Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Editorial: Water Environmental Research, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The State Of Technologies And Research For Energy Recovery From Municipal Wastewater Sludge And Biosolids, Zhongzhe Liu, Brooke K. Mayer, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Saba Seyedi, Arun S.K. Raju, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Wastewater resource recovery facilities produce wastewater solids that offer potential for energy recovery. This opinion article provides a perspective on state-of-the-art technologies to recover energy from sludge (unstabilized wastewater residual solids) and biosolids (stabilized wastewater solids meeting criteria for application on land). The production of biodiesel fuel is an emerging technology for energy recovery from sludge, whereas advancements in pretreatment technologies have improved energy recovery from anaerobic digestion of sludge. Incineration is an established technology to recover energy from sludge or biosolids. Gasification, and to a greater extent, pyrolysis are emerging technologies well-suited for energy recovery from biosolids. While gasification …

Inelastic Behavior And Seismic Design Of Multistory Chevron-Braced Frames With Yielding Beams, Charles W. Roeder, Andrew D. Sen, Hayato Asada, Sara M. Ibarra, Dawn E. Lehman, Jeffrey W. Berman, Keh-Chyuan Tsai, Ching-Yi Tsai, An-Chien Wu, Kung-Juin Wang, Ruyue Liu

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Chevron or inverted V-braced frames offer numerous architectural and structural advantages, but the current special concentrically braced frame (SCBF) seismic-design requirements in the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings lead to deep, heavy chevron beams; as a result, few chevron SCBFs are built today. Recent research on single-story chevron SCBFs demonstrated that beam yielding can be advantageous at higher demand levels, and design for large, inelastic unbalanced brace-force demands may still result in acceptable seismic performance. However, this prior research did not consider the response of multistory frames. In particular, questions remain as to …

Monitoring The Performance Of Green Infrastructure: Pervious Pavement And Bioretention, Elizabeth Marie Regier

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Milwaukee, like many other aging cities, struggles with combined sewer overflows, basement backups, and urban stream syndrome. It is increasingly looking to green stormwater infrastructure as a way to alleviate stormwater concerns by treating, retaining, and slowly releasing stormwater near the locations where it falls. However, green stormwater infrastructure varies in its performance, and few studies have been performed in Southeast Wisconsin. Therefore, two bioswales and a pervious pavement installation were monitored for water quantity, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids. The bioswales were also monitored for dissolved phosphorus. The north bioswale reduced total phosphorus concentrations by a …

Removal Of Estrogenic Compounds From Water Via Energy Efficient Sequential Electrocoagulation-Electrooxidation, Emily K. Maher, Kassidy N. O'Malley, Michael Dollhopf, Brooke K. Mayer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate energy reduction using electrocoagulation (EC) followed by electrooxidation (EO) targeting initial removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during EC and subsequent removal of estrogenic compounds in EO. EC offers benefits over conventional coagulation such as in situ generation of coagulant but is not practical for removing estrogenic compounds. Advanced oxidation processes, including EO, can effectively remove micropollutants such as estrogenic compounds but are hindered by the presence of bulk organic matter. This study investigated four estrogenic compounds from the U.S. EPA's Contaminant Candidate List: estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynylestradiol …

Iron-Electrocoagulation As A Disinfection Byproduct Control Strategy For Drinking Water Treatment, Donald R. Ryan, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) result from reactions between oxidizing disinfectants, e.g., free chlorine, and DBP precursors such as natural organic matter (NOM). Electrocoagulation (EC) has potential as an effective DBP precursor removal strategy for decentralized water treatment and small drinking water utilities as it features similar removal trends compared to conventional coagulation, without alkalinity consumption, while also generating coagulant in situ by anodic dissolution of iron electrodes. However, studies assessing DBP formation in drinking water following EC treatment are lacking. This research evaluated EC as a DBP precursor removal strategy by quantifying reductions in total trihalomethane (TTHM) formation potential as …

Benzalkonium Chloride Alters Phenotypic And Genotypic Antibiotic Resistance Profiles In A Source Water Used For Drinking Water Treatment, Katherine R. Harrison, Anthony D. Kappell, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern. Triclosan is an antimicrobial compound with direct links to antibiotic resistance that was widely used in soaps in the U.S. until its ban by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a quaternary ammonium compound, has widely replaced triclosan in soaps marketed as an antibacterial. BAC has been detected in surface waters and its presence will likely increase following increased use in soap products. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of BAC on relative abundance of antibiotic resistance in a bacterial community from a surface water …

