Engineering Commons^™

Visualizing The Fate And Distribution Of Pahs In Spartina And Avicennia Tissues From Barataria Basin, La, Kristina Jeannette Sebastian

LSU Master's Theses

During crude oil spill events, vegetation in marsh environments sequester polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the crude oil by partitioning from the air phase through the waxy cuticle on the leaf surface. Recent studies from Macondo oil-impacted marshes have demonstrated that cycling of low molecular weight petrogenic PAHs occurs through the cuticle and other leaf tissue. At present, our understanding of how PAHs travel through the cuticle is coarse and limited by grab samples across the entire leaf, which preventing a full understanding the dynamics of PAH cycling in this environment. Multiphoton (MP) confocal microscopy visualizes the distribution of PAHs …

Water Quality Analysis Of Ecoroof Runoff In Portland, Pranoti P. Deshmukh

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Portland, Oregon is internationally recognized for its implementation of sustainable stormwater management technologies. Ecoroof is one of the sustainable solutions to reduce stormwater runoff which also provides multiple environmental benefits. However, very little is known about the impact of ecoroofs on water quality of roof runoff. Stormwater runoff carries a significant amount of pollutants, which, if it directly enters a stream or river, degrades water quality and severely harms aquatic life.

This study evaluates the trends in the long-term water quality data from ecoroofs and conventional roofs in the Portland area. Mann Kendall trend test was used to detect the …

Metabolic Engineering Of Cyanobacteria For Production Of Chemicals, Po-Cheng Lin

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Concerns over the impact of climate change caused by CO2 emission have driven the research and development of renewable energies. Microbial production of chemicals is being viewed as a feasible approach to reduce the use of fossil fuels and minimize the impact of climate change. With recent advances in synthetic biology, microorganisms can be engineered to synthesize petroleum-based chemicals and plant-derived compounds. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that use only sunlight, CO2, and trace minerals for growth. Compared to other microbial hosts, cyanobacteria are attractive platforms for sustainable bioproduction, because they can directly convert CO2 into products. However, the major challenge …

Metabolic Engineering Of Cyanobacteria For Production Of Chemicals, Po-Cheng Lin

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Concerns over the impact of climate change caused by CO2 emission have driven the research and development of renewable energies. Microbial production of chemicals is being viewed as a feasible approach to reduce the use of fossil fuels and minimize the impact of climate change. With recent advances in synthetic biology, microorganisms can be engineered to synthesize petroleum-based chemicals and plant-derived compounds. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that use only sunlight, CO2, and trace minerals for growth. Compared to other microbial hosts, cyanobacteria are attractive platforms for sustainable bioproduction, because they can directly convert CO2 into products. However, the major challenge …

Evaluation Of Biodegradability Characteristics Of Cellulose-Based Film As Per Is/Iso 14855-1, Narayan C. Saha Dr, Gaurav Madhu Dr, Diksha B. Kadu Ms

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Biodegradable polymers (especially those derived from plant sources) begin their lifecycle as renewable resources, usually in the form of starch or cellulose. In this paper, the evaluation of biodegradability of cellulose-based polymer film under controlled composting conditions as per the guidelines of IS/ISO 14855 (Part-1) standard has been described. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powder was taken as positive-control polymer. The apparatus used to analyse the degree and rate of biodegradation was developed indigenously. The validation of the biodegradability testing apparatus was also performed as per the prescribed test method given in IS/ISO 14855-1.

