Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Using Laser Scanning Cytometry To Investigate The Transport Of Nano-Scale Particles In Porous Media, Ryan May

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

The increased production of nanomaterials in recent years has been unprecedented. Given their potential toxicity, understanding the mechanisms controlling the transport of nanoparticles in the subsurface is important. In this study, a technique was developed for using a Laser Scanning Cytometer (LSC) to visualize and quantify the stable attachment of nano-scale particles. Experiments using three different size particles, 510 nm, 210 nm and 57 nm, in conjunction with a flow cell system containing saturated glass beads under varied injection duration, solution chemistry, Darcy velocity and solids content were performed. A technique for using the LSC data to develop spatial distributions …

Unintended Consequences: Potential Downsides Of The Air Force's Conversion To Biofuels, Mark N. Goltz, Charles A. Bleckmann, Charles M. Mackay, Khai Vuong, Jerrod P. Mccomb

Faculty Publications

The desire to reduce US dependence on foreign energy, ongoing environmental concerns, and the rising cost of petroleum have sparked significant development of greener alternative and renewable energy sources such as alcohol-based biofuels. To address these issues, the Department of Defense DOD has moved to diminish its reliance on petroleum for fueling aircraft and ground equipment. The US Air Force, in alignment with DOD objectives, has initiated several goals for reducing its use of energy: (1) decrease the use of petroleum-based fuel by 2 percent annually for the vehicle fleet, (2) increase the use of alternative fuel in motor vehicles …

A Review Of Zero Discharge Wastewater Treatment Systems Using Reed Willow Bed Combinations In Ireland, Sean O'Hogain, Liam Mccarton, Anna Reid, John Turner

Articles

The concept of a reed willow bed combination has the potential to achieve a zero discharge wastewater treatment system. This paper will present results from a two year study to monitor the performance of a reed willow bed facility at Lynches Lane, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Outline design specifications for the facility will be presented. Monitoring results for a two year period including influent and effluent parameters, rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and soil classification will be presented and discussed. During the two year monitoring period the system achieved a zero discharge. This paper will discuss the potential widespread application of similar systems …

Validated Trnsys Model For Forced Circulation Solar Water Heating Systems With Flat Plate And Heat Pipe Evacuated Tube Collectors, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy, Sarah Mccormack, Michael Conlon

Articles

This paper presents a validated TRNSYS model for forced circulation solar water heating systems used in temperate climates. The systems consist of two flat plate collectors (FPC) and a heat pipe evacuated tube collector (ETC) as well as identical auxiliary components. The systems were fitted with an automated unit that controlled the immersion heaters and hot water demand profile to mimic hot water usage in a typical European domestic dwelling. The main component of the TRNSYS model was the Type 73 FPC or Type 538 ETC. A comparison of modelled and measured data resulted in percentage mean absolute errors for …

Anaerobic Co-Digestion Of Microalgae With Food Waste And Wastewater Sludge, Ruth E. Spierling

Master's Theses

This research sought to optimize anaerobic co-digestion of microalgae biomass harvested from a wastewater treatment pond facility with locally-available wastes.  The goal was to produce high methane yields and stable digestion without the need for supplemental alkalinity addition.  A key research question was if algae digestion could be improved via the synergistic effects of co-digestion.  Cell disruption to increase digestibility was not pursued due to its relatively high mechanical complexity and high energy use.  For the wastewater treatment ponds studied, the most practical co-substrates identified were municipal wastewater sludge and food waste (sorted organic municipal waste).  Although wastewater sludge does …

Magnetic Seeding Aggregation To Enhance The Removal Efficiency Of Tio2 Nanoparticles From Water, Ashish Dhananjay Borgaonkar

Dissertations

Engineered nanoparticles, such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂), are important building blocks for the evolution of nanotechnology in industries and commercial products. Ever so increasing use of the engineered nanoparticles is bound to result in a substantial fraction of these nanoparticles ending up in wastewater; or surface water and groundwater, which are sources of intake for drinking water treatment. Removal of these engineered nanoparticles in wastewater and drinking water treatment processes is a very important step towards the protection of environmental and public health as well as protecting water treatment units from fouling and other issues.