Behavior Of Circular Ice-Filled Self-Luminous Frp Tubular Stub Columns Under Axial Compression, Yanlei Wang, Guipeng Chen, Baolin Wan, Gaochuang Cai, Yiwen Zhang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper proposes an innovative ice-filled self-luminous fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tubular (IFSFT) column for temporary structures in cold regions. The proposed column possesses a good combination of the advantages of FRP tube and natural ice, as well as provides itself with aesthetic features or other service functions due to the self-luminous feature of the outer FRP tube in darkness. This paper presents an experimental study on tensile and luminance properties of FRP laminates modified with self-luminous powders, and axial compressive behavior of circular IFSFT stub columns and ice-filled FRP tubular (IFFT) stub columns. Experimental results indicate that the addition of …

Structural And Environmental Impact Of New-Generation Wide-Base Tires In New Brunswick, Canada, Izak M. Said, Jaime Hernandez, Seunggu Kang, Imad L. Al-Qadi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The loading and environmental impacts of new-generation wide-base tires (NG-WBT) and dual tire assemblies (DTA) on typical asphalt concrete (AC) pavement sections of New Brunswick, Canada were evaluated using finite element method (FEM) analysis and life-cycle assessment. The impact of steering wheel was not considered in this study. The analysis considered realistic material models and loading conditions (i.e. AC viscoelastic characteristics and measured three-dimensional nonuniform tire–pavement contact loads). Predicted critical pavement responses were used in transfer functions to determine potential pavement damage. The NG-WBT loading resulted in greater critical pavement responses compared to that of DTA, especially near the surface …

Liana Abundance And Diversity Increase With Rainfall Seasonality Along A Precipitation Gradient In Panama, Anthony J. Parolari, Kassandra Paul, Aaron H. Griffing, Richard Condit, Ronaldo Perez, Salomón Aguilar, Stefan A. Schnitzer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In tropical regions, rainfall gradients often explain the abundance and distribution of plant species. For example, many tree and liana species adapted to seasonal drought are more abundant and diverse in seasonally-dry forests, characterized by long periods of seasonal water deficit. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) is commonly used to explain plant distributions across climate gradients. However, the relationship between MAP and plant distribution is often weak, raising the question of whether other seasonal precipitation patterns better explain plant distributions in seasonally-dry forests. In this study, we examine the relationship between liana abundance and multiple metrics of seasonal and annual rainfall …

In-Plane Vibration Of Hammerhead Resonators For Chemical Sensing Applications, Luke A. Beardslee, Christopher Carron, Kemal S. Demirci, Jonathan Lehman, Steven Schwartz, Isabelle Dufour, Stephen M. Heinrich, Fabien Josse Phd, Oliver Brand

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Thermally excited and piezoresistively detected in-plane cantilever resonators have been previously demonstrated for gas- and liquid-phase chemical and biosensing applications. In this work, the hammerhead resonator geometry, consisting of a cantilever beam supporting a wider semicircular “head”, vibrating in an in-plane vibration mode, is shown to be particularly effective for gas-phase sensing with estimated limits of detection in the sub-ppm range for volatile organic compounds. This paper discusses the hammerhead resonator design and the particular advantages of the hammerhead geometry, while also presenting mechanical characterization, optical characterization, and chemical sensing results. These data highlight the distinct advantages of the hammerhead …

Electrocoagulation As A Pretreatment For Electroxidation Of E. Coli, William Lynn, Joe Heffron, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Insufficient funding and operator training, logistics of chemical transport, and variable source water quality can pose challenges for small drinking water treatment systems. Portable, robust electrochemical processes may offer a strategy to address these challenges. In this study, electrocoagulation (EC) and electrooxidation (EO) were investigated using two model surface waters and two model groundwaters to determine the efficacy of sequential EC-EO for mitigating Escherichia coli. EO alone (1.67 mA/cm², 1 min) provided 0.03 to 3.9 logs mitigation in the four model waters. EC alone (10 mA/cm², 5 min) achieved ≥1 log E. coli mitigation in all …

Power Law Growth And Delayed Feedbacks In Socio‐Hydrological Systems, Anthony J. Parolari, Gabriele Manolia

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Water infrastructure dynamics result from coupled social and physical hydrological processes embedded in “socio‐hydrological systems” (SHSs). Freshwater fuels socioeconomic activity, which in turn exerts pressure on water resources through increased water demand and water quality degradation. Many factors emphasize the need for quantitative tools to predict the future of these systems, including SHS failures due to growing water scarcity from population growth and climate change. However, unfolding the interactions between social and hydrological factors continues to resist theoretical treatment, impeding progress toward a predictive framework. To resolve this issue, we propose and evaluate time delays as surrogates for the social …

