• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.673-678
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• 2009

High-rate phosphorous removal by PAC (poly aluminum chloride) coagulation of A2O effluent was investigate to meet the stringent requirement of wastewater discharge from municipal wastewater treatment plant. A series of jar tests were conducted to find optimum coagulation condition and to enhance removal efficiency. The optimum volumetric concentration of PAC was 30 ppm (2.81mol Al/mol P by mol ratio). Only 17.2% of soluble P was removed for 30 minutes' settling without PAC addition, while this increased to 30.3% by dosing 10ppm PAC. It even increased conspicuously from 49.3% to 88.4% by increasing PAC dose from 20 ppm to 30 ppm. 92.4% of total P was removed by 30 ppm PAC, and the effluent concentration (0.3 mg/L) was acceptable for discharge. The optimum value of coagulation time, settling time, and pH were 4minutes, 20 minutes, and 7.0, respectively. It was not necessary to control pH of raw sample whose pH was 7.0. Soluble P removal was remarkably enhanced at pH 7.0. This implied that sweep floc formation by $Al(OH)_3$ was the main mechanism of coagulation for soluble P removal. Influent and effluent of secondary clarifier were tested for coagulation, and the effluent was better for high-rate P removal. It resulted in 0.18 mg/L of P and 95.4% of P removal by coagulation. It was favorable to recycle the treated water to coagulation tank and the optimum recycle ratio was 0.3.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.1654-1660
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• 2009

Two different cutting-oils from H and B companies which are sold as an eco-friendly cutting-oils were selected and the biodegradability of these commercially available cutting-oils was evaluated by the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) processes. The cutting-oil wastes ($H_1$) pre-treated by coagulation/flocculation was used as an influent to SBR. When the F/M ratio was operated 0.04 to 0.08kgCOD/kgMLSS d, removals of $BOD_5$and $COD_{Cr}$were above 97% and 91%, respectively. T-N and T-P removals were above 76% and 81%, respectively. If the diluted cutting-oil wastes ($B_1$) was used as an influent of the SBR, $COD_{Cr}$removals were above 77% at the F/M ratio of 0.01-0.02kgCOD/kgMLSS d. After the cutting-oil wastes was treated by coagulation/ flocculation ($B_2$), $COD_{Cr}$removals was above 85%. If the pre-treated cutting-oil wastes were mixed with a synthetic wastewater ($B_3$) and fed into the SBR in order to mimic the real wastewater treatment plant situation, $BOD_5$and $COD_{Cr}$removals were above 97%, 91%, respectively. T-N and T-P removals were above 79% and 76%. The ratio between $BOD_5$and $COD_{Cr}$, ($COD_{Cr}$-$BOD_5$)/$COD_{Cr}$, indicating the biodegradability of effluent of the SBR, was calculated to 85% and 61%. This means that significant amounts of non-readily-biodegradable organic compounds in the effluent of $H_1$, $B_3$are still present.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.241-250
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• 2009

During the past few years, titanium salts were investigated as alternative coagulants for the removal of organic matter of different molecular sizes in contaminated water. The flocculation efficiency of Ti-salt was comparable to those of $FeCl_3$ and $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ salts, commonly used coagulants. Incinerated sludge-$TiO_2$ showed higher surface area and photocatalytic activity than commercially available $TiO_2$. Metal-doped forms were produced by adding coagulant aids such as iron (Fe-), aluminium (Al-) and (Ca-) calcium salts during Ti-salt flocculation to increase pH. Ca- and Al- doped $TiO_2$ showed very high photocatalytic activity compared to Fe-doped $TiO_2$. When tested in a pilot scale plant for treatment of dye wastewater to check practical feasibility of the novel process, the removal ratio of the chemical oxygen demand was comparable to those of commonly used coagulants but the settling of sludge was faster. The $TiO_2$ generated after sludge incineration showed a high photocatalytic activity for degradation of volatile organic compounds and increased the rate of hydrogen production by water photosplitting. $TiCl_4$ coagulant and $TiO_2$ produced from different water sources with different concentrations had low acute toxicity compared to heavy metals and commercial $TiO_2$ when examined based on D. Magna mortality. This paper presents the production, characterisation and the photoactivity of $TiO_2$ produced from Ti-salt flocculated sludge. Different case studies are discussed to highlighted recent advances in this field.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.42 no.12
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• pp.1103-1111
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• 2009

