• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.126-131
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• 1998

Reduction of hexavalent chromium to its trivalent form by leachate microorganisms was studied in batch and bench-scale continuous stirred tank reactor. The inoculum was a culture of microorganisms in leachate and capable of providing up to 90% chromate reduction during 72 h batch assay with $20mg\;Cr(VI)\;L^{-1}$ in minimal media containing different levels of leachate (10 to 60%) and glucose (50 to 200 mM). Addition of glucose increased the efficiency of chromate reduction, but adverse effect was observed with increase of leachate probably due to the competitive inhibition between chromate and sulfate ions. The continuous culture experiment was conducted for 124 days using synthetic feed containing different levels of chromate (5 to $65mg\;L^{-1}$) at room temperature. With a hydraulic retention time of 36 h, chromate reduction efficiency was mostly 100% when Cr(VI) concentrations in the reactor were in the range of 5 to $50mg\;L^{-1}$ Specific rate of Cr(VI) removal was calculated as $3.492mg\;g^{-1}\;protein\;h^{-1}$ during the period of 101~124 days from the start-up which showed 81.2% of average reduction efficiency. The results indicate the potential application of using leachate microorganisms for detoxification of hexavalent chromium in various chromium-contaminated wastewater from landfill or tannery sites.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.231-240
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• 2002

Microbial metal reduction influences the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and metals as well as plays an important role in the bioremediation of metals, radionuclides, and organic contaminants. The use of bacteria to facilitate the production of magnetite nanoparticles and the formation of carbonate minerals may provide new biotechnological processes for material synthesis and carbon sequestration. Metal-reducing bacteria were isolated from a variety of extreme environments, such as deep terrestrial subsurface, deep marine sediments, water near Hydrothemal vents, and alkaline ponds. Metal-reducing bacteria isolated from diverse extreme environments were able to reduce Fe(III), Mn(IV), Cr(VI), Co(III), and U(VI) using short chain fatty acids and/or hydrogen as the electron donors. These bacteria exhibited diverse mineral precipitation capabilities including the formation of magnetite ($Fe_3$$O_4$), siderite ($FeCO_3$), calcite ($CaCO_3$), rhodochrosite ($MnCO_3$), vivianite [$Fe_3$($PO_4$)$_2$ .$8H_2$O], and uraninite ($UO_2$). Geochemical and environmental factors such as atmospheres, chemical milieu, and species of bacteria affected the extent of Fe(III)-reduction as well as the mineralogy and morphology of the crystalline iron mineral phases. Thermophilic bacteria use amorphous Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide plus metals (Co, Cr, Ni) as an electron acceptor and organic carbon as an electron donor to synthesize metal-substituted magnetite. Metal reducing bacteria were capable of $CO_2$conversion Into sparingly soluble carbonate minerals, such as siderite and calcite using amorphous Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide or metal-rich fly ash. These results indicate that microbial Fe(III)-reduction may not only play important roles in iron and carbon biogeochemistry in natural environments, but also be potentially useful f3r the synthesis of submicron-sized ferromagnetic materials.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.501-509
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• 2016

In this study, a flat-type photocatalytic reactor is applied under solar irradiation for simultaneous treatment of target pollutants: reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and oxidation of EDCs (BPA, EE2, E2). An immobilized type of photocatalyst was fabricated to have self-grown nanotubes on its surface in order to overcome limitations of powdery photocatalyst. Moreover, Ti mesh form was chosen as substrate and modified to have both larger surface area and photocatalyst content. Ti mesh was anodized at 50V and $25^{\circ}C$ for 30min in the mixed electrolytes ($NH_4F-H_2O-C_2H_6O_2$) and annealed at $450^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours in ambient oxygen to have anatase structure. Surface characterization was done with SEM and XRD methodologies. Fabricated NTT was applied to water treatment, and coexisting Cr(VI) and organics (EDCs) enhanced each other's reactions by scavenging holes and electrons and thus impeding recombination. Also, several experiments were conducted outdoor under direct sunlight and it was observed that both solar-tracking and applying modified photocatalyst were proven to enhance reaction efficiency.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2009년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.222-225
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• 2009

