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Application Of Various Adsorbents To Remove Micro-Pollutants In Aquatic System, Chanil Jung

Theses and Dissertations

Untreated or insufficiently treated pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) as well as heavy metals have influenced the ecosystem and their exposures in the water system have threatened human health; causing cancers and adverse health effect to immune system. While various water treatment techniques have been applied to solve this problem, adsorption has been considered as one of the most efficient and manageable water purification techniques. Advanced analysis methods for aqueous contaminants have improved comprehension, allowing proficiency about the fate of trace leveled emerging contaminants, thus allowed to reveal the adsorption mechanisms of each pollutant. This dissertation focuses on the …

Performance Quantification Of Extensive Green Roof Substrate Blend: Expanded Shale And Biochar, James Sheats

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Urban stormwater management practices often involve the redirection of runoff to local waterbodies. As such, the quality of runoff directly affects the condition of these receiving waters. Green roofs offer many benefits to the urban environment including attractive aesthetics, thermal insulation for buildings and stormwater runoff reduction. Unfortunately, in order to promote the spread of vegetation, fertilization is often practiced that can lead to elevated nutrient concentrations in runoff and, ultimately, nearby streams, rivers and bays. Different amounts of biochar, pyrolyzed biomass, were added to model green roof trays to test for the ability of this charcoal-like substance to prevent …

The Effects Of Poultry Litter Biochar And Water Source On Radish Growth And Nutrition, Julia Marie Allen

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many row-crop fields today have declined in soil fertility due to poor management practices and overuse of pesticides. Under these conditions, plant nutrient uptake can be sub-optimal. There are several soil amendments that can be used to improve soil quality and plant growth such as traditional fertilizers and manure applications. This study focused on the addition of biochar to the soil and the use of structured water to enhance plant growth. Biochar is a nutrient rich product that is produced by pyrolysis of organic feedstocks and contains high rates of carbon. Previous studies which focused on biochar have shown an …

Short-Term Effects Of Poultry Litter Or Woodchip Biochar Amendment In A Temperate Zone Agronomic System, Katy Elizabeth Brantley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biochar, a charcoal product produced by the anaerobic thermal decomposition of biomass, can provide agronomic benefits when soil applied. However, research is lacking in temperate region soils investigating specific biochar products and their effects on agronomically important crops. A greenhouse study utilizing poultry litter biochar and a field study utilizing pine woodchip biochar were conducted to observe the effects of biochar application to Northwest Arkansas soils on corn growth and nutrient availability. A third experiment investigated poultry litter and pine woodchip biochar influences on soil water retention. In all three experiments, biochar was applied at three rates (0, 5, and …

Predicted Performance Of A Skytherm North, A Highly Insulated Building Envelope System And A Frost Protected Shallow Foundation, Kitrina Ann Stratton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

How do you design a durable, sustainable, and financeable Net Zero Energy house for a cold weather climate using little or no external energy that is also affordable? Reviewing all of the factors that would influence the design and materials selection of an appropriate response to the issues, the perfect system for housing people, whether it is in response to affordability, durability, comfort, cultural sensitivity, appearance or being locally appropriate, is using some kind of straw bale construction system with an integrated frost protected shallow foundation and a SkyTherm North design.

The focus and intention of this research is to …

Fate Of Micropollutants During Pyrolysis Of Biosolids, John Ross

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Approximately 250 tons of organic micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, antimicrobials, and hormones, are discharged to the environment during land application of wastewater biosolids annually. Reusing wastewater biosolids is vital to the sustainability of wastewater treatment, but current treatment processes do not remove micropollutants from biosolids in an efficient manner. Pyrolysis―the heating of biomass to temperatures between 400 and 800 °C under oxygen-free conditions―was proposed as a biosolids treatment process that could produce a beneficial soil amendment product, biochar, and remove micropollutants. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of pyrolysis temperature and residence time on the removal of …

Nitrate Removal From Subsurface Drainage By Denitrifying Bioreactor, Erin Chichlowski

