• Proceedings of the Mineralogical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.38-39
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• 2001

The seasonal changes in pH, Fe, Al and SO$_4$$\^$2-/ contents of acid drainage released from coal mine dumps play a major role in precipitation of metal hydroxides in the Taebaek coal field area, southeastern Korea. Precipitates in the creeks underwent a cycle of the color change showing white, reddish brown and brownish yellow, which depends on geochemical factors of the creek waters. White precipitates consist of Al-sulfate (basaluminite and hydrobasaluminite) and reddish brown ones are composed of ferrihydrite and brownish yellow ones are of schwertmannite. Goethite coprecipitates with ferrihydrite and schwertmannite. Ferrihydrite formed at higher values than pH 5.3 and schwertmannite precipitated below pH 4.3, and goethite formed at the intermediate pH range between the two minerals. With the pH being increased from acid to intermediate regions, Fe is present both as schwertmannite and goethite. From the present observation, the most favorable pH that basauluminte can precipitate is in the range of pH 4.45-5.95. SEM examination of precipitates at stream bottom shows that they basically consist of agglomerates of spheroid and rod-shape bacteria. Bacteria species are remarkably different among bottom precipitates and, to a less extent, there are slightly different chemical compositions even within the same bacteria. The speciation and calculation of the mineral saturation index were made using MINTEQA2. In waters associated with yellowish brown precipitates mainly composed of schwertmannite, So$_4$ species is mostly free So$_4$$\^$2-/ ion with less AlSo$_4$$\^$+/, CaSo$\sub$(aq)/, and MgSo$\sub$4(aq)/. Ferrous iron is present mostly as free Fe$\^$2+/, and FeSo$\sub$4(aq)/ and ferric iron exists predominantly as Fe(OH)$_2$$\^$+/, with less FeSo$\sub$4(aq)/, Fe(OH)$_2$$\^$-/, FeSo$_4$$\^$-/ and Fe$\^$3+/, respectively Al exists as free Al$\^$3+/, AlOH$_2$$\^$-/, (AlSo$_4$)$\^$+/, and Al(So$_4$)$\^$2-/. Fe is generally saturated with respect to hematite, magnetite, and goethite, with nearly saturation with lepidocrocite. Aluminum and sulfate are supersaturated with respect to predominant alunite and less jubanite, and they approach a saturation state with respect to diaspore, gibbsite, boehmite and gypsum. In the case of waters associated with whitish precipitates mainly composed of basaluminite, Al is present as predominant Al$\^$3+/ and Al(SO$_4$)$\^$+/, with less Al(OH)$\^$2+/, Al(OH)$_2$$\^$+/ and Al(SO$_4$)$\^$2-/. According to calculation for the mineral saturation, aluminum and sulfate are greatly supersaturated with respect to basaluminite and alunite. Diaspore is flirty well supersaturated while jubanite, gibbsite, and boehmite are already supersaturated, and gypsum approaches its saturation state. The observation that the only mineral phase we can easily detect in the whitish precipitate is basaluminite suggests that growth rate of alunite is much slower than that of basaluminite. Neutralization of acid mine drainage due to the dilution caused by the dilution effect due to mixing of unpolluted waters prevails over the buffering effect by the dissolution of carbonate or aluminosilicates. The main factors to affect color change are variations in aqueous geochemistry, which are controlled by dilution effect due to rainfall, water mixng from adjacent creeks, and the extent to which water-rock interaction takes place with seasons. pH, Fe, Al and SO$_4$ contents of the creek water are the most important factors leading to color changes in the precipitates. A geochemical cycle showing color variations in the precipitates provides the potential control on acid mine drainage and can be applied as a reclamation tool in a temperate region with four seasons.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.545-549
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• 2008

The surface characteristics of calcined ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ particles as well as ${\gamma}-AlO$(OH) sol particles were controlled by aging in the boehmite sol preparation. As a result of the study, the IEPs of ${\gamma}-AlO$(OH) particles were decreased from pH 9.25 to pH 8.70 and those of the calcined ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ particles were decreased from pH 9.90 to pH 8.86 by the increase of the aging times. As a result of the acidic and basic characterization of the calcined ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ particles by the aging, the amount of acid sites was decreased from 0.1367 mmol/g to 0.0783 mmol/g by the increase of the aging times and Hammett acidity, $H_o$ was showed the acidic strength of 4.8 or above. On the other hand, the amount of basic sites was decreased from 0.4399 mmol/g to 0.3074 mmol/g by the increase of the aging times. Based on these results, we proposed the fact that the aging step in the sol-gel process was an important step to control the surface characterization of ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ particles including acidity and basicity.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.347-356
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• 2010

Bauxite is a main raw material for the production of alumina and aluminum hydroxide in the processing plant of KC company. It is a NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials), and its waste, red mud, is a TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials). The purpose of the geochemical and mineralogical investigations of the bedrock and soils in and around the plant, a large NORM source, was to provide basic data for measuring the radiation dose and protecting from radioactive hazards. Soils were mixtures of minerals derived from the country rock (quartz, feldspar, mica, kaolin, gibbsite, and sepiolite) and bauxite (hematite, boehmite, and calcite) of open-air storage. Average U and Th contents of the soil samples were 4.7 ppm and 23 ppm, respectively, indicating somewhat Th anomaly. The average concentrations of radionuclides are $^{40}K$ 100~1,433 Bq/kg, $^{226}Ra$ anomaly in the red mud open-air storage. Soil external hazard indices range from 0.10 to 1.66 with an average of 0.63. Although most of the indices are below 1.0 that is a regulation value, those of 4 samples of total 41 soil samples exceed 1.0, requiring further detailed investigation.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.126-134
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• 2023

Direct catalytic decomposition is a promising method for controlling the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O) from the semiconductor and display industries. In this study, a γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst was developed to reduce N₂O emissions by a catalytic decomposition reaction. The γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst was prepared by an extrusion method using boehmite powder, and a N₂O decomposition test was performed using a catalyst reactor that was approximately 25.4 mm (1 in) in diameter packed with approximately 5 mm of catalysts. The N₂O decomposition tests were carried out with approximately 1% N₂O at 550 to 750 ℃, an ambient pressure, and a GHSV=1800-2000 h^-1. To confirm the N₂O decomposition properties and the effect of O₂ and steam on the N₂O decomposition, nitrogen, air, and air and steam were used as atmospheric gases. The catalytic decomposition tests showed that the 1% N₂O had almost completely disappeared at 700 ℃ in an N₂ atmosphere. However, air and steam decreased the conversion rate drastically. The long term stability test carried out under an N₂ atmosphere at 700 ℃ for 350 h showed that the N₂O conversion rate remained very stable, confirming no catalytic activity changes. From the results of the N₂O decomposition tests and long-term stability test, it is expected that the prepared γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst can be used to reduce N₂O emissions from several industries including the semiconductor, display, and nitric acid manufacturing industry.