Engineering Commons^™

Using Nwp Analysis In Satellite Rainfall Estimation Of Heavy Precipitation Events Over Complex Terrain, Xinxuan Zhang

Master's Theses

This study investigates the use of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) high-resolution storm analysis in satellite rainfall estimation over complex terrains. Rainfall estimation here is based on the NOAA-Climate Prediction Center morphing (CMORPH) product. Specifically, CMORPH rainfall is adjusted by applying a power-law function whose parameter values are obtained from the comparison between WRF and CMORPH hourly rain rates. Results are presented based on the analyses of five storm cases that induced catastrophic floods in southern Europe. The WRF-based adjusted CMORPH rain rates exhibited improved error statistics against independent radar-rainfall estimates. We show that the adjustment reduces the underestimation of …

Impact Of Salt On Denitrification Potential In Roadside Environments, Nakita A. Lancaster

Master's Theses

Urban systems are impacted by changes in hydrology and water chemistry, altering their ability to mitigate detrimental impacts to coastal water bodies, particularly those that result from high volumes of stormwater runoff. The elevated level of impervious cover increases not only runoff but also contaminant loading of nutrients, metals, and road salt used for deicing in cold weather climates. Current stormwater management strategies, while focused on managing the changes in hydrology associated with urbanization, also are designed to mitigate the pollutant loading. Here we investigate the impact that road salt will have on nitrogen removal in roadside environments. Sediments were …

Municipal Wastewater Disinfection With Electromagnetic Waves Using Escherichia Coli Concentration As Measurement Of Quantification, Lauren M. Cagle

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater treatment is essential to protecting the environment and human welfare. Although chlorination is widely used, the environmental and health concerns associated with chlorine are growing. Treatment facilities are implementing alternative technologies, though the cost and efficiency associated with these practices leave much room in the wastewater field for innovation.

Hydropath Technologies Limited introduced a piece of equipment that uses the properties of a transformer to pass an alternating electric current through the pipe and into the contents of the channel. Hydroflow claims that the charged microorganisms react with the oppositely charged water molecule to force osmosis and kill the …

Effects Of Testing Time On Anaerobic Toxicity Assessment, Omolola Atinuke Akintomide

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anaerobic digestion has been widely used for wastewater treatment for decades. Several Anaerobic Toxicity tests have been developed to screen wastewater for toxicity and assess the treatability of such toxicants. However, past research and reviews on Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) test and Anaerobic Toxicity Assay (ATA) were considered in this study.

The experimental tests included ammonium-nitrogen and sodium chloride toxicity tests with varied concentration and solid retention time. These tests were designed to demonstrate the impact of ammonia- nitrogen and sodium chloride on the biological degradation process. The anaerobic test set-up includes bench-scale test reactors and respirometers used for measuring …

The Development Of A High Performance Concrete To Store Thermal Energy For Concentrating Solar Power Plants, Emerson Esmond John

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, due to rising energy costs as well as an increased awareness of the environmental effects of greenhouse gas emissions produced through traditional forms of energy production, there is great interest in developing alternative sources of energy. One of the most viable alternative energy sources is solar energy. In particular, concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies have been identified as an option for meeting utility needs in the U.S. Southwest. These systems are required to produce electricity not only during periods of high solar radiation but also during times of reduced radiation due to cloud cover, and even extend …

New Insights Into Disinfection Byproduct Formation And Control: Assessing Dissolved Organic Matter Diffusivity And Chemical Functionality, Ashley Pifer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Methods were developed for application of asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) and fluorescence parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis to raw and treated samples from drinking water sources to improve characterizations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and discover DOM properties correlated to disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation potential (FP). Raw water samples were collected from a reservoir, adjusted to pH 6, 7, and 8 and subjected to (1) jar tests using aluminum sulfate (alum) and (2) treatment with magnetic ion exchange (MIEX^®) resin. Both treatments were followed by DBPFP tests at pH 7. AF4 was used to size DOM in raw …

Assessing Anaerobic Bio-Oxidation Of Vinyl Chloride And Ethene, Ademola Bakenne

All Theses

Perchloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are two of the most commonly used chlorinated solvents around the world. These compounds and their dechlorination daughter products have become the most prevalent organic contaminants found in a majority of hazardous waste sites in the United States. Since implementation of traditional remediation methods would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, there has been tremendous interest in bioremediation as a low cost alternative to achieving remedial goals. Anaerobic reductive dechlorination is the most prevalent form of bioremediation in most locations. The ultimate daughter products from reductive dechlorination of PCE and TCE are ethene and ethane, …

Developing A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculation Tool For Water Utilities, Anthony Hampton Johnston

