Pretreatment system of desalination process using seawater reverse osmosis(SWRO) membrane is the most critical step in order to prevent membrane fouling. One of the methods is coagulation-UF membrane process. Coagulation-UF membrane systems have been shown to be very efficient in removing turbidity and non-soluble and colloidal organics contained in the source water for SWRO pretreatment. Ferric salt coagulants are commonly applied in coagulation-UF process for pretreatment of SWRO process. But aluminum salts have not been applied in coagulation-UF pretreatment of SWRO process due to the SWRO membrane fouling by residual aluminum. This study was carried out to see the effect of residual matal salt on SWRO membrane followed by coagulation-UF pretreatment process. Experimental results showed that increased residual aluminum salts by coagulation-UF pretreatment process by using alum lead to the decreased SWRO membrane salt rejection and flux. As the salt rejection and flux of SWRO membrane decreased, the concentration of silica and residual aluminum decreased. However, when adjusting coagulation pH for coagulation-UF pretreatment process, the residual aluminum salt concentration was decreased and SWRO membrane flux was increased.
This study developed an evaluation system of adaptation countermeasures for climate change in the water resources sector using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and the assessment procedures were applied to the Second Chungcheongnam-do Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plan (Chungnam Implementation Plan). Firstly, the evaluation criteria are composed of two levels according to the hierarchical structure, and AHP gives priority to 4 evaluation criteria of the first level and 16 alternative indicators of the second level. Secondly, after the importance of the evaluation criteria or indicators has been determined, the significance of each measure was evaluated by applying it to the water-sector measures of the Chungnam Implementation Plan, and the effectiveness of the evaluation system was validated. The Chungnam case study shows that the evaluation system will be more effective and efficient when it is applied during development phase rather than after the implementation plan is finalized. It is also expected that the evaluation system will be used to evaluate and prioritize climate change adaptation policies in other regions, and then to compare the means of adaptation to climate change in various regions and to select recommendation policies.
Since the discovery of the first artificial synthetic plastic, bakelite, polymer materials have been recognized as one of the most innovative fields of research. The plastic debris that is being piled up on the earth (called abandoned plastic litters) is now being observed everywhere on Earth, becoming an increasingly serious environmental threat. The term 'microplastics', created in 2004, now refers to plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm, including all nano-sized plastic particles. However, there is no legal regulation, and there is still a lack of comprehensive definitions that practically include microplastic size standards. In this study, we will refer to “microplastics” as the English name, and look at how to identify these microplastics and propose new definitions that focus on their size. This study is expected to contribute to the domestic consensus on scientific definitions of microplastics.
Reverse osmosis seawater desalination facilities can extend the cleaning cycle and replacement time of the reverse osmosis membrane by pretreatment process. Selection of pretreatment process depends on water quality. It was attempted in this study to select approriate pretreatment process for the Masan bay, which was high in particles and organic content. For this purpose, performances of pretreatment processes such as filter adsorber (FA), pore controllable fiber (PCF), and ultrafiltration (UF) were compared based on the silt density index (SDI). The SDI value of the filtrate should be less than 3. The study results showed that UF can produce the filtrate quality satisfying the requirement. However, the transmembrane pressure (TMP) of UF increased quickly, reaching 0.6 bar within 4 days. In order to secure stable operation, FA and PCF were combined with UF. The study results showed that combination of PCF and UF was able to extend the filtration duration (more than 2 months) until to reach TMP of 0.6 bar.
This study focused on natural organic matter and trihalomethane removal by ozonation with various ferrous concentration in surface water. Ozonation is more affected by injection concentration than reaction time. dissolved organic carbon removal rates in ozonation increased with the increase in ferrous concentration. The highest removal was obtained at 6 mg/L of ferrous concentration. When 1 mg/L of ferrous was added with 2 mg/L of ozone concentration, it was found to be a rapid decrease in specific ultraviolet absorbance at the beginning of the reaction because ferrous acts as a catalyst for producing hydroxyl radical in ozonation. As ozone concentration increased, trihalomethane formation potential decreased. When 2 mg/L of ozone was injected, trihalomethane formation potential was shown to decrease and then increase again with the increase in ferrous concentration.
Because non-point source pollution is very closely related to hydrological characteristics, its importance is highly emphasized nowadays along with accelerating climate change. Especially for Korea, the non-point source pollution and its control are entirely depending on runoff, precipitation, drainage, land use or development, based on geographical and topographical reasons of Korea. Many studies reported the physical (e.g., apparatus- and natural-type facilities, etc.) and chemical methods (e.g., organic and inorganic coagulants, etc.) of controling non-point pollutant source pollution, however, those are needed to be reconsidered along with climate change causing the unexpected patterns and amounts of precipitation and strengthen complexity of social community. The objectives of this study are to assess recent situations of non-point source pollution in Korea and its control means and to introduce possible effective ways of non-point source pollution against climate change in near future.
This study was conducted to evaluate the degradation and mineralization of PPCPs (Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products) using a CBD(Collimated Beam Device) of UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation process. The decomposition rate of each substance was regarded as the first reaction rate to the ultraviolet irradiation dose. The decomposition rate constants for PPCPs were determined by the concentration of hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet irradiation intensity. If the decomposition rate constant is large, the PPCPs concentration decreases rapidly. According to the decomposition rate constant, chlortetracycline and sulfamethoxazole are expected to be sufficiently removed by UV irradiation only without the addition of hydrogen peroxide. In the case of carbamazepine, however, very high UV dose was required in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. Other PPCPs required an appropriate concentration of hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet irradiation intensity. The UV dose required to remove 90% of each PPCPs using the degradation rate constant can be calculated according to the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in each sample. Using this reaction rate, the optimum UV dose and hydrogen peroxide concentration for achieving the target removal rate can be obtained by the target PPCPs and water properties. It can be a necessary data to establish design and operating conditions such as UV lamp type, quantity and hydrogen peroxide concentration depending on the residence time for the most economical operation.
As aeration is an energy-intensive process, its control has become more important to save energy and to meet strict effluent limits. In this study, predictive aeration control based on the respirometric method has been applied to the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) process. The variation of the respiration rate by nitrification was great and obvious, so it could be a very useful parameter for the predictive aeration control. The maximum respiration rate due to nitrification was about 60 mg O2/L‧h and the maximum specific nitrification rate was about 7.5 mg N/g MLVSS‧h. The aeration time of the following cycle of the SBR was daily adjusted in proportion to that which was previously determined based on the sudden decrease of respiration rate at the end of nitrification in the respirometer. The aeration time required for nitrification could be effectively predicted and it was closely related to influent nitrogen loadings. By the predictive aeration control the aerobic period of the SBR has been optimized, and energy saving and enhanced nitrogen removal could be obtained.