Open Access Theses

Denitrifying bioreactors are an edge-of-field best management practice that reduce nitrate in runoff and subsurface drainage waters with minimum surface foot print and management requirements. The objectives of this study included evaluating a 173 m3 wood chip bioreactor for nitrate reduction and removal rates, the effects on phosphorus, and the impacts of the bioreactor's physical characteristics on effective nitrate reduction During periods of flow, weekly water samples were collected for lab analysis of nitrate+nitrite (nitrate-N), total nitrogen (TN), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), and total phosphorus (TP) and measurements were made of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, oxidation reduction potential, temperature, …

Carbon And Nitrogen Dynamics From Slow Pools Of Soil Organic Matter In A Temperate Forest: Pyrogenic Organic Matter And And Root Litter, Fernanda Dos Santos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Soil organic matter (SOM) is the dominant reservoir of organic carbon (OC) in terrestrial ecosystems, storing approximately three times the size of the C pool in the atmosphere. In temperate forests, a major fraction of the SOM consists of slowly decaying soil organic C (SOC) pools. While slowly cycling C pools constitute a large reservoir of stable C in soils, the dominant environmental factors controlling this C pool remain unresolved. This research investigates two significant, but poorly characterized slowly decaying C pools: fine root litter (< 2mm) and thermally altered plant biomass (pyrogenic organic matter, PyOM). Specifically, I used compound-specific stable isotope analysis (¹³C and ¹⁵N) as my main methodological approach to examine the (1) …

Field To Flight: A Techno-Economic Analysis Of Stover To Aviation Biofuels Supply Chain, Amanda C. Bittner

Open Access Theses

Greenhouse gas emissions have been a growing concern. The transportation sector contributes to one-third of GHG emissions in the United States from fossil fuel burning. The Renewable Fuel Standard set a requirement for 16 billion gallons (ethanol equivalent) of cellulosic biofuels to be used in the market. Aviation biofuels can help to meet both of these problems as well as improve U.S. energy security.

Investment in the biofuel industry carries a lot of risk. The biofuel industry is run by the private sector, but can be incentivized by government. Cellulosic biofuels carry even more risk than first generation biofuels, because …

The Effect Of Increasing Rates Of Biochar On Corn Grown In Salinas Clay Loam, Joshua Fridlund

Agricultural Education and Communication

In order to sustain the ever growing global population, agriculture needs to not only increase yields but to increase yields in a way that is sustainable and is either environmentally neutral or has a positive effect on the environment. Biochar offers a solution to this challenge with numerous environmental benefits, as well as agricultural benefits (Lehman and Joseph 2009). The agricultural benefits of biochar have been well documented in tropical climates, with the benefits of biochar for other climates, such as temperate climates and Mediterranean climates, relatively unknown (Blackwell et. al. 2009). To determine the effect of biochar on agricultural …

Mechanical And Cultural Practices To Reduce Skinning In Sweetpotato, Bradley Hodge Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is one of the major tropical root crops of the world and it is widely distributed throughout the tropical and temperate regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas. During harvest and post-harvest handling, the skin can be separated from the underlying tissue of the storage root. Storage root damage contributed to income losses for producers. To minimize these loses, producers set the skin of the sweetpotato by removal of the vines prior to harvest. New mechanical (undercutting) and cultural (biochar) methods were developed and tested. Mechanical undercutting would sever the feeder roots of the plant …

Biomass To Biofuel: Catalysis, Monitoring, And Utilization Of Biochar, Bidhya Kunwar

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of my research was the exploration of the conversion of biomass to an alternative liquid fuels. One focus was on online monitoring for the optimization of biomass gasification to improve the production of synthesis gas. To accomplish this goal, required development, assembly and testing of an instrument to monitor synthesis gas production from biomass gasification. Requirements for simplicity and the ability to separate complex mixtures of analytes to aid in their identification led to the development of a low cost, autosampling, portable gas chromatograph for the continuous online monitoring of biomass gasification during the production of synthesis gas …

Bermudagrass Growth In Soil Contaminated With Hydraulic Fracturing Drilling Fluid, Douglas Carl Wolf

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydraulic fracturing is the process of injecting aqueous solutions at high pressure to break apart rock formations and increase the efficiency of natural gas extraction. The solutions are recovered and have been land-applied as one disposal technique. Excessive fluid application can result in increased soil salinity that can inhibit or prevent plant growth. The objective of this greenhouse study was to evaluate the effects of inorganic fertilizer, broiler litter, and Milorganite® and soil depth interval (0-15 cm or 0-30 cm) on the growth of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers] in soil that was collected from a site that had been …

Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.

