• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.70-79
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• 2013

Since crude oil contains various pollutants including heavy metals, the environmental impact should be assessed for heavy metals as well as oil itself. In order to estimate the extent of heavy metal contamination, surface sediments were collected at the intertidal and coastal zone around the Herbei sprit oil spill area during December 2007 and January 2008. Organic carbon, sulfur and heavy metals were determined to assess heavy metal contamination in sediments. The crude oils contained C, S, V and Ni, but little toxic metals such as As, Cd, etc. From organic carbon content, the highest contaminated site was estimated that oils contributed to sediments up to 10%, and this site showed high V concentration. Potentially contaminated sediments by crude oil could be differentiated from unaffected sediments through V/Al and Ni/Al ratios, which can be used as indicators of oil contamination even after the oils were fully degraded.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.354-361
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• 2009

This study was carried out to develop an effective biocarrier-mediated bioaugmentation technology which will be useful for remediation of the crude oil-contaminated marine sediments. Enrichment of several microbial communities was made from several oil-polluted seashore sites and the two distinctively functional consortia have been successfully selected. These two consortia were grown together and used to manufacture the microbial agents for bioaugmentation of marine sediments polluted with crude oil. The most dominant species in the mixed culture was identified as Alcanivorax borkumensis based on pure culture and DGGE analysis. Bioaugmentation of oil-polluted marine sediments with the microbial agent MA-2 formulated using the mixed culture and biocarriers (activated carbon and minerals) was more effective, especially in combination with an oxygen producing (releasing) compound (ORC). Ninty percent of TPH was removed in the presence of ORC in 35 days while 74% in the absence of ORC. This indicated that the indigenous consortial degraders could be immobilized on the active carbon as a biocarrier to manufacture microbial agents and then effectively bioaugmented for remediation of the oil-polluted sediments.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.371-381
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• 2014

The bioaccumulation of 16 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylated PAHs in the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum exposed to sediments artificially contaminated by Iranian Heavy Crude Oil was measured and the biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) was estimated through laboratory experiments. The proportion of 16 PAHs accumulated in the tissue of R. philippinarum was only from 3 to 7% of total PAHs. Among 16 PAHs, the concentration of naphthalene was highest in the tissue. Alkylated PAHs were highly accumulated more than 93% of total PAHs. The C3 dibenzothiophene was most highly accumulated. The relative composition of alkylated naphthalenes in the tissue of R. philippinarum was lower than in the sediments. In contrast, those of alkylated compounds of fluorenes, phenanthrenes, dibenzothiophenes were higher in the tissue than the sediments. The BSAF for sum of 16 PAHs was 0.11 to 0.13 g carbon/g lipid and that for alkylated PAHs was 0.05 to 0.06 g carbon/g lipid. Naphthalene showed the highest BSAF value. Alkylated PAHs with the same parent compound, BSAF tended to increase with the number of alkylated branch increased, except for alkylated chrysenes. BSAF of total PAHs lies between that of field-based values, and are also similar to those of other persistent organic pollutants (PCBs, DDTs, HCHs). This study provides the BSAF values of individual alkylated PAHs accumulated in R. philippinarum for the first time and will be used as a basis for further understanding the bioaccumulation of organic contaminants in the marine benthic organisms.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.541-550
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• 2023

The escalating growth of industrial sectors has led to a pervasive global problem—oil pollution, particularly in industrial areas. The release of substantial volumes of oil and its by-products into the environment has resulted in extensive contamination. Multiple factors contribute to the entry of these substances into water bodies and soils, thereby inflicting irreparable consequences on ecosystems, natural resources, and human health. Consequently, it becomes imperative to comprehend the characteristics and behavior of oil pollution, anticipate its impacts, and develop effective mitigation strategies. Understanding this intricate issue requires considering the physicochemical properties of the environment, the interactions between oil and sediments, and biological factors such as evaporation and dissolution. Although the oil industry has brought about remarkable advancements, its activities have raised significant concerns regarding pollution from extraction and production processes. Oil-rich nations face a particularly challenging predicament of soil pollution caused by petroleum compounds. The areas surrounding oil exploration mines and refineries often endure contamination due to oil leakages from storage tanks and transmission lines resulting from deterioration and damage. Investigating the dispersion of such pollutants and devising methods to remediate petroleum-contaminated soil represent crucial and intricate issues within the realm of environmental geotechnics.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.308-320
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• 2022

