• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.403-410
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• 2020

The difficulty of securing freshwater sources is increasing with global climate change. On the other hand, seawater is less affected by climate change and regarded as a stable water source. For utilizing seawater as freshwater, seawater desalination technologies should be employed to reduce the concentration of salts. However, current desalination technologies might accelerate climate change and create problems for the ecosystem. The desalination technologies consume higher energy than conventional water treatment technologies, increase carbon footprint with high electricity use, and discharge high salinity of concentrate to the ocean. Thus, it is critical to developing green desalination technologies for sustainable desalination in the era of climate change. The energy consumption of desalination can be lowered by minimizing pump irreversibility, reducing feed salinity, and harvesting osmotic energy. Also, the carbon footprint can be reduced by employing renewable energy sources to the desalination system. Furthermore, the volume of concentrate discharge can be minimized by recovering valuable minerals from high-salinity concentrate. The future green seawater desalination can be achieved by the advancement of desalination technologies, the employment of renewable energy, and the utilization of concentrate.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.77-86
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• 2015

The agricultural water management generally has focused on water resources for crop production but it could be affected by the food consumption pattern. The aim of this study is to estimate virtual water consumption for food consumption and calorie supply using the water footprint and virtual water concept. In addition, we estimated the virtual water requirements for increasing the food and calorie self-sufficiency adjusted by the government for food security. About $330.0m^3/cap/yr$ of virtual water was consumed for the main foods consumption in 1985, and it was increased to $450.0m^3/cap/yr$ in 2010. The rate of virtual water consumption by meats consumption was 28 % in 1985 but it was increased to 54 % in 2010. In other words, the total virtual water consumption by foods consumption was increased from 1985 to 2010 with the high rate of meats consumption. The average $1.29m^3$ of virtual water was consumed for supplying 1 calorie per capita in 2010 but about $10.1m^3/cal$ of virtual water was consumed by only bovine meats consumption. The food self-sufficiency is the main factor for food security in Korea. About $46.5Mm^3$ and $393.9Mm^3$ of virtual water were required in order to increase the food and calorie self-sufficiency of wheat by 1 % individually. This study showed the water consumption was related to food consumption and calorie supply pattern, and these results could be used as the indices for the agricultural water management considering the change of eating habit and food security.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.677-678
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• 2005

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.146-158
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• 2021

We are to introduce an example of ESD in connection with SDGs through liberal arts courses opened at the College of Education. We analyzed the awareness of the carbon footprint expressed by 42 preservice teachers in a class designed in connection with SDGs 13 goal, 'climate action'. The pre-service teachers wrote a carbon diet diary, a checklist for the level of practice that emits carbon in daily life, and freely expressed the source and proportion of their carbon emissions through the carbon footprint drawing activity. In items of electricity use, public transportation use, and garbage disposal, the level of practice was positive, but water use was analyzed in a negative way. The pre-service teachers who expressed the carbon footprint in 2-3 items reached a majority, showing limitations in recognizing the carbon emission situation in their daily life. Pre-service teachers will be the main actors of education on the environmental issues of the earth at the school site, and the carbon literacy of pre-service teachers will directly or indirectly affect students. We hope that various ESD programs linked to the 17 SDGs will be developed and applied to the educational field to contribute to sustainable global environmental education.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.489-499
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• 2017

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is a new technology capable to flow without segregation or any addition of energy which leads to efficient construction and cost savings. In this study, the effect of replacing the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with Fly Ash (FA) on the strength, durability of the concrete was investigated experimentally, and carbon footprint and cost were also assessed. Four different replacement FA ratios (0%, 20%, 40% and 60%) were used to create four SCC mixes. Standard test methods were used to determine the workability, strength, and durability of the SCC mixes including resist chloride ion penetration, water permeability, water absorption, and initial surface absorption. The axial cube compressive strength tests were performed on the SCC mixes at 1, 7, 14, 28 and 35 days. Replacing the OPC with FA had a significant positive impact on chloride iron penetration resistance and water absorption but had a considerable negative impact on the compressive strength. The SCC mix with 60% FA had 36.7% and 15.8% enhancement in the resistance to chloride ion penetration and water absorption, respectively. Evaluation of the carbon footprint and the cost of each SCC mixes showed the $CO_2$ emissions mixes 1, 2, 3 and 4 were significantly reduced by increasing the FA content from 0% to 60%. Compared with the control mix, the cost of all mixes increased when the FA content increased, but no significant differences were seen between the estimated costs of all four mixes.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.32-32
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• 2021

