In this work, we investigated the photo-degradation performance of MnO2-SiC fiber-TiO2 (MnO2-SiC-TiO2) ternary nanocomposite according to visible light excitation utilizing methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) as standard dyes. The photocatalytic physicochemical characteristics of this ternary nanocomposite were described by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tunneling electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), photocurrent and cyclic voltammogram (CV) test. Photolysis studies of the synthesized MnO2-SiC-TiO2 composite were conducted using standard dyes of MB and MO under UV light irradiation. The experiments revealed that the MnO2-SiC-TiO2 exhibits the greatest photocatalytic dye degradation performance of around 20 % with MB, and of around 10 % with MO, respectively, within 120 min. Furthermore, MnO2-SiC-TiO2 showed good stability against photocatalytic degradation. The photocatalytic efficiency of the nanocomposite was indicated by the adequate photocatalytic reaction process. These research results show the practical application potential of SiC fibers and the performance of a photocatalyst composite that combines these fibers with metal oxides.

At the end of 2022 there were 439 nuclear power reactors in operating around the world, including 25 nuclear power reactors of Korea. Domestic nuclear power plants (NPPs) continuously produce low and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF). As amount of radioactive waste is increasing and interim storage facilities meet limitation of their capacity, radioactive waste need to be transported. Consequently, the demand for radioactive waste transportation is increasing and the importance of Radiation Risk Assessment Codes (RRACs) for radioactive waste transportation is also on the rise. Considering the domestic situation where all NPPs are located on seaside, the radioactive waste transportation by ship is inevitable and the its risk assessment is very important for safety. Although various researches on radioactive waste transportation risk assessment is being actively conducted, research on domestic radioactive waste maritime transportation is insufficient. In this study, MARINRAD and KM-RAD were used to review on the radioactive waste transportation risk assessment. The result of reviewing shows that MARINRAD used SNF as transporting radioactive materials and ‘SAND87-7067 (1987)’ as nuclide database, whereas KMRAD used LILW and ‘IAEA Technical Report Series-422 (2004)’. To complement these limitations, we present an modernized integrated database by updating data and covering the radioactive materials from LILW to SNF. These results are expected to contribute to the development of RRACs for domestic radioactive waste maritime transportation.

This study was conducted to compare the volatile flavor compounds of Artemisia annua L. after extraction by simultaneous steam distillation extraction (SDE) and solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Via SDE and SPME processes, 79 (1,254.00 mg/kg) and 39 (488.74 mg/kg) compounds were identified respectively. The compounds extracted by SDE included 27 alcohols, 13 aldehydes, 22 hydrocarbons, 3 esters, 12 ketones, 1 oxide and 1 N-containing compound, on the other hand, using the SPME method, 7 alcohols, 5 aldehydes, 1 ester, 18 hydrocarbons, 7 ketones, and 1 oxide were extracted. The major volatile flavor compounds of Artemisia annua L. isolated by the two methods were caryophyllene oxide, -caryophyllene, camphor, -selinene, -muurolene, 1,8-cineol, (E)-pinocarveol and pinocarvone. β β γ The sesquiterpene named caryophyllene oxide was the most abundant volatile flavor compound with relative contents of 234.16 mg/kg and 195.44 mg/kg obtained by the SDE and SPME methods, respectively. Among the identified volatiles, sabinene, β-pinene, α-terpinene, γ-terpinene, yomogi alcohol, myrtenol, (Z)-nerolidol, p-cymen-8-ol and eugenol were detected by the SDE method only while (E)-anethole and α-cubebene were detected by the SPME method only. This study confirmed that the composition and contents of the volatile flavor compounds vary between different extraction methods. More volatile flavor compounds were identified using the SDE method than the SPME method.

Steel slag has been used as the alternative binder to replace Portland cement that furthermore used as in construction and/or for stabilization/solidification of heavy metals in mine soil. One of the treatments to modify the leaching behavior of the mine soil is by carbonation. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential of carbonation in various steel slags. Based on chemical and mineralogical characterization of four kinds of slag that were used in this study, it showed that all slags had high potential for reacting with CO2 that was in accordance with the high CaO and MgO content. CO2 sequestration by aqueous carbonation of several kinds of stainless steel slags with different liquid to solid ratio was investigated in this study. The effect of chemical properties and reaction time on the performance of the carbonation process was also investigated. Converter slag, blast furnace slag (BFS) and ladle furnace slag (LFS) were used. Carbonation experiment was conducted in a closed reactor under the conditions; 1bar, 400rpm and 25℃, with solid to liquid ratios of 0.4, 0.6 and 1.0. Carbonation kinetic test was relatively fast and completed within 5 hours. The CO2 consumption increased when the liquid to solid ratio increased because of the dilution effect. Our results showed that the higher CaO and MgO contents in the slag, the higher CO2 consumption was observed. Pohang converter slag and Dangjin LFS showed slightly different tendency. At L/S ratio 0.4, Pohang slag with higher CaO and MgO content had higher CO2 consumption than Dangjin LFS. As the water content increased, Dangjin LFS had higher CO2 consumption than Pohang converter slag that was caused by the texture of Dangjin LFS with smaller particle size than Pohang converter slag. However, both Pohang BFS and Dangjin BFS have poor capacity in CO2 sequestration.