Engineering Commons^™

Assessing The Lubrication Performance Of Sunflower Oil Modified With Montmorillonite Clay (Mmt) Nanoparticles For Industrial Applications, Md Mashfiqur Rahman, Md Abu Sayeed Biswas, Laura Peña-Pará, Demófilo Maldonado- Cortés, Javier A. Ortega

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Because of the environmental impact and price volatility, there has been a growing concern about using petroleum-based lubricants. This issue has encouraged research into the development of biodegradable lubricants like vegetable oils. This study assessed the tribological behavior of sunflower oil modified with Montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) as lubricant additives. A block-on-ring tribometer was used to assess the wear and friction characteristics of the nano-lubricants. A custom-made tapping torque tester was used to evaluate the nano-lubricants in a real-world application. It was found that the volumetric wear, Coefficient of Friction, and torque of the system decreased when MMT nanoparticles were added. …

Coexistence Of Specialist And Generalist Species Within Mixed Plastic Derivative-Utilizing Microbial Communities, Laura G. Schaerer, Lindsay I. Putman, Isaac Bigcraft, Emma Byrne, Daniel G. Kulas, Ali Zolghadr, Sulihat Aloba, Rebecca Ong, David Shonnard, Stephen Techtmann

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2

BACKGROUND Plastic-degrading microbial isolates offer great potential to degrade, transform, and upcycle plastic waste. Tandem chemical and biological processing of plastic wastes has been shown to substantially increase the rates of plastic degradation however, the focus of this work has been almost entirely on microbial isolates (either bioengineered or naturally occurring). We propose that a microbial community has even greater potential for plastic upcycling. A microbial community has greater metabolic diversity to process mixed plastic waste streams and has built-in functional redundancy for optimal resilience. RESULTS Here, we used two plastic-derivative degrading communities as a model system to investigate the …

Deconstructed Plastic Substrate Preferences Of Microbial Populations From The Natural Environment, Lindsay I. Putman, Laura G. Schaerer, Ruochen Wu, Daniel G. Kulas, Ali Zolghadr, Rebecca Ong, David Shonnard, Stephen Techtmann

Michigan Tech Publications

Over half of the world's plastic waste is landfilled, where it is estimated to take hundreds of years to degrade. Given the continued use and disposal of plastic products, it is vital that we develop fast and effective ways to utilize plastic waste. Here, we explore the potential of tandem chemical and biological processing to process various plastics quickly and effectively. Four samples of compost or sediment were used to set up enrichment cultures grown on mixtures of compounds, including disodium terephthalate and terephthalic acid (monomers of polyethylene terephthalate), compounds derived from the chemical deconstruction of polycarbonate, and pyrolysis oil …

Polyesters Derived From Biobased 1,5-Pentanediol For Coatings, Adhesives, And Biodegradable Plastics, Lei Zheng

Doctoral Dissertations

Biomass-derived polymers are drawing increased attention from researchers due to unique performance attributes, potential for biodegradability, new low-cost feedstocks, and improved sustainability. Biobased feedstocks are employed in both major applications of polymers thermosets and thermoplastics. For thermoset coatings and adhesives, biobased resins such as biobased alkyds, epoxy resins, benzoxazine resins, starch derivatives, and proteins from plants and animals, are promising candidates to replace petroleum-derived counterparts. Thermoplastics such as polyethylene are mainly produced from fossil resources, generally have poor degradability and are difficult to effectively recycle. Currently, in the United States, less than 10% plastics are recycled, and more than 70% …

Nanoclays‑Containing Bio‑Based Packaging Materials: Properties, Applications, Safety, And Regulatory Issues, Kalpani Y. Perera, Maille Hopkins, Amit K. Jaiswal Dr, Swarna Jaiswal

