Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Baroclinic Tidal Sea Level From Exact-Repeat Mission Altimetry, Edward Zaron

Portland Institute for Computational Science Publications

A near-global model for the sea-surface expression of the baroclinic tide has been developed using exact-repeat mission altimetry. The methodology used differs in detail from other altimetry-based estimates of the open ocean baroclinic tide, but it leads to estimates which are broadly similar to previous results. It may be used for prediction of the baroclinic sea level anomaly at the frequencies of the main diurnal and semidiurnal tides, K₁, O₁, M₂, S₂, as well as the annual modulates of M₂, denoted MA₂ and MB₂. Based on a comparison with independent CryoSat-2 data, the ...

Role Of Zero Valent Iron And Organic Substrates In Chlorinated Solvent Degradation: An Ex-Situ Remediation Case Study, Alexander Stevenson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Field practice suggests that a combination of biotic and abiotic technologies to treat soil impacted by chlorinated solvents positively influences a remediation project’s success rate. Two large remediation programs have used a material containing both zero-valent iron (ZVI) and a dry organic substrate to abiotically reduce contaminants and increase anaerobic bioremediation in soil contaminated with tetrachloroethylene and 1,2-dichloroethylene using ex-situ mixing techniques. This research assesses the contributions made by the dry organic substrate and ZVI to the observed changes in chlorinated solvent concentrations by analyzing field samples collected from the sites previously remediated, as well as conducting bench-scale ...

Analyzing A Small-Scale, Constructed Wetland For Stormwater Treatment, Juliann Apple, Pascal Schlee

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Research Publications

Stormwater treatment by means of constructed wetlands has the ability to effectively remove pollutants such as total suspended solids, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia. Utilizing two small, lab-scale constructed wetlands, one free water flow system and one subsurface flow system, our research team analyzed the levels of these pollutants at different locations in the wetland. Our team of two Civil and Environmental Engineering undergraduate students tested a variety of different water samples including tap water, stormwater, and a high nitrate solution. A consistent decrease in nitrate and nitrite was observed throughout the systems. While there was not an overall decrease in ...

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim ...

Fundamental Studies Of Solid-Fuel Combustion Using A Two-Stage Flat-Flame Burner, Adewale Ayodeji Adeosun

Engineering and Applied Science Theses & Dissertations

Innovative coal technologies are essential for addressing concerns about air pollution and global climate change. A key pathway to advancing these technologies is through developing a thorough understanding of the fundamental physical and chemical processes that occur during coal combustion. Ignition influences many aspects of coal combustion, including flame stability, submicron aerosol evolution, and char burnout. As important as ignition and these associated processes are, they are challenging to study because they depend on many factors, such as the combustion environment, particle size, and particle-particle interactions.

While there have been many studies of coal ignition, none have studied the process ...

Utah Salt Storage Facilities Guidelines And Best Management Practices, Weston Bellon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

An environmental analysis was conducted at the Utah Water Research Laboratory of samples gathered from Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) salt storage facilities retention ponds across the state. The analysis indicated high levels of TSS largely made up of minerals directly associated with the deicing solution currently used by UDOT in roadway applications. As a companion to that analysis, best management practices have been identified and compiled to provide a resource for the proper management of salt storage facilities in the state of Utah. Topics included as best management practices include locating new storage facilities, proper salt storage, proper salt ...

Solar And Rain Catching Canopy. Urban Oasis, Afolabi Ibitoye, Langston Clark, Elena Zimareva, Evan Banks, Alexander Aptekar

Publications and Research

The Urban Oasis is designed to work within existing “pocket parks” in New York City as a combined rainwater collector, personal electronics charging station and resting designation for New Yorkers. Intended to not only lessen the demand on the city power grid by using renewable energy to charge devices, the urban oasis is also intended to mitigate grey water overfill in New York’s combined sewer system and, in general, serve as a model for responsible environmental stewardship in urban areas.

The important technical aspects of the canopy specifically analyzed were:

a) how much rainwater could the canopy be expected ...

