Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Differences In Waste Generation, Waste Composition, And Source Separation Across Three Waste Districts In A New York Suburb, Omkar Aphale, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Six tonnes of discards and recyclables from three waste districts in a New York suburb were sorted in 2012. The districts were chosen because one had a higher recycling percentage, one had median performance, and one was a low performing district. ASTM standards were followed for the waste composition sorting. The results showed, as expected, that the waste district with the highest recycling rate appeared to have the highest separation efficiencies, leading to greater amounts of recyclable materials being source separated. The waste districts also had different overall waste generation, both in terms of the amounts of wastes generated, and …

A Management Framework For Municipal Solid Waste Systems And Its Application To Food Waste Prevention, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Waste management is a complex task involving numerous waste fractions, a range of technological treatment options, and many outputs that are circulated back to society. A systematic, interdisciplinary systems management framework was developed to facilitate the planning, implementation, and maintenance of sustainable waste systems. It aims not to replace existing decision-making approaches, but rather to enable their integration to allow for inclusion of overall sustainability concerns and address the complexity of solid waste management. The framework defines key considerations for system design, steps for performance monitoring, and approaches for facilitating continual system improvements. It was developed by critically examining the …

Quantification Of Food Waste Disposal In The United States: A Meta-Analysis, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes, Jessica Gurevitch

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Food waste has major consequences for social, nutritional, economic, and environmental issues, and yet the amount of food waste disposed in the U.S. has not been accurately quantified. We introduce the transparent and repeatable methods of meta-analysis and systematic reviewing to determine how much food is discarded in the U.S., and to determine if specific factors drive increased disposal. The aggregate proportion of food waste in U.S. municipal solid waste from 1995 to 2013 was found to be 0.147 (95% CI 0.137-0.157) of total waste, which is lower than that estimated by USEPA for the same period (0.176). The proportion …

Sustainable Disposal Of Coal Processing Waste Streams, Mohammad Rezaee

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Modern coal preparation facilities incorporate a wide array of solid-solid and solid-liquid separation processes for rejecting mineral matter to meet market specifications. The coarse mineral matter is typically placed into engineered refuse piles whereas the fine refuse is either stored in impoundments or co-disposed with the coarse refuse. The discharge water from the refuse material represents an environmental concern due to the potential release of trace elements, and the subsequent elevation of total dissolved solids and conductivity. The research findings reported in this dissertation addresses sustainable coal processing waste disposal through using strategies aimed at minimizing the environmental impacts. To …

Polychlorinated Biphenyl Source Identification In Fish Tissue Using A Multivariate Statistical Evaluation Of Congeners And Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry, William Edward Corl Iii

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were commercially produced mixtures primarily utilized as dielectric fluids in the electrical industry. However, due to their stability, they were widely used in many other applications. Although production of PCBs ceased in the 1970's, they continue to be a contaminant in the environment due to their widespread use, their recalcitrant behavior, and their proposed toxicological effects.

In 2008, a routine environmental investigation of an abandoned, concrete-lined pool at a Department of Defense (DoD) training facility in Williamsburg, Virginia led to the discovery of a PCB release from the facility into an adjacent reservoir. A forensic study was …

Sustainable River-Basin Salinity Management: Treatment Of Natural Brine Springs For Recovery Of Purified Sodium Chloride And Other Valuable Minerals, Priscilla L. Sandoval

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A treatment process was developed to extract sodium chloride salt, via evaporation, from high-salinity natural brine springs. The source of the brine studied in this project is watershed of the Salt Fork of the Brazos River in Texas. When evaporation is applied to the brine, various impurities precipitate along with the sodium chloride salt (halite). Therefore, a treatment was developed in order to produce a valuable, high-purity salt product. The treatment consists of pretreating the brine with sodium carbonate and hydrochloric acid to for softening and decarbonation. After evaporation, a brine wash post-treatment process was employed to increase the purity …

An Investigation Into Bacterial Contamination In An Urban Nebraska Stream Using Microbial Source Tracking, Allison R. Speicher

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High levels of fecal bacteria in surface waters are a public health concern due to the enteric illnesses caused by primary contact with these waters. Shortcomings in the current fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) monitoring approach and the ubiquity of pathogen-impaired water bodies has led to the development of microbial source tracking (MST), a molecular tool that can identify potential fecal contamination sources. In this study we use a bacterial community based approach examining the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene to elucidate sources of fecal bacteria in Antelope Creek, an urban creek in Lincoln Nebraska.

