A continuous process of persulfate oxidation and citric acid washing was investigated for ex-situ remediation of complex contaminated soil containing total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons (TRPHs) and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn). The batch experiment results showed that TRPHs could be degraded by Fe2+ activated persulfate oxidation and that heavy metals could be removed by washing with citric acid. For efficient remediation of the complex contaminated soil, two-stage and three-stage processes were evaluated. Removal efficiency of the two-stage process (persulfate oxidation - citric acid washing) was 83% for TRPHs and 49%, 53%, 24% for Cu, Zn, and Pb, respectively. To improve the removal efficiency, a three-stage process was also tested; case A) water washing - persulfate oxidation - citirc acid washing and case B) persulfate oxidation - citric acid washing (1) - citric acid washing (2). In case A, 63% of TRPHs, 73% of Cu, 60% of Zn, and 55% of Pb were removed, while the removal efficiencies of TRPHs, Cu, Pb, and Zn were 24%, 68%, 62%, and 59% in case B, respectively. The results indicated that case A was better than case B. The three-stage process was more effective than the two-stage process for the remediation of complex-contaminated soil in therms of overall removal efficiency.

Amendment of multi-binders was employed for the immobilization of metal(loid)s in field-contaminated soils to reduce the leaching potential. The effect of different types of multi-binders (lime/diammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate/ladle slag and lime/ladle slag) on the solidification/ stabilization of metal(loid)s (Pb, Zn, Cu and As) from the smelter soil and mine tailing soil were investigated. The amended soils were evaluated by measuring Toxicity Characterization Leaching Procedure (TCLP) leaching concentration of metal(loid)s. The results show that the leaching concentration of metal(loid)s decreased with the immobilization using multi-binders. In terms of TCLP extraction, the mixed binder was effective in the order of lime/ladle slag > diammonium phosphate/ladle slag > lime/diammonium phosphate. When the mixed binder amendment (0.15 g lime+0.15 g ladle slag for 1g smelter soil and 0.05 g lime+0.1 g ladle slag for 1 g mine tailing soil, respectively) was used, the leaching concentration of metal(loid)s decreased by 90%. However, As leaching concentration increased with diammonium phosphate/lime and diammonium phosphate/ladle slag amendment competitive anion exchange between arsenic ion and phosphate ion from diammonium phosphate. The Standard, Measurements and Testing programme (SM&T) analysis indicated that fraction 1 (F1, exchangeable fraction) decreased, while fraction 4 (F4, residual fraction) increased. The increased immobilization efficiency was attributed to the increase in the F4 of the SM&T extraction. From this work, it was possible to suggest that both arsenic and heavy metals can be simultaneously immobilized by the amendment of multi-binder such as lime/ladle slag.

In this study, as a fundamental study for the remediation of the radionuclides-contaminated soil, the adsorption of cobalt, strontium, and cesium on natural soil and kaolin were experimently investigated and adsorption characteristics were evaluated by using several adsorption kinetic and isotherm models. The pseudo-first-order kinetic model (PFOM), pseudo-second-order kinetic model (PSOM), one-site mass transfer model (OSMTM), and two compartment first-order kinetic model (TCFOKM) were used to evaluate the kinetic data and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was the best with good correlation. The adsorption equilibria of cobalt, strontium, and cesium on natural soil were fitted successfully by Redlich-Peterson and Sips models. For kaolin, the adsorption equilibria of cobalt, strontium, and cesium were fitted well by Redlich-Peterson, Freundlich, and Sips models, respectively. The amount of adsorbed radionuclides on natural soil and kaolin was in the order of cesium > strontium > cobalt. It is considered that these results could be useful to predicting the adsorption behaviors of radionuclides such as cobalt, strontium, and cesium in soil environments.

In Korea, the chemical oxygen demand(CODsed) in freshwater sediments has been measured by the potassium permanganate method used for marine sediment because of the absence of authorized analytical method. However, this method has not been fully verified for the freshwater sediment. Therefore, the use or modification of the potassium permanganate method or the development of the new CODsed analytical method may be necessary. In this study, two modified CODsed analytical methods such as the modified potassium permanganate method for CODMn and the modified closed reflux method using potassium dichromate for CODCr were compared. In the preliminary experiment to estimate the capability of the two oxidants for glucose oxidation, CODMn and CODCr were about 70% and 100% of theoretical oxygen demand(ThOD), respectively, indicating that CODCr was very close to the ThOD. The effective titration ranges in CODMn and CODCr were 3.2 to 7.5 mL and 1.0 to 5.0 mL for glucose, 4.3 to 7.5 mL and 1.4 to 4.3 mL for lake sediment, and 2.5 to 5.8 mL and 3.6 to 4.5 mL for river sediment, respectively, within 10% errors. For estimating CODsed recovery(%) in glucose-spiked sediment after aging for 1 day, the mass balances of the CODMn and CODCr among glucose, sediments and glucose-spiked sediments were compared. The recoveries of CODMn and CODCr were 78% and 78% in glucose-spiked river sediments, 91% and 86% in glucose-spiked lake sediments, 97% and 104% in glucose-spiked sand, and 134% and 107% in glucose-spiked clay, respectively. In conclusion, both methods have high confidence levels in terms of analytical methodology but show significant different CODsed concentrations due to difference in the oxidation powers of the oxidants.

