This study evaluates the potential of various coagulants to enhance the efficiency of total phosphorus removal facilities in a sewage treatment plant. After analyzing the existing water quality conditions of the sewage treatment plant, the coagulant of poly aluminium chloride was experimentally applied to measure its effectiveness. In this process, the use of poly aluminium chloride and polymers in various ratios was explored to identify the optimal combination of coagulants. The experimental results showed that the a coagulants combination demonstrated higher treatment efficiency compared to exclusive use of large amounts of poly aluminium chloride methods. Particularly, the appropriate combination of poly aluminium chloride and polymers played a significant role. The optimal coagulant combination derived from the experiments was applied in a micro flotation method of real sewage treatment plant to evaluate its effectiveness. This study presents a new methodology that can contribute to enhancing the efficiency of sewage treatment processes and reducing environmental pollution. This research is expected to make an important contribution to improving to phosphorus remove efficiency of similar wastewater treatment plant and reducing the ecological impact from using coagulants in the future.

Black phosphorus (BP) is incorporated in the electrochemical detection of uric acid (UA) to form few layers of BP nanosheets (BPNS)-modified glassy carbon electrodes (BPNS/GCE), investigated by means of ultrasound-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation. We find a significant increase in the peak current magnitude and positive potential shift in the electrochemical response of BPNS/GCE, which may be attributed to the larger specific surface area and good charge transfer ability of BPNS. Further, the electrochemical response of BPNS/GCE is evaluated under different conditions to achieve the optimal conditions. UA detection using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) shows linear response within the range of 1–1000 μM with a detection limit of 0.33 μM. This work reveals new applications of BP nanomaterials in the electrochemical sensing, thereby promoting further advancement in terms of practical applications of two-dimensional nanomaterials.

Hydroxyl radical (OH radical) is the most harmful free radical amongst the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) responsible for numerous diseases of DNA damage like mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and ageing. Therefore, it is important to find a suitable scavenger for OH radical. In the present contribution, we aim to investigate the ability of pristine armchair-SWCNT and B/N/P-doped armchair-SWCNT to scavenge OH radicals using DFT calculations. The calculations reveal that the B/Pdoped armchair-SWCNTs can act as a better scavenger for OH radical compared to pristine armchair-SWCNT but N-doped armchair-SWCNT does not act as a better scavenger for OH radical compared to pristine armchair-SWCNT. Furthermore, the developed scavenger is examined in terms of large-scale availability, biocompatibility, conductivity, stability and reactivity. For both in vivo and in vitro studies, the work is found to useful for enhancing SWCNT as a free radical scavenger.

The anaerobic digestion process produces methane while stabilizing sludge. As of 2020, 62 anaerobic digesters in public wastewater treatment plants are operational in Korea. Many researchers have studied to improve digester performance. Thermal hydrolysis technology is one of the pre-treatment methods for treating sludge. Reduced retention time and enhanced biogas production are the main advantages of sludge disintegration at relatively high temperatures and pressures. But nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are released from the pre-treated sludge. Phosphorus is a non-renewable resource that is essential to food production. Wastewater receives 20% of the total phosphate discharge, while 90% of the influent phosphorus load is in sludge. For efficient phosphorus recovery, it is essential to comprehend the phosphorus release characteristics during wastewater treatment, including anaerobic digestion. Biological or chemical processes can achieve phosphorus removal to comply with the effluent discharge limits regulations. The three primary sources of phosphorus in sludge are aluminum-bound phosphorus (Al-P), polyphosphate in phosphorus-accumulating organisms (PAOs), and iron-bound phosphorus (Fe-P). Anaerobic digestion is the typical method for recovering carbon and phosphorus. However, previous research has demonstrated that most phosphorus in anaerobic digestion occurs as a solid phase coupled with heavy metals. Therefore, the poor mass transfer rate results in a slow phosphorus release. Due to the recent growth in interest and significance of phosphorus recovery, many researchers have studied to improve the quantity of phosphorus released into the liquid phase through chelation addition, process operation optimization, and disintegration using sludge pre-treatment. The study aims to investigate characteristics of the phosphorus release associated with the thermal hydrolysis breakdown of sludge and propose a method for recovering phosphorus in a wastewater treatment plant. When solubilizing sludge using thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment, organic phosphates, inorganic phosphates, and polyphosphates are converted into ortho-phosphate. Therefore, applying thermal hydrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and phosphorus recovery processes (struvite formation or microbial electrolysis cells) can recover carbon and phosphorus.

