Earticle

This study aims to reduce the rancid odor generated during the fermentation process of kimchi by inserting zinc oxide (ZnO) into an inorganic porous material with a high surface area to decompose or adsorb the fermentation odor. ZnO activated by the presence of moisture exhibits decomposition of rancid odors. Mixed with Titanium dioxide (TiO2), a photocatalyst. To manufacture the packaging liner used in this study, NaOH, ZnCl2, and TiO2 powder were placed in a tank with diatomite and water. The sludge obtained via a hydrothermal ultrasonication synthesis was sintered in an oven. After being pin-milled and melt-blended, the powders were mixed with linear low-density polyethylene (L-LDPE) to make a masterbatch (M/B), which was further used to manufacture liners. A gas detector (GasTiger 2000) was used to investigate the total amount of sulfur compounds during fermentation and determine the reduction rate of the odor-causing compounds. The packaging liner cross-section and surface were investigated using a scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS) to observe the adsorption of sulfur compounds. A variety of sulfur compounds associated with the perceived unpleasant odor of kimchi were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For the analyses, kimchi was homogenized at room temperature and divided into several sample dishes. The performance of the liner was evaluated by comparing the total area of the GC-MS signals of major off-flavor sulfur compounds during the five days of fermentation at 20oC. As a result, Nano-grade inorganic compound liners reduced the sulfur content by 67 % on average, compared to ordinary polyethylene (PE) foam liners. Afterwards SEM-EDS was used to analyze the sulfur content adsorbed by the liners. The findings of this study strongly suggest that decomposition and adsorption of the odor-generating compounds occur more effectively in the newly-developed inorganic nanocomposite liners.

재활용품 분리배출 시 라벨의 제거 실태를 파악하기 위 해 가정에서 직접 쓰레기를 분리배출하는 300명을 대상으 로 설문조사를 진행한 결과 플라스틱 병 분리배출이 99% 에 이를 정도로 가정에서 직접 분리배출을 하는 소비자들 은 스스로 각 재질을 분리하여 분리배출에 참여하고 있다 고 인식하는 것으로 조사되었으나 분리배출시 라벨(부착상 표) 및 잡자재(마개, 비닐코팅, 테이프, 손잡이, 받침대 등) 를 제거하는 비율은 약 65%로 조사되어 약 35%는 분리배 출시 라벨과 같은 잡자재를 제거하지 않는 것으로 나타났 다. 라벨 및 잡자재를 제거한다는 응답 비율이 약 65%에 이르지만 재질별 세부항목 조사에서는 라벨 및 잡자재 제 거 비율이 50%를 넘는 재질이 종이(상자형, 기타), 플라스 틱(페트/병)으로 단 2가지 항목만 조사되어 실제 라벨 및 잡자재의 제거 참여율이 높지 않을 것으로 예상된다. 라벨 및 잡자재를 제거하지 않는 가장 큰 요인으로 분리의 어려 움이 약 52%로 가장 높으며 다음으로 제거의 필요성에 대 한 인식부족이 주요 요인으로 분석되었다. 정부는 분리배출 가이드를 통해 라벨 및 잡자재를 제거하여 분리배출할 것 을 요청하고 있으나 본 연구에 따르면 라벨 및 잡자재의 분리배출에 대한 정부와 일반 소비자 간의 인식 차이가 존 재하는 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 올바른 분리배출의 정착을 위해서 소비자가 라벨 및 잡자재제를 제거하는데 영향을 미치는 문제점들을 개선할 필요성이 제기된다. 소비자가 라벨 및 잡자재 제거에 영향을 미치는 저해 요 소 중 ‘강한 접착력(점/접착제, 불순물 잔유)’이 가장 큰 저 해 요소로 나타났다. ‘강합 접착력’은 점(접)착 라벨의 저해 요소에 해당하며 ‘재질의 강도(늘어남, 끊어짐)’은 수축라벨 에 대한 저해요소로 해석될 수 있다. 따라서 PET병에 점 (접)착 라벨보다 수축라벨의 사용을 지향하는 국내 정책의 방향성은 소비자의 라벨 분리 참여율 향상 측면에서 효과 적일 것으로 판단된다. 그러나 수축라벨에 절취선이 없거나 분리가 어렵다고 판단되면 점/접착라벨 보다 분리 인식이 떨어지므로 소비자가 라벨을 제거 시 느끼게 되는 분리용 이성 정도가 중요한 것으로 분석되었다. 강한 접착력, 마땅하지 않은 제거부분(제거 개시부 문제), 재질의 강도는 연령에 상관없이 저해 영향력 평균이 높은 것으로 나타나 라벨을 제거하는데 방해가 되는 주요 요소 로 작용하고 있다는 것을 알 수 있다. 결론적으로 정부 정책에 대한 불만을 낮춰 소비자의 올 바른 분리배출 참여율을 높이기 위해서는 소비자들이 느끼 고 있는 문제점들을 해결할 필요성이 있다. 우선적으로 해 결이 필요한 영역은 강한 접착력 및 재질의 강도에 의해 라벨을 몸체에서 제거하기 어려운 점과 제거를 위해 라벨 을 잡아야 하는 부분이 존재하지 않아 불편한 점이다. 강한 접착력의 경우 잔유물이 남거나 라벨이 완전히 제거되지 않 아 분리배출 의지를 저해하고 있으며 수축라벨은 분리가 용 이하도록 도입한 절취선이 제 기능을 하지 못하여 소비자 의 불만을 야기하고 있다. 또한 제거 개시부 문제는 점(접) 착라벨의 경우 일부 기업에서는 점(접)착제를 일부 도포하 지 않아 제거 개시가 쉽도록 하는 일명 ‘에코탭’을 적용하 여 분리 용이성을 향상시키고 있지만 그 사례는 소수에 불 과한 실정이다. 따라서 올바른 분리배출을 통해 궁극적으로 자원순을 이루기 위해서는 정책을 통해 올바른 분리배출을 소비자에게 요구하는 것에 그치지 않고 동시에 생산단계에 서 구조적 개선을 통한 소비자의 불만사항 해결에 대한 노 력이 필요하다. 본 연구는 자원순환정책의 일환으로 점차 소비자의 분리배출 참여 역할을 강화하고 있는 시점에서 향후 정책 개선에 활용할 수 있도록 소비자 측면에서의 분 리배출에 대한 인식을 조사하여 분리배출 참여를 저해하 는 문제점을 도출하고 정책의 개선 방향성을 제시한 의의가 있다.

