Graphene oxide (GO)-titania composites have emerged as an attractive heterogeneous photocatalyst that can enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles owing to their potential interaction of electronic and adsorption natures. Accordingly, TiO2-GO mixtures were synthesized in this study using a simple chemical mixing process, and their heterogeneous photocatalytic activities were investigated to determine the degradation of airborne organic pollutants (benzene, ethyl benzene, and o-xylene (BEX)) under different operational conditions. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results demonstrated the presence of GO for the TiO2-GO composites. The average efficiencies of the TiO2-GO mixtures for the decomposition of each component of BEX determined during the 3-h photocatalytic processes were 26%, 92%, and 96%, respectively, whereas the average efficiencies of the unmodified TiO2 powder were 3%, 8%, and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, the degradation efficiency of the unmodified TiO2 powder for all target compounds decreased during the 3-h photocatalytic processes, suggesting a potential deactivation even during such a short time period. Two operational conditions (air flow entering into the air-cleaning devices and the indoor pollution levels) were found to be important factors for the photocatalytic decomposition of BEX molecules. Taken together, these results show that a TiO2-GO mixture can be applied effectively for the purification of airborne organic pollutants when the operating conditions are optimized.
Novel rhodamine 6G fluorescent chemosensors 1 and 2 for the detection of transition metal cations were synthesized through the condensation of rhodamine 6G ethylenediamine with each of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde and 2,6-pyridinedicarbaldehyde, respectively. 1 and 2 were characterized using 13C NMR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopy. Fluorometric and colorimetric measurements involving various metal ions revealed the ring opening of the rhodamine 6G spirocycle framework. In the absence of metal cations, 2 was colorless and non-fluorescent, whereas the addition of metal cations (Hg2+ and others) changed the color to pink, accompanied by the appearance of an orange fluorescence. The chemosensors exhibited high selectivity for Hg2+ over other divalent first-row transition metals. The complexes of Hg2+ with 1 and 2 were successfully isolated. A huge enhancement in the fluorescence for both one- and two-photon excitations makes these compounds suitable candidates to be used for fluorescent labeling of biological systems.
The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used along with a questionnaire survey and field research methods to analyze the factors affecting willingness to pay (WTP) for urban parks in Tai’an. The results indicated that roughly 50% of the residents visited the urban parks weekly. Doing physical exercises and viewing topped the list of activities. Residents of different characteristics had different WTPs for the service functions of urban parks. From the two surveys, 60.1% and 61.4% of residents would be willing to pay. The average individual WTPs were 42.2 yuan·a-1 and 43.1 yuan·a-1 in the two surveys, and the medianin dividual WTP was 20.0 yuan·a-1. WTP was mainly affected by satisfaction, and WTP value was mainly affected by education level and income. Other factors had some correlation, but none were significant. Finally, some useful suggestions and references were given to the government in order to enhance the urban park services proposal.
In this study, thermoplastic starch (TPS), cross-linked starch (CS), and cross-linked starch modified with glycerol (CTPS) were prepared, and the mechanical properties of the compatibilized low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blends (LDPE/TPS, LDPE/CS, and LDPE/CTPS) were investigated and compared with those of uncompatibilized LDPE/TPS, LDPE/CS, and LDPE/CTPS blends. Maleic-anhydride-grafted polyethylene was used as the compatibilizer. The enhanced tensile strength and elongation at break for the compatibilized LDPE/modified starch blends are a result of the improved compatibility between LDPE and the modified starch, which was confirmed by torque measurements and scanning electron microscopy.