Stormwater Management Actions Under Regulatory Pressure: A Case Study Of Southeast Wisconsin, Walter M. Mcdonald, Joseph Naughton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In the United States, new legislation has given regulatory authorities greater oversight of municipal stormwater management programs. However, estimating the impact of greater oversight on municipal actions is difficult due to the uncertainty in current compliance efforts and their associated costs. This paper seeks to fill this gap through a case study of NPDES stormwater runoff permit reports from municipalities in Southeast Wisconsin. Specifically, this study evaluates the reported actions and expenditures against socioeconomic variables to identify the relationships between cost, socioeconomics, and the best management practices (BMPs) used for compliance. Results indicate that there are distinct differences between municipalities …

Impact Of Hurricane Harvey On The Results Of Regional Flood Frequency Analysis, Walter M. Mcdonald, Joseph Naughton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Hurricane Harvey was an unprecedented event that resulted in immense damage to life and property. As a result, it is important to determine how this event, as well as past and future events like it, will impact engineering design equations that are based upon historical data, such as flood frequency analysis equations. This study seeks to contribute to this discussion by evaluating the extent to which Harvey influenced estimations of instantaneous peak discharges in rural ungauged basins in southeast Texas. Results indicate that Harvey significantly increased the computations of design floods using Log‐Pearson Type III analysis (e.g., 3–55% for 2‐year …

Mechanisms Of Virus Mitigation And Suitability Of Bacteriophages As Surrogates In Drinking Water Treatment By Iron Electrocoagulation, Joe Heffron, Brad Mcdermid, Emily Maher, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Emerging water treatment technologies using ferrous and zero-valent iron show promising virus mitigation by both inactivation and adsorption. In this study, iron electrocoagulation was investigated for virus mitigation in drinking water via bench-scale batch experiments. Relative contributions of physical removal and inactivation, as determined by recovery via pH 9.5 beef broth elution, were investigated for three mammalian viruses (adenovirus, echovirus, and feline calicivirus) and four bacteriophage surrogates (fr, MS2, P22, and ΦX174). Though no one bacteriophage exactly represented mitigation of the mammalian viruses in all water matrices, bacteriophage ΦX174 was the only surrogate that showed overall removal comparable to that …

Sequential Electrocoagulation-Electrooxidation For Virus Mitigation In Drinking Water, Joe Heffron, Donald R. Ryan, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Electrochemical water treatment is a promising alternative for small-scale and remote water systems that lack operational capacity or convenient access to reagents for chemical coagulation and disinfection. In this study, the mitigation of viruses was investigated using electrocoagulation as a pretreatment prior to electrooxidation treatment using boron-doped diamond electrodes. This research is the first to investigate a sequential electrocoagulation-electrooxidation treatment system for virus removal. Bench-scale, batch reactors were used to evaluate mitigation of viruses in variable water quality via: a) electrooxidation, and b) a sequential electrocoagulation-electrooxidation treatment train. Electrooxidation of two bacteriophages, MS2 and ΦX174, was inhibited by natural organic …

Communication Of Recommendations For The Disposal Of Unused Prescription Opioid Medications By Stakeholders In The News Media, Megan Lynn Petrik, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Susan M. Moeschler, Benjamin D. Blair

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

The opioid epidemic is a national public health emergency that requires a comprehensive approach to reduce opioid-related deaths. Proper and timely disposal of unused prescription opioids is one method to deter improper use of these medications and prevent overdose. The objective of this study was to understand how recommendations for disposing of unused prescription opioids, including both take-back programs and toilet disposal, are communicated to the public.