As the government strengthens its policy of separating and discharging packaging materials, consumers are increasingly dissatisfied. In order to increase consumer participation in separate discharge policy of packaging materials, it is necessary to increase the willingness to participate by reducing potential consumer problems such as removal of packaging labels. This study conducted a survey of 300 consumers aged 14 and over who recycle and discharge directly from their homes. Ninety-nine percent of consumers said PET bottles are released separately. However, only 65% of consumers removed labels (attachment labels, shrink labels) and other materials (caps, vinyl coatings, tapes, handles, bases, etc.) during separate discharge process. Nearly 52% of consumers cited 'difficulty of separation' as the main reason for not removing labels and other materials. One-way ANOVA analysis showed that 'strong adhesion', 'removal initiation problem' and 'material strength' had high mean regardless of age, which are major factors impedes label removal. Using shrink labels with perforated lines rather than adhesive labels would be more beneficial to encouraging participation in separate discharge. However, if the shrink labels do not have perforated lines or are difficult to remove, adhesive labels are often easier to remove than shrink labels because of the strong cohesiveness of shrink labels. As a result, how easy it is for consumers to remove the label is more important than technological differences. In order to increase consumer participation in packaging material and label separations, improvements in structural design are needed along with the selection of materials that are easy to separate. This study is meaningful in examining consumer perceptions, deriving problems and suggesting directions for policy improvement.

The purpose of this study is to establish a new management strategy to meet customer needs of discount stores as customers demand higher and more diverse services in addition to low prices. An empirical analysis on consumers to explore the structural relationships between the quality, environmentally friendliness, consumer perception, service value, and emotional response of retail ready packaging (RRP) in discount stores in order to find out how they affect customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. First, it was confirmed that the RRP quality of discount stores that affects customer satisfaction is mediated by the emotional response. Second, it was found that RRP in discount stores should continue to devise strategies to improve service quality along with efforts to provide more benefits perceived by customers to increase customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. Third, it was confirmed that the RRP image of discount stores has a positive (+) effect on service value, emotional response, customer satisfaction, and repurchase intention.

The gamma irradiation was on to Poly(butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate) (PBSeT), Poly(butylene adipate- co-terephthalate) (PBAT), Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and casting polypropylene (CPP) at dose levels from 0 to 50 kGy. The properties of gamma irradiated samples were analyzed using DSC, TGA, UTM and FT-IR spectra. The mechanical and thermal properties of PBSeT and PBAT after gamma irradiation were less affected than CPP. The tensile strength and elongation of PBSeT was not affected by gamma irradiation, while these of PBAT, PLA and CPP were significantly decreased at 50 kGy gamma-ray dose. The thermal stability of PBSeT, PBAT, PLA and CPP showed a similar tendency to tensile strength. The glass transition temperature(Tg) and melting temperature(Tm) of PBSeT and PBAT were not altered by increasing gamma-ray dose, while these of PLA and CPP decreased. The chemical composition of all samples was not modified by gamma irradiation, and it was confirmed by FT-IR spectra. Based on mechanical and thermal stability studies of gamma irradiation on bioplastics, tested biodegradable packaging materials showed a potential to be used in sterilization process up to 35 kGy.