This study was carried out to evaluate the physicochemical properties and perform a feasibility analysis of planting material composed of topsoil from river improvement and non-improvement areas. The results showed that the physicochemical properties of topsoil from river improvement areas were on the average sandy loam~loamy sand in soil texture, 5.6~6.8 in pH, 0.01~0.06 dS/m in EC, 0.9~2.1% in OM, 0.02~0.12% in T-N, 8~14 cmol+/kg in CEC, 0.01~0.08 cmol+/kg in Ex. K+, 2.55~11.11 cmol+/kg in Ex. Ca2+, 0.34~2.06 cmol+/kg in Ex. Mg2+, and 3~396 mg/kg in Av. P2O5. And non-improvement areas showed on average sandy clay loam~sand in soil texture, 5.7~6.7 in pH, 0.02~0.08 dS/m in EC, 0.9~4.4% in OM, 0.02~0.23% in T-N, 7~18 cmol+/kg in CEC, 0.01~0.08 cmol+/kg in Ex. K+, 3.81~12.67 cmol+/kg in Ex. Ca2+, 0.60~1.95 cmol+/kg in Ex. Mg2+, and 3~171 mg/kg in Av. P2O5. Meanwhile, the results of an applied valuation of topsoil- based planting were as follows. Ex. K+ levels were low grade in all survey areas. OM was low grade in 12 improvement areas and 11 non-improvement areas. Av. P2O5 levels were low grade in 10 improvement areas and 10 non-improvement areas. T-N was low grade in six improvement areas and four non-improvement areas. Ex. Mg2+ levels were low grade in two improvement areas.
A long-term wind resource map was made to provide the key design data for the 2.5 GW Korean West-South Offshore Wind Project, and its reliability was validated. A one-way dynamic downscaling of the MERRA reanalysis meteorological data of the Yeongwang-Gochang offshore was carried out using WindSim, a Computational Fluid Dynamics based wind resource mapping software, to establish a 33-year time series wind resource map of 100 m x 100 m spatial resolution and 1-hour interval temporal resolution from 1979 to 2012. The simulated wind resource map was validated by comparison with wind measurement data from the HeMOSU offshore meteorological tower, the Wangdeungdo Island meteorological tower, and the Gochang transmission tower on the nearby coastline, and the uncertainty due to long-term variability was analyzed. The long-term variability of the wind power was investigated in inter-annual, monthly, and daily units while the short-term variability was examined as the pattern of the coefficient of variation in hourly units. The results showed that the inter-annual variability had a maximum wind index variance of 22.3% while the short-term variability, i.e., the annual standard deviation of the hourly average wind power, was 0.041±0.001, indicating steady variability.
Paulownia coreana is a medicinal, edible and industrial plant with the largest leaf, and is native to Korea. We evaluated the reducing power activities, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities (RSAs), nitrite scavenging activities (NSAs) and 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) cation RSAs by solvent extraction of P. coreana bark by using 50℃ hot water and 25℃ methanol. The antioxidative effect of P. coreana bark extract on corn seed oil was evaluated using the Rancimat test. The extraction yields on dry weight basis with 15 folds of hot water and methanol were 23.88% and 5.30%, respectively; further the flavonoid content in the hot water extract was over 2.5 times more than that in the methanol extract. The DPPH RSA of the methanol extract was substantially higher than that of the water extract, whereas the NSA of the water extract was higher than that of the methanol extract at pH 1.2. The ABTS RSAs of the two extracts were almost the same as that of ascorbic acid and 2,6-ditertiarybutyl hydroxytoluene. The two extracts of P. coreana bark in this study were found to slightly improve the oxidation stability of corn seed oil.
Na-A zeolite (Z-Cl) was synthesized from coal fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal combustion for the generation of electricity. The adsorption of Cu2+ and Zn2+ions onto Z-C1 was investigated via batch tests over a range of temperatures (303.15 to 323.15 K). The resultant experimental equilibrium data were compared to theoretical values calculated using model equations. With these results, the kinetics and equilibrium parameters of adsorption were calculated using Lagergren and Langmuir-Freundlich models. The adsorption kinetics revealed that the pseudo second-order kinetic mechanism is predominant. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) values were 139.0-197.9 mg Zn2+/g and 75.0-105.1 mg Cu2+/g. Calculation of the thermodynamic properties revealed that the absorption reactions for both Cu2+and Zn2+ were spontaneous and endothermic. Collectively, these results suggest that the synthesized zeolite, Z-C1, can potentially be used as an adsorbent for metal ion recovery during the treatment of industrial wastewater at high temperatures.
