• Clean Technology
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.226-232
• /
• 2013

A 5 kg/hr scale integral dual fluidized-bed gasifier for producing medium heating value syngas from biomass or combustible wastes was manufactured. The effect of operating variables including gasification temperature, rate of feeding, and weight ratio of steam/feed on the behavior of the gasifier was investigated. The contents of $H_2$ and CO in syngas, flow rate of feeding, cold gas efficiency increased with the increased gasification temperature or rate of feeding, but decreased with the increased weight ratio of steam/feed within the experimental range. With wood powder as the feed, the concentrations of $H_2$ and CO in the syngas were as high as 41% and 32%, and the cold gas efficiency and lower heating value of the syngas were as high as 70.1% and $3,428kcal/Nm^3$. With food wastes as the feed, the concentrations of $H_2$ and CO in the syngas were as high as 37% and 23.9%, and the cold gas efficiency and lower heating value of the syngas were as high as 66.7% and $3,670kcal/Nm^3$.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.305-311
• /
• 2013

PLA(polylactic acid), one of biodegradable polymers was blended with various amounts of wood pulp powder through solution blending technic to verify the effect of reinforcing pulp amount on the mechanical properties of blend films. Also these blend films were further modified with TDI(toluene diisocyanate) as crosslinking agent to introduce urethane functions by reaction of pulp hydroxyl groups and isocyanate. As a result, the tensile strength of blend film with 0.25 wt% pulp was increased from $565.25kg_f/cm^2$ for PLA film itself to $624.20kg_f/cm^2$. However, elongation of this film was decreased by 50% of that of PLA film itself. Only PLA/pulp blend film further modified with 500% of TDI/0.25 wt% pulp showed the slightly increased tensile strength but decreased elongation. Melting point and glass transition temperature of PLA/pulp blend films were confirmed by using Differential Scanning Calorimeter(DSC). Thermal stability of these blend films measured by TGA showed only a slight increase at temperature lower than $300^{\circ}C$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.646-652
• /
• 2016

Biomass is regarded as one of the promising energy sources to deal with the depletion of fossil fuels and the global warming issue. Biocrude-oil can be produced through the fast pyrolysis of biomass feedstocks such as wood, crops, agricultural and forestry residues. It has significantly higher viscosity than that of conventional petroleum fuel and contains solid residues, which can lower the spray and atomization characteristics when applied to the burner. In addition, biocrude-oil consists of hundreds of chemical species derived from cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and evaporation characteristics of the biocrude-oil droplet are distinct from the conventional fuels. In the present study, a numerical study was performed to investigate the evaporation characteristics of biocrude-oil droplet using a simplified composition of the model biocrude-oil which consists of acetic acid, levoglucosan, phenol, and water. The evaporation characteristics of droplets were compared at various surrounding air temperatures, initial droplet diameters, and ethanol mixing ratios. The evaporation time becomes shorter with increasing air temperature, and it is much sensitive to the air temperature particularly in low temperature ranges. It was also found that the biocrude-oil droplet evaporates faster in cases of the smaller initial droplet diameter and larger ethanol mixing ratio.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.102 no.2
• /
• pp.198-203
• /
• 2013

Herein we analyzed the nuclear DNA content and the histological characteristics of the triploid of the 'Hyunsasi' (Populus alba ${\times}$ P. glandulosa $F_1$) which were developed for biomass production and molecular breeding research. The flow cytometric analysis showed that the nuclear DNA content of the 3 triploids were 1.6 times greater than those of the diploid. In terms of histological characteristics, the cross-section area of the stem of 'Line-18' was 1.6 times larger than that of the diploid. The area of pith, and cortex and phloem of the stem of 'Line-18' was also 1.6 and 2.0 times larger than that of the diploid, respectively. Moreover, the length and area of guard cell of 'Line-18' was 1.2 times larger than that of the diploid. These results helps to understand the cytological characteristics of the triploid poplar clones, and further investigations in the growth rate and wood properties of the triploids growing in the field will determine whether the triploid poplars are good candidates for molecular breeding programs and for the improvement of industrial biomass productivity.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.155-165
• /
• 2016