This study derived the analysis results of alternatives for integrated watershed management under urbanization and climate change scenarios. Climate change and urbanization scenarios were obtained by using SDSM (Statistical Downscaling Method) model and ICM (Impervious Cover Model), respectively. Alternatives for the Anyangcheon watershed are reuse of wastewater treatment plant effluent, and redevelopment of existing reservoir. Flow and BOD concentration duration curves were derived by using HSPF (Hydrological Simulation Program - Fortran) model. As a result, low flow ($Q_{99},\;Q_{95},\;Q_{90}$) and BOD concentration ($Q_{10},\;Q_5,\;Q_1$) were very sensitive to the alternatives comparing to high flow($C_{30},\;C_{10},\;C_1$). Although urbanization makes the hydrological cycle distorted, effective alternatives can reduce its damage. The numbers of days to satisfy the instreamflow requirements and target water quality were also sensitive to urbanization. This result showed that the climate change and urbanization should be considered in the water resources/watershed and environmental planning.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.81-88
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• 2000

Composting of N-rich wastes such as food waste and wastewater sludges can be associated loss of with substantial gaseous N, which means loss of an essential plant nutrient but may also lead to environmental pollution. We investigated the behavior of nitrogenous materials during the first high-rate phase in composting of food waste. Air dried food waste was mixed with shredded waste paper or wood chip and reacted in a bench scale composting reactor. Samples were analyzed for pH, ammonia, oxidized nitrogen and organic nitrogen. The volatilized ammonia nitrogen was also analyzed using sulfuric acid as an absorbent solution. Initial progress of composting reaction greatly influenced the ammonification of organic nitrogen. A well-balanced composting reaction with an addition of active compost as an inoculum resulted in the promoted mineralization of organic nitrogen and volatilization of ammonia. The prolongation of initial low pH period delayed the production of ammonia. It was also found that nitrogen loss was highly dependent on the air flow supplied. With an increase in input air flow, the loss of nitrogen as an ammonia also increased, resulted in substantial reduction of ammonia content in compost. The conversion ratio of initial nitrogen into ammonia was in the range of 28 to 38% and about 77~94% of the ammonia produced was escaped as a gas. Material balance on the nitrogenous materials was demonstrated to provide an information of importance on the behavior of nitrogen in composting reaction.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.115-119
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• 2005

As the regulations on DBPs are tightened, many water treatment plants (WTPs) in Korea have already introduced or will introduce enhanced coagulation, alternative disinfectants and advanced treatments such as ozonization and granular activated carbon to improve drinking water qualify. After a phenol leakage accident at the Nakdong-River in 1991, 26 WIPs in Korea introduced carbon dioxide generators, but there has been no accumulation of significant operating data. This research summarizes things that should be considered for the introduction of carbon dioxide disinfection process to WTPs based on one year operation data from A WTP that has had high concentration of DBP during a specific period in the summer. The removal efficiency of DBP was $30{\sim}40%$, but those of 2-MIB, Geosmin were less than 10%. The generation rate of $ClO_2$ by-products such as chlorite and chlorate were $70{\sim}100%$ of input dosage, but the ratios increased over time. At the same time, strong chlorine odors may be produced in the distribution system when $ClO_2$ was used with $Cl_2$ as a result of reaction between the chlorite and residual chlorine.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.45-64
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• 2020

Objectives: Limited information is available on the presence and associated ecological risks of pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments near pharmaceutical manufacturing areas in Korea. In this study, we investigated the current state of pharmaceutical contamination and its associated ecological risks in streams near a pharmaceutical manufacturing complex. Methods: Seven pharmaceuticals (acetaminophen, clarithromycin, diclofenac, diphenhydramine, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid and roxithromycin) were measured in water samples collected from the streams near a pharmaceutical manufacturing complex. A predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) was derived using either the assessment factor method or species sensitivity distribution method. In addition, a hazard quotient for each pharmaceutical was calculated by dividing its measured environmental concentration by its PNEC. Results: Samples collected downstream from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) had higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals than those collected from the reference site (upstream). Moreover, pharmaceutical concentrations were greater in ambient water than in the final effluent from the WWTP, which suggested that non-point sources were contributing to the contamination of the ambient water environment. Some of the target pharmaceuticals exhibited a hazard quotient >1, indicating that their potential ecological effects on the aquatic environment near the pharmaceutical industrial area should not be ignored. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the pharmaceutical manufacturing area was contaminated with residual drugs, and that there was a possible non-point source near the WWTP effluent discharge area. The results of this study will aid in the development of management plans for pharmaceuticals, particularly in hotspots such as pharmaceutical industrial sites and their vicinities.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.362-367
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• 2006