All Theses

The issue of climate change has led to an increased emphasis on sustainable practices in almost every facet of our lives. For water utilities, this has increased scrutiny on energy use. Although traditionally viewed solely in financial terms, energy use is also the primary source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from water utilities. The emerging concern over GHG emissions coincides with potential federal legislation and regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In order for water utilities to determine their GHG emissions, guides and tools must be made readily available. Information to educate water utilities about their GHG emissions is …

L&D Manual Turn Lane Storage Validation/Update, Deogratias Eustace, Sowjanya Ponnada

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Queuing occurs at intersections mostly due to overflow or inadequacy of turn bays. The ODOT L&D Manual Volume 1 has storage requirements for both signalized and unsignalized intersections. Figures 401-9E and 401-10E of the L&D Manual provide the required turn lane storage lengths which should be compared with the real world conditions to check for adequacy of these lengths as a measure of ensuring that accesses to the left turn lanes are not blocked. In addition to the projected turn lane volume, ODOT’s methodology incorporates both deceleration (based on the speed of the roadway) and potential blockage from the adjacent …

Improved Microalgal Biomass Harvesting Using Optimized Environmental Conditions And Bacterial Bioflocculants, Derek C. Manheim

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

IMPROVED MICROALGAL BIOMASS HARVESTING USING OPTIMIZED ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND BACTERIAL BIOFLOCCULANTS

DEREK CONTE MANHEIM

The cost and energy balance of microalgae biofuel production is sensitive to the algae harvesting method, among many other factors. Bioflocculation and settling of suspended microalgae cultures is a harvesting method with potentially low cost and energy input. However, bioflocculation (the spontaneous flocculation of algal cells without chemical addition) has not been a reliable process with cultures grown in ponds. To provide insights to help improve algae settling, factors affecting the settling of algae were investigated in the laboratory using pure cultures of two common …

Evaluation Of Dichloromethane As An Electron Donor For Reductive Dechlorination Of Tetrachloroethene To Ethene, Yogendra Kanitkar

All Theses

Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are the predominant contaminants at hazardous waste sites in the United States. Although less prevalent, dichloromethane (DCM) is also found at a number of sites. EPA classifies PCE and DCM as likely to be carcinogenic in humans by all routes of exposure, while TCE is classified as carcinogenic to humans by all routes. At some sites, releases of PCE, TCE and DCM comingle in the groundwater. Field evidence from one such site in California suggests that DCM is used as the electron donor for reductive dechlorination of TCE. Nevertheless, definitive evidence that DCM can serve …

Historical Integration Of Remote Sensing Data: Can Gis Extract Information From Grayscale Aerial Photographs?, Kristina Robertson

All Theses

There have been many changes in land management policies of the National Forest system over the past 100 years. Changes in policy related to law, population growth and economics directly cause changes in land cover. Global land cover changes are occurring at such a pace and magnitude that they are affecting Earth system functioning (Lambin et al., 2001). The analysis of land cover changes plays a key role in understanding several environmental phenomena, resulting in a need for objective and comparable land cover maps (Gennaretti et al., 2011). Advances in remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have modernized land-use …

Biomass And Lipid Production From Heterotrophic And Mixotrophic Fed-Batch Cultivations Of Microalgae Chlorella Protothecoides Using Glycerol, Shwetha Sivakaminathan

All Theses

Chlorella protothecoides is a microalga that can grow both photo-autotrophically and/or heterotrophically under different culture and environmental conditions. In this study both the heterotrophic growth and mixotrophic growth have been conducted. The heterotrophic experiments were conducted completely in the dark while the mixotrophic experiments had the dark cycles with periodic light exposure. The aim of the study was to independently understand the effect of each mode on biomass and lipid yields.
For the heterotrophic experiments, glycerol was used as an external organic carbon source while yeast extract was used as the nitrogen source. The carbon and nitrogen source were added …

Functionalized Nanoparticles As Removable Coatings For Reverse Osmosis Membranes, Megan Smith

All Theses

Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination is increasingly used to produce potable water throughout the world. Despite their promising abilities, membrane filtration processes are limited by fouling. Fouling is a broad term for organics, inorganics, colloids and organisms that interact physically, chemically, or biologically with the membrane surface, resulting in reduced flux and shortened membrane lifespan. There is potential to create a snakeskin-like barrier between the membrane and foulants by electrostatically binding a coating material to the membrane that can be released by pH manipulation, removing foulants in the process. The feasibility of using functionalized nanoparticles as removable adsorptive coatings on RO …

Laboratory Characterization And Theoretical Analysis Of Contaminant Mass Transfer, Xiaoling Liu

