• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.38-48
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• 2004

Natural attenuation of petroleum hydrocarbon was investigated at an industrial complex about 45 Km away from Seoul. The three-years monitoring results indicated that the concentrations of DO, nitrate, and sulfate in the contaminated area were significantly lower than the background monitoring groundwater under the non-contaminated area. The results also showed a higher ferrous iron concentration, a lower redox potential, and a higher (neutral) pH in the contaminated groundwater, suggesting that biodegradation of TEX(Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene) is the major on-going process in the contaminated area. Groundwater in the contaminated area is anaerobic, and sulfate reduction is the dominant terminal electron accepting process in the area. The total attenuation rate was about 0.0017∼0.0224day$^{-1}$ and the estimated first-order degradation rate constant(λ) was 0.0008∼0.0106day$^{-1}$ . However, the reduction of TEX concentration in the groundwater was resulted from not only biodegradation but also dilution and reaeration through recharge of uncotaminated surface and groundwater. The natural attenuation was, therefore, found to be an effective, on-going remedial process at the site.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.7-14
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• 2013

The objectives of this study were to identify the characteristics of groundwater in the petroleum contaminated site and to evaluate the applicability of house-type landfarm facilities heated with briquette stoves in winter season. The six monitoring wells were installed at the site where pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature were all measured. Also groundwater contaminants, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and total petroleum hydrocarbon, were analyzed twice. House-type two landfarm facilities ($12m{\times}40m{\times}4.8m$) each installed with four briquette stoves were constructed. During four rounds treatment process, VOCs, moisture, temperature were monitored and soil contaminants were analyzed. The pH was 6.37 and considered subacid and DO was measured to be 3.12 mg/L. The temperature of groundwater was measured to be $9.48^{\circ}C$. The groundwater contaminants were detected only in the monitoring wells within the contaminated area or close to it showing that the groundwater contaminated area was similar to the soil contaminated area. During the landfarm process, 73.3% of VOCs concentration in interior gas was decreased and moisture was lowered from 17.7% to 13.4%. In the morning, at 8:00 am, the temperature was decreased showing soil ($5.5^{\circ}C$) > interior ($4.8^{\circ}C$) > exterior ($3.5^{\circ}C$). In the afternoon, at 2:00 pm, the temperature was soil ($8.6^{\circ}C$) < interior ($9.9^{\circ}C$) < exterior ($11.5^{\circ}C$) with solar radiation. The temperature difference between interior and exterior was $0.7^{\circ}C$ in the morning, but it was $1.6^{\circ}C$ in the afternoon. A total of 130 days were taken for four round landfarm processes. Each process was completed within 33 days showing 80% of cleanup efficiency ($1^{st}$ order dissipation rate(k) = 0.1771).

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.191-204
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• 2005

Building and furnishing materials and consumer product are important sources of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) and other aldehydes in the indoor environment. Some available evidence indicates that VOCs can cause adverse health effects to the building occupants and contribute to some of the symptoms of what we call, 'Sick House Syndrome' in Korea. The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of emission system and to investigate comparison of the emission characteristics of different building materials such as wall-papers, paints, and adhesives. The emission of VOCs from building materials were determined in the small chambers defining the temperature, relative humidity, and ventilation rate in this study. VOCs were sampled for 20 minutes using Tenax-TA tubes and analysed by GC-MS with thermal desorption. The stability of conditions for temperature and relative humidity in this small chamber system showed that the fluctuation of temperature was between 25.4$\pm$0.3$^{\circ}C$ and that of relative humidity was 50.2$\pm$0.6$\%$ under the airflow rate of 167 mL/min. The emission tests from building materials resulted in TVOC emission rates of 0.011 $\~$ 3.108 mg/m$^{2}$h after 7 days. The general wall-papers emitted toluene abundantly and the natural wall-papers mainly emitted n-butanol and a minor amount of alkanes compound such as n -tetradecane. The remainder consisted of toluene, m,p -xylene, and styrene. The paints mainly emitted toluene and the adhesives mainly emitted chloroform as well as toluene. As a result, this study is expected to suggest meaningful data for future studies in exposure control through selecting healthy building materials and for the establishment of guidelines for various building materials in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.56-75
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• 2018

