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Civil and Environmental Engineering

Selected Works

Selected Works

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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Sciences

A Review Of Pesticide Fate And Transport Simulation At Watershed Level Using Swat: Current Status And Research Concerns, Ruoyu Wang Jun 2019

A Review Of Pesticide Fate And Transport Simulation At Watershed Level Using Swat: Current Status And Research Concerns, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

The application of pesticides in agriculture is a widely-used way to alleviate pest stresses. However, it also introduces various environmental concerns due to the offsite movement of pesticide residues towards receiving water bodies. While the application of process-based modeling approaches can provide quantitative information on pesticide exposure, there are nonetheless growing requirements for model development and improvement to better represent various hydrological and physico-chemical conditions at watershed scale, and for better model integration to address environmental, ecological and economic concerns. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is an ecohydrological model used in over 3,000 published studies, including about 50 …


Nitrate Runoff Contributing From The Agriculturally Intensive San Joaquin River Watershed To Bay-Delta In California, Ruoyu Wang May 2019

Nitrate Runoff Contributing From The Agriculturally Intensive San Joaquin River Watershed To Bay-Delta In California, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

Nitrogen loading from agricultural landscapes can trigger a cascade of detrimental e#11;ects on
aquatic ecosystems. Recently, the spread of aquatic weed infestations (Eichhornia crassipes, Egeria densa,
Ludwigia spp., and Onagraceae) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of northern California has raised
concerns, and nitrogen loading from California’s intensive farming regions is considered as one of
the major contributors. In this study, we employed the Soil andWater Assessment Tool (SWAT) to
simulate nitrogen exports from the agriculturally intensive San Joaquin River watershed to the Delta.
The alternate tile drainage routine in SWAT was tested against monitoring data in the tile-drained area
of …


Environmental Fate And Impact Assessment Of Thiobencarb Application In California Rice Fields Using Ricewq, Ruoyu Wang May 2019

Environmental Fate And Impact Assessment Of Thiobencarb Application In California Rice Fields Using Ricewq, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

Thiobencarb is a commonly used herbicide in Northern California rice fields. Released paddy water containing thiobencarb may pose ecological risks to non-targeted organisms. In this research, the Rice Water Quality Model (RICEWQ) is  equilibrium tested and then calibrated using monitoring data at field level. Then it is employed to assess the environmental fate and impacts of thiobencarb in the Colusa Basin, and the effects of different management practices on water use and thiobencarb exposures. The model predicted thiobencarb concentrations from rice fields for multiple years throughout the Basin, using input from California Pesticide Use Reporting (PUR) database, and assessed both the …


Modeling Pesticide Fate And Transport At Watershed Scale Using The Soil & Water Assessment Tool: General Applications And Mitigation Strategies, Ruoyu Wang Mar 2019

Modeling Pesticide Fate And Transport At Watershed Scale Using The Soil & Water Assessment Tool: General Applications And Mitigation Strategies, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

Pesticide residue runoff to surface water is of great concern to local stakeholders who seek to preserve or achieve good water quality. The Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been widely used to assess many environmental problems related to water resources and nonpoint-source pollution, including sediment and nutrient loads and pesticides. However, a comprehensive review of existing studies on SWAT-based pesticide modeling is still not available in the literature. Therefore, in this chapter, we present an overview summarizing all previous SWAT applications in studying the fate and transport of pesticides around the world, based on the peer-reviewed literature. We …


Call For Abstracts - Resrb 2019, July 8-9, Wrocław, Poland, Wojciech M. Budzianowski Dec 2018

Call For Abstracts - Resrb 2019, July 8-9, Wrocław, Poland, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

No abstract provided.


Integrating Multimedia Models To Assess Nitrogen Losses From The Mississippi River Basin To The Gulf Of Mexico, Ruoyu Wang Nov 2018

Integrating Multimedia Models To Assess Nitrogen Losses From The Mississippi River Basin To The Gulf Of Mexico, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

This study describes and implements an integrated, multimedia, process-based system-level approach to estimating nitrogen (N) fate and transport in large river basins. The modeling system includes the following components: (1) Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ), (2) Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), (3) Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC), and (4) Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The previously developed Fertilizer Emission Scenario Tool for CMAQ (FEST-C), an advanced user interface, integrated EPIC with the WRF model and CMAQ. The FEST-C system, driven by process-based WRF weather simulations, includes atmospheric N additions to agricultural cropland and agricultural cropland contributions to ammonia emissions. This study focuses …