Activated Carbon Decreases Invasive Plant Growth By Mediating Plant-Microbe Interactions, Nicole E. Nolan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To restore lands invaded by dense, non-native vegetation, it may be necessary to develop targeted restoration tools than can remove the mechanism used by these non-native species as a competitive advantage. Activated carbon (AC) is one such tool, with the ability to disrupt the mechanisms of plant to plant communication (allelopathy) and positive plant to microbe communication commonly used by non-native species. Previous studies have shown the success of high concentrations, 1000g/m², of AC in native plant community restoration on a small scale. Here, our goals are twofold: first, to test AC effectiveness in restoring desirable plant communities …

Effect Of Poultry Litter Biochar On Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Growth And Ethanol Production From Steam-Exploded Poplar And Corn Stover, Oumou Diallo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of ethanol produced from lignocellulosic biomass for transportation fuel offers solutions in reducing environmental emission and the use of non-renewable fuels. However, lignocellulosic ethanol production is still hampered by economic and technical obstacles. For instance, the inhibitory effect of toxic compounds produced during biomass pretreatment was reported to inhibit the fermenting microorganisms, hence there was a decrease in ethanol yield and productivity. Thus, there is a need to improve the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol in order to promote its commercialization. The research reported here investigated the use of poultry litter biochar to improve the ethanol production …

Characterizing The Effect Of Suspended Carbon Nanotubes On The Bioavailablility Of Adsorbed Fluoranthene To P. Promelas, Erica N. Linard

All Theses

The introduction of carbon nanomaterials into the environment has increased exponentially in the last decade, causing environmental as well as health concerns. One concern is the interaction that such nanomaterials have with the biota in the aquatic ecosystem and the direct and indirect toxic effects that may result. Previous research has documented a positive influence of natural organic matter (NOM) on the stability of carbon nanotube (CNTs) suspensions in surface waters. Further, research has quantified the ability of these carbon nanomaterials to adsorb aquatic contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Though both CNTs and PAHs can co-occur in wastewater …

Biochar And Vermicompost Amendments In Vegetable Cropping Systems: Impacts On Soil Quality, Soil-Borne Pathogens And Crop Productivity, Nathan Lee Shoaf

Open Access Theses

Amending soils with biochar and vermicompost has the potential to provide multiple benefits for specialty crops including pathogen suppression and increased crop productivity. Oomycete pathogens such as Phytophthora capsici can devastate crop fields and they are difficult to control presenting significant management challenges for Midwestern growers. Soils amended with a microbially-inoculated softwood biochar increased carrot root growth relative to the control and corn stover biochar in 2011, while the corn stover biochar also increased carrot root growth relative to the control, but only in two varieties. Neither biochar treatment influenced carrot growth in 2012. In greenhouse trials, vermicompost amendments provided …

Life Cycle Assessments (Lcas) Of Pyrolysis-Based Gasoline And Diesel From Different Regional Feedstocks: Corn Stover, Switchgrass, Sugar Cane Bagasse, Waste Wood, Guinea Grass, Algae, And Albizia, Matthew J. Mihalek

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Renewable hydrocarbon biofuels are being investigated as possible alternatives to conventional liquid transportation fossil fuels like gasoline, kerosene (aviation fuel), and diesel. A diverse range of biomass feedstocks such as corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, switchgrass, waste wood, and algae, are being evaluated as candidates for pyrolysis and catalytic upgrading to produce drop-in hydrocarbon fuels. This research has developed preliminary life cycle assessments (LCA) for each feedstock-specific pathway and compared the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the hydrocarbon biofuels to current fossil fuels. As a comprehensive study, this analysis attempts to account for all of the GHG emissions associated with each …