All Dissertations

Chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) in fractured, low permeability material can be a long-term source of groundwater contaminants and they are among the most difficult remediation challenges. Thermal methods are a possible remediation option, where heat is used to boil water and the volatile compounds are stripped out by partitioning into the resulting water vapor. Theoretical analysis indicates that only a small fraction of pore water removal may lead to a significant geometric reduction in the dissolved concentration [(Udell(, 1998]. Previous modeling studies [(Falta and Murdoch(, 2011; (Pruess(, 1983] suggest that a lower permeability limit exists for effective mass transfer …

Impact Of Secondary Treatment Types And Sludge Handling Processes On Estrogen Concentration In Wastewater Sludge, Erica J. Marti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), such as estrogen, are known to be present in the aquatic environment at concentrations that negatively affect fish and other wildlife. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are major contributors of EDCs into the environment. EDCs are released via effluent discharge and land application of biosolids. Estrogen removal in WWTPs has been studied in the aqueous phase; however, few researchers have determined estrogen concentration in sludge. This study focuses on estrogen concentration in wastewater sludge as a result of secondary treatment types and sludge handling processes. Grab samples were collected before and after multiple treatment steps at two WWTPs …

Effects Of Moisture Augmentation Of Municipal Solid Waste Through Addition Of Food Waste Or Wastewater Treatment Biosolids On Bio-Gas Formation For Power Generation, Jared Michael Gore

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An investigation into the effect of moisture augmentation by manipulation of food waste proportion or wastewater treatment plant biosolids proportion was undertaken to determine the effects on production of methane and other biogases from municipal solid waste (MSW). Laboratory microcosm experiments were performed to determine the effect of various proportions of influent waste streams on the production of biogas. Results indicated that moisture augmentation through the addition of food waste to MSW increases the overall bio-gas and hydrogen gas formed during fermentation. Moisture augmentation through addition of wastewater treatment bio-solids lead to inconclusive results. Addition of food waste to MSW …

Hydrologic Evaluation Of Established Rain Gardens In Lincoln, Nebraska, Andrew R. Anderson, Thomas G. Franti, David P. Shelton

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Increased urbanization has resulted in water quality and flooding problems for many receiving waters in the United States. Rain gardens are one type of best management practice commonly used in low impact development (LID). Many studies have evaluated large engineered bioretention cells in research settings. There is little information on the effectiveness of homeowner-maintained rain gardens that rely on deep percolation as the method for water exfiltration. Repeatable controlled experiments are very rare in hydrologic studies due to the inherent variability of weather data. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hydrologic properties of twelve established rain gardens …

Recovery Of Sensitive Watersheds In The Northeastern United States From Chronic Acidification: The Role Of Soil Chemistry, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Developing Archetypes For Domestic Dwellings:An Irish Case Study, Albert Famuyibo, Aidan Duffy, Paul Strachan

Articles

Stock modelling, based on representative archetypes, is a promising tool for exploring areas for resource and emission reductions in the residential sector. The use of archetypes developed using detailed statistical analysis (multi-linear regression analysis, clustering and descriptive statistics) rather than traditional qualitative techniques allows a more accurate representation of the overall building stock variability in terms of geometric form, constructional materials and operation. This paper presents a methodology for the development of archetypes based on information from literature and a sample of detailed energy-related housing data. The methodology involves a literature review of studies to identify the most important variables …

Preservation Of Methanogenic Cultures To Enhance Anaerobic Digestion, Ujwal H. Bhattad

Dissertations (1934 -)

The use of anaerobic biotechnology is increasing as a sustainable process to treat various organic wastes. Methanogens convert organic COD into CH4 and play the key role to drive thermodynamically unfavorable biochemical fermentation reactions and keep the digestion process steady and efficient. Progressive understanding of anaerobic microbiology with digester functionality may help to develop efficient, customized methanogenic cultures to enhance anaerobic bioprocesses. Preservation of methanogenic cultures via drying would be a cost-effective option for research and practical applications. However, preservation of methanogenic cultures is challenging due to methanogen sensitivity to O2 toxicity and drying, and very limited work is reported …

Relating Methanogen Community Structure And Function In Anaerobic Digesters, Benjamin T.W. Bocher

Dissertations (1934 -)

A deeper understanding of how microbial community structure relates to process function would help improve anaerobic digester design. This dissertation describes both qualitative and quantitative relationships between anaerobic digester function and microbial community structure. Community structure was characterized using banding pattern intensities from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) for the mcrA gene of methanogenic Archaea. The first project compared a single-stage continuously mixed stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and staging with an acidogenic CSTR followed by a methanogenic CSTR. After seeding with the same biomass, these unique process configurations exhibited different function and qualitatively different methanogen communities. Compared to a single-stage …

Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods To Guide Architectural Decision-Making For Sustainable Prefabricated Modular Buildings, Jeremy Faludi, Michael Lepech, George Loisos

Dartmouth Scholarship

Within this work, life cycle assessment modeling is used to determine top design priorities and quantitatively inform sustainable design decision-making for a prefabricated modular building. A case-study life-cycle assessment was performed for a 5,000 ft² prefabricated commercial building constructed in San Francisco, California, and scenario analysis was run examining the life cycle environmental impacts of various energy and material design substitutions, and a structural design change. Results show that even for a highly energy-efficient modular building, the top design priority is still minimizing operational energy impacts, since this strongly dominates the building life cycle's environmental impacts. However, as an …

Estimating Annual Precipitation For The Colorado River Basin Using Oceanic-Atmospheric Oscillations, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Estimating long-lead time precipitation under the stress of increased climatic variability is a challenging task in the field of hydrology. A modified Support Vector Machine (SVM) based framework is proposed to estimate annual precipitation using oceanic-atmospheric oscillations. Oceanic-atmospheric oscillations, consisting of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) for a period of 1900–2008, are used to generate annual precipitation estimates with a 1 year lead time. The SVM model is applied to 17 climate divisions encompassing the Colorado River Basin in the western United States. The overall results revealed that …

Flexible Urban Drainage Systems In New Land-Use Areas, Jochen Eckart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban drainage systems are influenced by several future drivers that affect the performance as well as the costs of the systems. The uncertainties associated with future drivers and their impact creates difficulties in designing urban drainage systems sustainably. A review of the different future drivers for urban drainage systems illustrates that no sufficient future predictions for the long operational life spans of the systems are possible. This dissertation contends that to deal with future uncertainties, flexibility in urban drainage systems is necessary.

At present, profound insights about defining, measuring, and generating flexible urban drainage systems do not exist. This research …

Rainfall Organization And Geomorphologic Controls On The Flood Response Of Mild-Slope Basins In The South Atlantic Region Of Us, Yiwen Mei

Master's Theses

This study uses data from the Tar-River Basin in North Carolina to explore how space-time rainfall variability influences the hydrologic response from observational and modeling perspectives. For understanding the basin scale effect, the Tar-River Basin is divided into four cascade sub-basins ranging from 1106 km² up to 5654 km². The study evaluates the catchments’ response to rainfall for a large number of storm events by computing the event runoff coefficient based on streamflow observations and through simulations from a semi-distributed hydrological model. Comparison of observed to simulated hydrographs from the hydrological model shows that distributed rainfall forcing …

Concentration Effects And Ion Properties Controlling The Fractionation Of Halides During Aerosol Formation, Marcelo I. Guzman, Richa R. Athalye, Jose M. Rodriguez

Chemistry Faculty Publications

During the aerosolization process at the sea surface, halides are incorporated into aerosol droplets, where they may play an important role in tropospheric ozone chemistry. Although this process may significantly contribute to the formation of reactive gas phase molecular halogens, little is known about the environmental factors that control how halides selectively accumulate at the air-water interface. In this study, the production of sea spray aerosol is simulated using electrospray ionization (ESI) of 100 nM equimolar solutions of NaCl, NaBr, NaI, NaNO(2), NaNO(3), NaClO(4), and NaIO(4). The microdroplets generated are analyzed by mass spectrometry to study the comparative enrichment of …

Implementation, Design, And Cost Analysis Of A Concrete Washout System, Omar Adina

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With the increase of environmental pollution in today’s world, many strategies and regulations are being enforced. These enforcements come from the state and federal governments, but public awareness is often overlooked. Stormwater regulations here in California have dramatically changed over the last decade, as the topic is investigated more often.

This senior project encompassed the design prototype and cost analysis of a permanent concrete washout station for the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The design parameters given were to construct a steel bin for the excess concrete to be dumped into during …

Using Ground Penetrating Radar Signal Reflection To Model A Highly Transmissive Bedrock Aquifer, Daniel J. Brockmeyer Mr.

Master's Theses

The use of numerical modeling software to characterize groundwater contaminant fate and transport requires an understanding of the distribution of hydraulic properties of the aquifer. As the complexity of this distribution increases, a more sophisticated understanding is required. Modeling contaminant transport in bedrock aquifers requires that the spatial distributions of highly conductive geologic features are characterized along with the hydraulic transmissivities of those features (Shapiro, 2003). The goal of this research is to refine the numerical model of a highly transmissive crystalline aquifer by characterizing the spatial variability of the hydraulic transmissivity using the attenuation of the ground penetrating radar …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2018, 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 …