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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Physical, Chemical, And Mineralogical Controls On Retardation Of Anatoxin-A Migration By Sorption To Natural Soils With Implications For Groundwater Protection, Justin L. Hobart, Andrew M. O’Reilly, Jennifer N. Gifford Sep 2022

Physical, Chemical, And Mineralogical Controls On Retardation Of Anatoxin-A Migration By Sorption To Natural Soils With Implications For Groundwater Protection, Justin L. Hobart, Andrew M. O’Reilly, Jennifer N. Gifford

Faculty and Student Publications

Increasing prevalence of cyanotoxins in surface water bodies worldwide threatens groundwater quality when contaminated water recharges an aquifer through natural or artificial means. The subsurface fate of anatoxin-a (ATX) is not well studied. Laboratory batch experiments were performed to expand the current knowledge of ATX sorption affinities to geologic media, with a focus on natural soil (Vertisol, Ultisol, Alfisol, and Inceptisol) and physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. For a range of aqueous ATX concentrations (0.3–14 μg/L), linear, Freundlich, and Langmuir isotherms fit observed data well (r2 = 0.92–1.00, RMSE = 0.4–6.3 μg/kg). Distribution coefficient (Kd) and retardation factor (Rf) values …


Adsorption Of Organic Micropollutants Onto Biochar: A Review Of Relevant Kinetics, Mechanisms And Equilibrium, Yiran Tong, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer Mar 2019

Adsorption Of Organic Micropollutants Onto Biochar: A Review Of Relevant Kinetics, Mechanisms And Equilibrium, Yiran Tong, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

As an alternative to activated carbon, biochar has been considered for removal of organic micropollutants from water and wastewater via adsorption. This review elaborates on the fundamental basis of adsorption kinetics, mechanisms, and equilibrium with respect to biochar-based adsorption of micropollutants. The objectives include: 1) linking biochar surface properties with adsorption abilities, 2) categorizing the kinetics of adsorption of aqueous-phase organic compounds onto biochar, 3) categorizing the molecular-scale interactions between organic micropollutants and biochar, and 4) reviewing existing quantitative methods for characterizing adsorption equilibrium of organic micropollutants from water onto an adsorbent surface. To fulfill these goals, the relationships among …


Irrigation Water Quality—A Contemporary Perspective, Arindam Malakar, Daniel D. Snow, Chittaranjan Ray Jan 2019

Irrigation Water Quality—A Contemporary Perspective, Arindam Malakar, Daniel D. Snow, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

In the race to enhance agricultural productivity, irrigation will become more dependent on poorly characterized and virtually unmonitored sources of water. Increased use of irrigation water has led to impaired water and soil quality in many areas. Historically, soil salinization and reduced crop productivity have been the primary focus of irrigation water quality. Recently, there is increasing evidence for the occurrence of geogenic contaminants in water. The appearance of trace elements and an increase in the use of wastewater has highlighted the vulnerability and complexities of the composition of irrigation water and its role in ensuring proper crop growth, and …


Triclosan Enriches For Dehalococcoides-Like Chloroflexi In Anaerobic Soil At Environmentally Relevant Concentrations, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Mark J. Krzmarzick Jul 2013

Triclosan Enriches For Dehalococcoides-Like Chloroflexi In Anaerobic Soil At Environmentally Relevant Concentrations, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Mark J. Krzmarzick

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent that is discharged to soils with land-applied wastewater biosolids, is persistent under anaerobic conditions, and yet its impact on anaerobic microbial communities in soils is largely unknown. We hypothesized that triclosan enriches for Dehalococcoides-like Chloroflexi because these bacteria respire organochlorides and are likely less sensitive, relative to other bacteria, to the antimicrobial effects of triclosan. Triplicate anaerobic soil microcosms were seeded with agricultural soil, which was not previously exposed to triclosan, and were amended with 1 mg kg−1 of triclosan. Triplicate control microcosms did not receive triclosan, and the experiment was run for …


Mobilization Of Endocrine‐Disrupting Chemicals And Estrogenic Activity In Simulated Rainfall Runoff From Land‐Applied Biosolids, Ben D. Giudice, Thomas M. Young Jul 2011

Mobilization Of Endocrine‐Disrupting Chemicals And Estrogenic Activity In Simulated Rainfall Runoff From Land‐Applied Biosolids, Ben D. Giudice, Thomas M. Young

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Municipal biosolids are commonly applied to land as soil amendment or fertilizer as a form of beneficial reuse of what could otherwise be viewed as waste. Balanced against this benefit are potential risks to groundwater and surface water quality from constituents that may be mobilized during storm events. The objective of the present study was to characterize the mobilization of selected endocrinedisrupting compounds, heavy metals, and total estrogenic activity in rainfall runoff from land-applied biosolids. Rainfall simulations were conducted on soil plots amended with biosolids. Surface runoff and leachate was collected and analyzed for the endocrinedisrupting compounds bisphenol A, 17a-ethynylestradiol, …


The Antimicrobial Triclocarban Stimulates Embryo Production In The Freshwater Mudsnail Potamopyrgus Antipodarum, Ben D. Giudice, Thomas M. Young Dec 2009

The Antimicrobial Triclocarban Stimulates Embryo Production In The Freshwater Mudsnail Potamopyrgus Antipodarum, Ben D. Giudice, Thomas M. Young

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Recent research has indicated that the antimicrobial chemical triclocarban (TCC) represents a new type of endocrine disruptor, amplifying the transcriptional activity of steroid hormones and their receptors while itself exhibiting little affinity for these receptors. The effects of TCC were studied in the freshwater mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum. Specimens were exposed to concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 10.5 mg/L dissolved TCC and were removed and dissected, and embryos contained within the brood pouch were counted and classified as shelled or unshelled after two and four weeks of exposure. After four weeks, environmentally relevant TCC concentrations of 1.6 to 10.5 mg/L resulted …