• Membrane Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.252-258
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• 2006

A numerical analysis was performed for a separation process of carbon dioxide from a flue gas stream using polyethersulfone hollow fiber membranes. Countercurrent flow governing equations were regarded to be two point boundary-value problem and the nonlinear ordinary differential equation were simultaneously solved using the finite- difference method. A computer program was developed using the Compaq Visual Fortran 6.6 software. The carbon dioxide permeate driving force and the fred gas residence time at the inside of membrane were found to be very important factors affecting the permeation characteristics of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide concentration in the permeate and the flow rate of the permeate were found to be slightly larger by a few percent with a countercurrent flow analysis than those with a cocurrent flow analysis.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.157-171
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• 2019

The fracturing by liquid carbon dioxide ($LCO_2$) as a fracking fluid has been an alternative to mitigate the environmental issues often caused by the conventional hydraulic fracking since it facilitates the fluid permeation owing to its low viscosity. This study presents how $LCO_2$ injection influences the breakdown pressure, acoustic emission, and fracture morphology. Three fracturing fluids such as $LCO_2$, water, and oil are injected with different pressurization rate to the synthetic and porous mortar specimens. Also, the shale which has been a major target formation in conventional fracking practices is also tested to examine the failure characteristics. The results show that $LCO_2$ injection induces more tortuous and undulated fractures, and particularly the larger fractures are developed in cases of shale specimen. On the other hand, the relationship between the fracturing fluids and the breakdown pressure shows opposite tendency in the tests of mortar and shale specimens.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.287-298
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• 2019

Lotus leaf has a special dual micro and nano surface structure which gives its highly hydrophobic surface characteristics and so-called self cleaning effect. In order to endow PVDF hollow fiber membrane with this special structure and improve the hydrophobicity of membrane surface, PVDF hollow fiber composite membranes was obtained through the immersion coating of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) dilute solution on the outside surface of PVDF support membrane. The prepared PVDF composite membranes were used in the vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) for the desalination. The effects of PVDF-HFP dilute solution concentration in the dope solution and coating time on VMD separation performance was studied. Membranes were characterized by SEM, WCA measurement, porosity, and liquid entry pressure of water. VMD test was carried out using $35g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ NaCl aqueous solution as the feed solution at feed temperature of $30^{\circ}C$ and the permeate pressure of 31.3 kPa. The vapour flux reached a maximum when PVDF-HFP concentration in the dilute solution was 5 wt% and the coating time was kept in the range of 10-60 s. This was attributed to the well configuration of micro-nano rods which was similar with the dual micro-nano structure on the lotus leaf. Compared with the original PVDF membrane, the salt rejection can be well maintained which was greater than 99.99 % meanwhile permeation water conductivity was kept at a low value of $7-9{\mu}S{\cdot}cm^{-1}$ during the continuous testing for 360 h.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.456-470
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• 2021

In this study, polyetherimide-based hollow fiber membranes were manufactured using the NIPS (nonsolvent induced phase separation) method. THF, Ethanol, and LiNO₃ were used as additives to control the morphology of the PEI-hollow fiber membranes. Furthermore, for the development of a high hydrogen separation membrane, the spinning conditions were optimized through the characterization of SEM and gas permeance. As a result, as the content of THF increased, the hydrogen/carbon dioxide selectivity increased. However, the permeance decreased due to the trade-off relationship. When ethanol was added, a finger-like structure was shown, and when LiNO₃ was added, a sponge structure was shown. In particular, in the case of a hollow fiber membrane with an optimized PDMS coating layer, the permeance was 40 GPU and the hydrogen/carbon dioxide selectivity was 5.6.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.209-218
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• 2022

Recently, research on the development of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) has received considerable attention from the scientific community around the world. Here, we fabricated a series of AEMs with branched structures with different alkyl spacers and conducted comparative evaluations. The introduction of these branched structures is an attempt to overcome the low ionic conductivity and stability problems that AEMs are currently facing. To this end, branched polymers with different spacer lengths were synthesized and properties of each membrane prepared according to the branched structure were compared. The chemical structure of the polymer was investigated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, and gel permeation chromatography, and the thermal properties were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. The branched anion exchange membrane with (CH₂)₃ and (CH₂)₆ spacers exhibited ionic conductivities of 8.9 mS cm^-1 and 22 mS cm^-1 at 90℃, respectively. This means that the length of the spacer affects the ionic conductivity. Therefore, this study showing the effect of the spacer length on the ionic conductivity of the membrane in the polymer structure constituting the ion exchange membrane is judged to be very useful for future application studies of AEM fuel cells.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2022

Background: Plant vegetation appears in heterogeneous and patchy forms in arid and semi-arid regions. In these regions, underneath the plant patches and the empty spaces between them are covered by biological soil crusts (moss, lichen, cyanobacteria, and fungi). Biological soil crusts lead to the formation and development of fertile islands in between vegetation patches via nitrogen and carbon fixation and the permeation of runoff water and nutrients in the soil. Results: The present study has investigated the association of biological soil crusts, the development of fertile islands, and the formation of plant patches in part of the Takht-e Soltan protected area, located in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. Three sites were randomly selected as the working units and differentiated based on their geomorphological characteristics to the alluvial fan, hillslope, and fluvial terrace landforms. Two-step systematic random sampling was conducted along a 100-meter transect using a 5 m² plot at a 0-5 cm depth in three repetitions. Fifteen samplings were carried out at each site with a total of 45 samples taken. The results showed that the difference in altitude has a significant relationship with species diversity and decreases with decreasing altitude. Results have revealed that the moisture content of the site, with biocrust has had a considerable increase compared to the other sites, helping to form vegetation patterns and fertile islands. Conclusions: The findings indicated that biological crusts had impacted the allocation of soil parameters. They affect the formation of plant patches by increasing the soil's organic carbon, nitrogen, moisture and nutrient content provide a suitable space for plant growth by increasing the soil fertility in the inter-patch space.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.8 no.1 s.27
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• pp.1-13
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• 2006

