Engineering Commons^™

Dolomite Dissolution And Contaminant Adsorption In The Presence Of Edta In Different Ionic Strength Solutions, Alexis Vento

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The long-term storage and disposal of radioactive waste is considered a challenging and costly endeavor to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) tasked with the safe management of radioactive wastes. The search for effective ways to manage radioactive waste has increasingly grown due to the large inventory of legacy transuranic wastes (TRU) from defense programs in the 1940s and nuclear power plants. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a unique repository for the permanent disposition of Transuranic Waste (TRU). The WIPP, located near Carlsbad in New Mexico, is sited ~655 m below the surface …

Low-Cost And Reliable Integrated Hardware And Software Framework For Remotely Operated Water Release From Storage Units, Vivek Verma

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main contribution of this research is towards the broader area of water management that can be used for multiple purposes. For instance, floods can be mitigated using a novel approach based on the integrated dynamic management of water storage units such as reservoirs, wetlands, and ponds. This approach will enable adaptive water release from storage units hours or days ahead of rainfall events, thereby maximizing storage capacity and minimizing flooding.

This approach can be implemented by retrofitting water storage units using siphon hydraulic systems and are remotely controlled in an integrated manner using the decision support system. To make …

Unit Energy Consumption, Production, And Cost Of Innovative Treatment Systems Of Different Wastewater Streams, Jinze Li

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Innovative technologies such as micro-sieving, Anammox, and up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) hold the key in the sustainable design of Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF). In the past, assessment metrics on the effectiveness and economic feasibility of these technologies have not been systematically investigated. According to the twelve design principles of Sustainable Environmental Engineering, Unit energy and cost metrics could provide universal benchmarks in the design of WRRF. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to design innovative WRRF systems to achieve energy positive. These WRRFs were modeled by developing an Excel model to estimate the unit energy metrics. Database …

Evaluating The Sustainability Of Infrastructure Projects During Front-End Planning Phase, Valentina Ferrer Rivero

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Front-End Planning (FEP) for Sustainable Infrastructure (SI) projects is a promising process that can support addressing multiple challenges in infrastructure projects (i.e. cost overruns, schedule delays, and poor sustainability). This study aims to investigate synergies between sustainability and FEP tools for infrastructures through stakeholders’ surveys, multiple case-study analyses, and a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) activity with students. The PBL activity enhanced students’ knowledge on FEP for SI projects, and, together with other analyses, it helped in defining three different frameworks that correlate sustainability and FEP tools for infrastructure projects. The findings of this thesis contribute to the infrastructure, engineering and construction …