We examined urban heat island intensity in Seongseo, Dae gu, South Korea, where a large area of water is located within the suburb. We found a maximum urban heat island intensity of 4.2℃, which occurred around 7 PM in the summer season. Throughout the remainder of the year, we observed the largest heat island intensity levels during late night hours. In contrast, the winter season displayed the smallest values for heat island intensity. Our results conflicted with heat island intensity values for cities where suburbs did not contain water areas. Generally, cities with suburbs lacking water displayed the largest heat island intensity levels before sunrise in the winter season. We also observed negative urban heat island intensity levels at midday in all seasons except for the summer, which is also in contrast with studies examining suburbs lacking water areas. The heat island intensity value observed in this study (4.2℃) was relatively large and fell between the averages for, Asia and Europe according to the relationship between urban population and heat island intensity.
Leaf characteristics of two representative deciduous-tree species in Korean peninsula were compared to assess directional ridge effect on leaf traits of both species. Leaf mass per unit area (LMA) of Rhododendron schilippenbachii in south-facing ridge slope was significantly higher than that in north-facing ridge slope, while Quercus mongolica did not change LMA. Leaf mass of Q. mongolica was increased depending on leaf size irrespective of slope. However, leaf mass of R. schilippenbachii changed differently in responding to expansion of leaf area between both slopes resulting from retardation of leaf expansion in south-facing slope. R. schilippenbachii showed higher leaf nitrogen concentration per unit area (LNCA) in south-facing slope than that in north-facing slope, while Q. mongolica indicated no difference in LNCA between southand north-facing slopes. However, both species revealed no significant difference in leaf nitrogen concentration per unit mass (LNCM) between south- and north-facing slopes. LNCA of Q. mongolica was about two times higher than that of R. schilippenbachii. These results indicate that there is a difference in leaf characteristics including leaf thickness and nitrogen allocation between Q. mongolica and R. schilippenbachii, suggesting the difference of plasticity.
The objectives of this paper are the characterization of the pretreatment of wastewater by microfiltration (MF) membranes for river maintenance and water recycling. This is done by investigation of the proper coagulation conditions, such as the types and doses of coagulants, mixing conditions (velocity gradients and mixing periods), pH, etc., using jar tests. The effluent water from a pore control fiber (PCF) filter located after the secondary clarifier at Kang-byeon Sewage Treatment Plant (K-STP) was used in these experiments. Two established coagulants, aluminum sulfate (Alum) and poly aluminum chloride (PAC), which are commonly used in sewage treatment plants to treat drinking water, were used in this research. The results indicate that the optimal coagulation velocity gradients (G) and agitation period (T) for both Alum and PAC were 200-250 s-1 and 5 min respectively, but the coagulation efficiencies for both Alum and PAC were lower at low values of G and T. For a 60 min filtration period on the MF, the flux efficiencies (J/J0 (%)) at the K-STP effluent that were coagulated by PAC and Alum were 92.9 % and 79.9 %, respectively, under the same coagulation conditions. It is concluded that an enhanced membrane process is possible by effective filtration of effluent at the K-STP using the coagulation-membrane separation process.
In this study, we estimate the interannual spatial and temporal distributions of fishing grounds at night in the East Sea based on satellite and in-situ data. We observe that the 15℃ thermal front moves in the north-south direction according to the movement of the warm water (above 18℃) in the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) area, forcing the cold water area (below 10℃) to either expand or shrink. The interannual variations of sea surface temperature (SST) in winter represented by the indicator SST of 6℃ are consistent with the east-west zonal areas in the central East Sea which represented over 1℃ standard deviation of SST in February during 1990-2000. Annual SST in the fishing grounds of common squid fishing vessels, observed both by fishing vessels and satellites range from 9-22℃, with the satellite-observed data having a larger range than the fishing vessel-based ones. The interannual distributions of the common squid fishing grounds in the East Sea are mostly concentrated in the TWC area in the southwestern part of the East Sea and in the coast of southern Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan. The interannual distributions of the nighttime fishing vessels are consistent with the catches investigated from the fishing vessel.