• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.3213-3217
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• 2012

Reactive adsorption desulfurization (RADS) experiments were conducted over a series of commercial metal oxide supports ($Al_2O_{3-}$, $SiO_{2-}$, $TiO_{2-}$ and $ZrO_{2-}$) supported Ni/ZnO adsorbents. The adsorbents were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to find out the influence of specific types of surface chemistry and structural characteristics on the sulfur adsorptive capacity. The desulfurization performance of all the studied adsorbents decreased in the following order: Ni/ZnO-$TiO_2$ > Ni/ZnO-$ZrO_2$ > Ni/ZnO-$SiO_2$ > Ni/ZnO-$Al_2O_3$. Ni/ZnO-$TiO_2$ shows the best performance and the three hour sulfur capacity can achieve 12.34 mg S/g adsorbent with a WHSV of $4h^{-1}$. Various characterization techniques suggest that weak interaction between active component and support component, high dispersion of NiO and ZnO, high reducibility and large total Lewis acidity of the adsorbents are important factors in achieving better RADS performance.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2016

The reuse of spent coffee powder has been researched for environmental engineering applications such as adsorbents of organic/inorganic pollutants. In this study adsorption equilibrium tests and adsorption kinetics tests for the removal of aqueous organic pollutant (methylene blue) were conducted using spent coffee powder, granular activated carbon, and powdered activated carbon. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity of three adsorbents followed the order of powdered activated carbon (178.6 mg/g) > spent coffee powder (60.6 mg/g) > granular activated carbon (15.6 mg/g). The results of adsorption kinetics tests also indicated that spent coffee powder had higher kinetic parameters than granular activated carbon for pseudo 1st and 2nd order kinetics. The high performance of spent coffee powder might be due to its porous surface like those of granular and powdered activated carbons and smaller particle size comparing with granular activated carbon.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.348-356
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• 2018

The adsorption equilibria of oxygen, nitrogen and argon on carbonaceous adsorbent with slit-shaped and randomly etched graphite (REG) pores were calculated by molecular simulation method. Reliable models of adsorbents and adsorbates for adsorption equilibria are important for the correct design of industrial adsorptive separation processes. At the smallest physical pore of $5.6{\AA}$, only oxygen molecules were accommodated at the center of the slit-shaped pore, and from $5.9{\AA}$ nitrogen and argon molecules could be accommodated in the pores. Slit pores showed higher adsorption capacity compared with REG pores with same averaged reenterance pore size due to dead volume and inaccessible volume in defected pores. And it was shown the adsorption capacities of oxygen and argon was same in larger pore size. From calculated adsorption isotherms at 298 K it showed that the adsorption capacity ratio of oxygen to nitrogen is increased as pressure is increased.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.203-209
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• 2019

A number of industrial zones in South Korea were reported contaminated by heavy metals. Such contamination could cause severe damage to the subsurface environment including soil and groundwater. The treatment of zeolite mixing with soil at the bottom of such industrial zones might prevent, or at least reduce the damage of contamination by adsorption of the heavy metals from the leakage. However, such mixtures should maintain the proper bearing capacity as a foundation fill material from the geotechnical point of view at the same time. To investigate the effect of mixtures of zeolite with local soils for the adsorption of heavy metals (Zn, Pb) and sustainability of bearing capacity, adsorption isotherm tests and direct shear test with compaction tests were performed. Results showed that the mixing zeolite with local soils effectively reduces the spreading of the heavy metal contamination when maintaining its proper geotechnical properties as a fill material of industrial zones.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.90-95
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• 1998

Soil residues of paraquat (1,1-dimethyl-4,4-dipyridinium dichloride) were determined in apple, pear, grape, and peach orchards for which 15 sites each were selected randomly from the corresponding large-scale production area throughout the country. Strong adsorption capacity measured using wheat bioassay (paraquat concentration required to reduce 50% root growth of wheat, SAC-WB) was also investigated on the orchard soils and the paraquat residue level was calculated against total SAC-WB values (SAC-WB value + paraquat residue). Average bound residue of paraquat on the 60 sites was 6.9 ppm, while paraquat residue in apple orchard reached 20.2 ppm which was the highest among the orchards and was almost double as compared with those in the other three orchards. Loosely bound residue of paraquat determined on the bound residue high top five soils occurred less than 0.5 ppm detection limit. Average SAC-WB value was 276.1 ppm and there were no any correlations between the SAC-WB value and clay content, organic matter content, and cation exchange capacity of the orchard soils. Paraquat residue level of the orchard soils against total SAC-WB recorded 2.43%.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1319-1330
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• 2000

Activated carbons prepared by chemical activation of organic waste sludges with $ZnCl_2$ and $K_2S$ have been studied in terms of their pore development and adsorptivity. Pore development of the carbons prepared from organic waste sludges was characterized by the nitrogen adsorption at 77K. The $ZnCl_2$-activated carbon produced by chemical activation with zinc chloride exhibited type I isotherm characteristics according to the BDDT classification, suggesting the presence of micropores formed by activation process. The isotherms of the commercial powdered activated carbon and $K_2S$-activated carbon reveal a hysteresis similar to that of type IV in BDDT classification, indicating the formation of mesopores. This result implies that the major pores of $K_2S$-activated carbon are composed of meso and micropores, and a macropores are minor. The adsorptive capacities of metal on the $K_2S$-activated carbon prepared from organic waste sludges were found to be superior to those on a commercial granular activated carbon. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms yield a fairly good fit to the adsorption data, indicating a monolayer adsorption of metals onto $K_2S$-activated carbon. The adsorptive capacity of the $K_2S$-activated carbon was superior to $ZnCl_2$-activated carbon for $PO_4$-P, and vice versa for $NO_3$-N. From the results of the studies reported here, it can be concluded that activated carbons with adsorptivity superior to commercial granular activated carbons can be produced from organic waste sludge using a two-step carbonization/activation procedure with zinc chloride or potassium sulfide as the activating agents.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.5-9
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• 2007