넥서스는 물, 에너지, 식량, 토지, 기후 및 환경 등의 부문 간 연관성과 상호의존성을 나타내며, 이러한 넥서스 개념은 최근에 학계와 정책결정자들에게 많은 관심을 받고 있다. 더 나아가 넥서스 관점의 도입으로 단일 부문별로 자원을 관리하는 기존의 정책 결정 체계의 한계를 극복하고, 관련 있는 부문 간의 시너지와 트레이드오프를 고려한 지속가능한 발전을 위한 의사 결정이 가능하게 되었다. 일반적으로 취수-도수-정수처리-송수-분배·급수-물이용-하수집수-하수처리-물재이용으로 구성되는 도시 물순환 시스템에서 공급과정에서 발생되는 물손실 관리를 위한 전략 및 프로그램은 물부문 만에서 평가를 통해 수립되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 시스템 다이나믹스(System Dynamics)를 적용하여 물, 에너지 및 환경 부문을 동시에 고려한 도시 물순환 시스템 모델을 개발하여, 넥서스 관점에서의 합리적인 도시 물손실 관리 방안을 도출하고자 하였다. 그리고 모델 내 부문 간 자원의 사용량 및 이동량의 정량화를 위해 물, 에너지, 환경 지표로 각각 물발자국(Water Footprint), 총 에너지 사용량(Total Energy Use) 및 탄소발자국(Carbon Footprint)이 적용되었다. 개발된 모델을 3개의 도시 에너지 인텐시티 현황(낮음, 보통, 높음)과 4개의 물손실 현황(낮은 물손실, 높은 물손실&낮은 명목손실비, 높은 물손실&보통 명목손실비, 높은 물손실&높은 명목손실비)을 고려한 12개의 시나리오에 적용하여 분석하였다. 그 결과 기존의 경제적인 측면 중심의 의사결정 과정에서는 명목손실이 물손실 관리 전략 수립 및 적용의 우선순위였으나, 넥서스 관점에서는 실손실 부분의 개선이 중요함을 알 수 있었다. 또한, 도시의 단위 물공급 에너지 인텐시티가 자원 사용 및 이동에 큰 영향을 미치는 것으로 분석되어서, 넥서스 관점의 의사결정시 사전적으로 분석해야 하는 중요 항목인 것으로 도출되었다. 이와 같은 범용적이고 포괄적인 도시 물순환 물-에너지-환경 넥서스 모델을 통해, 지속가능하고, 체계적이며, 구체적이고, 실현가능한 넥서스관점의 물손실 관리가 가능할 것으로 판단된다.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.851-857
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• 2018

In this research, LCA analysis of the manufacturing process of pot bearing for fixed, movable in all directions, movable in one direction was carried out to analyze the environmental load using the LCA methodology. Especially, the water footprint that has been and issue in recent years was analyzed. As a result of LCA, it was analyzed that the contribution of the plate was more than 64.2% in all of the six impact categories in the case of fixed pot bearing base, and more than 94% in the category of resource depletion and photochemical oxidant creation. In the case of all direction pot bearing and one direction pot bearing, the contribution of PTFE was the highest in the global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion, and the contribution by the plate was higher in the other impact categories. The water footprint of each type of pot bearing was analyzed as $22.4m^3\;H_2O\;eq/kg$ for one direction pot bearing, $17.1m^3\;H_2O\;eq/kg$ for fixed pot bearing, and $14.1m^3\;H_2O\;eq/kg$ for all direction pot bearing. As a result of life cycle analysis, the contribution of water use in manufacturing was more than 65% in all three types. The results of this study can be used as basic data for decision making in construction method and material selection of bridges in the future.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.785-799
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• 2022

