• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.125-131
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• 2005

Natural organic matter(NOM) is defined as the complex matrix of organic material and abundant in natural waters. It affects the performance of unit operations for water purification. Several kinds of analytical indicators such as DOC, specific ultraviolet absorbance(SUVA), apparent molecular weight (AMW), fractionation and high performance size exclusive chromatography(HPSEC) have been used to understand characteristics and variations of NOM. This study aims to evaluate the characteristics of NOM in the Geum River system comprising with stream flows and reservoirs. It was identified that SUVA denoting the portion of humic substance in water ranged within 1.60~3.36. Using resin adsorbents, dissolved organic carbon(DOC) was fractionated into three classes: hydrophobic bases(HOB), hydrophobic acids(HOA) and hydrophilic substances(HI). HI dominates in all samples, collectively accounting for more than 62% of the DOC. HOA was the second dominated fraction and it varied considerably but accounted for about 30% of the DOC. The distribution of high molecular weight(HMW) measured by HPSEC being used to determine the molecular weight distribution of aquatic humic substances was 40.1% and 38.7% in reservoir and stream flow, respectively. The distribution of low molecular weight(LMW) in stream flow was 13.2% higher than that in reservoir. And apparent molecular weight less than 1KDa, which include the molecular weight of hydrophilic organic matter, occupied with 69.2% and 68.2% in stream flow and reservoir, respectively. While the molecular weight of 1 to 100 KDa including humic substances ranged with 18.6% and 21.6% in stream flow and reservoir, respectively. Seasonal variation of refractory dissolved organic carbon was similar to that of SUVA.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.482-489
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• 2007

Fluorescence properties and carbohydrate content were investigated using ultrafiltrated size fractions of dissolved organic matters (DOM) originated from different sources. The materials included a treated sewage, an algal organic matter, and a soil leachate, all of which are major constituents of dissolved organic matter in a typical urban river. Four different size fractions were separated from the three sources of each DOM. The size distribution demonstrated that a higher molecular weight fraction was more present in soil leachate compared to two other source DOMs. A higher content of carbohydrates was observed in the following order - algal DOM > treated sewage > soil leachate. A wide range of specific UV absorbance was observed from size fractions of a single source DOM, indicating that aromatic carbon structures are heterogeneously distributed within one source of DOM. The structural heterogeneity was the most pronounced for the soil leachate. The fluorescence index ($F_{450}/F_{500}$) of the treated sewage was similar to that (2.0) typically obtained from autochthonous DOM, suggesting that the treated sewage exhibited autochthonous organic matter-like properties. No protein-like fluorescence intensities were observed for all of the soil leachate size fractions whereas they were observed with two other source DOMs. Based upon the fluorescence peak ratios from fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM), two discrimination indices could be suggested to distinguish three different source DOMs. It is expected that the suggested discrimination indices will be useful to predict the sources of DOM in a typical urban river affected by treated sewage.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.465-474
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• 2023

The chemical composition and molecular weight characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) exert a profound influence on the efficiency of organic matter removal in water treatment systems, acting as efficiency predictive indicators. This research evaluated the primary chemical and molecular weight properties of DOM derived from diverse sources, including rivers, lakes, and biomasses, and assessed their relationship with the efficiency of coagulation/flocculation treatments. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal efficiency through coagulation/flocculation exhibited significant correlations with DOM's hydrophobic distribution, the ratio of humic-like to protein-like fluorescence, and the molecular weight associated with humic substances (HS). These findings suggest that the DOC removal rate in coagulation/flocculation processes is enhanced by a higher presence of HS in DOM, an increased influence of externally sourced DOM, and more presence of high molecular weight compounds. The results of this study further posit that the efficacy of water treatment processes can be more accurately predicted when considering multiple DOM characteristics rather than relying on a singular trait. Based on major results from this study, a predictive model for DOC removal efficiency by coagulation/flocculation was formulated as: 24.3 - 7.83 × (fluorescence index) + 0.089 × (hydrophilic distribution) + 0.102 × (HS molecular weight). This proposed model, coupled with supplementary monitoring of influent organic matter, has the potential to enhance the design and predictive accuracy for coagulation/flocculation treatments targeting DOC removal in future applications.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.40-48
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• 2009

