• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2016

The reuse of spent coffee powder has been researched for environmental engineering applications such as adsorbents of organic/inorganic pollutants. In this study adsorption equilibrium tests and adsorption kinetics tests for the removal of aqueous organic pollutant (methylene blue) were conducted using spent coffee powder, granular activated carbon, and powdered activated carbon. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity of three adsorbents followed the order of powdered activated carbon (178.6 mg/g) > spent coffee powder (60.6 mg/g) > granular activated carbon (15.6 mg/g). The results of adsorption kinetics tests also indicated that spent coffee powder had higher kinetic parameters than granular activated carbon for pseudo 1st and 2nd order kinetics. The high performance of spent coffee powder might be due to its porous surface like those of granular and powdered activated carbons and smaller particle size comparing with granular activated carbon.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

This study was on leaching test(KSLT, TCLP) of the aggregate for the products(RA-1) and for the site(RA-2) to evaluate the characteristics of contaminants and the possibility of contamination arising from the aggregate. On the basis pH, conductivity and heavy metal contents in the aggregate, RA-1 indicated higher than RA-2. As a result of the leaching test, the pollutants were eluted from the aggregate increased as the particle size of the aggregate was smaller. The pH in the aggregate had a strong alkali by a pH value of 9.0~12.3, the conductivity was higher in less than 10mm RA-1 due to the leaching of dissolved inorganic ions. The heavy metals satisfied the leaching standards of KSLT and less 10% was eluted from the aggregate. As a result of evaluating water pollution possibility of the aggregate, the pH displayed in items with a very high possibility of contamination, conductivity and turbidity did in item with a low possibility of contamination and on the other hand the heavy metals did in item with a very low possibility of contamination.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.17-22
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• 2006

This paper presents preliminary field investigations on the electrokinetic (EK) remediation coupled with permeable reactive barrier (PRB) system. unregulated and old-fashioned landfills are one of the primary contributors to various contaminated soil problems. In-situ EK remediation technology has been successfully applied to the environs of unregulated landfill site, located in Kyeong-Ki province, Korea. Atomizing slag was adopted as a PRB reactive material for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with inorganic and/or organic substances. From the preliminary investigations, the coupled technology of EK with PRB system would be effecitve to remeidate contaminated grounds without the extraction of pollutants from subsurface due to the reactions between the reactive materials and contaminants.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.51-60
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• 1996

Removal of Mn-EDTA complex and fluoride by use of hematite and ferrite, which are the by-product to be disposed of as industrial wastes, was investigated. For the comparison of removal rate, Na-bentonite known as excellent absorbent of inorganic contaminants was included in the experiments. As the results of batch mode experiments, for manganese, ferrite-A revealed 48∼65% of removal capacity, ferrite-B 46∼57%, hematite 17∼26%, while Na-bentonite showed 10∼23% of removal, depending on the initial concentration. Meanwhile, in case of fluoride : hematite revealed 53 ∼63% of removal : ferrite-A 54∼63 %, while ferrite-B did 20∼38 %. From the results, it can be postulated that the capacity of hematite and ferrite to attenuate inorganic pollutants, especially when they form complex ions, is superior to that of Na-bentonite. Consequently, the mixing of such oxide minerals with Na-bentonite will reinforce the function of Na-bentonite, especially in the undergroud liner aspect.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.83-89
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• 2000

In general, livestock wastewater consists of many pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, carbonic compounds and inorganic substances. Most carbonic and organic compounds are sufficiently removed by conventional secondary processes, but nitrogen, phosphorus and soluble inorganic compounds are little removed by traditional clarification process. These remained substances in wastewater, for instances, phosphorus and nitrogen are efficiently eliminated by advanced wastewater treatment or botanical removing process. Concentrations of $BOD_s$, SS, T-N and T-P in influent livestock wastewater used in this study were 126mg/l, 115mg/l, 45mg/l and 13mg/l, respectively. The hydraulic retention time(HRT) of wastewater was about 10 days in the pond packed with aquatic plants. A water-hyacinth and a water-dropwort were used as an experimental stuff plant. The removal ratios of nitrogen was 44.3% for the water-hyacinth and 40.2% for the water-dropwort. The removal efficiency of phosphorus in experimental ponds reached by 57.9% for the water-hyacinth and 58.5% for the water-dropwort for 10 days, respectively. Removal ratios of BODs and SS of livestock wastewater for 10 days were reached by 80.1%, 91.0% for he water-hyacinth, respectively. At the same condition, the removal ratios of BODs and SS were reached by 75.0%, 87.6% for the water-dropwort, respectively.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

This study assessed the feasibility of iron oxide nanoparticles impregnated with biochar (INPBC), derived from woody biomass, as a stabilizing agent for the stabilization of farmland soil in the vicinity of an abandoned mine through pot experiments with 28 days of lettuce growth. The lettuce grown in the INPBC amended soils increased by more than 100% and the concentrations of inorganic elements (Cu, Ni, Zn) decreased by more than 40%. As, Cd and Pb were not transferred properly from the soils to the lettuce biomass. The bioavailability of arsenic and heavy metals in the INPBC amended soils were decreased by 26%~50%. It seems that the major mechanisms of stabilization were arsenic adsorption on iron oxides, heavy metal precipitation by soil pH increasing and heavy metal adsorption on organic matter. These results revealed that the lower bioavailability of the inorganic pollutants in the soils stabilized using INPBC induced lower transfer to the lettuce. Thus, INPBC could be used as an amendment material for the stabilization of farmland soils contaminated by arsenic and heavy metals. However, a pre-review of the chemical properties of the amended soil must be performed prior to applying INPBC in farmland soil because the concentration of the nutrients in the soil such as available phosphates and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K) could be decreased due to adsorption on the surface of the iron oxides and organic matter.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.188-198
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• 2008

