The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of vanadium in Jeju Island groundwater, focusing on the spatio-temporal patterns and geochemical controlling factors of vanadium. For this, we collected two sets of groundwater data: 1) concentrations of major constituents of 2,595 groundwater samples between 2008 and 2014 and 2) 258 groundwater samples between December 2006 and June 2008. The concentrations of groundwater vanadium were in the range of 0.2 71.0 μg/L (average, 12.0 μg/L) and showed local enrichments without temporal/seasonal variation. This indicated that vanadium distribution was controlled by 1) the geochemical/mineralogical composition and dissolution processes of original materials (i.e., volcanic rock) and 2) the flow and chemical properties of groundwater. Vanadium concentration was significantly positively correlated with that of major ions (Cl-, Na+, and K+) and trace metals (As, Cr, and Al), and with pH, but was negatively correlated with NO3-N concentration. The high concentrations of vanadium (>15 μg/L) occurred in typically alkaline groundwater with high pH ( 8.0), indicating that a higher degree of water-rock interaction resulted in vanadium enrichment. Thus, higher concentrations of vanadium occurred in groundwater of Na-Ca-HCO3, Na-Mg-HCO3 and Na-HCO3 types and were remarkably lower in groundwater of Na-Ca-NO3(Cl) type that represented the influences from anthropogenic pollution.

To understand the characteristics of vanadium leaching from soils formed by the weathering of basalts, paleo soil at Gosan, Jeju Island, Korea, and several present-day soils from neighboring areas were collected. Leaching experiments were carried out by two approaches: 1) batch experiments under various geochemical conditions (redox potential (Eh) and pH) and 2) continuous leaching experiments under conditions similar to those of natural environments. From the batch experiments, leached vanadium concentrations were highest under alkaline (NaOH) conditions, with a maximum value of 2,870 μg/L, and were meaningful (maximum value, 114 μg/L) under oxidizing (H2O2) conditions, whereas concentrations under other conditions (acidic-HCl, neutral-NaHCO3, and reducing-Na2S2O3) were negligible. This indicated that the geochemical conditions, in which soil-water reactions occurred to form groundwater with high vanadium concentrations, were under alkaline-oxidizing conditions. From the continuous leaching experiments, the pH and leached vanadium concentrations of the solution were in the ranges of 5.45 5.58 and 6 9 μg/L, respectively, under CO2 supersaturation conditions for the first 15 days, whereas values under O2 aeration conditions after the next 15 days increased to 8.48 8.62 and 9.7 12.2 μg/L, respectively. Vanadium concentrations from the latter continuous leaching experiments were similar to the average concentration of groundwater in Jeju Island (11.2 μg/L). Furthermore leached vanadium concentrations in continuous leaching experiments were highly correlated with pH and Al, Cr, Fe, Mn and Zn concentrations. The results of this study showed that 1) alkaline-oxidizing conditions of water-rock (soil) interactions were essential to form vanadium-rich groundwater and 2) volcanic soils can be a potential source of vanadium in Jeju Island groundwater.

The surface modified activated carbons (SMACs) were prepared with various P2O5 concentrations using two activated carbons (ACs: waste citrus peel-based activated carbon and coconut-based activated carbon). The characteristics and adsorptivity of bisphenol A (one of phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals) were compared between ACs and SMACs. The contents of C, H and N of SMACs were similar to those of ACs, but the content of P2O5 for the former increased greatly than for the latter, due to the impregnation of P2O5 into the pores. The specific surface area, total pore volume, average pore diameter and iodine adsorptivity for the former decreased due to the impregnation of P2O5 into the pores, compared to those for the latter. The adsorptivity of bisphenol A for the former were higher than that for the latter, although specific surface area, total pore volume, average pore diameter and iodine adsorptivity for the former were lower than those for the latter.

The removal of Sr ion and Cs ion was investigated to evaluate adsorption properties by using SAN-Zeolite beads immobilized with styrene acrylonitrile (SAN). The adsorption capacities increased with the decrease of SAN/zeolite ratio (SAR) from 2.5 to 0.83. The relationship of adsorption capacity (qe) and SAR was described by experimental equation such as qe=20.88＋137.81e-1.96SAR (r2=0.9980). The adsorption kinetics of Sr ion and Cs ion with SAN-Zeolite beads were fitted well by the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum adsorption capacities of Sr ion and Cs ion calculated from Langmuir isotherm model were 66.97 mg/g and 81.97 mg/g, respectively.

