Ethanol production from various agricultural and forest residues has been widely researched, but there is limited information available on the use of mixed hardwood for ethanol production. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of time on the steam explosion pretreatment of waste wood (mixed hardwood) and to determine the convenience of a delignification step with respect to the susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose residue and the recoveries of both cellulose and hemicellulosic sugars. Delignification did enhance enzymatic hydrolysis yields of steam exploded waste wood. For steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, the recovery yield of hemicellulosic-derived sugars decreased. The effective hemicellulose solubilization does not always result in high recoveries of hemicellulose-derived sugars in the liquid fractions due to sugar degradation. In the steam explosion pretreatment times of 3 and 5 min, where hemicellulose solubilization exceeded 95%, but sugar recoveries in the liquid fraction remained below 30%. Cellulose to glucose yield losses were less significant than hemicellulosic-sugar losses, with a maximum loss of 24% at 5 min. Up to 80% of the lignin in the original wood was solubilized, leaving a cellulose-rich residue that led to a concentrated cellulose to glucose yield solution (about 50 g/L after 72 h enzymatic hydrolysis in the best case). The maximum overall process yield, taking into account both sugars present in the liquid from steam explosion pretreatment and cellulose to glucose yield from the steam exploded, delignified and hydrolyzed solid was obtained at the lowest steam explosion pretreatment time assayed.

Moso bamboo, as a kind of renewable functional material, exhibits outstanding development potential. It is promising to prepare activated carbon with good mechanical strength and high specific surface area using moso bamboo as raw material. In this work, we employed a hydraulic extruder to extrude the bamboo charcoal and the adhesive to obtain the moso bamboo activated carbon, and improved the specific surface area of the columnar activated carbon through high-temperature water vapor activation. Through the catalytic role of the water vapor activation process, the formation and expansion of the pores were promoted and the internal pores were greatly increased. The obtained columnar activated carbon shows excellent mechanical strength (93%) and high specific surface area (791.54 m2/ g). Polyacrylamide@asphalt is one of the most effective adhesives in the high-temperature water vapor activation. The average pore size (22.99 nm) and pore volume (0.36 cm3/ g) of the prepared columnar activated carbon showed a high mesoporous ratio (83%). Based on the excellent pore structure brought by the activation process, the adsorption capacity of iodine (1135.75 mg/g), methylene blue (230 mg/g) and carbon tetrachloride (64.03 mg/g) were greatly improved. The resultant moso bamboo columnar activated carbon with high specific surface area, excellent mechanical properties, and outstanding adsorption capacity possesses a wide range of industrial applications and environmental protection potential.

There are two primary sludge drying methods such as the direct heating microwave method and the indirect heating steam one. In this study, the drying treatment facility at sewage treatment plant A applied both of these drying methods. The research aimed to investigate the optimal operation approach for the drying facility, considering the input sludge and the moisture content data after the drying process. Moisture content and removal rate data were executed at the research facility from January 2016 to December 2018. First, the microwave, a direct heating drying method, performed intensive drying only on the outer surface of the sludge by directly applying heat to the sludge using far infrared rays, so effective sludge drying was not achieved. On the other hand, the steam method of the indirect heating method used steam from a gas boiler to maximize the utilization of the heat transfer area and reduce energy of the dryer, resulting in an effective sludge drying efficiency. The sludge moisture content brought into the sludge drying facility was about 80%, but the moisture content of the sludge that went through the drying facility was less than 10% of the design standard. Therefore, the steam method of the indirect heating method is more effective than the microwave method of the previous direct heating method and is more effective for maintenance It has proven that it is an efficient method of operating construction facilities.

