• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.363-369
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• 2009

High oil price and biodiesel expansion lead the surplus of glycerol in the market. Glycerol has been used as a raw material itself at petroleum chemistry, paint, tobacco, household products and cosmetics in the conventional market. Recently, many research to find new applications of glycerol as a low-cost feedstock for functional derivatives have led to the introduction of a number of selective processes for converting glycerol into commercially value-added products. The recent studies on the development of new value-added glycerol derivatives will be reviewed.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.136-151
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• 2021

Biomass lignin, a waste produced during the paper and bio-ethanol production process, is a cheap material that is available in large quantities. Thus, the interest in the valorization of biomass lignin has been increasing in industrial and academic areas. Over the years, lignin has been predominantly burnt as fuel to run pulping plants. However, less than 2% of the available lignin has been utilized for producing specialty chemicals, such as dispersants, adhesives, surfactants, and other value-added products. The development of value-added lignin-derived co-products should help make second generation biorefineries and the paper industry more profitable by valorizing lignin. Another possible approach towards value-added applications is using lignin as a component in plastics. However, blending lignin with polymers is not simple because the polarity of lignin molecules results in strong self-interactions. Therefore, achieving in-depth insights on lignin characteristics and structure will help in accelerating the development of lignin-based products. Considering the multipurpose characteristics of lignin for producing value-added products, this review will shed light on the potential applications of lignin and lignin-based derivatives on polymeric composite production. Moreover, the challenges in lignin valorization will be addressed.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2023.04a
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• pp.12-12
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• 2023

Plant biomass, or lignocellulose, is one of the most abundant natural resources on earth. Lignocellulosic biomass, such as agricultural and forestry residue, serves as a renewable feedstock for microbial cell factories due to its low price and abundant availability. However, the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass requires a pretreatment process prior to microbial fermentation, from which fermentable sugars including xylose and glucose are generated along with various inhibitory compounds. The presence of furan derivatives, such as 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde and 2-furaldehyde (furfural), hampers the microbial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added commodities. In this study, furfural tolerance was improved by investigating the detoxification mechanism in non-model yeast. The genes encoding aldehyde dehydrogenases were overexpressed to enhance furfural tolerance and resulted in improving cell growth and lipid production that can be converted into biofuel. Taken together, this approach contributes to the understanding of the reducing toxicity mechanism of furfural by the aldehyde dehydrogenases and provides a promising strategy that the use of microorganism as an industrial workhorse to treat efficiently lignocellulosic biomass as sustainable plant derivatives.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.141-141
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• 2006

Petrochemicals contain a wide variety of monomers and their derivatives which are used in the production of plastics, fibers and synthetic rubber. Until now, petrochemicals have had a dramatic impact on our food, clothing, shelter and leisure because they are the least expensive, most readily available, and can be processed most easily into the end use products. Petrochemical industry, which is known as one of the typical cycle profitability businesses, is now moving downward. In order to overcome the anticipated loss of profit, petrochemical companies are making an effort to offer a value-added upgrading to conventional products. This lecture will discuss a few of issues on the current status and prospect of petrochemical industry.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.379-391
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• 2024

Tocopherol, carotenoids, and chlorophyll are the primary components of the antioxidative response in microalgae. Conditions of stress, such salt stress, can trigger the processes responsible for the accumulation of tocopherol and carotene. It has been found that the most difficult part of culturing microalgae is keeping it affordable. This study investigated the effects of different salt types and concentrations on the amount of α-tocopherol, carotenoid derivatives, and flocculation efficiency of Euglena sp. Cultures of Euglena sp. was developed under salt stress conditions of NaCl 200 mM and KCl 200 mM. UV-VIS spectrophotometry was used to confirm the presence of α-tocopherol and carotenoid derivatives under thirteen days of salt stress testing. Increasing salinity has a significant effect on Euglena sp., causing spherical cell morphologies with aspect ratio 1.385 ± 0.031 for NaCl 200 mM and 1.414 ± 0.040 for KCl 200 mM. Increasing salinity also slowing down development with specific growth rate value of 0.171 ± 0.006 per day and 0.122 ± 0.029 per day for NaCl and KCl 200 mM, respectively. Nevertheless, the amount of α-tocopherol in Euglena sp. increases with a high salt concentration; algal cells flocculated more successfully when increasing the salt concentrations (NaCl 200 mM and KCl 200 mM) was added. Due to the inhibition of photosynthetic activity in salt-stressed cells, the control group exhibited higher levels of carotenoid derivatives (ranging from 0.5-1 ㎍/mL) and pheophytin a and b (0.0062 ± 0.001 ㎍/mL and 0.0064 ± 0.001 ㎍/mL) than the group treated with salt stress. In conclusion, salt stress was an effective way to raises the concentration of α-tocopherol and significantly reduce the expense of harvesting Euglena sp.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.532-537
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• 2006