The objective of this study was to determine effects of phosphorus on lignification and carbohydrate metabolism in Kentucky bluegrass under drought stress. Drought stress was induced by reducing of water to plants in pots. Two types of phosphorus were applied as potassium phosphate (PO4 3-; P) or potassium phosphonate (PO3 3-; PA) in drought-stressed plants. Drought had significant negative effects on plant growth, as revealed by reduced biomass of shoot. Drought-induced increase of lignin content was concomitant with the increase of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). Soluble sugar content was highly increased but fructan content was largely decreased by drought stress. However, the application of phosphorus was efficient to ameliorate the adverse effects of drought. PA application improved reduced shoot growth and relative water content, and inhibited lignification synthesis with a reduction of PAL activity. P or PA application maintained soluble sugar and fructan content at similar levels to controls under drought stress. These results indicate that phosphorus application may mitigate the drought stress by inhibiting the lignification and promoting the fructan assimilation.

The objective of this study was to determine phosphorus effects on drought stress-induced oxidative stress in Kentucky bluegrass. Drought stress was induced by reducing of water to plants in pots. Two types of phosphorus were applied as potassium phosphate (P) or potassium phosphonate (PA). Application of phosphorus was efficient to ameliorate the adverse effects of drought. Osmotic potential, total chlorophyll and carotenoid content were significantly decreased by drought stress, but was relieved by P or PA application. Superoxide (O2 •−) concentration was significantly increased more than 14-fold under drought-stressed plants, was accompanied with increase of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and lipid peroxidation (MDA). However, malondialdehyde (MDA) was much less in P or PA applied plants under drought stress condition. Activities of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and guaiacol-peroxidase (GPX) were largely increased by drought stress and its increase rate was much higher in P or PA applied plants except APX. These results indicate that drought stress-induced oxidative stress is alleviated by P or PA application due to the increase of activities of antioxidant enzymes.

본 연구에서는 가교제인 붕산과 아크릴 수지 바인더에 삼인산(3 인산), 피트산(6 인산) 또는 폴 리인산암모늄(10 인산)을 혼합하여 인계 난연 코팅액을 제조하였다. 제조된 인계 난연 코팅액을 부직포에 각각 코팅하여 높은 난연 효과를 얻었다. 이렇게 제조된 난연성 부직포를 연기밀도기준시험(ASTM E662), 산소한계지수기준시험(ISO E622), 수직연소기준시험(UL 94)을 이용하여 평가하였다. 그들의 난연 효과는 phosphate 그룹의 수에 의해 영향을 받았으며, 천연 또는 합성 바인더 수지에 관계없이 그 효과는 ammonium polyphosphate > phytic acid > triphosphate의 순서로 나타났다. 천연 탄화수소 화합물도 바인더 수지의 난연성을 결정하기 위해 조사되었다. 그 결과 천연 탄화수소 바인 더 수지가 난연성 부직포 제조에 사용될 수 있음을 보여주었다.

본 연구에서는 와편모조류 Alexandrium affine(LIMS-PS-2345)의 생장에 미치는 용존태 무기 및 유기 영양염의 영향을 조사하였 다. 영양염 흡수 동력학 실험에서 A. affine의 최대흡수속도(ρmax)와 반포화상수(Ks)는 질산염에서 77.0 pmol/cell/hr과 17.6 μM, 인산염에서 15.5 pmol/cell/hr과 3.88 μM로 산출되어, 무기영양염에 대하여 높은 요구량 및 낮은 친화성을 가지고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 유기 영양염에 따른 A. affine의 생장속도를 확인한 결과, 유기 질소 urea, glycine와 유기 인 adenosine triphosphate(ATP), glycerol phosphate(Glycerol-P) 첨가구에서 무기 영양염 첨가구의 70 % 이상 생장속도를 보였다. 따라서 낮은 무기 영양염 환경에서 A. affine의 우점화와 종간경쟁에서 우위를 위해서는 용존태 유기 영양염의 이용이 필요할 것으로 생각된다.

