• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.91-99
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• 2014

Ordinary heterotrophic organism (OHO) active biomass plays key roles in biological wastewater treatment processes. However, due to the lack of measurement techniques, the OHO active biomass exists hypothetically within the design and simulation of biological wastewater treatment processes. This research was purposed to develop a quick and easy quantifying technique for the OHO active biomass applying a modified batch aerobic growth test. Two nitrification-denitrification activated sludge systems, with 10- and 20-day sludge ages, were operated to provide well-cultured mixed liquor to the batch tests. A steady state design model was firstly applied to quantify the "theoretical" OHO active biomass concentration of the two parent systems. The mixed liquor from the parent systems was then inoculated to a batch growth test and a batch digestion test to estimate the "measured" OHO active biomass concentration in the mixed liquor. The measured OHO active biomass concentrations with the batch growth test and the batch digestion test were compared to the theoretical concentrations of the parent system. The measured concentrations with the batch growth test were generally smaller than the theoretical concentrations. However, the measured concentrations with the batch aerobic digestion tests showed a good correlation to the theoretical concentrations. Thus, a different microbial growth condition (i.e., a higher food/biomass ratio) in the batch growth test, compared to the parent system or the batch digestion test, was found to cause underestimation of the OHO active biomass concentrations.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.351-355
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• 2001

The information about organic and biomass fractions in sewage is essential for the optimal operation and model calibration of biological treatment processes. In the respect of that oxygen is directly associated with respiration and growth of biomass as well as substrate reduction, the respirometry is well known as a suitable method for the analysis of wastewater composition and active biomass. Thus, the organic and biomass fractions in sewage were measured using respirometry. The fraction of readily biodegradable substrate, slowly biodegradable substrate, inert soluble substrate and inert particular substrate are about 10-16%, 1-8%, 32-50% and 2-47%, respectively. The active heterotrophic biomass fraction is about 10-24%, but the autotrophic biomass was not detected in influent sewage.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2004

The biodegradability of organics has become essential for the design and modeling of a biological nutrient removal process. Respirometry for the batch test just with wastewater has been conducted to estimate active biomass and readily biodegradable organics in municipal wastewater simultaneously. Municipal wastewater contains significant active biomass, which is estimated about 17% of COD. Compared to the batch test seeded with sludge, the batch test just with wastewater represents a little higher readily biodegradable organics. This might be due to the different environment of the logarithmic growth of active biomass. The nitrate uptake rate test has been also performed for the estimation of the readily biodegradable organics. The nitrate uptake rate test results in a little higher readily biodegradable organics compared to the batch test seeded with sludge and similar organics compared to the batch test just with wastewater. This might be caused by the different sludge of a sequencing batch reactor process. Taking the result of the previous research into account, the readily biodegradable, slowly biodegradable, active biomass, soluble inert, and particulate inert organics are estimated about 11%, 49%, 17%, 11%, and 12% of COD, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.375-381
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• 2000

Quantifying the changes of soil microbial biomass and activity of enzymes are important to understand the dynamics of active soil C and N pools. The dynamics of soil microbial biomass C and N and the activity of enzymes over entire growth period of soybean-(Glycine max (L) Merr.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) sequence on a Typic Haplustert as influenced by organic manure and inorganic fertilizer N were investigated in a field experiment. The application of farmyard manure at 4 to 16 $Mg{\cdot}ha^{-1}\;y^{-1}r^{-1}$ along with fertilizer nitrogen at 50 or 180 $kg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ increased the mean soil microbial biomass from 1.12 to 2.05 fold over unmanured soils under soybean-wheat system. Irrespective of organic and chemical fertilizer N application, the soil microbial biomass was maximum during the first two months at active growing stage of the crops and subsequently declined with crop maturity. The mean annual microbial activity was significantly increased when manure and chemical fertilizer at 8 $Mg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$ and 50/180 N $kg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$, respectively were applied. The C turnover rate decreased by 47 to 72 % when the level of farmyard manure was increased from 4 to 8 and 16 $Mg{\cdot}ha^{-1}$. There were significant correlations between biomass C, available N, dehydrogenase, phosphatase and yield of the crops.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.501-509
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• 2012

A 990 bp full-length gene (xynAHJ2) encoding a 329-residue polypeptide (XynAHJ2) with a calculated mass of 38.4 kDa was cloned from Bacillus sp. HJ2 harbored in a saline soil. XynAHJ2 showed no signal peptide, distinct amino acid stretches of glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 10 intracellular endoxylanases, and the highest amino acid sequence identity of 65.3% with the identified GH 10 intracellular mesophilic endoxylanase iM-KRICT PX1-Ps from Paenibacillus sp. HPL-001 (ACJ06666). The recombinant enzyme (rXynAHJ2) was expressed in Escherichia coli and displayed the typical characteristics of low-temperature-active enzyme (exhibiting optimum activity at $35^{\circ}C$, 62% at $20^{\circ}C$, and 38% at $10^{\circ}C$; thermolability at ${\geq}45^{\circ}C$). Compared with the reported GH 10 low-temperature-active endoxylanases, which are all extracellular, rXynAHJ2 showed low amino acid sequence identities (<45%), low homology (different phylogenetic cluster), and difference of structure (decreased amount of total accessible surface area and exposed nonpolar accessible surface area). Compared with the reported GH 10 intracellular endoxylanases, which are all mesophilic and thermophilic, rXynAHJ2 has decreased numbers of arginine residues and salt bridges, and showed resistance to $Ni^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, or EDTA at 10 mM final concentration. The above mechanism of structural adaptation for low-temperature activity of intracellular endoxylanase rXynAHJ2 is different from that of GH 10 extracellular low-temperature-active endoxylanases. This is the first report of the molecular and biochemical characterizations of a novel intracellular low-temperature-active xylanase.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2016

Biomass is a renewable and sustainable source of energy used to create electricity or pressurized steam. In biomass-fueled power plants, wood waste or other waste is burned to produce steam that runs a turbine to make electricity, or that provides heat to industries and homes. Biomass power plants, apart from producing energy, help to reduce the $CO_2$ emission. However, the main problem is the high-temperature corrosion due to fuel corrosivity, especially of the straw. This limits both the temperature of the steam and also the effectiveness of the power plant. The corrosion in biomass-fueled plant was described.