Predication Of The Sources Of Particulate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In China With Distinctive Characteristics Based On Multivariate Analysis, Ruoyu Wang May 2018

Predication Of The Sources Of Particulate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In China With Distinctive Characteristics Based On Multivariate Analysis, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

Particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have the characteristics of high carcinogenicitydegradation resistance, and long-distance transport. It is necessary to determine the critical sources that contribute to PAHs in atmospheric particulatematter (PM), soils, and sediments. In the present study, particulate PAHs were collected from Chinese cooking, biomass combustion, waste incineration, coal combustion, and petroleum combustion in different regions of the Chinese mainland. Through linear regression analysis, the relationships have been investigated between different measurement units, including the mass of particulate PAHs per mass of particle matter, mass of particulate PAHs per volume of …


Resilience Is A Property Of A System And A Network, Igor Linkov, Benjamin D. Trump, Jeffrey Keisler Feb 2018

Resilience Is A Property Of A System And A Network, Igor Linkov, Benjamin D. Trump, Jeffrey Keisler

Jeffrey Keisler

This e-Letter, available at http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6379/986/tab-e-letters, responds to the Science special issue on resilience. We argue that it in order to move from understanding resilience toward improving it, it is useful to incorporate not just the systems perspective, but also that of network science.


Harnessing Wastewater For Renewable Energy (2013-2), Aaron Adalja, Chalida U-Tapao Nov 2017

Harnessing Wastewater For Renewable Energy (2013-2), Aaron Adalja, Chalida U-Tapao

Aaron Adalja

This case study explores the options for using wastewater to produce renewable energy in the context of a public wastewater treatment plant. It provides an opportunity for students to synthesize knowledge from resource economics, engineering, environmental science, agriculture, and public policy to develop a transdisciplinary approach to a socio-environmental issue. The case is designed for upper division undergraduate courses in resource economics or environmental engineering, but several modifications are provided graduate course applications. Students assume the role of a newly hired analyst at a consulting firm in Washington, DC, that specializes in renewable energy solutions. They are charged with proposing …


Assessing Public Health Burden Associated With Exposure To Ambient Black Carbon In The United States, Ying Li, Daven K. Henze, Darby Jack, Barron H. Henderson, Patrick L. Kinney Apr 2017

Assessing Public Health Burden Associated With Exposure To Ambient Black Carbon In The United States, Ying Li, Daven K. Henze, Darby Jack, Barron H. Henderson, Patrick L. Kinney

Ying Li

Black carbon (BC) is a significant component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, which has been linked to a series of adverse health effects, in particular premature mortality. Recent scientific research indicates that BC also plays an important role in climate change. Therefore, controlling black carbon emissions provides an opportunity for a double dividend. This study quantifies the national burden of mortality and morbidity attributable to exposure to ambient BC in the United States (US). We use GEOS–Chem, a global 3-D model of atmospheric composition to estimate the 2010 annual average BC levels at 0.5 x 0.667° resolution, and …


Bringing Football Back To Los Angeles, Gabriel Leiner Jul 2015

Bringing Football Back To Los Angeles, Gabriel Leiner

Gabriel Leiner

Identifying a suitable parcel for a large scale professional football stadium in the greater Los Angeles, CA area, which does not conflict with current uses, environmental protection codes, or airspace rights, and also has adequate transportation access and nearby populated neighborhoods.


Dis And Distributed Watershed Models I, Jurgen Garbrecht, Fred L. Ogden, Paul A. Debarry, David R. Maidment Jun 2015

Dis And Distributed Watershed Models I, Jurgen Garbrecht, Fred L. Ogden, Paul A. Debarry, David R. Maidment

Fred L. Ogden

The increasing proliferation of spatial data, geographic information systems (GIS), and models for hydrologic applications provide many new investigation opportunities but also present a number of challenges for the uninitiated water resources practitioner. This two-part paper is intended for the practicing engineer who wants to expand into the arena of spatial data and distributed watershed modeling. It provides an integrated overview of the multiple facets of data-GIS-modeling issues and a source of background information for selection and application of GIS in watershed modeling. This first paper addresses selected spatial data issues, data structures and projections, data sources, and information on …


Zespół Energii Odnawialnej I Zrównoważonego Rozwoju (Eozr), Wojciech M. Budzianowski Dec 2014

Zespół Energii Odnawialnej I Zrównoważonego Rozwoju (Eozr), Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

No abstract provided.