Sorption of chlorinated pesticides such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and atrazine onto natural clays (montmorillonite and zeolite) modified with cationic surfactant, hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium (HDTMA) and a natural soil was investigated using batch adsorbers. The clays were transformed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic by the cation exchange between clay surface and HDTMA up to 100% of the cation exchange capacity (CEC). Physicochemical characteristics of the sorbents such as pH, PZC (point of zero charge), organic carbon content (foc), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were analyzed. Sorption isotherm models such as Freundlich and Langmuir were fitted to the experimental data, resulting Langmuir model (R2 > 0.986) was fitted better than Freundlich model (R2 > 0.973). Sorption capacity (Q0) for 2,4-D and atrazine was in the order of HDTMA-montmorillonite > HDTMA-zeolite > natural soil corresponding to the increase in organic carbon content (foc). The sorption of the pesticides was also affected by pH. The sorption of 2,4-D decreased with the increase in pH, whereas that of atrazine was not changed. This indicated that the sorption capacity (Q0) of 2,4-D and atrazine was not affected by the solution pH because they exist as anionic (deprotonated) forms at pH above pKa. The results indicate that organoclay has a promising potential to reduce chlorinated pesticides in the effluent from golf courses.

The environmental behaviors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are mainly governed by their solubility and partitioning properties on soil media in a subsurface system. In surfactant-enhanced remediation (SER) systems, surfactant plays a critical role in remediation. In this study, sorptive behaviors and partitioning of naphthalene in soils in the presence of surfactants were investigated. Silica and kaolin with low organic carbon contents and a natural soil with relatively higher organic carbon content were used as model sorbents. A nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100, was used to enhance dissolution of naphthalene. Sorption kinetics of naphthalene onto silica, kaolin and natural soil were investigated and analyzed using several kinetic models. The two compartment first-order kinetic model (TCFOKM) was fitted better than the other models. From the results of TCFOKM, the fast sorption coefficient of naphthalene (k1) was in the order of silica > kaolin > natural soil, whereas the slow sorbing fraction (k2) was in the reverse order. Sorption isotherms of naphthalene were linear with organic carbon content (foc) in soils, while those of Triton X-100 were nonlinear and correlated with CEC and BET surface area. Sorption of Triton X-100 was higher than that of naphthalene in all soils. The effectiveness of a SER system depends on the distribution coefficient (KD) of naphthalene between mobile and immobile phases. In surfactant-sorbed soils, naphthalene was adsorbed onto the soil surface and also partitioned onto the sorbed surfactant. The partition coefficient (KD) of naphthalene increased with surfactant concentration. However, the KD decreased as the surfactant concentration increased above CMC in all soils. This indicates that naphthalene was partitioned competitively onto both sorbed surfactants (immobile phase) and micelles (mobile phase). For the mineral soils such as silica and kaolin, naphthalene removal by mobile phase would be better than that by immobile phase because the distribution of naphthalene onto the micelles (Kmic) increased with the nonionic surfactant concentration (Triton X-100). For the natural soil with relatively higher organic carbon content, however, the naphthalene removal by immobile phase would be better than that by mobile phase, because a high amount of Triton X-100 could be sorbed onto the natural soil and the sorbed surfactant also could sorb the relatively higher amount of naphthalene.

This study was carried out to gain the basic informations about botanical characteristics of plant type and properties related to table quality for developing the new colored waxy corn hybrid. Materials used were produced by our laboratory in 2007 and their major traits were evaluated fro two years(2008 to 2009) at Corn Breeding Farm of Coll. of Agri. & Life in CNU. Items surveyed were major agricultural characteristics including ear length and traits related to edible. Botanical characteristics as a plant type and ear pattern of the developed waxy corn hybrids showed large ranges among them; stem height of CNU08H-h39 among used hybrids was the highest as 235.7cm, while CNUH08-15 was the lowest. Ear height of Daehackchal Gold 1 was the highest as 83.7cm and that of CNU08H-15 was the lowest among used hybrids. Ear length of CNU08H-h121 among used hybrids was the longest as 23.1cm, while that of CNU08H-71 was the smallest as 12.7cm. Kernel sugar content of the used hybrids appeared to be 16.1 to 13.0Brix(%). Especially, CNU08H-15, CNU08H-35 and CNU08H-h39 hybrids were highly appeared as 15 above. Pericarp thickness of check hybrid, Yeonongchal, was thicker as 46.0㎛, while that of CNU08H-39 compared to other hybrids showed the thinnest as 23.0㎛. From this study, we could obtain several superior colored hybrids with thinner pericarp and high sugar contents like CNU 08-39 and CNU 08-h121 hybrids. Accordingly, these hybrids will be apply as new developed variety through confirmed trials.

