• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.445-449
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• 2000

Nickel ferrite $(Ni_{0.75}Fe_{2.25}O_4$ was synthesized by co-precipitation method in order to investigate its behavior under conditions of the reactor coolant system in pressurized light water nuclear power plants. Ammonia or potassium carbonate was used as a solution pH control agent, and aqueous ammonia or potassium carbonate solution or secondary distilled water was used as a co-precipitate washing agent. The effects of the pH control agent and the co-precipitate washing agent on the production yield on the basis of the Ni/Fe molar ratio and the particle characteristics of final products were investigated by XRD, SEM, EDX and XPS. The production yield was almost congruent with that of the initial aqueous mixture in case of using potassium carbonate as a pH control agent, while in case of using ammonia, it was quite changed. The difference seemed to be due to the effects of $Ni^{2+}{\leftarrow}NH_3$complexation in the aqueous solution and of the pH of co-precipitate washing agent.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.223-229
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• 2020

The application of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) supports the growth of plants in contaminated soil while ureolytic bacteria can immobilise heavy metals by carbonate precipitation. Thus, dual treatment with such bacteria may be beneficial for plant growth and bioremediation in contaminated soil. This study aimed to determine whether the PGPR Pseudomonas fluorescens could work in synergy with ureolytic bacteria to assist with the remediation of cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contaminated soils. Pot experiments were conducted to grow radish plants in Cd- and Pb-contaminated soils treated with PGPR P. fluorescens and the results were compared with dual inoculation of P. fluorescens combined with ureolytic Staphylococcus epidermidis HJ2. The removal rate of the metals from the soil was more than 83% for Cd and Pb by the combined treatment compared to 17% by PGPR alone. Further, the dual treatment reduced the metal accumulation in the roots by more than 80%. The translocation factors for Cd and Pb in plant tissues in both treatments remained the same, suggesting that PGPR combined with the carbonate precipitation process does not hamper the transfer of essential metal ions into plant tissues from the soil.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.391-407
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• 2023

This article provides a survey of wet (aqueous) methods for recovery, separation, and purification of uranium from fission products in carbonate solutions during the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and methods for removal of radionuclides from alkaline radioactive waste. The main methods such as selective direct precipitation, ion exchange, and solvent extraction are considered. These methods were compared and evaluated for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in carbonate media according to novel alternative non-acidic methods and for treatment processes of alkaline radioactive waste.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.39-47
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• 2021

Recently, the enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) technique has been considered as one of the alternatives to the cement-based soil reinforcing method. However, the problem with the emission of ammonium ion has not been solved. In this study, an experimental study on the EICP without releasing an environmental contaminant (Ze-EICP) is performed using calcium-exchanged zeolite. The results show that the Ze-EICP using calcium-exchanged zeolite reduced the amount of ammonium ions by 96.96% and precipitated almost the same amount of calcium carbonate, compared to the EICP using calcium chloride. In addition, the Ze-EICP shows higher strength improvement rate than the EICP due to densification of zeolite and cementation of calcium carbonate.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.465-473
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• 2019

Biocementation due to the microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) process is a potential technique that can be used for soil improvement. However, the effect of biocementation may be affected by many factors, including nutrient concentration, bacterial strains, injection strategy, temperature, pH, and soil type. This study investigates mainly the effect of chemical concentration on the formation of calcium carbonate (e.g., quantity, size, and crystalline structure) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) using different treatment time and chemical concentration in the biotreatment. Two chemical concentrations (0.5 and 1.0 M) and three different treatment times (2, 4, and 8 cycles) were studied. The effect of chemical concentrations on the treatment was also examined by making the total amount of chemicals injected to be the same, but using different times of treatment and chemical concentrations (8 cycles for 0.50 M and 4 cycles for 1.00 M). The UCS and CCC were measured and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was carried out. The SEM images revealed that the sizes of calcium carbonate crystals increased with an increase in chemical concentrations. The UCS values resulting from the treatments using low concentration were slightly greater than those from the treatments using high concentration, given the CCC to be more or less the same. This trend can be attributed to the size of the precipitated crystals, in which the cementation efficiency increases as the crystal size decreases, for a given CCC. Furthermore, in the high concentration treatment, two mineral types of calcium carbonate were precipitated, namely, calcite and amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). As the crystal shape and morphology of ACC differ from those of calcite, the bonding provided by ACC can be weaker than that provided by calcite. As a result, the conditions of calcium carbonate were affected by test key factors and eventually, contributed to the UCS values.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.429-438
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• 2019