The high internal resistance (R_int) that develops across the sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) limits their power production (~4/10 mW m^-2) that can be recovered from an initial oil-contaminated sediment (OCS). In the anolyte, R_int is related to poor biodegradation activity, quality and quantity of contaminant content in the sediment and anode material. While on the catholyte, R_int depends on the properties of the catholyte, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the cathode material. In this work, the main factors limiting the power output of the SMFC have been minimized. The power output of the SMFC was increased (47 times from its initial value, ~4 mW m^-2) minimizing the SMFC R_int (28 times from its initial value, 5000 ohms), following the main modifications. Anolyte: the initial OCS was amended with several amounts of gasoline and kerosene. The best anaerobic microbial activity of indigenous populations was better adapted (without more culture media) to 3 g of kerosene. Catholyte: ORR was catalyzed in birnessite/carbon fabric (CF)-cathode at pH 2, 0.8M Na₂SO₄. At the class level, the main microbial groups (Gammaproteobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria) with electroactive members were found at C-anode and were associated with the high-power densities obtained. Gasoline is more difficult to biodegrade than kerosene. However, in both cases, SMFC biodegradation activity and power output are increased when ORR is performed on birnessite/CF in 0.8 M Na₂SO₄ at pH 2. The work discussed here can focus on bioremediation (in heavy OCS) or energy production in future work.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.157-181
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• 2020

Sediments from rivers, lakes and marine ports serve as end points for pollutants discharged into the water, and at the same time serve as sources of pollutants that are continuously released into the water. Until now, the contaminated sediments have been landfilled or dumped at sea. Landfilling, however, was expensive and dumping at sea was completely banned due to the London Convention. Therefore, this study applied contaminated sedimentation soil of 'Royal Palace Livestock Complex' as soil purification method. Soil remediation methods were applied to pretreatment, composting, soil washing, electrokinetics, and thermal desorption by selecting overseas application cases and domestically applicable application technologies. As a result of surveying the site for pollutant characteristics, Disolved Oxigen (DO), Suspended Solid (SS), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Nitrogen (TN), and Total Phosphorus (TP) exceeded the discharged water quality standard, and especially SS, COD, TN, and TP exceeded the standard several tens to several hundred times. Soil showed high concentrations of copper and zinc, which promote the growth of pig feed, and cadmium exceeded 1 standard of Soil Environment Conservation Act. In the pretreatment technology, hydrocyclone was used for particle size separation, and the fine soil was separated by more than 80%. Composting was performed on organic and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) contaminated soils. TPH was treated within the standard of concern, and E. coli was analyzed to be high in organic matter, and the fertilizer specification was satisfied by applying the optimum composting conditions at 70℃, but the organic matter content was lower than the fertilizer specification. As a result of continuous washing test, Cd has 5 levels of residual material in fine soil. Cu and Zn were mostly composed of ion exchange properties (stage 1), carbonates (stage 2), and iron / manganese oxides (stage 3), which facilitate easy separation of contamination. As a result of applying acid dissolution and multi-stage washing step by step, hydrochloric acid, 1.0M, 1: 3, 200rpm, 60min was analyzed as the optimal washing factor. Most of the contaminated sediments were found to satisfy the Soil Environmental Conservation Act's standards. Therefore, as a result of the applicability test of this study, soil with high heavy metal contamination was used as aggregate by applying soil cleaning after pre-treatment. It was possible to verify that it was efficient to use organic and oil-contaminated soil as compost Maturity after exterminating contaminants and E. coli by applying composting.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2016