Articles

Food packaging is an important concept for consumer satisfaction and the increased shelf life of food products. The introduction of novel food packaging materials has become an emerging trend in recent years, which could be mainly due to environmental pollution caused by plastic packaging and to reduce food waste. Recently, numerous studies have been carried out on nanoclays or nanolayered silicate to be used in packaging material development as reinforcing filler composites. Different types of nanoclays have been used as food packaging materials, while montmorillonite (MMT), halloysite, bentonite (BT), Cloisite, and organically modified nanoclays have become of great interest. The …

Biodegradation Of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether And Tert-Butyl Alcohol Using Bioaugmentation With Biowish® Aqua, Elizabeth Villanueva

Master's Theses

Aqua, a commercial product manufactured by BiOWiSH® Technologies, was utilized in this research to study its effectiveness to biodegrade methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA). Microcosms containing varying concentrations of MTBE and TBA as well as a growth media and mineral salt solution were examined. Analytical instrumentation used in this study included the use of a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC/MS) to determine concentrations of MTBE and TBA and a spectrophotometer to extrapolate approximate active biomass concentrations in each experiment. Four different environmental conditions were tested for both MTBE and TBA. The environmental conditions tested for each contaminant included: …

Application Of A 14c-Assay To Assess Methanotrophic Biodegradation Of Tce In Low Ph Groundwater, Evan Groome

All Theses

Current biological strategies for remediating trichloroethylene (TCE) in low pH aquifers (i.e., pH14C-TCE assay was developed to determine pseudo first-order rate constants for the degradation of TCE in microcosms containing soil and groundwater from the Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (BOMARC) superfund site, where the pH ranges from 4.1 to 4.9. The ¹⁴C-TCE assay was also adapted to calculate soil-normalized rate constants for data from this site, as well as data that Szwast²¹ collected from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). In addition to natural attenuation, biostimulation through amendments of methane and nutrients were also assessed. This treatment …

Soil Degradation Of A Plastic Blend Of Opuntia Ficusindica Juice, Animal Protein And Beeswax, Isabel A. Gamez, Daniel R. Kava

Materials Engineering

Since the introduction of single use plastics in the early 1900s, their usage has increased exponentially. Unfortunately, due to this exponential increase there are negative environmental implications of their production, which requires further consideration. Currently, there are various waste disposal practices for SUPs, including landfilling, incineration, and recycling. Recent data revealed that only 14 % of plastic waste was recycled, with 40% of plastic waste being landfilled, while the rest of the plastic waste was incinerated or released to the environment at 14 % and 32 %, respectively. A potential solution to the plastic waste issue is developing a polymer …

Biodegradation Of Rubber Particles In Soil: Using Acclimated Bacteria Isolated From Kansas Soil To Degrade Cryogrinds In Slurry, Shane Graham

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study investigated the viability of bioremediating rubber cryogrind using enriched indigenous bacteria. To begin the experiment, soils from three highway roadside locations in Kansas, KS 96 and West, KS 400 and 143^rd, and 199^th, were collected and transported to the lab to be studied. An initial soil characterization was run on the soil samples using distilled (DI) water mixture and 0.01 M CaCl₂ to assess conductivity. The soils were tested to gather a baseline of the relationship between pH and conductivity and the impact of its distance from the roadside. Bacteria were isolated from …

Composting Processes For Food Processing Wastes: A Review, Yung-Tse Hung, Kevin P. Holloman, Howard Paul, Christopher Huhnke

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Composting of food processing waste was analyzed as a biological process and an engineered system. The goal is to establish fundamental principles and design criteria that would aid its adoption as waste management practice. Characteristics of the inflow, reactor, and outflow were evaluated. Success of the bioreactor was found to be largely dependent on microbial community structure, physical properties of biodegradable waste (BW), aeration, heat transfer, and time required for maturation. Static piles were the primary focus of this article for cost and energy efficiency.

