• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.409-425
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• 2021

Carbon dioxide has been known to be a typical greenhouse gas causing global warming, and a number of efforts have been proposed to reduce its concentration in the atmosphere. Among them, carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) has been taken into great account to accomplish the target reduction of carbon dioxide. In order to commercialize the CCS, its safety should be secured. In particular, if the stored carbon dioxide is leaked in the arable land, serious problems could come up in terms of crop growth. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of carbon dioxide leaked from storage sites on soil fertility. The leakage of carbon dioxide was simulated using the facility of its artificial injection into soils in the laboratory. Several soil chemical properties, such as pH, cation exchange capacity, electrical conductivity, the concentrations of exchangeable cations, nitrogen (N) (total-N, nitrate-N, and ammonia-N), phosphorus (P) (total-P and available-P), sulfur (S) (total-S and available-S), available-boron (B), and the contents of soil organic matter, were monitored as indicators of soil fertility during the period of artificial injection of carbon dioxide. Two kinds of soils, such as non-cultivated and cultivated soils, were compared in the artificial injection tests, and the latter included maize- and soybean-cultivated soils. The non-cultivated soil (NCS) was sandy soil of 42.6% porosity, the maize-cultivated soil (MCS) and soybean-cultivated soil (SCS) were loamy sand having 46.8% and 48.0% of porosities, respectively. The artificial injection facility had six columns: one was for the control without carbon dioxide injection, and the other five columns were used for the injections tests. Total injection periods for NCS and MCS/SCS were 60 and 70 days, respectively, and artificial rainfall events were simulated using one pore volume after the 12-day injection for the NCS and the 14-day injection for the MCS/SCS. After each rainfall event, the soil fertility indicators were measured for soil and leachate solution, and they were compared before and after the injection of carbon dioxide. The results indicate that the residual concentrations of exchangeable cations, total-N, total-P, the content of soil organic matter, and electrical conductivity were not likely to be affected by the injection of carbon dioxide. However, the residual concentrations of nitrate-N, ammonia-N, available-P, available-S, and available-B tended to decrease after the carbon dioxide injection, indicating that soil fertility might be reduced. Meanwhile, soil pH did not seem to be influenced due to the buffering capacity of soils, but it is speculated that a long-term leakage of carbon dioxide might bring about soil acidification.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2022

CuCl₂-loaded V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂ catalyst showed excellent activity in the catalytic oxidation of elemental mercury to oxidized mercury even under SCR condition in the presence of NH₃, which is well known to significantly inhibit the oxidation activity of elemental mercury by HCl. Moreover, it was confirmed that, when SO₂ was present in the reaction gas together with HCl, excellent elemental mercury oxidation activity was maintained even though CuCl₂ supported on the catalyst surface was converted to CuSO₄. This is thought to be because not only HCl but also the SO₄ component generated on the catalyst surface promotes the oxidation of elemental mercury. However, in the presence of SO₂, the total mercury balance before and after the catalytic reaction was not matched, especially as the concentration of SO₂ increased. In order to understand the cause of this, further studies are needed to investigate the effect of SO₂ in the SnCl₂ aqueous solution employed for mercury species analysis and the effect of sulfate ions generated on elemental mercury oxidation. It was confirmed that SO₂ also promotes NO_x removal activity, which is thought to be because the increase in acid sites by SO₄ generated on the catalyst surface by SO₂ facilitates NH₃ adsorption. The composition change and structure of the components present on the catalyst surface under various reaction conditions were measured by XRD and XRF. These measurement results were presented as a rational explanation for the results that SO₂ enhances the oxidation activity of elemental mercury and the NO_x removal activity in this catalyst system.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.183-193
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• 2022

