• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.203-236
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• 2002

Environmental Performance Evaluation(EPE) is a key process of Corporate Environmental Management. This paper presents the results of an empirical survey on the status of current practices in EPE of Korean firms. Based on a corporate environmental management(CEM) model, which is initially developed by Hibbitt and Kamp-Roelands(2001) and modified in terms of EPE, the survey is peformed on the population of Korean firms, which are composed of firms certified as "environmentally friendly" by Korean government and/or certified under Is014001, and compares its results with those of Europe's. Although the relatively low response rate and some methodological limitations makes us be cautious about the interpretation, the results shows many interesting aspects of the current states of Korean firms' EPE practices. That is, the levels of EPE implementation in the environmentally-leading companies of Korea are almost the same as that of European companies, I. e., in the-final-part-of-developing-stage (3rd stage) level of the CEM model. It is also shown that as In Europe's case, Korean firms are also moving slower in external relationships than in internal control and management, are more developed in the parameters like environmental policy, Internal control, Information system, which are requirements of certification under Is014001, than in parameters like life cycle analysis and full cost accounting, which requires more research efforts, etc.orts, etc.

• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• v.10 no.S_1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2001

Effect of the addition of an enzyme/microbial additive(EMA) to enhance anaerobic digestion of the primary sludge was investigated. Two laboratory scale anaerobic digester were operated with primary sludge taken from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The digester receiving EMA with the sludge feed performed better than the control digester, when both were operated at 10-days and 15-days Solid Retention Time(SRT). Addition of EMA to the experimental digester provided 7%(10-days SRT) and 16%(15-days SRT) higher gas production compared to the control digester when both were fed with the same amount of volatile solids. The reduction in volatile solids was 24% better in the experimental digester compared to the control ar 10-days SRT, and the improvement 10% at 15-day SRT. Improvement in COD reduction, and fecal coliform density reduction were also seen in the experimental digester due to EMA addition compared to the control both ar 10-days SRT and 15-day SRT operation. Preliminary cost benefit analysis for a wastewater treatment plant showed that approximately $115/day in gas production improvements can be realized upon addition of EMA to primary sludge anaerobic digesters operating at 10-day SRT. The value of increased gas production was $172/day if the same digesters are operated with EMA addition at 15-day SRT.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.275-287
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• 2016

This study attempts to estimate the benefits of using water ensuing from the Chilgap multipurpose reservoir for environmental improvement. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) for providing environmental improvement water from the Chilgap reservoir to Daechi-stream and Ji-stream. The DCDB (double-bound dichotomous choice) survey method was used to collect data for the analysis. Due to the usually high cost of increasing the sample size, the use of follow-up questions was implemented as an inexpensive method of improving the efficiency of the estimation. A spike model was used in this study because a number of respondents showed zero WTP. The spike model can be estimated as easily as the conventional model. Results show that the average annual household's WTP is 4,516 won using the conventional model and 8,644 won using the spike model. Applying the estimated average annual household's WTP to the Chungnam and Daejeon regional levels, the benefits of environmental improvement water from the Chilgap reservoir is estimated at 11.9 billion won per year. The temporal benefits of providing water for environmental improvement, for a 50-year period at a 6.0% discount rate, is estimated at about 190 billion won in the Chungnam and Daejeon areas. These results could be useful especially when the government tries to determine an appropriate level of investment and to make a policy related to providing environmental improvement water.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1004-1013
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• 2006

To effective a watershed management, it is necessary to have one or more quantitative measures that can be used to evaluate the relationship between pollutant sources and their impact on water quality. Such measurable quantities are termed indicators. Once an indicator has been selected, a target value for that indicator must be established that seek to distinguish between the impaired and unimpaired state of the waterbody. Various factors will be considered for the selection of an appropriate watershed management indicator. For example, available data, application, management conditions, cost, etc. This paper lists various factors that should be addressed in choosing a watershed management indicators and investigates applicable indicators during watershed management period.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.530-538
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• 2009

The Oxic-Settling-Anaerobic (OSA) treatment process, a modified Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) process, was developed for the purpose of sludge reduction. The insertion of a sludge holding tank into a sludge return line, an anaerobic reactor, forming an OSA process, may provide a cost-effective way of reducing excess sludge production during a process. The OSA process was evaluated for its sludge reduction ability by kinetic parameter and mass balance, with an observed excess sludge reduction of 63.5%, as $P_{X.VSS}$, compared with the conventional activated sludge process.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.63-73
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• 2019