Methods

Two hundred sixty-three US newspaper articles published between January 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017, containing information on opioids and take-back programs were found using LexisNexis. Using content analysis, articles were …

Methane Yield And Lag Correlate With Bacterial Community Shift Following Bioplastic Anaerobic Co-Digestion, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Nicholas Benn, Saba Seyedi, Daniel Zitomer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Past plastic management practices have resulted in pollution. An improved management scenario may involve adding used bioplastic to anaerobic digesters to increase methane for renewable energy. In this work, effects of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) bioplastic anaerobic co-digestion with synthetic primary sludge on operation and microbial communities were investigated. Co-digesters treating sludge were co-fed 20% untreated or pretreated (55 °C, pH 12) PHB. Pretreatment resulted in shorter lag (5 d shorter) before methane production increased after co-digestion. At steady-state, co-digesters converted 86% and 91% of untreated and pretreated PHB to methane, respectively. Bacterial communities were different before and after bioplastic co-digestion, whereas …

An Analytical Approach To Ascertain Saturation-Excess Versus Infiltration-Excess Overland Flow In Urban And Reference Landscapes, Ryan D. Stewart, Aditi S. Bhaskar, Anthony J. Parolari, Dustin L. Herrmann, Jinshi Jian, Laura A. Schifman, William D. Shuster

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Uncontrolled overland flow drives flooding, erosion, and contaminant transport, with the severity of these outcomes often amplified in urban areas. In pervious media such as urban soils, overland flow is initiated via either infiltration‐excess (where precipitation rate exceeds infiltration capacity) or saturation‐excess (when precipitation volume exceeds soil profile storage) mechanisms. These processes call for different management strategies, making it important for municipalities to discern between them. In this study, we derived a generalized one‐dimensional model that distinguishes between infiltration‐excess overland flow (IEOF) and saturation‐excess overland flow (SEOF) using Green–Ampt infiltration concepts. Next, we applied this model to estimate overland flow …

Syntroph Diversity And Abundance In Anaerobic Digestion Revealed Through A Comparative Core Microbiome Approach, Masanori Fujimoto, Daniel Elliott Carey, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Anaerobic digestion is an important biotechnology treatment process for conversion of waste to energy. In this study, a comparative core microbiome approach, i.e., determining taxa that are shared in functioning digesters but not shared in non-functioning digesters, was used to determine microbial taxa that could play key roles for effective anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digester functions were impaired by adding the broad-spectrum antimicrobial triclosan (TCS) or triclocarban (TCC) at different concentrations, and the core microbiomes in both functioning and non-functioning anaerobic digesters were compared. Digesters treated with high (2500 mg/kg) or medium (450 mg/kg) TCS and high (850 mg/kg) …

Evaluating The Variability Of Urban Land Surface Temperatures Using Drone Observations, Joseph Naughton, Walter M. Mcdonald

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Urbanization and climate change are driving increases in urban land surface temperatures that pose a threat to human and environmental health. To address this challenge, we must be able to observe land surface temperatures within spatially complex urban environments. However, many existing remote sensing studies are based upon satellite or aerial imagery that capture temperature at coarse resolutions that fail to capture the spatial complexities of urban land surfaces that can change at a sub-meter resolution. This study seeks to fill this gap by evaluating the spatial variability of land surface temperatures through drone thermal imagery captured at high-resolutions (13 …

Ion Exchange Nutrient Recovery From Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Permeate, Patrick Mullen, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Daniel Zitomer, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Nutrient recovery from municipal wastewater was evaluated using anion exchange media loaded with hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) and copper (Cu²⁺) (Dow‐HFO‐Cu resin) to selectively capture phosphate, followed by clinoptilolite for ammonium removal and recovery. Nutrients were concentrated in the regenerants and recovered as precipitated struvite. Media exchange capacity after multiple ion exchange cycles was determined using permeate from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treating synthetic or actual municipal wastewater from a full‐scale water reclamation facility. Regeneration through five ion exchange cycles using relatively low concentration regenerant solution (2% NaCl and 0.5% NaOH) resulted in the highest phosphate exchange …

Bacteriophage Inactivation As A Function Of Ferrous Iron Oxidation, Joe Heffron, Brad Mcdermid, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Iron-based disinfection has been promoted as a potential low-cost, low-byproduct means of virus mitigation. This research is the first to establish that virus inactivation due to ferrous iron is impacted both by the extent of iron oxidation (from ferrous to ferric iron) and the rate of iron oxidation. Log inactivation of bacteriophages increased linearly with ferrous iron concentration at low doses (< 3 mg/L Fe), but higher doses limited disinfection, likely due to floc formation. The rate of iron oxidation was controlled by independently varying pH and dissolved oxygen concentration. Bacteriophage inactivation increased with the inverse of ferrous oxidation rate, suggesting that slower iron oxidation rates allow better contact between viruses and reactive ferrous iron. Ferrous iron showed potential for disinfection in conditions of low pH and dissolved oxygen, though these conditions preclude effective iron coagulation/flocculation.