Experimental studies showed …

A Study Of The New York / New Jersey Coastal Water : Bio-Optical Characteristics Of The Harbor Estuary And The Effects Of Heavy Metals On Brown Tide Alga Of The Bight, Bin Wang

Dissertations

The New York / New Jersey (NY/NJ) coastal area is one of the most productive regions around the world and a major natural and scenic resource for New York and New Jersey. As a result of excessive nutrient loading in the water, algal blooms have been observed since 1950’s. The NY/NJ coastal area includes the NY/NJ Bight and the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary, and in the former, brown tides (Aureococcus anophagefferens) were first observed in 1985 becoming a more serious water quality problem over the last 25 years. The influence of micronutrients, namely trace metals, on A. anophagefferens that are widespread …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2011, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2011, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curricula., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States.  Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

Comprehensive Analysis Of Effluent Organic Matter From Five Wastewater Treatment Plants In Connecticut And Comparison To Natural Organic Matter, Matthew L. Quaranta

Master's Theses

Natural organic matter is an important driver of biotic and abiotic processes in aquatic environments. Wastewater treatment plants discharge a substantial amount of organic matter into the environment; however effluent organic matter has not been well studied. In this study, traditional organic geochemical techniques were applied to characterize effluent organic matter. Effluent organic matter was isolated by DAX8 (hydrophobic fraction) and XAD4 (transphilic fraction) Amberlite resins. Extraction efficiencies of effluent organic matter by DAX8 resins ranged from 18 to 42 percent as a result of larger content of hydrophilic organic matter than natural organic matter. Average organic matter molecular weights …

Comparative Field Performance Study Of Flat Plate And Heat Pipe Evacuated Tube Collectors (Etcs) For Domestic Water Heating Systems In A Temperate Climate, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy, Sarah Mccormack, Michael Conlon, Mick Mckeever

Articles

This paper presents a year round energy performance monitoring results of two solar water heaters with 4 m² flat plate and 3 m² heat pipe evacuated tube collectors (ETCs) operating under the same weather conditions in Dublin, Ireland. The energy performance of the two systems was compared on daily, monthly and yearly basis. Results obtained showed that for an annual total in-plane solar insolation of 1,087 kWh/m², a total of 1,984 kWh and 2,056 kWh of heat energy were collected by the 4 m² FPC and 3 m² ETC systems respectively. Over the year, …

Fate And Transport Of Escherichia Coli Within Sediment Basins On Active Construction Sites, Elizabeth Tempel

All Theses

The conventional method of controlling sediment-laden runoff on construction sites is the use of sediment basins. These basins slow the velocity of runoff and allow the particles to settle from the water column before discharge to surface waters offsite. This best management practice, however, may create a reservoir for pathogenic bacteria. Sediment is known to provide protection for bacteria; therefore, while these basins decrease sediment loadings to water bodies downstream, they may introduce harmful levels of pathogenic bacteria into these surface waters. In addition to causing human health risks, these high bacteria levels alter natural biological makeup of downstream ecosystems. …

Applications Of Moderate-Resolution Remote Sensing Technologies For Surface Air Pollution Monitoring In Southeast Asia, Arika Bridhikitti

All Dissertations

Retrievals from Earth observation satellites are widely used for many applications, including analyzing dynamic lands and measuring atmospheric components. This research aims to evaluate appropriateness of using satellite retrievals to facilitate understanding characteristics of Southeast Asian (SEA) surface air pollution, attributed to regional biomass burnings and urban activities. The studies in this dissertation focused on using satellite retrievals for 1) mapping potential SEA air pollution sources; which are forests, rice paddies, and urban areas, 2) understanding dynamic optical characteristics of SEA biomass-burning aerosols, and 3) inferring surface ozone level. Data used in this study were from three NASA's Earth Observing …

Identification And Characterization Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Dechlorinating Microorganisms From Lake Hartwell, Sc, Tess Brothersen

