The objective of this study was to empirically analyze the shipping method and trading intent of landscaping tree farms. The analysis used survey data on landscaping tree seedling farms. Crosstabs were utilized to analyze the shipping method and characteristics of landscaping trees, and a binary logistic regression to analyze the trading intent. The results were as follows: The most common shipping method used by landscaping tree farms was “agricultural forward contract,” followed by “delivery of goods by individuals to middlemen.” However, “direct dealing with the ordering body” was the most desired in the long run. Among the characteristics of farms desiring direct dealing with the ordering body, variables that showed statistical significance were “experience in producing landscaping trees,” “whether landscaping tree production is a full-time profession,” “awareness of retail prices of landscaping trees,” and “difficulty in finding market and price information related to shipping.” In particular, more experience in producing landscaping trees led to a lower probability of direct dealing. Moreover, farms specializing in landscaping trees, farms aware of retail prices, and farms that had difficulty determining market or price information were more likely to focus on direct dealing.

탈삽된(CO2처리) 청도반시의 MAP저장에 따른 품질에 미치는 영향을 조사하여 고품질을 유 지할 수 있는 적합한 조건을 규명하였다. 시료인 떫은감은 “청도반시”를 탈삽하여 사용하였으며, LDPE(60㎛), ceramic(30, 60㎛)필름을 사용하여 하였다. 저장온도는 5℃에서 140일간 저장을 하면서 저 장 조건에 대한 떫은 감의 품질 특성을 분석하였다. 저장기간 동안 포장내 CO2 및 O2의 농도는 저장 18일까지는 CO2의 농도가 5.2%까지 증가하고 O2농도는 6.7%까지 감소한 후 저장 말기까지는 거의 일 정한 농도를 유지되었다. 저장 중 중량 감소율은 저장기간이 증가할수록 중량이 완만하게 감소하는 경향 을 보였으며, ceramic 60㎛ 가장 낮은 중량 감소율을 나타내었다. 과육의 경도, 과피의 색도는 ceramic 60㎛ 포장군에서 가장 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 저장기간 중 탄닌 함량, 가용성 고형성분은 포장조건에 따른 유의적인 차이는 없이 일정하게 유지되는 경향을 나타내었다. 저장기간 중 에탄올 및 아세트알데히 드 함량변화의 경우 탈삽 직후 다소 상승 하다가 저장기간이 경과함에 따라 감소하는 경향을 나타내었 다. 이상의 결과를 종합하여 볼 때 탈삽감의 유통에 가장 적합한 포장군은 ceramic 60 ㎛ 필름으로 확 인되었다.

With the matters of climate change, energy security and resource depletion, a growing pressure exists to search for replacements for fossil fuels. Among various sustainable energy sources, hydrogen is thought of as a clean energy, and thus efficient hydrogen storage is a major issue. In order to realize efficient and safe hydrogen storage, various porous materials are being explored as solid-states materials for hydrogen storage. For those purposes, it is a prerequisite to characterize a material’s textural properties to evaluate its hydrogen storage performance. In general, the textural properties of porous materials are analyzed by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurement using nitrogen gas as a probe molecule. However, nitrogen BET analysis is sometimes not suitable for materials possessing small pores and surfaces with high curvatures like MOFs because the nitrogen molecule may sometimes be too large to reach the entire porous framework, resulting in an erroneous value. Hence, a smaller probe molecule for BET measurements (such as hydrogen) may be required. In this study, we describe a cost-effective novel cryostat for BET measurement that can reach temperatures below the liquefaction of hydrogen gas. Temperature and cold volume of the cryostat are corrected, and all measurements are validated using a commercial device. In this way, direct observation of the hydrogen adsorption properties is possible, which can translate directly into the determination of textural properties.

Recently, the material industry in the world has started appreciating the value of new materials that can overcome the limitation of steel material. In particular, new materials are expected to play a very important role in the future industry, demonstrating superior performance compared to steel in lightweight materials and ability to maintain in high temperature environments. Carbon materials have recently increased in value due to excellent physical properties such as high strength and ultra lightweight compared to steel. However, they have not overcome the limitation of productivity and price. The carbon materials are classified into various composites depending on the purpose of use and the performance required. Typical composites include carbon-glass, carbon-carbon, and carbon-plastic composites. Among them, carbon-carbon composite technology is a necessary technology in aviation and space, and can be manufactured with high investment cost and technology. In this paper, in order to find the optimal conditions to achieve productivity improvement and cost reduction of carbon material densification process, the correlation between each process parameters and results of densification is first analyzed. The main process parameters of the densification process are selected by analyzing the correlation results. And then a certain linear relationship between major process variables and density of carbon materials is derived by performing a regression analysis based on the historical production result data. Using the derived casualty, the optimal management range of major process variables is suggested. Effective process operation through optimal management of variables will have a great effect on productivity improvement and manufacturing cost reduction by shortening the lead time.