Waste activated sludge(WAS) collected from domestic wastewater treatment plant is biomass that contains large quantities of organic matter. However, relevant literature show that the bio-hydrogen yield using WAS was too low. In this study, the effect of pretreatment of WAS on hydrogen yield was investigated. Pretreatment includes acid and alkali treatments, grinding, heating, ozone and ultrasound methods. After pretreatment organic matters of WAS were solubilized and soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD) was increased by 14.6 times. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of pre-treatment methods and buffer solution, hydrogen partial pressure, and sodium ion on hydrogen production from WAS by using heated anaerobic mixed cultures. Experimental results showed that addition of buffer solution, efficient pre-treatment method with alkali solution, and gas sparging condition markedly increased the hydrogen yield to 0.52 mmol $H_2/g$-DS.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.937-945
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• 2020

N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing (QS) plays a major role in development of biofilms, which contribute to rise in infections and biofouling in water-related industries. Interference in QS, called quorum quenching (QQ), has recieved a lot of attention in recent years. Rhodococcus spp. are known to have prominent quorum quenching activity and in previous reports it was suggested that this genus possesses multiple QQ enzymes, but only one gene, qsdA, which encodes an AHL-lactonase belonging to phosphotriesterase family, has been identified. Therefore, we conducted a whole genome sequencing and analysis of Rhodococcus sp. BH4 isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. The sequencing revealed another gene encoding a QQ enzyme (named jydB) that exhibited a high AHL degrading activity. This QQ enzyme had a 46% amino acid sequence similarity with the AHL-lactonase (AidH) of Ochrobactrum sp. T63. HPLC analysis and AHL restoration experiments by acidification revealed that the jydB gene encodes an AHL-lactonase which shares the known characteristics of the α/β hydrolase family. Purified recombinant JydB demonstrated a high hydrolytic activity against various AHLs. Kinetic analysis of JydB revealed a high catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_M) against C4-HSL and 3-oxo-C6 HSL, ranging from 1.88 x 10⁶ to 1.45 x 10⁶ M^-1 s^-1, with distinctly low K_M values (0.16-0.24 mM). This study affirms that the AHL degrading activity and biofilm inhibition ability of Rhodococcus sp. BH4 may be due to the presence of multiple quorum quenching enzymes, including two types of AHL-lactonases, in addition to AHL-acylase and oxidoreductase, for which the genes have yet to be described.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.277-281
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• 2017

Lately rainfall characteristics that it rains a lot in a short space of time often occurs. Because of this meteorological phenomena, the flow rate and concentration of initial rainfall for runoff and combined sewer overflows are changed. In the case of this inlet fluctuation, the flotation method at high surface loading rate is suitable for water quality management. the flotation method is able to meet the removal rate requirements of water public zone in 5 to 10 min which is irelatively short period. For assessment and diagonision of flotation method, A/S ratio is applied until now. But unfortunately, this has some limits for evaluation standard for certification and assessment of technical diagnosis and operation. This is why there is different efficiency in the bubble distribution at the same A/S ratio. The velocity and time of floating is changed by the different bubble distributions. The floating time affects the plant volume because the time factor make size dicision. Therefore the charateristics of bubble distribution and floating time at the same A/S ratio is necessary to apply to evaluation standard for certification and assessment of technical diagnosis and operation. For generalization of the method in certification and assessment, the characteristics of bubble distribution was studied. Until recently, using the optical device and shooting live video, there are some analysis technology of the floating factors. But this kind of technology is influenced by the equipment. with this level of confidence about the results, it is difficult to apply to generalize. According this reasons, this study should be applied on experiment generalization of method about measurement of relation between bubble distribution and floating time.