• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1561-1572
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• 2022

Plastic pollution has been recognized as a serious environmental problem, and microbial degradation of plastics is a potential, environmentally friendly solution to this. Here, we analyzed and compared microbial communities on waste plastic films (WPFs) buried for long periods at four landfill sites with those in nearby soils to identify microbes with the potential to degrade plastics. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectra of these WPFs showed that most were polyethylene and had signs of oxidation, such as carbon-carbon double bonds, carbon-oxygen single bonds, or hydrogen-oxygen single bonds, but the presence of carbonyl groups was rare. The species richness and diversity of the bacterial and fungal communities on the films were generally lower than those in nearby soils. Principal coordinate analysis of the bacterial and fungal communities showed that their overall structures were determined by their geographical locations; however, the microbial communities on the films were generally different from those in the soils. For the pulled data from the four landfill sites, the relative abundances of Bradyrhizobiaceae, Pseudarthrobacter, Myxococcales, Sphingomonas, and Spartobacteria were higher on films than in soils at the bacterial genus level. At the species level, operational taxonomic units classified as Bradyrhizobiaceae and Pseudarthrobacter in bacteria and Mortierella in fungi were enriched on the films. PICRUSt analysis showed that the predicted functions related to amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism and xenobiotic degradation were more abundant on films than in soils. These results suggest that specific microbial groups were enriched on the WPFs and may be involved in plastic degradation.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.1128-1149
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• 2023

In order to extend the shelf life of refrigerating raw lamb by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms, preventing the oxidation of fat and protein, and absorbing the juice outflow of lamb during storage, an active packaging system based on plastic/gelatin bilayer film with essential oil was developed in this study. Three kinds of petroleum-derived plastic films, oriented polypropylene (OPP), polyethylene terephthalate, and polyethylene, were coated with gelatin to make bilayer films for lamb preservation. The results showed significant improvement in the mechanical properties, oxygen, moisture, and light barriers of the bilayer films compared to the gelatin film. The OPP/gelatin bilayer film was selected for further experiments because of its highest acceptance by panelists. If the amount of juice outflow was less than 350% of the mass of the gelatin layer, it was difficult for the gelatin film to separate from lamb. With the increase in essential oil concentration, the water absorption capacity decreased. The OPP/gelatin bilayer films with 20% mustard or 10% oregano essential oils inhibited the growth of bacteria in lamb and displayed better mechanical properties. Essential oil decreased the brightness and light transmittance of the bilayer films and made the film yellow. In conclusion, our results suggested that the active packaging system based on OPP/gelatin bilayer film was more suitable for raw lamb preservation than single-layer gelatin film or petroleum-derived plastic film, but need further study, including minimizing the amount of essential oil, enhancing the mechanical strength of the gelatin film after water absorption.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2000

As a method to reduce the sue of agricultural chemicals mulching with thin plastic films has been commonly practised for many years. Although use of plastic films for mulching is very effective in preventing herb growth it is almost impossible to remove all of the plastic films from the agricultural lands and the remaining films eventually contaminate the soils. Therefore, it is very imperative to develop a mulching material that decomposes completely to prevent soil pollution problems and to enhance the competitive edge of domestic agriculture. In this paper the possibilities of using strength resins for improving strength properties of mulch papers made from old corrugated containers were examined. Also mulch papers have been produced and applied for practical farming in upland as well as paddy field. Result showed that the usage of 0.7% of wet strength additives was effective for wet and dry strength of mulch paper. Changes of various process parameters including freeness, cationic demand, one pass retention, nitrogen content, etc. that occurred during trial production of mulch paper have been examined and discussed . It was found that paper mulching was very effective for weed control both in upland field and paddy filed.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.98-107
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study was to find an appropriate polymer film, which could reduce the water condensation for pallet-size modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Methods: Five different types of films were selected from several commercialized films. Prior to the real food storage test, plastic boxes with wetted plastic balls were used to simulate the high humidity conditions of real food storage. The initial MAP condition was 5% oxygen and 95% nitrogen, and the $O_2$ concentration, the relative humidity and water condensation inside the films were checked on a daily basis. The MAP test for tomatoes was conducted by using the most appropriate film from the five films examined in this study. Results: Every film except Mosspack(R) indicated a similar variation in the $O_2$ concentration over the course of time. The relative humidity near the surfaces of all the films except nylon-6 approached saturation conditions over time. For three kinds of films, namely, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film, anti-fogging oriented polypropylene (AFOPP) film, and Mosspack(R), the inner surfaces of the films were fully covered with dew after a storage period of a day. Conversely, an area of 4.5% was covered with dew in the case of the poly lactic acid (PLA) film, and there was no dew inside the nylon-6 film. The pallet-size MAP test for tomatoes was conducted by using the nylon-6 film and there was no water condensation inside the nylon-6 film over three weeks of storage. Conclusions: During the pallet scale MAP, water condensation could cause severe fungal infection and wetting of the corrugated box. Hence, it was important to minimize water condensation. This study showed that the MAP films with high WVTR such as nylon-6 and PLA could reduce the water condensation inside the pallet scale MAP.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.276-281
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Plastics that are used in our daily lives largely end up in the environment. In agricultural environments, plastic wastes and microplastics can be found due to the uses and improper management of plastic products (e.g., vinyl greenhouses and mulching vinyl). Microplastics can also interact with contaminants in the agricultural environment. Therefore, this study was set to investigate the sorption characteristics of tetracycline, one of widely used antibiotics, on microplastics. METHODS AND RESULTS: The sorption tests were carried out with the tetracycline solutions (0-30 mg L^-1) and microplastic films prepared from low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The residual tetracycline concentrations were analyzed and fitted to the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The tetracycline sorption patterns on LDPE and PVC films were described better with the Freundlich isotherm model than the Langmuir isotherm model. The isotherm model parameters suggested that the maximum sorption amount of tetracyline was greater for PVC, while the sorption affinity was greater for LDPE. CONCLUSION(S): Different types of microplastics can have different sorption characteristics of tetracycline. Therefore, there is a need for continuous research on the interaction of various types and shapes of microplastics and contaminants in the environment.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.19-24
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• 2007

