• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2003

Microalgae are a diverse group of photosynthetic organisms and abundant in every ecosystem in the biosphere. They are common in aqueous environments including marine, brackish and fresh waters and in some habitats that lack eukaryotic life such as some hot springs and highly alkaline lakes. Microalgal biotechnology that is focused on the microalgae-based production of a variety of useful materials such as pharmaceutical comfounds, health foods, natural pigments, and biofuels is considered as an important discipline with the development of biotechnology. In addition, the mass cultivation of microalgae can also contribute to improving the environmental quality by reducing the concentration of $CO_2$ which is one of major gases lead to global warming. Consequently, it seems that the microalgae can be used as an efficient, renewable, environmentally friendly source of high-value biomaterials such as chemicals, pigments, energy, etc. and the microalgal biotechnology will most likely represent a larger portion of modern biotechnology.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.561-567
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• 2013

Mixed hardwood chips were pre-pulping extracted with green liquor prior to kraft pulping in order to recover hemicelluloses for use as biofuels. This green liquor solution containing mainly sodium sulfide and sodium carbonate was applied at different alkali charges (expressed as $Na_2O$) of 0, 1, 3, and 5% on dry wood weight. The extractions were performed at $160^{\circ}C$ for residence times ranging from about 1-2 h to determine the effect of extraction severity on composition of the pre-pulping extract. The severity of hemicellulose extraction time and green liquor charge controls the concentration of acetic acid and monosaccharide sugars available for downstream processing, the accumulation of degradation products such as organic acids and furans in the extract. As the alkali charge was increased, the amount of acetate side chains on the hemicelluloses and the dissolved lignin in the extract increased but the carbohydrate and sugars in the extract decreased appreciably. Hot water extraction (0% alkali addition) released the greatest amount of carbohydrates, up to 29.80 g/L measured as component sugars, but resulted in the greatest decrease in pulp yield. Meanwhile, pre-pulping extraction with 3% green liquor increased the pulp yield while greatly reducing the component sugars to 7.08 g/L. Fundamental data obtained in this study will allow selection of optimum hemicellulose extraction conditions for integrating the extraction operation into the Kraft pulping process.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.10-18
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• 2014

Seed oils (triacylglycerols) of plants are used as a source of essential fatty acids and nutrition for human. In addition, triacylglycerols have been used as industrial raw materials and biofuels. Triacylglycerols are mainly accumulated in seeds by complicated biochemical pathways. Fatty acids are synthesized in the plastids and transported into the endoplasmic reticulum for synthesizing triacylglycerols. It is known for a long time that biosynthesis of triacylglycerols is performed by a de novo synthesis, the Kennedy pathway. However recent studies have revealed that phosphatidylcholine, a major component of cell membrane, plays a central role for triacylglycerols biosynthesis. Phosphatidylcholine is a key regulator determining the relative proportions of unsaturated fatty acids in seeds. It may be a major carrier for the fluxes of fatty acids from the plastid to the endoplasmic reticulum. This finding further suggests that studies of the functions of enzymes involved in the fluxes of fatty acids from phosphatidylcholine to triacylglycerols elucidate the specialized subdomains in the endoplasmic reticulum for triacylglycerols biosynthesis.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.532-544
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• 2023

Purpose: To identify and evaluate the risk of chemical fire causative substances by using thermal analysis methods (DSC, TGA) for the hazards and physical property changes that occur when newly used biofuels are mixed with existing fuels It is to use it for identification and evaluation of the cause of fire by securing data related to the method and the hazards of the material according to it. Method: The research method used in this experiment is the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC: Difference in heat flux) through quantitative information on the caloric change from the location, shape, number, and area of peaks. flux) was measured, and the weight change caused by decomposition heat at a specific temperature was continuously measured by performing thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA: Thermo- gravimetric Analyzer). Result: First, in the heat flux graph, the boiling point of the material and the intrinsic characteristic value of the material or the energy required for decomposition can be checked. Second, as the content of biodiesel increased, many peaks were identified. Third, it was confirmed through analysis that substances with low expected boiling points were contained. Conclusion: It was shown that the physical risk of the material can be evaluated by using the risk of biodiesel, which is currently used as a new energy source, through various physical and chemical analysis techniques (DSC + TGA).In addition, it is expected that the comparison of differences between test methods and the accumulation and utilization of know-how on experiments in this study will be helpful in future studies on physical properties of hazardous materials and risk assessment of materials.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.296-305
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• 2023