The study of Chinese characters structure has always been one of the basic problem of Chinese philology. Because of the limitations of information and methods, previous scholars mostly rests on the static analysis of individual or stage Chinese characters. Therefore, they can’t overall research the development of ideogram. On the basis of full possession of ancient texts, and through the dynamic analysis of the way that ideograms are constructed, we can find that the ideogram has always been in dynamic development. In the early stage of ancient writing, most ideograms are combinations of imageries. However, after Qin dynasty characters, the pictographic feature of Chinese characters are greatly reduced, and most of the ideograms are linguistic type. Beginning with the oracle inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, ideograms had tended to be semantic-plus-phonetic. And there were varied ways to achieve this transformation. This trend was gradually strengthened by Zhou dynasty, and it reached the peak in the Qin and Han dynasties.

Introduction The current fashion industry has been overrun with fast fashion products in the last couple of decades. Consequently, it has become one of the most environmentally degrading industries worldwide, and is plagued by social and economic inequalities (Fletcher, 2013). The fast fashion apparel industry produces pollution and waste; and wearers are exposed to hazardous materials. The fast pace of the fashion industry has also led to unsafe working conditions that can result in detrimental influence on workers as in the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Furthermore, the individuals responsible for making the fast fashion products often live in underdeveloped countries and are paid below national minimum wage (Niinimaki, 2013). In contrast, the sustainable fashion industry aims to produce safer, cleaner, and more impactful apparel. A part of the growing sustainable apparel industry is slow fashion, which emphasizes creating fashion products at a less-intensive pace with environmentally-minded techniques. Slow fashion movement is an emerging trend within the fashion industry that counteracts the harms of fast fashion. The term „slow fashion‟ was first used by Kate Fletcher and shares several characteristics with slow food, from which the slow fashion movement got much of its inspiration (Cataldi, Dickson, & Grover, 2010). Slow fashion is thought to represent a blatant discontinuity such as a break from the values and goals of fast (growth-based) fashion (Fletcher, 2013). Slow fashion attempts to remedy the various negative economic, social, and environmental global impacts of the current fast fashion system. The purpose of this study was to analyze the material-oriented trends of representative fast fashion and slow fashion brands toward the development of sustainable fashion. This study aimed to answer the following questions: 1) By what efforts in terms of material usage do the fast and slow fashion brands promote sustainable fashion? and 2) How do these efforts influence apparel manufacturing as sustainability practices and consumers‟ purchase intentions? Backgrounds Moore and Fernie (Moore & Fernie, 2004, p. 31) defined fast fashion as “various strategies to respond commercially to the latest fashion trends”. Fast fashion brands, such as H&M, Forever 21, and Zara, use a combination of quick response and enhanced design techniques to quickly design, manufacture, and stock trendy apparel and accessories that consumers can purchase at an affordable price (Cortez et al., 2014). The manufacturers of fast fashion brands struggle to provide innovative merchandise in their preferred production timetable (Cortez et al., 2014). In such an overloaded manufacturing process, the apparel industry has experienced increased pollution and hazardous work environments. Slow fashion is defined as “a philosophy of attention that is sensitive to environmental and societal needs and to the impact production and distribution have on society and the environment” (Karaosman, Brun, & Morales-Alonso, 2016). Antanaviciute and Dobilaite (2015) report that the slow fashion industry is sustainable and seeks a greater purpose than making profit, and is thus characterized with promoting fair economic, environmental, and social systems within the fashion cycle. In the slow fashion movement, the materials used to produce garments are environmentally friendly. Sustainable fashion is achieved when available materials are used to their ultimate potential; waste materials are utilized; the products are recycled; and a second life for the fashion products is planned (Sharda & Mohan Kumar, 2012). In addition, sustainable fashion uses biodegradable materials such as organic cotton, polylactic acid, and other biopolymers etc. (Fletcher, 