The solid phase extractant SAN-D2EHPA/TBP containing two extractants of Di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and Tri-butyl-phosphate (TBP) was prepared by immobilizing two exractants D2EHPA and TBP in styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN). The prepared SAN-D2EHPA/TBP was characterized by using fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The solid phase extractant SAN-D2EHPA/TBP was tested for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. Experiments were carried out as a function of the pH and Cu(II) concentration in the aqueous phase. The equilibrium time was 180 min and equilibrium experiment data obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The Langmuir isotherm model represented the experiment data as well. The maximum removal capacity of Cu(II) calculated from Langmuir isotherm model was 3.1 mg/g.

The adsorption characteristics of Sr and Cs ions were investigated by using PS-zeolite beads prepared by immobilizing zeolite with polysulfone (PS). The adsorption kinetics of Sr and Cs ions by PS-zeolite beads was described well by the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum adsorption capacities of Sr and Cs ions calculated from Langmuir isotherm model were 65.0 mg/g and 76.4 mg/g, respectively. In the binary system of Sr ion and Cs ion, the adsorption capacities of each ion decreased with increasing mole ratio of mixed counterpart ion, and Cs ion showed the higher hinderance than Sr ion. We found that thermodynamic properties of Sr and Cs ions on absorption reaction were spontaneous and endothermic at 293 to 323 K.

In order to recover lithium ions from aqueous solution, a novel SAN-LMO beads were prepared by immobilizing lithium manganese oxide (LMO) with styrene acrylonitrile copolymers (SAN). The optimum condition for synthesis of SAN-LMO beads was 5 g of LMO and 3 g of SAN content. The characterization of the prepared SAN-LMO beads by SEM and XRD were confirmed that LMO was immobilized in SAN-LMO beads. The removal and the distribution coefficient of lithium ions decreased with increasing lithium ion concentration and solution pH. Even when the prepared SAN-LMO beads were reused 5 times, the leakage of LMO and the damage of SAN-LMO beads was not observed.

The photocatalytic decomposition characteristics of toluene, acetone, and methyl mercaptan (MM) by UV reactor installed with TiO2-coated perforated plane were studied. The removal efficiency of single toluene, acetone, and MM vapor was increased with increasing oxygen concentration, but decreased with increasing inlet concentration. Elimination capacity of single toluene, acetone, and MM vapor was obtained to be 628 g/m3․day, 1,041 g/m3․day, and 2,158 g/m3․day, respectively. Also, the photocatalytic decomposition of binary vapor consisted of toluene and acetone, toluene and MM, acetone and MM were observed. Elimination capacity of toluene mixed with acetone, toluene mixed with MM, acetone mixed with toluene, acetone mixed with MM, MM mixed with toluene, and MM mixed with acetone was 327 g/m3․day, 512 g/m3․day, 128 g/m3․ day, 266 g/m3․day, 785 g/m3․day and 883 g/m3․day, respectively. The inhibitory effect of acetone was higher than MM in photocatalytic decomposition of toluene, the inhibitory effect of toluene was higher than MM photocatalytic decomposition of acetone, and the inhibitory effect of toluene was higher than acetone in photocatalytic decomposition of MM.

The feasibility of PS-D2EHPA/TBP beads prepared by immobilizing two extractants D2EHPA and TBP in polysulfone to remove Sr(II) from aqueous solution was investigated in batch system. Batch experiments were carried out to study equilibrium isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics. Equilibrium data were fitted using Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich– Peterson, and Dubinin-Radushkevich equation models at temperatures of 298 K, 313 K, and 328 K. The removal capacity of Sr(II) by PS-D2EHPA/TBP beads obtained from Langmuir model was 2.41 mg/g at 298 K. The experimental data were well represented by pseudo-second-order model. The removal process of Sr(II) by PS-D2EHPA/TBP beads prepared in this study was found to be feasible, endothermic, and spontaneous.