The first commercial operation of Kori-1, which commenced in April 1978, was permanently shut down in June 2017, with plans for immediate dismantling. The decommissioning process of nuclear power plants generates a substantial amount of radioactive waste and poses significant radiation exposure risks to workers. Radioactivity is widely distributed throughout the primary coolant system of the reactor, including the reactor pressure vessel (RPV), steam generator (SG), and pressurizer. In particular, the SG has a considerable size and complex geometry, weighing approximately 326 tons and having a volume of 400 m3. The SG tubes are known to contain high levels of radioactivity, leading to significant radiation exposure to workers during the dismantling process. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the workers’ radiation exposure during the cutting of SG tubes, which account for approximately 95% of the total radiation dose in the SG. Firstly, the CRUDTRAN code, developed to predict the behavior of soluble and particulate corrosion products in a PWR primary coolant system, is used to estimate the radioactive inventory in the SG tubes. Based on decontamination factors (DF) obtained in the SG tubes through overseas experience, the expected reduction in radioactivity during the Kori-1 reactor’s full-system decontamination (FSD) process is considered in the CRUDTRAN results. These results are then processed to estimate the radioactivity in both the straight and bent sections of the tubes. Subsequently, these radioactivity values are used as inputs for the MicroShield code to calculate the worker radiation exposure during the cutting of both straight and bent sections of the tubes. The cutting process assumes that each SG tube section is cut in a separate, shielded area, and the radiation exposure is assessed, taking into account factors such as cutting equipment, cutting length, working hours, and working distance. This study evaluates the worker radiation exposure during the cutting of SG tubes, which are expected to have a significantly high radioactivity due to chalk river unidentified deposit (CRUD). This assessment also considers the reduction in radioactivity within the steam generator tubes resulting from the FSD process. Consequently, it enables an examination of how worker radiation exposure varies based on the extent of FSD. This study may provide valuable insights for determining the scope and extent of the FSD process and the development of shielding methods during the dismantling of SG tubes in the future.

In South Korea, the replacement of steam generators began with Kori Unit 1 in 1995, and to date, 20 steam generators have been replaced and are currently stored in intermediate storage facilities. In the future, additional decommissioned steam generators may arise due to measures like the extension of the lifespan of nuclear power plants. In Korea, technological development for dismantling steam generators is underway, and there is no track record of actual dismantling. Although the replaced decommissioned steam generators are stored in intermediate facilities, for site recycling purposes, steam generators, which have relatively lower radiation doses compared to reactor heads and other primary equipment, should be prioritized for dismantling. While there are various specifications for steam generators, those dismantled and stored domestically are of the Recirculation Type. They can be classified into three types: the Westinghouse type WH-51 used in Kori Unit 1, the Fra-51B used in Han-ul Units 1 and 2, and the OPR-1000 used in Han-ul Units 3 and 4. The quantity of U-Tubes varies depending on the specification, but the radiation is concentrated in the primary side components, the U-Tube and Chamber. Since the parts related to the secondary side are not contaminated, they can be disposed of independently after classification. To dismantle a steam generator, it is of utmost importance to first create a scenario regarding where and how the dismantling will take place. Through the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each scenario, the optimal timing, location, and cutting method for dismantling should be researched. Furthermore, based on those findings, the best scenario should be derived through an analysis of worker radiation exposure and dismantling costs. To achieve this, a 3D simulation software developed by Cyclelife Digital Solutions under the French EDF was utilized to conduct simulations based on different dismantling schedules and methods. As a result, the optimal scenario for dismantling the steam generator was derived.

Kori Unit 1, pressurized water reactor, is the Korea’s first commercial nuclear power plant. It successfully generated electricity for a period of 30 years, commencing from April 19, 1978. Following its approval for continued operation in 2008, Kori Unit 1 continued to operate for an additional 9 years, resulting in a total operational period of 39 years. On June 18, 2017, Kori Unit 1 was permanently shut down. Since then, Korea is actively preparing for the decommissioning of nuclear power plant. During the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, the heavy components such as reactor, steam generator, pressurizer, reactor coolant pump located in the containment building should be taken out of the containment building. To take out heavy components from the containment building, pipes connected to heavy component should be cut. There are numerous pipes connected to the heavy component, each with varying dimensions and material. Each pipe has a different level of contamination depending on its use. In this study, optimal cutting method of pipe connected to steam generator, one of the heavy components of nuclear power plant, is proposed during the decommissioning of Kori unit 1. In case of pipe connected to Kori unit 1 steam generator, material is stainless steel or carbon steel. These pipes have varying inner diameter, ranging from 0.6 cm to 74 cm, and thickness ranging from 0.15 cm to 7.1 cm. These pipes are classified as low and intermediate level waste (LILW) or very low level waste (VLLW). Because characteristics of pipes are different, each pipe optimal cutting methods are proposed differently considering material, dimension, contamination level, cutting cost, cutting time, and the management of secondary waste. As a result, the cutting method for pipe of reactor coolant system is selected to orbital cutting. The cutting method of main steam pipe and main feedwater pipe is selected to oxygen cutting. In case of other small pipes, cutting method is selected to circular saw.

In a steam turbine system for nuclear power plant, the exhaust loss consists of leaving loss, hood loss, turn-up loss and restriction loss. The exhaust loss during rated power operation of steam turbine equipment is inevitable, but it can be optimized by several factors such as last stage blade length, condenser vacuum and steam velocity. In this paper the relationship between the exhaust loss and electrical output of domestic nuclear power plants was quantitatively evaluated, and ways to reduce this loss were considered.