U.S. Agro-Climate In 20th Century: Growing Degree Days, First And Last Frost, Growing Season Length, And Impacts On Crop Yields, Meetpal Singh Kukal, Suat Irmak

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Significant air temperature changes have occurred globally during the 20th century, which are spatially variable to a considerable degree and these changes can have substantial implications in agroecosystem productivity. The agroclimate indicators that are responsible in these contexts are first fall frost (FFF), last spring frost (LSF), climatological growing season (CGS) length, and heat accumulation (growing degree days, GDD). We explore spatial and temporal trends associated with these indices across the continental U.S. (CONUS) during 1900–2014 using datasets collected at 1218 sites. On average, FFF has been occurring later (by 5.4 days century⁻¹), and LSF has ...

Ph Effects On The Sorption Of Fluoxetine And Sulfamethoxazole By Three Powdered Activated Carbons, James D. Schneider

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are widely used throughout the world. PPCPs are emerging as pollutants of concern and may pose a risk in the future to drinking water supplies. Two such compounds are sulfamethoxazole (SMXL) and fluoxetine (FLX). These ionizable compounds are not readily removed from water by conventional water treatment technologies. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) is a useful material for removing contaminants from water and is currently used in many water treatment applications. PACs may carry either a net positive or negative surface charge depending on the pH of solution. This study examined the hypothesis that the ...

Desorption Of Trace Inorganic Contaminants From Solids In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Tiana W. Hammer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to maintain high quality safe drinking water, we need to understand what happens after the water has been cleaned at the drinking water plant and before it gets to the consumer’s house. Even if low concentrations of toxic contaminants enter the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) there is potential for contaminants to accumulate and be released by changes in flow or water conditions in high concentrations at the tap. For this study, we collected solid material from Park City, Utah that accumulated within the DWDS, along with a year of monthly monitoring of the DWDS. These solids ...

Formation Of Low-Molecular-Weight Dissolved Organic Nitrogen In Two-Stage And Four-Stage Pre-Denitrification Biological Nutrient Removal Processes, Siwei Chen

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

To alleviate the eutrophication caused by excessive loading of nutrients, the upgrading of conventional activated sludge (CAS) process to biological nutrients removal (BNR) process has been widely applied in USA. In this study, we found that the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) release can be effectively controlled by this upgrading, but dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) especially LMW-DON, which now is regarded as another important N source for supporting growth of phytoplankton in coastal water, cannot be removed effectively by BNR systems, especially by four-stage BNR systems. Different pre-denitrification BNR processes have different LMW-DON production rates. A four-stage pre-denitrification BNR releases more ...

Seasonal Impacts Of Climate Change On Future Peak River Discharge In The U.S. Northeast, Christina Wu

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

This research uses projected changes in future precipitation to calculate the changes in the magnitude, frequency, and timing of streamflow, particularly peak annual flows, in the U.S. Northeast through 20 representative watersheds. Temperature and precipitation data on a 3-hourly time step from five climate projection from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) are downscaled and bias- corrected using the Spatial Downscaling and Bias Correction (SDBC) method. These data are used to force a regional hydrological model (WRF-Hydro) to estimate daily future streamflow. The changes in magnitude at various return intervals of peak flow events are determined ...

Development Of A Hydraulic Conductivity Placement Window Using Centrifuge Techniques, Greg Thomas

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A centrifuge soil testing device, currently operated by researchers at the University of Arkansas, was used to develop a technique to determine a hydraulic conductivity placement window. The purpose of this research was to develop a placement window by means of a centrifuge instead of by means of a panel board. Soil specimens were created at standard PRcotor energy and at 50 percent of Standard Proctor energy at -3 percent of optimum, -1.5 percent of optimum, two specimens at optimum, +1.5 percent of optimum, and +3 percent of optimum water content. Values of hydraulic conductivity for the respective ...

Investigating Initial Interactions Between Silver Nanoparticles And Wastewater, Casey Gibson

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The use of nanoparticles (NPs) has increased exponentially in the last 15-20 years, especially in the consumer market. NPs are currently found in over 1800 commercial products, including cosmetics, clothing, packaging, and toys. As a result, NPs can enter the environment via wastewater (WW) streams, leading to new challenges in WW treatment. This study focuses on the initial fate of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in WW. The AgNP interaction including aggregation and dissolution in both synthetic and real WW were studied. Real WW was collected from the primary-clarifier, secondary-clarifier, and effluent WW streams at two local WW treatment plants (Westside and ...

