Engineering Commons^™

An Analytical Solution For Attainment Of Field Capacity, Ali Aldrees

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Field Capacity (FC) is a key parameter to quantify in agricultural engineering, irrigation controlling, and soil physics studies. For instance, irrigation studies focuses on determining the optimal amount of water needed by plants to grow following an irrigation system and therefore relies on determining FC. Likewise, the value of FC is a good indicator of soil textures, structures and pore size distributions. For example, loamy soils have a wider distribution of pores leading to high FC values. FC depends on multiple physically-grounded variables which include matric potential value (ψ_FC ), water content at FC (θ_FC ), specific drainage time to …

Recovery Of Nutrients From Anaerobically Digested Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (Ebpr) Sludge Through Struvite Precipitation, Maraida Balaguer-Barbosa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water resources in Florida have been severely degraded by eutrophic conditions, resulting toxic algae blooms, which negatively affect health and tourism. Eutrophication, or excessive amount of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in water, overstimulates the production of aquatic plants, depletes dissolved oxygen, and deteriorates the aquatic environment. However, phosphorus is a non-renewable resource essential for all living organisms. In fact, more than half of the total demand for P globally is to supply the food industry, which has concerningly accelerated the depletion rates of phosphate reserves.

In many wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) approach has …

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™, …

Validating The Accuracy Of Neatwork, A Rural Gravity Fed Water Distribution System Design Program, Using Field Data In The Comarca Ngöbe-Bugle, Panama, Maria Briones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the sustainable development goals to increase access to improved water there are still 884 million people in the world without access to an improved water source (WHO, 2017). One method to improve access to water in rural, mountainous areas, is through construction of gravity fed water distribution systems. These systems should be designed based upon fundamental principles of hydraulics. One method of doing so in a time efficient manner with minimal engineering knowledge is to utilize a downloadable computer program such as Neatwork, which aids in design of rural, gravity fed water distribution systems and has been used by …

Underground Stormwater Treatment Performance In Urban Coastal Catchments: Case Study Of Baffle Boxes In The City Of Tampa, Awet Eyob Tsegay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In coastal urban regions, underground stormwater treatment units are suitable infrastructure options because they take less space where premium land is expensive. Even then, they should be accessible and ideally small enough to fit into existing stormwater networks. Since 2003, the City of Tampa and Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) have installed 47 baffle boxes into the city’s stormwater pipe networks. Baffle boxes are underground stormwater treatment structures designed to capture sediments and floating debris. Since their deployment, many challenges regarding their practical sediment capturing performance was raised by the city.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the …

Dynamic Modeling Of An Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, Komal Rathore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advanced wastewater treatment plants have complex biological kinetics, time variant influent rates and long processing times. The modeling and operation control of wastewater treatment plant gets complicated due to these characteristics. However, a robust operational system for a wastewater treatment plant is necessary to increase the efficiency of the plant, reduce energy cost and achieve environmental discharge limits. These discharge limits are set by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants to limit the amount of nutrients being discharged into the aquatic systems.

This document summarizes the research to develop a supervisory operational …

Desalination Concentrate Disposal: Ecological Effects And Sustainable Solutions, Ryan Hanley

Global Honors Theses

Freshwater availability is a growing global concern, and desalination is often presented as the solution, but from this important technology comes issues of toxic waste. Ecosystems are delicate areas that contain species adapted to that specific location, and any chemical or physical changes can disrupt the fitness of species. The concentrate byproduct waste from desalination plants is toxic to species if the concentrate is not compatible with the receiving water body. A critical review of scientific articles, industry-leading books, conversations with industry experts, and information from the American Membrane Technology Association conference was used to analyze the current knowledge. Species …

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 …

Static And Dynamic Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Of Potable Reuse Paradigms, Erfaneh Amoueyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In recent years, potable reuse applications have become more common due to population growth and increased water demand, especially in communities with limited or variable water resources. However, there are concerns about potential exposure to pathogens and chemical compounds in treated wastewater. Therefore, advanced wastewater treatment processes are of paramount importance in any potable reuse system. The overall aim of this study was to develop and implement static and dynamic QMRAs to compare public health risk in various potable reuse scenarios. Cryptosporidium, norovirus, adenovirus, and Salmonella were chosen as the target pathogens. The research evaluated the performance of full advanced …

