Digital Commons Network^™

Advacnes On Biological And Farming Technology For The Prevention And Treatment Of Cadmium In Rice, Shen Junjun, Lin Qinlu, Luo Feijun

Food and Machinery

In this paper, on account of the current situation that some rice have high cadmium content or even exceeds the national standard, the severity and regional distribution currently at home and abroad are analyzed. The necessity of controlling cadmium pollution of rice was revealed, and the methods of biotechnology and farming at home and abroad were systematically integrated,such as screening low cadmium enriched rice varieties using biological technology, hybrid technology and genetic engineering technology that includes transgene technology, gene knockout and gene silencing to improve rice traits. The microbial adsorption method and fermentation technology to reduce the cadmium content in …

Feasibility Of Bauxite Residue In Pollution Mitigation And Resource Recovery, Yongfeng Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Bauxite residue is an industrial waste generated from the alumina refining industry, raising great concerns about environmental pollution. The primary problem for bauxite residue is its high alkalinity and salinity. This beneficial reuse of bauxite residue is desirable for the sustainable management of this waste stream. Bauxite residues can be used as an option of flue gas desulfurization to reduce the toxicity associated with high alkalinity. In this dissertation, it was first identified the linkage between the characteristics of the bauxite residues and their acid neutralization capacity (ANC). Further options of beneficial use were investigated according to the characteristics of …

Mercury Mobilization From Contaminated Creek Bank Soils And Stabilization Using Engineered Sorbents, Leroy Goñez Rodríguez

Masters Theses

As a global environmental pollutant, mercury (Hg), threatens our water resources and presents a substantial risk to human health. The goal of this research project was to evaluate the immobilization of Hg on sorbents to reduce ambient Hg concentrations in water leaching from contaminated East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) (Oak Ridge, TN, USA) soils. Using flow-through columns, we determined the potential of different kinds of engineered sorbents (i.e., ThiolSAMMS®, biochar, SediMiteTM, OrganoclayTM PM199) to reduce mercury fluxes from contaminated EFPC soils. The effectiveness of the sorbents in this experiment was determined based on the rate of Hg sorbed and the …

Organic And Inorganic Contaminants Removal From Water With Engineered Biochar, Narada Bombuwala Dewage

Theses and Dissertations

Water pollution represents one of the major concerns of the modern world, after scientific and industrial development that generates hazardous organic and inorganic contaminants. Biochar (BC) has gained tremendous attention in the past decade as a cheap and efficient adsorbent for organic and inorganic contaminants from aqueous solutions. BC is considered to be a low-cost alternative to activated carbon, however, BC typically suffer performance reductions due to their low surface areas and poor mechanical properties. The main objective of this work is to develop novel biochar materials by modifying the biochar surface for the removal of organic and inorganic contaminants …

Using Agricultural Wastes And Additives To Improve Properties And Lower Manufacturing Costs Associated With Biomass Energy Pellets, Cody Blake

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this dissertation’s studies were to determine the effects of different additives on biomass wood pellets’ physical properties and the production energy required to produce each treatment. Chapter II was completed using a pneumatic pelletizer as a small scale test to determine effects of different additives. The pneumatic pelletizer was a good indicator of which additives can be successfully pelletized. The results of this chapter show that using bio-oil can significantly increase calorific value, without significantly decreasing durability and significantly increasing production energy required. Corn starch, in a 4% treatment, was shown to not hinder durability or calorific …

Soil Health Effects And Stakeholder Perceptions Of Manure And Woody Biomass Application To Cropland In Nebraska, Linda R. Schott

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Organic products that have historically been viewed as waste products may improve soil health by adding carbon (C) and nutrients to soil. Two such products are woodchips, generated from forest or rangeland management activities, and livestock manure. In Nebraska, eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) is a native but invasive tree species inhibiting rangeland productivity. Livestock manure that is underutilized while inorganic fertilizers are imported for crop production presents a water quality risk by contributing to local- and regional-scale nutrient imbalances. Increasing the responsible use of livestock manure in crop fertility programs to improve sustainability of both livestock and crop farms …