Wastewater Treatment And Management At Oil Shale Plants, R. E. Hicks, R. F. Probstein, I. Wei, D. S. Farrier, J. Lotwala, T. E. Phillips Jan 2014

Wastewater Treatment And Management At Oil Shale Plants, R. E. Hicks, R. F. Probstein, I. Wei, D. S. Farrier, J. Lotwala, T. E. Phillips

Irvine W. Wei

Laboratory tests have shown that the major wastewater streams produced during oil shale retorting can in principle be treated to a quality suitable for reuse within the plant. The wastewater stream condensed from the retort gases, here called the gas condensate, contains primarily dissolved gases (NH3, CO2 and some H2S) and organics as contaminants. In batch stripping tests it was found that the organics, which may be present at concentrations of up to 5,000 mg/l measured as COD, are volatile and can be stripped along with the ammonia down to about 500 mg/l COD. Retort waters, or wastewater streams that …


Dynamics Of Breakpoint Chlorination, Irvine Wei, J. Carrell Morris Jan 2014

Dynamics Of Breakpoint Chlorination, Irvine Wei, J. Carrell Morris

Irvine W. Wei

No abstract provided.


Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part Ii, Dechlorination Kinetics, Somnath Basu, Venkat Sreenivasan, Irvine W. Wei Jan 2014

Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part Ii, Dechlorination Kinetics, Somnath Basu, Venkat Sreenivasan, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Laboratory investigation has shown that Fenton's Reagent is a very effective oxidant for 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (TCP). The authors reported the first phase of this research, consisting of five different reactions of Fenton's Reagent on TCP, at the 1995 AIChE Summer National Meeting in Boston as Part I of this paper. The results demonstrated total removal of TCP, with almost complete release of aromatic ring bound chlorine atoms into chloride ions, significant reduction of TOC, and very importantly, significant toxicity reduction compared to the original substrate. These results suggested that Fenton's Reaction can be considered as a candidate process for treatment of …


Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part Iv, Reaction Mechanism And Kinetics, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei Jan 2014

Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part Iv, Reaction Mechanism And Kinetics, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

No abstract provided.


Evaluation Of Chlorine Emission Potential At The New Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, Somnath Basu, Kenneth Shilinsky, Irvine Wei Jan 2014

Evaluation Of Chlorine Emission Potential At The New Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, Somnath Basu, Kenneth Shilinsky, Irvine Wei

Irvine W. Wei

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is currently constructing a 1,200 million gallon per day secondary wastewater treatment facility on Deer Island, in Boston Harbor. Chlorine, in the form of sodium hypochlorite solution, is purchased and barged to Deer Island for use in both effluent disinfection and odor scrubbing. The Process Engineering Department of Deer Island, as part of its on-going cost effectiveness program, is currently evaluating on-site generation of sodium hypochlorite. The technical analysis includes a thorough examination of the chemistry of production and storage, including potential losses to atmosphere. This paper presents an overview of that examination, defines …


Uv Disinfection Of Treated Wastewater Effluent: Influence Of Color, Reactivation And Regrowth Of Coliform Bacteria, Somnath Basu, Jack Page, Irvine Wei Jan 2014

Uv Disinfection Of Treated Wastewater Effluent: Influence Of Color, Reactivation And Regrowth Of Coliform Bacteria, Somnath Basu, Jack Page, Irvine Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Disinfection is a very important unit process to deactivate coliform bacteria in treated wastewater. However, regrowth potential of coliform bacteria raises human health and safety concerns associated with reuse of treated wastewater in various applications. Both post chlorination and post UV disinfection regrowth have been reported in the literature. In view of increasing use of recycled wastewater for reuse, it is necessary to address this phenomenon from both technical and regulatory standpoints. A case study of fecal coliform regrowth in a full scale operating plant is reported here. This is expected to aid in further understanding of the phenomenon and …


A Conceptual Continuous Process For The Treatment And Toxicity Reduction Of Wastewater Contaminated With 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol: Extended Abstract, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei Jan 2014