We hypothesized that sediment …

A Technical And Cultural Feasibility Assessment Of Household Microbial Fuel Cells For Use In Hanan'g District, Tanzania, Erinn Kunik

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an emerging electricity generation technology that has the potential for use in developing countries. This study assessed the feasibility of using MFCs in Tanzania through technical analysis of a MFC prototype alongside with interviews with Tanzanians for a cultural feasibility assessment of MFCs. For the technical analysis, this study evaluated the inputs needed for a household MFC to operate and produce electricity with cattle manure as a fuel and evaluated the electrochemical and chemical performance as well as the fecal coliform reduction of the manure during MFC operation. For this study, a MFC was built …

Pathogen Indicator Monitoring In The Ross Barnett Reservoir, Hannie Quay Parker Capps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Man-made reservoirs are often used for both water supply and recreation. The Ross Barnett Reservoir in central Mississippi, a 33,000-acre man-made lake, provides drinking water to the city of Jackson, MS, and forty-eight surrounding communities. Further, an estimated 2.5 million people visit the Reservoir each year for recreational purposes, including boating, fishing, water-skiing, and swimming. Protecting the water quality in the Reservoir is important for these visitors and inhabitants along the shoreline, and for these reasons, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected it as a Priority Watershed in Mississippi. Presently, there is a concern regarding recent data collected that …

Autotrophic Ammonia Oxidation Activity Of Ammonia Oxidizing Archaea And Bacteria In Recirculating Aquaculture System, Iftita Rahmatika

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Ammonia oxidation is the important biological step in nitrogen removal in aquaculture system of shrimp production. This process is driven by the ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and the newly discovered ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA). In this study, the abundances, communities and autotrophic ammonia oxidation activity of AOA and AOB in the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) were investigated. Bioballs were sampled from the low and high salinity RAS (0 and 20 PPT, respectively). The abundance of AOA and AOB amoA genes were monitored for 5 months with qPCR. The abundance of AOA amoA genes was 2-700 times higher than AOB in …

การประเมินคาร์บอนฟุตพริ้นท์องค์กรและวิเคราะห์แนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจกที่เหมาะสม กรณีศึกษาโรงงานปิโตรเคมีขั้นกลางในประเทศไทย, จิราภรณ์ ธรรมเนียมอินทร์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อประเมินคาร์บอนฟุตพริ้นท์องค์กรและประเมินแนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจก พร้อมทั้งเสนอแนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจกที่เหมาะสมกับโรงงานในกลุ่มอุตสาหกรรมปิโตรเคมีขั้นกลางในประเทศไทย งานวิจัยได้ศึกษาโรงงานตัวแทนทั้งหมด 6 โรงงาน ครอบคลุมผลิตภัณฑ์ 9 ผลิตภัณฑ์ (เอทิลีนออกไซด์ เอทิลีนไกลคอล ไวนิลคลอไรด์มอนอเมอร์ คิวมีน ฟีนอล แอซีโทน บิสฟีนอล เอ อีพิคลอโรไฮดริน และกรดเทเรฟทาลิกบริสุทธิ์) รวบรวมข้อมูลย้อนหลัง 3 ปี ตั้งแต่ พ.ศ.2555-2557 และแบ่งแหล่งกำเนิดก๊าซเรือนกระจกออกเป็น 2 ประเภท คือ การปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกทางตรงและทางอ้อม ผลการวิจัยพบว่าขนาดคาร์บอนฟุตพริ้นท์องค์กรของโรงงานตัวแทน มีค่าอยู่ในช่วง 70,253-570,307 t CO2eq ต่อปี ส่วนใหญ่มาจากการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกทางอ้อม โดยมีการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกสูดสุดมาจากการใช้ไฟฟ้าคิดเป็นร้อยละ 40 ของการปล่อยเรือนกระจกทั้งหมด รองมาด้วยการใช้ไอน้ำและการปล่อยคาร์บอนไดออกไซด์จากปฏิกิริยาในกระบวนการผลิต ค่าความเข้มคาร์บอนมีค่าอยู่ระหว่าง 0.269-1.101 t CO2eq/t product มีค่าความเข้มคาร์บอนเฉลี่ยเท่ากับ 0.425 t CO2eq/t product จากการวิเคราะห์มาตรการอนุรักษ์พลังงาน พบว่า มีศักยภาพในการลดปริมาณก๊าซเรือนกระจกได้ 166,820 t CO2eq คิดเป็นร้อยละ 3.89 ของการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกทั้งหมดของกลุ่มโรงงานตัวแทน โดยมาตรการประหยัดไอน้ำเป็นมาตรการที่สามารถลดการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกได้สูงสุด คิดเป็นร้อยละ 82.89 ของมาตรการที่ดำเนินการทั้งหมด สำหรับแนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจกมีความเหมาะสมและสามารถนำไปปรับใช้กับกลุ่มอุตสาหกรรมปิโตรเคมีขั้นกลาง แนะนำทั้งหมด 5 แนวทาง ประกอบด้วย (1) การเปลี่ยนแหล่งพลังงานทางอ้อม (2) การเพิ่มประสิทธิภาพการใช้พลังงานจากมาตรการอนุรักษ์พลังงาน (3) การจัดการก๊าซคาร์บอนไดออกไซด์จากปฏิกิริยาในกระบวนการผลิต (4) การปรับปรุงและพัฒนาเทคโนโลยีในกระบวนการผลิต และ (5) การปรับเปลี่ยนการใช้สารทำความเย็น

Design Optimization And Optical Characterization Of A High Temperature Solar Receiver, Samia Afrin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a fast forwarding technology in power generation sector because of its' competitive price, abundance in nature and the most important fact is its' energy storage capability. Among the four types of available CSP technology, central receiver has more potential concerning with high temperature, power block efficiency and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Other than conventional type of receiver design, the concept of this work is very particular in a sense of its design novelty.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) come up with a new concept of high temperature solar receiver called near black body (NBB) …

Salt And Mineral Recovery From High Salinity Waters, Osvaldo Alejandro Broesicke

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Natural salt springs in the Salt Fork Basin in Crosby County, Texas, result in the natural salt pollution of the Brazos River, rendering it unusable for most potable purposes. Previous research indicates that by intercepting the source of the pollution, water quality of the Brazos River can be greatly improved. This paper investigates and assesses two strategies for salt and mineral recovery using natural brine collected from the Salt Fork Basin, the first of which is presented in a separate work.

