Life Sciences Commons^™

Investigating The Effectiveness Of Microplastic Removal And The Relationship Between Microplastics, Bacterial Communities, And Nitrogen Cycling In The Natural Treatment Systems At The Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility, Fiona Connor

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis addressed two challenging aspects of microplastic research, including the quantification of microplastics in organic-rich water, and the investigation of how microplastics impact microorganisms and related nutrient-cycling. Two projects were designed and executed to address specific research objectives relating to these broad topics. The first objective was to develop and implement methods to determine the effectiveness of microplastic removal across the natural treatment systems at the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility (AWTF). The second objective was to observe how microplastics found in domestic wastewater impact the bacterial communities and nitrogen cycling in freshwater treatment wetland sediment through a bench-scale experiment, …

Ammonia Cycling And Emerging Particulate Matter Pollutants Under Arable Land-Use Management: A Modelling Approach, Vivien Pohl

Doctoral

Air quality monitoring in Ireland is under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency in compliance with the Gothenburg Protocol, EU/national legislation, and the National Clean Air Strategy. Particulate Matter (PM) has been acknowledged as a key atmospheric pollutant, with serious public health impacts and no safe threshold of exposure in place to-date. Ammonia (NH3) emissions are linked to the secondary production of PM through atmospheric reactions occurring with acidic atmospheric components such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid. These reactions result in the formation of ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride, among others. More than 95% …

Bioremediation Of Refinery Desalter Effluent Using Debaryomyces Hansenii And Parachlorella Kessleri, Leila Azimian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Crude oil desalting operations produce an effluent stream which is challenging to treat due to its salt, heavy metal and hydrocarbon content. Consequently, desalter effluent (DE) is usually diluted into other effluent streams and sent to conventional wastewater treatment plants which may lead to upsets the plant operation.

In this study, a novel microbial approach was applied which investigated DE treatment using halotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii (LAF-3 10 U) or the environmentally robust micro-algae Parachlorella kessleri strain CPCC 266. The effect of these two different approaches on both synthetic and actual DE was investigated in both batch and/or continuous mode. …

Ammonia And Carbon Dioxide Emissions Of Three Laying-Hen Housing Systems As Affected By Manure Accumulation Time, Timothy A. Shepherd, Hongwei Xin, John P. Stinn, Morgan D. Hayes, Yang Zhao, Hong Li

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Laying-hen housing design and management are the most significant factors affecting the generation and release of gaseous ammonia to the atmosphere. Transitioning the hen housing type from traditional high-rise (where manure is stored within the house for about one year) to modern manure-belt style (where manure is removed every 1 to 4 d and placed into long-term storage) has significantly improved in-barn air quality and reduced farm-level ammonia emissions. As a direct result of the advantages, 100% of new construction for U.S. egg production incorporates manure-belt systems that regularly remove manure from the houses. However, manure-belt system designs (e.g., active …

The Development Of A Fluorescence-Based Reverse Flow Injection Analysis (Rfia) Method For Quantifying Ammonium At Nanomolar Concentrations In Oligotrophic Seawater, William Abbott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis was to adopt a reverse flow injection analysis (rFIA) technique to the fluorometric analysis of the reaction o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) with ammonium, allowing accurate measurements of ammonium concentrations lower than the detection limit of the widely used indophenol blue (IPB) colorimetric method while accounting for the background fluorescence of seawater. Ammonium is considered an essential nutrient for primary productivity, especially in the nutrient depleted surface ocean where as the most reduced form of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, it is readily assimilated via metabolic pathways. Challenges in the quantification of ammonium require more sensitive analytical techniques for …

Temporal Variations In Gas And Odor Emissions From A Dairy Manure Storage Pond, Lingying Zhao, Matthew J. Darr, X. Wang, Roderick B. Manuzon, M. Brugger, E. Imerman, G. Arnold, H. Keener, Albert J. Heber

Matthew J. Darr

As dairy production evolves towards larger and more concentrated operations, air and water quality on and around dairy farms is becoming a significant concern. It is necessary to understand air emission temporal variations for development and implementation of effective abatement technologies and management practices. The objectives of this study were to understand temporal variations in H2S, NH3, and odor emissions from a dairy manure storage pond, the effects of manure characteristics and environmental conditions on gas emissions, and gas management need of dairy manure storage ponds. One representative Ohio dairy farm with a 675-cow free-stall barn and one outside earthen …