2013). In the production phase, garments workers who produce sustainable fashion products are paid a living wage, unlike their counterparts who work for less than a dollar a day in the fast fashion industry. Throughout the slow fashion supply chain, reducing the speed at which the products are produced and consumed is emphasized. Slowing down the production phase results in end products of better materials, with more material-construction input-time, and longer-lasting overall final product, as compared to typical fast fashion items. Case study This study was conducted based on a case study. We analyzed the sustainability practices in aspect of fiber materials of two representative brands: a fast fashion, Zara and a slow fashion, People Tree. Several resources were used to collect the information necessary for the case study. The primary resources were academic articles, reports, and brochures from companies‟ websites. The information on both companies was very useful to understand their products and sustainability practices as a fast fashion and a slow fashion brand. Zara is a ready-to-wear fast fashion retailer based in Spain, which was created by Rosalia Mera and Óscar Pérez Marcote in 1974. Since its creation, the fast fashion retailer has built a reputation for manufacturing and stocking on-trend clothing at the customer‟s demand. The company sends small shipments year-round to stores and subsequently monitors the customers‟ reactions by adjusting the store inventory. The retail giant has employed over 10,000 employees and is a private company that, according to the Business of Fashion, was worth $16.7 billion in 2013 (Hansen, 2012). Zara is known as affordable luxury (Gamboa & Goncalves, 2014) for its on-trend imitations of high-end clothing pieces that are inexpensive. The average Zara consumer is young with an age range of 18 to 24 years and female (Gamboa & Goncalves, 2014). Zara was chosen for this case study based on its unique and successful fast fashion business model. Zara has been criticized for numerous violations in manufacturing practice, including a lack of hygiene and safety in its Argentinian factories. The workers‟ rights NGO La Alameda, alleged that the working conditions consisted of no breaks and poorly lit and unventilated conditions (Crotty, 2013). The company compensated the workers and was forced to pay $530,000. People Tree is considered as a pioneer in the slow fashion movement and sustainable fashion. The company has implemented many measures to increase its economic, social, and environmental sustainability. People Tree was the first fashion brand to develop an integrated supply chain for organic cotton from the farm to the final product. Furthermore, they were the first organization to achieve a Global Organic Textile Standard certification. They source their yarns, fabrics, and accessories locally, as well as choose natural and recycled products over the toxic, synthetic, and non-biodegradable materials typically found in fast fashion products. The People Tree producer group is comprised of over 4,560 artisan producers, which includes hand weavers, hand knitters, embroiderers, tailors, and group leaders. They allow local individuals to produce and create incredibly unique products, thus generating livelihoods and incomes for these individuals who typically reside in very rural areas. Zara uses a variety of synthetic and organic fibers and textiles in its clothing. Zara partners with a company called Lenzing to source recycled polyester, cotton, and wool when available, and then donates any extra textiles not used in manufacturing products. Zara prioritizes using organic cotton and recycled materials. Organic cotton is grown and manufactured without harmful pesticides. Zara has become one of the biggest users of organic cotton, which is a part of their Join Life campaign and in collaboration with the Better Cotton Initiative (Inditex Annual Report, 2016). Zara also uses three types of rayon in its products: Modal, Viscose, and Lyocell. These materials are made from cellulose fibers, which take longer to harvest and manufacture than cotton. People Tree does not use polyester in its products, and most of its clothing is made from organic cotton and wool. It uses 100% fair-trade certified organic cotton that is certified by Soil Association (People Tree Seventh Biennial Social Review, 2011-2012). In addition to cotton and wool, it uses a fiber called “Tencel,” which is made from wood pulp. Tencel is a Lyocell product, also made from cellulose fiber, which is stretch-resistant and highly versatile. Zara uses both synthetic and organic fibers; whereas, People Tree uses organic fibers in the manufacturing of products. Lyocell is one of the most revered sustainable fibers currently on the market. Lyocell is a cellulosic fiber, specifically