Enhancing the capacitive deionization performance requires the inner structure expansion of porous activated carbon to facilitate the charge storage and electrolyte penetration. This work aimed to modify the porosity of coconut-shell activated carbon (AC) through CO2 activation at high temperature. The electrochemical performance of CO2- activated AC electrodes was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, charge/discharge test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which exhibited that AC-800 had the superior performance with the highest capacitance of 112 F/g at the rate of 0.1 A/g and could operate for up to 4000 cycles. Furthermore, in the capacitive deionization, AC-800 showed salt removal of 9.15 mg/g with a high absorption rate of 2.8 mg/g min and Ni(II) removal of 5.32 mg/g with a rate close to 1 mg/g.min. The results promote the potential application of CO2- activated AC for desalination as well as Ni-removal through capacitance deionization (CDI) technology.

The pitch-based activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were prepared from ethylene tar-derived pitches containing nickelocene (CNi) or nickel nitrate (NiN). The effects of different anions and contents of metal salts on the microstructure and surface chemical properties of fibers were investigated. The results revealed that Ni2+ from CNi mainly remained its pristine molecule in the organometal salt-derived pitch (OP-xCNi), while Ni2+ from NiN occurred complexation reaction with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the inorganic metal salt-derived pitch (IP-xNiN) due to the weaker binding ability between anions and Ni2+ of CNi than CNi. The XRD and SEM results confirmed that IP-3NiN-ACF contained Ni, NiO, Ni2O3 nanoparticles with different size distributions, while OP-3CNi-ACF only contained more uniformly distributed Ni nanoparticles with small size. Furthermore, OP-3.0CNi-ACF presented higher specific surface area of 1862 m2/ g and a pore volume of 1.69 cm3/ g than those of IP-3.0NiN-ACF due to the formation of pore structure during the in-situ catalytic activation of different metal nanoparticles. Therefore, this work further pointed out that the desired pore structure and surface chemistry of pitch-based ACFs could be obtained through regulating and controlling the interaction of anion species, metal cations and PAHs during the synthesis of pitch precursors.

An electrical double-layer capacitor is fabricated with biomass-derived activated carbon (AC) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), which are synthesized from Pongamia pinnata fruit shell and its seed oil, respectively. The activated carbon is produced by the chemical activation process at varying carbonization temperatures from 600 to 900 °C for 5 h at a rate of 10 min in an N2 atmosphere. The surface area of activated carbon and MWCNTs is 1170 m2 g− 1 and 216 m2 g− 1, respectively. The total pore volumes of activated carbon and MWCNTs are 1.51 cm3 g− 1 and 0.5907 cm3 g− 1, respectively. The as-prepared AC and MWCNTs are characterized by surface area analysis Brunner–Emmett–Teller method (BET), X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopic analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The electrochemical performances of AC-AC, MWCNTs-MWCNTs and AC-MWCNTs (25:75) symmetric electrodes are studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The AC-MWCNTs (25:75) single electrode performance is also studied in two different electrolytes, such as 0.5 M Na2SO4 and 0.5 M H2SO4. The fabricated AC-MWCNTs (25:75) symmetric supercapacitor cell exhibits excellent electrochemical performance in 0.5 M Na2SO4. It shows a specific capacitance of 55.51 Fg− 1, energy density 4.852 Wh Kg− 1 and power density of 199.18 W Kg− 1 at a current density of 1 Ag− 1 in the voltage window of 0–1.8 V. The AC-AC and AC-MWCNTs (25:75) symmetric supercapacitor electrodes show outstanding performance.

A conventional porous carbon is still a very promising material for the removal of gaseous pollutants because of its abundant surface functional groups and a high specific surface area. Here, we prepared an environment-friendly uniform N-rich narrow micropore activated carbon, for the removal of formaldehyde, based on steam activation and N-rich with chitin as the starting material. A sample carbonized at 500 °C and steam activated at 800 °C (CAC800) showed a reasonable yield (55%) with uniform and narrow micropores without mesopores but having a balanced nitrogen functionality. CAC800 possesses outstanding formaldehyde removal capabilities under both dry and wet (humidity 45%) conditions. In addition, when compared with commercial activated carbon materials, we clearly demonstrated that the existence of high nitrogen content with uniform and narrow micropores simultaneously removed formaldehyde, effectively.