The growth inhibitory effect of Microcystis aeruginosa according to the ultrasonic irradiation time was evaluated using a large algae sample volume (10 L) for various ultrasonic irradiation times (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 hr) at a laboratory scale. Based on the analysis of Chl-a and cell number of M. aerginosa, algae growth inhibition was observed with the decrease in Chl-a and cell number in all experimental groups after the ultrasonic irradiation. For the experimental group (T_B, T_C, T_D) with an ultrasonic irradiation time of less than 2 hours, rapid regrowth of algae was observed after growth inhibition, but the experimental group (T_E, T_F, T_G) with an irradiation time of more than 2 hours successfully inhibited algal growth lasting one or two more days. Based on the comparison of the recovery time to initial cell number the experimental group (T_B, T_C, T_D) took less than 20 days whereas the experimental group (T_E, T_F, T_G) took about 30 days. Correspondingly, the experimental group showed a high first order decay rate (𝜅) in proportion to the ultrasonic irradiation time during the growth inhibition period. Additionally, the specific growth rates (𝜇) during regrowth in the experimental group with irradiation time of more than 2 hours were relatively low compared to those in the experimental group with less than 2 hours. Therefore, ultrasonic irradiation for more than 2 hours is required for long-term (30 days) inhibition of algal growth in stagnant waters. However, the appropriate ultrasonic irradiation time for algae growth inhibition should be determined according to various field conditions such as the volume of stagnant water, water depth, flow rate, algae concentration, etc. Finally, damages to the algal cell surface and cell membrane were clearly observed, and both destruction and disturbance of gas vesicles of M. aeruginosa in the experimental group were discovered, indicating the growth inhibitory effect of Microcystis aeruginosa according to the ultrasonic irradiation time was confirmed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 2022

Excess nitrogen (N) flowing from livestock manure to water systems poses a serious threat to the natural environment. Thus, livestock wastewater management has recently drawn attention to this related field. This study first attempted to obtain the optimal conditions for the further volatilization of NH₃ gas generated from pig wastewater by adjusting the amount of injected magnesia (MgO). At 0.8 wt.% of MgO (by pig wastewater weight), the volatility rate of NH₃ increased to 75.5% after a day of aeration compared to untreated samples (pig wastewater itself). This phenomenon was attributed to increases in the pH of pig wastewater as MgO dissolved in it, increasing the volatilization efficiency of NH₃. The initial pH of pig wastewater was 8.4, and the pH was 9.2 when MgO was added up to 0.8 wt.%. Second, the residual ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) in pig wastewater was removed by precipitation in the form of struvite (NH₄MgPO₄·6H₂O) by adjusting the pH after adding MgO and H₃PO₄. Struvite produced in the pig wastewater was identified by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. White precipitates began to form at pH 6, and the higher the pH, the lower the concentration of NH₄⁺-N in pig wastewater. Of the total 86.1% of NH₄⁺-N removed, 62.4% was achieved at pH 6, which was the highest removal rate. Furthermore, how struvite changes with pH was investigated. Under conditions of pH 11 or higher, the synthesized struvite was completely decomposed. The yield of struvite in the precipitate was determined to be between 68% and 84% through a variety of analyses.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.488-497
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• 2009

In this study, analytical methodology for several organic fatty acids (OFA: propionic acid (PA), butyric acid (BA), isovaleric acid (IA), and valeric acid (VA)) designated as new offensive odorants in Korea (as of year 2010) was investigated along with some odorous VOCs (styrene, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, butyl acetate, and isobutyl alcohol). For this purpose, working standards (WS) containing all of these 13 compounds were loaded into adsorption tube filled with Tenax TA, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) system thermal desorber interfaced with. The analytical sensitivities of organic fatty acids expressed in terms of detection limit (both in absolute mass (ng) and concentration (ppb)) were lower by 1.5-2 times than other compounds (PA: 0.24 ng (0.16 ppb), BA: 0.19 ng (0.11 ppb), IA: 0.15 ng (0.07 ppb), and VA: 0.28 ng (0.13 ppb)). The precision of BA, IA, and VA, if assessed in terms of relative standard error (RSE), maintained above 5%, while the precison of other compounds were below 5%. The reproducibility of analysis improved with the aid of internal standard calibration (PA: $1.1{\pm}0.4%$, BA: $10{\pm}0.46$, IA; $12{\pm}0.3%$, VA: $4{\pm}0.1%$), respectively. The results of this study showed that organic fatty acid can be analyzed using adsorption tube and thermal desorber in a more reliable way to replace alkali absorption method introduced in the odor prevention law of the Korea Ministry of Environment (KMOE).