The aim of this study was to compare the antioxidant activities and functional contents of Korean conventional and Chinese seed gingers from the Jeollabuk-do Wanju and Chungcheongnam-do Seosan regions. Ginger samples were subjected to steaming treatments for different durations (2–8 h) at 121oC using an autoclave. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities, while functional ingredient contents were analyzed for gingerols and shogaols. The results showed that Wanju conventional seed ginger (WO-2) had the highest total polyphenol (85.24 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (98.14 RE/100 g) contents, surpassing that of the control in all steamed groups at 6 h. ABTS radical scavenging activity showed a strong correlation with total polyphenol and flavonoid contents. The control groups indicated that Korean conventional seed ginger had 1.0–1.3 times higher gingerol contents compared to Chinese seed ginger. Furthermore, the content of shogaols, considered major functional ingredients, increased significantly with longer steaming durations, reaching the highest content (1,793 mg/kg) at 8 h, which was 1.0–1.8 times higher in Korean conventional seed ginger than that in Chinese seed ginger. These experiments provide valuable data supporting the excellence of Korean conventional seed ginger in the future.

Measuring service quality and related key dimensions has been an important problem in Marketing. In this research, we would introduce a smart methodological framework to efficiently identify refined, key sentiment dimensions for measuring the service quality using both traditional survey and unstructured online reviews (natural survey). The proposed framework consists of three parts: (1) steps for preprocessing the unstructured reviews to generate attribute-level sentiments for independent variables (2) Bayesian regression to efficiently identify key groups of correlated attributes and (3) post-hoc analysis for identifying dimensions from the selected groups of correlated attributes and predicting dimension-level effects. Note, the first part of the framework (i.e., preprocessing) is not required for analyzing traditional surveys. Our framework provides two sets of complementing results such as attribute-level effects under the identified dimensions and aggregate dimension-level effects. In the first application study to traditional SERVQUAL data, we successfully validated the proposed framework by comparing the results between our framework and three commonly used existing methods of regression, lasso regression, and factor analysis. In the second empirical application study with the online reviews from a major game review website, STEAM platform, we found that our framework provided a significantly reduced number of key dimensions which were surprisingly efficient for predicting and explaining the service quality ratings, compared with the same set of compared methods in the first study plus the topic model. In particular, with reviews of 2,825 games, three key dimensions of Mechanical playability, Fun in fantasy and Money for value were identified, and we also found that the Mechanical playability could be an important driver of game popularity.

The potential impact of hypothetical accidents that occur during the immediate and deferred dismantling of the Kori Unit 1 steam generator has been comprehensively evaluated. The evaluation includes determining the inventory of radionuclides in the Steam Generator based on surface contamination measurements, assuming a rate of release for each accident scenario, and applying external and internal exposure dose coefficients to assess the effects of radionuclides on human health. The evaluation also includes calculating the atmospheric dispersion factor using the PAVAN code and analyzing three years of meteorological data from Kori NPP to determine the degree of diffusion of radionuclides in the atmosphere. Overall, the effective dose for residents living in the Exclusion Area Boundary (EAB) of Kori NPP is predicted, an it is found that the maximum level of the dose is 0.034% compared to the annual dose limit of 1 mSv for the general public. This implies that the potential impact of hypothetical accidents on human health discussed above is within acceptable limits.

우리나라 열병합 발전소에서 운영되고 있는 최신 증기터빈의 출력과 효율 향상을 위한 첫 번째 기술적인 진보는 고온, 고압의 증기를 사용할 수 있는 소재 개발의 진척이라고 할 수 있다. 소재의 발전과 더불어 증기터빈의 내부효율 향상을 위한 설계적 노력의 결실 로 높은 효율의 증기터빈이 제작되었다. 오랜 기간 운전 중인 증기터빈의 내부효율은 기계적 수명의 한계로 점차 손실이 발생하고 효율 과 출력이 떨어지게 된다. 이러한 이유로 본 연구에서는 상용프로그램을 이용하여 열병합 발전소용 고압(HP)-중압(IP) 증기터빈의 증기유 로 성능해석을 수행할 수 있는 모델을 개발하고 성능계산 방법을 제시하고자 한다. 증기터빈의 복잡한 성능계산방식으로 인해 증기터빈 실무자들에게 실질적으로 유용한 참고문헌이 될 수 있도록 주요 변수들을 제시하였다. 또한 증기터빈 성능계산에 필요한 열정산도 분석 과 증기터빈 성능계산 결과의 적합성을 성능시험 결과와 비교 확인하였다.

