Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Navigating The Relationships Among Food Waste Practices, Environmental Intentions, And Sustainability Knowledge Of Students, Merri Claire Minshew

Honors College Theses

Colleges and university campuses are among the greatest food wasters in the US due to combined over production and plate waste from consumers. While some schools have developed programs aimed at reducing and sustainably managing food waste, much of it ends up in landfills and produces greenhouse gas emissions. The overall goal of the research was to collect a comprehensive data set on university students’ food waste practices and behavior, environmental and sustainability knowledge, and environmental intentions. For probing relationships among these drivers, a structural equation model and student survey was developed. The survey of 37 questions was collected on …

Creating A Bio-Based Circular Economy From Louisiana Sugarcane Byproducts, G. Aita, D. Bhatnagar, G. O. Bruni, M. Deliberto, G. Eggleston, A. Finger, K. Gravois, M. Isied, W. Judice, K. T. Kasson, I. M. Lima, J. L. Purswell, Mena I. Souliman, E. Terrell, B. S. Tubana, H. L. Waguespack Jr., J. J. Wang, P. M. White Jr.

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is Louisiana's number one row crop. Growing and processing sugarcane produces significant amounts of byproducts, including bagasse, crop residue, molasses, filter-press mud, and boiler fly ash. These products represent an important opportunity to generate value-added and specialty products and enhance sugarcane's sustainability by facilitating a circular economy, where agricultural by-products are reused instead of disposing them (linear economy), in order to reduce resource use and energy demand. Examples of value-added products range from biochar, construction materials, animal feed, biofuels, nanoparticles, and fertilizer. Paramount to the success of the bio-based circular economy is creating useful products that are …

Dynamics Of Link Importance Across Flood Disaster Phases And Flood Impacts On Operation Of An Industry, Navin Bhatta

All Theses

Transportation damage and disruptions will become increasingly common as the frequency of floods increases due to climate change. Given the size and cost of the transportation network construction, communities' mitigation measures should be supported by evaluations that cover both normal and disaster management phases. This thesis examines the criticality of road segments in the normal, flood response, and recovery phases, considering the effects on emergency services, healthcare, industry, education, recreation, and transit and analyses that whether a flood disrupts the operational trips of a company in Anderson County, South Carolina. A 100-year event and a 500-year flood event provides context …

Building Services Engineering May/June 2024

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Development Of A More Sustainable High And Ultra-High-Performance Concrete, Enrique Chirino Andalco

Theses and Dissertations

The urgent need to address climate change and environmental damage presents humanity with significant challenges that must be tackled quickly, not acting promptly will result in irreversible consequences, such as extreme weather events, public health risks, and water shortages, among other impacts.

Due to its enormous size and variety of uses, the construction industry is a key factor in addressing the climate challenge. Specifically, concrete as the most used construction material in the world is a good target for developing innovative and Sustainable improvements to reduce environmental impacts.

Using by-products from other industries in concrete manufacturing is a common and …

Evaluating The Synergy Of Geocell And Microbial-Induced Calcite Precipitation (Micp) In Enhancing Pavement Base Stability: A Field Study On Us 95, Mabin Dahal

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The imperative to develop resilient and sustainable infrastructure is escalating, particularly as urban road networks are subjected to unprecedented stresses. Conventional pavement bases often entail the extensive utilization of quarry materials, which significantly exacerbates environmental degradation and amplifies the energy footprint of construction endeavors. The extraction, transportation, and processing of these quarry materials contribute to deforestation, habitat eradication, and greenhouse gas emissions. Given these environmental and operational hurdles, the quest for innovative, sustainable alternatives in pavement engineering is pressing. One solution is to use the native materials treated with microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) alongside geocell technology back in pavement construction …

Evolving Hangwuran City Development Model Through Partial Least Square Approach In North-Central Nigeria, Samuel Medayese, Hangwelani H. Magidimisha-Chipungu, Lovemore Chipungu

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

The need for a paradigmatic shift in city development ideology has become increasingly evident over the years. In response to this need, the Hangwurian City Development Model was developed to establish a connection between the concepts of environmental awareness, urban governance, and management. This model also integrates sustainable urban development, urban liveability, and inclusive physical development. The research sets a critical objective of analyzing the significant levels of various indicator variables. The exploratory research utilized partial least squares (PLS) via SmartPLS to evaluate the variables, collecting quantitative data through the open data toolkit from three selected cities: Lokoja, Minna, and …