Since 2003, the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) of Korea has been conducting "The monitoring study on exposure level and biomarkers of environmental pollutants" in the Ulsan industrial complex with the goals to establish a surveillance system for residents, to evaluate the health effects associated with chronic exposure to environmental pollutants and to develop the environmental health indicators in Ulsan industrial complex. This program consists of three phases an initial or foundation phase in which the program is developed, made operational and extended to the community, followed by an evaluation and accountability assessment of the surveillance system and finally an improvement in the quality of life and the maintenance of good health for Ulsan residents. In the period 2003 to 2008, the study program developed the surveillance system which will be used for the full-length survey. All participants in this study were contacted at a presentation meeting for residents, introduced to the objectives and protocols of the survey, and asked to participate. Informed consent was obtained from each participant. The study is now underway and includes questionnaires, health examinations and the analysis/collection/banking of bio-sample such as blood and urine. To date 828 subjects have participated and already 588 subjects have been followed up. We are committed to complete health examinations and to arrange storage of biosample for all participants. During the current year, we will analyze metals (Pb in blood and Cd, inorganic As and Hg in urine) in 1,972 samples and VOCs (11 species) and PARs (18 species) in 300 samples (blood sample). Moreover, the summary of the first step and the further preparation of the second step are currently underway. In this article, we introduce the study and its protocols and the distribution and size of the study participants. In conclusion, this survey will be continuously conducted on the established cohort and will enable the identification of relationship between environmental pollutant exposures and the health status of residents in Ulsan industrial complex.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.2205-2213
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• 2000

To investigate removal efficiency of dissolved matter by NF and RO, a pilot plant was operated for six months using groundwater treated by UF membrane. After the pilot plant operation, we performed autopsy test to identify characteristics of foulant attached on the membrane surface applying the used NF and RO in the pilot plant test. In autopsy test, we measured permeate flux and recovery rate of flux by chemical cleaning in each membrane. We also analyzed chemical cleaning disposal to examine component of foulant. Permeate flux of NF and RO1 showed rapid decline after 100 days of operation. Especially, reduction of specific flux in RO1 was more serious than in NF. Specific flux of RO2 with a low recovery rate resulted in gradual flux decline. Removal efficiencies of dissolved inorganic matters as a conductivity were 76.3%, 88.2% and 95.3% respectively for NF, RO1 and RO2, and RO2 presented the highest removal efficiency. And those of dissolved organic matters as TOC were about 80% for both NF and RO. The specific flux of membranes declined gradually from the feed water inlet to outlet of the membrane module and it showed that membrane fouling increased along the feed flow direction. Namely, concentration of pollutants became higher and volume of feed water was less as the feed flow approached to the outlet. It seemed that major foul ants were Ca consolidated into inorganic material and Si consolidated into organic material on the membrane surface. Fe was a great contribution to irreversible fouling. The SEM results indicated that the organic matter was attached to the first layer, closer to the membrane, and then inorganic matter with tetragonal shape layered over them. We could not observe biofouling because microorganism, which was cause of biofouling, was almost pretreated in UF membrane.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.353-362
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• 2023

TOC, which can measure more than 90% of organic substances, can be measured quickly and easily,replacing BOD and COD, which were indicators of organic pollutants. According to water quality pollution control standards, when measuring TOC, if the inorganic carbon ratio in the sample is over 50%, the NPOC (Non-Purgeable Organic Carbon) method should be used. If volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present at a certain concentration, the TC-IC (subtracting inorganic carbon from total carbon) method should be used. To validate the limitations of these analytical conditions, experiments were conducted by varying the ratio of TOC to IC in purified water and measuring the concentration of TOC in test solutions. The results showed no significant difference between the TC-IC method and the NPOC method. When measuring samples with added VOC standard solutions, it was observed that the carbon loss due to purging was not significant when using the NPOC method. Therefore, it is concluded that the choice of analytical method does not lead to significant differences when VOCs are present in the sample. To account for potential variations in results based on water quality pollution control standards and regulations regarding the approval and testing of environmental measurement devices, a comparison of field sample concentration values was made using two widely used types of TOC analyzers in Korea. The results showed variations of 0.02 to 0.83 mg/L between methods depending on the manufacturer, highlighting the need for caution when selecting an instrument.

• Carbon letters
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2013

Physically and chemically activated carbons (ACs) exhibited high adsorption capacities for organic and inorganic pollutants compared with other adsorbents due to their expanded surface areas and wide pore volume distribution. In this work, seven steam-ACs with different burn-off have been prepared from cotton stalks. The textural properties of these sorbents were determined using nitrogen adsorption at $-196^{\circ}C$. The chemistry of the surface of the present sorbents was characterized by determining the surface functional C-O groups using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, surface pH, $pH_{pzc}$, and Boehm's acid-base neutralization method. The textural properties and the morphology of the sorbent surface depend on the percentage of burn-off. The surface acidity and surface basicity are related to the burn-off percentage. A theoretical model was developed to find a mathematical expression that relates the % burn-off to ash content, surface area, and mean pore radius. Also, the chemistry of the carbon surface is related to the % burn-off. A mathematical expression was proposed where % burn-off was taken as an independent factor and the other variable as a dependent factor. This expression allows the choice of the value of % burn-off with required steam-AC properties.