation, the reactor temperature increased up to $120^{\circ}C$ at an applied voltage of 17 kV (discharge power : 28 W), and the IPA at a flow rate of $1L\;min^{-1}$ ($O_2$ : 10% (v/v); IPA : 1000 ppm) was completely removed. At temperatures below $120^{\circ}C$, however, besides the desirable product $CO_2$, several unwanted byproducts such as acetone, formaldehyde and CO were also formed from IPA. On the other hand, when the reactor was thermally insulated, the plasma discharge increased the temperature up to $265^{\circ}C$ under the same condition and most of IPA was oxidized to $CO_2$. Without loading CuO on the ceramic support, the plasma discharge in the thermally insulated reactor produced nearly equal amounts of $CO_2$ and CO. On comparison, with the catalyst alone (temperature : $265^{\circ}C$), more than 70% of the removed IPA was simply converted into another type of VOC (acetone), indicating that the catalyst assisted by the plasma is more effective in the oxidation of IPA than that of the catalyst-alone process.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.236-245
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• 2015

Recently, candles have been widely used to create a romantic atmosphere and to heat tea. In this study, a small combustion chamber for candle was designed using an 0.008 m³ bell jar. The emission factors of combustion products were then measured. The combustion chamber includes a glass dish, which prevents candle flame from affecting the composition of the gas emitted through the exhaust outlet. The outlet in the combustion chamber was designed as a cone shape, and it was lengthened to prevent flow from the outside, which could affect the homogeneous composition of the exhaust gas. The temperature at the outlet of the chamber was 34 ℃~41℃. The major combustion products of the candle, such as such aldehydes and acids, contained oxygen. The mass specific emission rates of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and TVOC were 0.04 μg/g, 0.01 μg/g, 0.02 μg/g, and 3.81, respectively. The mass specific emission rates of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and benzaldehyde were 4.48 μg/g, 1.09 μg/g, and 0.67 μg/g, respectively. Considering the different compositions of the candle samples, their mass specific emission rates were similar to those obtained by using a large chamber 0.17 m³~50 m³ in size.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.846-853
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• 2013

We investigated the effect of the cell-wall-degrading enzyme and its skin contact time on the brewing characteristics of Cheongsoo grape. The easy of juice extraction was excellent at the cell-wall-degrading enzyme and skin contact treatments, and the aroma was best after five days of skin contact treatment. Furthermore, the juice yields of the Chengsoo grape were more dramatically increased by the cell-wall-degrading enzyme and skin contact treatments than by the control. The data on the pH, total acidity, and soluble solids did not significantly differ among the treatments, and the pH range from 3.1 to 3.4; the total acidity from 0.5% to 0.6% (as tartaric acid); and the soluble solids, from 6.7 to 7.1 $^{\circ}Brix$. The alcohol content of cell-wall-degrading enzyme treatment was highest with 13.3%. The total polyphenol was gradually increased with the longer skin contact time, and was highest after 10 days of skin contact treatment, at 306.4 mg/L. The main organic acids detected in the Cheongsoo wine were malic and tartaric acid, and citric, succinic and lactic acid were also detected. Our results show that the cell-wall-degrading enzyme and skin contact treatments were better in terms of the easy of juice extraction and significantly increased the juice yield and the volatile compound of the Cheongsoo wine.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.356-361
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• 2018

It is common to analyze volatile organic compound (VOC) or semi-VOC (SVOC) in a sample composed of a complex matrix consisting of multiple components such as bloods through a separation process. Adsorption is a physical phenomenon in which certain components accumulate on the surface of other phases. In order to overcome difficulties in the pretreatment process, an adsorption is frequently used. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) equipment with porous carbon carboxen (CAR) is an example of adsorption application. In this study, the adsorption of 4-octylphenol to carboxen was examined. To do so, the extraction efficiency for such solvents as dichloromethane ($CH_2Cl_2$, DCM), ethylacetate ($CH_3COOC_2H_5$, EA) and diethylether ($C_2H_5OC_2H_5$, $Et_2O$) was studied and also the derivatization reaction for 4-octylphenol with reagents of bistrimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide (BSTFA), methylchloroformate (MCF) and pentafluorobenzylbromide (PFBBr) was compared. The combination of DCM and BSTFA showed good performance thus they were adopted for this study. Thermodynamic adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption process was endothermic and Freundlich isotherm equation was more suitable than Langmuir isotherm. It was also found that the adsorption followed a pseudo-$2^{nd}$ order kinetic model.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.23-30
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• 2008