To address the need for a suitable thermoplastic resin-based sizing agent for accommodating the increasing demands of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, in this work, alcohol-soluble polyamide 6 (PA6) and silane were chemically combined in a certain ratio to improve the mechanical interface properties of the carbon fiber/PA6 composite, and the enhancement in the mechanical interface strength of the final composite according to the treatment time was confirmed. Carbon fiber surface properties were analyzed through ultrahigh-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The tensile strength of carbon fibers before and after hybrid sizing treatment and the mechanical interfacial shear strength of the final composite were analyzed using tensile and universal testing machines, respectively. After the hybrid sizing treatment, the introduction of the sizing agent to the carbon fiber surface was confirmed through FE-SEM, and a simultaneous increase in the surface roughness was observed. Moreover, the interfacial adhesion was confirmed to increase significantly, as compared to that of the desized carbon fiber. Therefore, this modified sizing agent treatment serves as an effective method for improving the mechanical interfacial adhesion between the carbon fiber and the PA6 matrix.

In this work, a nanocomposite containing gold (Au) nanofibers decorated iron-metal–organic framework (Fe-MOF) was successfully synthesized for electrochemical detection of acetaminophen (AAP). The as-synthesized Au@Fe-MOF nanocomposite was confirmed by various characterization techniques. Morphological analysis showed that the Au nanofibers with an average size of less than 10 nm were dispersed on the Fe-MOF. Cyclic voltammetric analysis showed that the Au@Fe-MOF nanocomposite showed well-defined redox peaks with higher current than that of GCE and Fe-MOF. The Au@Fe-MOF/ GCE exhibited a linear range, sensitivity, and detection limit of 0.5–18 μM, 4.95 μM/μA/cm2, and 0.12 μM, respectively. The Au@Fe-MOF/GCE showed a very low response for the interference materials. The real sample analysis revealed that the Au@Fe-MOF/GCE showed good recovery towards the AAP in urine and paracetamol. Therefore, the developed sensor can be used for quality control of AAP.

Carbon fibers (CFs) are considered promising composite materials for various applications. However, the high cost of CFs (as much as $26 per kg) limits their practical use in the automobile and energy industries. In this study, we developed a continuous stabilization process for manufacturing low-cost CFs. We employed a textile-grade polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber as a low-cost precursor and UV irradiation technique to shorten the thermal stabilization time. We confirmed that UV irradiation on the textile-grade PAN fibers could lower the initial thermal stabilization temperature and also lead to a higher reaction. These resulted in a shorter overall stabilization time and enhancement of the tensile properties of textilegrade PAN-based CFs. Our study found that only 70 min of stabilization time with UV irradiation was required to prepare textile-grade PAN-based low-cost CFs with a tensile strength of 2.37 ± 0.22GPa and tensile modulus of 249 ± 5 GPa.

Though many treatment technologies of contaminated water have been developed for a long time, it is still difficult to find a suitable method for large volumes of low radioactivity tritium-contaminated water. For this reason, most of the tritium-contaminated water been discharged to the biosphere or been stored in a special control area as radioactive waste. Activated carbon is a common material, but since there are few data on the treatment of tritium-contaminated water, its adsorption behavior to HTO is worth studied. In our study, for the tritium-contaminated water having a low radioactivity concentration (350-480 Bq/g), adsorption experiments were performed with activated carbon. The effects on the selective adsorption of HTO were investigated for temperature (5-55°C), hydrogen peroxide (1-10wt%) and activated carbon reuse (1-6 times) under non-equilibrium conditions. The treatment of activated carbon significantly reduced the radioactivity of tritium-contaminated water around 60 minutes of adsorption time. In order to clearly analyze the experimental results, positive factors and negative factors on the HTO selectivity were separately evaluated according to the adsorption time. Temperature and the reuse of activated carbon were evaluated as negative factors for HTO selectivity of activated carbon, whereas hydrogen peroxide (> 5wt%) was evaluated as a positive factor. By the evaluation method of separating the influencing factors into two types, the adsorption experimental results of HTO could be understood more clearly.

