• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.35-46
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• 2009

In order to investigate spatial and temporal distributional characteristics of major water qualities in the Saemangeum area during the Saemangeum dike construction, salinity, COD, dissolved nutrients(DIN, Silicate) and heavy metals were analyzed from the surface water collected in April, May, August and November 2002. The overall value of Salinity, COD, DIN, and silicate in surface waters were in the range of $13.08{\sim}31.96\;psu$, $0.12{\sim}3.43\;mg/L$, $0.001{\sim}2.638\;mg/L$, and $0.010{\sim}3.181\;mg/L$, respectively. The COD and DIN in each survey showed the highest concentration at the mouth of Mangyeong river estuary(St. 1) where freshwater flow into the Saemangeum area. The concentrations of nutrients were high in the inner part of the Saemangeum dike with low-salinity, and low nutrients in the outer part of the dike with high-salinity, which strongly indicated that concentrations were adjusted by physical mixing. The ranges of dissolved metals and acid-soluble Hg in surface seawater were $0.006{\sim}0.115{\mu}g/L$ for Co, $0.26{\sim}0.114{\mu}g/L$ for Ni, $0.14{\sim}0.93{\mu}g/L$ for Cu, $0.04{\sim}0.53{\mu}g/L$ for Zn, $0.010{\sim}0.043{\mu}g/L$ for Cd, $0.010{\sim}0.795{\mu}g/L$ for Pb, and $0.25{\sim}4.16{\mu}g/L$ for Hg. The highest concentrations of some metals except for Cd were found at the estuary(Sts. 1 or 3). In most cases, a decreasing order of metal concentrations towards open sea(low-salinity$\rightarrow$high-salinity) was observed and showed positive relationship with DIN and silicate caused by land base pollutants input. On the other hand, due to Cd desorption from suspended solids in saline water, dissolved Cd concentrations were high in high-salinity area and low in low-salinity. In November, Co, Zn, Cu and Pb were relatively high in the northern area of the outer-side of Saemangeum, which was only influenced by the Geum river discharge. The concentrations of most dissolved metals of this study were lower than those of the past data in this area, but higher than those in Lena river estuary under the pristine environment.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2019

The white aluminum phases in acid mine drainage usually precipitates when mixed with stream waters with relatively high pH. The minerals in white precipitates play important roles in controlling the behavior of heavy metals by adsorbing and coprecipitation. By the phase transition of these minerals in white precipitates, dissolution and readsorption of heavy metals may occur. This study was conducted to obtain preliminary information on the phase transition of the mineral phases in white precipitates. In this study, the mineral phase changes in the white precipitates collected from the stream around Dogye Mining Site over time were investigated with different pH values and temperatures. White precipitates consist mainly of basaluminite, amorphous $Al(OH)_3$ and a small amount of $Al_{13}$-tridecamer. During aging, the incongruent dissolution of the basaluminite occurs first, increasing the content of the amorphous $Al(OH)_3$. After that, pseudoboehmite is finally precipitated following the precursor phase of pseudoboehmite. At $80^{\circ}C$, this series of processes was clearly observed, but at relatively low temperatures, no noticeable changes were observed from the initial condition with coexisting basaluminite and amorphous $Al(OH)_3$. At high pH, the desorption of $SO{_4}^{2-}$ group in basaluminite was initiated to promote phase transition to the pseudoboehmite precursor. Over time, the solution pH decreases due to the dissolution and phase transition of the minerals, and even after the precipitation of pseudoboehmite, only the particle size slightly increased but no clear cystal form was observed.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.4 s.46
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• pp.267-276
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• 2005

The study is to determine the feasibility of activated red mud as an anti-red tide material. The red mud, a byproduct of Bayer process for the production of alumina from bauxite, contained hematite, boehmite, calcite, sodalite, quartz, zircon, anatase and an unknown phase. In the adsorption study of the red mud, its adsorption efficiencies for heavy elements were close to $100\%$ except $92\%$ In As. These results seem to be attributed by the high adsorption ability of iron oxides for heavy elements. As a result of leaching tests with the red mud at various pHs (pH $1\∼13$), the high leaching efficiencies for As, Cu and Zn at low pHs (at acidic condition) were obtained. It indicated that removal efficiency of heavy elements could be excellent in acidic treatment of red mud. The activated red mud, red mud reacted with acid, contained hematite, boehmite and so on, and desorption of heavy metals from the activated red mud increased with increasing temperature. The grain of the activated red mud was tens nm in size. The removal efficiency for 5 types of plankton was generally in inverse proportion to pH, especially to final pH. Of five plankton types, Prorocentrum minimum and Alexandrium tamarense promptly were removed more than $90\%$ as soon as the activated red mud was sprayed and $100\%$ after 30 minutes. These results indicated that the activated red mud seems to be a promising anti-red tide material.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.130-137
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• 2005

