Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Design Considerations For A Water Treatment System Utilizing Ultra-Violet Light Emitting Diodes, Michael J. Spencer

Theses and Dissertations

UV LED technology is in its infancy and research as it applies to UV water treatment is required to advance knowledge for practical application. This thesis focused on two subjects. First, the design, fabrication, and operation of a water treatment reaction system utilizing Ultra-Violet (UV) Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Second, the measurement of UV LED output angle in water which is necessary to support future reactor designs. Several characteristics of the LED-water interface were revealed which impacted the effectiveness of the vessel including; UV dose requirements, LED wavelength, photon dispersion geometry, LED placement, optical efficiency, vessel material, and electronic control …

A Novel Approach Of Integrating Ventilation And Air Cleaning For Sustainable And Healthy Office Environments, Kwanghoon Han

Kwanghoon Han

A wise integration approach using well-developed and innovative existing scientific/engineering tools can be a good answer to rising core questions of sustainability science. Many research works have been conducted to protect and satisfy occupant health and comfort in a sustainable way. The present study investigates a novel approach to the control of ventilation, dynamically integrated with the use of air cleaning technology toward a substantial reduction of building energy/cost with cleaner indoor air than what the standard provides. To demonstrate the proposed methodology, a low energy office building was used as a testbed, subject to the variation of outdoor pollution …

Quantifying And Modeling Stream-Aquifer Interactions In The Elkhorn River Basin, Nebraska, Can Liu

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study combined statistical analyses, field investigations and numerical groundwater flow modeling to quantify the connectivity between the Elkhorn River and its adjacent aquifers in Nebraska. The Mann-Kendall trend tests were conducted to detect increasing or decreasing tendencies on the time series data of streamflow, which were collected from eighteen gauging stations in the Elkhorn River and its tributaries. Decreasing trends were not found in the annual streamflow data.

Field investigation of streambed hydraulic properties was performed in the Elkhorn River near Winslow and Norfolk. Vertical hydraulic conductivities (K_v) of the shallow streambed sediments were obtained by …

Is Horizon Sampling More Powerful Than Depth Sampling?, Chris E. Johnson

Chris E Johnson

No abstract provided.

Is Horizon Sampling More Powerful Than Depth Sampling?, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Wheat Varieties With A Parallel-Plate Capacitance Sensor Using Fisher’S Linear Discriminant Analysis, C. V. K. Kandala, George Meyer, N. Puppala, V. Settaluri, R. S. Reddy

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Fisher’s linear discriminant (FLD) models for wheat variety classification were developed and validated. The inputs to the FLD models were the capacitance (𝐶), impedance (𝑍), and phase angle (𝜃), measured at two frequencies. Classification of wheat varieties was obtained as output of the FLDmodels.𝑍and 𝜃of a parallel-plate capacitance system,holding thewheat samples, weremeasured using an impedance meter, and the 𝐶 value was computed.The best model developed classified the wheat varieties, with accuracy of 95.4%, over the six wheat varieties tested.This method is simple, rapid, and nondestructive and would be useful for the breeders and the peanut industry.

The Green Latrine: Development Of A Large Scale Microbial Fuel Cell For The Treatment Of Human Waste In Developing Areas, Cynthia Castro

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

Global access to sanitation systems in the developing world has yet to be attained. Several concepts for small-scale ecological decentralized waste treatment systems have been developed to further disseminate sanitation systems in rural environments. These systems have added incentives such as compost and fertilizer obtained from human waste. The goal of this research is to develop a novel microbial fuel cell latrine that treats human waste and produces three incentives: treated effluent, compost, and electricity. The MFC proposed in this work uses a simple three-chamber design. Each chamber is hydraulically partitioned, eliminating the need for a proton exchange membrane. A …

Time-Variable Refraction Of The Internal Tide At The Hawaiian Ridge, Edward D. Zaron, Gary D. Egbert

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The interaction of the dominant semidiurnal M₂ internal tide with the large-scale subtidal flow is examined in an ocean model by propagating the tide through an ensemble of background fields in a domain centered on the Hawaiian Ridge. The background fields are taken from the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) ocean analysis, at 2-month intervals from 1992 through 2001. Tides are computed with the Primitive Equation Z-coordinate Harmonic Analysis of Tides (PEZ-HAT) model by 14-day integrations using SODA initial conditions and M2 tidal forcing. Variability of the tide is found to occur primarily as the result of propagation through …

Wastewater Treatment And Management At Oil Shale Plants, R. E. Hicks, R. F. Probstein, I. Wei, D. S. Farrier, J. Lotwala, T. E. Phillips

Irvine W. Wei

Laboratory tests have shown that the major wastewater streams produced during oil shale retorting can in principle be treated to a quality suitable for reuse within the plant. The wastewater stream condensed from the retort gases, here called the gas condensate, contains primarily dissolved gases (NH3, CO2 and some H2S) and organics as contaminants. In batch stripping tests it was found that the organics, which may be present at concentrations of up to 5,000 mg/l measured as COD, are volatile and can be stripped along with the ammonia down to about 500 mg/l COD. Retort waters, or wastewater streams that …