For 63 soil series distributed in Jeju Island, natural uncultivated soils in each soil series were collected, and their physicochemical properties and their concentrations of 19 heavy metals including 8 heavy metals which are regulated by Korean Soil Environment Conservation Law, were analyzed. Moreover, the correlations between physicochemical properties and heavy metal concentrations, and between heavy metal concentrations were analyzed. The heavy metals distributed in the higher concentrations and the lower concentrations with arithmetric mean value, were Mn(730 mg/kg) and Ba(493 mg/kg), and Hg(0.146 mg/kg) and Tl(0.096 mg/kg), respectively. The correlations between pH(H2O) and heavy metals(Hg, Ni, Co, Se), between pH(NaF) and heavy metals(Hg, Ba, Se, Tl), and between organic matter content and heavy metals(Hg, Tl) were significant at the 0.01 level. From the correlations between heavy metal concentrations, there were 22 where there were significant at the 0.01 level and they showed positive correlation. Among those, the heavy metals showing the correlation higher than r=0.5, were Sb-V(0.878), Mo-Sn(0.867), Co-V(0.654), Co-Sb(0.648), Be-Sn(0.546), and Sn-Tl(0.528).

Removal characteristics of Cu(II) ions by solid-phase extractant immobilized D2EHPA and TBP in PVC were investigated. Cu(II) ion concentrations in the solution and removal capacity of Cu(II) ion according to operation time were compared. The lower the initial concentration of Cu(II) ion in aqueous solution was, the removal capacity of Cu(II) ion by solid-phase extractant was increased relatively. The bigger the initial concentration of Cu(II) ion was, the removal capacity of Cu(II) ion was increased relatively. The pseudo-second-order kinetics according to operation time was showed more satisfying results than the pseudo-first-order kinetics for the removal velocity of Cu(II) ion. The removal capacity of Cu(II) ion was 0.025 mg/g in aqueous solution of pH 2, but the removal capacity of Cu(II) ion was increased to 0.33 mg/g mg/g in aqueous solution of pH 4 according to increasing pH.

The solid-phase extractant PS-D2EHPA/TBP was prepared by immobilizing two extractants D2EHPA and TBP in polysulfone (PS). The prepared PS-D2EHPA/TBP was characterized by using fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution was investigated in batch system. The experiment data were obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Equilibrium data were well fitted by Langmuir model and the removal capacity of Cu(II) by solid extractant PS-D2EHPA/TBP obtained from Langmuir model was 3.11 mg/g at 288 K. The removal capacity of Cu(II) was increased according to increasing pH from 2 to 6, but the removal capacity was decreased below pH 3 remarkably.

In this study, the photocatalytic decomposition characteristics of single toluene, toluene mixed with benzene, toluene mixed with acetone, and toluene mixed methyl mercaptan (MM) by UV reactor installed with TiO2-coated perforated plate were studied. The photocatalytic decomposition rate of single toluene, toluene mixed with benzene, toluene mixed with acetone, and toluene mixed with MM fitted well on Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetics equation. The maximum elimination capacity was obtained to be 628 g/m3·d for single toluene, 499 g/m3·d for toluene mixed with benzene, 318 g/m3·d for toluene mixed with acetone, and 513 g/m3·d for toluene mixed with MM, respectively. The negative effect in photocatalytic decomposition of toluene are found to be in the order of acetone>benzene>MM.

Abstract PS-D2EHPA beads were prepared by immobilizing di-2-ethylhexyl-phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) with polysulfone (PSf). The removal experiments of Cu(II) and Pb(II) by the prepared PS-D2EHPA beads were conducted batchwise. The removal efficiency of Cu(II) and Pb(II) by PS-D2EHPA beads was increased with increasing pH of solution. The removal rate of Cu(II) and Pb(II) was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum removal capacity of Cu(II) and Pb(II) obtained from Langmuir isotherm were 2.58 mg/g and 12.63 mg/g, respectively. External mass transfer coefficients for the removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) by PS-D2EHPA beads were obtained 0.61×10-2∼ 5.87×10-2 /min and 1.55×10-2∼8.53×10-2 /min, respectively and diffusion coefficients were obtained 1.32×10-4∼ 3.98×10-4 cm2/min and 1.80×10-4∼2.28×10-4 cm2/min, respectively.