Radioactive contamination of soil on the site of a nuclear facility has a characteristic that radioactive nuclides are adsorbed into the pores between soil particles, making it quite difficult to decontaminate. For this reason, research on the development of various decontamination processes is being actively conducted. In this study, among various decontamination studies, a soil decontamination process using supercritical carbon dioxide was presented. The decontamination process uses supercritical carbon dioxide as the main solvent, which has a higher penetration power than other materials. Therefore, the process consists of the process of desorbing and extracting the target radionuclides between particles of soil. However, since nuclides exist as ions in the soil, polar chelating ligand material was introduced as an additive to nonpolar supercritical carbon dioxide for smooth chemical reactions in the soil. Thereafter, from the viewpoint of improving process continuity and efficiency, an alcohol material was introduced as an auxiliary solvent for liquefaction of chelating ligand in a solid state. Through prior research on the selection of a solvent for liquefaction of chelating ligand, ethanol and 2-propanol were finally selected based on whether the chelating ligand was dissolved. However, if the auxiliary solvent in which the chelating ligand is dissolved is to be combined with radionuclides in the soil, it must first be well dissolved in supercritical carbon dioxide, the main solvent. Therefore, in this study, the solubility of ethanol and 2-propanol in supercritical carbon dioxide was measured and the suitability was evaluated. The temperature conditions were carried out at 40°C, the same as the previously designed decontamination process, and the measurement was conducted by adjusting the pressure and volume through a syringe pump and a variable volume device. In addition, solubility was measured based on the observation of the ‘cloud point’ in which the image becomes cloudy and then bright. As a result of the experiment, several solubility points were measured at a pressure of 150 bar or less. If the flow rate ratio of supercritical carbon dioxide and auxiliary solvent derived from the results is applied to the soil decontamination process, it is expected that the process efficiency will increase in the future.

In NPP (nuclear power plant), boric acid is used as a neutron absorbent. So radioactive boric acid waste are generated from various waste streams such as discharge or leakage of reactor coolant water, floor drains, drainage of equipment for operation or maintenance, reactor letdown flows and etc. Depending on KHNP, 20,015 drum (200 L drum) of concentrated boric acid waste were stored in KOREA NPP until 2019. In previous study, our group suggested the waste up-cycling process synthesizing B4C neutron absorber using boric acid waste and activated carbon waste to innovatively reduce radioactive wastes. Radioactive activated carbon waste was utilized in off gas treatment system of NPP to capture nuclide such as I-131, C-14 and H-3. Activated carbon waste is treated as low-level radioactive waste and pre-treatment system for removing nuclide from the activated carbon waste is needed to use B4C up-cycling process. In this study, microwave treatment system is suggested to treat the activated carbon waste. Activated carbon waste was exposed to microwave for a few minutes and temperature of the waste was dramatically increased over 400°C. Nuclide in the activated carbon waste were selectively removed from the waste without massive production of secondary off gas waste.

Korea faces decommissioning the nation’s first commercial nuclear power plant, the Kori-1 and Wolseong-1 reactors. In addition, other nuclear power plants that will continue to operate will also face decommissioning over time, so it is essential to develop independent nuclear facility decommissioning and site remediation technologies. Among these various technologies, soil decontamination is an essential not only in the site remediation after the decommissioning of the highly radioactive nuclear facility, but also in the case of site contamination caused by an accident during operation of the nuclear facility. But the soil, which is a porous material, is difficult to decontaminate because radionuclides are adsorbed into the pores. Therefore, with the current decontamination technology, it is difficult to achieve the two goals of high decontamination efficiency and secondary waste reduction at the same time. In this study, a soil decontamination process with supercritical carbon dioxide as the main solvent was presented, which has better permeability than other solvents and is easy to maintain critical conditions and change physical properties. Through prior research, a polar chelating ligand was introduced as an additive for smooth extraction reaction between radionuclides present as ions in soil and nonpolar supercritical carbon dioxide. In addition, for the purpose of continuity of the process, a candidate group of auxiliary solvents capable of liquefying the ligand was selected. In this research evaluated the decontamination efficiency by adding the selected auxiliary solvent candidates to the supercritical carbon dioxide decontamination process, and ethanol with the best characteristics was selected as the final auxiliary solvent. In addition, based on the decontamination effect under a single condition of the auxiliary solvent found in the Blank Test process, the possibility of a pre-treatment leaching process using alcohol was tested in addition to the decontamination process using supercritical carbon dioxide. Finally, in addition to the existing Cs and Sr, the possibility of decontamination process was tested by adding U nuclides as a source of contamination. As a result of this research, it is expected that by minimizing secondary waste after the process, waste treatment cost could be reduced and the environmental aspect could be contributed, and a virtuous cycle structure could be established through reuse of the separated carbon dioxide solvent. In addition, adding its own extraction capacity of ethanol used for liquefaction of solid-phase ligands is expected to maximize decontamination efficiency in the process of increasing the size of the process in the future.