Analyses Of Groundwater Contribution To A Riverine Wetland, Farzad Mahmoodinobar

Dissertations

Rainfall, runoff, overbank flow and groundwater, all contribute water to wetlands. Each transport element is associated with unique modeling approaches and uncertainties. Transpiration is perhaps the hardest to quantify as it is subject to all the variability of plant growth. Transpiration causes land area to lose moisture and the loss amount depends on precipitation incidence, the temperature and type and extent of vegetation. Plants can intercept virtually all recharge during the growing season and almost none from late fall to early spring in northeastern United States. Thus, an improvement in the transpiration element can contribute considerably to an improved groundwater …

Influence Of Beach Hydrodynamics On Saltwater Transport And Oil Persistence In Beaches, Ali Abdollahi-Nasab

Dissertations

The exchange of water and solutes across the aquifer-ocean interface plays an important ecological role in both aquifer and the open water. Saltwater intrusion could prevent utilization of groundwater for either drinking water or irrigation. In addition, the flux of solutes, such as nutrients, from inland groundwater sources plays an important role in shoreline ecology, especially in embayments. This research relies on a three-pronged approach, involving a laboratory beach experiment, field scale experiments and numerical analyses. The laboratory beach experiment is designed to investigate the fundamental processes occurring in beach aquifers. It explores the effects of buoyancy (or lack thereof) …

Dynamics Of Breakpoint Chlorination, Irvine Wei, J. Carrell Morris

Irvine W. Wei

No abstract provided.

Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part Ii, Dechlorination Kinetics, Somnath Basu, Venkat Sreenivasan, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Laboratory investigation has shown that Fenton's Reagent is a very effective oxidant for 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (TCP). The authors reported the first phase of this research, consisting of five different reactions of Fenton's Reagent on TCP, at the 1995 AIChE Summer National Meeting in Boston as Part I of this paper. The results demonstrated total removal of TCP, with almost complete release of aromatic ring bound chlorine atoms into chloride ions, significant reduction of TOC, and very importantly, significant toxicity reduction compared to the original substrate. These results suggested that Fenton's Reaction can be considered as a candidate process for treatment of …

Biological Treatment Of Coal Conversion Condensates, Irvine Wei, D. J. Goldstein

Irvine W. Wei

Biochemical oxidation is an important way to remove organic contamination from foul condensates in coal conversion plants. The design considerations are discussed; oxygen is recommended in preference to air, and a test with mutated bacteria is recommended. Reactor configurations are also discussed. When the organic contamination is high, the use of oxygen requires forced cooling and a combined cooling tower/trickling filter is suggested for test. Preliminary plant designs are given for two situations in a Hygas plant: one when lignite is fed and one when a bituminous coal is fed.

Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part Iv, Reaction Mechanism And Kinetics, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Chlorine Emission Potential At The New Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, Somnath Basu, Kenneth Shilinsky, Irvine Wei

Irvine W. Wei

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is currently constructing a 1,200 million gallon per day secondary wastewater treatment facility on Deer Island, in Boston Harbor. Chlorine, in the form of sodium hypochlorite solution, is purchased and barged to Deer Island for use in both effluent disinfection and odor scrubbing. The Process Engineering Department of Deer Island, as part of its on-going cost effectiveness program, is currently evaluating on-site generation of sodium hypochlorite. The technical analysis includes a thorough examination of the chemistry of production and storage, including potential losses to atmosphere. This paper presents an overview of that examination, defines …

Uv Disinfection Of Treated Wastewater Effluent: Influence Of Color, Reactivation And Regrowth Of Coliform Bacteria, Somnath Basu, Jack Page, Irvine Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Disinfection is a very important unit process to deactivate coliform bacteria in treated wastewater. However, regrowth potential of coliform bacteria raises human health and safety concerns associated with reuse of treated wastewater in various applications. Both post chlorination and post UV disinfection regrowth have been reported in the literature. In view of increasing use of recycled wastewater for reuse, it is necessary to address this phenomenon from both technical and regulatory standpoints. A case study of fecal coliform regrowth in a full scale operating plant is reported here. This is expected to aid in further understanding of the phenomenon and …

A Conceptual Continuous Process For The Treatment And Toxicity Reduction Of Wastewater Contaminated With 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol: Extended Abstract, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Fenton's Reagent is an aqueous solution of ferrous ions and hydrogen peroxide. Through laboratory experiments Fenton's Reagent has been shown to be an excellent treatment agent for the removal of organic contaminants dissolved in water. It carries out oxidative degradation of various organic substrates using the principle of advanced chemical oxidation. This is an excellent alternate route for the removal of hazardous and toxic chemicals, which are recalcitrant to biological treatment. The authors of this paper conducted an extensive laboratory investigation to study the degradation of 2,4,6- Trichlorophenol (TCP) using Fenton's Reagent, reported elsewhere. The results indicated an optimum H₂O₂:TCP …

Computer Simulation Of Lime-Soda Water Softening Process, J. C. Y. Chen, I. W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

No abstract provided.

Upflow Anaerobic Filter With Dual Media: A Novel Concept, K. Jain, I. Wei, A. Panchal, N. Varandani

Irvine W. Wei

To overcome two of the main problems intrinsic to upflow anaerobic filters using single media--clogging and biomass washout--a new strategy consisting of two different media is studied. The study is to evaluate the performance of Dual Media Upflow Anaerobic Filter (DM UAF), a novel wastewater treatment unit using synthetic waste as well as primary treated effluent of Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), Vatva, India, operated by The Green Environment Services Co-Operative Society Ltd. and also to compare the performance of DM UAF with Single media UAF on a laboratory scale. Biokinetics of DM UAF was also determined. A 14.45 L …