Sustainable Design And Construction With Cob, Alessandro Moya, Bailey Mclaughlin, Maddie Ly, Quinn Boardman

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Conventional building materials contribute to over 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually, therefore, more sustainable materials must be explored. The most readily available material is earth, cob being one of them. Cob is a monolithic earthen material made up of sand, clay, and straw, integrated using water. While this material has been used for thousands of years across the world, it is lacking research, and thus, limiting its implementation into official codes. This project tested six (6) 2’x 2’ cob walls, three (3) six (6) inch thick walls and three (3) twelve (12) inch thick walls using the ASTM …

Development Of Data-Driven Models To Predict Chemical Dosage And Energy Intensity For Different Supply Sources Of Drinking Water, Rehnuma Salsavil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG6), access to clean water for the entire population and sustainable management of water resources have been stressed. Demand for water is increasing due to population growth, economic development, water quality degradation, and climate change. More water needs to be produced for the community at lower treatment costs. The chemical dosage and energy intensity are two important factors that influence water treatment costs and sustainable management of resources as well.

Previously, chemical dosage modeling to reduce treatment costs have been explored but there have been more focus in coagulant dosage modeling. Other …

Building Services Engineering March/April 2024

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Properties Of Portland Cement Concrete Incorporating Basalt-Based Pozzolanic Cement, Rana Khalil

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last decade, the world's population has increased dramatically. Due to this growth, the demand for concrete and Portland cement, in return, have increased. Manufacturing of Portland cement is an energy-intensive process that, alone, contributes to about 8% of global CO2. For decades, efforts have been exerted to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of Portland cement by reducing its use in concrete as well as considering alternate binders that may fully or partially replace it. This study aims to assess the properties of concrete incorporating a novel basalt-based pozzolanic cement. To meet this objective, four sets of concrete mixtures …

Sustainability Of Simplified Sewer Systems: A Case Study Of Vingunguti Urban Settlement, Dar Es Salaam Region In Tanzania, Neema Kijazi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The universal access to safely managed sanitation remains one of the challenges to achieving the UN SDG target 6.2 in unplanned urban settlements including the Vingunguti area in Dar es Salaam City which is high-density populated. In an attempt to address this challenge, a simplified sewer system was piloted as an option for achieving safely managed sanitation in this particular area. The objective of this study was to assess the sustainability of the piloted simplified sewer system for its potentiality to up-scale and replication in areas with similar sanitation challenges in the country. Methodology involved collection of data on performance …

Evaluation Of Hydrophobic Materials For Stabilizing Expansive Soils, Suman Shrestha

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The swelling and shrinkage of the expansive soil as a response to moisture change is one of the significant challenges posed to infrastructure projects. The significant economic damage that is caused by the expansive soil, as well as its abundance in nature, has prompted various scientists and engineers all around the world to actively search for new and improved methods for stabilizing it. Various traditional methods, such as lime and cement treatment, have been used extensively to stabilize expansive soils and mitigate their harmful effects on the infrastructure. Although these methods are quite often effective and various studies have been …

Stabilization Of Expansive Soil Using Geopolymers From Locally Available Resources, Anand Puppala, Miladin Radovic, Nripojyoti Biswas, Sopharith Chou, Oscar Huang

Data

Traditional calcium-based stabilizers are generally used to stabilize native expansive soils that are often found throughout Region 6. Due to their high carbon footprint, many studies are being conducted to identify a suitable green alternative for stabilizing expansive soils. Geopolymer (GP) received a lot of attention in the past few decades owing to its similar properties to that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) yet with a lower carbon footprint. Previous studies have shown that metakaolin-based GP is an effective stabilizer to stabilize expansive soils. This study investigated the feasibility of stabilizing native expansive soils with GP synthesized with locally sourced …

Advancing Environmental Engineering: The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Sustainable Solutions - A Short Review, Amirreza Talaie, Hesam Kamyab, Ashkan Razmfarsa