• Mycobiology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to understand spatio-temporal changes of active fungal biomass and water in Tricholoma matsutake soil colonies during the mushroom fruiting season. The active fungal biomass was estimated by analyzing ergosterol content at four different points within four replicated locations in a single circular T. matsutake colony at Ssanggok valley in the Sogri Mt. National Park in Korea during 2003 to 2005. The four points were the ahead of the colony, the front edge of the colony and 20 cm and 40 cm back from the front edge of the colony. Ergosterol content was 0.0 to 0.7 ${\mu}g$ per gram dried soil at the ahead, 2.5 to 4.8 ${\mu}g$ at the front edge, 0.5 to 1.8 ${\mu}g$ at the 20 cm back and 0.3 to 0.8 ${\mu}g$ at the 40 cm back. The ergosterol content was very high at the front edge where the T. matsutake hyphae were most active. However, ergosterol content did not significantly change during the fruiting season, September to October. Soil water contents were lower at the front edge and 20 cm back from the front edge of the colony than at the ahead and 40 cm back during the fruiting season. Soil water content ranged from 12 to 19% at the ahead, 10 to 11% at the edge, 9 to 11% at the 20 cm back and 11 to 15% at the 40 cm back. Our results suggest that the active front edge of the T. matsutake soil colony could be managed in terms of water relation and T. matsutake ectomycorrhizal root development.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2005.08a
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• pp.100-113
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• 2005

Leaf color and plant vigor are key indicators of crop health. These visual plant attributes are frequently used by greenhouse managers, producers, and consultants to make water, nutrient, and disease management decisions. Remote sensing techniques can quickly quantify soil and plant attributes, but it requires humans to translate such data into meaningful information. Over time, scientists have used reflectance data from individual wavebands to develop a series of indices that attempt to quantify things like soil organic matter content, leaf chlorophyll concentration, leaf area index, vegetative cover, amount of living biomass, and grain yield. The recent introduction of active sensors that function independent of natural light has greatly expanded the capabilities of scientists and managers to obtain useful information. Characteristics and limitations of active sensors need to be understood to optimize their use for making improved management decisions. Pot experiments involving sand culture were conducted in 2003 and 2004 in a green house to evaluate corn and red pepper biomass. The rNDVI, gNDVI and aNDVI by ground-based remote sensors were used for evaluation of corn and red pepper biomass. The result obtained from the case study was shown that ground remote sensing as a non-destructive real-time assessment of plant nitrogen status was thought to be a useful tool for in season crop nitrogen management providing both spatial and temporal information.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.99 no.5
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• pp.673-681
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• 2010

This study examined the biomass data estimated from different allometric models and calculated the mean aboveground biomass, mean belowground biomass and root/shoot ratio values according to the forest types and age classes. These mean values and the forest inventories in 2009 were used to estimate the aboveground and total biomass carbon storage in different forest types (coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests). The aboveground and total biomass carbon storage for all forest types in Korea were 350.201 Tg C and 436.724 Tg C. Over the past 36 years, plantations by reforestation programs have accounted for more than 70% of the observed carbon storage. The carbon storage in Korean forest biomass was 436.724 Tg C, of which 175.154 Tg C for coniferous forests, 126.772 Tg C for deciduous forests and 134.518 Tg C for mixed forests, comprising approximately 1/20 of the total carbon storage of the East Asian countries. The total carbon storage for the whole forest sector in Korea was 1213.122 Tg C, of which 436.724 Tg C is stored in forest biomass if using the ratio of carbon storage in different pools examined from the United States. Such large carbon storage in Korean forests is due mainly to active plantations growth and management practices.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.247-250
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• 2008

Biomass gasification is a promising technology for producing a fuel gas which is useful for power generation systems. In biomass gasification processes, tar formation often causes some problems such as pipeline plugging. Thus, proper tar treatment is necessary. So far, nickel (Ni)-based catalysts have been intensively studied for the catalytic tar removal. However, the deactivation of Ni-based catalysts takes place because of coke deposition and sintering of Ni metal particles. To overcome these problems, we have been using ruthenium (Ru)-based catalyst for tar removal. It is reported by Okada et al., that a Ru/$Al_2O_3$ catalyst is very effective for preventing the carbon deposition during the steam reforming of hydrocarbons. Also, this catalyst is more active than the Ni-based catalyst at a low steam to carbon ratio (S/C). Benzene was used for the tar model compound because it is the main constituent of biomass tar and also because it represents a stable aromatic structure apparent in tar formed in biomass gasification processes. The steam reforming process transforms hydrocarbons into gaseous mixtures constituted of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), carbon monoxide (CO), methane ($CH_4$) and hydrogen ($H_2$).