Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for concentrating, with low energy, a solute-containing solution in a state of multiple-no osmotic pressure difference (M(multiple)???=0 RO), and, more specifically, to a method for concentrating, with low energy, an solute-containing solution intended to be concentrated, as a low pressure in a state of multiple-no osmotic pressure difference. The method for concentrating a solution containing a solute at a low pressure in a state of multiple-no osmotic pressure difference, of the present invention, consumes less energy, enables concentration to be performed until a saturated aqueous solution with a maximum solute concentration is obtained or the concentration of the solute becomes 100% even though an extraction solvent is not used, and does not require the use of an additional osmosis-inducing solution.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of concentrating an aqueous solution by low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition, and more particularly to a method of concentrating a solute-containing aqueous solution by low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition. When the method of the present invention is used, there are advantages in that energy consumption is low, and an aqueous solution can be concentrated until it can reach the maximum solute concentration or a solute concentration of 100%, without having to use an extraction solvent. In addition, there is an advantage in that the need to use a separate osmotic pressure draw solution is eliminated.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of concentrating an aqueous solution by low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition, and more particularly to a method of concentrating a solute-containing aqueous solution by low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition. When the method of the present invention is used, there are advantages in that energy consumption is low, and an aqueous solution can be concentrated until it can reach the maximum solute concentration or a solute concentration of 100%, without having to use an extraction solvent. In addition, there is an advantage in that the need to use a separate osmotic pressure draw solution is eliminated.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of concentrating an aqueous solution at low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition, and more particularly, to a method of concentrating an aqueous solution containing a solute to be concentrated, at low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: (a) discharging water of a solute-containing aqueous solution to be concentrated, from a reverse osmosis separator to the outside, and transferring the concentrated aqueous solution to a zero osmotic pressure difference concentrator; (b) further concentrating the concentrated aqueous solution using the zero osmotic pressure difference concentrator comprising a feed chamber and a draw chamber, which are separated from each other by a reverse osmosis membrane or a forward osmosis membrane; and (c) recovering the solute and water from the aqueous solution further concentrated in the zero osmotic pressure difference concentrator.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of concentrating an aqueous solution at low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition, and more particularly, to a method of concentrating an aqueous solution containing a solute to be concentrated, at low pressure under a zero osmotic pressure difference condition. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: (a) discharging water of a solute-containing aqueous solution to be concentrated, from a reverse osmosis separator to the outside, and transferring the concentrated aqueous solution to a zero osmotic pressure difference concentrator; (b) further concentrating the concentrated aqueous solution using the zero osmotic pressure difference concentrator comprising a feed chamber and a draw chamber, which are separated from each other by a reverse osmosis membrane or a forward osmosis membrane; and (c) recovering the solute and water from the aqueous solution further concentrated in the zero osmotic pressure difference concentrator.

Abstract: A method of preparing a volatile fatty acids (VFAs) is provided. More particularly, the method includes chemically or biologically pretreating a residue of algae to obtain an extract of the algae residue, filtering the extract of the algae residue and anaerobically fermenting the filtrate. The method of preparing VFAs can be used regardless of the kinds of algae, a process of producing VFAs can be simplified since there is no need to develop an enzyme for anaerobic fermentation, and a yield of VFAs can be increased since the VFAs can be produced from different kinds of organic components such as proteins or fats in addition to carbohydrates. Accordingly, the method can be useful in producing VFAs in an economical and efficient manner.

Abstract: A method for producing microbial intracellular products, and more particularly a method of producing microbial intracellular products from volatile fatty acids derived from organic waste is provided. The method of producing microbial intracellular products from volatile fatty acids in a multi-stage continuous high-cell-density culture bioreactor system includes the steps of: (a) culturing microorganisms in a bioreactor for microbial growth, thereby growing the microorganisms; (b) culturing the grown microorganisms of step (a) in a bioreactor for production of microbial intracellular products, which includes a medium containing volatile fatty acids, thereby producing microbial intracellular products; and (c) recovering the intracellular microbial products from the culture medium of the bioreactor for production of microbial intracellular products.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for concentrating law titer fermentation broth, and more particularly to a method for concentrating a fermentation broth using forward osmosis. The method comprises: introducing the fermentation broth and an osmolyte into a feed chamber and a draw chamber, respectively, which are included in a concentration system and are divided from each other by a forward osmosis membrane, and subjecting the introduced fermentation broth to forward osmosis, thereby concentrating the fermentation broth in the feed chamber. The method can maximize the concentration of the low titer fermentation broth while minimizing energy consumption and operating cost, and thus can contribute to the industrialization of new technology.