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2024

Zeolite template carbon (ZTC) was synthesized as an adsorbent to remove low-concentration CH₄ from the atmosphere. The synthesis of ZTC was performed using CH₄ and C₂H₂ as carbon precursors and their impact on adsorption was investigated. ZTC was also synthesized using Y zeolite ion-exchanged with CaCl₂ and LiCl as templates to investigate the effect of using metals in ion exchange. The comparison of the carbon precursors revealed that C₂H₂ had a higher carbon yield than CH₄. The synthesized ZTC exhibited developed micropores due to carbon deposition deep inside the micropores of the zeolite template. The kinetic diameter of C₂H₂ (0.33 nm) is smaller than that of CH₄ (0.38 nm), which allowed for its deposition. The study compared metal precursors used for ion exchange and confirmed that the CaCl₂-based ZTC developed more micropores compared to the LiCl-based ZTC. The ion-exchanged Ca inhibited pore blocking by the carbon precursor, allowing it to enter the pores. The ability of synthesized ZTC to adsorb N₂ and CH₄ at 298 K was investigated. The results showed that CH₄ had a higher overall adsorption amount than N₂. The sample synthesized using C₂H₂ and CaY exhibited the highest N₂ and CH₄ adsorption capacity. However, the sample synthesized with CH₄ had the highest CH₄/N₂ gas uptake ratio, which is a crucial factor in designing an adsorption process. The observed difference was likely caused by the underdevelopment of ultrafine pores that are associated with N₂ adsorption. This resulted in a reduction of N₂ adsorption, leading to an increase in CH₄/N₂ separation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.555-568
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• 1995

Background: It is most physiologic to measure the diffusing capacity of the lung by using oxygen, but it is so difficult to measure partial pressure of oxygen in the capillary blood of the lung that in clinical practice it is measured by using carbon monoxide, and single-breath diffusing capacity method is used most widely. However, since the process of withholding the breath for 10 seconds after inspiration to the total lung capacity is very hard to practice for patients who suffer from cough, dyspnea, etc, the intra-breath lung diffusing capacity method which requires a single exhalation of low-flow rate without such process was devised. In this study, we want to know whether or not there is any significant difference in the diffusing capacity of the lung measured by the single-breath and intra-breath methods, and if any, which factors have any influence. Methods: We chose randomly 73 persons without regarding specific disease, and after conducting 3 times the flow-volume curve test, we selected forced vital capacity(FVC), percent of predicted forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume within 1 second($FEV_1$), percent of forced expiratory volume within 1 second, the ratio of forced expiratory volume within 1 second against forced vital capacity($FEV_1$/FVC) in test which the sum of FVC and $FEV_1$ is biggest. We measured the diffusing capacity of the lung 3 times in each of the single-breath and intra-breath methods at intervals of 5 minutes, and we evaluated which factors have any influence on the difference of the diffusing capacity of the lung between two methods[the mean values(ml/min/mmHg) of difference between two diffusing capacity measured by two methods] by means of the linear regression method, and obtained the following results: Results: 1) Intra-test reproducibility in the single-breath and intra-breath methods was excellent. 2) There was in general a good correlation between the diffusing capacity of the lung measured by a single-breath method and that measured by the intra-breath method, but there was a significant difference between values measured by both methods($1.01{\pm}0.35ml/min/mmHg$, p<0.01) 3) The difference between the diffusing capacity of the lung measured by both methods was not correlated to FVC, but was correlated to $FEV_1$, percent of $FEV_1$, $FEV_1$/FVC and the gradient of methane concentration which is an indicator of distribution of ventilation, and it was found as a result of the multiple regression test, that the effect of $FEV_1$/FVC was most strong(r=-0.4725, p<0.01) 4) In a graphic view of the difference of diffusing capacity measured by single-breath and intra-breath method and $FEV_1$/FVC, it was found that the former was divided into two groups in section where $FEV_1$/FVC is 50~60%, and that there was no significant difference between two methods in the section where $FEV_1$/FVC is equal or more than 60% ($0.05{\pm}0.24ml/min/mmHg$, p>0.1), but there was significant difference in the section, less than 60%($-4.5{\pm}0.34ml/min/mmHg$, p<0.01). 5. The diffusing capacity of the lung measured by the single-breath and intra-breath method was the same in value($24.3{\pm}0.68ml/min/mmHg$) within the normal range(2%/L) of the methane gas gradient, and there was no difference depending on the measuring method, but if the methane concentration gradients exceed 2%/L, the diffusing capacity of the lung measured by single-breath method became $15.0{\pm}0.44ml/min/mmHg$, and that measured by intra-breath method, $11.9{\pm}0.51ml/min/mmHg$, and there was a significant difference between them(p<0.01). Conclusion: Therefore, in case where $FEV_1$/FVC was less than 60%, the diffusing capacity of the lung measured by intra-breath method represented significantly lower value than that by single-breath method, and it was presumed to be caused largely by a defect of ventilation-distribution, but the possibility could not be excluded that the diffusing capacity of the lung might be overestimated in the single-breath method, or the actual reduction of the diffusing capacity of the lung appeared more sensitively in the intra-breath method.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.472-482
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• 2003