Development Of A Marine Biodegradable Target Balloon, Blake Samuel Robinson, Arash Sam Akhavi, David Leonardo Albarran-Martinez

Materials Engineering

The US Navy utilizes PVC target balloons, known as Killer Tomatoes, that are inflated onboard a naval vessel then deployed into the ocean to calibrate a variety of weaponry. The Navy has requested the investigation of biodegradable polymers to replace the PVC in attempts to reduce ocean waste that is generated from the leftover PVC material. After communicating with American Pacific Plastic Fabricators (APPF), the current manufacturer of the Killer Tomatoes, we gained an understanding of the manufacturing process and the material requirements that would allow a new material to be integrated into their current process. Two proprietary, trial polymers …

Removal Of Trace Organic Contaminants By Enzymatic Membrane Bioreactors: Role Of Membrane Retention And Biodegradation, Muhammad Bilal Asif, Jingwei Hou, William E. Price, Vicki Chen, Faisal I. Hai

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Performance of an enzymatic membrane bioreactor (EMBR) equipped with either an ultrafiltration (UF) or a nanofiltration (NF) membrane was explored for the degradation of a set of 29 chemically diverse trace organic contaminants (TrOCs). The NF membrane provided effective retention (90-99%) of TrOCs within the NF-EMBR. On the other hand, partial retention of charged and significantly hydrophobic (log >3) TrOCs was achieved by the UF membrane via charge repulsion and adsorption on the enzyme gel-layer formed on the membrane surface during UF-EMBR operation. Laccase achieved TrOC-specific degradation in both EMBRs. The extent of TrOC degradation was significantly (5 to 65%) …

Treatment Of Perchlorate And Multiple Oxyanions: Chemical And Biological Investigations, Mark Elkouz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Groundwater contamination with oxyanions is an issue that must be addressed for environmental, ecological and societal reasons. Chemical and biological treatment methods of reduction are already known and practiced, but the simultaneous presence of multiple oxyanions can add complicating effects to treatment sequence and efficacy. This research was concerned with the investigation of the chemical reductive treatment of Cr(VI) using both calcium polysulfide (CaSx) and ferrous sulfate (FeSO4), and the biological reductive treatment of chlorate, Cr(VI), nitrate and perchlorate using multiple organic substrates. The chemical treatment phase consisted of initial jar tests, using CaSx and FeSO4, followed by a laboratory …

Study On The Biodegradation Of Guanidine Gum By Methanogens In Coal Seam, Li Yunsong, Guo Hongyu, Fu Chaoyong, Zhao Guojun, Xia Daping

Coal Geology & Exploration

The problem of low temperature breaking of guanidine gum fracturing fluid is related to the effect of coal seam penetration. In order to explore the effect of methanogenson the biodegradation of guanidine gum, Inner Mongolia some coal mine lignite were collected to prepare samples of coal samples, and the enriched fresh mine water was used as the bacteria source. The biological methane metabolism experiments of guanidine gum + coal were used to characterize the biodegradability of methanogens to guanidine gum, with the total gas production, CH₄ concentration, guanidine gum molecular functional groups and C and H elements content changes. …

Natural Source Zone Depletion Of Lnapl: A Critical Review Supporting Modelling Approaches, Kaveh Sookhak Lari, Greg B. Davis, John L. Rayner, Trevor P. Bastow, Geoffrey J. Puzon

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Natural source zone depletion (NSZD) of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) includes partitioning, transport and degradation of LNAPL components. NSZD is being considered as a site closure option during later stages of active remediation of LNAPL contaminated sites, and where LNAPL mass removal is limiting. To ensure NSZD meets compliance criteria and to design enhanced NSZD actions if required, residual risks posed by LNAPL and its long term behaviour require estimation. Prediction of long-term NSZD trends requires linking physicochemical partitioning and transport processes with bioprocesses at multiple scales within a modelling framework. Here we expand and build on the knowledge …

Methods To Improve The Remediation Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Aerobic And Anaerobic Environments, Brian Wartell

Dissertations

Oil spills occur regularly in terrestrial environments and crude oil can contain many compounds that are highly resistant to degradation. Among these compounds are high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are not only toxic but can also be carcinogenic and/or mutagenic. The first chapter of this dissertation includes an extensive review chapter on the variables affecting the anaerobic degradation of hydrocarbons, with a particular focus on PAHs. Electron acceptors, electron donors, temperature, salinity, pH all play key roles in determining the possibility effective of effective degradation occurring. Thus, by addressing solutions, such as biostimulation, improving environmental variables for …

