Near dissolved organic matter microfiltration (NDOM MF) coupled with UVC LED disinfection to maximize the efficiency of water treatment for the removal of Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

Microfiltration (MF) membranes with a mean pore size same as or smaller than 0.45 µm have been typically used to separate pathogenic protozoa in water since materials larger than 0.45 µm are considered particulates. However, 0.45 µm is too small to separate protozoa which are 4-6 µm (Cryptosporidium oocyst) or 8-15 µm (Giardia cyst) in size. In this study, we optimized the mean pore size of MF membranes to maximize the producibility and guarantee a high removal rate simultaneously and proposed the membrane filtration using an MF membrane with an optimum mean pore size larger than but close to dissolved organic matter (DOM), which is called near DOM MF (NDOM MF). According to the MF test using polystyrene surrogate beads with diameters of 3 and 8 µm, an MF membrane with a 0.8 µm mean pore size was the best in that it showed 52% to 146% higher water fluxes than a 0.45 µm MF membrane while maintaining the removal rate at 3-4 log. It was also the case for a low-temperature MF test, revealing the NDOM MF is highly effective regardless of temperature changes. Lastly, we tried to find the possibility of combining the NDOM MF with disinfection by an ultraviolet light emitting diode (UVC LED) to further guarantee the high quality of treated water while providing high process efficiency.

Hydrothermal carbonization improves the quality of biochar derived from livestock manure by removing inorganic matter.

The application of hydrothermal carbonization to improve biomass-derived energy sources is crucial because of insufficient supplies of fossil fuels and concerns associated with the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. Hydrothermal carbonization technology has been developed to circumvent the energy-intensive drying step required for the thermal conversion of high-moisture organic feedstocks into fuel. In this study, the quality of livestock manure was upgraded, and its energy density was increased through hydrothermal carbonization at various temperatures. The evolution of waste biomass under hydrothermal carbonization was chemically analyzed. The increased carbon content of the resulting biochar upgraded its fuel properties, leading to energy savings in the treatment process. After hydrothermal carbonization, the H/C and O/C ratios were lower owing to chemical conversion. The optimal temperature for hydrothermal carbonization was approximately 220 °C. The inorganic content resulted in a lowered degree of agglomeration and reduced the likelihood of fouling during combustion. The thermogravimatric analysis also provided the changing combustion characteristics due to the increased fixed carbon content. Fourier transform infrared spectra revealed that hydrothermal carbonization reaction reduced the numbers of C-O and C-H functional groups and increased the number of aromatic C-H functional groups. The equilibrium moisture content decreased rapidly when hydrothermal carbonization was conducted at temperatures higher than 200 °C, and the initial moisture content was reduced by 75% after hydrothermal carbonization at 300 °C.

Delignification Effects on Indonesian Momala (Homalium foetidum) and Korean Red Toon (Toona sinensis) Hardwood Pore Structure and Sound Absorption Capabilities.

Among the various methods used to improve the sound absorption capability of wood, we focused on delignification in Indonesian momala (Homalium foetidum) and Korean red toon (Toona sinensis). We performed gas permeability, pore size, and porosity analyses and evaluated how the change in the pore structure affects the sound absorption capabilities. Results show that delignification increased the through-pore porosity and improved sound absorption capability in both species. In addition, the air gap in the rear space maximized the sound absorption of momala and the red toon. The noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of delignified momala (90 min) with a 3 cm air gap was 0.359 ± 0.023. This is approximately 154.6% higher than that of untreated momala without an air gap. The NRC of delignificated red toon (90 min) with a 3 cm air gap was 0.324 ± 0.040, an increase of 604.3% over untreated red toon without an air gap.

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Seawater Aged Polypropylene Over HZSM-5, HY, and Al-MCM-41.

The effect of seawater aging on the thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of polypropylene (PP) was investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer and pyrolyzer-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Although the surface properties of PP were of the oxidized form by seawater aging, the decomposition temperature and non-catalytic pyrolysis products of PP were relatively unchanged largely due to seawater aging. The catalytic pyrolysis of seawater-aged PP over all the catalysts produced smaller amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons than that of fresh PP due to catalyst poisoning caused by the residual inorganics. Among the catalysts, microporous HZSM-5 (SiO2/Al2O3:23) produced the largest amount of aromatic hydrocarbons followed in order by microporous HY(30) and nanoporous Al-MCM-41(20) from seawater-aged PP due to the high acidity and appropriate pore size for the generation of aromatic hydrocarbons.

Agro-environmental impacts, carbon sequestration and profit analysis of blended biochar pellet application in the paddy soil-water system.

The application of biochar pellet blended with pig manure compost was investigated to estimate its agro-environmental impacts and to evaluate its soil carbon sequestration and profit analysis during rice cultivation. The experiment consisted of four different treatments such as control as pig manure compost only, pig manure compost pellet (PMCP), biochar pellet blended with biochar and pig manure compost (4: 6 ratios, BCP), and slow release fertilizer (SRF). The application of chemical fertilizer and pig manure compost in the whole treatment except the BCP were 90-45-57 kg ha-1 (N-P-K) and 2600 kg ha-1, respectively, based on the recommended rates for rice cultivation at National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (NIAS). The BCP and SRF were applied with N 90 kg ha-1 basis only as basal application before transplanting. The pig manure compost, phosphorous and potassium were applied at basal application while nitrogen fertilizer was applied with three separations as basal and two additional applications. Results showed that concentrations of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) in the BCP at an early stage of rice growth were lowest among the treatments, but their concentrations in the paddy water rapidly decreased at 21 days after transplanting. For paddy soil, NH4-N concentration in the SRF was continuously high compared to the BCP until 20 days of rice cultivation. For paddy water, phosphate phosphorous (PO4-P) concentrations in the BCP were three fold lower than the SRF at an early stage of rice growth. Similar pattern between potassium (K) concentrations in paddy water and potassium oxide (K2O) contents in surface soil was also observed during rice cultivation where their concentrations decreased abruptly 41 days after transplanting. Carbon sequestration and mitigation of carbon dioxide equivalency (CO2-eq.) emission in the BCP were higher at 1.65 tons ha-1 and 6.06 tons ha-1, respectively, than the control while result of its profit analysis was $145.59 (KAU, Korean Allowance Unit) per hectare during rice cultivation. The rice yield were not significantly different (p > 0.05) among all treatments.