At Pyropia farms, organic acid treatments have enhanced productivity and quality by removing pest algae (such as Ulva spp. and diatoms) and reducing the occurrence of diseases. Ulva spp. attaches to the Pyropia nets competing for inorganic nutrients & space and diminishing productivity. Additionally, the presence of attached contaminants (such as diatoms and middy particles) on the Pyropia nets negatively affects the quality of Pyropia. This study investigated the effects of removing Ulva linza and washing the Pyropia yezoensis nets using an activating treatment agent (organic acid and highly saline solution) with an air bubble device. The results of measuring the dead cell ratios after treatment under different conditions showed that the dead cell ratio of U. linza did not significantly increase when the air bubble device combined the activating treatment agent with the activating treatment agent alone. When washing the P. yezoensis nets, the air bubble device was about 19-37% more effective than the activating treatment agent alone. The findings of this study suggest that the air bubble device enhances the efficacy of the activating treatment agent, resulting in the effective cleaning of the Pyropia nets.

This research proposes an optimal flushing operation technique in an effort to prevent secondary water pollutions and accidents in aged pipes, and to improve the cleaning effect of unidirectional flushing. Water flow directions were analyzed using EPANET 2.0, while flushing and air scouring experiments in forward and reverse directions were performed in the field. In 42 experiments, average residual chlorine concentration and turbidity were improved after cleaning compared to before cleaning. It was found that even when the same cleaning method was used, further improvement of cleaning effect was possible by applying air injection and reverse direction cleaning techniques. By means of one-way ANOVA(Analysis of variance), it was also possible to statistically verify the need of actively utilizing air injection and reverse direction cleaning. Based on correlation between turbidity and TSS, the total amount of suspended solids removal was estimated for 874 flushing operations and 194 air scouring operations. The result showed that air scouring used more discharge water than flushing by an average of 4.9 m3 yet with larger amounts of suspended solids removal by an average of 145.9 g. The result of analysis on turbidity values from 887 flushing operations showed low cleaning effect of unidirectional flushing for the pipes with diameters over 300 mm. In addition, the turbidity values measured during cleaning showed an increasing tendency as pipe age increased. The methodology and results of this research are expected to contribute to the efficient maintenance and improvement of water quality in water distribution networks. Follow-up research involving the measurement of water quality at regular time intervals during cleaning would allow a more accurate comparison of discharge water quality characteristics and cleaning effects between different cleaning methods. To this end, it is considered necessary to develop a standardized manual that can be used in the field and to provide relevant trainings.

Deposits discharged through the cleaning mainly were cement mortar, bitumen paintings and rust pieces, and fragments of perforation, stones and gravels. Deposits were more removed through swabbing pig cleaning rather than air scouring cleaning on the whole. However, air scouring cleaning were not influenced by the constraint conditions such as a change in the diameter or the presence of the valve in water mains compare to swabbing pig cleaning. So, it was thought that air scouring cleaning might be more favorable to water distribution network cleaning in the future. After the cleaning, water quality including residual chlorine and turbidity also was improved because of the removal of a significant amount of the deposits. Therefore, if the cleaning is continuously and regularly implemented in water mains, it is expected that it will help to recover the reliability and to preserve the health of water quality.

본 연구는 정밀여과용 관형 분리막 모듈 내에 자체 설계한 기체분사형 노즐을 장착하여 막오염 감소 효과에 따른 투과유속을 측정하였다. 원료 용액으로는 0.1 wt% yeast 입자를 사용하였으며 공기 주입에 따른 막오염 감소 효과를 확인하기 위하여 공기를 주입하지 않은 경우와 주입한 경우의 투과유속을 비교⋅분석하였다. 공기를 주입하지 않았을 경우 투과유속은 지속적으로 감소하였지만 공기를 주입할 경우 투과유속은 공기를 주입하지 않은 경우와 비교하여 30% 이상 향상됨을 확인 하였다.

As indoor air cleaners have large sizes and high air flow rates, the test methods for particle cleaning capacity need to be reconsidered because the prescribed test chamber size becomes relatively smaller. In this study, air flow rate of air cleaners compared to test chamber size (Q/V) has been investigated by comparing the short-circuit factor which indicates the air mixed condition in the test chamber. The test method of Korea Air Cleaning Association (KACA) has been analysed and compared to that of Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) for clean air delivery rate (CADR) of two household air conditioners equipped with air cleaners having a maximum air flow rate of 15 m³/min in terms of initial particle concentrations, neutralized/non-charged particles, delay time before acquiring initial particle concentration, sampling positions. Constant short-circuit factor of about 0.9 was obtained in the range of Q/V less than 0.73 min^-1. CADR based on KACA test method was somewhat dependent on initial particle concentrations, delay time before acquiring initial concentration, sampling positions. However, CADR based on AHAM test method was less dependent. Two or three minutes of delay time before acquiring initial concentration was necessary to reduce the variation of CADR according to initial particle concentration and sampling position.