In this paper, $TiO_2$ nanotube is prepared and the preparation is influenced by electrochemical etching rate and chemical dissolution rate. Especially, the chemical dissolution rate is lowered as the length $TiO_2$ nanotube increases. Titanium foil were anodized at various bias or current such as 20V, 55V and 0.1A (bath temperature $25^{\circ}C$) in organic electrolytes (ethylene glycol, glycerol) and then annealed at $450^{\circ}C$ and $650^{\circ}C$ to obtain the crystallized tubular $TiO_2$ on the Ti foil. Higher efficiency (89.1%) for the Cr(VI) reduction was obtained with the prepared sample compared to that (20.9%) with the sample in 0.5% HF electrolyte earlier studied.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.92-98
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• 2018

Suitability of aluminium-based water treatment sludge (WTS), a waste product from water treatment facilities, was assessed for removal of heavy metals from an electroplating wastewater which had high concentrations of copper and chromium along with other heavy metals. Batch tests with simulated wastewater in single- and multi-metal solutions indicated the influence of initial pH and WTS dose on removal of six metals namely Cu(II), Co(II), Cr(VI), Hg(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II). In general, removal of cationic metals such as Pb(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) increased with increase in pH while that of anionic Cr(VI) showed a reduction with increased pH values. Tests with multi-metal solution showed that the influence of competition was more pronounced at lower WTS dosages. Column test with diluted (100 times) real electroplating wastewater showed complete removal of copper up to 100 bed volumes while chromium removal ranged between 78-92%. Other metals which were present in lower concentrations were also effectively removed. Mass balance for copper and chromium showed that the WTS media had Cu(II) and Cr(VI) sorption capacities of about 1.7 and 3.5 mg/g of dried sludge, respectively. The study thus indicates that WTS has the potential to be used as a filtration/adsorption medium for removal of metals from metal-bearing wastewaters.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제31권10호
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• pp.2813-2818
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• 2010

A novel method was developed for the speciation of chromium in natural water samples based on homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). In this method, Cr(III) reacts with a new Schiff's base ligand to form the hydrophobic complex, which is subsequently entrapped in the sediment phase, whereas Cr(VI) remained in aqueous phase. The Cr(VI) assay is based on its reduction to Cr(III) by the addition of sodium sulfite to the sample solution. Thus, separation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) could be realized. Homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction based on the pH-independent phase-separation process was investigated using a ternary solvent system (water-tetrabutylammonium ion ($TBA^+$)-chloroform) for the preconcentration of chromium. The phase separation phenomenon occurred by an ion-pair formation of TBA and perchlorate ion. Then sedimented phase was separated using a $100\;{\mu}L$ micro-syringe and diluted to 1.0 mL with ethanol. The sample was introduced into the flame by conventional aspiration. After the optimization of complexation and extraction conditions such as pH = 9.5, [ligand] = $1.0{\times}10^{-4}\;M$, [$TBA^+$] = $2.0{\times}10^{-2}\;M$, [$CHCl_3$] = $100.0\;{\mu}L$ and [$ClO_4$] = $2.0{\times}10{-2}\;M$, a preconcentration factor (Va/Vs) of 100 was obtained for only 10 mL of the sample. The relative standard deviation was 2.8% (n = 10). The limit of detection was sufficiently low and lie at ppb level. The proposed method was applied for the extraction and determination of chromium in natural water samples with satisfactory results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 한국지하수토양환경학회 2004년도 총회 및 춘계학술발표회
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• pp.143-146
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• 2004

Natural zeolites have exhibited high sorption capacity for inorganic cations including heavy metals and ammonium. Moreover, they were proven to be effective for environmental applications such as permeable barriers for controlling the spread of cation-contaminated groundwater. However zeolites have little or no affinity for anionic species like chromium, as they possess a net negative structural charge. To achieve the simultaneous sorption for anionic contaminants, surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) has been employed as the possible sorbents. Current study focuses on simultaneous removal of heavy metals having different ionic form in aqueous solution, cadmium (C $d^{2+}$) and chromium (Cr $O_{4}$$^{2-}$), using newly developed materials, ZanF. ZanF, a potential alternative to SMZ, was derived from zeolite modified by Fe(II) chloride followed by reduction with sodium borohydride. Batch experiments were performed to estimate the removal efficiency of ZanF at different conditions. Under different pH ranging from 2 to 6, removal efficiency was investigated. And C $d^{2+}$ removal efficiency was estimated by varying background concentration of Cr $O_{4}$$^{2-}$, and vice versa. With the test results, ZanF was expected to be a possible reactive materials alternative to SMZ in permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) for treating the contaminated groundwater with cationic and anionic heavy metals.als.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.161-175
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• 2008