derived from wood pulp, normally eucalyptus (Fletcher, 2013), beech, and pine (Gordon & Hill, 2015). In a typical process, the wood pulp is dissolved in a solution of amine oxide, a solvent, which is then spun into fibers; subsequently, the solvent is removed from the fibers through a washing process (Fletcher, 2013). The manufacturing process recovers 99.5% of the solvent and the solvent is recycled back into the process (Fletcher, 2013). The solvent is non-toxic, non-corrosive, and all effluent is non-hazardous (Fletcher, 2013). Lyocell has many other environmental benefits such as complete biodegradability (six weeks in an aerated compost heap), and of renewable raw material (eucalyptus has a fast-growing cycle and reaches full maturity in seven years). No bleaching is used prior to processing the fiber, thus reducing chemical, water, and energy consumption in the dyeing process; hence, Lyocell is considered as a “very clean” fiber (Fletcher, 2013). While Lyocell is considered a very sustainable product, its production is energy intensive. However, due to recent research, the amount of energy used to make Lyocell has begun to decrease (Fletcher, 2013). Lyocell is also known by its brand name, Tencel (Gordon & Hill, 2015). Companies such as People Tree have begun to use products like Tencel in their everyday-clothing production. People Tree‟s “Our Tencel” collection is produced by Creative Handicrafts, a social enterprise working to actively empower disadvantaged women of the slum communities of Mumbai through economic independence. Like every producer of People Tree‟s clothing or Tencel products, Creative Handicrafts works to provide fair pay and safe treatment for all their workers. They also work to improve the lives of those employed by Creative Handicrafts. People Tree is currently using their “Our Tencel” collection to upskill the workers, making them qualified for higher paying and more difficult jobs should they choose to leave Creative Handicrafts. They aim to provide workers with a greater range of fabrics that they can work with for future client‟s needs. This provides the workers with greater business opportunities. The slow fashion brand‟s attributes attract ethical consumers. The ethical consumer considers the impact of consumption in terms of environmental and social responsibilities (Barnett et al., 2005). The likeliness of ethical consumer‟s purchasing or willing to purchase a slow fashion product depends on the customer‟s level of involvement. A consumer with high involvement who is willing to purchase the product at a higher price, is not attracted to mass fashion trends, and shows intent to purchase an apparel product for environmental reasons (Jung & Jin, 2016). McNeil and Moore (McNeil & Moore, 2015) found correlations between concern levels for both environmental and social wellbeing and consumer‟s intentions towards sustainable apparel. Similarly, it is possible to predict the preference of ethical consumers to purchase a fast fashion product if made of sustainable fiber materials. Conclusions We analyzed the material-oriented trends of representative fast fashion brand, Zara, and slow fashion brand, People Tree, toward development of sustainable fashion. The kinds of materials used by each brand in manufacturing fashion products, and recent efforts in sustainable practices of both fashion brands were analyzed. The results indicated that the fast fashion brand, Zara has begun to incorporate sustainable fibers such as organic cotton into their products, and the slow fashion brand, People Tree uses more sustainable fibers such as Tencel and organic cotton for its garments and other products. The efforts involved in the trends of fast and slow fashion brands toward sustainable fashion were anticipated to attract ethical consumers‟ purchase intentions. The current findings suggested that new technology offers innovative manufacturing processes producing more eco-friendly products, less waste, and less pollution, which begins to mitigate the negative environmental effects of the traditional fast fashion industry. Implications and limitations This study was intended to analyze the efforts involved in the production of fast fashion and slow fashion brands in aspect of fiber materials, toward the overall goal of sustainable practices. This study may be useful to designers, manufacturers, and retailers who hope to better understand the trend of sustainable practices of both fast and slow fashion brands. Since ethical consumers presumably prefer sustainable products, this study may help designers, manufacturers, and retailers establish optimized strategies tailored to such trends. This study has a limitation due to selection of a small number of brands, which prevents the generalization of the results to all fast and slow fashion brands.