This study suggests a method for calculating the benefits of water pipe renewal based on an estimate of the water supply suspension risk. The proposed method based on five benefit items is more direct and specific than other benefit estimation methods. In addition, a methodology evaluating the economics of pipe renewal based on pipe failure rate is proposed for estimating the optimal renewal point from an economic perspective. By estimating the optimal renewal period based on a yearly benefit cost ratio per pipe in a case study area, it was possible to draft an optimal renewal plan for the subject region from an economic perspective. Compared with other methodologies, a reasonable optimal renewal period was derived from an economic point of view. The result of this study may be used to develop future water pipe renewal plans. Moreover, the proposed methodologies and results derived from this study can be applied to asset management plans.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.31-41
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• 2022

As the environmental impacts of fossil fuel energy sources increase, the South Korean government has tried to change non-environmental-friendly enery sources to environmental-friendly energy sources in order to mitigate environmental effects, which lead to global warming and air pollution. With both a limited budget and limited time, it is essential to accurately evaluate the economic and environmental effects of renewable energy projects for the efficient and effective operation of renewable energy plants. Although the traditional economic evaluation methods are not ideal for evaluating the economic impacts of renewable energy projects, they can still be used for this purpose. Renewable energy projects involve many risks due to various uncertainties. For this reason, this study utilizes a real option method, the Geske compound model, to evaluate the renewable energy projects on Jeju Island in terms of economic and environmental values. This study has developed an economic evaluation model based on the Geske compound model to investigate the influences of flexibility and uncertainty factors on the evaluation process. This study further conducts a sensitivity analysis to examine how two uncertainty factors (namely, investment cost and wind energy production) influence the economic and environmental value of renewable energy projects.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.11-23
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• 2023

In Korea, open burning of agricultural residues is prevalent due to inadequate collection systems, which have caused environmental impacts such as GHGs and particulates. This illegal treatment of agricultural residues also results in economic loss, considering that agricultural residues can be utilized as resources such as pellets and energy sources. To understand the effect of avoiding open burning, this study evaluated the economic, environmental, and social effects of two alternative management options for agricultural residues: incineration and pelletizing. The study estimates the potential amount and dry weight by region for 18 items, taking various factors into account. Regarding the economic aspect, pelletizing facilities in all regions in Korea create economic benefits. This study shows that most regions have an environmental advantage by pelletizing residues. However, incineration creates more environmental benefits than pelletizing in metropolitan cities with relatively low density of residues. It is expected that the environmental, economic, and social findings of this study can be used to inform policies for bioenergy as the need for agricultural residue increases.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.387-394
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• 2016

Commercial 28 algae removal technologies that have been applied in domestic rivers and lakes with green tide were investigated, analyzed and classified. The classification of algae removal technologies was based on the three criteria (i.e., principle, flow rate of water body, and application period). Also, algae removal technologies were evaluated in terms of cost effectiveness, field applicability, effect durability, and eco friendliness. From the analysis results, technologies using physical, chemical, biological, and convergent controls were 32.2%, 25%, 21.4%, and 21.4%, respectively. The 75% of technologies have been applied to stagnant water body (${\leq}0.2m/s$). Also, algae harvesting ship with dissolved air flotation, conveyor belt and filtration processes and natural floating coagulant were found to have better field applicability, compared to other technologies. However, proper algae removal technology in specific rivers and lakes should be chosen after the evaluation of long-term pilot scale field test. Also, development of energy and resource recovery technologies from algae biomass is warranted.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.85-93
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• 2024

The monitoring of environmental information (e.g. noise, dust, vibration, temperature, humidity) is crucial to the safe and sustainable operation of a construction site. However, commercial sensors exhibit certain drawbacks when applied on-site. First, the installation cost is prohibitively high. Second, these sensors have been engineered without considering the rugged and harsh conditions of a construction site, resulting in error-prone sensing. Third, construction sites are compelled to allocate additional resources in terms of manpower, expenses, and physical spaces to accommodate individual sensors. This research developed an integrated sensing module to measure the environmental information in construction site. The sensing module slashes the installation cost to 3.3%, is robust enough to harsh and outdoor sites, and consolidates multiple sensors into a single unit. The sensing module also supports GPS, LTE, and real-time sensing. The evaluation showed remarkable results including 97.5% accuracy and 99.9% precision in noise measurement, an 89.7% accuracy in dust measurement, and a 93.5% reliability in data transmission. This research empowers the collection of substantial volumes and high-quality environmental data from construction sites, providing invaluable support to decision-making process. These encompass objective regulatory compliance checking, simulations of environmental data dispersion, and the development of environmental mitigation strategies.