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is routinely used for the determination of nutrient components of forages. However, little is known about the impact of sample preparation and wavelength on the accuracy of the calibration to predict minerals. This study was conducted to assess the effect of sample preparation and wavelength of near infrared spectrum for the improvement of calibration and prediction accuracy of Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P) in imported hay using NIRS. The samples were scanned in reflectance in a monochromator instrument (680–2,500 nm). Calibration models (n = 126) were developed using partial least squares regression (PLS) based on cross-validation. The optimum calibrations were selected based on the highest coefficients of determination in cross validation (R2) and the lowest standard error of cross-validation (SECV). The highest R2 and the lowest SECV were obtained using oven-dry grinded sample preparation and 1,100-2,500 nm wavelength. The calibration (R2) and SECV were 0.99 (SECV: 468.6) for Ca and 0.91 (SECV: 224.7) for P in mg/kg DM on a dry weight, respectively. Results of this experiment showed the possibility of NIRS method to predict mineral (Ca and P) concentration of imported hay in Korea for routine analysis method to evaluate the feed value.

This study developed a flame-retardant fiber-reinforced composite material that satisfies the required regulations of railway vehicle interior parts for the purpose of reducing weight and simplifying the production process using SMC(sheet molding compounds) composite materials. It is essential to secure flame-retardant performance that minimizes flames and smoke for the safe evacuation of passengers in case of fire for interior parts of railway vehicles. In this study, the resin for SMC was developed by adding various flame retardant materials such as vinyl ester (halogen-based and phosphorus-based) and antimony trioxide, and chopped glass fibers were used as the reinforcing material. As a result of preparing specimens for phosphorus-based and halogen-based SMC materials, and comparing the flame retardant performance, the phosphorus-based SMC material had an oxygen index of 36.1, smoke density (1minute 30 seconds, 4minutes, 10minutes) of 1.7, 51.5, 195.1. It was measured with a toxicity index of 0.05 R and average heat for sustained burning of 4.5MJ/m, which satisfies all the flame retardant standards required for interior parts of railway vehicles, and it was found that most of the performance was better than that of halogen-based SMC.

Biological phosphorus removal is accomplished by exposing PAO(phosphorus accumulating organisms) to anaerobic-aerobic conversion conditions. In the anaerobic condition, PAO synthesize PHB(polyhydroxybutyrate) and simultaneously hydrolysis of poly-p resulting phosphorus(Pi) release. In aerobic condition, PAO uptake phosphorus(Pi) more than they have released. In this study, cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp., which is known to be able to synthesize PHB like PAO, was exposed to anaerobic-aerobic conversion. If Synechococcus sp. can remove excess phosphorus by the same mechanism as PAO, synergistic effects can occur through photosynthesis. Moreover, Synechococcus sp. is known to be capable of synthesizing PHB using inorganic carbon as well as organic carbon, so even if the available capacity of organic carbon decreases, it was expected to show stable phosphorus removal efficiency. In 6 hours of anaerobic condition, phosphorus release occurred in both inorganic and organic carbon conditions but SPRR(specific phosphorus release rate) of both conditions was 10 mg-P/g-MLSS/day, which was significantly lower than that of PAO. When converting to aerobic conditions, SPUR(specific phosphorus uptake rate) was about 9 mg-P/g-MLSS/day in both conditions, showing a higher uptake rate than the control condition showing SPUR of 6.4 mg-P/g-MLSS/day. But there was no difference in terms of the total amount of removal. According to this study, at least, it seems to be inappropriate to apply Synechococcus sp. to luxury uptake process for phosphorus removal.

To remove phosphorus from the effluent of public wastewater treatment facilities, hundreds of enhanced phosphorus treatment processes have been introduced nationwide. However, these processes have a few problems including excessive maintenance cost and sludge production caused by inappropriate coagulant injection. Therefore, the optimal decision of coagulant dosage and automatic control of coagulant injection are essential. To overcome the drawbacks of conventional phosphorus removal processes, the integrated sedimentation and dissolved air flotation(SeDAF) process has been developed and a demonstration plant(capacity: 100 m3/d) has also been installed. In this study, various jar-tests(sedimentation and / or sedimentation·flotation) and multiple regression analyses have been performed. Particularly, we have highlighted the decision–making algorithms of optimal coagulant dosage to improve the applicability of the SeDAF process. As a result, the sedimentation jar-test could be a simple and reliable method for the decision of appropriate coagulant dosage in field condition of the SeDAF process. And, we have found that the SeDAF process can save 30 – 40% of coagulant dosage compared with conventional sedimentation processes to achieve total phosphorus (T-P) concentration below 0.2 mg/L of treated water, and it can also reduce same portion of sludge production.

