The nuclear facilities at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) have generated a variety of organic liquid radwaste and radiation levels are also varied. At KAERI, the organic liquid radwaste has been stored at Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility (RWTF) temporarily due to the absence of the recognized treatment technique while inorganic liquid radwaste can be treated by evaporation, bituminization, and solar evaporation process. The organic liquid radioactive waste such as spent oil, cutting oil, acetone, ethanol, etc. was generated from the nuclear facilities at KAERI. Among the organic liquid radioactive wastes, spent oil is particularly significant. According to the nuclear safety act, radioactive waste can be cleared by incineration and landfilling if it meets the criteria of less than 10 μSv/h for individual dose and 1 person – Sv/y for collective dose. Dose assessment was performed on some organic liquid radioactive waste with a very low possibility of radioactive contamination stored in RWTF at KAERI. As a result, it was confirmed that some wastes met the regulatory clearance standards. Based on this, it was approved by the regulatory body, and this became the first case in Korea and KAERI for permission for regulatory clearance of organic liquid radioactive waste by landfill after incineration.

Various types of solidifying materials are used to stabilize and solidify low and intermediatelevel radioactive dispersible waste. Portland cement is generally used to solidify various radioactive wastes because its facilities and processes are simple, less dangerous, and it has excellent compressive strength after curing compared to other materials. However, it is difficult to use Portland cement in radioactive waste containing highly water-soluble harmful substances such as sodium fluoride because it is prone to leaching harmful ingredients in immersion tests due to its low water resistance. In this study, solidification was achieved using an organic-inorganic hybrid solidifying binders consisting of inorganic binders such as Portland cement, blast furnace slag powder, silica fume, and organic binders such as epoxy resin. This material was then compared with a solidification material made of Portland cement alone. The mixing ratio of inorganic binders, water, and organic binders to simulated waste is 35%, 20%, and 25%, respectively. The mixing ratio of inorganic binders and water when using only Portland cement for simulated waste is 100% and 80%, respectively. The mixed paste was poured into a cylinder mold (Φ 5 × 10 cm) to seal the upper part, cured at room temperature for 28 days to produce a solidification specimen, and then subjected to various tests were performed, including compressive strength, immersion compressive strength, hydration peak temperature, length change, and immersion weight change. The compressive strength of the organic-inorganic hybrid solidification test was 13-17 MPa, the immersion compressive strength was 15-18 MPa, the hydration peak temperature was 33-36°C, the length change rate was -0.086%, and the immersion weight change rate was –2.359%. The compressive strength of the Inorganic solidification test using only Portland cement was 16-18 MPa, the immersion compressive strength was 20-21 MPa, the hydration peak temperature was 23-25°C, the length change rate was -0.150%, and the immersion weight change rate was -5.213%. The compressive strength and immersion compressive strength of the organic-inorganic hybrid solidification materials were slightly lower compared to those of Portland cement solidification materials, they still met the compressive strength standard of 7-12 MPa, taking into consideration the strength reduce and economic feasibility of the core drill process. Furthermore, it indicates that the rates of change in length and immersion weight decreased to about 1% and 5%, suggesting an improvement in water resistance. The above results suggest that applying the organic-inorganic hybrid solidification method to radioactive waste treatment can effectively improve water resistance and help secure long-term stability.

Radioactive products generated by long-term operation at NPP can become deposited on the surfaces of the system and equipment, leading to radiation exposure for workers during the decommissioning process. Chemical decontamination is one of the methods to reduce radiation exposure of workers, and there are HP CORD UV, CITROX, CAN-DECON. In the chemical decontamination process, organic acids are generally used, and representative organic acids include oxalic acid and citric acid. There are various methods for removing residual organic acid in decontamination liquid waste, such as using an oxidizing agent and an ion exchange methods. However, there is a problem in that oxidizing agent is used excessively or secondary wastes are generated in excess during organic waste treatment. However, when organic acid is decomposed using a UV lamp, the amount of secondary waste is reduced because it tis decomposed into CO2 and H2O. In this study, organic acid decomposition was evaluated as the contact time of the UV lamp. The experimental equipment consists of a UV reactor, a mixing tank, a circulation pump. The experimental conditions involved preparing 60 L of organic liquid waste containing oxalic acid, hydrogen peroxide and iron chloride. Test A was conducted using one UV reactor, and Test B was performed by connecting two UV reactors in series. As a result of the experiment, a decomposition rate of over 95% was shown after one hour for oxalic acid, and it was confirmed that the initial decomposition rate was faster as the contact time increases. Therefore, in order to increase the initial decomposition rate, it is necessary to increase the contact time of the UV lamp by connecting the UV reactors in series.