Domestic and international production of Tricholoma matsutake has decreased owing to matsutake forests being left alone, host plant disease, forest fires, climate change, and so on. In order to identify strains that are suitable for the production of T. matsutake-inoculated seedlings, Pinus densiflora seedlings were inoculated with T. matsutake after in vitro rooting and mycorrhization was examined in the roots of T. matsutake-inoculated seedlings after 6 months. The mycorrhization rate was greater than 80% for 5 strains (NIFoS 421, 434, 1681, 1984, and 2001) out of 19 total strains. Seven strains (NIFoS 434, 441, 561, 562, 1016, 1807, and 1812) showed shoot/root ratios of less than 3.0 and had a seedling shoot biomass of 2.0 to 4.8 times higher than that of the root. Eight strains (NIFoS 441, 561, 562, 1016, 1807, 1812, 1984, and 2001) stimulated increases in shoot volume and three stains (NIFoS 441, 562, and 1812) promoted the growth of root biomass by mycorrhizal formation. In conclusion, 4 strains (NIFoS 434, 561, 1984, and 2001) out of 19 total strains tested showed higher mycorrhization rates and seedling growth than those of the other strains. We expect that the use of these four strains may contribute to T. matsutake-inoculated seedling production.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.417-425
• /
• 2023

As climate change gets severe, the ecosystem acts as an important carbon sink, therefore efforts are being made to utilize these functions to mitigate climate change. In this study, we inventoried and analyzed the previous studies related to carbon storage and flux by ecosystem type (forest, cropland, wetland, grassland, and settlement) and carbon pool (aboveground and belowground biomass, dead wood, Litter, soil organic carbon, and ecosystem) in Korean ecosystems. We also collected the results of previous studies and calculated the average value of carbon storage and flux for each ecosystem type and carbon pool. As a result, we found that most (66%) of Korea's carbon storage and fluxes studies were conducted in forests. Based on the results of forest studies, we estimated the storage by carbon stock. We found that much carbon is stored in vegetation (aboveground: 4,018.32 gC m^-2 and belowground biomass: 4,095.63 gC m^-2) and soil (4,159.43 gC m^-2). In particular, a large amount of carbon is stored in the forest understory. For other ecosystem types, it was impossible to determine each carbon pool's storage and flux due to data limitations. However, in the case of soil organic carbon storage, the data for forests and grasslands were comparable, showing that both ecosystems store relatively similar amounts of carbon (4,159.43 gC m^-2, 4,023.23 gC m^-2, respectively). This study confirms the need to study carbon in rather diverse ecosystem types.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.587-602
• /
• 2017

Correlations of soil and leaf nutrients and growth of young 'Enterprise' apple (Malus ${\times}$ domestica Borkh.) trees were analyzed with tree damage, such as Japanese beetle (JB; Popillia japonica Newman)-damaged leaves, vole damage to trunk, tree mortality, and weed density in a certified organic orchard in warm and humid environment of Southern USA. Interaction treatments of four mulch and three fertilizers were applied around trees as follows: mow-and-blow (MB), shredded paper (SP), wood chips (WC), and green compost (GC) as a mulch, with no fertilizer (NF), poultry litter (PL), and commercial organic fertilizer (CF) as a fertilizer applied in April. Vole damage to trunk and weed density were little correlated with mineral nutrients and tree growth. JB-damaged leaves were highly stimulated to 26.5% in GC-treated plots while tree mortality were increased by MB treatments. Biomass production per tree was approximately 3,700 g on the WC- and GC-treated plots, which was two times higher than those values observed on the other two mulch plots. JB-damaged leaves tended to get worse when nutrients in soil and leaf increased through the correlation analysis, with a strong positive relationship ($r^2=0.585$) observed between JB-damaged leaves and trunk cross sectional area, a vegetative indicator. Tree mortality was more negatively associated with nutrient contents and growth of trees than those of soil nutrients. Wood chips was considered for a local organic mulch materials to increase organic matter contents and to produce healthy young trees in Southern USA, with control insect, such as beetle, and vole density in an orchard habitat.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.205-213
• /
• 2007