Reefs are the marine structure that can give resting, inhabiting, feeding and nursing spaces for a variety of fishes. Usually artificial reefs are made of cement and steels respectively in Japan as well as in Korea. However since resources deficiency has been getting serious, other materials are taken into consideration for the basic bodies of artificial reefs. About 300 thousand tons of waste agricultural plastic films are generated every yew in Korea, but no effective recycling techniques have been developed. In this sense, artificial reefs made of waste agricultural plastic films are the most representative symbol of the recycled products in the Resource Recycling Era. In particular, since these reefs could be made of the semi-cleaned waste agricultural plastic films that still contain high portion of soil, it is very environmentally friendly not only in manufacturing process but also in using under water. Furthermore they have some evident advantages as follows; 1) high fish swarming effect 2) good initial attachment of the marine growths 3) extremely low corrosion to brine 4) easy adjustment of the gravity 5) economical manufacture, transportation and jettison 6) excellent safety to ecosystem caused by lower elution of toxic substances 7) good recyclable property after application and so on.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.10-20
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• 2008

In order to study the behaviors of inorganic fillers in recycling of the waste agricultural plastic films, the washed PE fluffs from Shihwa and Jungeup Plant belonging to ENVICO were used respectively. First of all, the test pellets were manufactured by adding of inorganic fillers suchlike calcium carbonate and calpet by certain portions to PE fluffs and then the tested sheets were formed. The mechanical and thermal properties of the samples were measured and compared with others. The items measured were tensile, flexural, Izod impact, HDT, MFT, and so on. Morphologies were also investigated for various samples using the SEM. Finally, optimum ratios between recycled PE and inorganic additives were found out for the best products in physical condition as well as in economic point of view.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 2000.11c
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• pp.729-735
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• 2000

Moisture loss of fresh fruits and vegetables is a main cause of deterioration. It resulted not only in the direct quantitative loss, but also in change in appearance, texture and nutrition. To reduce the loss of moisture content during the distribution in the market, fresh products are packaged using plastic films. But, most of the fresh products are packaged manually in Korea. In order to minimize the labor requirement, the packaging machine for fruits and vegetables was developed and tested. Prototype was composed of film feeding unit, bag former, products feeding conveyor, film feeding roller, center sealer, end sealer and discharge conveyor. Green peppers, carrots and perilla leaves were tested with prototype. Prototype could pack 1780, 1390, 1780 bags per hour at the feeding speed of 0.08m/s respectively and 2250, 1810, 2640bags per hour at the feeding speed of 0.10m/s respectively. And packaging speed of green peppers and carrots was improved by 3.7 and 3.4 times compared with manual packaging. The packaging condition with the prototype was good and the products had almost no damages.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.184-192
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• 2023

Microplastics are generated by the breakdown of plastic wastes in agricultural soil and residual pesticides in agricultural soil can adsorb on microplastics. In this study, the sorption characteristics of procymidone (PCM) and one of its metabolites, 3,5-dichloroaniline (DCA), on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics were investigated. The sorption and desorption tests were carried out for 72 h using LDPE or PVC microplastic films to study the sorption isotherms of PCM and DCA and kinetics for sorption and desorption of PCM. The results show that the sorption data of PCM and DCA were better described by the Freundlich isotherm model (R²=0.7568-0.9915) than the Langmuir isotherm model (R²=0.0545-0.5889). The sorption potential of PVC for both PCM and DCA was greater than that of LDPE. The sorption data of PCM on PVC and LDPE were fitted better to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model than the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The PCM sorption on LDPE was about three times faster than that on PVC. Both microplastic films released the sorbed PCM back to water, and more PCM was released from PVC than LDPE, but the desorption rate was faster with LDPE than PVC. Overall, the results show that different microplastics have different sorption characteristics for different chemicals. Also, the sorbed chemicals can be released back to environment suggesting the potential of contaminant spread by microplastics. Thus, the management practices of microplastics in agricultural soil need to consider their interaction with the chemical contaminants in soil.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.15
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• pp.123-131
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• 1997

The alternation of light transmissivity of covering films used in most greenhouses over years become of concern. Recently, durable films over 0.1mm in thickness which having 3~5 years life time were popularly used in many greenhouses. However, the films have been replaced yearly with new ones because of lowering light transmittance. The replacement caused negative environmental impact as well as cost increasement. This study was conducted to find fundamental data for developing of a cleaning machine for covering films of greenhouses.