Air sparging technique has been used for remediation of VOC(volatile organic compound)-contaminated aquifer. The aim of this study was to develop an innovative air sparging technique that enhances the efficiency of air intrusion into a specific horizontal layer of aquifer where the contaminants exist with the help of water-soluble surfactant. A twodimensional physical box model, packed with homogeneous sand, was used for simulating the aquifer in this study. Aqueous solution of anionic surfactant (100 mg/L, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate) was used to suppress the surface tension of groundwater. Three sets of experiments were conducted: air sparging experiment without surfactant application, air sparging experiments for box model where the surfactant solution was applied right above the air injection point, and air sparging experiments with surfactant solution layer formed in the middle of the box. It was found that the sparging influence zone was expanded up to five times of that formed by sparging without surfactant application. The size of sparging influence zone was more sensitive to the air flow (injection) rate with surfactant application than that without surfactant. More importantly, injection of air into the target aquifer layer was successful with surfactant application. Findings in this study are expected to provide more options for designing remediation processes using air sparging.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.191-204
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• 2005

Building and furnishing materials and consumer product are important sources of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) and other aldehydes in the indoor environment. Some available evidence indicates that VOCs can cause adverse health effects to the building occupants and contribute to some of the symptoms of what we call, 'Sick House Syndrome' in Korea. The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of emission system and to investigate comparison of the emission characteristics of different building materials such as wall-papers, paints, and adhesives. The emission of VOCs from building materials were determined in the small chambers defining the temperature, relative humidity, and ventilation rate in this study. VOCs were sampled for 20 minutes using Tenax-TA tubes and analysed by GC-MS with thermal desorption. The stability of conditions for temperature and relative humidity in this small chamber system showed that the fluctuation of temperature was between 25.4$\pm$0.3$^{\circ}C$ and that of relative humidity was 50.2$\pm$0.6$\%$ under the airflow rate of 167 mL/min. The emission tests from building materials resulted in TVOC emission rates of 0.011 $\~$ 3.108 mg/m$^{2}$h after 7 days. The general wall-papers emitted toluene abundantly and the natural wall-papers mainly emitted n-butanol and a minor amount of alkanes compound such as n -tetradecane. The remainder consisted of toluene, m,p -xylene, and styrene. The paints mainly emitted toluene and the adhesives mainly emitted chloroform as well as toluene. As a result, this study is expected to suggest meaningful data for future studies in exposure control through selecting healthy building materials and for the establishment of guidelines for various building materials in Korea.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.136-143
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• 2013

In this study, both transient behaviors of a biofilter system with improved design and a conventional biofilter were observed to perform the treatment of waste air containing malodor and volatile organic compound (VOC). Their behaviors of removal efficiency and treated concentration of malodor and VOC were compared each other. During 1st~7th stages of improved biofilter system operation it was observed that the order of treated ethanol concentration at each sampling port was switched due to the difference of microbe-population-distribution in spite of the difference of biofilter effective height. However, at 8th stage of its operation, the order of treated ethanol concentration at each sampling port was consistent to the order of biofilter effective height at each sampling port. The same was applied to the case of hydrogen sulfide, even though the difference of switched treated-hydrogen sulfide-concentrations was less than that of switched treated-ethanol-concentrations. The ethanol-removal efficiency of the biofilter system with improved design was ca. 96%, which was greater by 2% than that of the conventional biofilter. The transient behavior of treated hydrogen sulfide concentration of both biofilters were similar to each other. However, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide treated by the biofilter system with improved design was observed lower than that by the conventional biofilter. The hydrogen sulfide-removal efficiency of the biofilter system with improved design was higher by ca. 2% than that of the conventional biofilter. Therefore, the hydrogen sulfide-removal efficiency of the biofilter system with improved design was observed to be enhanced by the same as its ethanol-removal efficiency.