We have studied NOM(natural organic matters) adsorption and biodegradation on 3 kinds of activated carbon and a anthracite. Coal based activated carbon showed the highest DOC(dissolved organic carbon) adsorption capability and roconut(samchully), wood (pica) in the order among the 3 kinds of activated carbon(F400). The biomass amount and activity also showed on coal, wood and coconut based activated carbon in the order. Over 15 minutes EBCT(empty bed contact time) needed to achieve 10 to 17% average removal efficiency and $18\sim24%$ maximum removal efficiency of NOM biodegradation in biofilter using anthracite. Hydrophobic and below 10,000 dalton NOM was much easier to adsorb into the activated carbon than hydrophilic NOM, THMFP(trihalomethane formation potential) and BDOC (biodegradable dissolved organic carbon)$_{slow}$ were much easier than HAA5FP(haloacetic acid 5 formation potential) and $BDOC_{rapid}$ to adsorb into the activated carbon. Hydrophilic and below 1,000 dalton NOM was much easily biodegraded and HAA5FP and $BDOC_{rapid}$ was easier than THMFT and $BDOC_{slow}$ to biodegrade in the biofilter.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.312-321
• /
• 2014

Tricholoma bakamatsutake is one of the edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms as an allied species of Tricholoma matsutake. This is the first report on physical characteristics of T. bakamatsutake strains collected from Quercus mongolica forests in Korea. The pure cultures of these strains were isolated from the tissues of fruit bodies and the culture characteristics were investigated under different conditions (media, temperatures, nitrogen sources). Most strains showed the highest mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 20 or $25^{\circ}C$. Two strains of T. bakamatsutake preferred the ammonium-form rather than the nitrate-form as an inorganic nitrogen source. T. bakamatsutake showed significantly slower mycelial growth when compared with T. matsutake from a Korean forest, although the optimum culture conditions for the two allied species were similar. We also tested the ability to form mycorrhizae as well as cellulase activity of T. bakamatsutake. All strains showed cellulase activity on a carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) agar plate. The mycorrhizae on axenic Pinus densiflora seedlings were formed by two strains of T. bakamatsutake after 3 or 8 months of inoculation. P. densiflora seedlings inoculated with T. bakamatsutake had a much higher biomass than un-inoculated seedlings.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.374-380
• /
• 2015

The quality characteristics of the woodpellet manufactured from two domestic pines (Pinus densiflora S. et Z. and Pinus rigida Mill.) were investigated for the efficient energy use of woody biomass resources. Properties of woodpellets such as moisture content, heating value, ash content, apparent density and durability were determined by using the standard test method of woodpellets of Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and elemental analysis. The results of elemental analysis for C, H, O and N showed 61.42% carbon, 5.56% hydrogen, 32.87% oxygen, and 0.15% nitrogen for Pinus densiflora S. et Z. and 61.03% carbon, 5.96% hydrogen, 32.83% oxygen, and 0.18% nitrogen for Pinus rigida Mill. No significant difference between Pinus densiflora S. et Z. and Pinus rigida Mill was observed on elemental analysis. Heating values of each woodpellet were ranged from 19.00 to 19.42 MJ/kg which satisfied the first grade quality standard (${\geq}18.0MJ/kg$) by KFRI. The ash contents of woodpellet were slightly different between Pinus densiflora S. et Z. and Pinus rigida Mill., and satisfied the first grade quality standard (${\leq}0.7%$) by KFRI. Apparent density of woodpellet (Pinus densiflora S. et Z.) was passed the first grade standard level (${\geq}640kg/m^3$), and woodpellets from Pinus rigida Mill. satisfied the second grade quality of the standard. The moisture contents of each woodpellet were satisfied by the first grade quality standard (${\leq}10%$). The durability of woodpellet (Pinus densiflora S. et Z.) was passed the third grade level (${\geq}95%$), but Pinus rigida Mill. woodpellet was insufficient to satisfy the quality standard.