Publications by authors named "Young-kwon Park"

The practical use of plastics has rapidly increased owing to their superior physicochemical properties. Despite their excellent physicochemical properties, the short lifespan of plastics has inevitably led to a substantial generation of plastic waste. As such, strategic mitigation of the hazardous potential of plastic waste has been regarded as significant in waste management.

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The pervasive generation of sewage sludge (SES) and deficiencies in its disposal methods have resulted in several significant environmental and human health challenges. This study explored the catalytic effect of nickel (Ni)-based CeO, ZrO, Zr.Ce.

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This review explores the expanding role of electrochemical sensors across diverse domains such as environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics, and food quality assurance. In recent years, iron-based electrocatalysts have emerged as promising candidates for enhancing sensor performance. Notable for their non-toxicity, abundance, catalytic activity, and cost-effectiveness, these materials offer significant advantages.

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The family Convolvulaceae comprises approximately 50-60 genera with approximately 1600-1700 species, exhibiting a rich diversity of morphological characteristics and occupying a broad range of ecological habitats. High-throughput sequencing identified a tentative new virus in the family Geminiviridae infecting Calystegia sepium var. japonica in South Korea.

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The expanding global population and the use of conventional agrochemical pesticides have led to the loss of crop yield and food shortages. Excessive pesticide used in agriculture risks life forms by contaminating soil and water resources, necessitating the use of nano agrochemicals. This article focuses on synthesis moiety and use of nanopesticides for enhanced stability, controlled release mechanisms, improved efficacy, and reduced pesticide residue levels.

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In response to address the climate crisis, there has been a growing focus on substituting conventional refinery-derived products with those derived from biorefineries. The utilization of lipids as primary materials or intermediates for the synthesis of chemicals and fuels, which are integral to the existing chemical and petrochemical industries, is a key step in this transition. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the production of sustainable chemicals (acids and alcohols), biopolymers, and fuels (including gasoline, kerosene, biodiesel, and heavy fuel oil) from lipids derived from terrestrial and algal biomass.

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Recent advancements in membrane technologies and disinfection methods have enhanced drinking water quality significantly. However, microorganisms, including free-living amoebae (FLA), persist and pose potential threats to humans. FLA are linked to severe neuro-ophthalmic infections and serve as hosts of pathogenic bacteria.

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The enrichment of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in aquatic systems can cause eutrophication. Moreover, P rocks may become exhausted in the next 100 years. A slow-release fertilizer called struvite (MgNHPO.

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Catalytic esterification of acid-rich coffee waste-derived bio-oil was performed using sulfonated metal oxide catalysts (AlO, MgO, ZrO, and TiO) and ethanol to produce fatty acid alkyl esters. The potential of the sulfonated catalysts for esterification decreased in the following order: Ti-SO > Zr-SO > Al-SO > Mg-SO. Particularly, Ti-SO and Zr-SO resulted in 91.

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Tremendous amounts of electric and electronic wastes (e-waste) are generated daily, and their indiscriminate disposal may cause serious environmental pollution. The recovery of non-metallic materials from e-waste is a strategy to not only reduce the volume of e-waste but also avoid pollutant emissions produced by indiscriminate disposal of e-waste. Pyrolysis, sub/supercritical water treatment, chemical dissolution, and physical treatment (e.

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Activated carbon (AC) based adsorbents derived from waste sludge were utilized to remediate mixed contaminants in wastewater as an integrated waste-to-resource approach promoting a paradigm shift in management of refuse sludge and wastewater. This review specifically focuses on the remediation of constituents of landfill leachate by sludge-based activated carbon (SBAC). The adsorption effectiveness of SBAC for the exclusion of leachate characters including heavy metals, phenols, dyes, phosphates, and phosphorus were explored with regard to modifiers such as pH, temperature, properties of the adsorbent including functional groups, initial doses of absorbent and adsorbate, and duration of exposure to note the impact of each parameter on the efficiency of adsorption of the sludge adsorbent.

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This study presents the catalytic pyrolysis of microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris), using pure CH and H-rich gas evolved from CH decomposition on three different HZSM-5 catalysts loaded with Zn, Ga, and Pt, aimed specifically at producing high-value mono-aromatics such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX). In comparison with that for the typical inert N environment, a pure CH environment increased the bio-oil yield from 32.