Phosphorus is an element that plays many important roles in powder metallurgy as an alloy element. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of phosphorus addition on the microstructures and mechanical properties of sintered low-alloy steel. The sintered low-alloy steels Fe-0.6%C-3.89%Ni-1.95%Cu-1.40%Mo-xP (x=0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20%) were manufactured by compacting at 700 MPa, sintering in H2-N2 at 1260℃, rapid cooling, and low-temperature tempering in Ar at 160℃. The microstructure, pore, density, hardness, and transverse rupture strength (TRS) of the sintered low-alloy steels were evaluated. The hardness increased as the phosphorus content increased, whereas the density and TRS showed maximum values when the content of P was 0.05%. Based on microstructure observation, the phase of the microstructure changed from bainite to martensite as the content of phosphorus is increased. Hence, the most appropriate addition of phosphorus in this study was 0.05%.

Phosphorus is a vital resource for sustaining agriculture and nutrition, but a limited non-renewable resource. Thus, the recovery of phosphorus from waste activated sludge(WAS) was attempted by microwave heating and magnesium ammonium phosphorus(MAP) crystallization. Polyphosphate-accumulating organisms(PAOs) in WAS release phosphate from the cell when they are exposed to high temperature environments. Microwave heating caused phosphorus and ammonia to release from WAS. The amount was increased with increasing temperature, showing that 88.5% of polyphosphate present in the cells were released in the form of phosphate at 80oC. A similar result was also observed in the release of ammonia. On the other hand, both phosphorus and ammonia were crystallized with magnesium, and then was harvested as MAP. Phosphorus recovery rate reached almost 97.8%, but the ammonia was about 13.4%. These results cleary indicate that phosphorus could be recovered from WAS using a physiological trait of PAOs. Heavy metal analyses also show that the MAP crystal is useful and safe as a phosphorus fertilizer.

본 연구는 남해 연안에서 채취한 퇴적물을 대상으로 수질의 환경변화에 의해 퇴적물이 용출 특성에 미치는 영향을 파악하기 위해 실험실에서 20일 동안 용출 배양실험을 진행하였으며, 퇴적물 인의 존재형태와 수질의 환경 인자, 총 인의 용출률을 측정하였다. 관찰 결과, 수층에서 미생물의 성장에 의해 용존 산소가 감소하여, 퇴적물의 산화환원전 위가 낮아지는 혐기성환경이 진행되었다. 그에 따라 배양 초기일과 20일 후를 비교하면, 퇴적물 인의 존재 형태 중 철 산화물과 결합한 인산염의 감소하는 변동성이 높게 나타났다. 이는 철 산화물이 환원될 경우 금속 이온과 분리된 무기인이 수중으로 이동하는 것을 의미하는데, 분리된 무기인은 플랑크톤에 의해 잘 흡수되는 특성을 가진다. 수층의 총 인을 분석한 결과 20일 차 0.304mg/L까지 지속적으로 증가하였으며, 산정된 용출률의 경우 배양 5일 이후 용존 산소의 감소와 높은 관계성을 보였다. 따라서 본 연구의 결과로부터, 수층의 부영양화를 관리하기 위한 요소로서 수질의 용존 산소와 퇴적물 인의 존재형태 중 철 산화물의 중요성을 확인할 수 있었다.

The algal blooms in stagnant streams and lakes have caused many problems. Excessive algae leads to disturbance of ecosystem and overload of water treatment processes. Therefore, phosphorus(P), source of algal blooms, should be controlled. In this study, a filtration trench has been developed to convert dissolved phosphorus into hydroxyapatite(HAP) so that it could be crystallized on the surface of ‘phosphorus removal granular material’; and residual particulate phosphorus could be removed by additional precipitation and filtration. The front and rear parts of filtration trench consisted of ‘phosphorus removal granular material contact bed’ and ‘limestone filtration bed’, respectively. As a result of the column test using phosphorus removal granular material and limestone serially, PO4-P was removed more than 90% when EBCT(empty bed contact time) of the contact bed was over 20 minutes; and T-P represented 60% of removal efficiency when total EBCT was over 1.5 hours. The results of column tests to figure out the sedimentation characteristics showed that more than 90% of particulate phosphorus could be removed within 24 hours. It was necessary to optimize the filtration part in order to increase removal efficiency of T-P additionally. Also, it was confirmed through the simulation of Visual MINTEQ that most of particulate phosphorus in the column tests is the form of HAP. Based on the results of the study, it could be suggested that the design parameters are over 0.5 hour of EBCT for phosphorus removal granular material contact bed and over 1.5 hours of EBCT for limestone filtration bed.