The rapid increase in energy consumption based on fossil fuels is accelerating global warming. In particular, the road transportation sector has high carbon dioxide emissions, so transitioning towards electric vehicles is recommended. Thus, the importance of secondary batteries is increasing. Secondary batteries are reversible batteries that use energy and can be reused through a charging and discharging process. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are widely used. Secondary batteries place importance on six major factors: energy, output, lifespan, environmental friendliness, cost, and stability. Research is actively being conducted to satisfy all six factors by understanding the material characteristics of each component of the battery. As it is difficult to move away from lithium as a cathode material, researchers are investigating higher performance materials that mix materials such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, and aluminum with lithium and use graphite, silicon, and lithium metal to increase capacity. In the case of electrolytes, liquid electrolytes are still mainly used. However, solid electrolytes are being studied due to their stability, but additional research must be conducted to satisfy the energy and output factors. This review paper aims to provide an understanding of secondary batteries through an overview of secondary batteries, the materials and characteristics of their components, their technological trends, and their associated companies.

Seaweeds are widely distributed along national coastlines around the world, and the biomass derived from them is an important marine biological organism. Seaweed is a crucial component of a healthy marine ecosystem. However, changes in marine environments have led to the occurrence of urchin barrens, and the damage caused by this phenomenon is steadily increasing. As a result, investigations into the distribution and spread of urchin barrens in the coastal areas of South Korea are being conducted regularly so efficient detection technologies are essential. One of the technologies that can swiftly and accurately analyze extensive areas is detection technology based on hyperspectral image information systems. This study aims to present the latest hyperspectral imaging technology for investigating the current status of urchin barrens and the methods for classifying this technology, including principles, preprocessing techniques, and correction methods. This study also proposes a classification technique for urchin barrens along the coast of Jeju Island that uses hyperspectral images and categorizes the urchin barrens into initial, intermediate, and advanced stages. The results showed that approximately 17.5% of the experimental areas were in the advanced stage. Based on this, various management and restoration methods tailored to different categories of urchin barren can be proposed.

This study investigates the impact of reduction temperature on the structure and performance of cobalt-manganese (CM) based catalysts in the direct hydrogenation reaction of carbon dioxide (CO2). It was observed that at a reduction temperature of 350 oC, these catalysts could successfully facilitate the conversion of CO2 into long-chain hydrocarbons. This efficiency is attributed to the optimal conditions provided by the core-shell structure of the catalysts, which effectively catalyzes both the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactions. However, as the reduction temperature increased to 600 oC, the effectiveness of the reaction process was hindered, and there was a shift in selectivity towards methane. This shift is due to the excessive reduction of the catalyst’s outer shell, which reduces the number of RWGS sites and subsequently suppresses the production of CO. These findings highlight the importance of carefully controlling the reduction temperature in the design and optimization of cobalt-based catalysts. Maintaining a balance between the RWGS and FT reactions is crucial. This emphasizes that the reduction temperature is a key factor in efficiently generating long-chain hydrocarbons from CO2.

Plant polyphenols have attracted attention recently because of their abundance in the human diet, high antioxidant effects, and ability to prevent various diseases associated with oxidative stress, such as cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, this study demonstrated the extraction of bioactive phenolic compounds from Allium hoorkei root (AHR) using subcritical water extraction (scWE) under various temperatures (120 ~ 160 oC) and times (30 ~ 180 min) at a fixed pressure (10 MPa) and AHR to water ratio (1:20, w/w). Furthermore, this study used severity factors, the combined effect of the temperature and time, in order to optimize the conditions for achieving a high yield and efficient recovery of target bioactive phenolic compounds while minimizing the degradation of the extracted products and maintaining a high selectivity. Subcritical water extraction at 160 oC for 30 min (severity of 3.24) produced a relatively high yield (88%) and high number of bioactive compounds including total phenolic contents (31.3 mg GAE/g dry AHR) and rare sugars (D-picose, D-talose, and D-tagatose) compared to Soxhlet extracts obtained from extraction for 8 h with water and 75% ethanol. As a result, the extracts obtained from the green scWE process may have high potential applications in medicines and functional foods because of their high bioactivity and safety.

This study investigated the optimal conditions for efficiently removing caffeine from green coffee beans using supercritical fluid extraction while preserving the key flavor compounds, trigonelline and chlorogenic acid. The results of the experiments conducted under various pretreatment and supercritical fluid extraction conditions revealed that the highest caffeine extraction rate was 90.6% and it was achieved when green coffee beans with a moisture content of 35% were soaked in hot water. However, this condition also showed a tendency to slightly reduce the retention rates of trigonelline and chlorogenic acid. In the supercritical fluid extraction time experiments, the caffeine content decreased as the extraction time increased. Furthermore, extraction at a temperature of 60 oC and a pressure of 40 MPa was the most effective in terms of both caffeine removal and flavor compound preservation. As the amount of water added increased, the caffeine extraction rates increased, but there was also an increase in the loss of flavor compounds. With an increase in the solvent-to-material ratio, the caffeine removal rates improved. The optimal results were observed at a ratio of 250, which achieved a caffeine extraction rate of 91.0% and retention rates of trigonelline and chlorogenic acid of 99.9% and 85.9%, respectively.