Unusual bloom of toxic cyanobacteria in water bodies have drawn attention of environmentalists world over. Major bloom of Anabaena, Microcystis in water storage reservoir, rivers and lake leading to adverse health effects have been reported from Australia, England and many part of the world. These cyanobacterial cells can release intercellular matter like toxin in water and these intercellular matter can increase the concentration of organic matter. Cellysis can occur when algal cells meet the disinfectants like chlorine in water treatment plant and the resultant rising up of DOC(Dissolved Organic Carbon) or TOC(Total Organic Carbon) can increase the formation of disinfection by products. Disinfectants that kill microorganisms react with the organic or inorganic matter in raw water. In general disinfectants oxidize the matter in raw water and the resultant products can be harmful to human. There are always conflict about which is more important, disinfection or minimizing disinfection by products. The best treatment process for raw water is the process of the lowest disinfection by products and also the the lowest microorganism. In this study the cultured cells, Microcytis Aeruginosa(MA), Anabaena Flos-aquae(AF), Anabaena Cylindrica(AC), and the cells obtained in Daechung Dam(DC) whose dominant species was Anabaena Cylindrica were subjected to chlorination. Chlorination oxidizes inorganic and organic compounds and destruct live cells in raw water. Chloroform was analyzed for the cultured cells which were treated with $20mg/\ell$ dose of chlorine. In general chloroform is easily formed when dissolved organic matter react with chlorine. The cultured cells contributes the concentration of dissolved organic carbon and also that of total organic carbon which might be potent precusors of chloroform formed. The correlations of the concentration of chloroform, DOC and TOC were investigate in this study.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2018

A sidestream contains the filtrate or concentrate from the belt filter press, filter backwash and supernatant from sludge digesters. The sidestream flow, which heads back into the sewage treatment train, is about 1-3% less than the influent flow. However, the sidestream can increase the nutrient load since it contains high concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen. In this study, the removal of PO4-P with organic matter characteristics and bacteriological changes during the sidestream treatment via ladle furnace (LF) slag was investigated. The sidestream used in this study consisted of 11-14% PO4-P and 3.2-3.6% soluble chemical oxygen demand in influent loading rates. LF slag, which had a relatively high $Ca^{2+}$ release compared to other slags, was used to remove $PO_4-P$ from the sidestream. The phosphate removal rates increased as the slag particle size decreased 19.1% (2.0-4.0 mm, 25.2% (1.0-2.0 mm) and 79.9% (0.5-1.0 mm). The removal rates of dissolved organic carbon, soluble chemical oxygen demand, color and aromatic organic matter ($UV_{254}$) were 17.6, 41.7, 90.2 and 77.3%, respectively. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrices and liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection demonstrated that the sidestream treatment via LF slag was effective in the removal of biopolymers. However, the removal of dissolved organic matter was not significant during the treatment. The intact bacterial biomass decreased from $1.64{\times}10^8cells/mL$ to $1.05{\times}10^8cells/mL$. The use of LF slag was effective for the removal of phosphate and the removal efficiency of phosphate was greater than 80% for up to 100 bed volumes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.55-65
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• 2018

It is necessary to develop a mobile water production system in order to provide stable water supply in case of disasters such as floods or earthquakes. In this study, we developed a modular mobile water production system capable of producing water for various uses such as domestic water and drinking water while improving applicability in various raw water sources. The water production system consists of three stages of filtration (sand filtration - activated carbon filtration - pressure filtration) to produce domestic water and an additional reverse osmosis process to produce drinking water. In laboratory and field experiments, the domestic water production system showed excellent treatment efficiency for particulate matter, but showed limitations in the treatment of dissolved substances such as dissolved organic matter. In addition, ultraviolet irradiation was considered as additional disinfection step, because it does not form precipitates of manganese oxides after disinfection. Reverse osmosis process was added to increase the removal efficiency of dissolved substances and the treated water satisfied drinking water quality standards. Fluorescence analysis of dissolved organic matter showed that the fulvic acid-like substances in raw water was successfully removed in the reverse osmosis process. The mobile water production system developed in this study is expected to be used not only in water supply in case of disaster, but also widely used in islands and rural area.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.629-635
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• 2012

