Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Developing A Colorimetric Membrane Sensor To Detect Trihalomethanes In Water Samples Utilizing The Fujiwara Reaction, Max D. Duckworth

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This work focused on creating a colorimetric sensor to detect trihalomethanes (THMs) at concentrations near the level of environmental regulations from the environmental protection agency (EPA). This work utlized the fujiwara reaction as well as a hydrophobic electrospun polyprolylene membrane to produce a sensitive colorimetric reaction. A calibration curve was produced which was able to predict the concentration of a bromoroform solution in the range of 8-250 ppb with a confidence of 97.7 % using the intensity of the color change as a quantitative measure.

Eco-Design Integration Into New Product Development Processes: Comparison Between Lca Software And Cad-Integrated Tools, Maria I. Hernandez Dalmau

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

The constant growth of environmental concerns and in order to satisfy the increasing population demands, designers have started to integrate eco-design parameters in early design stages. The technological development that happened in the last decade has started to integrate LCA methods within CAD tools, allowing non-geometric data to be integrated in a typical geometrical model. The main research interest of this thesis is focused on the evaluation of the use of these emerging CAD tools, as tools capable to evaluate the futures environmental impacts of products and processes. This thesis studies through three comparative case studies if SolidWorks Sustainability as …

Utilizing Ultrasonic Technology To Manage Algal Blooms In Lake Rockwell, Mackenzie Kaser, Andrew Perdue

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of ultrasonic technology to manage algal blooms in Lake Rockwell. Lake Rockwell is the drinking water source for the city of Akron, OH and the surrounding areas. One of the main issues facing the City of Akron Water Treatment Plant is cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria releases toxins, which makes conventional water treatment processes more difficult. Our proposed solution to manage algal blooms in Lake Rockwell is ultrasonic technology. This system emits vibrations that destroy the algal cells and prevent new blooms from forming. Our plan involves three master buoys …

Environmentally Friendly Propylene Epoxidation Process Using Silver Catalysts, Sijia Li, Zheng Lu, Justin Ikerman

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

High Temperature Helical Tubular Receiver For Concentrating Solar Power System, Nazmul Hossain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the field of conventional cleaner power generation technology, concentrating solar power systems have introduced remarkable opportunity. In a solar power tower, solar energy concentrated by the heliostats at a single point produces very high temperature. Falling solid particles or heat transfer fluid passing through that high temperature region absorbs heat to generate electricity. Increasing the residence time will result in more heat gain and increase efficiency. A novel design of solar receiver for both fluid and solid particle is approached in this paper which can increase residence time resulting in higher temperature gain in one cycle compared to conventional …

Wind Farm Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms, Carlos Marco Ituarte-Villarreal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, the wind power industry has focused its efforts on solving the Wind Farm Layout Optimization (WFLO) problem. Wind resource assessment is a pivotal step in optimizing the wind-farm design and siting and, in determining whether a project is economically feasible or not. In the present work, three (3) different optimization methods are proposed for the solution of the WFLO: (i) A modified Viral System Algorithm applied to the optimization of the proper location of the components in a wind-farm to maximize the energy output given a stated wind environment of the site. The optimization problem is formulated …

Robust Estimates Of Soil Moisture And Latent Heat Flux Coupling Strength Obtained From Triple Collocation, Wade T. Crow, Fangni Lei, Christopher R. Hain, Martha C. Anderson, Russell L. Scott, David P. Billesbach, Timothy Arkebauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Land surface models (LSMs) are often applied to predict the one-way coupling strength between surface soil moisture (SM) and latent heat (LH) flux. However, the ability of LSMs to accurately represent such coupling has not been adequately established. Likewise, the estimation of SM/LH coupling strength using ground-based observational data is potentially compromised by the impact of independent SM and LH measurements errors. Here we apply a new statistical technique to acquire estimates of one-way SM/LH coupling strength which are nonbiased in the presence of random error using a triple collocation approach based on leveraging the simultaneous availability of independent SM …

Using Swat To Simulate Crop Yields And Salinity Levels In The North Fork River Basin, Usa, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Daniel E. Storm, Art L. Stoecker

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Crop yields and salinity levels in the North Fork of the Red River (North Fork River) basin, located in southwestern Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, were analyzed based on the diverse climate in the region. Saline irrigation water is a major problem in the basin. The Elm Fork Creek flows through salt deposits, making the creek and its receiving stream, the North Fork River, too saline to use for irrigation. This greatly reduces the number of hectares that can be utilized for agricultural crops within the basin. A baseline SWAT model was setup, calibrated and validated to simulate streamflow and …

