Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Biomass Wastes: Sustainability And Geochemistry, Michael A. Kruge, Teresa A. Centeno, Alvaro Amado-Fierro, José Manuel González-Lafuente, Ruben Forjan-Castro, José Luis Gallego

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction. To reduce the stream of solid waste going to landfills, innovative means for beneficial use are essential. The diversity and volume of organic wastes pose singular problems and opportunities for recovery and circularity. Common processes for organics include conversion to biofuels and carbonization to biochar, typically done by torrefaction (dry pyrolysis). Research on biochar explores its potential as pollutant adsorbent, agricultural or polluted soil amendment, biofuel (directly or as feedstock), and for carbon sequestration (Ighalo et al., 2022; Cavali et al., 2023). Recently, other processes at lower temperatures such as hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) offer new possibilities (Seshadri et al., …

Environmental Forensic Characterization Of Former Rail Yard Soils Located Adjacent To The Statue Of Liberty In The New York/New Jersey Harbor, Diane Hagmann, Michael A. Kruge, Matthew Chi-Hymn Cheung, Maria Mastalerz, José Luis Gallego, Jay Prakash Singh, Jennifer Krumins, Xiaona N. Li, Nina M. Goodey

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Identifying inorganic and organic soil contaminants in urban brownfields can give insights into the adverse effects of industrial activities on soil function, ecological health, and environmental quality. Liberty State Park in Jersey City (N.J., USA) once supported a major rail yard that had dock facilities for both cargo and passenger service; a portion remains closed to the public, and a forest developed and spread in this area. The objectives of this study were to: 1) characterize the organic and inorganic compounds in Liberty State Park soils and compare the findings to an uncontaminated reference site (Hutcheson Memorial Forest); and 2) …

Application Of Pyrolysis-Gc/Ms For Rapid Assessment Of Organic Contamination In Sediments From Barcelona Harbor, Michael A. Kruge, Albert Permanyer

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Pyrolysis-GC/MS is advantageous as a tool for rapid sediment contamination assessment because of the small sample size required, minimal sample preparation, and its ability to detect a wide variety of organic pollutants as well as naturally-occurring biological materials. Py-GC/MS was applied, together with determination of organic carbon, and major and minor element concentrations, to evaluate potentially contaminated sediments in the port of Barcelona (Spain) and the adjacent Llobregat River delta. Detected contaminant markers, most evident in the Old Port (Port Vell) area, included hopanes and alkylated PAHs (petroleum), sterenes (sewage), C₁₆-C₁₉ phenylalkanes (detergents) and parent …

Bacterial Residues In Coprolite Of Herbivorous Dinosaurs: Role Of Bacteria In Mineralization Of Feces, Thomas C. Hollocher, Karen Chin, Kurt T. Hollocher, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of northwestern Montana has yielded blocky, calcareous coprolites that contain abundant fragments of conifer wood and were produced by large herbivorous dinosaurs. The coprolites are generally dark gray to black in color due to a dark substance confined chiefly within what originally were the capillaries of tracheid and ray cells of xylem. This substance is a kerogen which consists in part of thin-walled vesicles 0.1-1.3 µm in diameter. Pyrolysis products of this kerogen are diagnostic of a bacterial origin with a possible contribution from terrestrial plants. The vesicular component is interpreted as the residue of …

Fossil Charcoal In Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary Strata: Evidence For Catastrophic Firestorm And Megawave, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Organic matter separated from calcareous sandstone from the upper portion of a deep-water tsunami deposit at Arroyo el Mimbral, Taumalipas (Mexico), which marks the biostratigraphically-defined Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, consists primarily of fossil charcoal, including semifusinite and pyrofusinite. Analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed the highly aromatic and polyaromatic character of the organic matter assemblage, typical of the products of partial combustion. The organic matter probably originated as terrestrial vegetation that was caught in a firestorm and subsequently transported far offshore in the backwash of a megawave. These data are consistent with the hypothesis of combustion of large masses of vegetation triggered by …

Geochemical Characterization Of Maceral Concentrates From Herrin No. 6 Coal (Illinois Basin) And Lower Toarcian Shale Kerogen (Paris Basin), B Artur Stankiewicz, Michael A. Kruge, John C. Crelling

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Density gradient centrifugation (DGC) is a physical method for the separation of sedimentary organic matter into its constituents. Using DGC, it is possible to prepare maceral concentrates from a single sample, which are amenable to microanalysis. DGC fractions from a coal sample from the Illinois Basin (Herrin No. 6, Upper Carboniferous) and from the kerogen of a marine shale sample from the Paris Basin (Lower Toarcian) were analyzed by flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, after extraction by CH₂Cl₂.

Chemical differences between the coal DGC fractions are the easiest to recognize, indicating very distinctive biological precursors. For example, …

Flash Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Of Lower Kittanning Vitrinites: Changes In The Distributions Of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons As A Function Of Coal Rank, Michael A. Kruge, David F. Bensley

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Chemical analyses restricted to a single coal maceral permit a focus on rank effects without concern for variations in organic matter type. Vitrinite concentrates of high purity were isolated from coal samples of the Lower Kittanning seam by multi-step density gradient centrifugation, with reflectances ranging from 0.66 to 1.39% Rmax. In addition to the previously recognized losses of phenolic compounds, the vitrinite pyrolyzates exhibit marked increases in relative concentrations of tri- and tetraaromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]fluorene, methyl-phenanthrenes, methylfluorenes and methylchrysenes) above 0.9% Rmax, i.e., beyond the "second coalification jump" of Teichmüller. Thus, petrographically-recognizable physical transformations are shown …