• Membrane Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.24-44
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• 2013

The MBR technology has evolved rapidly over the past two decades with significant gains in performance and reliability, and reductions in costs. Membrane bioreactors (MBR) technology is widely recognised as offering a key option for enhanced wastewater treatment or reuse. The objective of this paper is then to critically review the remarkable achievement on the research and commercial applications of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology and to present current and potential MBR markets on a global scope. This brief review of the technology incorporates five key aspects : 1) evolution of MBR practice, 2) the commercial technologies of MBRs, 3) the largest MBR installations globally (e.g. > $10,000m^3/day$), 4) MBR market growth, and 5) directions for future research. Finally, the development directions of economical, environmental and technical aspects in MBRs; 1) investment costs; 2) effluent water quality; 3) membrane materials and modules; 4) MBR equipment and treatment process; 5) operating costs (higher energy & chemical consumption); and 6) sustainability such as anaerobic MBRs in the coming years were addressed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.535-550
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• 2018

Total organic carbon (TOC) will replace chemical oxygen demand ($COD_{Mn}$) as an effluent water quality standard in public sewage treatment works (PSTWs) from 2021 in Korea. To ensure effective control of TOC in the effluent, investigation was carried out into TOC levels and sewage treatment operation factors in five target PSTWs using anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic ($A_2O$) processes, media, membrane, and sequencing batch reactor (SBR) technologies. TOC removal efficiencies appeared to be 93-96% on average. As a fraction of TOC, biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) was reduced from 64% in the influent to 9% in the effluent in these PSTWs. During the investigation, biological treatment processes were applied flexibly for operation factors such as HRT, SRT, MLSS, F/M ratios and BOD volume loads, based on the influent characteristics and design conditions. As a result, we suggest efficient operating conditions in PSTWs by evaluating relationships between TOC removal and operation factors.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1168-1177
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• 2022

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second-most prevalent neurodegenerative disease and is characterized by dopaminergic neuronal death in the midbrain. Recently, the association between alterations in PD pathology and the gut microbiota has been explored. Microbiota-targeted interventions have been suggested as a novel therapeutic approach for PD. Agathobaculum butyriciproducens SR79^T (SR79) is an anaerobic bacterium. Previously, we showed that SR79 treatment induced cognitive improvement and reduced Alzheimer's disease pathologies in a mouse model. In this study, we hypothesized that SR79 treatment may have beneficial effects on PD pathology. To investigate the therapeutic effects of SR79 on PD, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced mouse models were used. D-Amphetamine sulfate (d-AMPH)-induced behavioral rotations and dopaminergic cell death were analyzed in unilateral 6-OHDA-lesioned mice. Treatment with SR79 significantly decreased ipsilateral rotations induced by d-AMPH. Moreover, SR79 treatment markedly activated the AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway in the striatum. In addition, SR79 treatment affected the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway and its downstream target genes in the striatum of 6-OHDA-lesioned mice. Our findings suggest a protective role of SR79 in 6-OHDA-induced toxicity by regulating the AKT/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway and astrocyte activation. Thus, SR79 may be a potential microbe-based intervention and therapeutic strategy for PD.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.90-96
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• 2018

Tracer experiments were carried out on two laboratory modes, "without media mode" and "with media mode", to examine the hydraulic characteristics of the anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor (AFBR). For both configurations, a formula was derived for the hydraulics and data interpretation to obtain the actual characteristics of the reactor. The dispersion model is based on the assumption that carriers are non-reacting and the dispersion coefficient is constant. The model represents the one-dimensional unsteady-state concentration distribution of the non-reacting tracer in the reactors. The experimental results showed that the media increased the mixing conditions in the reactor considerably. For the reactor without media, in the range tested, the dispersion coefficient was at least an order of magnitude smaller than that of the reactor with media. Advective transport dominates and the flow pattern approaches the plug flow reactor (PFR) regime. The dispersion coefficient increased significantly as us, the superficial liquid velocity, was increased proportionally to 0.82cm/s. On the other hand, for the reactor with media, the flow pattern was in between a PFR and a completely mixed flow reactor (CMFR) regime, and the dispersion coefficient was saturated at us=0.41cm/s, remaining relatively constant, even at us=0.82cm/s. The dispersion coefficient depends strongly on the liquid Reynolds number (Re) or the particle Reynolds number (Rep) over the range tested.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.477-483
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• 2005