A Conceptual Continuous Process For The Treatment And Toxicity Reduction Of Wastewater Contaminated With 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol: Extended Abstract, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Fenton's Reagent is an aqueous solution of ferrous ions and hydrogen peroxide. Through laboratory experiments Fenton's Reagent has been shown to be an excellent treatment agent for the removal of organic contaminants dissolved in water. It carries out oxidative degradation of various organic substrates using the principle of advanced chemical oxidation. This is an excellent alternate route for the removal of hazardous and toxic chemicals, which are recalcitrant to biological treatment. The authors of this paper conducted an extensive laboratory investigation to study the degradation of 2,4,6- Trichlorophenol (TCP) using Fenton's Reagent, reported elsewhere. The results indicated an optimum H₂O₂:TCP …


Computer Simulation Of Lime-Soda Water Softening Process, J. C. Y. Chen, I. W. Wei Jan 2014

Computer Simulation Of Lime-Soda Water Softening Process, J. C. Y. Chen, I. W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

No abstract provided.


Upflow Anaerobic Filter With Dual Media: A Novel Concept, K. Jain, I. Wei, A. Panchal, N. Varandani Jan 2014

Upflow Anaerobic Filter With Dual Media: A Novel Concept, K. Jain, I. Wei, A. Panchal, N. Varandani

Irvine W. Wei

To overcome two of the main problems intrinsic to upflow anaerobic filters using single media--clogging and biomass washout--a new strategy consisting of two different media is studied. The study is to evaluate the performance of Dual Media Upflow Anaerobic Filter (DM UAF), a novel wastewater treatment unit using synthetic waste as well as primary treated effluent of Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), Vatva, India, operated by The Green Environment Services Co-Operative Society Ltd. and also to compare the performance of DM UAF with Single media UAF on a laboratory scale. Biokinetics of DM UAF was also determined. A 14.45 L …


Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part I, Kuang-Wei (Stone) Chen, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei Jan 2014

Advanced Chemical Oxidation And Toxicity Reduction Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent: Part I, Kuang-Wei (Stone) Chen, Somnath Basu, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

The objective of this study is to exmnine the removal of a priority chlorinated aromatic pollutant, 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (TCP), in aqueous solution by using Fenton's Reagent (a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ferrous iron catalyst). Chlorinated phenols are priority pollutants, regulated by stringent discharge litnits. The presence of chlorine increases the toxicity of these phenolic compounds and decreases their biodegradability. Therefore, the processes of oxidation and dechlorination of chlorinated phenols by using Fenton's Reagent were employed in this study. Experiments were conducted in one-liter stirred batch reactors at 20°C. Three parallel reactors were used for reactions between 0.25 mM 2,4,6-TCP and …


An Assessment Of The Water Distribution System In The City Of Medford, Massachusetts, Yogesh Jitoo, Irvine Wei, Thomas R. Morgan, Donald Ouellette Jan 2014

An Assessment Of The Water Distribution System In The City Of Medford, Massachusetts, Yogesh Jitoo, Irvine Wei, Thomas R. Morgan, Donald Ouellette

Irvine W. Wei

The objective of this paper is to present the analysis of the water distribution system for the City of Medford, Massachusetts to identify areas of pressure deficiency. H₂OMAP Water Suite, modeling software, was used to assess the system, and using the calibrated hydraulic model of the water distribution system, the current available fire flows were compared to the required fire flows as determined by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) in 2002. Further, the influence of improvements made by the City to the distribution system from 2002 through 2004 to meet the required fire flows was evaluated. The model was also …


Water Management In Oil Shale Production, R. Edwin Hicks, Ronald F. Probstein, Irvine Wei Jan 2014

Water Management In Oil Shale Production, R. Edwin Hicks, Ronald F. Probstein, Irvine Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Material balance calculations for several proposed oil shale processes have been made and show that water requirements vary from 2 to 5 times the product oil rate. Wastewater is produced at from one-third to 1.5 times the product oil rate and may be treated and used to offset the source water requirement. Water management schemes are used to show the degree of treatment required for each type of wastewater. Conceptual designs of treatment trains, based on laboratory investigations of reverse osmosis, resin adsorption, biological oxidation and steam stripping processes on actual wastewaters, show that water management costs range from 60¢ …


Zakład Termicznego Przekształcania Odpadów Komunalnych W Krakowie – Założenia Projektowe I Stan Realizacji Budowy, Mateusz Rzeszutek, Robert Oleniacz Nov 2013

Zakład Termicznego Przekształcania Odpadów Komunalnych W Krakowie – Założenia Projektowe I Stan Realizacji Budowy, Mateusz Rzeszutek, Robert Oleniacz