Arabidopsis Thaliana Transformed With Streptanthus Farnsworthianus Metal Tolerance Protein 1 (Sfmtp1) Or The Native A. Thaliana Metal Tolerance Protein 1 ( Atmtp1) Cdna And The Effects On Sod Enzyme Activity Upon Nickel Treatment, Selina Urbina Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Superoxide Dismutase enzyme activity was analyzed in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana, a non-accumulator weed plant species of the Brassicaceae family, that was transformed with Streptanthus farnsworthianus Metal Tolerance Protein1 (SfMTP1) or A. thaliana Metal Tolerance Protein 1 (AtMTP1 ). The transgenic A. thaliana was exposed to a 12 day treatment of 100 ?M Nickel Acetate in 1/10 X Hoaglands solution in hydroponics. Analysis of Super Oxide Dismutase activity determined that transgenic A. thaliana transformed with the AtMTP1 cDNA and treated with 100 µM Nickel showed a significant increase in Super Oxide Dismutase activity compared to A. thaliana …

Evaluation Of Alternative Valorization Options For Institutional And Industrial Food Wastes, Swati Hegde

Theses

In recent years many countries and several regions in the United States have passed legislation on banning landfilling of organic waste. It is a well-known fact that organic wastes, including food scraps, generate methane under anaerobic landfill environments and contribute significantly to global warming. As more regions are mandated to follow the landfill ban, there is an increasing demand for alternative technologies for the disposal, treatment and upcycling of food wastes. Disposal and treatment may not result in any value-added products and hence are not the most efficient ways to manage food waste. As food waste has a high energy …

Timber Talk, Vol. 56, No. 4, December 2018

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

In This Issue:

Lumber Market Reports

Hardwood Lumber Prices

NOTE FROM EDITOR: Transitioning to Electronic Delivery Only

NDA Expands EAB Quarantine

Forest Products Grants Available

Wildfires and Communities in Nebraska

Forest Industry Spotlight: “Good Neighbor Authority” in Nebraska

Trading Post

Timber Sales

Assessing Temperature Differences On A Sample Heated In A Tube Furnace Under Vacuum, Sam A. Muhamed

All Theses

Heat treatment is a vital step in various disciplines of research and fabrication. As the level of detail to which materials are scrutinized increase, so does our understanding of their sensitivity to temperature. Many processes rely on precise temperature control so that the end products exhibit properties such as crystallinity, purity and material composition in the desired range. The presence of temperature variations during thermal treatment may vary the quality of the product. In this thesis, the possibility of creating temperature differences on a specimen undergoing thermal treatment in a horizontal tube furnace under vacuum is explored. In a furnace …

Interactions Between Biochar And Compost In Organic Winter Wheat Production And Soil Quality Under Dryland Conditions, Phearen Kit Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Organic wheat grown under dryland conditions encounters challenges such as limited nutrients and water. Maintaining organic wheat production requires solutions to these problems in order to retain economic sustainability for the farmers.

Research on biochar and compost have been conducted globally. Despite well known benefits of compost on soil and crop production, few organic farmers apply compost to their fields. Research on biochar is still new. Biochar is charcoal created from pyrolyzing agricultural material under conditions of low oxygen and high heat. Many studies claim that biochar is a valuable soil amendment for improving organic production and reducing environmental pollution …

Ion Exchange For Nutrient Recovery Coupled With Biosolids-Derived Biochar Pretreatment To Remove Micropollutants, Yiran Tong, Lee K. Kimbell, Anna Avila, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Wastewater, especially anaerobic treatment effluent, contains high ammonia nitrogen (NH₄-N) and inorganic orthophosphate (PO₄-P), which necessitate additional treatment to meet stringent discharge regulations. Ion exchange regeneration is a process that can be adopted for not only removing but also recovering nutrients. However, recovering nutrients by ion exchange from nutrient-rich effluents that also contain micropollutants (which typically pass through anaerobic treatment as well) may result in subsequent problems, since micropollutants could end up in ion exchange effluent, regenerant, or recovered fertilizer products. Micropollutant removal by a nonselective adsorbent, such as biosolids-derived biochar, before nutrient recovery processes would …