This study analyzed the information-seeking behavior of preservice science teachers by observing the process of seeking information needed in a Socioscientific issues (SSI) debate class. Twenty-four fourth-year preservice science teachers participated in the study, and the SSI debate was conducted on the topic of biofuels. The results of the study revealed that preservice teachers go through the process of 'Searching', 'Reviewing', 'Interpreting', and 'Evaluating and Reorganizing' stages when seeking information. The searching stage is divided into identifying topics, role division, and standard setting for a search. The reviewing stage is divided into reviewing sources and reviewing contents. The interpreting stage is divided into interpreting an information and interpreting information from an integrating aspect. In addition, the evaluating and reorganizing stage is divided into evaluating information and reorganizing information. It was found that preservice teachers have difficulty reviewing information and interpreting multiple sources of information in an integrated aspect. Also, it was found that evaluating information activity among preservice teachers' information-seeking behavior affects the level of argumentation in discussions.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2023

To limit greenhouse gas emissions from ships, numerous environmental regulations and standards have been taken into effect. As a result, alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ammonia, and biofuels have been applied to ships. Most of these alternative fuels are low flashpoint fuels in the form of liquefied gas. Their use is predicted to continue to increase. Thus, management regulations for using low flash point fuel as a ship fuel are required. However, they are currently insufficient. In the case of LNG, ISO standards have been prepared in relation to bunkering. The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF), a non-governmental organization (NGO), has also prepared and published a guideline on LNG bunkering. The classification society also requires safety management areas to be designated according to bunkering methods and procedures for safe bunkering. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a procedure for setting a safety management area according to the type of fuel, environmental conditions, and leakage scenarios and verify it with a numerical method. In this study, as a feasibility study for establishing these procedures, application status and standards of the industry were reviewed. Classification guidelines and existing preceding studies were analyzed and investigated. Based on results of this study, a procedure for establishing a safety management area for bunkering in domestic ports of Korea can be prepared.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.672-677
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• 2012

Lipids in microalgal biomass were recovered by using pyrolysis method. The pyrolysis experiments of two Chlorella sp. KR-1 samples, which have triglyceride contents of 10.8% and 36.5%, respectively were carried out at $600^{\circ}C$ to investigate the effects of lipid contents in the cells on the reaction characteristics. The conversion and liquid yield of the lipid-rich sample were higher than those of the lipid-lean sample since its carbon to hydrogen ratio was low. There were low molecular weight organic acids, ketones, aldehydes and alcohols in the liquid products from both KR-1 samples, but the pyrolysis oil of the lipid-rich sample was abundant in free fatty acids, particularly palmitic acid, oleic acid and stearic acid while the content of nitrogen containing organic compounds was low. The microalgal pyrolysis oil had two layers composed of the light hydrophobic fraction and the heavy hydrophilic fraction. The light fraction might be originated from triglycerides and the heavy fraction might be from carbohydrates and proteins. In the light fraction of the liquid products, there were considerable linear alkanes such as pentadecane and heptadecane as well as free fatty acids, implying that deoxygenation reaction including decarboxylation was occurred during the pyrolysis. The yield of the liquid products from the pyrolysis of the KR-1 sample having triglyceride content of 36.5% was 56.9% and the light fraction in the liquid products was 68.2%. Also more than 80% of the light fraction was free fatty acids and pure hydrocarbons, thus showing that most triglycerides could be extracted in the form of suitable raw materials for biofuels.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.460-467
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• 2016

A filamentous cyanobacterium, Limnothrix sp. KNUA012, was axenically isolated from a freshwater bloom sample in Lake Hapcheon, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. Its morphological and molecular characteristics led to identification of the isolate as a member of the genus Limnothrix. Maximal growth was attained when the culture was incubated at 25℃. Analysis of its lipid composition revealed that strain KNUA012 could autotrophically synthesize alkanes, such as pentadecane (C₁₅H₃₂) and heptadecane (C₁₇H₃₆), which can be directly used as fuel without requiring a transesterification step. Two genes involved in alkane biosynthesis－an acyl-acyl carrier protein reductase and an aldehyde decarbonylase－were present in this cyanobacterium. Some common algal biodiesel constituents－myristoleic acid (C_14:1), palmitic acid (C_16:0), and palmitoleic acid (C_16:1)－were produced by strain KNUA012 as its major fatty acids. A proximate analysis showed that the volatile matter content was 86.0% and an ultimate analysis indicated that the higher heating value was 19.8 MJ kg⁻¹. The isolate also autotrophically produced 21.4 mg g⁻¹ phycocyanin－a high-value antioxidant compound. Therefore, Limnothrix sp. KNUA012 appears to show promise for application in cost-effective production of microalga-based biofuels and biomass feedstock over crop plants.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.34-45
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• 2016

