Milling media of steel and partially stabilized zirconia(PSZ) were used to produce Si by mechanical alloying(MA) of Mo-25.0at%Si elemental powder mixture. The effect of milling medium materials on MA of the powder mixture have been investigated by XRD and DTA. The reaction rate and the end-product noticeably depended upon the milling medium material. The formation of Si and phases by PSZ ball-milling took place after 15 hr of MA and was characterized by a slow reaction rate as Mo, Si, and Si coexisted for a long period of milling time. The formation of a new phase by steel ball-milling, however, did not take Place even after 96 hr of MA. DTA and annealing results showed that and Si were formed after heating the ball-milled powder specimens to different temperatures. At low temperatures, Mo and Si were transformed into . At high temperatures, the formation of Si can be partially attributed to the reaction, 7Mo+Si+-.4Si . The formation of Si and Mo5Si3 phases by mechanical alloying of the powder mixture and the relevant reaction rate appeared to depend upon the milling medium material as well as the thermodynamic properties of the end-products.

Milling media of steel and zirconia were used to produce by mechanical alloying (MA) of Mo and Si powders. The effect of milling media on MA of Mo-65.8at%Si powder mixture has been investigated by SEM, XRD, DTh and in-situ thermal analysis. The powders mechanically alloyed by milling medium of steel for 8 hours showed the structure of fine mixture of Mo and Si, and those mechanically alloyed by milling medium of zirconia for longer milling time showed the structure of fine mixture of Mo and Si. The tetragonal - Phase and the tetragonal phase appeared with small Mo peaks in the powders milled by milling medium of steel for 4 and 8 hours. The - phase and the hexagonal - phase were formed after longer milling time. The - phase appeared with large Mo peaks in the powders milled by milling medium of zirconia for 4 hours. The phases, - and -. were formed in the powders milled for longer milling time. DTA and annealing results showed that Mo and Si were transformed into - and , while - into -. In-situ thermal analysis results demonstrated that there were a sudden temperature rise at 212 min and a gradual increase in temperature in case of milling media of steel and zirconia, respectively. The results indicate that MA can be influenced by materials of milling medium which can give either impact energy on powders or thermal energy accumulated in vial.

Sustainable and eco-friendly polymers, natural polymers, bio-based polymers, and degradable polyesters, are of growing interest because of environmental concerns associated with waste plastics and emissions of carbon dioxide from preparation of petroleum-based polymers. Degradable polymers, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), are related to reduction of carbon dioxide in processing. To improve a weak mechanical property of a degradable polymer, a blending method is widely used. This study was forced on the component separation of degradable polymer blends for effective recycling. The melt-mixed blend films in a specific solvent were separated by two layers. Each layer was analysed by FT-IR, DSC, and contact angle measurements. The results showed that each component in the PPC/PLLA and PPC/PBAT blends was successfully separated by a solvent.

To improve the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite (HA)/waterborne polyurethane (WBPU) composites, the hydroxyl group of HA was modified by urethane reactions: the hydroxyl groups of HA were reacted with aliphatic or cyclic diisocyanate, and then the modified HAs were extended by adding polyol and/or ε-caprolactone. Composites were prepared by the prepolymer process method: the modified HA was directly pured into the urethane reaction of isocyanate and polyol. The properties of modified HA/WBPU composites were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, tensile strength, and water resistance. The results showed that the reactivity of aliphatic diisocyanate to the hydroxy group of HA was faster than that of cyclic one. Comparing to those of pure HA/WBPU composite films, the thermal stability, water resistance, and mechanical properties of the modified composite films increased with a degree of modification of HA.

The effects of addition of non degradable polymers, polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on the rate of enzymatic degradation of biodegradable poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) have been studied in term of surface structure. Since a component in multicomponent polymeric system has shown surface enrichment, PS and PMMA which have lower surface energy than PLLA were selected as a minor blend component (5 wt%). Enzymatic degradation was carried out at 37 ºC and pH 8.5 in the aqueous solution of Proteinase K. Two blend systems, partially miscible (PS/PLLA) and immiscible (PMMA/PLLA), showed the surface enrichment of 4 and 2 times of PS and PMMA, respectively. From the weight loss profile data, the slow degradation rate of both blend films was observed. This indicates that PS or PMMA domains which exist at surface act as a retardant of enzymatic attack.

The surface properties of activated carbon modified by acids and base were studied. The influence of the surface chemistry on the adsorption of benzene and acetone vapor on modified activated carbons has been investigated The modified activated carbons were obtained by treatment with acetic acid (CH3COOH), nitric acid (HNO3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The modified activated carbons had similar porosity but different surface chemistry and adsorption characteristics. The total surface acidity (sum of functional groups) of activated carbon (AC-AN) treated by nitric acid was 2.6 times larger than that of activated carbon (AC) before the acid treatment. Especially, carboxyl group was much developed by nitric acid treatment. The benzene equilibrium adsorption capacity of AC-AN decreased 20% more than that of AC. However, the acetone equilibrium adsorption capacity of AC-AN increased 20% more than that of AC because of the large increase of carboxyl group and acidity.

Continuous deodorization of malodorous sulfur compounds by Thiobacillus neapolitanus R-10 immobilized onto a polypropylene pellet was studied using a column reactor at 30℃. The maximum amounts of immobilized cells was 5.3 g/ℓ polypropylene with 5 × 7.5㎜ in pellet size, and the amounts of immobilized cells in the higher part of the column was as twice as in the lower part. The optimum pH and temperature for removal of dimethyl sulfide were 6.0 and 30℃, respectively. When 5-20 ㎕/ℓ of hydrogen sulfide and methylmercaptan were employed 98% of removal efficiency were achieved. In contrast, lower concentrations of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyldisulfide should be supplied to meet satisfactory deodorization efficiency. The immobilized cell column was successfully operated for the deodorization of mixture of sulfur compounds over 15 days without significant loss of initial activity achieving high efficiency.

Thiobacillus neapolitanus R-10 isolated from sludge of night soil, showed an oxidizing activity on several malodorous sulfur compounds. The microbe successfully utilized hydrogen sulfide(H_2S), methy mercaptan(MM), dimethyl sulfide(DMS) and dimethyldisulfide(DMDS) during the batch culture reaction, of which H_2S was rather rapidly oxidized. To examine the ability for removal of malodorous sulfur compounds, various concentrations of sulfide substrates were supplemented separately to basal medium and their responses were investigated. As the concentration of sulfide was increased, growth was accelerated within three days of cultivation. 2.5mM was the most favorable substrate concentration of sulfide added for all cases tested. However, when the concentration of sulfur compounds were raised over 4mM, they behaved as a growth inhibitor.