A large amount of small and medium-sized metal waste is generated during the decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Metal waste is mostly contaminated with low-level radioactive, so it needs decontamination for self-disposal and recycling. A large amount of Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste during decontamination will be generated. The generated organic liquid waste is low in concentration, so the decomposition efficiency is low in the decomposition process. A conditioning process is necessary to concentrate at a high concentration. For effective treatment for Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste, the composition of organic liquid waste and conditioning process were analyzed. Organic acids, metal ions, radioactive nuclides, surfactants, etc. are present in the Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste, and suspended solids are sometimes generated by various reactions. According to previous studies, the concentration of organic acids including surfactants obtained results from several tens of ppm to a maximum of 1,000 ppm, so the maximum value of 1,000 ppm was assumed. For the composition and total amount of metal ions, the average value (52.7wt% Fe, 16.3wt% Ni, 15.1wt% Cr, 15.9wt% Mn) of the distribution of metal species removed by the actual decontamination process is applied, and the total amount is 1,000 ppm was assumed. As for the radionuclides, only 60Co and 137Cs, which are expected to be mainly present, were considered, and 60Co was assumed to be 2,000 Bq/g and 137Cs to be 360 Bq/g by referring to the literature. The amounts of suspended solids were assumed to be 500 ppm by referring to the characteristics of the liquid waste generated in the decontamination process of the NPPs. Based on the estimated value, a reaction formula was established and a simulated Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste was prepared. As a result of measurement using an analysis device, the composition of the estimated and simulated Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste had similar values. The conditioning and treatment process largely consists of pretreatment, conditioning, decomposition processes. Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste goes through a pretreatment process to remove impurities with large particles. In the conditioning process, treated water that has passed through the UF/RO membrane system is discharged into the environment. At this time, Concentrated water goes through a decomposition process for processing the Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste, and is discharged to the environment through a secondary RO membrane system. The conditioning process is the low-concentration Organic Decontamination Liquid Waste in the UF membrane system is forming a micelles in an RO membrane system, concentrating it to a high concentration and then go through a recirculation process in the UF membrane system. An experiment was conducted to confirm whether the concentration of surfactants occurred during the conditioning process. As a result of the experiment confirmed that the highly concentrated surfactant formed micelles and was filtered out in the UF membrane system.

Starfish are creatures that destroy marine ecosystems due to their high reproductive rate and predatory nature. Instead of mass incineration, this study attempted to utilize them as functional adsorbents to control odorous organic compounds. This waste starfishbased adsorbent showed a high aldehyde capture efficiency of 91.1%. The maximum specific surface area of the prepared waste starfish adsorbent was 2.19m2/g, and the adsorption amount was 101.66mg/g. Therefore, it was confirmed that the waste starfish had the ability to perform well as an adsorbent.

Lubricant oil waste contaminated with radioactive materials generated at nuclear facilities can be disposed of as industrial waste in accordance with self-disposal standards if only radioactive materials are removed. Lubricant oil used in nuclear facilities consists of oil of 75-85% and additives of 15-25%, and lubricant oil waste contains heavy metals, carbon, glycol, etc. In addition, lubricant oil waste from nuclear facilities contains metallic gamma-ray emission radionuclides including Co-60, Cs-137 and volatile beta-ray emission radionuclides such as C-14 and H-3, which are not present in lubricant oil waste from general industries and these radionuclides must be eliminated according to the Atomic Energy Act. In general industries, the wet treatment technologies such as acid-white soil treatment, ion purification, thin film distillation, high temperature pyrolysis, etc. are used as the refining technology of lubricant oil waste, but it is difficult to apply these technologies to nuclear industrial sites due to restrictions related with controlling the generation of secondary radioactive waste in sludge condition containing radionuclides of metal components, and limiting the concentration of volatile radioactive elements contained in refined oil to be below the legal threshold. In view of these characteristics, the refinement system capable of efficiently refining and treating lubricant oil waste contaminated with radioactive materials generated in nuclear facilities has been developed. The treatment process of this R&D system is as follows. First, the moisture in the radioactive lubricant oil waste pretreated through the preprocessing system is removed by the heated evaporating system, and the beta-emission radionuclides of H-3 and C-14 can be easily removed in this process. Second, the heated lubricant oil waste by the heated evaporating system is cooled through the heat exchanging system. Third, the particulate matters with gamma-ray emission radionuclides are removed through the electrostatic ionizing system. Forth, the lubricant oil waste is stored in the storage tank and the purified lubricant oil waste is discharged to the outside after sampling and checking from the upper, middle and lower positions of the lubricant oil waste stored in the storage tank. Using this R&D system, it is expected that the amount of radioactive waste can be reduced by efficiently refining and treating lubricant oil waste in the form of organic compounds contaminated with radioactive materials generated in nuclear facilities.

