Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Sustainable And Resilient Construction: Current Status And Future Challenges, Niamh Murtagh, Lloyd Scott, Jingli Fan

Articles

The construction industry globally is one of the most environmentally damaging of sectors. Additionally, the resources consumed and the operational energy requirements of buildings are ‘locked-in’, potentially for decades. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recognised construction as a sector in which significant improvements can, and indeed must, be made. But the industry is often argued to be unique, in its multiplicity of stakeholders, transient organisational structures, avoidance of risk and impact on society. The current Virtual Special Issue (VSI) sought to bring together a collection of papers on progress and potential for improvement in the construction sector, in …

Thermal Analysis And Post Construction Verification, Cormac Flood, Lloyd Scott

Articles

Purpose – The residential sector in Ireland accounted for 25 per cent of energy related CO2 emissions in 2016 through burning fossil fuels, a major contributor to climate change. In support of Ireland’s CO2 reduction targets, the existing housing stock could contribute greatly to the reduction of space-heating energy demand through retrofit. Approximately 50 per cent of Ireland’s 2m dwellings pre-date building regulations and are predominantly of cavity and solid wall construction, the performance of which has not been extensively investigated at present. Although commitment to thermal upgrade/retrofit of existing buildings may increase under future government policies, the poor characterisation …

Wastewater Treatment Fatty Acids For Biodiesel Production, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater scum is the thick oily substance that floats on top of the primary and secondary tanks within a wastewater treatment plant. Scum has a 30% to 60% lipid content making it an excellent resource for the biodiesel industry. Also the use of scum would reduce the cost of current management practices such as landfill disposal or incineration. In this article there is an overview of lipid byproducts currently being produced at wastewater treatment plants today. This is followed by a presentation showing a full length process for turning wastewater scum into biodiesel raw material.

Preliminary Design And Analysis Of A Wave Energy Converter With Electromagnetic Induction, Laura Fernandez De Valderrama

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the energy demand increases with the constantly increasing population, as well as the effort to replace conventional fossil fuels with cleaner sources of energy, ocean energy has emerged as a potential global resource. The ocean contains an enormous amount of energy that has not been exploited yet, although efforts have augmented during the past decades.

The overall purpose of this research is to design, model, and analyze, a wave energy converter (WEC) prototype to contribute to the current research in this field. This particular work represents the first stage of the research process in which the ultimate goal is …

The Combined Toxic Effect Of Nanoparticles And Lead In The Presence Of Algae (Raphidocelis), Xuesong Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The elevated toxicity of toxic metals in the presence of nanoparticles (NPs) has raised significant concerns on the NP environmental safety. This research focuses on the impact of environmental conditions, specifically algae, on this type of toxicity. An indicator aquatic organism, Ceriodaphnia dubia (C. dubia), was used to examine the combined toxicity and toxicity mitigation from algae by monitoring its 24-h mortality. Four papers are included in this research, which focus on four aspects of the combined toxicity and the corresponding algae (Raphidocelis) impact. The first paper examines the algae impact on the combined toxicity of …

Investigation Of Urea Decomposition And Deposit Formation In Diesel Exhaust After-Treatment System, Anand Alembath

Doctoral Dissertations

“Urea-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system has proved to be an effective solution to reduce NO_x emissions in commercial vehicle (CV) diesel engines. A significant challenge in urea injection is to comprehend its decomposition chemistry that leads to formation of undesired deposits in the exhaust system unit. Due to complex interaction of multi-phase fluid flow and transport processes, significant uncertainty is associated with the identification of interacting factors that control the deposit initiation and its growth. To meet the future ultra-low NO_x emissions and to deliver ammonia without deposit formation, there is an imminent need to develop the urea-SCR …

Mechanisms Of Pathogen Inactivation In Wastewater And Pharmaceutical Applications, Christa L. Meingast

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Infectious diseases are a significant threat to public health. Though society enacts practices to prevent the spread of these dangerous diseases, challenges remain. Therefore, continual advancements in treatment and prevention are required. Wastewater treatment and viral clearance in pharmaceutical applications are two key health measures that prevent the spread of infections.