Lithium ion batteries have been extensively used in portable electronic devices due to their high energy density and long cycle life. Recently, lithium ion batteries are required to run conditions that drive up to 1.5C, 2.0C, or higher in order to produce quick charge secondary cells, but the life degradation and safety concerns and rising. In other words, as the number of repetitions of the charge and discharge increases, the binding between the active materials and the ionic conductors becomes loose, and the contact resistance between the particles increases, and due to the increased resistance of the electrode, the battery performance is degraded, and during the life cycle degradation of cathode and anode materials occurs, and it is directly linked to life and safety issues. This study aims to improve the quick charge performance by improving the lithium ion material.

SUS bars such as 304, 316 series have been widely used to manufacture the adapters and fittings, which include many hexagonal bolts and nuts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of heat conduction of SUS bar according to rotation of cutting tool. Temperature distribution in SUS bar can be achieved by using numerical analysis of heat conduction, thus it may be of help to the optimal operation of peeling machine. As the results, as the rotation of cutting tool is increased, both maximum cutting temperature and depth of heat conduction are decreased. Moreover as the angle of SUS bar is increased, it shows that maximum cutting temperature is decreased, on the other hand, depth of heat conduction is increased.

We surveyed the habitat use and food materials of the endangered Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) during the wintering period at the Seocheon tidal flat. The bird wintered about six months from October 2014 to early April 2015 at the flat. They showed a remarkable change in choosing their feeding habitat and prey. They stayed entirely at sedge grass patches on Songrim tidal flat during the early wintering period (October), while after November they gradually moved to Janggu bay and used rice paddy fields as well as sedge patches on the tidal flats as their feeding site. The dietary analysis showed the sedge grass (Bolboschoenus sp., Cyperaceae) was the main dietary source during the entire wintering period. Interestingly, the proportion of Cyperaceae on feces decreased slightly over wintering time, while the proportion of Fabaceae increased relatively since November. These results suggest that the Swan Geese switched their habitat and food sources in response to the change of food availability. The Seocheon tidal flat area is the important wintering site for Swan Geese and sedge grass patches in the area need to be managed as the main feeding area for the wintering Swan Geese.

본 연구는 건강기능식품 중 baicalin, eleutheroside E, ligustilide를 효과적으로 분석할 수 있는 방법을 확립하기 위하여 수행되었다. 이에 LC-MS/MS를 이용하여 신속하고 효율적으로 동시분석할 수 있는 시험법을 확립하였으며, 확립된 시험법에 대해 특이성, 검출한계, 정량한계, 정확도, 정밀도에 대한 검증을 통하여 유효성을 확인하고자 하였다. 표준용액을 이용하여 검량선을 작성한 결과 r2> 0.99 이상의 직선성을 확인하였고, baicalin, eleutheroside E, ligustilide에 대한 정량한계는 각각 39.3 μg/L, 106.7 μg/L, 76.1 μg/L이었으며, 검출한계는 각각 13.0 μg/L, 35.2 μg/L, 25.1 μg/L이었다. 또한 평균 회수율은 각 성분에 대해 108.0~109.9%, 99.8~101.3%, 91.4~97.2%로 나타났으며, 반 복정밀도는 상대표준편차 5%이하, 실험실간 재현성은 9% 이하로 나타나 정확성, 재현성이 우수하였으며 이는 AOAC 가이드라인19)에서 제시한 기준에 모두 적합한 수준이었다. 따라서 개발된 분석법은 향후 건강기능식품 중 baicalin, eleutheroside E, ligustilide를 동시분석하는데 효과적으로 활용할 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) are attracting considerable attention as an important component for emerging optoelectronic applications such as liquid crystal displays, touch panels, and solar cells owing to their attractive combination of low resistivity (< 10-3 Ω cm) and high transparency (>80%) in the visible region. The solutionbased process has unique properties of an easy fabrication procedure, scalability, and low cost compared to the conventional vacuum-based process and may prove to be a useful process for fabricating TCEs for future optoelectronic applications demanding large scale and flexibility. In this paper, we focus on the introduction of a solution-based process for TCEs. In addition, we consider the powder materials used to fabricate solution-based TCEs and strategies to improve their transparent conducting properties.

With increasing public awareness regarding radon, this study has been conducted with the aim of providing more accurate information about radon to the public. We investigated the radon emissions from gypsum boards, which are known to emit relatively higher levels of radon among the building materials available on the market. Radon emissions were measured over three weeks using the closed chamber method with nuclear track detectors. For ceiling materials, the arithmetic mean of the radon emissions was 43.8 ± 42.2 Bq/m3 (geometric mean: 28.9 ± 5.6), 156.2 ± 150.5 mBq/m2/h per unit area (geometric mean, 103.1 ± 2.7) and 21.1 ± 19.9 mBq/kg/h per unit mass (geometric mean: 14.4 ± 2.6). Regarding the wall materials, the arithmetic mean of radon emissions was 24.1 ± 24.0 Bq/m3 (geometric mean: 15.6 ± 2.6), 133.3 ± 143.4 mBq/m2/h per unit area (geometric mean, 76.8 ± 3.0) and 13.0 ± 10.4 mBq/kg/h per unit mass (geometric mean, 9.5 ± 2.3). According to the results of this study, higher radon concentrations and emissions were detected in the ceiling materials than in the wall materials, but these values were lower than those previously measured in building materials.