Microwave Absorption Properties Of Tires, Yuzhe Zhang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The waste tire is belonging to insoluble high polymer elastic materials. It takes hundreds of years to resolve the macromolecules of waste tire into the standard which does not pollute the environment. More and more waste tires are air stored which causes space occupation and mosquito-breeding in the places that will spread diseases. The disposal methods include landfill, stockpiles, dumping and incising into particles. However, all these methods are not technically and economically efficient. The trend for the development of waste tire treatment processes is low cost, on-site, and high product recovery at high energy efficiency. In this project, microwave …

The Greenleaf Farm Resiliency Project: An Ecological Landscape Design, Holly Lee Greenleaf

Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis Collection

An ecological landscape design that increases the resiliency of Greenleaf Farm in the face of a changing climate is the basis for this project thesis. It is a comprehensive long-term master plan that integrates various agricultural and land management techniques in an attempt to increase resiliency, i.e. ecological and human/cultural resiliency. Patterns in the landscape inform design decisions and serve as models for agricultural systems. The landscape’s tendency to be forested and the goal for production of diverse resources inform the method to integrate ecological goals of the land with greater resilience. Applying the concepts of complexity and diversity to …

Aquatic Priming Effects In The York River Estuary And Implications For Dissolved Organic Carbon Mineralization, Thomas M. Dunlap

Theses and Dissertations

The priming effect (PE), characterized as the enhanced microbial processing of bio-recalcitrant organic matter with the addition of labile substrates, has been hypothesized to moderate carbon (C) cycling in aquatic systems. In this study, aquatic PEs were evaluated through bacterial respiration and dissolved organic C consumption in incubations of water collected from three locations along the York River estuary. Incubations from White’s Landing on the Pamunkey River, a tidal freshwater tributary of the York, and from Croaker Landing in the middle of the estuary, displayed positive PEs when amended with labile C. In contrast, amended incubations from Gloucester Point, near …

Black Carbon Concentrations, Sources, And Fluxes In The Tropical Atlantic Ocean, Kari Ann Pohl

Open Access Dissertations

Black carbon (BC) is the highly graphitized byproduct of incomplete combustion that could be a sink for fixed carbon. Little data is currently available for BC concentrations and fluxes to remote marine environments and there are often great discrepancies between model simulations and actual field measurements. This research analyzed BC concentrations in the mixed boundary layer, surface water, and deep pelagic sediments of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean in order to understand the fate and transport of BC to the marine environment. It also aimed to assess the importance of aeolian versus fluvial BC deposition. Black carbon concentrations were elevated in …

Understanding Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Mixed Feedstocks For Waste Conversion, Xiaowei Lu

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an environmentally beneficial means to convert waste materials to value-added solid and liquid products with minimal greenhouse gas emission. Research is lacking on understanding the influence of critical process conditions on product formation and environmental implication associated with HTC of waste streams. This work was conducted to determine how reaction conditions and heterogeneous compound mixtures (representative of municipal wastes) influence hydrothermal carbonization processes. The specific experiments include: (1) determine how carbonization product properties are manipulated by controlling feedstock composition, process conditions, and catalyst addition; (2) determine if carbonization of heterogeneous mixtures follows similar pathways as that …

Effects Of Novel Feed Ingredients And Additives On Feed Quality And Broiler Performance, Ashley Marie Evans

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the poultry industry, feed and feed manufacture account for 60 to 70% of production costs. Because of this, integrators are continually seeking ways to decrease costs while maintaining pellet quality and bird performance. The research presented in this dissertation offer several novel feed ingredients that have the potential to replace costly feed ingredients, increase pellet quality, improve bird growth and performance, and improve nutrient digestibility. In Chapter 2, four experimental phytase enzymes (A -- D) were examined for thermostability during pelleting, as well as efficacy in vivo. Phytase activity post-pelleting demonstrated high variability between phytases, ranging from 120 to …