The soil developed from volcanic ash in Jeju Island, Korea, were classified as typical Andisols. The soils had acidic pH, high water contents, high organic matters and clay-silty textures. The crystalline minerals of the samples were mainly composed of ferromagnesian minerals such as olivine and pyroxene, and iron oxides such as magnetite and hematite derived from basaltic materials. A large amount of gibbsite was found at the subsurface horizon as a secondary product from the migration of excessive aluminum. In addition, our study has shown that considerable amounts of poorly ordered minerals like allophane and ferrihydrite were present in Jeju soils. The contents of $SiO_2$ were lower than those of other soil orders, but $A1_2O_3$ and $Fe_2O_3$ contents were higher. These results are some of the important chemical properties of Andisols. The contents of heavy metals were in the range of $84{\sim}198$ for Zn, $56{\sim}414$ for Ni, $38{\sim}150$ for Co, $132{\sim}1164\;mg\;kg^{-1}$ for Cr, which are higher than the worldwide values in most of the soils. Some soil samples contained relatively high levels of Cr exceeding 1000 mg/kg. Mean reduction capacity of the Jeju soils was $6.53\;mg\;L^{-1}$ reduced Cr(VI), 5.1 times higher than that of the non-volcanic ash soils from inland of Korea. The soil reduction capacity of the inland soils had a good correlation with total carbon content (R = 0.90). However, in spite of 20 times higher total carbon contents in the Jeju soils, there was a week negative correlation between the reduction capacity and the carbon content (R = -0.469), suggesting that the reduction capacity of Jeju soils is not mainly controlled by the carbon content and affected by other soil properties. Correlations of the reduction capacity with major elements showed that Al and Fe were closely connected with the reduction capacity in Jeju soil (R = 0.793; R = 0.626 respectively). Moreover, the amounts of Ni, Co and Cr had considerable correlations with the reduction capacity (R = 0.538; R = 0.647; R = 0.468 respectively). In particular, in relation to the behavior of redox-sensitive Cr, the oxidation of the trivalent chromium to mobile and toxic hexavalent chromium can be restricted by the high reduction capacity in Jeju soil. The factors controlling the reduction capacity in Jeju soils may have a close relation with the andic soil properties explained by the presence of considerable allophane and ferrihydrite in the soils.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.53-60
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• 2005

Ferrous cement hydrates made from hydrating Portland cement doped with Fe (II) were reported to reductively dechlorinate chlorinated organics and to reduce Cr (VI) to Cr (III). In this study, kinetics of nitrate removal by ferrous cement hydrates were investigated. Nitrate removal kinetics were characterized by experimental variables such as cement hydration, amount of cement addition, Fe (II) dose, pH, and byproducts. As a result, hydrated cement showed better performances than non-hydrated cement due to the formation of LDH (layered double hydroxide). Doping of Fe (II) into the cement was found to improve removal efficiency at high pHs by association with Fe (II) sorbed on cement hydrates as a reactive reductant. Reduction of nitrate produced ammonium as a major product, which accounted for 63.5% of the final products, and nitrite (0.15%) as a minor product. These results indicate that the developed media are effective as sorbent/reducing agents in the nitrate removal and the reaction mechanisms of nitrate removal are sorption and reduction.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.657-662
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• 2005

Iron sulfide(FeS) is significantly produced through both abiotic and biotic processes in natural sediments and pore waters. In this study, chromium(VI) reaction with iron sulfide at various initial concentrations and at pH values of 4 and 8 was conducted to better understand the interactions between Cr(VI) and Fe(II) species dissolved from iron sulfide in both the aqueous and solid phases. Also, the removal efficiency of iron sulfide was compared with zero valent iron and other iron bearing oxides such as ${\alpha}-Fe_2O_3$, ${\alpha}-FeOOH$ and $Fe_3O_4$. The Cr(VI) removal rate by iron sulfide was higher at pH 4 than at pH 8 because more dissolved Fe(II) existed at pH 4 than at pH 8. Chromium and iron(oxyhydroxide) could be identified on the iron sulfide surface with transmission microscopy imaging and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The removal capacity of iron sulfide was much higher than zero valent iron and other iron oxide minerals due to the synergic effect of hydrogen sulfide and ferrous iron.