Subsurface Mimo: A Beamforming Design In Internet Of Underground Things For Digital Agriculture Applications, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

In underground (UG) multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), the transmit beamforming is used to focus energy in the desired direction. There are three different paths in the underground soil medium through which the waves propagates to reach at the receiver. When the UG receiver receives a desired data stream only from the desired path, then the UG MIMO channel becomes three path (lateral, direct, and reflected) interference channel. Accordingly, the capacity region of the UG MIMO three path interference channel and degrees of freedom (multiplexing gain of this MIMO channel requires careful modeling). Therefore, expressions are required for the degree of …

Modeling Irrigation Behavior In Groundwater Systems, Timothy Foster, Nicholas Brozovic, Adrian P. Butler

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Integrated hydro-economic models have been widely applied to water management problems in regions of intensive groundwater-fed irrigation. However, policy interpretations may be limited as most existing models do not explicitly consider two important aspects of observed irrigation decision making, namely the limits on instantaneous irrigation rates imposed by well yield and the intraseasonal structure of irrigation planning. We develop a new modeling approach for determining irrigation demand that is based on observed farmer behavior and captures the impacts on production and water use of both well yield and climate. Through a case study of irrigated corn production in the Texas …

Water Productivity In Meat And Milk Production In The Us From 1960 To 2016, Mesfin Mekonnen, C.M.U. Neale, Chittaranjan Ray, Galen E. Erickson, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Global demand for livestock products is rising, resulting in a growing demand for feed and potentially burdening freshwater resources to produce this feed. To offset this increased pressure on water resources, the environmental performance of livestock sector should continue to improve. Over the last few decades, product output per animal and feedstuff yields in the US have improved, but before now it was unclear to what extent these improvements influenced the water productivity (WP) of the livestock products. In this research, we estimate changes in WP of animal products from 1960 to 2016. We consider feed conversion ratios (dry matter …

Nitrate Removal And Placement Of Floating Treatment Wetlands In The Midwest, Mary G. Keilhauer

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Midwestern United States is vulnerable to eutrophic conditions from high nutrient concentrations. Recommendations for nonpoint source pollution management include runoff treatment (i.e., filter strips, riparian buffers) and in-situ lake treatment practices (i.e., aluminum sulfate (alum) treatments, aeration, up/downdraft pumping, floating treatment wetlands). Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are an innovative wetland design for nutrient removal from nonpoint sources and provide a unique in-situ treatment. Best management practice studies have commonly focused on adjacent to water practices, which have resulted in a gap for guidance for in-situ treatment placement and design. Therefore, the objectives of this project were to (1) Quantify …

Engineered Carbon-Nanocatalyst Composites And Carbon Mixed ‎Matrix Membranes ‎For Water And Wastewater Treatment ‎, Mojtaba Abolhassani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Carbonaceous materials such as graphene oxide, and activated ‎carbon have a wide range of ‎applications in water and wastewater treatment due to the high surface ‎area, unique structure, ‎and chemical and thermal stability. Carbon-based materials can be used as a ‎membrane, an ‎adsorbent, a support for nanomaterials, or ‎as a filler within membranes to remove contaminants ‎from water. In this research, the specific carbon materials and how their properties influence their ‎use and performance in ‎specific engineering applications is explored. ‎

Here, membrane filtration and adsorption/degradation of the water and wastewater using carbon-‎based material are investigated. The research firstly focuses …

Microstructural Effects On Photocatalytic Performance In Ag3po4/Bi2moo6 Z-Scheme Photocatalyst Systems, Kaleab Mengesha Ayalew

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As the world population continues to grow and access to modern industry become increasingly common, humanity finds itself amid an environmental and energy crisis. Natural resources, such as clean water are getting scarce. Currently, the development of high efficiency, green energy sources, and eco-friendly methods for water treatment have become a nonelective task. As a result, photocatalysis, as one of the most promising technologies in utilizing solar energy and pollutant removal, has attracted considerable attention.

However, the practical application of photocatalysis is still elusive because of the difficulty of finding an individual material that can satisfy all the requirements for …

Perchlorate Behavior In The Context Of Black Carbon And Metal Cogeneration Following Fireworks Emission At Oak Lake, Lincoln, Nebraska, Usa, Manish Kumar, Daniel D. Snow, Yusong Li, Patrick Shea

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The imprints of fireworks displays on the adjacent water body were investigated from the perspective of cogeneration of black carbon, metals and perchlorate (ClO₄^–). In particular, the mixing and dissipation of ClO₄^– were studied at Oak Lake, Lincoln, Nebraska, following fireworks displays in 2015 and 2016. Following the display, ClO₄^– concentration in the water increased up to 4.3 μg/L and 4.0 μg/L in 2015 and 2016, respectively. A first-order model generally provided a good fit to the measured perchlorate concentrations from which the rate of dissipation was estimated as 0.07 d^–1 in …