A Distributed Model Of Oilseed Biorefining, Via Integrated Industrial Ecology Exchanges, Jeremy C. Ferrell

Dissertations

As the demand for direct petroleum substitutes increases, biorefineries are poised to become centers for conversion of biomass into fuels, energy, and biomaterials. A distributed model offers reduced transportation, tailored process technology to available feedstock, and increased local resilience. Oilseeds are capable of producing a wide variety of useful products additive to food, feed, and fuel needs. Biodiesel manufacturing technology lends itself to smaller-scale distributed facilities able to process diverse feedstocks and meet demand of critical diesel fuel for basic municipal services, safety, sanitation, infrastructure repair, and food production. Integrating biodiesel refining facilities as tenants of eco-industrial parks presents a …

Assessment Of Corn Stover Torrefaction On-Farm Biochar Production, Christina M. Gerometta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Torrefaction is a thermochemical pretreatment process that is typically achieved by slowly heating biomass (<50°C/min) within the temperature range of 200 – 300°C under an inert atmosphere. This process yields a storable solid product with enhanced fuel characteristics that are influenced by the ligno-cellulosic composition of the original feedstock and the imposed torrefaction conditions (time and temperature). This study is an assessment of corn stover properties that are relevant for designing an on-farm torrefaction system. The first portion of this study compared the thermal decomposition behaviors of corn stover fractions (leaf, stalk, cob) to the respective ligno-cellulosic composition using thermo-gravimetric analysis. It was found that the thermal decomposition pattern correlates to the structure and ratio of ligno-cellulosic polymers and provides design guidelines for an on-farm torrefaction system capable of handling large quantities of mixed fraction stover. The second part of this study investigated the effects of torrefaction time and temperature on the mass and energy yield of mixed fraction corn stover using a 46.3 L batch style reactor. It was found that longer reaction times and higher temperatures were required to obtain mass and energy yields similar to those found using lab-scale reactors and finely milled samples. Non-uniform torrefaction occurred between fractions due to chemical composition of each fraction and proximity to the heating elements.

The Greenleaf Farm Resiliency Project: An Ecological Landscape Design, Holly Lee Greenleaf

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

An ecological landscape design that increases the resiliency of Greenleaf Farm in the face of a changing climate is the basis for this project thesis. It is a comprehensive long-term master plan that integrates various agricultural and land management techniques in an attempt to increase resiliency, i.e. ecological and human/cultural resiliency. Patterns in the landscape inform design decisions and serve as models for agricultural systems. The landscape’s tendency to be forested and the goal for production of diverse resources inform the method to integrate ecological goals of the land with greater resilience. Applying the concepts of complexity and diversity to …

Solid State Formation Of Calcium Carbide, Patrick Egbele Iyere

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Acetylene is known as an essential chemical building block with increasing prominent applications as a raw material in the production of important organic compounds. An indirect method used to synthesize acetylene is through the decomposition of CaC2 in the presence of water. The current work investigated a process for the synthesis of calcium carbide via a solid-state reaction route and the general kinetics of the reaction was characterized. The calcium carbide was synthesized by conventional and microwave heating (6 kW, 2.45GHz) of micron-sized calcium oxide and carbon powders in argon. The temperature range for these reactions was between 1000--1800°C. The …

The Direct Effects And Vertical Transfer Of Carbonaceous And Metal-Loaded Hydrochars In Aquatic Organisms, Katie Lauren Kohlenberg

All ETDs from UAB

Industrial use of reactive micro- and nano-sized carbonaceous hydrochar (CH) is expanding rapidly. These carbonaceous particulates are synthesized by the pyrolysis of biomass in an industrial process called hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and have gained attention as a soil conditioner. Additionally, the HTC process is being expanded to coat heavy-metal nanoparticles, such as nano-copper and nano-iron, to prevent surface oxidation of these metals. These carbonaceous particles are likely to undergo secondary reactions with metals, toxicants, or other compounds. There is potential for these carbonaceous particulates to enter watersheds and have deleterious effects on aquatic food web dynamics. In this study, we …