Korean Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) have been established since the late 2001 to monitor ambient air concentrations of VOC species, which would enhance understanding photo-chemical formation of ozone and subsequently contribute to developing efficient ozone control strategies. The present study aims at identifying major VOC species and examining their trends by analyzing PAMS monitoring data collected from the year 2006 to 2016. All the 18 PAMS sites operated by the Ministry of Environment were included in the study. PAMS monitored the 56 target VOC species, which are classified into four groups, alkenes, lower alkanes ($C{\leq}3$), higher alkanes ($C{\geq}4$), aromatics. The higher alkanes and aromatics dominated over the lower alkanes and alkenes in the type 2 and 3 PAMS sites except Joongheung site. N-butane was a major alkane species, toluene was a major aromatic species and most of VOCs showed decreasing trends in these sites. On the other hand, only the alkenes showed decreasing trends at the Joongheung site in Yeosu. Major sources of abundant species such as ethane, propane, n-butane, toluene were estimated by analyzing seasonal variations, correlation with other VOC species, and emission profiles. A major source of n-butane was identified as LPG cars, while major sources of toluene varied considerably from one site to another. The lower alkanes were composed of ethane and propane, both of which showed a strong seasonal variation, low in the summer and high in the winter, indicating that a major source might be the heating by gaseous fuels. Ozone formation potentials of VOC species were evaluated by applying MIR and POCP to the measured VOC species concentrations. Toluene contributed the most to total ozone forming potentials followed by m,p-xylene for all the type 2 and 3 PAMS sites except for two sites in Yeosu-Gwangyang. Ethylene and propylene were the first and second contributors to total ozone forming potentials at Joongheung site in Yeosu.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 2019

Background: Emerging reports suggest the potential for adverse health effects from exposure to emissions from some additive manufacturing (AM) processes. There is a paucity of real-world data on emissions from AM machines in industrial workplaces and personal exposures among AM operators. Methods: Airborne particle and organic chemical emissions and personal exposures were characterized using real-time and time-integrated sampling techniques in four manufacturing facilities using industrial-scale material extrusion and material jetting AM processes. Results: Using a condensation nuclei counter, number-based particle emission rates (ERs) (number/min) from material extrusion AM machines ranged from $4.1{\times}10^{10}$ (Ultem filament) to $2.2{\times}10^{11}$ [acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polycarbonate filaments). For these same machines, total volatile organic compound ERs (${\mu}g/min$) ranged from $1.9{\times}10^4$ (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polycarbonate) to $9.4{\times}10^4$ (Ultem). For the material jetting machines, the number-based particle ER was higher when the lid was open ($2.3{\times}10^{10}number/min$) than when the lid was closed ($1.5-5.5{\times}10^9number/min$); total volatile organic compound ERs were similar regardless of the lid position. Low levels of acetone, benzene, toluene, and m,p-xylene were common to both AM processes. Carbonyl compounds were detected; however, none were specifically attributed to the AM processes. Personal exposures to metals (aluminum and iron) and eight volatile organic compounds were all below National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-recommended exposure levels. Conclusion: Industrial-scale AM machines using thermoplastics and resins released particles and organic vapors into workplace air. More research is needed to understand factors influencing real-world industrial-scale AM process emissions and exposures.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.228-240
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• 2021

The organic solvent robust polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes were prepared as organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membrane for the recycling of alcoholic solvents using non-solvent induced phase separation with different dope solution concentration and coagulant composition of water/ethanol mixtures to control the membrane morphology and permeation performance. Investigation on crosslinking of polybenzimidazole indicated that the membrane crosslinked with dibromoxylene (DBX) had enough mechanical strength and solvent resistance to be applied as a OSN membranes. The crosslinked PBI membrane prepared by more than 20wt% dope concentration coagulated in water showed a rejection of > 90% to Congo Red (MW of 696.66 g/mol) while pure ethanol permeances was more than 22.5 LMH/bar at 5 bar. Investigation on coagulant composition indicated that ethanol permeance through crosslinked PBI OSN membrane increased with increasing of ethanol concentration in water/ethanol mixture coagulants.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2024

In this study, vinyl waste, which is the cause of environmental pollution, is recycled via an electrospinning method and applied as a separator that can be employed for energy storage devices. In detail, vinyl wastes are dissolved in a solution containing p-xylene and cyclohexanone, followed by electrospinning to obtain a vinyl waste-derived separator(VWS), and then the hydrophilic functional groups on the surface of VWS are introduced using a plasma treatment to improve wettability. Scanning electron microscopy analysis have verified that the shape and thickness of as-spun VWS vary depending on the concentration of vinyl waste. The surface hydrophility of VWS is modified by plasma treatment with applied powers ranging from 80 to 120W. The lowest contact angle is observed when the 100W power is applied to VWS(VWS-100W). In electrochemical analysis, the VWS-100W-based supercapacitor device shows the highest specific capacitance of 57.9 F g^-1. This is ascribed to the high porosity achieved by electrospinning as well as the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups by the oxygen plasma treatment. In conclusion, vinyl waste is successfully recycled into separators for energy storage devices, suggesting a new way to reduce environmental pollution.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.156-161
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• 2020