Ammonia And Hydrogen Sulfide Flux From Beef Cattle Pens: Implications For Air Quality Measurement Methodologies And Evaluation Of Emission Controls, Jacek A. Koziel, David B. Parker, Bok-Haeng Baek, Kevin J. Bush, Marty Rhoades, Zena Perschbacher-Buser

Jacek A. Koziel

Ammonia (NH 3 ) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) are emitted from beef cattle feedlots with NH 3 being greater by nearly three orders of magnitude. Nearly 30% of the U.S. beef cattle are fed in the High Plains of Texas. Earlier research indicates that abatement technologies may be needed to significantly reduce NH 3 emissions. To date, little is known about the appropriate measurement methods to evaluate the effectiveness of NH 3 emission controls. In this research, we determined the (a) variability of NH 3 and H 2 S fluxes within a single pen and (b) the relationships …

Application Rate And Timing Effects On Urease Inhibitor Performance For Minimizing Ammonia Emissions From Beef Cattle Feedyards, David B. Parker, Syam Pandrangi, L. Wayne Greene, Lal K. Almas, N. Andy Cole, Marty B. Rhoades, Jacek A. Koziel

Jacek A. Koziel

A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate how rate and timing of urease inhibitor application affects ammonia emissions from simulated beef cattle feedyard surfaces. The urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) was applied at rates of 0, 1 and 2 kg/ha, at 8, 16, and 32 day frequencies, and with or without simulated rainfall. Synthetic urine was added every 2 days to the manure surface. Gaseous NH3 was trapped in a sulfuric acid solution using a vacuum system and analyzed for nitrogen using automated procedures. NBPT applied every 8 days was most effective, with the 1 and 2 kg/ha NBPT treatments …

Ambient Ammonia And Hydrogen Sulfide Concentrations At A Beef Cattle Feedlot In Texas, Jacek A. Koziel, Bok-Haeng Baek, Jarett P. Spinhirne, David B. Park

Jacek A. Koziel

Concentrations of ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in ambient air were semicontinuously measured at a 50,000-head cattle feedyard in Texas panhandle in three seasons: fall 2002 (10 days), winter 2003 (14 days), and spring 2003 (15 days). Sampling was conducted at 1.5 m above the ground at one location each season at the western fence line of cattle pens. Gas concentrations were measured using continuous analyzers housed in an onsite instrument shelter. Measured concentrations were upwind or downwind of the feedyard pens depending on the wind direction. Wind directions, wind velocity, and air temperature were measured to correlate them …

Estimations Of Ammonia And Hydrogen Sulfide Fluxes From Cattle Feedlot Surfaces In Texas High Plains, Bok-Haeng Baek, Jacek A. Koziel, Jarett P. Spinhirne, David B. Parker, Nolan A. Cole

Jacek A. Koziel

A dynamic flow-through chamber system and continuous analyzers were used for on-site measurements of ammonia-nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and hydrogen sulfide-sulfur (H 2 S-S) fluxes from commercial feedlot surfaces in northwestern Texas during two week period in the summer of 2002. Ambient air and air inside chamber temperatures, and manure pack temperature were measured continuously. Manure pack moisture content, pH, and TKN were measured daily to characterize its correlation with NH 3 -N fluxes. The preliminary average NH 3 -N flux from the feedlot surface for the entire measurement period was 1,669 ± 1,212 NH 3 -N µ g/m 2 …

Estimation Of Ammonia And Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions From Cattle Feedlots In Texas, Bok-Haeng Baek, Jacek A. Koziel, Jarett P. Spinhirne, David B. Parker, Nolan A. Cole

Jacek A. Koziel

A dynamic flow-through chamber system and continuous analyzers were used for on-site measurements of ammonia-nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and hydrogen sulfide-sulfur (H 2 S-S) fluxes from commercial feedlot surfaces in northwestern Texas during two week period in the summer of 2002. Manure pack moisture content, pH, and TKN were measured daily to characterize its relation with NH 3 -N fluxes. The preliminary average NH 3 -N and H 2 S-S flux from the feedlot surface were 1,669 ± 1,212 NH 3 -N µ g/m 2 /min and 1.884 ± 1.497 H 2 S-S µ g S/m 2 /min. Manure pack …