The aim of this study was to characterize the emission pathways and the footprint of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Daecheong Reservoir using the G-res Tool, and to evaluate the GHG emission intensity (EI) compared to other energy sources. In addition, the change in GHG emissions was assessed in response to the total phosphorus (TP) concentration. The GHG flux in post-impoundment was found to be 262 gCO₂eq/m²/yr, of which CO₂ and CH₄ were 45.7% and 54.2%, respectively. Diffusion of CO₂ contributed the most, followed by diffusion, degassing, and bubbling of CH₄. The net GHG flux increased to 510 gCO₂eq/m²/yr because the forest (as CO₂ sink) was lost after dam construction. The EI of Daecheong Reservoir was 86.8 gCO₂eq/kWh, which is 3.7 times higher than the global EI of hydroelectric power, due to its low power density. However, it was remarkable to highlight the value to be 9.5 times less than that of coal, a fossil fuel. We also found that a decrease in TP concentration in the reservoir leads to a decrease in GHG emissions. The results can be used to improve understanding of the GHG emission characteristics and to reduce uncertainty of the national GHG inventory of dam reservoirs.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.19-34
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• 2023

Due to the intermittency of renewable energy sources, a need to store and transport energy will increase. Hydrogen production through water electrolysis will provide an excellent way to supplement the intermittency of renewable energy sources. While alkaline water electrolysis is currently the most mature technology, it has drawbacks of low current density, large footprint, gas crossover, etc. The PEM water electrolysis has potential to replace the alkaline electrolysis. However, expensive catalyst material used in the PEM electrolysis has been the bottleneck of widespread use. In this review, we have reviewed recent efforts to reduce catalyst loading in PEM water electrolysis. In core-shell nanostructures, the precious metal catalyst forms a shell while heteroatoms form a core. In this way, the catalyst loading can be significantly reduced while maintaining the catalytic activity. In another approach, a corrosion-resistant support is utilized, which provides a stable platform to impregnate precious metal catalyst.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.57-57
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• 2011

탄소발자국(carbon footprint)은 인간의 생산 및 소비활동 전 과정에서 발생하는 온실가스의 양을 나타내는 지표 중 하나로, 최근 기후변화 대응 전략의 일환으로 국제사회의 주목을 받고 있는 개념이다. 현재 영국, 일본, 스위스, 프랑스, 미국 등 선진국을 중심으로 탄소발자국 산정을 통해 온실가스 배출을 저감하려는 시도가 활발히 진행되고 있으며, 탄소발자국 개념을 물관리 분야로까지 확대 적용하는 방안이 논의되고 있다. 본 연구의 목적은 영국과 미국의 서로 다른 형태의 물분야 탄소발자국 산정 방안을 비교 분석함으로써 우리나라의 효율적인 기후변화 대응 물관리 계획에 적용하는 방향을 제시하는 데 있다. 영국은 2008년 제정된 기후변화법에 따라 탄소 저감 목표를 수립하고 정부 차원에서 마련한 표준화된 탄소 산정 가이드라인을 바탕으로 지역 물회사들로 하여금 탄소발자국 산정 및 온실가스 저감계획을 이행하도록 하고 있다. 반면 미국의 경우, 정부 차원에서 탄소라벨링 시스템이 제도화되어 있지는 않으나, 하천네트워크(River Network)와 같은 비영리 민간단체를 통해 물 분야의 탄소 저감 인벤토리가 구축되어 왔다. 현재 우리나라 수자원 분야에서 한국수자원공사가 일부 지역 정수장의 수돗물 및 병물의 생산 및 공급 전 과정에서 발생하는 탄소를 정량화하고 있으나, 물관리 시스템 전반의 온실가스 인벤토리 구축을 통한 표준화된 저감계획이 수립되지 않은 상태이다. 본 연구에서는 우선 영국과 미국에서 진행되어 온 물 분야 탄소발자국 논의의 배경과 동향 및 시행 체계를 살펴보고, 영국 정부 차원에서 제시한 물 분야 탄소 산정 가이드라인과 미국 민간부문에서 제시한 안을 각 항목별로 분석하였다. 이를 통해 두 나라가 비슷한 시기에 탄소발자국 논의를 시작하였음에도 불구하고 실제 적용 과정에서 나타나는 차이점과 특수성을 분석하였다. 탄소발자국 산정은 오늘날 수자원 분야의 기후변화 대응력을 강화하기 위한 대안으로 그 중요성이 점차 증대되고 있다. 영국과 미국의 사례에서 살펴보았듯이 효율적인 온실가스 감축을 위해서는 총괄적인 온실가스 감축 인벤토리 구축이 선행되어야 한다. 따라서 본 연구의 결과는 국내 물관리 분야에서 저감 잠재력이 큰 곳을 중심으로 한 온실가스 저감계획 및 방향 설정에 유의한 시사점을 제공할 것이다.