In the dismantling of nuclear power plants, various forms of radioactive gaseous waste are generated when cutting concrete and metal structures. Large amounts of radioactive dust and aerosols generated during the cutting process of each structure can cause radiation exposure to the environment around the workplace and to the radiation exposure in the body of workers. When cutting structures, water is sprayed to reduce the generation of aerosols, so early saturation of the filter is expected due to radioactive aerosols and fine particles containing a large amount of moisture. A mobile air purification device is being developed to a fast and efficient air purifier that can be used for a long time operation to protect workers from radiation exposure in high radiation areas and to minimize the amount of secondary waste generated. In this paper, the direction for a new concept of unit technology that can achieve the development purpose is described.

Seoul has installed mechanical air filters in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems of city buses to improve their indoor air quality since late 2019. We evaluated particle removal efficiencies of the filter in a wind tunnel, and clean air delivery rates (CADRs) of the systems and a household air purifier in the buses, following the test standards. The filter showed the efficiencies of 91% and 97.6%, 88% and 97.9%, and 78% and 95.2% for 0.35 μm particles and PM2.5 at 1.0m/s, 1.5m/s, and 2.0m/s, respectively. The efficiencies rose with an increase in the particle size and the filters had a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating of 15. The CADRs for PM2.5 and flow rate of the systems were 12.7m3/min and 17.9m3/min, 16.6m3/min and 25.4m3/min, 18.7m3/min and 33.6m3/min, and 23.3m3/min and 47.1m3/min on the operation mode of 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The CADRs of the systems were 3.8-7.1 times higher than those of the air purifier, but single-pass removal efficiencies of the former were 0.56-0.81 lower than those of the latter.

The background of the development is to contribute to the reduction of radioactive waste, recycling of resources and effectively purifying the air in the workplace. Ultimately, it affects the reduction of internal exposure of workers. According to the standard procedure of KHNP,「Use and Management of Respiratory Protection Equipment」, the expiration date of mask filter is indicated by the manufacturer before opening. It is 1 year from the date of first combination after opening. We have developed an air purifying equipment that can recycle and reuse expired mask filter waste in nuclear power plant. In order to confirm the performance, we observed air pollution level by operation time. The location was measured at 3 locations including the decontamination product warehouse in NPP, and the size of the measurement locations were 53 m3, 150 m3, 180 m3, and 900 m3. As a result of measurement, significant air purification effect was found in 53 m3 and 150 m3. Decontamination effect of 80% was shown after 1 hour of operation, and 20% of decontamination effect was shown gently for 3 hours thereafter. On the other hand, there was no significant decontamination effect in the 180 m3 and 900 m3 spaces. Significant results were derived by statistical methods. Statistical procedure involves the collection of data leading to test of the relationship between two statistical data sets, or a data set and synthetic data drawn from an idealized model. The basic composition and product characteristics was as follows: Blower, filter fixing unit, Air purifier outlet round shape, Differential pressure gauge, inverter (200 V, 3π, 200 W). The developed product weigh is 25 kg. This is lighter than the existing product weighing 100 kg. It is judged that it is suitable for convenient use. Because the area where the major air pollution level occurs is isolated by a room in NPP. This developed product has a greater significance in that it recycles radioactive waste within the radiation management area rather than air purification efficiency.

In this paper, we conducted a survey to reveal the general perception of parents toward outdoor air quality, particulate matter (PM), and indoor air quality (IAQ) at schools where their children attend. A total of 1,030 parents participated in this survey, where the age of their children ranged between 7 years to over 19 years of age. Each participant was either a member of a non-governmental organization (NGO) with a keen interest in air quality or an ordinary public panel member with less interest. The result of the survey indicated that the participants had a negative perception of air quality, and parents believed that the outdoor and indoor air is extremely polluted. The participants pointed out that they believe that the main reason for the pollution is due to particulate matter (PM) and school classrooms are the location where their children are exposed to PM the most. Based on our study, the majority of the participants prefer a mechanical ventilation system to reduce indoor air pollutants in schools. Our study should be referred to by school officials in order to maintain IAQ and as a way of addressing the concerns of parents who want to protect their children’s health.

This study analyzes the effect of negative air ions on the concentration of airborne particulate matter and evaluates the expected purification efficiency of open spaces for particulate matter by investigating the amount of negative air ions generated by plants. This study establishes a negative air ion generation treatment environment, plant environment, and control environment to measure the purification efficiency of particulate matter under the conditions of each, analyzing the expected purification efficiency by designing a particulate matter purification model. Results show that the amount of generated negative air ion according to environment was negative air ion generation treatment environment > plant environment > control environment; this order also applies to the particulate matter purification efficiency. Moreover, it took 65 min for the negative ion generation treatment environment, 90 min for the plant environment, and 240 min for the control environment to reach the standard expected purification efficiency of particulate matter concentration of 960 mg/m³ for PM10. For PM2.5, with the designated maximum concentration of 700 mg/m³, it took 60 min for the negative ion generation treatment environment, 80 min for the plant environment, and more than 240 min for the control environment. Based on these results, the expected purification efficiency compared to the control environment was quadrupled in the negative ion generation treatment environment and tripled in the plant environment on average.