This study was conducted to evaluate the removal behaviors of DOM(dissolved organic matter) and phosphorus in eutrophic lake water by coagulation process with PAC(powdered activated carbon). It was observed that the removal characteristic of soluble matter was different from that of dissolved one, and the removal of DOM was effected by both pH and coagulant dosage. It was founded that PAC could increase the removal efficiency by an adsorption of DOM in coagulation process. A formation of soluble and colloidal matters resulted in the degradation of phosphorus removal efficiency in a chemical precipitation process. The phosphorus removal efficiency could be enhanced by an absorption of colloidal matter and dissolved complex with PAC addition. In addition, the PAC addition caused the increase of floc density in coagulation process, that led to the rise of sedimentation rate, and resulted in a significant improvement of solid-liquid separation efficiency.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2018

We observed the concentrations of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) in coastal seawater and groundwater around a volcanic island, Jeju, Korea. The sampling of surface seawater and coastal groundwater was conducted in Woljeongri, Pyoseon, and Kwakgi beaches, in three sampling campaigns (June, July, and October 2016). The concentrations of DOC in groundwater were relatively higher in June and October than in July. Salinity and DOC concentrations in the coastal groundwater of Woljeongri and Pyoseon beaches did not show a marked relationship, whereas those in Kwakgi beach showed a good positive correlation (July: $R^2=0.64$, P < 0.01; October: $R^2=0.95$, P < 0.01). In addition, the concentrations of CDOM (C and M peaks) in the groundwater of Woljeongri and Pyoseon beaches, where saline groundwater discharge dominates, were relatively higher than those of Kwakgi beach, where fresh groundwater discharge dominates. The relatively higher DOC concentrations in the coastal groundwater of Woljeongri and Pyoseon, with higher CDOM concentrations, seem to be mainly from anthropogenic sources such as local pollution sources (i.e., aquaculture wastewater or domestic sewage). In order to understand the behavior of DOC in the coastal groundwater of a volcanic island, extensive studies are necessary in the future over a larger-area and greater time-scales using various isotopic tracers.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.969-975
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• 2010

Estimating the organic matter loadings from individual treated sewage has become important for establishment of effective management strategies to control refractory organic matter (R-OM) in watersheds. For this study, regression equations were constructed using treated sewage data to convert the chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations, which are mostly available from open database, into total organic carbon (TOC) and R-OM concentrations. Effluent samples were collected from five major sewage treatment plants (STPs) located upstream of the lake Paldang. Variations in the OM concentrations were not associated with either the location of the STP or the sampling season. The effluent investigated were characterized by higher ratio of R-OM with respect to biodegradable organic matter (B-OM) and higher presence of dissolved organic matters (DOM) versus particulate organic matter (POM). Compared to $COD_{Mn}$, $COD_{Cr}$ exhibited higher oxidation efficiencies and greater variations in the concentrations. The concentrations of $COD_{Mn}$ were positively correlated with dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total organic carbon (TOC), and R-OM concentrations. There was nearly no seasonal and annual variation in the regression equations between $COD_{Mn}$ and TOC or R-OM concentrations. The constructed regression equations for TOC and R-OM were $0.650({\pm}0.071){\times}COD_{Mn}+1.426({\pm}0.575)$ and $0.340({\pm}0.083){\times}COD_{Mn}+2.054({\pm}0.670)$, respectively. The established equations are expected to contribute to estimating OM loadings from the STPs into the lake Paldang and also to compensating for the deficiency of the data for effluent OM concentrations in STP.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.390-396
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• 2018

This study investigated the transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a free-water surface flow constructed wetland. Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) coupled with preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) was used to analyze the compositions of biopolymers (polysaccharides, amino sugars, proteins, polyhydroxy aromatics, lipids and lignin) in DOM according to the molecular size at three sampling points of the water flow: inflow, midflow, and outflow. The prep-HPLC results verified the decomposition of DOM through the decrease in the number of peaks from three to one in the chromatograms of the sampling points. The Py-GC/MS results for the degradable peaks indicated that biopolymers relating to polysaccharides and proteins gradually biodegraded with the water flow. On the other hand, the recalcitrant organic fraction (the remaining peak) in the outflow showed a relatively high concentration of aromatic compounds. Therefore, the ecological processes in the constructed wetland caused DOM to become more aromatic and homogeneous. This indicated that the constructed wetland can be an effective buffer area for releasing biochemically stable DOM, which has less influence on biological water quality indicators, e.g., biochemical oxygen demand, into an aquatic ecosystem.