Performance Assessment Of Solid State Anaerobic Digestion Of Poultry Litter, Mason Puckett

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The disposal of poultry litter can exert an economic and environmental burden to the agriculture community. As a result, it is desirable to reduce the amount of waste and recover resources from the waste. This study focuses on the construction and preliminary testing of a laboratory scale (20 L) solid state anaerobic digester (AD) fed with dry poultry litter. Glucose was added in addition to the poultry litter to achieve the appropriate C:N ratio to support the growth of anaerobic microorganisms. The AD was first fed every 4 days at 4 g VS/L/feeding for 24 days, rested (no feeding) for …

Single-Stage, Venturi-Driven Desalination System, Brandon Proetto

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Water demand is increasing at a rapid pace due to population increase, industrial expansion, and agricultural development. The use of desalination technology to meet the high water demands has increased global online desalination capacity from 47 million m^3/d in 2007 to 92.5 million m^3/d as of June 2017 [49]. Membrane and thermal processes are the two mainstream desalination categories used worldwide for desalination plants. Reverse Osmosis (RO) is the most widely used membrane process and it has become the dominant technology for building desalination plants over recent decades. Thermal distillation, however, has become less and less competitive due to its …

Modeling Of Suspended Sediment Concentration Using Conventional And Machine Learning Approaches, In Thames River, Canada, Issam Mohamed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Water resource management, planning, hydraulic design, environmental conservation, reservoir management and operation all require reliable information and data about Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC). To predict such data, direct sampling and Sediment Rating Curves (SRC) are commonly utilized. Since direct sampling can be risky during extreme weather events and SRC cannot provide satisfactorily dependable results, engineers are trying to propose new precise fore-casting approaches. Various soft computing techniques have been applied to model different hydrological and environmental problems and have showed promising results in this regard. Although many studies have been performed to simulate the phenomena of SSC at numerous rivers …

Waste Management By Waste: Removal Of Acid Dyes From Wastewaters Of Textile Coloration Using Fish Scales, S M Fijul Kabir

LSU Master's Theses

Removal of hazardous acid dyes by economical process using low-cost bio-sorbents from wool industry wastewaters is of a pressing need, since it causes skin and respiratory diseases and disrupts other environmental components. Fish scales (FS), a by-product of fish industry, a type of solid waste, are usually discarded carelessly resulting in pungent odor and environmental burden. In this research, the FS of black drum (Pogonias cromis) were used for the removal of acid dyes (acid red 1 (AR1), acid blue 45 (AB45) and acid yellow 127 (AY126)) from wool industry wastewaters by absorption process with a view to …

Modeling Effects Of Rainwater Harvesting Systems On Water Yield Increase And Non-Beneficial Evaporation Reduction To Sustain Agriculture In A Water-Scarce Region Of China, Tennille Wade

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The northwestern region of China, which has an arid/semiarid climate, relies heavily on agriculture to provide food for the growing population. Climate change is affecting water availability in the region, causing long periods of drought and water scarcity followed by shorter periods of heavy rainfall and excess water availability. The ridge and furrow rainwater harvesting systems (RFRWHS) are a means of solving the problem of water scarcity; the systems can replenish soil moisture, reduce non-beneficial evaporation from bare soils, and increase surface water yield. In such a region, the hydrologic cycle is dominated by soil evaporation, leading to minimal surface …

Assessment Of Drinking Water Quality Management And A Treatment Feasibility Study For Brick By Brick Water Storage Tanks In Rakai Uganda, James V. Murduca

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reliable access to safe drinking water is one necessity for humans to live without concern for major health risks. The overall goal of this research is to improve the public health, through improved drinking water, for communities in the Rakai District in Uganda, directly, and other communities in the world, indirectly, via dissemination of knowledge. This study specifically assessed the knowledge of drinking water quality in regards to public health, their sanitation measures, and water treatment methods for users of Brick by Brick rainwater harvesting tanks in the Rakai District (N = 28) by using a knowledge, attitudes, and practice …

Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Modeling Of The Tigris River System In Iraq Using Ce-Qual-W2, Muhanned Al Murib

Dissertations and Theses

The Tigris River is one of two primary rivers in Iraq and is, along with the Euphrates, the main source for drinking and irrigation water in the country. The Tigris River originates in the Taurus Mountains in Turkey, and is 1850 km long. The majority of the river lies within Iraq. The river passes through, and is the primary drinking water source for major cities such as Mosul, Baeji, Samarra, Baghdad (the capital), and Kut. The Tigris River joins the Euphrates River in Qurna city within Basra province to form the Shatt Al-Arab River which eventually discharges into the Persian …