Bacteria Movement Near Surfaces, Shulin Wang, Adib Ahmadzadegan, Arezoo Ardekani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding the behaviors of bacteria near surfaces is crucial in many biological and ecological applications. This knowledge can be used to hinder undesired biofilm formation on medical instruments and wounds. On top of that, it could also provide further insights in biodegradation of dispersed oil. In this work, the behavior of Escherichia Coli near a surface was experimentally studied. We utilized an inverted microscope in the phase filed illumination mode and processed acquired images to track the motions of bacteria near surfaces with high accuracy and repeatability. Distribution of the cells when they reached a steady state shows that the …

Biodegradation Of Phenolic Components In Wastewater By Micro Algae: A Review, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan, Faris Hammoodi Al-Ani, Adaf Jadaan Obaied Al-Saned

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The biodegradation of phenolic contaminant present in wastewater by micro algae has been investigated in the current research. The study focused on algae growth requirements and factors affecting algae growth in contaminated water leading to the best treatment. Different techniques used to functionalize microalgae in the treatment such as batch and continuous operation modes have been further investigated. Mechanisms for microalgae pollutants degradation and microalgae growth kinetics were also highlighted to present the required knowledge in phenol contaminant biodegradation field by microorganisms.

Covalently Crosslinked Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Biomaterials For Bone Tissue Engineering Applications, Dibakar Mondal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Scaffolds are key components for bone tissue engineering and regeneration. They guide new bone formation by mimicking bone extracellular matrix for cell recruitment and proliferation. Ideally, scaffolds for bone tissue engineering need to be osteoconductive, osteoinductive, porous, degradable and mechanically competent. As a single material can not provide all these requirements, composites of several biomaterials are viable solutions to combine various properties. However, conventional composites fail to fulfil these requirements due to their distinct phases at the microscopic level. Organic/inorganic (O/I) class II hybrid biomaterials, where the organic and inorganic phases are chemically crosslinked on a molecular scale, hence the …

Development Of Bioreactors For Comparative Study Of Naturalattenuation, Biostimulation, And Bioaugmentation Ofpetroleum-Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soil, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, Hamid-Reza Kariminia, Mahmood Rahmati, Farhad Fazlollahi, Alexandra Polasko, Shaily Mahendra, W Vincent Wilding, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Bioremediation of soil and groundwater sites contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons is known as a technically viable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate laboratory-scale bioremediation of petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated soil through development of eight bioreactors, two bioreactors for each bioremediation mode. The modes were: (1)natural attenuation (NA); (2) biostimulation (BS) with oxygen and nutrients; (3) bioaugmentation (BA)with hydrocarbon degrading isolates; (4) a combination of biostimulation and bioaugmentation (BS-BA). Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) mass balance over the bioreactors showed about 2% of initial20,000 mg kg-soil−1TPH was removed by advection due to synthetic groundwater which was flow-ing …

Enhancing The Performance Of Anaerobic Bioreactors For The Biological Degradation Of Volatiles Organic Compounds In Groundwater Using Alternate Electron Acceptors, Leslie Michele Pipkin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Engineered anaerobic bioreactors (ABR) constructed from mixed media and sand can biodegrade high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Sustainable treatment of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), chlorinated ethenes and ethanes were used to investigate the use of engineered ABRs, while also analyzing the system performance of a full-scale ABR system. Experimentations conducted on environmental and biological factors that affect ABR system performance was conducted through serum bottles, columns, and reactor studies.