Recent studies have demonstrated that cerebral desaturation during rewarming period of CPB was associated with postoperative neurologic dysfunction. The prevention of cerebral desaturation during CPB may reduce the incidences of neurologic and neuropsychological complications. The present study was prospectively undertaken to compare the clinical effects between two strategies (hypercapnic CPB and high flow CPB) to prevent cerebral desaturation for establishing a proper CPB technique. Material and Method: Thirty-six adult patients scheduled for elective cardiac surgery were randomized into either hypercapnic (Pa$CO_2$ 45~50mmHg, n＝18) or high flow group (flow rate 2.75 L/ $m^2$/min and Pa$CO_2$ 35~40mmHg, n＝18) during rewarming period of CPB. In each patient, middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity ( $V_{MCA}$), cerebral arteriovenous oxygen content difference (C(a-v) $O_2$), modified cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen (MCMR $O_2$), cerebral oxygen transport rate ( $T_{E}$ $O_2$), incidence of cerebral desaturation (internal jugular bulb blood oxygen saturation $\leq$ 50%), increased rate of S-100 $\beta$ concentration, and arterial and internal jugular bulb blood gas were measured during the five phases of the operation; Pre-CPB, CPB-10 min (steady-state CPB, nasopharyngeal temperature 29~3$0^{\circ}C$), Rewarm-1 (rewarming phase, nasopharyngeal temperature 33$^{\circ}C$), Rewarm-2 (nasopharyngeal temperature 37$^{\circ}C$), and CPB-off. Incidence of postoperative delirium and duration were assessed in all patients. All variables were compared between the two groups. Result: $V_{MCA}$ (157.88$\pm$10.87 vs 120.00$\pm$6.18%, p＝0.006), internal jugular bulb $O_2$ saturation (68.01$\pm$2.75 vs 61.28$\pm$2.87%, p＝0.03) and $O_2$ tension (41.01$\pm$2.25 vs 32.02$\pm$ 1,67 mmHg, p＝0.03), and $T_{E}$ $O_2$(110.84$\pm$7.41 vs 81.15$\pm$8.11%, p＝0.003) at rewarming periods were higher in the hypercapnic group than in the high flow group. C(a-v) $O_2$ (4.0$\pm$0.30 vs 4.84$\pm$0.38 mg/dL, p＝0.04), COE (0.36$\pm$0.03 vs 0.42$\pm$0.03, p＝0.04), increased rate of S- 100$\beta$ (391.67$\pm$23.40 vs 940.0$\pm$17.02%, p＝0.003), and incidence of cerebral desaturation (2 vs 4 patients, p＝0.04) at rewarming periods, and duration of postoperative delirium (18 vs 34 hr, p＝0.02) were low in the hypercapnic group compared to the high flow group. Conclusion: These results indicate that hypercapnic CPB may provide relatively diminished cerebral injury and beneficial effects for cerebral metabolism relatively compared to high flow CPB.low CPB.