In order to successfully meet the environmental and recycling problems, natural polymer and their derivatives are recognized as a promising biodegradable material. In this study, the biodegradable composites of cellulose diacetate and starch were prepared, and their physical and thermal properties were investigated. For the melting processing, triacetine was added as a plasticizer into the composites. The processability of cellulose diacetate was further enhanced by increasing the amount of starch in the composites. The tensile stress and Young's modulus were decreased and elongation was increased with increasing the amount of starch in them. A $T_g$ value was decreased with increasing the amount of starch in the composites. Also, the morphology of the composites were observed with the SEM.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1146-1152
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• 2005

Graft copolymers were synthesized from methylcellulose(MC) and acrylic acid(AA) with active carboxyl groups in the presence of potassium persulfate($K_2S_2O_8$) initiator to enhance adsorption capacity of toxic heavy metal such as $Pb^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ from wastewater. The resulting grafted copolymers(MC-g-AA/PAA) were mixture of the graft copolymers from MC and AA(MC-g-AA) and polyacrylic acid homopolymers(PAA). The degree of palling was increased with rising concentration of monomer and initiator under the reaction conditions at $60^{\circ}C$, 3 hrs. The water insoluble property of MC-g-AA showed more than 19.7% degree of grafting. So that it could be an adsorbent of heavy metals. Adsorption characteristics of the MC-g-AA were evaluated depending on the degree of grading, pH of wastewater, adsorption time, dosage of MC-g-AA and concentration of heavy metals in the different conditions. Degree of grafting, and initial concentration of heavy metal ions increased, the adsorption amount of $Pb^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ increased, but added MC-g-AA increased, the adsorption amount per unit weight of $Pb^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ decreased. The MC-g-AA showed the high $Pb^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ adsorption amount in the range pH $4{\sim}6$. Also all of $Pb^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ ions reached in adsorption equilibrium in neighborhood 4 hours. The adsorption of heavy metals described by Freundlich isotherm, it was determined the value of l/n of $Pb^{2+}$ and $Cu^{2+}$ that 0.4294 and 0.3453, respectively.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.27-36
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• 2019

Today, the Korean wave headed by K-pop is newly named as 'New Korean Wave' in that it has been extended to United States, Europe and Russia. K-POP, the main player of the new Korean wave, has been successful in SNS marketing channels. Furthermore, the content of K-pop has attracted the attention of the global audience. The media and public attention on the Korean Wave is meaningful because it is not merely a cultural export. It also makes Korean people feel national pride, seeing the mental influence of its culture on other regions. Moreover, the development of the cultural industry in our society, which is different from industrial or material development, is a proof that Korean society is at the center of globalization. Until the 20th century, Korean culture had been rather receptive than dominant. In other words, it was focused more on acceptance of other cultures than active creation or outflow of its own. Now, however, K-POP is not anymore copying Western culture. It is creating its own unique characters, which makes K-pop very competitive. Korean culture has been formed for a long time in Korea's unique historical background. Korean popular culture also has to establish a solid foothold in world markets through its distinctive and traditional feature. The positive consumer response to Korean pop culture will create the added value of Korean contents and their derivatives, which will heighten Korea's national image also. In other words, if traditional art and K-POP are converged and equipped with our own unique and highly artistic culture, they will take the lead in the global cultural art market. In this study, we will recognize the possibility, growth and development of K-pop culture and analyze the cases of combining K-pop and Korean traditional art. First, we have to blend traditional art and other various genres to create diverse contents, and we have to actively utilize media channels. Second, we must improve people's awareness of the copyrights of traditional art. Also, we have to mitigate the copyrights of creative dance to expand the disclosure of contents which can be utilized. Third, we have to learn about traditional arts from younger age. Fourth, we will expand traditional arts to the whole of Korean cultural policies, which can enhance the nation's cultural value and create economic benefits. These four are expected to be effective ways to preserve the identity of traditional art and at the same time, globalize Korean culture.