The Tensile Root Strength Of Emergent Coastal Macrophytes, Lauris Olivia Hollis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spartina patens is a dominant emergent macrophyte in fresh, intermediate, and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of United States where its biomechanical properties are a key component of wetland health and resilience. Its root biomass and tensile root strength are essential for anchorage, erosion protection, and are important determinants of soil strength. Nutrients and the herbicide atrazine are suspected of negatively impacting this wetland plant and others. The objectives of this study were to: 1) ascertain the tensile root strength of five emergent coastal macrophytes in coastal estuaries, and 2) test the effects of nutrient addition, atrazine …

Assessing The Impacts Of Climate Change On Streamflow And Reservoir Operation In Central Florida, Toni Panaou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a global concern as it may affect many aspects of life, including water supply. A tool used to model climate change’s impacts is called a General Circulation Model (GCM). GCMs project future scenarios including temperature and precipitation, but these are designed at a coarse resolution and require downscaling for employment for regional hydrologic modeling. There is a vast amount of research on downscaling and bias-correcting GCMs data, but it is unknown whether these techniques alter precipitation signals embedded in these models or reproduce climate states that are viable for water resource planning and management. Using the Tampa, …

Hydrogeology And Water Management In The Arkwright Underground Coal Mine, Pittsburgh Seam, Northern West Virginia, Bryant D. Mountjoy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Arkwright #1 is a closed underground mine in the Pittsburgh coal seam near Morgantown, West Virginia USA. Arkwright shares perimeter boundaries/barriers with three other closed Pittsburgh seam mines (Osage #3, Jordan #93, Federal #1) and is partially overlain by flooded Sewickley seam mines, 25 m above it. This mine is significant primarily because it manages and treats water diverted from nearly 20 other closed mines over a 600 square kilometer area. This study examines water levels, pump records, and mine maps to describe the hydrogeology of Arkwright Mine. After closure in 1995, Arkwright and the adjacent northern Osage mines began …

Comparison Of Historical Precipitation For Aberdeen, Ipswich, And Eureka, South Dakota, Uday Singh Kshatriya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The availability of water resources varies from time to time with the climate conditions. Keeping track of climate conditions would eventually benefit for the future predictions. The objective of this research was to compare and contrast the climate especially for Aberdeen, Ipswich and Eureka, South Dakota utilizing the historical monthly precipitation records and to develop the techniques that are reliable to estimate the missing data. For these necessary statistical analyses were performed using the monthly precipitation data from High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC) for the annual and 8-Year periods for Aberdeen, Ipswich and Eureka, South Dakota. 63 water years …

Evaluation, Improvement, And Application Of Models Of Environmental Fate And Transport Of Atmosphere-Surface Exchangeable Pollutants (Aseps), Tanvir Khan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Certain toxic, semivolatile chemicals, also known as atmosphere-surface exchangeable pollutants (ASEPs) are emitted into the environment from anthropogenic activities and natural sources. This dissertation focused on the (i) evaluation and improvement of dry particle deposition and atmosphere-surface exchange parameterizations of ASEPs for use in chemical transport models (CTMs), and (ii) application of a dynamic multimedia model to examine recovery of Lake Superior from historical inputs of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds (a class of ASEPs) contamination.

Current knowledge has been inadequate to propose quantitative measures of the relative performance of available dry particle deposition parameterizations. In Chapter 1 of this dissertation, …

Experimental Evaluation Of Uranyl Transport Into Mesoporous Silica Gel Using Fluorescence, Brandon M. Dodd

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated parameters that can affect the use of nanoporous silica gel as a media for accumulating a detectable amount of uranium. The unique fluorescence of the Uranyl (UO₂²⁺) ion was used to evaluate the transport kinetics and accumulation within silica gel in a static fluid and under pressure driven flow. The addition of fluid flow decreased the time constant from on the order of an hour to approximately 2s with a very low fluid velocity of 0.36cm/s. The 0.36cm/s fluid velocity was found to be the critical velocity above which there was no gain in …