This research programme include investigation of the adsorption behavior of heavy metals and VOCs by Pyrolysis char for using landfill cover material. The volatile potions in the sludge gasified during the pyrolysis period and gave birth to porosity throughout the matrix. The result of the ad/desorption experiment of nitrogen to find out the formation of some pore by the gasification of the volatile matter, we can certify that the pyrolysis char($14.56\;m^2/g$) has increased twice more than the organic wasted sludge($6.68\;m^2/g$) in specific surface area. The pyrolysis char has the adsorption characteristic of medium type of Type II and V in BDDT classification, and showed a little micro pore. In the adsorption experiment of ethylbenzene and toluene, as a result of applying the Freundlich adsorption isotherms, the pyrolysis char was higher in the adsorptivity of ethylbenzene and toluene than the granite and the organic wasted sludge. The results of the heavy metal adsorption test for the char indicated that it had some ability of adsorption. It is suggest that pyrolysis char has some advantages for utilizing as landfill covers because the pyrolysis char can adsorb/absorb hazardous substances from the landfill sites and inhibit the ground water and soil contamination.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2011

Transport of heavy metals such as Cd is affected by several rate-limiting processes including adsorption and desorption by exchange reactions in soils. In this study, column transport and batch kinetic experiments were performed to assess Cd mobility in a double-layered soil with a reclaimed saline and sodic soil (SSS) as top soil and macroporous granule (MPG) as a bottom layer. For individual soil layer having different physical and chemical properties, Cd was considered to be nonlinear reactivity with the soil matrix in layered soils. The dispersive equation for reactive solutes was solved with three types of boundary conditions for the interface between soil layers. The adsorption of Cd with respect to the saline-sodic sandy loam and the MPG indicated that the nature of the sites or the mechanisms involved in the sorption process of Cd was different and the amounts of Cd for both of samples increases with increasing amounts of equilibrium concentration whereas the amount of Cd adsorbed in saline-sodic sandy loam soil was higher than that in MPG. The results of breakthrough curve indicating relative Cd retardation accompanied by layer material and sequence during leaching showed that the number of pore volumes to reach the maximum relative concentration of 1 increased in the order of MPG, SSS, and double layer of SSS-MPG. Breakthrough curves (BTCs) from column experiments were well predicted with our double-layered model where independently derived solute physical and retention parameters were implemented.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.173-187
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• 2017

Heavy metals, such as vanadium, are some of the most toxic types of water contaminants. In this study, vanadium was removed using a new composite adsorbent called BAZLSC. The impacts of pH and initial concentration of vanadium(V) on the elimination effectiveness of this metal by using BAZLSC were investigated in the first step of the study. Vanadium removal increased as pH increased to 3-3.5, and initial concentration increased to 60-70 mg/L. The removal efficiency then decreased. Central composite design and response surface methodology were employed to examine experimental data. Initial concentration of V ($mg.L^{-1}$), pH, and dosage of adsorbent (g/L) were the independent factors. Based on RSM, the removal effectiveness of vanadium was 86.36% at the optimum of initial concentration (52.69 mg/L), pH (3.49), and adsorbent dosage (1.71 g/L). Also adsorption isotherm investigations displayed that the Freundlich isotherm could explain vanadium adsorption by BAZLSC better than the Langmuir isotherm. Beside them, desorption studies showed sorption was slightly diminished after six continuous cycles.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2001