Since industrialization, the production and utilization of various chemicals has contributed to improving the quality of our lives, but the subsequent discharge of massive waste is inevitable, and environmental pollution is becoming more serious every day. Exposure to chemicals as a result of environmental pollution is having a negative effect on human health and the ecosystem, and cleaning up the polluted environment that can affect our lives is a very important issue. Toxic aromatic compounds have been detected frequently in soil, groundwater, and wastewater because of the extensive use of oil products, and phenol, which is used to produce synthetic resins, textiles, and dyes, is one of the major pollutants, along with insecticides and preservatives. Phenol can cause dyspnea, headache, vomiting, mutation, and carcinogenesis. Phenol-degrading bacterium DWB-1-8 was isolated from the activated sludge of textile wastewater; this strain was identified as Comamonas testosteroni by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The optimal culture conditions for the cell growth and degradation of phenol were 0.7% K₂HPO₄, 0.6% NaH₂PO₄, 0.1% NH₄NO₃, 0.015% MgSO₄·7H₂O, 0.001% FeSO₄·7H₂O, an initial pH of 7, and a temperature of 30℃. The strain was also able to grow by using other toxic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, or xylene (BTX), as the sole source of carbon.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.136-146
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• 2023

Biological materials, such as stuffed specimens, can release various acids or volatiles. There has been no research carried out on the emission characteristics of organic compounds generated from the preservatives used in taxidermy specimens or associated manufacturing materials and methods. Therefore, in order to identify the organic compounds generated from taxidermy specimens, a degradation experiment was conducted on specimens for each material and for storage specimens. To produce Ogye chicken specimens, naphthalene and borax were used as preservatives, and planer sawdust, newspaper, and polystyrene foam were used as the core body materials. The deterioration experiment was conducted for 2 weeks in a high-temperature environment(50℃) and a high-humidity environment (95%), with an Ogye chicken specimen (year 2015) kept in an animal storage facility. Results indicated that the concentration of organic compounds generated by the specimen in the high-temperature environment tended to be greater than that in the high-humidity environment. The preservatives benzene, toluene, xylene, and p-dichlorobenzene were detected in the specimens using naphthalene, confirming that naphthalene is a major organic compound release factor, and the specimens that used sawdust, newspaper, and polystyrene foam also exhibited organic compounds. This appears to have been due to degradation of the material. In addition, ammonia was detected in the specimens for each material due to decay. In particular, the specimens using borax at high temperature were subject to approximately 9 times higher rates of ammonia-related deterioration than the specimens using naphthalene. These results can be considered to result from the prevention of biological damage through insecticidal effects by accelerating the sublimation of naphthalene in a high-temperature environment. Naphthalene is a potentially carcinogenic substance, and when used as a preservative, proper use management is required. Taxidermy specimens can release various organic compounds depending on the manufacturing techniques used, so a systematic preservation management plan is required that depends on conditions such as the applicable manufacturing materials and preservatives.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.154-161
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• 1998

To investigate whether the introduced genetic marker is useful to detect the survivalship and activity of the natural bacteria under the stressed conditions, one Gram-negative isolate, KP964 was transformed to the luminous phenotype by transferring luxAB gene. Under the starvation-stress this luminous bacterial culturability (determined by colony-forming-units [CFU] on agar plate) decreased rapidly below the detection limit by 37 days, while its total cell number (determined by AODC) remained almost the same as its initial inocular size. At that time period, the viable cell number was estimated to be 1400 times higher than its CFU number. The bioiuminescence (determined by relative light units [RLU]) produced under the same condition was also monitored and found to decrease more rapidly than the culturability by 5-fold. Under the other stresses, e.g., osmotic shocks, acid shock, and exposure to toxic chemicals, this bacterial strain did not show the reliable correlation between CFU and RLU. These results might not suggest the direct estimation of bioiuminescence from the stressed bacteria be an index of both the survivalship and its activity. However, when the stressed bacterial cells were incubated under the favorable condition by relieving from the existing stress, the potential bioiuminescence (the lag periods before the increase of bioiuminescence, the increase rates of bioiuminescence, and the maximal levels of bioiuminescence) was shown to be highly dependent upon the strengths of the stresses exposed to the bacterial cells. Therefore, analysis of the potential bioiuminescence from the stressed bacteria revealed good relationships with survival as well as activity.