Chloride Salt Inhibition On Lipid Production In Wastewater-Grown Algae For Biofuel Production, Will Richardson

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Algae are increasingly being recognized as useful organisms for many applications in today’s world. Their ability to remove nitrogen, phosphorus, and trace metals from water while adding oxygen to water makes them an attractive tertiary treatment technology in municipal wastewater treatment facilities. At the same time, algae produce lipids and carbohydrates that are useful for biofuel production, and they are not a human food crop unlike many biofuel feedstocks. In this study the effect of increased chloride concentrations in wastewater was assessed on the ability of two species of algae, Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus dimorphus, to function as a ...

Assessing Auto-Flocculation Of Microalgae In Wastewater Treatment, Alexander Parr

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Biofuels produced from algae have the prospect to provide a cheap, carbon neutral alternative to fossil fuels. However, the high cost for harvesting algae limits its wide application, as the preferred algae strains for biofuel production are typically unicellular microalgae that do not settle in water very well. Recently, researchers have been focusing on developing a biological method to achieve the sedimentation of algae through flocculation. A recent study has concluded that introducing microalgae that self-flocculates increases the recovery of the desired microalgae, similar to the effect of using coagulant to flocculate the algae. This option can potentially be more ...

Removal Of Carbamazepine From Drinking Water, Jordan Alex Gadberry, Adam Johnson, Juan Rodriguez, Paola Marrero-Rivera, Tom Krumpolc, Zach Wiese

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the increasing prevalence of prescription medication over the past few decades, pharmaceuticals have accumulated in various water sources. This has become a public health concern because many pharmaceuticals have limited research on the effects of chronic low-level exposure. According to the World’s Health Organization (WHO), traces of pharmaceuticals products have been reported in different water sources such as surface waters, wastewater, groundwater, and drinking water.^[1] One pharmaceutical of interest that has been detected in water sources is carbamazepine. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a common pharmaceutical prescribed for the treatment of seizure disorders, neuropathic pain, and various psychological ...

Evaluation Of A Side-By-Side Full-Scale Biofiltration Conversion In A Nutrient-Limited Environment, Stetson S. Bassett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to meet increasing water demands and more stringent regulations drinking water treatment plant managers must continually look to new treatment strategies and optimization techniques. One such strategy is to eliminate chlorine residual before filtration, allowing indigenous bacteria already present in the source water to grow on the filter media. These microorganisms help improve effluent water quality by increasing organic and inorganic contaminant removal. The process is known as biological filtration, or biofiltration. The implications of converting a conventional filtration plant (not specifically designed for biofiltration) to a biofiltration plant are still not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of ...

Transcriptomics To Develop Biochemical Network Models In Cyanobacteria, Bridget E. Hegarty, Jordan Peccia, Ratanachat Racharaks

Yale Day of Data

Through targeted genetic manipulations guided by network modeling, we will create a flexible, cyanobacteria-based platform for the production of biofuel-precursors and valuable chemical products. To build gene-metabolite predictive models, we have characterized Synecococcus elongatus sp. UTEX 2973’s (henceforth, UTEX 2973) gene expression and metabolite production under a number of environmental conditions.

Biobutanol Production From Cellulosic And Sugar-Based Feedstock From The Corn Plant, Reyna Gomez-Flores

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, biobutanol production by biological fermentation was investigated from the corn plant, integrating two approaches. The first one was to utilize corn cobs, a cellulosic-based material. The second, using a new sugar-based material, sugarcorn juice. Utilizing suitable Clostridia strains for each substrate, these approaches converged into a biorefinery concept to produce renewable biofuels in Ontario, Canada. The corn cob pretreatment was carried out by a dilute acid method resulting in temperature as the variable with most significant effect towards glucose liberation. The enzymatic hydrolysis was performed utilizing a very low concentration of an enzymatic stock solution with approximately ...