Anammox (Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation) bacteria is recently discovered microorganism which can oxidize ammonium to nitrogen gas in the presence of nitrite under anaerobic conditions. The anammox process can save an energy for nitrification and need not require a carbon source for denitrification, however, the start-up periods takes a long time more than several months due to the long doubling time (approximately 11 days). In order to find the effects of seeding microorganisms, hydrazine, and nitrite concentration on the enhancement of the anammox activity, five kinds of microorganisms were selected. Among the several kinds of seeding microorganisms, the granule from acclimated microorganisms treating high concentration of ammonia nitrogen (A-1) and sludge from piggery wastewater treatment plant (A-2) were found to have a high anammox activity. In the case of A-1, the maximum nitrogen conversion rate represented 0.4 mg N/L-hr, and the amount of nitrite utilization was high compared to those of other seeding microorganisms. The A-4 represented a higher nitrogen conversion rate to 0.7 mg N/L-hr although the ammonium concentration in the serum bottle was high as 200 mg/L. Meanwhile, the anaerobic granule from UASB reactor treating distillery wastewater showed a low anammox activity due to the denitrification by the remained carbon sources in the granule. Hydrazine, intermediate product in anammox reaction, enhanced the anammox activity by representing 1.4 times of nitrogen gas was produced in the test bottle than that of control, when 0.4 mM of $N_2H_4$ was added to serum bottle which contains 5 mM of nitrite. The high concentration of nitrite (10 mM) resulted in the decrease of the anammox activity by showing lower production of nitrogen gas compared to that of 5 mM addition of nitrite concentration. As a result of FISH (Florescence In-Situ Hybridization) experiment, the Amx820 probe showed a more than 13% of anammox bacteria in a granule (A-1).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.125-133
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• 2012

Anaerobic digestion is an alternative method to digest food wastes and to produce methane that can be used as a renewable energy source. We investigated bacterial and archaeal community structures in a three-stage methane production process using food wastes with concomitant wastewater treatment. The three-stage methane process is composed of semianaerobic hydrolysis/acidogenic, anaerobic acidogenic, and strictly anaerobic methane production steps in which food wastes are converted methane and carbon dioxide. The microbial diversity was determined by the nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA gene library and quantitative real-time PCR. The major eubacterial population of the three-stage methane process was belonging to VFA-oxidizing bacteria. The archaeal community consisted mainly of two species of hydrogenotrophic methanogen (Methanoculleus). Family Picrophilaceae (Order Thermoplasmatales) was also observed as a minor population. The predominance of hydrogenotrophic methanogen suggests that the main degradation pathway of this process is different from the classical methane production systems that have the pathway based on acetogenesis. The domination of hydrogenotrophic methanogen (Methanoculleus) may be caused by mesophilic digestion, neutral pH, high concentration of ammonia, short HRT, and interaction with VFA-oxidizing bacteria (Tepidanaerobacter etc.).

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.893-906
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• 2011