The research described in this paper evaluates the potential of a desulfation, soda-caustic softening, acidification/decarbonation, and evaporation process to …

Recovery Of Nutrient Nitrogen From Municipal Wastewater Residuals By Gas Membrane Separation, Evelyn Rios

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There are relatively high amounts of ammonia returned to the headworks of a municipal wastewater plant that are extracted from the dewatering process. This ammonia load contributes to a significant oxygen demand in the secondary treatment, requiring greater air blower energy costs. This goal of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of the recovery of an ammonium sulfate product from belt press filtrate. The objectives of this research were to: (1) analyze wastewater treatment average monthly data flows and constituents with respect to ammonia nitrification, (2) the evaluate the technical performance of a two sage gas-separation membrane for recovering …

Dispersion Modeling Of Nitrogen Dioxide (No2) And Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) From Backup Generators At Data Centers In Prineville, Oregon, Brooke E. Harmon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

As our society becomes increasingly dependent on digital communication (e.g., social media and email) and computerized storage (e.g., digitized medical records and government documents), tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Apple are constructing and managing an increasing number of massive Internet data centers. These data centers house a network’s most critical systems and are vital to the continuity of daily operations. Requiring as much electricity as a medium size city, data centers rely on complex auxiliary power systems to prevent disruption to service. These backup systems consist of tens of multi-megawatt diesel-powered generators that release combustion byproducts, including over …

Dynamic Effect Of Light And Turbulence On Algal Photosynthetic Rate: A Water-Quality Model, Andres R. Rivas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Several studies provide evidence that algal photosynthetic rates depend on various changing factors such as light attenuation, temperature, and nutrient limitation (Chapra, 1997). However, recent papers show that turbulence and photosynthetic rate dynamics is also important (Ross, 2006). In this study, the photosynthetic rate model used is the one proposed by Chapra (1997), where it depends directly on temperature, nutrient and light limitation factors. At the same time, the effect of turbulence or random-walk of algae particles in the water column was also introduced in this model. To account for this factor, the model added was that proposed by Ross …

Determining Soil Erosion With Varying Corn Stover Cover Factors, Nicole K. Koeninger

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Since the Dust Bowl, conservation agriculture has become a common practice globally. Because of the rising interest in the use of corn biomass as a feedstock for biofuel production, the effects of corn stover removal on soil erosion were explored. It was hypothesized that selective harvesting strategies would impact soil erosion differently across a variety of slopes. Soil erosion boxes were constructed, and a rainfall simulator with an intensity of 30 mm hr^-1 for 46 min was used to create runoff from slopes of 1, 5, and 10% and three cover factor treatments (no removal and two simulated corn …

Development Of Techniques For Assessing And Restoring Streams On Surface Mined Lands, Whitney Cole Blackburn-Lynch

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Surface mining is a commonly used method for extracting coal in the Appalachian Coalfields of the U.S. This mining practice produces excess spoil or overburden, which is often placed in adjacent valleys resulting in the creation of valley fills. These valley fills bury headwater streams, which in turn can negatively impact downstream ecosystems. In 2008, the University of Kentucky designed and constructed 1,020 m of ephemeral, intermittent and headwater streams on an existing valley fill (Guy Cove) as a proof-of-concept. The goal of the project was to evaluate whether or not a stream recreation could occur on mined lands, particularly …

Optimization Of Glycerol And Biodiesel Waste Prefermentation To Improve Ebpr, Marzieh Ghasemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process efficiency relies on different operational and process conditions especially the type of carbon source available in the wastewater. Acetic acid and propionic acid are the two major volatile fatty acids (VFAs) found in domestic wastewater which can drive biological phosphorus (P) removal to the desired level. However, often domestic wastewater does not have a sufficient amount of VFAs. Due to high acetate and propionate production-cost, it is not economic to add acetate and propionate directly in full-scale wastewater treatment plants. This brought up the idea of using external carbon sources (e. g. molasses …

Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Water Footprint Of Residential Waste Collection And Management Systems, Mousa Maimoun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three troublesome issues concerning residential curbside collection (RCC) and municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems in the United States motivated this research. First, reliance upon inefficient collection and scheduling procedures negatively affect RCC efficiency, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and cost. Second, the neglected impact of MSW management practices on water resources. Third, the implications of alternative fuels on the environmental and financial performance of waste collection where fuel plays a significant rule. The goal of this study was to select the best RCC program, MSW management practice, and collection fuel. For this study, field data were collected for RCC programs …