This paper is one of the studies for developing new methodologies for improving performance of hot-mix recycled asphalt mixtures. The objective of this study is to evaluate rut-resistance characteristics of recycled asphalt mixture which was prepared by newly developed mixing method. The new mixing method provided more sufficient rejuvenation of old binder of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), making homogeneous binder viscosity level in a recycled mixture. Two aggregates (gneiss and granite), two RAP contents (15% and 30%) and two contents (none and 6%) of polymer modifier (LDPE) were used. Recycled mixture was prepared with two methods; method A and method F. To examine difference of binder oxidation level by type of material within a recycled mixture, Gel-permeation chromatography(GPC) analysis was performed on the binders mixed with coarse aggregates and matrix separately. Laboratory tests were performed for evaluation of rut resistance characteristics of each recycled mixture and these includes wheel tracking (WT) test and Kim test. Rut depth and dynamic stability were obtained from WT test and deformation strength $(S_D)$ was obtained from Kim test. The results of regression analysis was shown that correlation $(R^2)$ of F mixing mixtures was higher than one of A mixing mixtures. Therefore, F mixing mixtures showed more consistent rut resistance than h mixing mixtures.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.478-485
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• 2012

Polymers are widely used as membrane material for performing the separation of various gaseous mixtures due to their attractive permselective properties and high processability. The separation characteristics of $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ mixed gas using polyamide composite membrane has been studied in this work. The sample gas was prepared by mixing pure methane and carbon dioxide. Permeation tests were carried out at different operation conditions. Feed flow rates were varied between 800~1000 $cm^3/min$, and the stage cuts were varied between 50~60%. The gas inlet pressure and the temperature were varied as 6 bar and $30{\sim}70^{\circ}C$, respectively. The effects of the above mentioned parameters were investigated to estimate the permeability of $CH_4$ and $CO_2$, and the selectivity of $CO_2$ was also calculated for all conditions. The Arrhenius plots were also performed to obtaine the activation energies of $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ permeabilities.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.534-538
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• 2017

In this study, the molecular weight controlled pitches derived from pyrolyzed fuel oil (PFO) were prepared using solvent extraction and were carbonized. Electrochemical characteristics of lithium battery anode materials were investigated using these petroleum pitches. Three pitch samples prepared by the thermal reaction were 3903 (at $390^{\circ}C$ for 3 h), 4001 (at $400^{\circ}C$ for 1 h) and 4002 (at $400^{\circ}C$ for 2 h). The prepared hexane insoluble pitches were analysed by XRD, TGA, SEM and Gel permeation Chromatography (GPC). The electrochemical characteristics of the PFO-derived pitch as an anode material were investigated by constant current charge/discharge, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance tests. The coin cell using pitch (4001) and the electrolyte of $LiPF_6$ in organic solvents (EC : DMC = 1 : 1 vol%, VC 3 wt%) has better initial capacity (310 mAh/g) than that of other pitch coin cells. Also, this carbon anode showd a high initial efficiency of 82%, retention rate capability at 2 C/0.1 C of 90% and cycle retention of 85%. It was found that modified pitches improved the cycling and rate capacity performance.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2024

Smilax china is known for its excellent antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. As a foundational study for applying the functionality of Smilax china extracts to cosmetics, it is necessory to investigate the concentration-dependent skin permation characteristics of the flavonoids in the extract, namely quercetin, catechin, and naringenin. Therefore, it serves as a crucial method for conducting this basic research on the functional aspects fo Smilax china extracts for cosmetic applications. This investigation focused on examining the percutaneous permeability characteristics of flavonoids originating from Smilax china. Applying Marzulli's definition, the Kp value of quercetin was categorized as "fast" at 0.1 mg/mL and "moderate" at 0.2 and 0.4 mg/mL. Notably, the permeation rate exhibited a decline with increasing concentration. For naringenin, Flux values were 0.69, 1.07, and 1.42 ㎍/hr/cm² at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/mL, respectively, with corresponding Kp values of 6.95, 5.34, and 3.56. Naringenin's Kp value fell into the "moderate" category across all concentrations, and as observed with quercetin, the permeation rate decreased with higher concentrations. Likewise, for catechin, Flux values were 0.75, 1.09, and 1.66 ㎍/hr/cm², and corresponding Kp values were 7.55, 5.46, and 4.16. Catechin's Kp value was consistently classified as "moderate" across all concentrations. The efficacy of quercetin, catechin, and naringenin, active ingredients in high-performance and anti-inflammatory Smilax china extracts, was found to exhibit skin penetration properties above the average. This confirms their suitability as excellent natural materials for use in functional cosmetics, given their outstanding capabilities in preventing acne and reducing inflammation.