Application Of Drainage Water Management And Saturated Buffers For Conservation Drainage In South Dakota, Abhinav Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Edge of field practices such as drainage water management (DWM) and saturated buffers can reduce nutrient transport from croplands to surface waterbodies. DWM uses stackable weir boards in a control structure to manipulate the water table depth throughout the cropping season and reduce the amount of nutrient rich water draining out from the field. Saturated buffers, on the other hand, use a control structure to divert water draining out from the cropland to a vegetative strip via a subsurface tile installed parallel to a waterway. For the saturated buffer systems, a combination of natural denitrification, nitrogen mineralization, and plant uptake …

A Development Of Travel Time Equation For Overland Flow As Affected By Vegetation, Naga Vara Prasad Ganti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In overland flow water research, travel time is a significant parameter used in estimating peak discharge in channels or rivers. Overland flow is assumed to be in turbulent condition to estimate travel time using Manning’s Velocity Equation (MVE). When the flow is in a laminar condition, Grismer’s Laminar Mean Velocity Equation (GLMVE) is applied but fails to consider the roughness parameter. A review of the literature shows numerous equations for overland travel time, but there is no known equation that determines the mean velocity of overland flow under laminar condition with a roughness coefficient or other coefficient related to the …

Evaluating E. Coli Particle Attachment And The Impact On Transport During High Flows, Louis Amegbletor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli, are the leading cause of water quality impairments within assessed waters in the United States. The source of E. coli includes WWTP, leaking sewers, animal manure, wildlife, livestock, and stream bed sediment. Storm events contribute to bacteria loading within waters through wash-in of land sources of bacteria and resuspension of bacteria within sediments. Bacteria introduced into the water column are either attached to particles or are unattached (or free-living). The goal of this study was to examine the attachment of E. coli to different particle sizes, including their impact on contributing to water …

Modeling Water Availability, Risk And Resilience In A Semi-Arid Basin In Southern Africa, Esther N. Mosase

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate variability need to be incorporated into the management and planning of water resources, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where water availability is more sensitive to rainfall and air temperature. This study used modified Man-Kendall trend analysis test and ArcGIS to process data. Annual means of rainfall, minimum temperature and maximum temperature in the Limpopo River Basin (LRB) varied between 160 and 1109 mm, 8 °C to 20 °C and 23 °C to 32 °C respectively. The spatial pattern is generally increasing from west to east for rainfall and minimum temperature while maximum temperature increases from south to north …

Stormwater Capture In The Built Watershed: Fostering Public Awareness Of Water Conservation Through A Parcel-Level Approach To Stormwater Management, Benjamin Rigby

Pitzer Senior Theses

As California contends with climate change and more extreme cycles of drought and deluge, water management agencies and conservation groups are looking towards solutions to the decreasing reliability of imported water supplies. Stormwater has historically been perceived as a threat to development but when captured properly, it presents a resource that can augment local water supplies. Solutions to water supply issues in California have traditionally employed technical and centrally controlled methods for importing water, but there is a growing understanding that parcel-level capture through vegetated swales presents an opportunity for reducing the impact that development has on California’s hydrology. Vegetated …

Pressure-Driven Stabilization Of Capacitive Deionization, Landon S. Caudill

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

The effects of system pressure on the performance stability of flow-through capacitive deionization (CDI) cells was investigated. Initial data showed that the highly porous carbon electrodes possessed air/oxygen in the micropores, and the increased system pressure boosts the gases solubility in saline solution and carries them out of the cell in the effluent. Upon applying a potential difference to the electrodes, capacitive-based ion adsorption occurs in competition with faradaic reactions that consume oxygen. Through the addition of backpressure, the rate of degradation decreases, allowing the cell to maintain its salt adsorption capacity (SAC) longer. The removal of oxygen from the …

Predicting Energy And Water Consumption On Dairy Farms Through Statistical Analysis And Machine-Learning Methods, Philip Shine

Theses

With the abolishment of milking quotas across all European Union member states in April 2015, dairy farmers must adjust their farming practises to minimise milk production costs to adequately prepare for potential periods of reduced revenue. Milk production is an intense energy and water consuming process. Coupled with challenging European greenhouse gas reduction targets and legislation regarding the prevention of groundwater pollution and deterioration, increasing the production of milk in Ireland must be met with the sustainable consumption of on-farm energy and direct water resources, to ensure the future monetary and environmental sustainability of Ireland’s dairy industry. Thus, this body …