Experimental Study Of Hybrid Strengthening Technique Using Carbon Fiber Laminates And Steel Plates For Reinforced Concrete Slabs, Xiaohong Zheng, Baolin Wan, Peiyan Huang, Jinlin Huang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

External bonding (EB) technique has been used widely to strengthen reinforced concrete (RC) structures in civil engineering over several decades. Steel and fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) are the two most common materials used for strengthening RC structures. Although each material has its advantages for EB application, they also have their own weaknesses. Steel plates are heavy and poor in corrosion resistance, and the thickness of steel plates is also limited due to lack of shape flexibility for strengthening RC structures. The EB-FRP technique is restricted for broader applications because the bond interface is the weakest link in such retrofitted or …

Improved Reliability Of Stormwater Detention Basin Performance Through Water Quality Data-Informed Real-Time Control, Sazzad Sharior, Walter M. Mcdonald, Anthony J. Parolari

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Stormwater detentions basins are designed to capture stormwater to reduce and delay peak flows and to improve water quality. A novel technology proposed to improve basin performance is real-time, active control of the basin outflow, in so-called “smart” stormwater systems. Existing studies demonstrate the performance of active controls that respond in real-time to basin water level, detention time, and rainfall forecast for one or a small number of rainfall events. We hypothesize that the performance of these active controls can be improved by incorporating real-time water quality data into the control algorithm. In addition, we hypothesize that active control performance …

Effect Of Specimen Thicknesses On Water Absorption And Flexural Strength Of Cfrp Laminates Subjected To Water Or Alkaline Solution Immersion, Xue Zhang, Yanlei Wang, Baolin Wan, Gaochuang Cai, Yuan Qu

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, an experimental research was undertaken to investigate the effect of specimen thicknesses on water absorptions and flexural strengths of wet lay-up CFRP laminates subjected to distilled water or alkaline solution immersion up to 180 days. Test results showed that the water uptake and flexural strength retention of CFRP laminates were significantly affected by the adopted specimen thickness. For the same aging time, the water uptake of CFRP laminates decreased in the early stage of immersion and increased in the later stage of immersion with the increase of specimen thickness. Meanwhile, the flexural strength retention generally increased as …

A Microfluidic Platform For The Simultaneous Quantification Of Methanogen Populations In Anaerobic Digestion Processes, Prince Peter Mathai, Hannah M. Dunn, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Daniel Zitomer, James Maki, Satoshi Ishii, Michael J. Sadowsky

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Methanogens are a diverse group of archaea that play a critical role in the global carbon cycle. The lack of appropriate molecular tools to simultaneously quantify numerous methanogenic taxa, however, has largely limited our ability to study these communities in a wide variety of habitats, such as anaerobic digesters (ADs). In this study, 34 probe-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were designed to target all known methanogenic genera within the archaeal phylum Euryarchaeota. These qPCR assays were adapted to a high-throughput microfluidic platform, which allowed for the simultaneous detection and absolute quantification of numerous taxa in a single run. The …

Adsorption Of Organic Micropollutants To Biosolids-Derived Biochar: Estimation Of Thermodynamic Parameters, Yiran Tong, Brooke K. Mayer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This research quantified thermodynamic parameters to better understand the use of wastewater biosolids-derived biochar as an adsorbent to remove micropollutants. The objective of this research was to quantify adsorption capacity; isosteric heat; and change of enthalpy, entropy, and free energy characterizing adsorption reactions between biochar and micropollutants. Adsorption isotherms were developed using a range of temperatures for the micropollutants benzyldimethyldecylammonium chloride (BAC-C10) Carbamazepine (CBZ), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), and triclosan (TCS). The thermodynamic parameters derived from the isotherm data were used to assist in characterizing binding affinity, spontaneity, and mechanisms of adsorption. More polar compounds such as BAC-C10 and CBZ …

Probability Of Failure In Infrastructure Project Unbalanced Bidding, Yuhan Jiang, Yong Bai, Sisi Han, Ting Lin

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Design-Bid-Build infrastructure projects with Unit-Price Contracts have a high risk of quantity and price deviations. Those deviations might be the result of contractors' unbalanced bidding. At the same time, contractors' performance was unknown under unbalanced bidding situations. The researchers utilized the First Order Reliability Method and Statistical Analysis to evaluate contractors' bidding performances and engineers' estimating performances with bidding and settlement data of 163 NDDOT projects. Results showed that contractors adopted unbalanced bidding strategies as follows: if quantities were overestimated, then they underrated unit price; if quantities were underestimated, then they overrated unit price to maintain projects' Bid Total Amount …