Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of Wind And Solar Energy Investments In Texas, Byungik Chang, Ken Starcher

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The primary objective of the project is to evaluate the benefits of wind and solar energy and determine economical investment sites for wind and solar energy in Texas with economic parameters including payback periods. A 50 kW wind turbine system and a 42 kW PV system were used to collect field data. Data analysis enabled yearly energy production and payback period of the two systems.

The average payback period of a solar PV system was found to be within a range of 2-20 years because the large range of the payback period for PV systems were heavily influenced by incentives. …

Performance Study On Evacuated Tubular Collector Coupled Solar Still In West Texas Climate, Roy Issa, Byungik Chang

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Experimental study was performed on a single basin active solar distillation system augmented with a solar collector using evacuated solar tubes. Field tests were conducted over several days under the climatic conditions of West Texas to evaluate the effect evacuated solar tubes have on the daily distillate yield rate. To investigate the feasibility of the solar tubes, active and passive solar stills with and without exterior insulation were examined. The maximum daily production rate for the active distillation system using evacuated solar tubes and the passive distillation system was 3.6 and 1.4 kg/m²day, respectively. The results showed the …

Quality Improvement Of Acidic Soils By Biochar Derived From Renewable Materials, Deok Hyun Moon, Inseong Hwang, Yoon-Young Chang, Agamemnon Koutsospyros, Kyung Hoon Cheong, Won Hyun Ji, Jeong Hun Park

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Biochar derived from waste plant materials and agricultural residues was used to improve the quality of an acidic soil. The acidic soil was treated for 1 month with both soy bean stover-derived biochar and oak-derived biochar in the range of 1 to 5 wt% for pH improvement and exchangeable cation enhancement. Following 1 month of treatment, the soil pH was monitored and exchangeable cations were measured. Moreover, a maize growth experiment was performed for 14 days with selected treated soil samples to confirm the effectiveness of the treatment. The results showed that the pH of the treated acidic soil increased …

Assessment Of Soil Washing For Simultaneous Removal Of Heavy Metals And Low-Level Petroleum Hydrocarbons Using Various Washing Solutions, Deok-Hyun Moon, Jae-Woo Park, Agamemnon Koutsospyros, Kyung Hoon Cheong, Yoon-Young Chang, Ki-Tae Baek, Raehyun Jo, Jeong-Hun Park

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Bench-scale soil washing experiments were conducted for simultaneous removal of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn) and low-level petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants from soils. Various washing solutions including hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric acid (HNO₃), sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), tartaric acid (C₄H₆O₆) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (C₁₀H₁₆N₂O₈, EDTA) were used. The concentration of the washing solutions ranged from 0.1 to 3M with a liquid-to-solid ratio of 10. The soil washing results showed that hydrochloric acid (HCl) was the best washing solution at 3M for heavy …

Immobilization Of Lead In Contaminated Firing Range Soil Using Biochar, Deok Hyun Moon, Jae-Woo Park, Yoon-Young Chang, Yong Sik Ok, Sang Soo Lee, Mahtab Ahmad, Agamemnon Koutsospyros, Jeong Hun Park, Kitae Baek

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Soybean stover-derived biochar was used to immobilize lead (Pb) in military firing range soil at a mass application rate of 0 to 20 wt.% and a curing period of 7 days. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. The mechanism responsible for Pb immobilization in military firing range soil was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy analyses. The treatment results showed that TCLP Pb leachability decreased with increasing biochar content. A reduction of over 90 % in Pb leachability was achieved upon …

Analysis Of Coal Combustion By-Products Disposal Practices At The San Juan Mine: Hydrologic And Water Quality Issues, Bruce Thomson

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Coal Combustion By-Products (CCBs) are generated by the burning of coal for electric power generation and as waste streams from emissions control systems. They consist of bottom ash from the furnaces, fly ash from electrostatic precipitators, and flue gas desulfurization sludge from air pollution scrubbers. Depending on the characteristics of the coal, CCBs may contain high concentrations of metals or other constituents that present a threat to ground or surface water resources if not properly managed. This report describes results of an investigation of CCBs generated by a power plant in northwestern New Mexico. Coal Combustion By-Products from this plant …

Impact Of Lifetime On U.S. Residential Building Lca Results, Can B. Aktas, M. M. Bilec

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Purpose: Many life cycle assessment (LCA) studies do not adequately address the actual lifetime of buildings and building products, but rather assume a typical value. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of lifetime on residential building LCA results. Including accurate lifetime data into LCA allows a better understanding of a product’s environmental impact that would ultimately enhance the accuracy of LCA results.

Methods This study focuses on refining the U.S. residential building lifetime, as well as lifetime of interior renovation products that are commonly used as interior finishes in homes, to improve LCA results. Residential building …

Service Life Prediction Of Residential Interior Finishes For Life Cycle Assessment, Can B. Aktas Ph.D.

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Service life of building products has an important influence on life cycle assessment (LCA) results of buildings. The goal of this study was to propose a systematic approach to estimate service life of building products by including both technical and social factors. A hybrid service life prediction method, combining the statistical approach described in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard G166, with the Factor Method adopted by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 15686 was proposed. In their current forms, the two methods are not suitable to provide accurate lifetime estimates for the wide variety of products that …