Linking Lignin Source With Structural And Electrochemical Properties Of Lignin-Derived Carbon Materials, Wenqi Li, Yan Zhang, Lalitendu Das, Yikai Wang, Mi Li, Namal Wanninayake, Yunqiao Pu, Doo Young Kim, Yang-Tse Cheng, Arthur J. Ragauskas, Jian Shi

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Valorization of lignin to high-value chemicals and products along with biofuel production is generally acknowledged as a technology platform that could significantly improve the economic viability of biorefinery operations. With a growing demand for electrical energy storage materials, lignin-derived activated carbon (AC) materials have received increasing attention in recent years. However, there is an apparent gap in our understanding of the impact of the lignin precursors (i.e., lignin structure, composition and inter-unit linkages) on the structural and electrochemical properties of the derived ACs. In the present study, lignin-derived ACs were prepared under identical conditions from two different lignin …

Natural Climate Solutions For The United States, Joseph E. Fargione, Steven Bassett, Timothy Boucher, Scott D. Bridgham, Richard Bridgham, Susan C. Cook-Patton, Peter W. Ellis, Alessandra Falcucci, James W. Fourqurean

FCE LTER Journal Articles

Limiting climate warming to

Sub-Pilot-Scale Autocatalytic Pyrolysis Of Wastewater Biosolids For Enhanced Energy Recovery, Zhongzhe Liu, Simcha L. Singer, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Improving onsite energy generation and recovering value-added products are common goals for sustainable used water reclamation. A new process called autocatalytic pyrolysis was developed at bench scale in our previous work by using biochar produced from the biosolids pyrolysis process itself as the catalyst to enhance energy recovery from wastewater biosolids. The large-scale investigation of this process was used to increase the technical readiness level. A sub-pilot-scale catalytic pyrolytic system was constructed for this scaled-up study. The effects of configuration changes in both pyrolytic and catalytic reactors were investigated as well as the effect of vapor-catalyst contact types (i.e., downstream, …

Koh Treated Biochar: An Improved Material For The Removal Of Aqueous Contaminants, Cody Layne

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Three Forest-Based Bioenergy Development Strategies In The Inland Northwest, United States, Jill Moroney

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article, we compare three bioenergy scenarios that use woody biomass from US Inland Northwest forests. The scenarios are based on current bioenergy research, development efforts, and stakeholder input. They include a small-scale system that produces drop-in transportation biofuel and biochar, a large, regional system that produces bio-aviation fuel, and a midsized pellet production system. We modeled woody biomass harvest, processing, and transportation, and then evaluated profitability and potential socioeconomic impacts to determine the overall viability of each strategy. Through interviews, we found widespread stakeholder support for all three scenarios. Wood-pellet production was profitable and feasible with current prices …

Removal Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes In An Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Treating Primary Clarifier Effluent At 20 °C, Anthony D. Kappell, Lee K. Kimbell, Matthew Seib, Daniel Elliott Carey, Melinda J. Choi, Tino Kalayil, Masanori Fujimoto, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) play a key role in future plans for sustainable wastewater treatment and resource recovery because they have no energy-intensive oxygen transfer requirements and can produce biomethane for renewable energy. Recent research results show that they can meet relatively stringent discharge limits with respect to BOD₅ and TSS when treating municipal wastewater primary effluent. Sustainable used water recovery plans should also consider removal of unregulated pollutants. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) represent an important emerging contaminant due to public health concerns surrounding the spread of infections resistant to common antibiotics. Conventional activated sludge processes have demonstrated mixed …

Multi-Element Fingerprinting Of Waters To Evaluate Connectivity Among Depressional Wetlands, Yuxiang Yuan, Xiaoyan Zhu, David M. Mushet, Marinus L. Otte