Robert Oleniacz

The aim of this paper is to discuss the design assumptions and to determine the current status of the construction of the Municipal Solid Waste Thermal Treatment Plant (ZTPOK) in Krakow with a capacity of 220 thousand tons per year. This plant, planned to be built by the end of 2015 years, will be an important element of municipal waste management system in the area of the Municipality of Krakow. ZTPOK in Krakow will consist of the following installations: two lines of municipal solid waste incinerators based on moving grate technology, an installation of chemical solidification and stabilization of fly …


Enhanced Adaptive Management: Integrating Decision Analysis, Scenario Analysis And Environmental Modeling For The Everglades, Matteo Convertino, Christy Foran, Jeffrey Keisler, Lynn Scarlett, Andrew Loschiavo, Greg Kiker, Igor Linkov Sep 2013

Enhanced Adaptive Management: Integrating Decision Analysis, Scenario Analysis And Environmental Modeling For The Everglades, Matteo Convertino, Christy Foran, Jeffrey Keisler, Lynn Scarlett, Andrew Loschiavo, Greg Kiker, Igor Linkov

Jeffrey Keisler

We propose to enhance existing adaptive management efforts with a decision-analytical approach that can
guide the initial selection of robust restoration alternative plans and inform the need to adjust these
alternatives in the course of action based on continuously acquired monitoring information and changing
stakeholder values. We demonstrate an application of enhanced adaptive management for a wetland
restoration case study inspired by the Florida Everglades restoration effort. We find that alternatives
designed to reconstruct the pre-drainage flow may have a positive ecological impact, but may also have high
operational costs and only marginally contribute to meeting other objectives such as …


Pilot Study Of Greater Boston Drinking Water Quality Changes - Impacts Of Ozonation And Distribution System, Irvine W. Wei, Xin (Cindy) Huang, Windsor Sung Aug 2013

Pilot Study Of Greater Boston Drinking Water Quality Changes - Impacts Of Ozonation And Distribution System, Irvine W. Wei, Xin (Cindy) Huang, Windsor Sung

Irvine W. Wei

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) provides drinking water to 2.2 million people in Greater Boston. To ensure good water quality without filtration, the MWRA is about to replace chlorination with ozonation as the primary disinfection at the new Walnut Hill Water Treatment Plant, scheduled to be on-line in 2005. The objective of this study was to understand the influence of ozonation on monochloramine decay and pH change in the MWRA system. The influence of the distribution system, which consists of old cast-iron pipes, on the ozonated water was also investigated. A pilot plant, including a simulated distribution system with …


Cyclic Heating To Inhibit Bacterial Growth In Activated Carbon Point-Of-Use Treatment Devices, Irwin Silverstein, Irvine W. Wei Aug 2013

Cyclic Heating To Inhibit Bacterial Growth In Activated Carbon Point-Of-Use Treatment Devices, Irwin Silverstein, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

The effectiveness of using heat treatment on a cyclic basis as a means of inhibiting bacterial growth in activated carbon point-of-use treatment devices was examined. Heat treated and non-heat treated devices were compared in a controlled experiment with respect to parameters such as standard plate count, total organic carbon, total residual chlorine and head loss. The results of the study indicated that cyclic heat treatment can inhibit bacterial growth on the surface of granular activated carbon without compromising total organic carbon and total residual chlorine removal efficiencies or accelerating head loss. Microbiological testing verified that the control device had become …


Advanced Chemical Oxidation Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent - Dechlorination And Toxicity Reduction, Kuang-Wei (Stone) Chen, Irvine W. Wei Aug 2013

Advanced Chemical Oxidation Of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol By Using Fenton's Reagent - Dechlorination And Toxicity Reduction, Kuang-Wei (Stone) Chen, Irvine W. Wei

Irvine W. Wei

Chlorinated phenols are priority pollutants, regulated by stringent discharge limits. The presence of chlorine increases the toxicity of these phenolic compounds and decreases their biodegradability. This study is to examine the removal of a priority chlorinated aromatic pollutant, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), in aqueous solution by using Fenton's Reagent (a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and fenous iron catalyst), in terms of dechlorination and toxicity reduction. Test results indicate that the higher the molar ratio of H₂O₂ to TCP, the faster the release of chloride from TCP. However, the chloride released in all runs eventually approach the same level of theoretical chloride concentration, …