This study carried out to investigate the removal capacity of heavy metals such as Cu (II), Zn (II) and Cd (II) dissolved in aqueous solution in the soils collected from Hyeon-Dong (HD), San-seong (SS), Keum-chon (KC) and Keum-Hac (KH) located in the upper Banbyun stream. The pH of all the soils was weak alkali such as 8.8 9.2. According to the analysis of chemical composition of the soils, the amount of $SiO_2$, $AlO_2$ and CaO were similar in all tested soils. However, the amount of $K_2O$, $FeO_3$ and MgO were different from each soil. The XRD measurement with these soils showed that quartz and feldspar were presented in all tested soils, and the distribution of kaoline, illite, montmorillonite, vermiculite and calcite were different from each soil. The results of the removal capacity of heavy metals indicated that all the soils had more than 98% of the removal efficiency of Cu (II), Zn (II) and Cd (II), and among the heavy metals, Cu (II) was removed the most effectively. These results suggested that the soils collected from the upper Banbyun stream have the high removal capacity of heavy metals, and these soils could be used for the banking a river around the abandoned mine area, containing the higher concentrations of heavy metals than the usual stream.

• Clean Technology
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• v.13 no.1 s.36
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• pp.64-71
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• 2007

The selection of a suitable adsorbent for removing organic sulfur compounds tetrahydrothiophene (THT) and t-butylmercaptan (TBM) from natural gas has been carried out. The saturation adsorption capacity for the sulfur compounds were determined by pulse adsorption method for a group of nanoporous materials, including Na-Y, Na-ZSM-5, Na,K-ET(A)S-10, Na-Mordenite, Na,K-Clinoptitolite, Ti/MCM-41, Ti/SBA-15 and amorphous titanosilicates. Among the materials tested, Na-Y and Na,K-ET(A)S-10 zeolites showed high adsorptive capacities for THT and TBM. The saturation capacity for THT on Na,K-ETS-10 was comparable with that on Na-Y zeolite, which is well known as an effective adsorbent. The capacity and adsorptivity for THT and TBM on Na,K-ETAS-10 were improved by an increase in crystallinity of Na,K-ETAS-10. An investigation of the competitive adsorption between THT and TBM from the breakthrough test using a simulated natural gas indicates that Na,K-ETS-10 selectively adsorbs THT. The breakthrough capacity for THT on Na,K-ETS-10 was 1.19 mmol/g. The results show that the high adsorption performance of Na.K-ETS-10 and Na,K-ETAS-10 is due to the highly exchanged cations in the zeolitic structure which exhibit the strong electrostatic interactions with organic sulfur compounds and their wide pore nature.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1218-1224
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• 2008

A liquid culture of yeast "Candida tropicalis" was used in a fluidized bioreactor to achieve high removal efficiencies of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, granular activated carbon (GAC) was used as a fluidized material to improve adsorptive capacity as well as mass transfer of gaseous toluene, the model VOC. The GAC fluidized bioreactor demonstrated toluene removal efficiencies ranging from 50 to 80%, when inlet toluene loading varied in a range between 13.1 and 37.4 g/m$^3$-hr. The maximum elimination capacity determined in the GAC fluidized bioreactor was 172 g/m$^3$-hr at a toluene loading of 291 g/m$^3$-hr. Transient loading experiments revealed that the removal efficiency was remained unchanged during an increased loading period, and toluene introduced to the bioreactor was first absorbed to GAC and then slowly desorbed and became available to the yeast culture. Hence the fluidized GAC helped to achieve an improved mass transfer between the gas and liquid phases, resulting in high toluene removal capacity. Consequently, the GAC fluidized bioreactor using C. tropicalis can be successfully applied for the removal of VOCs, and is a feasible alternative over conventional processes such as packed-bed biofilters.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.133-138
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• 2012

Polyvinyl alcohol/alginate hydrogel beads containing Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH-PVA/alginate beads) were synthesized for phosphate removal. Results showed that blending PVA with the LDH-alginate beads significantly improved their stability in a phosphate solution. The kinetic reaction in LDH-PVA/alginate beads reached equilibrium at 12 hr-post reaction with 99.2% removal. The amount of phosphate removed at equilibrium ($q_e$) was determined to be 0.389 mgP/g. The equilibrium data were described well by the Freundlich isotherm with the distribution coefficient ($K_F$, 0.638) and the constant (n, 0.396). Phosphate removal in LDH-PVA/alginate beads was not sensitive to solution pH. Also, the removal capacity of LDH-PVA/alginate beads ($q_e$, 1.543 mgP/g) was two orders of magnitude greater than that of PVA/alginate beads ($q_e$, 0.016 mgP/g) in column experiments. This study demonstrates that LDH-PVA/alginate beads with a higher chemical stability against phosphate compared to LDH-alginate beads have the potential for phosphate removal as adsorptive media.