In the case of decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, it is expected that a significant amount of VLLW and LLW that need to be disposed of are also expected. Conventional reduction technology is a method of extracting or removing radionuclides from waste, but this project is being carried out for the purpose of obtaining a reduction effect through the development of a material that treats another radioactive waste using radioactive waste. In this paper, the technology of impregnating LiOH capable of adsorbing radiocarbon to the gas filter material manufactured from concrete and soil waste as raw materials and the radiocarbon removal performance were reviewed. In this study, a raw material of ceramic filter was prepared by mixing concrete and soil waste with a powder of 40 m or less, and after sintering at 1,250°C, 5wt% to 40wt% of LiOH is impregnated with a filter capable of adsorbing carbon dioxide. was prepared. The prepared filter used ICP-OES and XRD to confirm the LiOH deposition result, and the concentration of carbon dioxide discharged through the carbon dioxide adsorption device was confirmed. It was possible to obtain the result that the amount of adsorption was changed depending on the flow rate of carbon dioxide supplied and the amount of material. Through this, it was possible to confirm the possibility of power generation in the adsorption performance of gas. In this study, after crushing waste concrete and waste soil, powders of 40 m or less were mixed with other additives to prepare raw materials for ceramic filters, and sintered at 1,250°C to manufacture filters. 5wt% to 40wt% of LiOH was impregnated on the prepared filter to give functionality to enable carbon dioxide adsorption. The results of LiOH deposition were confirmed using ICP-OES and XRD, and the change in the concentration of carbon dioxide emitted through a separately prepared adsorption device was confirmed. It was possible to obtain the result that the amount of adsorption was changed according to the flow rate of carbon dioxide supplied and the amount of material, and the possibility of developing a material for radioactive waste treatment using radioactive waste was confirmed when the porosity and specific surface area of the filter material were increased.

The crisis of climate change aroused international needs to reduce the greenhouse gas emission in energy sector. Government of South Korea formulated an agenda of carbon neutrality through announcing 2050 Net-Zero Carbon Scenario A and B in October 2021. As the power supply from renewable energy increases, it becomes a core element to take into account the daily intermittency of renewable energy in analyzing the upcoming energy plans. However, the existing yearly Load Duration Curve is insufficient for applying day and night power change in daily scale into energy mix analysis, since it derives the energy mix for whole year on the basis of classifying annual base load and peak load. Therefore, a new energy mix simulation model based on the daily power load and supply simulation is needed for the future energy analysis. In this study we developed a new model which simulates the average power supply and demand daily (over a 24 hour period) for each season. The model calculates the excess and shortage power during day and night by integrating each energy’s daily power pattern. The 2050 Net-Zero Carbon Scenario A was used for the model verification, during which the same amounts of power production from each energy source were applied: nuclear, renewable, carbon-free gas turbine, fuel cell and byproduct gas. Total power demand pattern and renewable energy production pattern were drawn from the data of 2017 power production, and Pumped-storage Hydroelectricity and Energy Storage System were used as day-to-night conversion. Detailed assumptions for each energy were based on the Basis of Calculation for Net-Zero Carbon Scenario from Government. The model was verified with three cases which were divided depending on the method of hydrogen production and whether the Curtailment and Conversion Loss (CCL) of renewable energy were considered or not. Case 1 assumed production of hydrogen occurred for 24 hours while not considering CCL, had 0% relative error in comparison of total annual power production, and case 2, considering CCL, had a 1.741% relative error. Case 3 assumed production of hydrogen occurred only during daytime with excess power and CCL consideration, yielded 0.493% relative error in total amount of hydrogen production, confirming that the model sufficiently describes the Government’s Scenario A with the input of total power production. This model is expected to be used for analyzing further energy mix with different ratios of each energy source, with special focus on nuclear and renewable energy sources.

The recycling of solid waste materials to fabricate carbon-based electrode materials is of great interest for low-cost green supercapacitors. In this study, porous carbon foam (PCF) was prepared from waste floral foam (WFF) as an electrode material for supercapacitors. WFF was directly carbonized at various temperatures of 600, 800, and 1,000 oC under an inert atmosphere. The WFF-derived PCF (C-WFF) was found to have a specific surface area of 458.99 m2/g with multi-modal pore structures. The supercapacitive behavior of the prepared C-WFF was evaluated using a three-electrode system in a 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. As a result, the prepared C-WFF as an active material showed a high specific capacitance of 206 F/g at 1 A/g, a rate capability of 36.4 % at 20 A/g, a specific power density of 2,500 W/kg at an energy density of 2.68 Wh/kg, and a cycle stability of 99.96 % at 20 A/g after 10,000 cycles. These results indicate that the C-WFF prepared from WFF could be a promising candidate as an electrode material for high-performance green supercapacitors.