Alginate, a well-known biopolymer, is universally applied for immobilization of microbial cells. Biosorption characteristics of lead by waste biomass of immobilized A. niger beads, used in fermentation industries to produce citric acid, were studied. The immobilized A. niger beads, prepared via capillary extrusion method using calcium chloride, were applied in the removal of lead. Pb uptake was the highest in A. niger beads cells grown for 3 days with medium producing citric acid (12% sucrose, 0.5% $NH_4NO_3$, 0.1% $KH_2PO_4$, and 0.025% $MgSO_4$). Lead uptake by the immobilized A. niger beads and free A. niger mycellia beads increased sharply with time. However, while uptake by the immobilized A. niger beads continued to increase slowly, that by free A. niger mycellia beads stopped after 30 min. The optimum pH and temperature of lead uptake were found to be 6 and $35^{\circ}C$, respectively. The maximum uptake of lead was achieved with $50{\sim}100$ beads and 50 ml lead solution in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask, while, at over 100 beads, uptake of the lead decreased. The order of biosorption capacity for heavy metals was Pb>Cu>Cd. Pb uptake capacity of the immobilized A. niger beads treated with 0.1 M $CaCI_2$, 0.1 M NaOH, and 0.1 M KOH decreased compared to the untreated beads. On testing the desorption of Pb from the immobilized A. niger beads, re-uptake of Pb was found possible after desorption of the binding metal with 0.1 M HCI.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.996-1004
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• 2020

Various genetically engineered microorganisms have been developed for the removal of heavy metal contaminants. Metal biosorption by whole-cell biosorbents can be enhanced by overproduction of metal-binding proteins/peptides in the cytoplasm or on the cell surface. However, few studies have compared the biosorption capacity of whole cells expressing intracellular or surface-displayed metal-adsorbing proteins. In this study, several constructs were prepared for expressing intracellular and surface-displayed Ochrobactrum tritici 5bvl1 ChrB in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells. E. coli cells expressing surface-displayed ChrB removed more Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions than cells with cytoplasmic ChrB under the same conditions. However, intracellular ChrB was less susceptible to variation in extracellular conditions (pH and ionic strength), and more effectively removed Cr(VI) from industrial wastewater than the surface-displayed ChrB at low pH (<3). An adsorption-desorption experiment demonstrated that compared with intracellular accumulation, cell-surface adsorption is reversible, which allows easy desorption of the adsorbed metal ions and regeneration of the bioadsorbent. In addition, an intrinsic ChrB protein fluorescence assay suggested that pH and salinity may influence the Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of ChrB-expressing E. coli cells by modulating the ChrB protein conformation. Although the characteristics of ChrB may not be universal for all metal-binding proteins, our study provides new insights into different engineering strategies for whole-cell biosorbents for removing heavy metals from industrial effluents.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.27-38
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• 2003

Arsenic contamination around Au-Ag mining areas occurs mainly from the oxidation of arsenopyrite which is frequently contained in mine tailings. In weathered tailings, oxidation of sulfide minerals typically results in the formation of abundant ferric (oxy)hydroxides or (oxy)hydroxysulfates near the tailings surface, and arsenic may be associated with these secondary precipitates. In this study, solid phases of arsenic in weathered tailings of some Au-Ag mines were investigated through the SEM/EDS and sequential extraction analyses. The stability of As solid phases and the leaching potential were assessed with the variation of pH and Eh conditions. Oxidation of sulfides in the tailings samples was indicated by depletion of S molar concentrations compared to As and heavy metals. Under XRD examinations, jarosite as an Fe-oxyhydroxysulfate was found in the tailings of Deokeum, Dongil and Dadeok, and scorodite as an As-bearing crystalline mineral was identified from Dadeok which has the highest concentration of As (4.36 wt.%). Beudantite-like phases and some Pb-arsenates were also found under SEM/EDS analysis, and most of As phases were associated with Fe-(oxy)hydroxides and (oxy)hydroxysulfates despite a few arsenopyrite from Samgwang and Gubong. Sequential extraction analysis also showed that As was present predominantly as coprecipitated with Fe hydroxides from Dongil, Dadeok and Myungbong (72∼99%), and as sulfides (58%) and Fe hydroxide-associated forms (40%) from Samgwang and Gubong. In the tailings leaching experiment, As was released with high amounts by the dissolution of As-bearing Fe(oxy)hydroxysulfates in the lowest pH (2.7) conditions of Deokeum, and by desorption under alkaline conditions of Samgwang and Gubong. Higher leaching rates of arsenite(+3) were found under acidic conditions, which pose a higher risk to water quality. Changes in pH and Eh conditions coupled with microbial processes could influence the stabilities of the As solid phases, and thus, time amendments or landfilling of weathered tailings may result in enhanced As mobilization.