Abstract In this study, Fe-Ni slag, converter slag and dephosphorization slag generated from the steel industry, and fly ash or bottom ash from a power plant, were mixed at an appropriate mixing ratio and melted in a melting furnace in a massproduction process for glass ceramics. Then, glass-ceramic products, having a basalt composition with SiO₂, Al₂O₃, CaO, MgO, and Fe₂O₃ components, were fabricated through casting and heat treatment process. Comparison was made of the samples before and after the modification of the process conditions. Glass-ceramic samples before and after the process modification were similar in chemical composition, but Al₂O₃ and Na₂O contents were slightly higher in the samples before the modification. Before and after the process modification, it was confirmed that the sample had a melting temperature below 1250 ℃, and that pyroxene and diopside are the primary phases of the product. The crystallization temperature in the sample after modification was found to be higher than that in the sample before modification. The activation energy for crystallization was evaluated and found to be 467 kJ/mol for the sample before the process modification, and 337 kJ/mol for the sample after the process modification. The degree of crystallinity was evaluated and found to be 82% before the process change and 87% after the process change. Mechanical properties such as compressive strength and bending strength were evaluated and found to be excellent for the sample after process modification. In conclusion, the samples after the process modification were evaluated and found to have superior characteristics compared to those before the modification.

Carbonaceous materials have widely been used as sorbents. For advanced applications, fine-tuning porosity and polarity of carbonaceous materials is highly desired. Various control methods for porosity and polarity of carbonaceous materials are introduced and the designed carbonaceous materials are implemented for their intrinsic adsorption applications for various gas molecules (e.g., CO2, N2, H2), organic molecules, and metal ions.

기존에 많이 이용되고 있는 전기탈이온(EDI) 공정은 전기투석법과 이온교환수지법을 혼합한 공정이다. 그리고 공정에 이용되는 모듈은 전기투석을 위한 양･음이온교환막이 있으며 두 막 사이에 이온교환수지로 채워지는 형태이다. 그리고 모듈의 성능을 결정하는 인자로는 이온교환수지의 균질한 크기 분포도가 있다. 하지만 이온교환수지와 양･음이온교환막으로 인해 모듈의 크기가 커지는 단점이 있다. 이러한 점들을 바탕으로 현재 이온교환수지를 글라인딩하여 bipolar 형태의 막으로 만든 electro-adsorption deionization(EAD) 공정 모듈이 생산되고 있다. 본 연구는 현재 생산되고 있는 모듈보다 높은 이온교환능력을 가지는 이온교환고분자를 합성하고, 이온교환수지을 대신할 이온교환그룹을 가진 nano particle 제조하여 이 둘을 적절하게 조절하여 하이브리드막을 제조하였다. 그리고 제조된 하이브리드막은 전기화학적, 열적, 기계적 특성평가를 실시하였고, 그에 따른 고찰을 진행하였다.

A class of phenolphthalein anilide based poly(ethersulfone) (PES) block copolymers containing pendent quaternary ammonium (QA) groups was prepared as anion exchange membranes by reaction involving nucleophilic substitution, benzylic bromination, quaternization and anion exchange with hydroxide ions. Hexafluorobenzene (HFB) was utilized as a linkage group between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic oligomer blocks. Nano-phase separated membrane morphology due to block structure of poly (ethersulfone) serves for better management of absorbed water for higher hydroxide conductivity with good thermal, and dimensional stability. The water uptake, swelling ratio, conductivity, and chemical stability of the copolymer membranes were comparatively investigated.

Recently, among the water treatment technologies, the forward osmosis (FO) system has been received much attention due to the advantages in energy consumption. However, the practical application of the FO system has been limited because of the remaining obstacles such as the absence of both adequate osmotic agent and efficient membrane. In this study, polymers having lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and upper critical solution temperature (UCST), one of the thermal responsive characteristics, are used as the osmotic agents. These materials could be recovered easily by heating them to above their LCST and to below their UCST, respectively. Finally, we believe that our results will provide insight into the synthesis of osmotic agents for water treatment applications.