A low-cost, low-technology biosolids treatment process was developed to improve wastewater treatment by collecting key information on storage temperature, ammonia, volatile solids, moisture content, pH, and pathogen inactivation in biosolids over long-term storage at two wastewater treatment plants located in northern climates of the United States. Inactivation of pathogens …

ประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทและจลนพลศาสตร์ของถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่เมื่อใช้เม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพเป็นแหล่งอินทรีย์คาร์บอน, มัลลิกา พั้วพวง

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้ศึกษาการนำเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพมาใช้เป็นแหล่งสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนและตัวกลางในถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่ โดยเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ 3 ชนิดที่ใช้ในการทดลอง ได้แก่ PLA, PHBV และ PBS แบ่งการทดลองออกเป็น 3 ช่วง การทดลองช่วงแรกศึกษาสมบัติทางกายภาพของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ พบว่าพลาสติกชีวภาพชนิด PBS มีสมบัติความชอบน้ำ ขณะที่ PLA และ PHBV ไม่ชอบน้ำ ผลการละลายน้ำของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพพบว่า PBS ตรวจพบสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนละลายในน้ำประปาและน้ำปราศจากไอออน เพิ่มขึ้นสูงกว่า PLA และ PHBV ตามลำดับ เมื่อทดสอบการดูดซับไนเตรทของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ พบว่าที่ค่า พีเอชในช่วงที่มากกว่า 4 พื้นผิวของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพทั้ง 3 ชนิดจะแสดงประจุเป็นลบ จึงไม่พบการดูดซับหรือดูดติดผิวของไนเตรทบนตัวกลาง การทดลองช่วงที่สองศึกษาประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทในถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่เมื่อทำการเดินระบบแบบทีละเท พบว่าเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพชนิด PHBV และ PBS มีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทมากกว่าร้อยละ 90 ในขณะที่ PLA กำจัดไนเตรทได้เพียงร้อยละ 48 เมื่อทำการศึกษาค่าจลนพลศาสตร์การกำจัดไนเตรท พบว่ากระบวนการดีไนตริฟิเคชันที่เกิดขึ้นเป็นปฏิกิริยาอันดับศูนย์ ความเข้มข้นไนเตรทคงเหลือของการทดลองแบบทีละเทเข้าใกล้ศูนย์ที่ระยะเวลา 12 และ 15 ชม. ตามลำดับ เมื่อใช้เม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพชนิด PHBV และ PBS เป็นแหล่งสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอน การทดลองช่วงสุดท้ายเป็นการเดินระบบแบบต่อเนื่องในถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่ ผลการทดลองพบว่าถังปฏิกรณ์ที่บรรจุเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ มีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทที่สภาวะคงตัวเท่ากับร้อยละ 12.87±4.92, 8.11±5.31, 12.33±8.37 และ 84.83±4.58 มีระยะเวลากักน้ำ 12, 16, 20 และ 24 ชม. ตามลำดับ โดยจลนพลศาสตร์ของการกำจัดไนเตรทจัดเป็นปฏิกิริยาอันดับหนึ่ง เนื่องจากมีปริมาณของสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนในระบบอย่างจำกัด ทำให้ปฏิกิริยาดีไนตริฟิเคชันเกิดได้ช้าลง ขณะที่เมื่อใช้เม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ PBS เป็นแหล่งอินทรีย์คาร์บอน ถังปฏิกรณ์ที่บรรจุตัวกลางดังกล่าวมีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทร้อยละ 99.47±0.52, 99.34±1.83, 100 และ 98.91±0.95 ที่ระยะเวลากักน้ำ 12, 8, 4 และ 2 ชม. ตามลำดับ เนื่องจากในระบบมีสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนเพียงพอต่อการเกิดกระบวนการดีไนตริฟิเคชันจึงทำให้ปฏิกิริยาเกิดขึ้นได้อย่างสมบูรณ์