To evaluate the applicability of cellular energy allocation (CEA) in the bivalves as a biomarker for the assessment of environmental contamination, the energy contents and energy consumption in several tissues of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum were analyzed. The contents of lipid, glucose, protein and electron transport system (ETS) activity in the foot, siphons, gills, and body of R. philippinarum exposed to crude oil-spiked sediments were measured at 1, 2, 4, 7, 10 days after exposure. The reserved energy (energy available, EA) in the lipid, glucose and protein decreased as contamination level and exposure time increased. In contrast, the ETS activity (energy consumed, EC) showed the reverse tendency. The order of available energy contents were foot > siphons > gill > body. Significant differences in both EA and EC were found only at the highest contamination level (58.3 mg TPAHs/kg DW). EA decreased significantly in the foot and gill at 1 day, in the body at 2 and 7 days after exposure. EC increased significantly in the body at 4 days after exposure. CEA showed higher sensitivity to the contamination than EA or EC. Especially, CEA in the foot and body decreased significantly at lower ranges of contamination level (as low as 6.5 mg TPAHs/kg DW) during 1 to 7 days after exposure. The CEA is more useful than EA or EC alone for the assessment of sediment contamination at lower level that acute toxicity could not be detected. CEA analyses in the body of R. philippinarum after 4 days' exposure to contaminated sediments seem to be the most sensitive and reliable.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.44-52
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• 2002

Low temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) has become one of the cornerstone technologies used for the treatment of contaminated soils and sediments in the United States. LTTD technology was first used in the mid-1980s for soil treatment on sites managed under the Comprehensive Environmental Respones, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Superfund. Implementation was facilitated by CERCLA regulations that require only that spplicable regulations shall be met thus avoiding the need for protracted and expensive permit applications for thermal treatment equipment. The initial equipment designs used typically came from technology transfer sources. Asphalt manufacturing plants were converted to direct-fired LTTD systems, and conventional calciners were adapted for use as indirect-fired LTTD systems. Other innovative designs included hot sand recycle technology (initially developed for synfuels production from tar sand and oil shale), recycle sweep gas, travelling belts and batch-charged vacuum chambers, among others. These systems were used to treat soil contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, performance and cost considerations established the suite of systems that are used for LTTD soil treatment applications today. This paper briefly reviews the develpoment of LTTD systems and summarizes the design, performance and cost characteristics of the equipment in use today. Designs reviewed include continuous feed direct-fired and indirect-fired equipment, batch feed systems and in-situ equipment. Performance is compared in terms of before-and-after contaminant levels in the soil and permissible emissions levels in the stack gas vented to the atmosphere. The review of air emissions standards includes a review of regulations in the U.S. and the European Union (EU). Key cost centers for the mobilization and operation of LTTD equipment are identified and compared for the different types of LTTD systems in use today. A work chart is provided for the selection of the optmum LTTD system for site-specific applications. LTTD technology continues to be a cornerstone technology for soil treatment in the U.S. and elsewhere. Examples of leading-edge LTTD technologies developed in the U.S. that are now being delivered locally in global projects are described.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.356-363
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• 2011

The accidental releases of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) due to oil spills frequently ended up with soil and ground water pollution. TPH may be degraded through physicochemical and biological processes in the environment but with relatively slow rates. In this study an attempt has been made to develop an integrated chemical and biological treatment technology in order to establish an efficient and environment-friendly restoration technology for the TPH contaminated soils. A Fenton-like reaction was employed as a preceding chemical treatment process and a bioaugmentation process utilizing a diesel fuel degrader consortium was subsequently applied as a biological treatment process. An efficient chemical removal of TPH from soils occurred when the surfactant OP-10S (0.05%) and oxidants ($FeSO_4$ 4%, and $H_2O_2$ 5%) were used. Bioaugmentation of the degrader consortium into the soil slurry led to an increase in their population density at least two orders of magnitude, indicating a good survival of the degradative populations in the contaminated soils ($10^8-10^9$ CFU/g slurry). TPH removal efficiencies for the Fenton-treated soils increased by at least 57% when the soils were subjected to bioaugmentation of the degradative consortium. However, relatively lower TPH treatment efficiencies (79-83%) have been observed in the soils treated with Fenton and the degraders as opposed to the control (95%) that was left with no treatment. This appeared to be due to the presence of free radicals and other oxidative products generated during the Fenton treatment which might inhibit their degradation activity. The findings in this study will contribute to development of efficient bioremediation treatment technologies for TPH-contaminated soils and sediments in the environment.