3D printing technology has created a paradigm shift in industries by achieving breakthrough innovations and enabling the fabrication of complex products. However, 3D printed parts are inferior in terms of their strength and surface quality compared to parts fabricated by conventional manufacturing methods. This study aims to improve the surface roughness of stereolithographic parts by experimental analysis of the generated area error. A photocurable polymer material was used for fabrication, and the effect of important parameters, such as the material viscosity, printing speed, pneumatic pressure, UV intensity, and pattern spacing, on the surface roughness were analyzed. The results showed that a high-viscosity (12,000 cP) thixotropic material formed a constant pattern with an aspect ratio of 1:1, and the pattern shape was maintained after printing. A pattern with a minimum thickness of 145 nm was formed at a printing speed of 70 mm/s and a pneumatic pressure of 20 kPa. These parameters were found to be suitable for low surface roughness. A UV laser at an intensity of 10 ~ 30 mW/cm2 was used to form a smooth surface at low curing intensities. Moreover, it was seen that with a pattern spacing of 110 ~ 130 nm, a stereolithographic part with a low surface roughness of Ra 1.29 nm could be fabricated.

As the demand for lithium-ion batteries with high capacity and high energy density has rapidly increased, silicon anodes (theoretical capacity = 3,570 mA h g-1) have garnered attention as potential replacements for conventional graphite anodes (theoretical capacity = 372 mA h g-1). However, silicon anodes suffer from severe volume expansion (~360%) during lithiation, low ionic conductivity (10-14 ~ 10-13 cm2 S-1), and low electrical conductivity (10-2 S cm-1), resulting in poor cycling and rate performance. To address these issues, this study synthesized core@shell-structured silicon@carbon nanoparticles (Si@C NPs) via a one-pot spray pyrolysis process using Pluronic-F127. Pluronic-F127 in the spray solution contributes to the synthesis of nanoparticles by preventing the formation of silicon nanoparticle/dextrin agglomerates and by undergoing pyrolysis simultaneously. Additionally, dextrin derived amorphous carbon was coated on the surface of the silicon nanoparticles to act as an electron transport pathway within the anodes and enhance the electrical contact between the silicon nanoparticles. The Si@C NPs exhibited a discharge capacity of 1,912 mA h g-1 after 50 cycles at 1.0 A g-1 and high rate capabilities (discharge capacity of 1,493 mA h g-1 at 3.0 A g-1). The silicon@carbon composite nanoparticle synthesis strategy based on the spray pyrolysis process presented in this study is expected to offer a new direction for improving the performance of silicon anode materials.

Electrolytes are one of the essential components of a lithium-ion battery. They determine the battery’s lifespan and cell characteristics. The dielectric constant is a key thermophysical property for determining how much salt can be dissociated and solvated in a solution. Hence, fast and reliable dielectric constant measurement is essential when formulating an electrolyte solution. This work implemented an open-ended coaxial probe (OECP) station as a quick and reliable tool to measure the complex permittivity spectra of electrolyte solutions. The capability of the OECP station was tested by measuring the complex permittivity of propylene carbonate (PC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), and their mixtures from 0.1 to 8 GHz at 288.15, 298.15, and 308.15 K. The obtained dielectric spectra were then interpreted based on dielectric relaxation models and thermodynamic theories. The measured static dielectric constant data agreed well with the data from previous studies. They were also correlated using the Wang- Anderko thermodynamic model, showing approximately a 1% deviation from the experimental data. In addition, the relaxation characteristics, including the relaxation time and the Cole-Davidson exponent, showed that the microstructure of the solution significantly changes at the propylene carbonate mole fraction of 0.4. These results and methodologies are expected to contribute to the further understanding of electrolyte solutions and ultimately lead to the optimization of electrolyte formulation for lithium-ion batteries.

The removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from spent polypropylene (PP) sourced from the bumpers and interiors of used cars was carried out by using high-temperature supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) extraction. The recycled polymers from the bumpers and interiors contained other additives beside PP such as polyethylene (PE), talc, and carbon black, which modified the properties of PP. The crystallinity of the recycled bumper and interior PP was significantly lower than that of the virgin PP pellet. The decomposition temperatures of the recycled bumper and interior PP was slightly higher than that of the virgin PP pellet, while the melting and crystallization points were slightly lower. The effect of process conditions on VOC removal was studied by varying the time (2 ~ 720 min), pressure (6.4 ~ 14 MPa), and temperature (298 ~ 473 K). Since VOC removal at 2 min produced satisfying results, times below 2 min (10 ~ 120 s) were also studied. The main goal of scCO2 extraction was to reduce the xylene content, as the xylene content of the recycled bumpers was higher than the allowable limit. A temperature above 373 K was needed to remove the xylene from the waste PP samples. The optimum condition for VOC removal from bumper waste was determined to be 433 K, 8 MPa, and 60 s. The car interior waste had VOC content within the allowable limit, so no further treatment was needed.

Carbon dioxide is an undesired component of biogas and landfill gas. As a result, it needs to be removed from these mixtures in order to increase their heating value and reduce corrosion during treatment. Zeolites are a class of microporous materials that can be used as adsorbents for the separation of carbon dioxide from gas mixtures. In this work, the pure gas adsorption isotherms of methane and carbon dioxide and the selectivity of their mixture onto LTA-4A, FAU-13X and FAU-NaY adsorbents at temperatures of 273, 298 and 323 K and pressures up to 30 bars were calculated by the Monte Carlo method. Also, the influence of a flexible framework in a set of zeolites on the separation of methane and carbon dioxide was studied. Carbon dioxide adsorption onto the zeolites used in this work was more favorable than methane adsorption. The FAU-13X adsorbent had the highest adsorption capacity among the studied adsorbents. However, the selectivity of carbon dioxide over methane for LTA-4A was the highest. The adsorption capacities of a rigid framework were higher than those of a flexible framework. The influence of the framework flexibility in FAU on adsorption capacity was small. In contrast, its influence on selectivity seemed to be much larger.