Management Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in environmental engineering, offering innovative solutions to complex environmental challenges. From air pollution monitoring and water resource management to waste management, climate change mitigation, and ecological preservation, AI is revolutionizing the way we address environmental issues. Machine learning, neural networks, and other AI technologies are enabling more accurate predictions, optimizing resource use, and improving conservation efforts. However, despite its many advantages, AI also faces challenges such as data availability, energy consumption, ethical concerns, and the need for transparency. This review explores the diverse applications of AI in environmental engineering, highlighting the …

Sustainable Materials For Environment − Multifunctional Material Made From Dead Leaves And Nanostructured Materials For Antibiotic Degradation, Siyuan Fang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

As environmental pollution from industrial processes and human activities continues to rise, finding efficient approaches to recycle waste materials and degrade persistent contaminants becomes increasingly critical. Dead leaves, an abundant but underutilized biomass, present an opportunity for creating value-added materials if their biocomponents can be preserved and transformed. Simultaneously, antibiotics such as tetracycline are widely found in water bodies but pose serious ecological and health risks, necessitating effective degradation methods. This dissertation addresses these challenges by leveraging natural and nanostructured materials to develop multifunctional products and advanced photocatalytic processes.

Chapter 3 of this dissertation addresses the challenge of converting waste …

Digitalization Of Railway Transportation Through Ai-Powered Services: Digital Twin Trains, Salih Sarp, Murat Kuzlu, Vukica Jovanovic, Zekeriya Polat, Ozgur Guler

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Digitalization is a key concept that transformed the various industries through technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Twin (DT). Although innovations provided by the advancement of digitalization have paved the way for more efficient operations and products for transportation, the rail transportation sector struggles to keep up with the rest of the transportation industry, since trains are designed to last for decades, and the insufficient infrastructure investment leads to multiple railroad derailments across the globe. Therefore, the primary aim is to transform current railway systems into human-centric, adaptable, sustainable and future-proof networks, aligning with Industry …

Building Services Engineering January/February 2024

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Stabilization Of Expansive Soil Using Geopolymers From Locally Available Resources, Anand Puppala, Miladin Radovic, Nripojyoti Biswas, Sopharith Chou, Oscar Huang

Publications

Traditional calcium-based stabilizers are generally used to stabilize native expansive soils that are often found throughout Region 6. Due to their high carbon footprint, many studies are being conducted to identify a suitable green alternative for stabilizing expansive soils. Geopolymer (GP) received a lot of attention in the past few decades owing to its similar properties to that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) yet with a lower carbon footprint. Previous studies have shown that metakaolin-based GP is an effective stabilizer to stabilize expansive soils. This study investigated the feasibility of stabilizing native expansive soils with GP synthesized with locally sourced …

Service-Learning In Action: Lafayette, Indiana, Rain Garden Installation, Elizabeth Mccleery

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Indiana’s Wabash River is being polluted with contaminated water runoff from precipitation events. A lack of pervious land cover has led to an accumulation of fertilizer, sediment, and waste in the river. Green infrastructure, a stormwater management practice that mimics the natural ecosystem, is one of the most effective ways to prevent pollution from stormwater runoff and benefit the community. This project consisted of a rain garden installation at the Lafayette Fueling Station, a site where frequent water drainage and water runoff into the Wabash occurs. The rain garden will allow on-site water infiltration during rain events and promote natural …

Digital Construction Annual Survey 2022 Report, Davitt Lamon, Ted Mckenna

Reports

The Annual Survey 2022 was conducted to assess the state of digital transformation in the Irish construction and built environment sector. This report presents the analysis of survey data, with a focus on implications for the Build Digital project and Build Digital’s five pillars: Digital Leadership & Cultural Change, Digital Standards, Digital Education & Training, Digital Procurement, and Sustainability & Circular Economy. Key findings from the survey indicated that a significant number of organisations have started their digital transformation journey, with many identifying themselves as proactive and possessing a clear business-focused strategy. However, a considerable cohort of respondents are keen …

International Information Management And Bim Best Practice Report, Ted Mckenna, Davitt Lamon

Reports

In order to inform the Digital Leadership and Cultural Change pillar of the Build Digital, a study of international best practice in digital adoption within the built environment sector globally was undertaken and is presented here-in. In order to identify key learnings for Ireland in the context of digital transformation, eight countries were included in this study, namely, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. These countries were selected for various reasons, including the level of digital maturity, the scale of the built environment sector and geographic spread. Key data for each country is included …