Abstract: A method for developing a culture medium using genome information and in silico analysis. In one implementation, the method involves developing a minimal synthetic medium, including the steps of constructing a metabolic network using genome information of prokaryotic cell or eukaryotic cell, selecting components of the minimal synthetic medium removing any one among external metabolites from the constructed metabolic network and conducting metabolic flux analysis using in silico simulation, and determining a final culture medium by actual culture.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a single CSTR bioreactor equipped with a cell recycle unit, and a multi-stage CSTR bioreactor system in which 2-7 such single CSTR bioreactors are connected in series with each other. According to the present invention, multi-stage fermentation is carried out in the bioreactor equipped with the cell recycle unit, and thus the production of products (alcohols, organic acids, antibiotics, recombinant proteins, etc.) by anaerobic or aerobic microbial fermentation can be increased, and in addition, a final product can be obtained at high concentration, thus improving the productivity and economic efficiency of a microbial process.

Abstract: Disclosed is an on-site treatment method of food waste generated from multi-unit dwellings and institutional food service facilities, by transporting wastewater-containing food waste to a separation chamber by use of domestic wastewater or an additional transporter; separating the transported food waste to wastewater and food waste; and treating the separated wastewater in a sewage disposal plant, and the separated food waste using disposal equipment. Such food waste can be treated even using disposal equipment of small capacities, due to separation of wastewater and food waste, compared to disposal equipment of large capacities required for treating wastewater and food waste together. Also, the quality of the separated wastewater is better than the conventional quality of wastewater, and thus loads of the sewage disposal plant can be efficiently decreased.

Abstract: A novel microorganism capable of producing organic acids, Mannheimia sp. 55E, and a process for producing organic acid through anaerobic and aerobic incubation using the novel microorganism are provided. The method of producing an organic acid using the microorganism involves incubating Mannheimia sp. 55E with Accession Number KCTC 0769BP in a medium under anaerobic or aerobic conditions and obtaining an organic acid from the medium. Mannheimia sp. 55E produces succinic acid, lactic acid, and formic acid under anaerobic conditions saturated with CO2, and succinic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, and formic acid under aerobic or N2 anaerobic conditions. Mannheimia sp. 55E is a facultative anaerobe tolerant of oxygen. Thus, the use of Mannheimia sp. 55E in producing organic acids can eliminate a problem of process instability, which would occur by the presence of oxygen in a fermentation process of producing organic acids using an obligate anaerobic microorganism.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing highly-concentrated polyglutamic acid by culturing an aerobic micro-organism of Bascillus sp. with the additional supply of saccharides. The method for manufacturing polyglutamic acid comprises a step of culturing Bascillus sp. in a fed-batch or batch culture while supplying saccharides to the culture. Since the method for manufacturing highly-concentrated polyglutamic acid can be applicable to the industrial scale fermentation, mass production of polyglutamic acid can be feasible in a cost-efficient way.

Abstract: Disclosed is an on-site treatment method of food waste generated from multi-unit dwellings and institutional food service facilities, by transporting wastewater-containing food waste to a separation chamber by use of domestic wastewater or an additional transporter; separating the transported food waste to wastewater and food waste; and treating the separated wastewater in a sewage disposal plant, and the separated food waste using disposal equipment. Such food waste can be treated even using disposal equipment of small capacities, due to separation of wastewater and food waste, compared to disposal equipment of large capacities required for treating wastewater and food waste together. Also, the quality of the separated wastewater is better than the conventional quality of wastewater, and thus loads of the sewage disposal plant can be efficiently decreased.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing organic acid by high-efficiency fermentation, which comprises the steps of continuous culture of organic acid bacteria and collection of organic acid produced from the culture employing a cell-recycle multiple-stage continuous fermentor with serially connected fermentors, each of which comprises a fermentor containing a ferment container, temperature controller, stirrer, and pH controller; pumps for efflux-circulation of media from the fermentor; and, cell separator for separation and circulation of media from the pumps. According to the present method, the high-concentration lactic acid of 90 g/L can be produced with the high productivity of 50 g/L/h, which can reduce the facility cost and production cost in the bulk manufacturing process.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing highly-concentrated polyglutamic acid by culturing an aerobic micro-organism of Bascillus sp. with the additional supply of saccharides. The method for manufacturing polyglutamic acid comprises a step of culturing Bascillus sp. in a fed-batch or batch culture while supplying saccharides to the culture. Since the method for manufacturing highly-concentrated polyglutamic acid can be applicable to the industrial scale fermentation, mass production of polyglutamic acid can be feasible in a cost-efficient way.