The adsorption characteristics of the methylene blue (MB) were studied using three activated carbons such as ACA and ACB with similar specific surface area (1,185 and 1,105 m2/g), and ACC with relatively high specific surface area (1,760 m2/g). The surface chemical properties of these activated carbons were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that ACA had more functional groups (with phenol, carbonyl, and carboxyl etc.) than ACB (with carbonyl and carboxyl) and ACC (with carboxyl). The isotherm data were fitted well by Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption capacities of ACA, ACB, and ACC for MB were 454.7 mg/g, 337.7 mg/g, and 414.0 mg/g, respectively. As phenol and carboxyl content of the surface on activated carbon increased, MB adsorption capacity was increased. Although ACA had a smaller specific surface area than ACC, the content of phenol and carboxyl group was abundant, so MB adsorption capacity was found to be higher than ACC.

PVA-D2EHPA/TOPO beads containing two extractants, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and trioctylphoshine oxide (TOPO) were prepared for the removal of copper ions from aqueous solution. The prepared PVA-D2EHPA/TOPO beads were characterized by SEM and FT-IR. The removal characteristics of copper ions by PVA-D2EHPA/TOPO beads was investigated using batch and continuous systems. In batch experiments, the maximum removal capacity calculated from Langmuir isotherm model was 18.6 mg/g and the optimal pH was in the range of 4.5 ∼6. The continuous experiments showed that the removal capacity of copper ions increased with increasing inlet copper ion concentrations and bed heights, but decreased with increasing inlet flow rates.

In this study, PVC-LMO beads were prepared by immobilizing lithium manganese oxide (LMO) with poly vinyl chloride (PVC) diluted in dioxane solvent. XRD and SEM analysis confirmed that LMO was immobilized well in PVC-LMO beads. The diameter of PVC-LMO beads prepared by dioxane solvent was about 2 mm. The adsorption experiments of lithium ions by PVC-LMO beads were conducted batchwise. The optimum pH was pH 10. The adsorption characteristics of lithium ions by PVC-LMO beads was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained from Langmuir model was 24.25 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters such as △H°, △S° and △G° were evaluated. The calculated ΔG° was between −6.16 and −4.14 kJ/mol (below zero), indicating the spontaneous nature of Li+ adsorption on PVC-LMO beads. Also, the results showed that PVC-LMO beads prepared in this study could be used for the removal of lithium ions from seawater containing coexisting ions such as Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+.

The solid phase extractant (PVC-D2EHPA bead) was prepared by immobilizing di-2-ethylhexyl-phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) with polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The prepared PVC-D2EHPA beads were characterized by using fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The removal experiments of Cu(II) by PVC-D2EHPA beads conducted batchwise. The removal kinetics of Cu(II) was found to follow the pseudo-second-order model. The equilibrium data fitted well with Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum removal capacity was 2.6 mg/g at 20℃. The optimum pH region was in the range of 3.5 to 6. and the standard free energy (△Go) was between –4.67 ∼–4.98 kJ/mol, indicating the spontaneous nature of Cu(II) removal by PVC-D2EHPA beads.

The photocatalytic decomposition characteristics of single n-pentane, n-pentane mixed with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and n-pentane mixed with ethyl acetate (EA) by cylindrical UV reactor installed with TiO2-coated perforated plane were studied. The effects of the residence time, the inlet gas concentration, and the oxygen concentration were investigated. The removal efficiency of n-pentane was increased with increasing the residence time and the oxygen concentration, but decreased with increasing the inlet concentration of n-pentane. The photocatalytic decomposition rates of single n-pentane, n-pentane mixed with MEK, and n-pentane mixed with EA fitted well on Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics equation. The maximum elimination capacities of single n-pentane, n-pentane mixed with MEK, and n-pentane mixed with EA were obtained to be 465 g/m3․day, 217 g/m3․day, and 320 g/m3․day, respectively. The presence of coexisting MEK and EA vapor had a negative effect on the photocatalytic decomposition of n-pentane and the negative effect of MEK was higher than that of EA.

The adsorption experiments of lithium ions were conducted in the fixed bed column packed with activated carbon modified with nitric acid. Effect of inlet concentration, bed hight and flow rate on the removal of lithium ions was investigated. The experimental results showed that the removal and the adsorption capacity of lithium ions increased with increasing inlet concentration, and decreased with increasing flow rate. When the bed height increased, the removal and the adsorption capacity increased. The breakthrough curves gave a good fit to Bohart-Adams model. Adsorption capacity and breakthrough time calculated from Bohart-Adams model, these results were remarkably consistent with the experimental values. The adsorption capacity was not changed in the case of 3 times repetitive use of adsorbent.