Identifying Intracellular Pdna Losses From A Model Of Nonviral Gene Delivery, Timothy Michael Martin, Beata Joanna Wysocki, Tadeusz Antoni Wysocki, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nonviral gene delivery systems are a type of nanocommunication system that transmit plasmid packets (i.e., pDNA packets) that are programmed at the nanoscale to biological systems at the microscopic cellular level. This engineered nanocommunication system suffers large pDNA losses during transmission of the genetically encoded information, preventing its use in biotechnological and medical applications. The pDNA losses largely remain uncharacterized, and the ramifications of reducing pDNA loss from newly designed gene delivery systems remain difficult to predict. Here, the pDNA losses during primary and secondary transmission chains were identified utilizing a MATLAB model employing queuing theory simulating delivery of pEGFPLuc …

Narrow Grass Hedges Reduce Tylosin And Associated Antimicrobial Resistance Genes In Agricultural Runoff, Bhavneet Soni, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, John E. Gilley, Bryan Woodbury, David B. Marx, Xu Li

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Agricultural runoff from areas receiving livestock manure can potentially contaminate surface water with antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of narrow grass hedges (NGHs) on reducing the transport of antimicrobials and ARGs in runoff after land application of swine manure slurry. Plot-scale rainfall simulation tests were conducted on 0.75 m by 4.0 m plots designed to test three treatment factors: manure amendment (control plots receiving no manure vs. amended plots receiving manure based on 3 times N requirement), NGH (plots with a NGH vs. plots without a NGH), and rainfall …

Surface Energy Balance, Evapotranspiration, And Surface Coefficients During Non-Growing Season In A Maize-Soybean Cropping System, Lameck O. Odhiambo, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Surface energy balance components, including actual evapotranspiration (ET), were measured in a reducedtill maize-soybean field in south central Nebraska during three consecutive non-growing seasons (2006/2007, 2007/2008, and 2008/2009). The relative fractions of the energy balance components were compared across the non-growing seasons, and surface coefficients (K_c) were determined as a ratio of measured ET to estimated alfalfa (ET_r) and grass (ET_o) reference ET (ET_ref). The non-growing season following a maize crop had 25% to 35% more field surface covered with crop residue as compared to the non-growing seasons following soybean crops. Net …

Temporal Endogenous Gene Expression Profiles In Response To Lipid-Mediated Transfection, Timothy M. Martin, Sarah A. Plautz, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background — Design of efficient nonviral gene delivery systems is limited as a result of the rudimentary understanding of the specific molecules and processes that facilitate DNA transfer.

Methods — Lipoplexes formed with Lipofectamine 2000 (LF2000) and plasmid-encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) were delivered to the HEK 293T cell line. After treating cells with lipoplexes, HG-U133 Affymetrix microarrays were used to identify endogenous genes differentially expressed between treated and untreated cells (2 h exposure) or between flow-separated transfected cells (GFP+) and treated, untransfected cells (GFP–) at 8, 16 and 24 h after lipoplex treatment. Cell priming studies were conducted using …

Temporal Endogenous Gene Expression Profiles In Response To Polymer-Mediated Transfection And Profile Comparison To Lipid-Mediated Transfection, Timothy M. Martin, Sarah A. Plautz, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background Design of efficient nonviral gene delivery systems is limited by the rudimentary understanding of specific molecules that facilitate transfection.

Methods Polyplexes using 25-kDa polyethylenimine (PEI) and plasmid encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) were delivered to HEK 293T cells. After treating cells with polyplexes, microarrays were used to identify endogenous genes differentially expressed between treated and untreated cells (2 h of exposure) or between flow-separated transfected cells (GFP+) and treated, untransfected cells (GFP–) at 8, 16 and 24 h after lipoplex treatment. Cell priming studies were conducted using pharmacologic agents to alter endogenous levels of the identified differentially expressed genes …

Vulnerability Of Crops And Native Grasses To Summer Drying In The U.S. Southern Great Plains, Naama Raz-Yaseef, Dave P. Billesbach, Marc L. Fischer, Sebastien C. Biraud, Stacey A. Gunter, James A. Bradford, Margaret S. Torn

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The Southern Great Plains are characterized by a fine-scale mixture of different land-cover types, predominantly winter-wheat and grazed pasture, with relatively small areas of other crops, native prairie, and switchgrass. Recent droughts and predictions of increased drought in the Southern Great Plains, especially during the summer months, raise concern for these ecosystems. We measured ecosystem carbon and water fluxes with eddy-covariance systems over cultivated cropland for 10 years, and over lightly grazed prairie and new switchgrass fields for 2 years each. Growing-season precipitation showed the strongest control over net carbon uptake for all ecosystems, but with a variable effect: grasses …