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Establishing the connectivity among depressional wetlands is important for their proper management, conservation and restoration. In this study, the concentrations of 38 elements in surface water and porewater of depressional wetlands were investigated to determine chemical and hydrological connectivity of three hydrological types: recharge, flow-through, and discharge, in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America. Most element concentrations of porewater varied significantly by wetland hydrologic type (p < 0.05), and increased along a recharge to discharge hydrologic gradient. Significant spatial variation of element concentrations in surface water was observed in discharge wetlands. Generally, higher element concentrations occurred in natural wetlands compared to wetlands with known disturbances (previous drainage and grazing). Electrical conductivity explained 42.3% and 30.5% of the variation of all element concentrations in porewater and surface water. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis showed that the similarity decreased from recharge to flowthrough to discharge wetland in each sampling site. Cluster analysis confirmed that element compositions in porewater of interconnected wetlands were more similar to each other than to those of wetlands located farther away. Porewater and surface water in a restored wetland showed similar multi-element characteristics to natural wetlands. In contrast, depressional wetlands connected by seeps along a deactivated drain-tile path and a grazed wetland showed distinctly different multi-element characteristics compared to other wetlands sampled. Our findings confirm that the multi-element fingerprinting method can be useful for assessing hydro-chemical connectivity across the landscape, and indicate that element concentrations are not only affected by land use, but also by hydrological characteristics.

A Novel Shortwave Infrared Proximal Sensing Approach To Quantify The Water Stability Of Soil Aggregates, Azadeh Gholoubi, Hojat Emami, Scott B. Jones, Markus Tuller

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Soil structure and aggregate stability (AS) are critical soil properties affecting water infiltration, root growth, and resistance to soil and wind erosion. Changes in AS may be early indicators of soil degradation, pointing to low organic matter (OM) content, reduced biological activity, or poor nutrient cycling. Hence, efficient and reliable AS measurement techniques are essential for detection, management, and remediation of degraded soil resources. Here we quantify soil AS by developing a novel proximal sensing technique based on shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance measurements. The novel approach is similar to the well-documented high energy moisture characteristic (HEMC) method, which yields a …

Using Renewable Portfolio Standards To Accelerate Development Of Negative Emissions Technologies, Anthony E. Chavez

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

As society continues to emit greenhouse gases, the likelihood of dangerous climate change occurring increases. Indeed, most analyses project that we must utilize negative emission technologies (“NETs”) to avoid dangerous warming. Even the Paris Agreement anticipates the implementation of such carbon dioxide (“CO₂”) removal technologies. Unfortunately, NETs are not ready for large-scale deployment. In many instances, their technologies remain uncertain; in others, their ability to operate at the scale required is unknown. Other uncertainties, including their costs, effectiveness, and environmental impacts have yet to be determined.

A means to accelerate the development and implementation of NETs is a …

Adsorption Kinetics Of C9-C12 Hydrocarbons On Carbonaceous Materials, Erfan Pazoki Toroudi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Fluid CokingTM reactors are used to convert heavy hydrocarbons to lighter products via thermal cracking. Fouling can occur within the Fluid Coker cyclones, leading to shut down for maintenance and recovery. Hydrocarbon adsorption on carbonaceous materials was thus investigated to identify mitigation strategies for cyclone fouling. A vertically oscillating gas-solid contacting system capable of providing well-mixed conditions has been designed to measure adsorption kinetics on carbonaceous materials under relevant temperatures and pressures. Adsorption kinetics and equilibrium measurements are reported for isothermal conditions. Fluid coke, flexicoke, and coconut shell activated carbon were used as adsorbents. N-decane, n-dodecane, and mesitylene were used …

Particulate Matter Containing Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals Induces Ahrdependent Cytokine And Reactive Oxygen Species Production In Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells, Ashlyn C. Harmon, Valeria Y. Hebert, Stephania A. Cormier, Balamurugan Subramanian, James R. Reed, Wayne L. Backes, Tammy R. Dugas

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Harmon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Particulate matter (PM) is emitted during the combustion of fuels and wastes. PM exposure exacerbates pulmonary diseases, and the mechanism may involve oxidative stress. At lower combustion temperatures such as occurs in the cool zone of a flame, aromatic compounds chemisorb to the surface of metal-oxide-containing PM, resulting in the formation of surface-stabilized environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFR). Prior studies showed …

Hexahydro-1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-Triazine (Rdx) Reduction By Granular Zero-Valent Iron In Continuous Flow Reactor, Amalia Terracciano, Jie Ge, Agamemnon Koutsospyros, Xiaoguang Meng, Benjamin Smolinski, Per Arienti