Sustainability And Circular Economy Horizon Scan And Needs Analysis, Sadaf Dalirazar, Mark Kelly, Derek Sinnott, James O'Donnell

Reports

The construction industry plays a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis as it is the largest global consumer of raw materials and contributes significantly to global energy consumption and emissions. Considering the world’s continuous population growth and the imperative to address infrastructure and housing demands the construction sector needs to adopt further sustainable strategies in its activities to reduce the pressure on natural resources. In addition, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector is responsible for generating substantial amount of waste known as Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW), which is projected to increase due to the future construction developments. …

Information Management And Bim Standards And Supports Inventory, Ryan Dempsey, Barry Mcauley, David Burke

Tools

The Digital Standards pillar consists of industry experts who champion the benefits of common rules, guidelines, and workflows that facilitate the improvement of information flow and information management across asset life cycles. Digital standards provide a common language that can be translated to technical specifications enabling clients, designers, contractors, and facilities managers, irrespective of their preferred tools, to communicate efficiently and reduce cost, rework, and disputes. Working closely with the Digital Procurement and Digital Education and Training pillars, this pillar is developing and delivering Irish Information Management/BIM (Digital Construction) guidelines for the sector.

This report summarises existing digital construction standards, …

Building Services Engineering November/December 2023

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Building Services Engineering September/October 2023

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Guide To Navigating Existing And Emerging Sources Of Local Vmt And Travel Data, So-Ra Baek, Dohyung Kim

Mineta Transportation Institute

As the crisis of climate change looms, transportation policy in California continues to emphasize sustainability in land-use and transportation decisions. This report evaluates the implementation of two sustainability-focused policies (Senate Bill 375 and 743) by local governments and the current-state-of-the-practices by metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in assisting them in California. The research focuses on local governments’ access and use of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and transportation data for achieving VMT and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by land-use planning. The research also examines the role of MPOs in providing needed transportation data, training, and technical support to its local members to …

Industry Colloquium Report, Robert Moore

Reports

In the ever-evolving landscape of the construction industry, digital transformation has emerged as a pivotal force reshaping the way projects are conceived, executed, and delivered. This transformation, fuelled by cutting-edge technology and innovative practices, holds the promise of greater efficiency, sustainability, and collaboration within the construction sector.

This report offers a comprehensive summary of the Build Digital Project colloquium. It provides actionable insights and recommendations for clients, supply chain partners, and for prioritisation within the Build Digital Project pillars. As the industry partners seek to build a more efficient, sustainable, and collaborative construction sector, understanding and harnessing the invaluable insights …

Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Biomass Wastes: Sustainability And Geochemistry, Michael A. Kruge, Teresa A. Centeno, Alvaro Amado-Fierro, José Manuel González-Lafuente, Ruben Forjan-Castro, José Luis Gallego

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction. To reduce the stream of solid waste going to landfills, innovative means for beneficial use are essential. The diversity and volume of organic wastes pose singular problems and opportunities for recovery and circularity. Common processes for organics include conversion to biofuels and carbonization to biochar, typically done by torrefaction (dry pyrolysis). Research on biochar explores its potential as pollutant adsorbent, agricultural or polluted soil amendment, biofuel (directly or as feedstock), and for carbon sequestration (Ighalo et al., 2022; Cavali et al., 2023). Recently, other processes at lower temperatures such as hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) offer new possibilities (Seshadri et al., …

Investigating The Influence Of Portland Limestone Cement Combined With Sugarcane Bagasse Ash And Different Types Of Fly Ash On The Mechanical Properties Of Engineered Cementitious Composites, Samuel Guidroz

LSU Master's Theses

The ability to implement Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) within our transportation infrastructure systems has been limited because of increased costs associated with the material’s high cement quantity. To improve cost- effectiveness and to create a more sustainable footprint, the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) has been explored. This study evaluated the effects of utilizing cement interground with limestone, Portland limestone cement (PLC), as a replacement for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Additionally, the performance of the composites was analyzed when mixed with sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) as well as different classes of fly ash (FA). In doing so, the experimental …