Remediation And Prevention Of Harmful Algae Blooms (Habs) In Ascarate Lake At El Paso, Texas, Elizabeth Herrera Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ascarate park in El Paso, Texas is an example of an urban ecosystem in the middle of a growing city. It is the largest public-use recreational park in El Paso county and it includes a 48-acre Ascarate lake. The purpose of this study was to prevent harmful algae growth in Ascarate lake using phytoremediation by analyzing different water quality parameters. We installed artificial islands on west cove of the lake with African iris plants to determine the feasibility of remediation to prevent algae blooms in Ascarate lake. Water samples were collected at different points close and away from the islands …

Evaluation And Inter-Comparison Of Satellite Precipitation Estimations For Extreme Flood Events In Peninsular Malaysia, Zhen Xiang Eugene Soo

Student Works (2020-2029)

Satellite precipitation products (SPP) have been useful in any hydrological applications as their extensive spatial coverage and finer space and time resolutions. However, these satellite estimations exhibit large systematic and random errors which may cause large uncertainties in any hydrological applications. In this study, three advanced satellite precipitation products, i.e. CMORPH, TRMM 3B42V7, and PERSIANN are utilized in conjunction with the ground observation to investigate their performance in detecting rain, capturing storms and rainfall pattern during extreme flood events. This study evaluates and compares the capability of the SPP by focusing on the 2014-2015 northeast monsoon extreme flood events. Three …

Vegetation Detection Using Deep Learning And Conventional Methods, Bulent Ayhan, Chiman Kwan, Bence Budavari, Liyun Kwan, Yan Lu, Daniel Perez, Jiang Li, Dimitrios Skarlatos, Marinos Vlachos

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Land cover classification with the focus on chlorophyll-rich vegetation detection plays an important role in urban growth monitoring and planning, autonomous navigation, drone mapping, biodiversity conservation, etc. Conventional approaches usually apply the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for vegetation detection. In this paper, we investigate the performance of deep learning and conventional methods for vegetation detection. Two deep learning methods, DeepLabV3+ and our customized convolutional neural network (CNN) were evaluated with respect to their detection performance when training and testing datasets originated from different geographical sites with different image resolutions. A novel object-based vegetation detection approach, which utilizes NDVI, computer …

Towards Efficient Water Treatment: Mechanism Of Colloidal Fouling Of Ultrafiltration Membranes, Ikenna Henry Ozofor

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research study first reviewed challenges of conventional and membrane separation systems for water treatment. Though membrane separation systems appeared superior to the conventional counterparts for water and wastewater treatment, wider applications of membrane systems have been limited by some factors, most notably is membrane fouling. Experimental studies were therefore conducted to achieve the goal of this research, which is to investigate how feed properties affect fouling of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes by colloids.

Feed salinity, pH, and nanoparticle concentration were the variables studied to unravel how different UF membranes are fouled by model silica colloids (with average diameter of 25nm). …

Evaluation Of The Mechanisms And Effectiveness Of Nano-Hydroxides, Wood And Dairy Manure-Derived Biochars To Remove Fluoride And Heavy Metals From Water, Anna Rose Wallace, Wenjie Sun Dr, Chunming Su Dr

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective treatment processes for the removal contaminants, such as fluoride and heavy metals, from polluted water have been urgently needed due to serious environmental health and safety concerns. In this dissertation, a variety of materials including various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, biochars and surface modified biochar were studied to evaluate their effectiveness and mechanism on removing fluoride or mixed heavy metals from water.

In the Chapter 2, this study investigated the adsorptive removal of fluoride from water using various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, focusing on ferrihydrite, hydroxyapatite (HAP) and brucite, which have the potential to be used as sorbents for surface …

Concentrations, Sources, And Health Risks Of Particulate Matter In Southeast Us.: Current Status And Future Changes, Fenglin Han

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Evaluation of long-term air quality trends and prediction of future air quality may help to design and demonstrate effectiveness of control strategies and guide future air quality management. As one of the six criteria air pollutants (CAPs) regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM_2.5) is of great interests since it has adverse effects on human health, visibility and climate. This study aims to understand the current status and future changes in concentrations, sources, and health risks of PM_2.5 in Southeast US. Firstly, observations were analyzed …