Agricultural corrugated fiberboard packaging boxes frequently experience damage due to loading and unloading, vibration during transport, and shock by dynamic distribution condition change. This study was carried out to estimate effect of vibration during distribution process on compression strength of corrugated fiberboard boxes for agricultural products. In order to identify the degradation caused by vibration, after box packaging the agricultural products( tangerine or cucumber), the natural frequencies of the packaging boxes were measured by varying the relative humidity(50, 70 and 90%) at 25oC temperature. Various types of corrugated fiberboard boxes were packed with tangerines and cucumbers, and the PSD plot vibration tests were conducted by utilizing the actual vibration recording results of the Gyeongbu Expressway section between Seoul and Gimcheon. As a result of the experiment, the decrease in compression strength of the box was relatively low in DW-AB, and the decrease in compression strength of the SW-A 0201(RSC) type box was the highest at 20.49%. In particular, both SW-A and DW-AB showed low compression strength degradation rates for open folder type boxes. The moisture content varies depending on the type of the box or agricultural products, and the enclosed 0201(RSC) type box was generally higher than the open folder or bliss type box, which is believed to be the reason for the decrease in compression strength of RSC type box due to humidity. By the agricultural product, the percentage of decrease in compression strength of box packed with cucumbers was especially high.

Time-temperature integrators (TTIs) based on aqueous enzyme solutions produce transparent colors which lead to difficulty in distinguishing its color change by naked eye. In this present study, this issue has been solved by increasing the opacity of laccase-based TTI without changes in the kinetics (same zero-order reaction) and temperature dependency (similar Arrhenius activation energy values) of the color change. The opacity was increased by introducing TiO2, latex, BaSO4, or ZnO, in combination with a hydrocolloid (xanthan gum, acacia gum, pectin, and CMC) into the TTI system. The combination of TiO2 and xanthan gum was the best. This finding broadened the advantages of laccasebased TTI to more practical uses for consumer convenience.

The characteristics of vibrational stress (shock and vibration) during transport and the possibility of damage to the packaged pears by functional PLA tray were investigated. And this study was conducted to analyze how environmental conditions by simulated transport environment affect quality factors such as weight loss (%) and soluble solid content (SSC, %), and firmness (bioyield strength, kPa) of packaged pears by PLA tray and Expanded PET foam pad (Group 1), EPE cushion cup pad and net (Group 2) for exporting. Pears with or without vibration stress were stored for 30 days at low temperatures (5 ± 0.8oC, 80 ± 5% relative humidity). There was the statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) between pears with and without vibration stress for weight loss, soluble solid content, and firmness (bioyield strength) after 30 days storage. Vibration stress accelerated pear quality deterioration during storage, resulting in increased weight loss, soluble solids content, and reduced hardness. The firmness (bioyield strength) and weight changes of pears with PLA trays were smaller than those of conventional packaging box systems. It was determined that the firmness of agricultural products was a quality factor closely related to the storage period and that PLA could be applied.

The evaluation of package temperature for fresh preservation of cucumber was investigated. The fresh cucumber is available in markets of Korea during whole seasons, for the help of farmer, distributor and consumer. Cucumbers were stored within cardboard boxes packaging covered with low density polyethylene (LDPE) at different temperatures (5, 10, 15 and 20oC). Changes in weight loss, hue angle, firmness, moisture content and general appearance (shape of cucumber) were investigated during storage of cucumbers. General appearance index with non-packaging decreased more than with LDPE film packaging at 5oC and 10oC. During storage of cucumbers, general appearance index as freshness showed packaging effect at low temperature than room temperature. In the fresh weight loss, the packaged cucumbers were less reduced than that of the non-packaging ones. At color change, Hue angle of cucumber stored within low temperature with film packaging decreased gradually during storage. However remarkable change in hue angle were observed in cucumber within LDPE film packaging treatments of 15oC and 20oC storage. The effect of hue angle with packaging appears differently depending on the storage temperature conditions. The firmness and moisture content of cucumber flesh were not affected by packaging and storage temperature. In this experiment, cucumbers packaged with LDPE film at 5oC and 10oC were the most desirable for extending the quality. These results suggest that packaging of low temperature treatments in combination could be effective in prolonging the shelf life of cucumber.