The final goal of this research is to develop a botanical biofiltration system, which combines green interior, biofiltering, and automatic irrigation, which can purify indoor air pollutants according to indoor space and the size of biofilter. The biofilter used in this experiment was designed as an integral form of water metering pump, water tank, blower, humidifier, and multi-level planting space in order to be more suitable for indoor space utilization. This study was performed to compare indoor air quality between the space adjacent to a botanical biofilter and the space away from the biofilter (control) without generation of artificial indoor air pollutants, and to evaluate plant growth depending on multiple floors within the biofilter. Each concentration of indoor air pollutants such as TVOCs, monoxide, and dioxide in the space treated with the biofilter was lower than that of control. Dracaena sanderiana ‘Vitoria’ and Epipremnum aureum ‘N Joy’ also showed normal growth responses regardless of multiple floors within the biofilter. Hence, it was confirmed that the wall-typed botanical biofilter suitable for indoor plants was effective for indoor air purification.

Biogas from anaerobic digestion of biological wastes is a renewable energy resource. It has been utilized to provideheat and electricity. Raw biogas contains about 55~65% methane, 30~45% carbon dioxide, 0.5% of hydrogen sulfidegas and fraction of water vapor. The presence of CO2 and H2S in biogas affects less caloric value of raw biogas andcorrosion of engine etc.. Reducing CO2 and H2S contents improves a quality of fuel. In this paper, the absorption processusing aqueous monoethanol amine has been investigated as one of the leading technologies to purify the biogas. Liquidabsorbent is circulated through the reactor, contacting the biogas in countercurrent flow. The experimental results of themethane purification in simulated biogas mixture consisted of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide werepresented. It was shown that using aqueous solution used is effective in reacting with CO2 in biogas and it was possibleto achieve the purification of methane from the concentration of 55% up to 98%. This technique proved to be efficientin enriching and purifying of biogas, and has to be used to improve process efficiency.

본 연구는 효과적 벽면녹화 기술향상을 위하여 식물 생육, 시공 편리성, 공간 활용성 등 통합적 실용성을 갖춘 기능성 모듈을 개발하여 실내환경개선 효과를 알아보고자 하였다. 이를 공기정화 장치가 부착된 ‘Bio Green Wall System’에 구조화하여 직접 제작 설치 및 실용화하였다. ‘Bio Green Wall System’ 구조로 인해 식물에 의한 공기정화와 탄소봉에 의한 2차 공기정화 및 습도 조절이 가능하였고, 송풍 구조로 인해 화분의 후방으로 향해 있는 식물 뿌리에 산소를 공급하여 식물이 건강하게 생육하였다. 기능성 모듈 개발을 통해 다양한 식물의 선택이 가능하고, 간단한 공정으로 실내 및 실외의 여러 장소에 설치 및 이동이 가능하며, 식물의 교체나 보수도 신속하고 편리하게 할 수 있게 되었다. 실험결과, 식물이 없는 대조군보다 벽면녹화 설치 후 TVOCs와 미세먼지(PM10) 농도가 크게 감소하였으며, TVOCs는 ‘Bio Green Wall System’에서 일반 벽면녹화보다 더 많이 감소하였다. HCHO는 벽면녹화 설치 후 유의하게 감소하였으나 CO2에서는 유의한 차이가 없었다. 따라서 본 연구에서 개발된 ‘Bio Green Wall System’은 실내공기정화에 매우 효과적이며 특허출원한 기능성 모듈도 우수한 성능을 갖춘 것으로 나타났다.

To date, carbon and nitrogen co-doped photocatalysts (CN-TiO2) for environmental application focused mainly on the aqueous phase to investigate the decomposition of water pollutants. Accordingly, the present study explored the photocatalytic performance of CN-TiO2 photocatalysts for the purification of indoor-level gas-phase aromatic species under different operational conditions. The characteristics of prepared photocatalysts were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning emission microscope, diffuse reflectance UV-VIS-NIR analysis, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. In most cases, the decomposition efficiency for the target compounds exhibited a decreasing trend as input concentration (IC) increased. Specifically, the average decomposition efficiencies for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene (BTEX) over a 3-h process decreased from 29% to close to zero, 80 to 5%, 95 to 19%, and 99 to 32%, respectively, as the IC increased from 0.1 to 2.0 ppm. The decomposition efficiencies obtained from the CN-TiO2 photocatalytic system were higher than those of the TiO2 system. As relative humidity (RH) increased from 20 to 95%, the decomposition efficiencies for BTEX decreased from 39 to 5%, 97 to 59%, 100 to 87%, and 100 to 92%, respectively. In addition, as the stream flow rates (SFRs) decreased from 3.0 to 1.0 L min-1, the average efficiencies for BTEX increased from 0 to 58%, 63 to 100%, 69 to 100%, and 68 to 100%, respectively. Taken together, these findings suggest that three (IC, RH, and SFR) should be considered for better BTEX decomposition efficiencies when applying CN-TiO2 photocatalytic technology to purification of indoor air BTEX.