본 연구의 목적은 공학설계 기반 오션 클린업 수업이 STEAM 태도와 창의공학적 문제해결성향에 미치는 영향 을 알아보는 것이다. 또한 이 과정에서 학생들이 공학설계 기반 수업에서 접하는 흥미로운 점을 파악하고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 공학설계를 전공한 교수 1명과 석사 이상의 공학설계 전문가 5명이 함께 공학설계를 기반으로 한 6차시의 과학수업을 개발하여 검토하였다. 수업의 주제는 실제 오션 클린업 프로젝트에서 구현된 방법을 기반으로 해양 오염을 줄이기 위한 과학 및 공학적 해결과정의 설계 및 구현으로 선정되었다. 공학설계 과정은 NGSS(2013)에서 제시한 공학 설계 모형을 활용하였으며, 최적화 과정을 통해 재설계를 경험할 수 있도록 구성하였다. 효과를 검증하기 위해 Park et al.(2019)이 개발한 STEAM 태도 설문지 및 Kang and Nam(2016)이 개발한 창의공학적 문제해결성향 검사 도구를 사 용하였다. 효과성 검정을 위한 통계분석을 위해 사전 및 사후 t-검정을 사용하였다. 또한, 학습자가 경험한 흥미로운 점 의 내용은 기술적인 응답을 받아 전사하고, 중심도 분석을 통해 분석 및 시각화하였다. 결과는 과학 수업에서 공학설계 기반 오션 클린업 수업이 STEAM 태도와 창의공학적 문제해결성향 모두에 긍정적인 영향을 미친다는 것을 확인하였다 (p< .05). 또한, 비정형 데이터 분석 결과, 학습자가 학습에 관심을 갖는 요인으로 이공계 지식, 공학적 경험, 협동과 협 업이 나타나 공학적 경험이 중심 요인임을 확인하였다.

Most of the steam turbine control valves used for the fossil and nuclear power plants operation in South Korea were developed by GE (General Electric) and manufactured by DHIC (Doosan Heavy Industry Company). For may years, DHIC have tried to develop their own technologies related to the power generation. DHIC has launched many R&D projects and ‘Development of a Control Valve Flow Code for Steam Turbine Operation Control of Fossil Power Plant’ was one of the R&D projects. Through our project, we accomplished the experimental method to obtain a steam turbine control valve characteristic curve using the atmospheric air and the reduced model instead using the steam and the real model. Also, we developed the correction method to calculate the real steam mass flow rate from the characteristic curve obtain by the experiment. In this paper, the effectiveness of the correction method was reviewed and it was concluded that the corrected mass flow rate complies well with the real steam mass flow rate.

Reactor pressure vessels and steam generators generated in the process of dismantling nuclear power plants or replaced steam have various shape and occupy a considerable amount of the disposal site when disposed of in original shape. For the development of domestic technologies related to the disposal of large wastes, it is necessary to secure technologies for reducing large radioactive metal wastes, including technologies such as decontamination, cutting, melting, and residual radioactivity evaluation. Cases of disposal of steam generators in Europe and the United States were investigated. Except for u-tubes, steam generators are less contaminated or easily decontaminated, so it is possible to reduce the volume of waste subject to final disposal by exempting a significant amount through appropriate treatment. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. is currently temporarily storing 24 steam generators at 41.6 billion won. This paper presents a method to exempt more parts of the steam generator and reduce the volume of waste by properly combining mechanical cutting thermal cutting and melting to dispose of the steam generator. Currently the decontamination and dismantling industries of nuclear facilities are gradually expanding around the world. Therefore, it is necessary to localize the treatment technology for metal waste generated during maintenance and dismantling. The result of this study can be used to establish waste reduction and disposal method for dismantling steam generators.

Kori Unit 1, Korea’s first commercial nuclear power plant is preparing to dismantle after 40 years of power supply. However, unlike the public dose assessment for nuclear power plants in operation, the dose assessment for the public due to abnormal events during the decommissioning of nuclear power plants is insufficient. Therefore, in this study, the steam generator chamber is selected as hypothetical events target among metal waste, which is a major radioactive material generated during the decommissioning of nuclear power plant. In addition, the possible abnormal event scenarios and effective does to public in the Exclusion Area Boundary due to the released radioactive materials are predicted during the disassembly and transportation of the steam generator. For the source term that can be released during the dismantling of the steam generator, the inventory of each radionuclide is evaluated based on the smear test results of the steam generator replaced in Kori Unit 1 in 1998. To evaluate the diffusion of radioactive material, the atmospheric dispersion factor (χ/Q, sec/m3) is calculated through the PAVAN code of the US NRC using the meteorological data of the Kori nuclear power plant for 3 years from 2019 to 2021 according to IAEA recommendations. For the assessment of the public dose, the external dose coefficient and inhalation coefficient of the ICRP and the inhalation rate of the NRC Regulatory Guide 1.3 are referred. It is confirmed that the effective dose to the public in the Exclusion Area Boundary due to the abnormal event during the dismantling of the steam generator is much lower than the effective dose standard value of 250 mSv for 2 hours after the event in the Exclusion Area Boundary.