A Sustainable Slashing Industry Using Biodegradable Sizes From Modified Soy Protein To Replace Petro-Based Poly(Vinyl Alcohol), Yi Zhao, Yuzhu Zhao, Helan Xu, Yiqi Yang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Biodegradable sizing agents from triethanolamine (TEA) modified soy protein could substitute poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) sizes for high-speed weaving of polyester and polyester/cotton yarns to substantially decrease environmental pollution and impel sustainability of textile industry. Nonbiodegradable PVA sizes are widely used and mainly contribute to high chemical oxygen demand (COD) in textile effluents. It has not been possible to effectively degrade, reuse or replace PVA sizes so far. Soy protein with good biodegradability showed potential as warp sizes in our previous studies. However, soy protein sizes lacked film flexibility and adhesion for required high-speed weaving. Additives with multiple hydroxyl groups, nonlinear molecule, …

Sustainable And Hydrolysis-Free Dyeing Process For Polylactic Acid Using Nonaqueous Medium, Suxin Xu, Jiangang Chen, Bijia Wang, Yiqi Yang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A sustainable and hydrolysis-free dyeing process was developed for polylactic acid (PLA) fibers. PLA is a biobased alternative to petroleum based polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the most widely used textile fiber. However, the hydrolytic degradation of PLA fibers under the conventional aqueous dyeing conditions limited its applications in textile industry. A new solvent dyeing process was developed using liquid paraffin as a nonaqueous dyeing medium. High quality dyed PLA fabrics were obtained without consuming water and auxiliaries. Minimal strength loss of dyed fibers was achieved by postheat setting treatment. The 3R principle (reduce, reuse, and recycle) was implemented to …

Robust And Flexible Films From 100% Starch Cross-Linked By Biobased Disaccharide Derivative, Helan Xu, Hazal Canisag, Bingnan Mu, Yiqi Yang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this research, oxidized sucrose, a novel aldehyde-based green cross-linker, endowed starch films with substantial improvement in both tensile strength and elongation, whereas many other cross-linkers did not. Starch films are usually weak, brittle, and highly moisture sensitive, and thus have restricted industrial applications. Cross-linking is one of the most common methods to tackle these problems. However, most of the available cross-linkers are either toxic, expensive, or with low cross-linking efficiencies. Oxidized sucrose is a green cross-linker with multiple aldehyde groups per molecule to cross-link starch molecules via forming hemiacetals/acetals. The starch films cross-linked with oxidized sucrose had tensile strength …

Chitosan-Alginate Scaffold Cell Culture System And Related Methods, Miqin Zhang, Forrest Kievit, Matthew Chi-Hang Leung, Stephen Florczyk

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Methods for culturing cancer cells in vitro using a three dimensional scaffold, scaffolds that include the cultured cancer cells, and methods for using the cultured cancer cells and the scaffolds that include the cultured cancer cells in anticancer therapeutic drug development.

Bionanotechnology And The Future Of Glioma, Peter A. Chiarelli, Forrest M. Kievit, Miqin Zhang, Richard G. Ellenbogen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Designer nanoscaled materials have the potential to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment for glioma. This review summarizes current progress in nanoparticle‑based therapies for glioma treatment including targeting, drug delivery, gene delivery, and direct tumor ablation. Preclinical and current human clinical trials are discussed. Although progress in the field has been significant over the past decade, many successful strategies demonstrated in the laboratory have yet to be implemented in human clinical trials. Looking forward, we provide examples of combined treatment strategies, which harness the potential for nanoparticles to interact with their biochemical environment, and simultaneously with externally applied photons or magnetic fields. …

Nanoparticle Mediated Silencing Of Dna Repair Sensitizes Pediatric Brain Tumor Cells To Y-Irradiation, Forrest M. Kievit, Zachary R. Stephen, Kui Wang, Christopher J. Dayringer, Jonathan G. Sham, Richard G. Ellenbogen, John R. Silber, Miqin Zhang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Medulloblastoma (MB) and ependymoma (EP) are the most common pediatric brain tumors, afflicting 3000 children annually. Radiotherapy (RT) is an integral component in the treatment of these tumors; however, the improvement in survival is often accompanied by radiation-induced adverse developmental and psychosocial sequelae. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop strategies that can increase the sensitivity of brain tumors cells to RT while sparing adjacent healthy brain tissue. Apurinic endonuclease 1 (Ape1), an enzyme in the base excision repair pathway, has been implicated in radiation resistance in cancer. Pharmacological and specificity limitations inherent to small molecule inhibitors of Ape1 …