Design Of Variable Wall Thickness Geometry And Performance Mapping Of Scroll Expanders For Distributed Power Generation, Arun Kumar Narasimhan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Low-temperature heat sources such as industrial waste heat, solar, and geothermal are more suitable for small-scale power generation rather than utility scale. In order to maximize the electricity generated from low-temperature heat sources, an efficient expansion device for small-scale power output is necessary. This research work has focused on evaluating the use of a scroll expander and improving its geometrical design for the power output range of 1-25 kW_e.

The first part of the work focusses on modeling the performance of a scroll expander using two non-dimensionless parameters, namely, specific speed and specific diameter. Performance of a scroll …

Energy Transformation And Conservation Investigation, Mike Jackson, Holly Haney

High School Lesson Plans

Students will use a thermoelectric generator module to analyze the relationship between thermal and electrical energies. Using data collection sensors and analysis software, students will investigate the relationship between the temperature gradient across a thermoelectric generator module and the resulting electrical potential. Students will then use their data and analysis to solve problems relating to waste thermal energy in electrical systems and communicate their work to their peers and teacher.

A Decision-Making Framework For Hybrid Resource Recovery Oriented Wastewater Systems, Nader Rezaei

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water shortage, water contamination, and the emerging challenges in sustainable water resources management (e.g., the likely impacts of climate change and population growth) necessitate adopting a reverse logistics approach, which is the process of moving wastewater from its typical final destination back to the water supply chain for reuse purposes. This practice not only reduces the negative impacts of wastewater on the environment, but also provides an alternative to withdrawal from natural water resources, forming a closed-loop water supply chain. However, the design of such a supply chain requires an appropriate sustainability assessment, which simultaneously accounts for economic, environmental, and …

Table Of Contents, The Editors

Coal Geology & Exploration

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Seismic-While-Mining Detection Technology In Underground Coal Mines, Cheng Jianyuan, Qin Si, Lu Bin, Wang Baoli, Wang Ji

Coal Geology & Exploration

The explosive source of underground seismic exploration in coal mines is greatly affected by the control of pyrotechnics and cannot realize the monitoring and early warning of dynamic geological disasters in coal mining. Seismic-while-mining(SWM) is a new technique based on shearer as a seismic source underground. The paper reviewed the research status of SWM technique at home and abroad, introduced the SWM's principle and its unique advantages. According to some pilot experiments of SWM, the results show that the shearer can be used as a seismic source because it has the character of strong excitation energy, wide frequency band, safety, …

Method Of Transparent Working Face Based On Dynamic Detection Of Cross Hole Seismic Subdivision, Lu Bin

Coal Geology & Exploration

Transparent working surface is an important part of intelligent coal mining. It provides detailed geological structure information of working face for intelligent coal mining. This paper proposes a working surface exploration method based on segmented and dynamic cross-hole seismic, which can realize progressive fine detection of coal working face. The method is a new development with seismic while mining, which is using the coal cutter as seismic source. The main idea is to image the working face segmented by deploying some detectors in a series of horizontal holes parallel to the long wall. The method performs fine imaging on the …

Simulation Of Seismic-While-Mining With Shearer As Source Of Fully Mechanized Mining Face, Jin Dan

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to analyze the wave field characteristics of seismic-while-mining data excited by coal cutter as seismic source, forward simulation was used to calculate seismic data. We transform the cutting mode of spiral drum and the stress of drum into the force function of seismic source, which is added to the wave equation in the form of load distribution at different time and location. Wave equation is solved by high-order staggered-style finite difference method. Finally, the seismic data obtained by numerical simulation show that shear wave energy is very strong and press wave energy is very weak in the wave …

