Decommissioning waste is generated with various types and large quantities within a short period. Concrete, a significant building material for nuclear facilities, is one of the largest decommissioning wastes, which is mixed with aggregate, sand, and cement with water by the relevant mixing ratio. Recently, the proposed treatment method for volume reduction of radioactive concrete waste was proven up to scale-up testing using unit equipment, which involved sequentially thermomechanical and chemical treatment. According to studies, the aggregate as non-radioactive material is separated from cement components with contaminated radionuclides as less than clearance criteria, so the volume of radioactive concrete waste is decreased effectively. However, some supplementation points were presented to commercialize the process. Hence, the process requires efficiency as possible to minimize the interface parts, either by integration or rearranging the equipment. In this study, feasibility testing was performed using integrated heating and grinding equipment, to supplement the possible issue of generated powder and dust during the process. Previously, heat treatment and grinding devices were configured separately for pilot-scale testing. But some problems such as leakage and pipe blockage occurred during the transportation of generated fine powder, which caused difficulties in maintaining the equipment. For that reason, we studied to reduce the interface between the equipment by integrating and rearranging the equipment. To evaluate the thermal grinding performance, the fraction of coarse and concrete fines based on 1mm particle size was measured, and the amount of residual cement in each part was analyzed by wet analysis using 4M hydrochloric acid. The result was compared with previous studies and the thermomechanical equipment could be selected to enhance the process. Therefore, it is expected that the equipment for commercialization could be optimized and composed the process compactly by this study.

Cryptotympana atrata belongs to the family Cicadidae, has long been recognized as a damaging plant-sucking pest, and is distributed in East Asian countries. In addition, their cries cause direct harm to us through noise pollution and also reported twig damage in the forest environments. In this study, we isolated strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium that occurred from C. atrata collected this year. Here, we provide the morphological character and molecular phylogenetic relationship of this species. This is the first record of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium viridulum isolated from C. atrata in Korea and provides a candidate strain with potential use for biological agents.

곤충병원성 진균은 다양한 흡즙형 및 저작형 해충 방제에 적용이 가능하며, 익충과 천적에 낮은 영향을 보여, 화학농약의 대체체로서 관심 이 높아지고 있다. 현재까지 전세계적으로 170여개의 제품들이 등록되어 판매되고 있으며, 최근 연구측면에서는 작용기작 및 곤충-진균 상호작 용체 구명에 집중하고 있다. 해충 방제를 위한 곤충병원성 진균의 산업화 연구는 초기 살충성이 높은 균주 선발에 집중하였으나, 최근에는 환경 스트레스 인자에 대한 저항성 확보를 포함한 생산성 향상이 해결해야 할 주요 과제이다. 분생포자(conidia)가 주된 처리 형태였지만, 액체배양을 통해 생산되는 아포자(blastospore)의 한계점을 극복하여 대량생산의 경제성을 확보하려는 노력들도 진행되고 있다. 추가로 살충효과를 향상시 키기 위해, 형질전환을 비롯한 분자생물학적 연구와 유전자 및 유전체 기능 구명에 집중하고 있다. 해충방제 시장측면에서, 글로벌 작물보호제 기 업들은 인수합병 또는 공동 연구개발 형태로 전문 생물농약 기업들과의 협력체계를 구축하고 있으며, 화학농약과 곤충병원성 진균의 tank-mix 전략을 주된 방향성으로 삼고 있다. 현장에서 곤충 생태에 대한 이해를 기반으로 한 생태학적 처리(ecological application)는 곤충병원성 진균의 살충효과를 향상시킬 수 있는 기회가 된다. 앞으로의 디지털팜(digital farming) 기술과 접목된다면, 지상부 해충 방제를 위한 실질적인 적용도 가능하다. 곤충병원성 진균의 산업화를 위해서는 지적재산권 분쟁 해결을 위한 명확한 비교 연구자료 확보도 필요하다. 이와 같은 곤충병원성 진 균이 식량생산의 안전성과 경제성을 확보하는 중요한 미생물자원으로 활발히 활용되고 개발되길 기대한다.