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an innovative soil improvement approach utilizing metabolic activity of microbes to hydrolyze urea. In this paper, the shear response and the erodibility of MICP-treated sand under axial compression and submerged impinging jet were evaluated at a low confining stress range. Loose, poorly graded silica sand was used in testing. Specimens were cemented at low confining stresses until target shear wave velocities were achieved. Results indicated that the erodibility parameters of cemented specimens showed an increase in the critical shear stress by up to three orders of magnitude, while the erodibility coefficient decreased by up to four orders of magnitude. Such a trend was observed to be dependent on the level of cementation. The treated sand showed dilative behavior while the untreated sands showed contractive behavior. The shear modulus as a function of strain level, based on monitored shear wave velocity, indicated mineral debonding may commence at 0.05% axial strain. The peak strength was enhanced in terms of emerging cohesion parameter based on utilizing the Mohr-Coulomb failure criteria.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.160-167
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• 2004

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.44-54
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• 2013

Replacing OMG (old magazine) to ONP (old newspaper) by raising optical property through $CaCO_3$ in-situ precipitation method in white duplex board presents cost reduction and possible drying energy saving. The strength property impairment by the presence of $CaCO_3$ could be supplemented by the fiber furnish treatment or strength polymer addition. In $CaCO_3$ in-situ precipitation of ONP, it was found from morphological study using FlowCAM, an image analyzer, that most of calcium carbonate were formed on the fines, and made the size of the fines larger. For the case of forming calcium carbonate only on the fractionated fines, the size of the fines were the biggest, and there were more clean surface areas available for bonding for the fractionated long fibers when fractionated fibers and fines were regrouped to make paper.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.34-41
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• 2022

Smelting reduction of spent lithium-ion batteries results in metallic alloys, slag, and dust containing Li(I). Precipitation of Li₂CO₃ was performed using the synthetic leachate of the dust. Herein, the effects of the precipitant and addition of non-aqueous solvents on the precipitation of Li(I) were investigated. Na₂CO₃ was a more effective precipitating agent than (NH₄)₂CO₃ owing to the hydrolysis reaction of dissolved ammonium and carbonate. The addition of acetone or ethanol improved the Li(I) precipitation percentage for both the precipitants. When using (NH₄)₂CO₃, the Li(I) precipitation percentage increased at a solution pH of 12. Under the same conditions, the Li(I) precipitation percentage using Na₂CO₃ was much higher than that using (NH₄)₂CO₃.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.540-548
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• 2016

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (CCP) is a long-standing but re-emerging environmental engineering process for production of self-healing concrete, bioremediation, and long-term storage of CO₂. CCP-capable bacteria, two Bacillus strains (JH3 and JH7) and one Sporosarcina strain (HYO08), were isolated from two samples of concrete and characterized phylogenetically. Calcium carbonate crystals precipitated by the three strains were morphologically distinct according to field emission scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry mapping confirmed biomineralization via extracellular calcium carbonate production. The three strains differed in their physiological characteristics: growth at alkali pH and high NaCl concentrations, and urease activity. Sporosarcina sp. HYO08 and Bacillus sp. JH7 were more alkali- and halotolerant, respectively. Analysis of the community from the same concrete samples using barcoded pyrosequencing revealed that the relative abundance of Bacillus and Sporosarcina species was low, which indicated low culturability of other dominant bacteria. This study suggests that calcium carbonate crystals with different properties can be produced by various CCP-capable strains, and other novel isolates await discovery.