Column and reactor ABR systems were designed to treat VOCs via biodegradation in groundwater with varying terminal electron acceptors (TEAs). Laboratory-scale column ABRs were constructed to treat …

Evaluation Of Disinfection Byproduct Speciation Models Based On Biodegradation And Chemical Decomposition, Xian Ma

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

The USEPA has regulated both chlorinated and brominated trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) since Stage 2 D/DBP Rule. Among regulated species, all four chlorinated and brominated THMs are regulated as total TTHMs (TTHM). But of the nine HAAs, only the sum of five (HAA5) are regulated, with no detail on individual species. This leaves four unregulated HAAs of which all contain bromine. With more attention on the brominated haloacetic acids due to their higher toxicity, the focus on the formation of those unregulated brominated species is elevated. The objective of this study is to assess national occurrence of all …

Evaluation Of Electron Donors For Perchlorate And Nitrate Biodegradation In Contaminated Groundwater Applications, Mayra Alejandra Sarria Cortes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the United States, perchlorate contamination has been widely reported, including in Las Vegas, Nevada, where perchlorate has been detected at concentrations of 34.7 mg/kg in vadose zone soil and 0.18-3.7 g/L in groundwater. Once this groundwater reaches the Las Vegas Wash, there is potential for widespread contamination of drinking water sources throughout the Southwest, including in Nevada, Arizona, and California. This issue is becoming increasingly important because even at low perchlorate concentrations, sensitive populations such as infants and pregnant women can be potentially impacted due to perchlorate’s ability to hinder iodine uptake into the thyroid glands, which leads to …

Fate Of Benzalkonium Chlorides In Natural Environment And Treatment Processes, Adnan Hossain Khan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Benzalkonium chlorides (BACs) are a type of cationic surfactant and are highly adsorptive to negatively charged surfaces during the wastewater treatment process. They can, therefore, enter the aquatic environment via the suspended organic matter in wastewater effluents, and the terrestrial environment through the application of biosolids as a soil amendment for crop production or by the use of reclaimed wastewater for irrigation. This research investigated the fate of the two most commonly used BACs, benzyl dimethyl dodecyl ammonium chloride (BDDA; C₁₂-alkyl chain) and benzyl dimethyl tetradecyl ammonium chloride (BDTA; C₁₄-alkyl chain), individually and in mixture in …

Water-Soluble Glass Substrate As A Platform For Biodegradable Solid-State Devices, Shihab Md Adnan, Kwangman Lee, Mohammad Tayeb Ahmad Ghasr, Matthew O'Keefe, D. E. Day, Chang-Soo Kim

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A biodegradable glass material is utilized as a novel functional element of solid-state devices. A water-soluble borate glass substrate serves as the structural platform on which thin film device is built. The glass substrate completely dissolves in a saline solution in approximately 40 h. Intentional failure of the spiral device (RLC resonator circuit) as a result of rapid structural disintegration by dissolution is demonstrated in DC, AC, and RF ranges that agrees well with simulation. Adopting water-soluble glass elements is expected to be a viable approach to develop reliable all-inorganic biodegradable devices that are fully functional during an intended operational …

Removal Of Pharmaceuticals, Steroid Hormones, Phytoestrogens, Uv-Filters, Industrial Chemicals And Pesticides By Trametes Versicolor: Role Of Biosorption And Biodegradation, Luong Nguyen, Faisal Ibney Hai, Shufan Yang, Jinguo Kang, Frederic Leusch, Felicity Roddick, William E. Price, Long D. Nghiem

Faisal I Hai

This study reports the removal of 30 diverse trace organic contaminants (TrOC) by live (biosorption þ biodegradation), intracellular enzyme-inhibited and chemically inactivated (biosorption only) whole-cell preparations and the fungal extracellular enzyme extract (predominantly laccase) from Trametes versicolor (ATCC 7731). Because phenolic substrates are amenable to degradation by laccase, all 14 phenolic TrOC were readily biodegraded. On the other hand, only eight of the 16 non-phenolic TrOC were readily biodegraded while the removal of hydrophilic TrOC (log D < 3) was negligible. With the exception of diclofenac, no non-phenolic TrOC were degraded by the extracellular enzyme extract. The whole-cell culture showed considerably …