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Wastewater streams containing hexahydro-1, 3, 5-trinitro-1, 3, 5-triazine (RDX) are subject to regulatory discharge regulations that require processing through industrial waste treatment. Thus, the development of easy-to-apply technologies for the treatment of RDX-laden wastewater streams is imperative. In the present study, the reduction of RDX by granular zero valent iron (GZVI) in batch and column experiments was investigated. Preliminary batch tests conducted under both oxic and anoxic conditions showed that after 3.0 hours of reaction with GZVI, RDX was mainly converted to formaldehyde (CH₂O), nitrate (NO₃ ^- ), and ammonium (NH₄ ⁺ ). Column filtration tests …

Removal Efficiencies, Uptake Mechanisms And Competitive Effects Of Copper And Zinc In Various Stormwater Filter Media, Emily Heleva-Ponaski

Dissertations and Theses

Polluted stormwater, if not treated, can compromise water quality throughout our hydrologic cycle, adversely affecting aquatic ecosystems. Common stormwater pollutants, copper and zinc, have been identified as primary toxicants in multiple freshwater and marine environments. For small-scale generators, stormwater management can be cumbersome and implementation of common BMPs impractical thus catch basins are popular though not the most environmentally conscious and sustainable option. This study aims to characterize the potential of a mobile media filter operation for the treatment and on-site recycling of catch basin stormwater. The removal capacities of various commercially available filter media (e.g. a common perlite; Earthlite™, …

Rheological Performance Of Bio-Char Modified Asphalt With Different Particle Sizes, Ran Zhang, Qingli Dai, Zhanping You, Hainian Wang, Chao Peng

Michigan Tech Publications

To improve the performance of petroleum asphalt, bio-char was used as a modifier for a petroleum asphalt binder, in this study. The rheological properties of bio-char modified asphalt binders were compared with different particle sizes and contents, with one control and one flake graphite modified asphalt binder. Specifically, the bio-char modifiers with two particle sizes (ranging from 75 μm–150 μm and less than 75 μm) and three contents of 2%, 4%, and 8% were added into the asphalt binder. A flake graphite powder with particle sizes less than 75 μm was used as a comparison modifier. The Scanning Electron Microscopy …

Weak Effects Of Biochar And Nitrogen Fertilization On Switchgrass Photosynthesis, Biomass, And Soil Respiration, Dafeng Hui, Chih-Li Yu, Qi Deng, Priya Saini, Kenya Collins, Jason De Koff

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer plus biochar may increase crop yield, but how biochar will interact with N fertilization to affect bioenergy crop switchgrass physiology, biomass, and soil CO₂ emission (i.e., soil respiration) from switchgrass fields remains unclear. Here, we assessed this issue by conducting a field experiment near Nashville TN with two levels of biochar treatment (a control without biochar addition and biochar addition of 9 Mg ha⁻¹), and four N fertilization levels (0 kg N ha⁻¹, 17 kg N ha⁻¹, 34 kg N ha⁻¹, and 67 kg N ha …

Annual Report, 2017-2018, University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville. College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Timber Talk, Vol. 56, No. 3, September 2018

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

In This Issue:

Lumber Market Reports

Hardwood Lumber Prices

American Logger Council Seeking Great Plains Chapter

Woody Biomass Heating Assistance Available

Bureau of Indian Affairs Preparing for Walnut Timber Sale

2018 Nebraska Forestry Festival (October 27)

Forest Industry Spotlight: Much Ado about Residue

Trading Post

Timber Sales

Plant Stimuli-Responsive Biodegradable Polymers For The Use In Timed Release Fertilizer Coatings, Spencer Heuchan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The use of nitrogen-based fertilizers continues to accelerate with human population growth and increases in global food requirements. Enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) have been developed to improve the synchronization between nutrient supply and crop nutrient demand. However, many of the current controlled release fertilizers are coated with non-degradable polymers that contribute to accumulation of microplastics within ecosystems. This thesis describes research towards the development of a new class of fertilizer coatings using a self-immolative polymer known as poly (ethyl glyoxylate) (PEtG). PEtG itself does not have suitable properties to produce a viable coating but once blended with another degradable polyester …