Particle collection efficiency and air cleaning capacity were tested for the two-stage electrostatic precipitator for use in indoor air cleaning systems. A wire-plate type ionizer was used as a particle charger and a dielectric film consisted of polypropylene (or polyethylene) coated metals and zigzagged metal electrodes was used as a particle collector in the electrostatic precipitator. Both particle collection efficiency and air cleaning capacity increased as increasing the applied voltage on the charger and the collector, and furthermore, as increasing the collector film width (i.e. collection area). Air cleaning capacities estimated by the product of particle collection efficiency and air flow rate were quite well consistent with the experimental ones with a proportional constant of 0.964. Ozone concentrations emitted from the charger at the applied voltages of 5.0 and 5.2 kV were less than 0.05 ppm, indoor ozone standards of UL 867-2002, KS C 9314 and SPS-KACA002-132. For the air flow rate of 11.7 m³/min, the applied floor area of 48.2 m² could be obtained when 5.2 kV and 6.0 kV were applied on the ionizer and the collector, respectively and the collector of two 15 mm polyethylene dielectric films was used.

Test methods of Korea Air Cleaning Association (KACA) and Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) for particle cleaning capacity performance of an indoor air cleaner were compared in terms of the conditions of the test particle generation, the range of particle measurement and the calculation methods for particle cleaning capacity, and types of the test particles. The performance test was conducted in a 30 m³ chamber with the same test specimen and the test particles of each test were generated until the number concentration of 0.3 ㎛ particles reached 2.2 × 108 #/m³. The performance test results showed that the cleaning capacity with the particles of higher surface area and volume density, regardless of the type of test particles, was higher than with those of lower and the capacity from calculation with 0.3～1 ㎛ particles was higher than with 0.3 ㎛ particles. Moreover, the cleaning capacity with the calculation of KACA method was lower than with that of AHAM method in spite of using the same test specimen.

The performance of various air-cleaning devices and an assembled air cleaner has been evaluated for the removal of biological pollutants in indoor air. Bacteria, fungi, and viruses were sprayed in a test chamber, and air samples in the chamber were taken for analysis. Air-cleaning devices - UV lamp, ion generator, an UV LED and plasma electricity dust collector - were tested for their ability in the removal of microorganisms in the air. The UV lamp and the ion generator tested exhbited complete sterilization effect within 4hrs of operation. Other devices were less effective: The extent of removal by the UV LED and the plasma electricity dust collector after 6hrs of operation was about 20% to 82%, depending on the microorganisms tested. The performance of an assembled air cleaner was much superior to individual air-cleaning devices: the extent of removal being 97.6%, 99.1%, 98.7%, and 93.7% for Staphylococcus aureus (Gram(+) bacteria), Escherichia coli (Gram(-) bacteria), Aspergillus niger and Penicillium funiculosum (fungi), respectively, after 3hrs of operation. The removal of influenza virus was even more effective, with 99.9% of removal within 25min of operation. The results show that the air cleaner is effective for the removal of microbial and viral pathogens in the air.

This study evaluated the technical feasibility of the application of TiO2 photocatalysis for the removal of volatile hydrocarbons(VHC) at low ppb concentrations commonly associated with non-occupational indoor air quality issues. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate five parameters (relative humidity (RH), hydraulic diameter (HD), feeding type (FT) of VHC, photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) reactor material (RM), and inlet port size (IPS) of PCO reactor) for the PCO destruction efficiencies of the selected target VHC. None of the target VHC presented significant dependence on the RH, which are inconsistent with a certain previous study that reported that under conditions of low humidity and a ppm toluene inlet level, there was a drop in the PCO efficiency with decreasing humidity. However, it is noted that the four parameters (HD, RM, FT and IPS) should be considered for better VHC removal efficiencies for the application of TiO2 photocatalytic technology for cleansing non-occupational indoor air. The PCO destruction of VHC at concentrations associated with non-occupational indoor air quality issues can be up to nearly 100%. The amount of CO generated during PCO were a negligible addition to the indoor CO levels. These abilities can make the PCO reactor an important tool in the effort to improve non-occupational indoor air quality.

Vehicle occupant exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been a subject of concern in recent years because of higher levels of VOCs inside vehicles as compared to the surrounding ambient atmosphere and because of the toxicity of VOCs. The effectiveness of two commercial ACDs for the removal of selected VOCs in the interior of automobiles was evaluated on 115 commutes through urban (Taegu) commutes by two cars and 9 idles. The idling and commuting studies conducted under four different driving conditions showed that the two commercial ACDs were not effective for the removal of VOCs in the interior of vehicles. The concentrations of all target VOCs except benzene were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the interior of older car than of newer car. The mean levels of benzene and toluene measured in this study were well excess of earlier other studies in the United States, besides Los Angeles with which was comparable. It was reported that the in-vehicle exposure to benzene and corresponding upper-bound cancer risk were about 8 times higher than those for outdoor environment, while they were about half of those from indoor environment.