All Dissertations

To date, all attempts to isolate PCB dechlorinators using traditional isolation techniques have failed. In addition, the study of PCB dechlorinating organisms has been hampered because researchers were unable to grow the organisms in sediment-free, defined media. Three microbial species capable of reductive dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls have been identified. These three species are from two phylogenetically distinct branches, Dehalococcoides (Bedard et al., 2007) and the DF-1/o-17 group (Wu et al., 2002a; Cutter et al., 2001). The three cultures from which polychlorinated biphenyl dechlorinators have been identified used similar strategies to 'wean' the microbes from the sediments. In this research, …

Assessing Phosphorus-Transport From Biosolids Land Application Sites In Utah, Mohan K. Kumar

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Phosphorus Site Index (PSI) is a phosphorus transport assessment tool used to estimate the risk of P transport from soils. Various components, such as soil erosion, P fertilizer application rate, plant available P in soil, etc. that have an influence on P transport from a site, are weighted and given ratings, and a combination of these components are expressed as PSI. This study has considered two biosolids land application sites in Utah, which received biosolids amendments over time, to develop a specialized PSI for the state of Utah.

Phosphorus from land application of biosolids has been considered a potential risk …

Decolorization Of An Azo And Anthraquinone Textile Dye By A Mixture Of Living And Non-Living Trametes Versicolor Fungus, Christine M. Dykstra

HIM 1990-2015

Wastewater from the textile industry is difficult to treat effectively due to the prevalent use and wide variety of synthetic dyes that are resistant to conventional treatment methods. White-rot fungi, such as Trametes versicolor, have been found to be effective in decolorizing many of these synthetic dyes and current research is focusing on their application to wastewater treatment. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the ability of both living and nonliving Trametes versicolor to separately decolorize textile dyes, no studies were found to have investigated the use of a mixture of live and dead fungus for decolorization. This study …

Measuring The Removal Of Trichloroethylene From Phytoremediation Sites At Travis And Fairchild Air Force Bases, Heather A. Klein

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Past use of trichloroethylene (TCE) as a degreasing solvent for aircraft maintenance has resulted in widespread groundwater contamination at Air Force Bases around the world. Travis AFB in California and Fairchild AFB in Washington are evaluating phytoremediation as a treatment option, since trees have been reported to take up dissolved TCE from shallow groundwater and volatilize it to the atmosphere while enhancing the volatilization of TCE from surrounding soil. Previous studies generally focused on the identification of removal mechanisms. The emphasis of this research was to quantify total TCE removal from phytoremediation demonstration plots at Travis and Fairchild AFBs.

Tree …

Evaluating Changes And Estimating Seasonal Precipitation For Colorado River Basin Using Stochastic Non-Parametric Disaggregation Technique, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Precipitation estimation is an important and challenging task in hydrology because of high variability and changing climate. This research involves (1) analyzing changes (trend and step) in seasonal precipitation and (2) estimating seasonal precipitation by disaggregating water year precipitation using a k-nearest neighbor (KNN) nonparametric technique for 29 climate divisions encompassing the Colorado River Basin. Water year precipitation data from 1900 to 2008 are subdivided into four seasons (i.e., autumn, winter, spring, and summer). Two statistical tests (Mann-Kendall and Spearman’s rho) are used to evaluate trend changes, and a rank sum test is used to identify the step change in …

Evaluation Of Manganese Control In The Source Water And Microfiltration Plant Of A South Carolina Water Utility, Daniel Lewis

All Theses

Although present in most water supplies, manganese is a difficult-to-treat nuisance contaminant in drinking water. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level (SMCL) of 0.05 mg/L but experts have recommended a goal of 0.02 mg/L or less to avoid chronic issues with the metal. This work is a report on manganese control for the Startex-Jackson-Wellford-Duncan (SJWD) Water District, a water utility in northwestern SC. Fourteen locations were sampled from June 2010 through October 2011. Manganese, iron, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved oxygen, and other relevant parameters were measured.
The lake-fed Middle Tyger River is the …