Lab-scale Electrodialysis(ED) system with different membranes combined with before or after pyroma process were carried out to remove nitrate from two pickling acid wastewater containing high concentrations of NO3-(≈150,000 mg/L) and F-(≈160,000 mg/L) and some heavy metals(Fe, Ti, and Cr). The ED system before Pyroma process(Sample A) was not successful in NO3- removal due to cation membrane fouling by the heavy metals, whereas, in the ED system after Pyroma process(Sample B), about 98% of nitrate was removed because of relatively low NO3- concentration (about 30,000 mg/L) and no heavy metals. Mono-selective membranes(CIMS/ACS) in ED system have no selectivity for nitrate compared to divalent-selective membranes(CMX/AMX). The operation time for nitrate removal time decreased with increasing the applied voltage from 10V to 15V with no difference in the nitrate removal rate between both voltages. Nitrate adsorption of a strong-base anion exchange resin of Cl- type was also conducted. The Freundlich model(R2 > 0.996) was fitted better than Langmuir model(R2 > 0.984) to the adsorption data. The maximum adsorption capacity (Q0) was 492 mg/g for Sample A and 111 mg/g for Sample B due to the difference in initial nitrate concentrations between the two wastewater samples. In the regeneration of ion exchange resins, the nitrate removal rate in the pickling acid wastewater decreased as the adsorption step was repeated because certain amount of adsorbed NO3- remained in the resins in spite of several desorption steps for regeneration. In conclusion, the optimum system configuration to treat pickling acid wastewater from stainless-steel industry is the multi-processes of the Pyroma-Electrodialysis-Ion exchange.

Simultaneous removal of NH3, H2S and toluene in a contaminated air stream was investigated over 185 days in a biofilter packed with Zeocarbon granule as microbial support. In this study, multi-microorganisms including Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter for nitrogen removal, Thiobacillus thioparus (ATCC 23645) for H2S removal, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 15692), Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 17484) and Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 23973) for toluene removal were used simultaneously. The empty bed residence time (EBRT) was 40-120 seconds and the feed (inlet) concentrations of NH3, H2S and toluene were 0.02-0.11, 0.05-0.23 and 0.15-0.21 ppmv, respectively. The observed removal efficiency was 85%-99% for NH3, 100% for H2S, and 20-90% for toluene, respectively. The maximum elimination capacities were 9.3, 20.6 and 17 g/m3/hr for NH3, H2S and toluene, respectively. The results of kinetic model analysis showed that there were no particular evidences of interactions or inhibitions among the microorganisms, and that the three biodegradation reactions took place independently within a finite area of biofilm developed on the surface of the Zeocarbon carrier.

The applicability of in situ biobarrier or microbial filter technology for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvent was investigated through column study. In this study, the effect of packing materials on the reductive dechlorination of PCE was investigated using Canadian peat, Pahokee peat, peat moss and vermicompost (or worm casting) as a biobarrier medium. Optimal conditions previously determined from a batch microcosm study was applied in this column study. Lactate/benzoate was amended as electron donors to stimulate reductive dechlorination of PCE. Hydraulic conductivity was approximately 6×10-5－8×10-5 cm/sec and no difference was found among the packing materials. The transport and dispersion coefficients determined from the curve-fitting of the breakthrough curves of Br- using CXTFIT 2.1 showed no difference between single-region and two-region models. The reductive dechlorination of PCE was efficiently occurred in all columns. Among the columns, especially the column packed with vermicompost exhibited the highest reductive dechlorination efficiency. The results of this study showed the promising potential of in situ biobarrier technology using peat and vermicompost for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents.

In recent decades, biofiltration has been widely accepted for the treatment of contaminated air stream containing low concentration of odorous compounds or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, conventional biofilters packed with flexible synthetic polyurethane (PU) foam carriers were operated to remove toluene from a contaminated air stream. PU foams containing various amounts of pulverized activated carbon (PAC) were synthesized for the biofilter media and tested for toluene removal. Four biofilter columns were operated for 60 days to remove gaseous toluene from a contaminated air stream. During the biofiltration experiment, inlet toluene concentration was in the range of 0-150 ppm and EBRT (i.e., empty bed residence time) was kept at 26-42 seconds. Pressure drop of the biofilter bed was less than 3 mm H2O/m filter bed. The maximum removal capacity of toluene in the biofilters packed with PU-PAC foam was in the order of column II (PAC = 7.08%) > column III (PAC = 8.97%) > column I (PAC = 4.95%) > column IV (PAC = 13.52%), while the complete removal capacity was in the order of column II > column I > column III > column IV. The better biofiltration performance in column II was attributed to higher porosity providing favorable conditions for microbial growth. The results of biodegradation kinetic analysis showed that PU-PAC foam with 7.08% of PAC content had higher maximum removal rate (Vm = 14.99 g toluene/kg dry material/day) than the other PU-PAC foams. In overall, the performance of biofiltration might be affected by the structure and physicochemical properties of PU foam induced by PAC content.