Organic complexing agents may affect the mobility of radionuclides at low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste repositories. Especially, isosaccharinic acid (ISA) is the main cellulose degradation product under high pH conditions in cement pore water. ISA can combine with radionuclides and form stable complexes that adversely influence adsorption in the concrete phase, resulting in radionuclides to leach to the near- and far-fields of repositories. This study focuses on investigating the sorption of ISA onto engineered barriers such as concrete, thereby studying adsorption isotherms of ISA on concrete and comparing various isotherm models with the experimental data. The adsorption experiment was conducted in three background solutions, groundwater (adjusted to pH 13 using NaOH), State 1 (artificial cement pore water, pH 13.3), and State 2 (artificial cement pore water, pH 12.5), in a batch system at a temperature of 20°C. Concrete was characterized using BET, Zeta-potential analyzer, XRD, XRF, and SEM-EDS. ISA concentrations were detected using HPLC. The experimental data were best fitted to one-site Langmuir isotherm; On the other hand, either two-site isotherm or Freundlich isotherm couldn’t give reasonable fitting to the experimental data. The observed ISA sorption behavior on concrete is crucial for the disposal of radioactive waste because it can significantly lower the concentration of ISA in the pore water. Although one-site Langmuir isotherm might effectively represent the sorption behavior of ISA on concrete, the underlying mechanism is still unknown, and further investigation should be done in the near future.

본 연구에서는 CO2 가스 배출 저감 및 선박 폐열 회수 증대를 목적으로 선박 배기로 버려지는 폐열을 전기로 변환하는 ORC(Organic Rankine Cycle) 발전에 대해 시뮬레이션을 통한 냉매별 효율을 보여주고 있다. 상대적으로 고온인 배기가스의 폐열과 상대적으로 저온인 냉각해수를 이용하여 Aspen HYSYS 11을 이용하여 시뮬레이션을 수행하였다. 해수냉각 ORC 발전시스템의 시뮬레이션 결과, 작동유체 효율은 R717 냉매가 2.86 %로 가장 높았고, 다음 순으로 R152a, R134a, R143a, R125a로 나타났다.

IMO에서는 선박으로부터 온실가스 감축을 위해 선박의 에너지효율 증진에 관한 논의를 진행하고 있다. 현재, 선박으로부터 발생되는 폐열을 이용한 ORC 발전 시스템을 적용함으로써 선박으로부터 높은 에너지 변환 효율을 기대할 수 있다. 이 기술은 물보다 더 낮은 온도 범위에서 증발하는 프레온 또는 탄화수소 계통의 유기 매체를 작동 유체로 사용한다. 이를 통해 상대적으로 낮은 저온에서 증기 (기체)를 생성 및 동력을 발생시킬 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 유기 랭킨 사이클인 ORC 발전 시스템에서 냉매와 폐열 사이 열·유동해석 (Analysis of Heat flow)을 3D 시뮬레이션 기법을 이용하여 구조물의 내·외부에 흐르는 유체가 온도 변화, 속도 변화, 압력 변화 및 질량 변화를 통해서 구조물에 어떤 영향을 미치는지를 분석하고자 하며, 동 연구는 이 기법을 이용하여 ORC 발전 시스템에서 냉매와 선박 주기 관의 배기가스로부터 일어나는 열교환기의 열전달을 해석하였다.