Geological Evaluation Model For Site Selection Of Underground Coal Gasification Without Well In Jinghai Coal-Bearing Area, Tianjin, China, Wang Zhigang, Fu Xiaojin, Liang Jie, Cao Jian, Jiang Shengguo

Coal Geology & Exploration

Based on the 4 factors such as exploration status, coal seam, coal quality and hydrological conditions, using the secondary fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, the geological evaluation model without well was built. In order to verify the applicability of the model, the material balance by law of conservation of mass was carried out and the results compared with the test results of indoor model was got. This research suggests that the weight of geological conditions affecting underground coal gasification without well is exploration status > conditions of coal seam > hydrological conditions > coal quality, the area with comprehensive score higher than 70 is …

Study On The Biodegradation Of Guanidine Gum By Methanogens In Coal Seam, Li Yunsong, Guo Hongyu, Fu Chaoyong, Zhao Guojun, Xia Daping

Coal Geology & Exploration

The problem of low temperature breaking of guanidine gum fracturing fluid is related to the effect of coal seam penetration. In order to explore the effect of methanogenson the biodegradation of guanidine gum, Inner Mongolia some coal mine lignite were collected to prepare samples of coal samples, and the enriched fresh mine water was used as the bacteria source. The biological methane metabolism experiments of guanidine gum + coal were used to characterize the biodegradability of methanogens to guanidine gum, with the total gas production, CH₄ concentration, guanidine gum molecular functional groups and C and H elements content changes. …

Productivity Prediction Of Hypotonic Cbm Test Well In Jiaozuo Mining Area Under Hydraulic Fracturing, Wang Zhirong, Yang Jie, Chen Lingxia, Guo Zhiwei

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to explore the permeable mechanism and the output law after fracturing of CBM in the "three soft" coal seam(soft coal, soft roof and soft bottom) of Jiaozuo under hydraulic fracturing, Based on the permeable model of reservoir fracture, considering the influence of fracture porosity on permeability after fracturing, a reservoir fracture penetration model was established, the application and analysis of the test well was carried out to obtain the characteristics of pressure cracks such as length, width, permeability and reservoir parameters after fracturing. Through the comprehensive analysis of isothermal adsorption curves and historical fitting, the recovery rate of …

Simulation And Test Of Enhancement Of Gas Drainage Through Co2 Injection Into Coal Seam Of Low Permeability, Bai Gang, Zhou Xihua, Wei Shiping, Fan Chaojun, Li Xueming

Coal Geology & Exploration

In view of the difficulty of gas extraction and low drainage efficiency in coal seam of low permeability, based on multi component gas competitive adsorption of CO₂-CH₄, simulation and test for improving seam gas extraction rate through CO₂ injecting CO₂ into coal seam were carried out. A fluid-solid coupling model considering gas-water phases and Klinkenberg effect of CO₂ injection into coal seam for enhancement of gas drainage was established, parameters of gas pressure, gas content and gas extraction rate after coal seam CO₂ injection were analyzed by using COMSOL software and applied …

Genesis And Geochemical Characteristics Of Coalbed Methane From Taiyuan Formation In Sijiazhuang Mine Field Of Yangquan Mining Area, Yu Zhenfeng, Hao Chunsheng, Yang Changyong, Yao Jinbao, Wang Wei, Ji Changjiang

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to study the geochemical characteristics and the genesis of CBM of Sijiazhuang mine field in Yangquan mining area, the in-site desorption test of coal core samples from the main gas-producing seams(seams 8, 9 and 15) from Permo-Carboniferous Taiyuan Formation was carried out systematically, gas samples were collected to conduct component and carbon isotope analysis. The results indicated that the gas content of seam 8 was higher than that of seam 9, on the plan the gas content of seam 15 was uneven, in some parts there was almost no gas. During the whole desorption, the gas component content …

Effects Of Pressure Drop Funnels Model Of Different Shapes On Cbm Well Productivity, Hu Haiyang, Jin Jun, Zhao Lingyun, Chen Jie, Gu Jiaoyang