Sustainable Decolorization Of Reactive And Acid Dye Wastewater Using Photo-Fenton Oxidation Both With And Without Biodegradation: Laboratory And Field Studies, Marissa R. Jablonski

Theses and Dissertations

Photo-Fenton oxidation is an advanced oxidation process (AOP) used to degrade low-concentration textile dye wastewater using expensive chemicals. The technique has shown promise in laboratory-scale projects, but has not been scaled up sustainably to function for industry. Aerobic biodegradation is a common biological treatment method used in large-scale textile industrial applications that generates large amounts of hazardous biological waste. This waste is often left open to the elements and subsequently leaches into natural waterways or onto land. This is the first study of its kind to combine the two to treat cottage-scale industry-grade textile wastewater with a dye concentration of …

Modeling Biodegradation Settlement Of Municipal Solid Waste (Msw) Based On Measurement Of Landfill Gas And Degradable Solids In Leachate Recirculated Bioreactors, Vatsal Atulkumar Shah

Dissertations

The purpose of this work is two-fold: 1) to understand the phenomenon of the biodegradation process of municipal solid waste (MSW) in leachate recirculated bioreactors, and 2) to create a realistic predictive model based on this understanding which is capable of supporting a laboratory-to-field relationship for bioreactor landfills. Biodegradation is best described by loss of mass; however, primary researchers have assumed the phenomenon to be purely volume loss and modeled best by mechanical processes using a conservation of energy approach. It is suggested that the phenomenon requires a fundamental understanding of biodegradation process which results in a loss of mass, …

The Occurrence, Fate, Environmental Impact, And Management Implications Of Pharmaceutical And Personal Care Products In Wastewater And The Environment, Benjamin Donald Blair

Theses and Dissertations

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a critical part of modern life. However, there is growing evidence that the levels of PPCPs detected in wastewater effluent and in the environment have the potential to cause damage to aquatic organisms. These pollutants enter the aquatic environment primarily through human use, disposal in the drain or toilet, land application of biosolids, and veterinary sources. Numerous questions remain regarding the occurrence, fate, and impacts of PPCPs in wastewater, along with limited feasible management recommendations that would adequately mitigate the risk from these pollutants. This dissertation will present three advances in the field …

Removal Of Pharmaceuticals, Steroid Hormones, Phytoestrogens, Uv-Filters, Industrial Chemicals And Pesticides By Trametes Versicolor: Role Of Biosorption And Biodegradation, Luong Nguyen, Faisal Ibney Hai, Shufan Yang, Jinguo Kang, Frederic Leusch, Felicity Roddick, William E. Price, Long D. Nghiem

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This study reports the removal of 30 diverse trace organic contaminants (TrOC) by live (biosorption þ biodegradation), intracellular enzyme-inhibited and chemically inactivated (biosorption only) whole-cell preparations and the fungal extracellular enzyme extract (predominantly laccase) from Trametes versicolor (ATCC 7731). Because phenolic substrates are amenable to degradation by laccase, all 14 phenolic TrOC were readily biodegraded. On the other hand, only eight of the 16 non-phenolic TrOC were readily biodegraded while the removal of hydrophilic TrOC (log D < 3) was negligible. With the exception of diclofenac, no non-phenolic TrOC were degraded by the extracellular enzyme extract. The whole-cell culture showed considerably higher degradation of at least seven compounds, indicating the importance of biosorption and subsequent degradation by intracellular and/or mycelium associated enzymes. Improvement (20e90%) of enzymatic degradation of four phenolic and seven non-phenolic TrOC was achieved in the presence of a redox mediator. Compared with the whole-cell culture, mediator-amended extracellular extract achieved better removal of six TrOC, but lower removal of six others. A particular concern was the increased toxicity of the treated media when the redox-mediator was used. In addition to reporting the white-rot fungal removal of two UV filters, three phytoestrogens and a few other pharmaceutically active TrOC for the first time, this study provides unique insights into their removal mechanisms.