The effect of ultrasound pretreatment on sludge degragability was investigated at different condotions: ultrasonic frequency(28, 40, 50kHz), intensity(10, 25, 50W), sonication time(10, 20, 30, 60min). Total suspended solid(TSS) and soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD) concentration were measured for the evaluation of pretreatment efficiency. The pretreated sludge was used as the feedstock for anaerobic digestion process. Biogas production and volatile suspended solid(VSS) removal were determined for evaluating the process performance. 1. TSS concentration of the sludge decreased at a constant rate as sonication operation was applied. The degradation rate of TSS increased when ultrasound frequency was decreased from 50kHz to 28kHz and intensity was increased from 10W to 50W. Efficiency of TSS degradation per input energy increased as ultrasonic frequency and intensity were decreased. At the frequency of 28 and 40kHz, SCOD concentration rapidly increased during the initial 30min of sonication time, and then it gradually increased. At 50kHz, SCOD concentration constantly increased for 60min of the sonication time. The SCOD production rate increased with increasing intensity under all ultrasound frequencies. 2. The optimum condition of ultrasound treatment was 28kHz, 50W and 60min for maximizing the biogas production, methane fraction, VSS removal. The highest values in biogas production, methane fraction in biogas, VSS removal were 370ml, 70%, 2.45g, respectively. Methane production rate per input energy increased at ultrasonic frequency and intensity decreased. 3. When raw sludge was pretreated at the condition of ultrasonic frequency of 28 and 40kHz in series, sequential-frequency sonication, intensity of 50W and 60min, biogas production, methane fraction, VSS removal were about the same that of 28kHz single-frequency sonication. When sequential-frequency sonication of 28 and 50kHz was applied in series, biogas production, methane fraction, VSS removal were 356 ~ 423ml, 69 ~ 71%, 2.41 ~ 2.78g, respectively. The pretreatment efficiency of 28-50kHz sequential-frequency sonication which sonication time of 28kHz and 50kHz was 40min and 20min was higher than that of 28kHz single-frequency sonication.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1231-1238
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• 2008

This study was performed to evaluate the treatability of food waste leachate using lab-scale two-phase anaerobic digestion system. Effects of influent pH, hydraulic retention time (HRT), and recycle of methanogenic reactor effluent to the thermophilic acidogenic reactors were investigated. For methanogenic reactors, effects of internal solids recycle and temperature were studied. Performance of the acidogenic reactors was stable under the conditions of influent pH of 6.0 and HRT of 2 d with the recycle of methanogenic reactor effluent, and acidification and VS removal efficiency were about 30% and 40%, respectively. Up to the organic loading rate (OLR) of 7 g COD/L/d, effluent SCOD values of mesophilic and thermophilic methanogenic reactors either lower or kept the same with the internal solids recycle. Also, decreasing tendency in specific methane production (SMP) due to the organic loading increase became diminished with the internal solids recycle. Mesophilic methanogenic reactors showed higher TCOD removal efficiency and SMP than thermophilic condition under the same OLR as VSS was always higher under mesophilic condition. In sum, thermophilic acidogenesis-mesophilic methanogenesis system was found to be better than thermophilic-thermophilic system in terms of both organic removal and methane production.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.35-43
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• 2016

COD properties of waste activated sludge (WAS) were investigated for various solubilization rate of mechanical pretreatment method in anaerobic digestion process. Inert COD was 37.0% of total COD in untreated WAS. Particulate biodegradable COD was converted to soluble biodegradables and particulate unbiodegradables as solubilization was processed. Particulate unbiodegradable portion of COD in WAS can be increased as particulate biodegradable portion is decreased in case of relatively long SRT of biological treatment. Thus, COD properties of WAS should be investigated in case of relatively low particulate biodegradable COD, because of possible low effect of solubilization. COD removal rate in anaerobic digester was enhanced as much as 2.1% and 15.1% for solubilization rate 5% and 35% due to pretreatment, respectively. COD removal rate was increased from 25% to 40%, and methane gas generation was increased from $607m^3/d$ to $907m^3/d$ as particulate COD of WAS was solubilized to 35% in pretreatment facilities.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to provide a design and operation technical guideline for meeting the appropriate design criteria to biogas utilization treating organic wastes. In accordance with the government's mid-to long-term policies on bio-gasification and energization of organic wastes, the expansion of the waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities is being remarkably promoted. However, because of the limitation of livestock manure containing low-concentration of volatile solids, there has been increased in combined bio-gasification without installing new anaerobic digestion facilities. The characteristics and common problems of each treatment processes were investigated for on-going 11 bio-gasification facilities. The seasonal precision monitoring of chemicophysics analysis on anaerobic digestor samples was conducted to provide guidelines for design and operation according to the progress of biogas utilization. Consequently, Major problems were investigated such as large deviation of organic materials depending on seasons, proper dehumidification of biogas, pretreatment of hydrogen sulfide, operation of power generation and steam. This study was conducted to optimize biogas utilization of type of organic waste(containing sewage sludge and food waste, animal manure), research the facilities problem through field investigation.