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to study the effect of pressure drop funnel shapes on CBM well productivity, the change law of pressure and the shape of pressure drop funnel in different drainage stages of CBM wells were discussed, the mathematical models of pressure drop funnel were established, the concept of "desorption coefficient" and "effective desorption coefficient" for coal reservoir were proposed to quantitative study desorption effect of the coal reservoir. Taking a CBM well in the west of Guizhou as an example, the research results show that the logarithmic function model of pressure distribution of radial flow is difficult to accurately reflect …

Formation Mechanism Of Coal Seam Aquifer And Water Hazard Control Technology, Wang Hao

Coal Geology & Exploration

Coal seams occur in Peat formation formed by sediments, often used as aquiclude or aquitard in coal production. However, in Barapukuria coal mine in Bangladesh, No.VI coal seam is rich in water, shows a typical hydrogeological phenomenon that the coal seam becomes an aquifer, which is rare in coal mining process both in China and abroad. From the formation mechanism of coal and the microstructure and tectonic development characteristics of coal, the structure of rich in water of coal was revealed. Based on MTS815 rock mechanics test system, the permeability of No.VI coal was tested, and the internal structure of …

Water Yield Analysis Of Underground Drainage Boreholes On The Basis Of Logarithmic Normal Distribution, Ma Lianjing, Zhao Baofeng

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to analyze the distribution rule of water flow from underground drainage borehole in coal mines, histogram, Q-Q chart and nonparametric tests were used to test the logarithmic normal distribution model for water flow from underground drainage borehole in typical working face, and the nonlinear regression model was fitted. Combined with hydrogeological conditions, the parameters in the model were analyzed. The result shows that water flow from underground drainage boreholes in working face obeys the lognormal distritution. The logarithmic mean and standard deviation of water flow from drainage borehole of typical working face have a positive linear dependence relation …

Prediction Of The Height Of Water Flowing Fractured Zone Under Subcritical Mining Based On Dimensional Analysis, Lou Gaozhong, Guo Wenbing, Gao Jinlong

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to accurately predict the height of water flowing fractured zone under subcritical mining, mining thickness M, mining depth H, inclined length of working face L, dip angle of coal seam α, overburden mechanical properties R, overburden structure characteristics S were selected as the main influencing factors on the height of water flowing fractured zone under subcritical mining. Dimensionless relations between the height of water flowing fractured zone and M, H, L, α, S were established by dimensional analysis. Based on 30 sets of measured data, the optimal function relation of dimensionless relation was …

Ga_Svm_Adaboost Model For Prediction Of Earthquake-Induced Sandy Soil Liquefaction, Mao Zhiyong, Huang Chunjuan, Lu Shichang

Coal Geology & Exploration

In order to predict the liquefaction of sand, the seismic intensity, groundwater level, covering thickness, standard number, average particle size, landform, soil quality and inhomogeneity coefficient are selected as influencing factors. Genetic algorithm(GA) is used to optimize the parameters of support vector machine(SVM) by using correlation analysis and factor analysis model, and combining with Adaboost iterative algorithm, the GA_SVM_Adaboost model for predicting the liquefaction of sand is established. 329 sets of survey data of sandy liquefaction site in Tangshan earthquake were used to train the model, and 68 samples of sandy liquefaction data were predicted by using the good model. …

Comparison Of Dissolution Characteristics Of Organic Matter In Coal Gangue Of Different Geological Time, Sun Yanfang, Zhao Li, Luo Shaohe, Zhang Lei, Sun Chao, Li Bowen

Coal Geology & Exploration

Taken the unweathered coal gangues obtained from the Jurassic coalbed of Bulianta mine and the Car-boniferous-Permian coalbed of Baode mine located in Shendong mining area as the research subjects, the dissolution characteristics of organic matter in two kinds of coal gangues were studied comparatively through soaking experiments, and combined with three-dimensional fluorescence spectrometry and parallel factor analysis. It is significant for the underground reservoir to study mechanism of water treatment in coal mining areas. These results indicate that the total ion concentration in DOM sample of coal gangue of Bulianta mine is higher than that of Baode mine due to …