Global warming and climate change have been caused by combustion of fossil fuels. The greenhouse gases contributed to the rise of temperature between $0.6^{\circ}C$ and $0.9^{\circ}C$ over the past century. Presently, fossil fuels account for about 88% of the commercial energy sources used. In developing countries, fossil fuels are a very attractive energy source because they are available and relatively inexpensive. The environmental problems with fossil fuels have been aggravating stress from already existing factors including acid deposition, urban air pollution, and climate change. In order to control greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2, fossil fuels must be replaced by eco-friendly fuels such as biomass. The use of renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly necessary. The biomass resources are the most common form of renewable energy. The conversion of biomass into energy can be achieved in a number of ways. The most common form of converted biomass is pellet fuels as biofuels made from compressed organic matter or biomass. Pellets from lignocellulosic biomass has compared to conventional fuels with a relatively low bulk and energy density and a low degree of homogeneity. Thermal pretreatment technology like torrefaction is applied to improve fuel efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass, i.e., less moisture and oxygen in the product, preferrable grinding properties, storage properties, etc.. During torrefacton, lignocelluosic biomass such as palm kernell shell (PKS) and empty fruit bunch (EFB) was roasted under an oxygen-depleted enviroment at temperature between 200 and $300^{\circ}C$. Low degree of thermal treatment led to the removal of moisture and low molecular volatile matters with low O/C and H/C elemental ratios. The mechanical characteristics of torrefied biomass have also been altered to a brittle and partly hydrophobic materials. Unfortunately, it was much harder to form pellets from torrefied PKS and EFB due to thermal degradation of lignin as a natural binder during torrefaction compared to non-torrefied ones. For easy pelletization of biomass with torrefaction, pellets from PKS and EFB were manufactured before torrefaction, and thereafter they were torrefied at different temperature. Even after torrefaction of pellets from PKS and EFB, their appearance was well preserved with better fuel efficiency than non-torrefied ones. The physical properties of the torrefied pellets largely depended on the torrefaction condition such as reaction time and reaction temperature. Temperature over $250^{\circ}C$ during torrefaction gave a significant impact on the fuel properties of the pellets. In particular, torrefied EFB pellets displayed much faster development of the fuel properties than did torrefied PKS pellets. During torrefaction, extensive carbonization with the increase of fixed carbons, the behavior of thermal degradation of torrefied biomass became significantly different according to the increase of torrefaction temperature. In conclusion, pelletization of PKS and EFB before torrefaction made it much easier to proceed with torrefaction of pellets from PKS and EFB, leading to excellent eco-friendly fuels.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.627-633
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• 2016

Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L)] is one of the major crops for biofuels such as sugarcane and sugar beet which raw materials rich in saccharide. Sweet sorghum juice was extracted from the stem. It's composed of fermentable sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose. Ethanol from the extracted sweet sorghum juice can be easily produced by yeast fermentation process. Sweet sorghum juice is consisted of not only sugars but also various nutrients like nitrogen and phosphate. For commercial production of bioethanol, seed culture is one of the important parts of fermentation, so that optimal culture medium should be selected for the reduction of processing costs. In this study, sweet sorghum juice was estimated as a culture medium for seed culture of cellulosic bioethanol. For the comparison of cultures with various substrates, it used YPD including each 5 g/L yeast extract and peptone, sweet sorghum juice and hydrolyzed Miscanthus was taken part in the culture with 2%, 5% and 10% sugar conditions. Based on media of YPD and sweet sorghum juice, cell-mass concentration was obtained maximum more than $2.5{\times}10^8CFU/mL$ after 24 h of cultivation. Consequently sweet sorghum juice is suitable for the cell culture with more than $1.0{\times}10^8CFU/mL$ after 12 h of cultivation. This can be used as a culture medium for the cellulosic bioethanol industry.