Using Nano- And Micro- Structural Materials For Concrete Environmental Applications, Hala Nabeel Elia

Theses and Dissertations

Utilized globally in the construction industry, concrete is an integral component of homes, roads, airports, skyscrapers, and tunnels. Traditional concrete components are cement, fine aggregate (sand), coarse aggregate (gravel or crushed stone), and water. When cement and water compound together they will make a paste which binds all the aggregates together to make the concrete. Unfortunately, every one ton of cement manufactured emits 0.9 ton of CO2into the air. The goal of this two-part work was to obtain an environmentally friendly concrete. The first part used supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), fly ash and silica fume, to create concrete with high …

Flood Dynamics In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Past, Present, And Future, Lumas Terence Helaire

Dissertations and Theses

The Portland area has an extensive flood history since it was founded in 1845. In the late 19th century, the Portland area was prone to flooding from snowmelt freshets (3-6 months duration) and brief winter rain or rain-on-snow events. Since that time the magnitude of spring freshets has been curtailed by 45% due to climate change, flow diversions, and reservoir management. Along with changes in hydrology, the bathymetry of the Lower Columbia River has been altered by the dredging of the navigation channel, diking, and land reclamation. To understand how these changes in hydrology and bathymetry have affected tidal and …

Contemporary Problems In Aerosol Aggregation And Gelation, Pai Liu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Aggregation of nanoparticles in aerosols is a fundamental phenomenon with important implications to diverse fields ranging from material synthesis to pollutant control. The past few decades have witnessed extensive research on investigating the structure and growth mechanism of aerosol aggregates with sizes spanning across several orders of magnitude. This dissertation focuses on some contemporary problems that remain unaddressed in this topical area. Aerosol aggregates in sub-micron regimes, which are formed via the irreversible collision and aggregation of solid nanoparticle monomers, are fractal-like in their morphology. A mathematical description of this seemingly random structure dates to the seminal works by Forest …

Treatment Of Perchlorate And Multiple Oxyanions: Chemical And Biological Investigations, Mark Elkouz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Groundwater contamination with oxyanions is an issue that must be addressed for environmental, ecological and societal reasons. Chemical and biological treatment methods of reduction are already known and practiced, but the simultaneous presence of multiple oxyanions can add complicating effects to treatment sequence and efficacy. This research was concerned with the investigation of the chemical reductive treatment of Cr(VI) using both calcium polysulfide (CaSx) and ferrous sulfate (FeSO4), and the biological reductive treatment of chlorate, Cr(VI), nitrate and perchlorate using multiple organic substrates. The chemical treatment phase consisted of initial jar tests, using CaSx and FeSO4, followed by a laboratory …

Application Of Data-Driven And Process-Based Modeling Approaches For Water Quality Simulation In Lakes And Freshwater Reservoirs, Ali Saber Sichani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lakes and freshwater reservoirs often serve as the primary drinking and irrigation water sources for surrounding communities. They provide recreational and tourism opportunities, thereby promoting the prosperity of neighboring communities. Reliable estimates of water quality in lakes and reservoirs can improve management practices to protect water resources.

Seasonal water temperature and solar shortwave radiation variations, and their subsequent interactions with water column aquatic life, combined with seasonal variations of mixing intensity throughout the water column, result in variations of water quality constituents with depth during the annual cycle. The complexity of these variations entails the use of advanced water quality …

Carbon Management And Volatile Fatty Acid Production In Primary Clarifiers At A Wastewater Treatment Plant, Brittany Nicole Radke

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An increasing number of treatment plants are required to remove nutrients from domestic wastewater to lessen the impact of nutrient loading to water bodies. Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) is one of the processes commonly used to remove phosphorus from domestic wastewater. The presence of an adequate quantity of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the wastewater influent to EBPR is important for process efficiency and stability. The objective of this research was to investigate the production of VFAs through fermentation of sludge in primary clarifiers as it related to improving nutrient removal, primarily targeting phosphorus.

The research tested, in full-scale, …