A pilot-scale biocover was installed at a sanitary landfill for municipal waste, and the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by the biocover was evaluated for a long period of 550 days. The biocover (2.5 m W × 5 m L × 1 m H) was constructed with the mixture of soil, perlite, earthworm cast and compost (6:2:1:1, v/v). The total VOCs concentration of the inlet gas into the biocover was 820.3 ppb~7,217.9 ppb, and the total VOCs concentration of the outlet gas from the surface of the biocover was 12.6 ppb~1,270.1 ppb. The average removal efficiency of total VOCs was 87.6 ± 11.0% (60.5% for minimum and 98.5% for maximum). Toluene concentration was the highest among the inlet VOCs, followed by ethylbenzene, m, p-xylene and o-xylene. These aromatic VOCs accounted for more than 50% of the total VOCs concentration. Other than these aromatic VOCs, hexane, cyclohexane, heptane, benzene, and acetone were major VOCs among the inlet VOCs. Compared with the VOC profiles in the inlet gas, the relative contribution of dichloromethane to the outlet VOCs emitted from the biocover layer increased from 0.1% to 15.3%. The average removal efficiencies of BTEX in the biocover were over 84% during the operation period of 550 days. The average removal efficiencies of hexane, cyclohexane and heptane in the biocover were 86.0 ± 18.9%, 85.4 ± 20.4% and 97.1 ± 4.0%, respectively. The removal efficiency of VOCs in the biocover decreased not only when the ambient temperature had fallen below 5oC, but also when the ambient temperature had risen above 23oC. Information on the VOCs removal characteristics of the biocover installed in the landfill field can be useful for commercializing the biocover technology for the treatment of VOCs.

식품생산과정에서 발생하는 유기성폐기물인 골분, 유박, 굴 패화석을 토양에 투입한 결과 일부 처리구에서 토양생물과 화학성이 영향을 받았다. 골분은 토양의 질산태질소를 일시적으로 증가시켰고, 패화석은 pH를 증가시켰다. 골분은 느티나무 생장을 증진시키는 효과가 있었기 때문에 이차적으로 토양생태계에 영향을 미칠 수 있다. 미생물 PLFA는 패화석에 의해 증가하였으며 환경스트레스를 나타내는 지표도 낮은 경향이 있었다. 이것은 패화석이 양분 증가보다는 pH 증가를 통해 미생물의 서식환경을 개선하는 효과가 있다는 것을 보여준다. 토양미소동물 중에는 세균섭식성 선충만이 유박과 골분 처리구에서 증가하였다. 이들 밀도와 세균 PLFA 간에 상관관계는 없었다. 다만 식물생장과 식물섭식성선충의 유의적 상관관계는 유기물투입이 식물을 통해 이차적으로 토양생태계에 영향을 줄 수 있다는 것을 부분적으로 보여준다. 따라서 유기성폐기물 처리는 토양화학성 변화를 통해 일차적으로 미생물 군집에 영향을 주지만, 미생물을 섭식하는 생물군에게 상향식의 양적인 연쇄반응을 일으키지 않을 수 있다는 것을 시사한다.

식물 기생성 선충은 토양 병해의 중요한 요인 중 하나로 작물 생산에 심각한 피해를 일으키지만 토양 속에서 일어나므로 그 피해를 판단하기 어렵다. 식물 기생성 선충은 주로 오이나 당근, 상추 등 많은 작물의 뿌리를 통하여 침입하는데 이때 생긴 상처를 통하여 토양 전염 병원균의 감염이 발생되고 또한 바이러스도 전파하여 작물의 많은 수확 손실을 가져온다. 본 연구에서는 뿌리혹선충 방제를 위한 친환 경적인 방법을 찾고자 유기성 부산물의 퇴비 처리에 의한 상추의 뿌리혹선충 방제 효과와 상추 수확량, 토양 화학성분 및 미생물밀도를 분석하였다. 퇴비를 처리하지 않은 무처리구와 퇴비 처리량(3, 10kg/3.3m2) 별 효과를 비교한 결과, 퇴비 처리량의 증가에 따라 상추의 뿌리혹선충 발병이 유의성 있 게 감소하였으며(R2=0.230, p=0.022) 따라서 수확량은 증가하였다(R2=0.360, p=0.004). 상추 근권 토 양 중 방선균의 밀도도 퇴비 처리에 의하여 약 10배 정도 유의성 있게 증가하였으며(R2=0.276, p=0.013), 방선균 밀도와 수확량 간에 높은 정의 상관관계가 확인되었다(R2=0.232, p=0.021). 각 처리 구의 토양 성분을 분석 비교한 결과 퇴비를 처리한 토양에서 유기물 함량과 양이온 교환용량이 높게 나 타났다. 이러한 결과로 볼 때 충분히 완숙된 유기성 부산물 퇴비 처리는 상추의 뿌리혹선충의 발병율을 낮추고 좋은 미생물인 방선균 밀도를 증가시킴과 동시에 토양의 지력도 향상시켜 상추 생산량을 증가 시킬 수 있는 친환경적이고 효과적인 뿌리혹선충 방제법 임을 알 수 있었다.