Abstract: A novel microorganism capable of producing organic acids, Mannheimia sp. 55E, and a process for producing organic acid through anaerobic and aerobic incubation using the novel microorganism are provided. The method of producing an organic acid using the microorganism involves incubating Mannheimia sp. 55E with Accession Number KCTC 0769BP in a medium under anaerobic or aerobic conditions and obtaining an organic acid from the medium. Mannheimia sp. 55E produces succinic acid, lactic acid, and formic acid under anaerobic conditions saturated with CO2, and succinic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, and formic acid under aerobic or N2 anaerobic conditions. Mannheimia sp. 55E is a facultative anaerobe tolerant of oxygen. Thus, the use of Mannheimia sp. 55E in producing organic acids can eliminate a problem of process instability, which would occur by the presence of oxygen in a fermentation process of producing organic acids using an obligate anaerobic microorganism.

Abstract: The present invention provides to a method for removing nitrogen and phosphorous in wastewater simultaneously from wastewater by employing fermentation broth obtained by anaerobic fermentation of organic solid wastes. The method for removing nitrogen and phosphorous in wastewater of the invention comprises the steps of subjecting organic waste material to anaerobic fermentation at 30 to 40° C. for 2 to 4 days by using anaerobic sludge to obtain fermentation broth; and, adding the fermentation broth to a sequencing batch reactor with alternating anaerobic-aerobic-anoxic cycles under anaerobic and anoxic conditions in a separate manner. In accordance with the present invention, nitrogen in the influent wastewater can be removed more than 95% in total and phosphorous concentration can be kept below 1 ppm regardless of the concentration of organic materials in the influent wastewater.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for preparing &ggr;-polyglutamic acid (&ggr;-PGA) from high-viscous culture broth, more particularly, to an economical and efficient process for preparing &ggr;-polyglutamic acid from high-viscous culture broth with easy removal of microorganisms and a subsequent concentrating process employing a filtration membrane. The present invention provides the process for preparing &ggr;-polyglutamic acid from high-viscous culture broth which comprises the steps of: culturing &ggr;-polyglutamic acid-producing microorganism for 15-30 hours under condition of pH 5.0-7.5 and 30-40° C. to obtain high-viscous culture broth with a concentration of 20-30 g/L; removing microorganism from the high-viscous culture broth thus obtained by adjusting pH to 2-4 or 7-9 and centrifuging at 3,000-9,000 rpm for 10-50 minutes; and, obtaining &ggr;-polyglutamic acid by concentrating the culture broth employing filter and precipitating &ggr;-polyglutamic acid by addition of alcohol.

Abstract: The present invention relates to Gordona sp. CYKS1 (KCTC 0431BP) capable of selective removal of organically bound sulfurs from carbonaceous fossil fuel such as petroleum and coal by cleaving bonds between carbon and sulfur atoms in the said sulfur-containing organic compounds, and a method for biological desulfurization using this strain at the room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Since Gordona sp. CYKS1 (KCTC 0431BP) utilizes various organic sulfur compounds in fossil fuel besides dibenzothiophene as a sole sulfur source, the method for biological desulfurization employing the Gordona strain has advantages over the conventional chemical methods as followings: The desulfurization can be carried out at a mild condition; the cost for installation and operation of equipments can be reduced; and, the desulfurization of highly complex organic sulfur compounds can be realized.