Bentonite containing >50wt% montmorillonite is being considered as a buffer material in a deep geological repository to dispose of high-level radioactive wastes (HLRW). Bentonite is considered a buffer material because of its exceptional properties such as high swelling capacity, low hydraulic conductivity, and high radionuclide sorption capacity. The bentonite buffer can be exposed to heat from the radioactive decay of HLRW and to groundwater. Water in bentonite buffer can be converted to steam under elevated temperature and pressure conditions. Previous studies reported contrasting results showing that steam treatment could decrease the swelling capacity due to changes in the surface properties from hydrophilic to hydrophobic or could not change. The contrasting results were probably because different studies used different experimental conditions and methods. Therefore, the effect of steam treatment on the bentonite properties is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to determine how the bentonite properties change after steam treatment, in particular swelling and hydrophilic properties. Two types of bentonite were used for steam treatment and analysis; Gyeongju Ca-bentonite (KJ- II) and Wyoming Na-bentonite (GCL-B). Steam treatment was performed at 150°C in an oven for various periods (7, 30, 60, and 90 days). Free swell test, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, surface-area measurement (BET), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and water uptake test were performed on steam-treated bentonite for various periods and raw bentonite. After steam treatment, some properties of steam-treated bentonite changed when compared to raw bentonite. Free swell index, which means the swelling capacity, decreased significantly as the results of previous studies. CEC and BET surface area values depended on the bentonite type. For Wyoming Na-bentonite, in which the dominant interlayer cation is a monovalent cation, CEC and BET surface area values were increased. On the other hand, Gyeongju Ca-bentonite, in which the dominant interlayer cation is a divalent cation, has no change in the above two properties. Results of XRF analysis, TGA, and water uptake test showed that these properties of both bentonites did not change after steam treatment. The results of this study confirmed that steam treatment affected the swelling and physicochemical properties of bentonite, in particular Na-bentonite. Further studies will focus on the surface properties of bentonite to investigate whether the surface properties have changed from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity, or whether the montmorillonite structure has changed.

Heavy bitumen scattered in the underground sedimentary layer is a kind of unconventional energy source, and by extracting it, a production well is excavated in the sedimentary layer and high-temperature and high-pressure steam is injected to reduce the viscosity of bitumen and recover it to the ground steam assisted method is applied. As a recovery method that uses the steam effect of the dilution effect of solvent injection, it is a recovery method that can increase thermal efficiency. In this study, the process system of the central processing facility(CPF) of the hybrid steam-solvent recovery method that injects solvent into the existing steam assisted method was analyzed, and the core facilities for each process were identified, and hybrid steam-solvent recovery compared to the existing steam assisted method. In the case of the method, it was evaluated that the amount of steam supply and all utility costs decreased according to the solvent injection.

In this study, chemically enhanced steam cleaning(CESC) was applied as a novel and efficient method for the control of organic and inorganic fouling in ceramic membrane filtration. The constant filtration regression model and the resistance in series model(RISM) were used to investigate the membrane fouling mechanisms. For total filtration, the coefficient of determination(R2) with an approximate value of 1 was obtained in the intermediate blocking model which is considered as the dominant contamination mechanism. In addition, most of the coefficient values showed similar values and this means that the complex fouling was formed during the filtration period. In the RISM, Rc/Rf increased about 4.37 times in chemically enhanced steam cleaning compared to physical backwashing, which implies that the internal fouling resistance was converted to cake layer resistance, so that the membrane fouling hardly to be removed by physical backwashing could be efficiently removed by chemically enhanced steam cleaning. The results of flux recovery rate showed that high-temperature steam may loosen the structure of the membrane cake layer due to the increase in diffusivity and solubility of chemicals and finally enhance the cleaning effect. As a consequence, it is expected that chemically enhanced steam cleaning can drastically improve the efficiency of membrane filtration process when the characteristics of the foulant are identified.