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Article Synopsis
  • The review discusses the urgent issue of plastic waste management and presents thermo-catalytic pyrolysis as a promising method to convert plastic waste into valuable liquid fuels, focusing particularly on polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene.
  • It outlines key factors affecting the pyrolysis process, such as temperature and catalyst types, and emphasizes how optimizing these can enhance energy recovery efficiency.
  • The paper also addresses the practical aspects of scaling up pyrolysis technology, including economic challenges and environmental impacts, while encouraging further research in this field.
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The use of lignocellulosic waste as an energy source for substituting fossil fuels has attracted lots of attention, and pyrolysis has been established as an effective technology for this purpose. However, the utilization of bio-oil derived from non-catalytic pyrolysis faces certain constraints, making it impractical for direct application in advanced sectors. This study has focused on overcoming these challenges by employing fractional condensation of pyrolytic vapors at distinct temperatures.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates environmentally friendly ways to dispose of plastic waste by using catalytic pyrolysis on waste plastic straw to produce valuable compounds.
  • HZSM-5 (SiO/AlO:200) outperformed Hbeta in generating higher amounts of light olefins and monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) due to its acidity and shape selectivity.
  • The addition of cobalt to HZSM-5 slightly reduced light olefin yield but significantly increased MAH production, highlighting the importance of balanced acid sites in optimizing chemical transformations during the process.
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Wax is a detrimental byproduct of plastic waste pyrolysis causing challenges upon its release into the environment owing to persistence and potential toxicity. In this study, the valorization of wax materials through conversion into BTEX (i.e.

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Using bone char for contaminated wastewater treatment and soil remediation is an intriguing approach to environmental management and an environmentally friendly way of recycling waste. The bone char remediation strategy for heavy metal-polluted wastewater was primarily affected by bone char characteristics, factors of solution, and heavy metal (HM) chemistry. Therefore, the optimal parameters of HM sorption by bone char depend on the research being performed.

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Researchers have focused on efficient techniques for degrading hazardous organic pollutants due to their negative impacts on ecological systems, necessitating immediate remediation. Specifically, TiO-based photocatalysts, a wide-bandgap semiconductor material, have been extensively studied for their application in environmental remediation. However, the extensive band gap energy and speedy reattachment of electron (e) and hole (h) pairs in bare TiO are considered major disadvantages for photocatalysis.

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According to statistics, low-temperature waste heat below 300°C accounts for more than 89% of industrial waste heat. If the waste heat is not recycled, a large amount of low-temperature waste heat will be released into the atmosphere, thereby exacerbating global warming and posing a significant threat to human survival. Although the power generation efficiency of solid-state thermoelectric generation technology is lower than the organic Rankine cycle, it only requires a smaller construction area, which increases its market acceptance, applicability, and penetration.

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Pseudomonas putida is a promising strain for lignin valorisation. However, there is a dearth of stable and efficient systems for secreting enzymes to enhance the process. Therefore, a novel secretion system for recombinant lignin-depolymerising peroxidase was developed.

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The tremendous technical progress in neuroscience offers opportunities to observe a more minor or/and broader dynamic picture of the brain. Moreover, the large-scale neural activity of individual neurons enables the dissection of detailed mechanistic links between neural populations and behaviors. To measure neural activity in-vivo, multi-neuron recording, and neuroimaging techniques are employed and developed to acquire more neurons.

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A facile and eco-friendly synthesis of PW/TiO@MgCO hollow tubes (PW·∼· H[PWO] = polyoxometalate) using a soluble and reusable MgCO·3HO micro-rods template was reported for the first time. The resultant hollow tubes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-visible spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which indicated that the [PWO] structure remained intact within the hollow tubes. Furthermore, the specific surface area (88.

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Wastewater contains chemical compounds that cause malodors, such as ammonium cation, dimethyl sulfide, and volatile organic compounds. Biochar-based reduction in the odorants has been proposed as an effective approach along with maintaining environmental neutrality as biochar is a sustainable material made from biomass and biowaste. Biochar can have high specific surface area and microporous structure with proper activation, appropriate for sorption purposes.

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The effects of an external carbon source (C-source) on the mitigation of NO gas (NO) emissions from landfill leachate were investigated via enhanced denitrification using anaerobically fermented sewage sludge. Anaerobic fermentation of sewage sludge was conducted under thermophilic conditions with progressively increasing organic loading rates (OLR). Optimal conditions for fermentation were determined based on the efficiency of hydrolysis and the concentrations of sCOD and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as follows: at an OLR of 40.

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