• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 2008

Long-term degradation of coment barrier by diffusion was studied with reactive transport modeling. The result of modeling showed that cement barrier was altered about 30cm thickness after 50,000 years. The pH decreased from 13.0 to 11.9 because of depletion of alkali ions, and dissolution/precipitation of portlandite and CSH (Calcium Silicate Hydrate). In addition, porosity increased about 0.3 because of dissolution of portlandite and $CSH2.0(Ca_2SiO_3(OH)_2:0.17H_2O)$. The solubility of uranium also increased with the increase of pe value The results of this study indicate that long-term degradation of comet can enhance the transport of nuclide by changing pH, pe, porosity in barrier.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.867-874
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• 2009

Solubility of a radionuclide is important for defining the release source term of a radioactive waste in the safety and performance assessments of a radioactive waste repository. When the pH and redox potential of the KURT groundwater were changed by an electrical method, the concentrations of uranium and thorium released from $UO_2$(cr) and $ThO_2$(cr) at alkali pH(8.1 ${\sim}$ 11.4) and reducing potential (Eh < -0.2 V) conditions were less than $10^{-7}mole/L$. Unexpectedly, the concentration of tetravalent thorium is slightly higher than that of uranium at pH = 8.1 and Eh= -0.2 V conditions, and this difference may be due to the formation of hydroxide-carbonate complex ions. When $UO_2$(s) and $UO_2$(am, hyd.), and $ThO_2$(s) and $Th(OH)_4(am)$ were assumed as solubility limiting solid phases, the concentrations of uranium and thorium in the KURT groundwater calculated by the PHREEQC code were comparable to the experimental results. The dominating aqueous species of uranium and thorium were presumed as $UO_2(CO_3)_3^{4-}$ and $Th(OH)_3CO_3^-$ at pH = 8.1 ${\sim}$ 9.8, and $UO_2(OH)_3^-$ and $Th(OH)_4(aq)$ at pH = 11.4.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.7-15
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• 2014

Agar-based composite films were prepared with variety of food processing and agricultural processing waste materials in order to screen natural lingo-cellulosic resources for the value-added utilization of the under-utilized materials. The effect of these waste materials (10 wt% based on agar) on mechanical properties, moisture content (MC), water vapor permeability (WVP), water absorption behavior of biocomposite films were investigated. Biocomposite films prepared with various fibers resulted in significant increase or decrease in color and percent transmittance. The MC, WVP, and surface hydrophobicity of biocomposite films increased significantly by incorporation of fibers, while the water uptake ratio and solubility of the film decreased. SEM images of biocomposite film showed better adhesion between the fiber and agar polymer. Among the tested cellulosic waste materials, rice wine waste, onion and garlic fibers were promising for the value-added utilization as a reinforcing material for the preparation of biocomposite food packaging films.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.459-482
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• 2006

A geochemical approach to the long-term safety of waste disposal is discussed in connection with the significance of actinides, which shall deliver the major radioactivity inventory subsequent to the relatively short-term decay of fission products. Every power reactor generates transuranic (TRU) elements: plutonium and minor actinides (Np, Am, Cm), which consist chiefly of long-lived nuclides emitting alpha radiation. The amount of TRU actinides generated in a fuel life period is found to be relatively small (about 1 wt% or less in spent fuel) but their radioactivity persists many hundred thousands years. Geological confinement of waste containing TRU actinides demands, as a result, fundamental knowledge on the geochemical behavior of actinides in the repository environment for a long period of time. Appraisal of the scientific progress in this subject area is the main objective of the present paper. Following the introductory discussion on natural radioactivities, the nuclear fuel cycle is briefly brought up with reference to actinide generation and waste disposal. As the long-term disposal safety concerns inevitably with actinides, the significance of the aquatic actinide chemistry is summarized in two parts: the fundamental properties relevant to their aquatic behavior and the geochemical reactions in nanoscopic scale. The constrained space of writing allows discussion on some examples only, for which topics of the primary concern are selected, e.g. apparent solubility and colloid generation, colloid-facilitated migration, notable speciation of such processes, etc. Discussion is summed up to end with how to make a geochemical approach available for the long-term disposal safety of nuclear waste or for the performance assessment (PA) as known generally.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.847-870
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• 2023

The safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste requires accurate predictions of the long-term geochemical behavior of radionuclides. To achieve this, the present study was conducted to model geochemical behaviors of uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and palladium (Pd) under different hydrogeochemical conditions that represent deep groundwater in Korea. Geochemical modeling was performed for five types of South Korean deep groundwater environment: high-TDS saline groundwater (G1), low-pH CO₂-rich groundwater (G2), high-pH alkaline groundwater (G3), sulfate-rich groundwater (G4), and dilute (fresh) groundwater (G5). Under the pH and Eh (redox potential) ranges of 3 to 12 and ±0.2 V, respectively, the solubility and speciation of U, Pu, and Pd in deep groundwater were predicted. The result reveals that U(IV) exhibits high solubility within the neutral to alkaline pH range, even in reducing environment with Eh down to -0.2 V. Such high solubility of U is primarily attributed to the formation of Ca-U-CO₃ complexes, which is important in both G2 located along fault zones and G3 occurring in granitic bedrocks. On the other hand, the solubility of Pu is found to be highly dependent on pH, with the lowest solubility in neutral to alkaline conditions. The predominant species are Pu(IV) and Pu(III) and their removal is predicted to occur by sorption. Considering the migration by colloids, however, the role of colloid formation and migration are expected to promote the Pu mobility, especially in deep groundwater of G3 and G5 which have low ionic strengths. Palladium (Pd) exhibits the low solubility due to the precipitation as sulfides in reducing conditions. In oxidizing condition, anionic complexes such as Pd(OH)₃^-, PdCl₃(OH)₂^-, PdCl₄^2-, and Pd(CO₃)₂^2- would be removed by sorption onto metal (hydro)oxides. This study will improve the understanding of the fate and transport of radionuclides in deep groundwater conditions of South Korea and therefore contributes to develop strategies for safe high-level radioactive waste disposal.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.228-235
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• 1992

Some soluble species may not be solubility-limited or congruent-released with the matrix species. For example, during the operation of the nuclear reactor, the fission products can be accumulated in the fuel-cladding gap, voids, and grain boundaries of the fuel rods. In the waste package for spent-fuel placed in a geologic repository, the high solubility species of these fission products accumulated in the“gap”, e.g. cesium or iodine are expected to dissolve rapidly when ground water penetrates fuel rods. The time and space dependent mass transport for high solubility nuclides in the gap is analyzed, and its numerical illustrations are demonstrated. The approximate solution that is valid for all times is developed, and validated by comparison with an asymptotic solution and the solution obtained by the numerical inversion of Laplace transform covering the entire time span.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.177-181
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• 2005

Yellowish uranium compounds were enriched at the interface between a Ca-bentonite block and a waste glass, containing about $20\%$ uranium oxide, in contact with the block due to the dissolution of uranium by a synthetic granitic groundwater in Ar atmosphere. The uranium compound formed for 6 years leach time was identified as a beta-uranophane $[Ca(UO_2)_2(SiO_{3}OH)_{2}5H_{2}O]$ using XRD, IR and mass spectrometer. The solubility of the beta-uranophane was measured to be about $10^{-6}\;mole/L$ in de-mineralized water at $80^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.584-590
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• 2023

In this study, we focus on the recycling of cardboard waste and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) for the preparation of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and its conversion into a biodegradable film. Sodium alginate (SA) was added to form a biodegradable composite film. SA was used to increase film permeability. Glycerol, which is a plasticizer, was used to increase the tensile strength (TS) and film expansion. To characterize the CMC, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were used. The addition of olive oil to the CMC-SA matrix highlighted its antimicrobial property against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). A slight decrease in tensile strength was observed with the addition of olive oil (OO), which improved the functional properties of the control films as well as lowered moisture content and water solubility. But considering all other factors, the composite films obtained from sugarcane bagasse and cardboard waste incorporated with olive oil are suitable for applications in the field of food packaging.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Dyers and Finishers Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.62-65
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• 2001

This thesis related to a reactive black dyes containing acetoxyethyl sulfone moiety which is characterized by lessening the loss of dyes in filtering process owing to the low solubility by introducing the aminophenyl- $\beta$ -acetoxyethyl sulfone moiety, saving the cost for waste water treatment by using a small amount of salt in salting-out process and furthermore obtaining bright color with high dyeing yield and substantivity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.551-558
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• 2007

From the view point of biological wastewater treatment, C/N ratio is one of the most important factor in biological nutrient removal process. However, municipal sewage in Korea is characterized by extremely low content of carbon source and relatively higher portion of N source. Accordingly, it is necessary to dose external carbon source in order to obtain higher degree of carbon source within the process. In this study, the effects of pH pretreatment as an alternative plan for increasing carbon source on the cell disruption and COD solubility of waste activated sludge were conducted under well defined experimental conditions. During 5 hours, the value of COD solubilization rate ($S_R$) at pH 11.5 is approximately 4.4 times higher than the value of $S_R$ at pH 9.5. It is expected that the level of SCOD increased due to the result from cell disruption. However, VSS/TSS ratio was not significantly changed after 5 hours. As Alkalinity changes gradually from less than 15, 30 and 60 meq NaOH/L, average RBCOD/SCOD fraction showed 34, 36 and 45%,respectively.