Environmental Engineering Commons^™

A Case Study In Design, Construction, And Operation Of A Meromictic Solar Pond In Texas, Usa, Bianca Paola Meneses Brassea

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over the last four decades, meromictic solar ponds have been the subject of limnological studies and engineering research. A case of practical interest is the salinity gradient solar pond (SGSP). SGSP science and technologies have been systemically advanced in El Paso, Texas. This dissertation aims to share lessons learned in designing, constructing, and operating the El Paso Solar Pond, a NaCl-based solar pond that achieved high-temperature performance over two decades, commencing in 1984. Many of the practical lessons learned have not been published and are thus not readily available in archival journals, and this contribution provides a remedy. The value …

Sulfonated Styrene Grafted Sebs/Abs Made By Additive Manufacturing For Ion Exchange Applications, Avianna Elaine Gallegos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

An interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) for cation exchange applications was synthesized from a blend of styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which was 3D printed, grafted with crosslinked polystyrene (PS), and sulfonated. A method for styrene grafting was applied to reduce the damage to polymer phases caused by the sulfonation reaction. Styrene and divinylbenzene monomers were introduced to the IPN and induced with heat treatment to polymerize in situ. The graft copolymerization reaction was enhanced with varying quantities of benzoyl peroxide as a chemical initiator. The samples were subsequently sulfonated with chlorosulfonic acid in dichloroethane and functionalized for ion …

Sustainability And Health Impacts Of Pulse Crops In The United States Using Life Cycle Assessment, Prathamesh A. Bandekar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental sustainability and human health impact of pulses produced and consumed in the United States was assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA). The study included three objectives 1) to estimate environmental impact of current production and consumption practices in the United States using attributional LCA; 2) to estimate environmental and human health impact of iso-caloric diets containing varying amounts of pulses using Hybrid-LCA and Combined Nutritional and Environmental-LCA (CONE-LCA); and 3) to estimate environmental impact of increased demand for pulses using consequential LCA. Scope of the study varied for each objective with system boundary encompassing cradle-to-grave activities for objective 1 …

The Living Breakwaters Pdr Efforts Econcrete Resource Analysis, Guianina Ferrari, Shervon Stephens, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy impacted 443,000 people and caused nearly $19 billion (about $58 per person in the US) worth of damage within New York City. As part of the New York City infrastructure reparation plan, the Living Breakwaters project in Tottenville addressed coastal resilience, allocating $100M of public funds to a series of artificial breakwaters by the southwest coast of Staten Island. Each breakwater is constructed and designed to mitigate water flow in storm events. ECOncrete, a primary element of the breakwater, is a specialty cast cementitious product that is marine organism-friendly that encourages biocalcification and photosynthesis. …

2022 Fall Engr333 Seminar Presentation, Jordan Tuter, Aidan Bakker, Samuel Hoover, Jessica Camp

ENGR 333

File for student presentation on Carbon Neutrality for Calvin University, given by students in the Fall 2022 class of ENGR333.

Secure Cloud-Based Iot Water Quality Gathering For Analysis And Visualization, Soin Abdoul Kassif Baba M Traore, Maria Valero, Amy Gruss

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Water quality refers to measurable water characteristics, including chemical, biological, physical, and radiological characteristics usually relative to human needs. Dumping waste and untreated sewage is the reason for water pollution and several diseases to the living hood. The quality of water can also have a significant impact on animals and plant ecosystems. Therefore, keeping track of water quality is a substantial national interest. Much research has been done for measuring water quality using sensors to prevent water pollution. In summary, those systems are built based on online and reagent-free water monitoring SCADA systems in wired networks. However, centralized servers, transmission …

Big Lagoon Sea Level Rise, Kyra Cohen, Malia Seeley, Dustin Helliwell, Albert Wolff

Student Projects

Cal Poly Humboldt Environmental Resources Engineering Senior Capstone.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is highly concerned sea level rise (SLR), due to climate change and the potential negative impacts on the California transportation system. SLR is especially important for routes constructed at low elevations and those immediately adjacent to the coast where SLR is one of the largest threats to the transportation system along the coast. Rising sea levels are expected to disrupt the daily lives of Californians, specifically the coastal economies, which increases the risk to public safety and contributes to the decline of ecosystems that are vital …

Sea Level Rise Analysis: High-Importance Access Road Protection, Max Alvin, Taylor Goodwyn, Karly Johnson, Pedro Valverde

Student Projects

Cal Poly Humboldt Environmental Resources Engineering Senior Capstone.

This report provides an analysis of design alternatives and ultimately a preferred design to ensure the longevity of Highway 101 near Orick, CA which is under threat of sea level rise (SLR). Highway 101 is the main transportation corridor for communities stretching from Arcata to Crescent City, California. Caltrans provided an area of interest along Highway 101 just southwest of Orick, between mile markers 119.58 and 119.92. The project area of interest is illustrated below in Figure ES-1. This stretch of Highway 101 borders low lying pastures and Redwood Creek's historic estuary. …

Wastewater-Informed Public Health Intervention Playbook

Sustain Magazine

As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic quickly spread from country to country and continent to continent in 2020, governments and scientists needed a way to track COVID-19 through populations in order to position public health interventions in the most impactful locations. Having a decision-based risk framework may help to guide policy creation that could minimize or prevent possible outbreaks and surges of infection within communities. The University of Louisville in partnership with Louisville’s Department of Public Health and Wellness tested this strategy in 2021 and 2022. This Wastewater-Informed Public Health Intervention Playbook describes the decisions and actions of that academic and public …

2022 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2022 ENGR333 project focused on sustainable heating for Calvin University.

I asked the students “What would it take to eliminate Calvin’s natural gas-related net CO2 emissions?”

Matt Kucinski (Calvin PR) wrote a story about the project. President Boer wrote a complementary post about the students’ work on LinkedIn.

Customer

The customer for this project was Dr. Wiebe Boer, President of Calvin University.

Research On The Detection Technologies Of Ship Exhaust Gas In Emission Control Areas, Binting Tu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Calcium Bearing Mineral-Hydrogel Composites For Phosphate Removal And Recovery, Albern Xuan-Wei Tan

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The millions of tons of phosphate rock ore mined every year for use as phosphorus fertilizer have created two challenges. First, phosphate rock is a mined, non-renewable resource that is also heavily geographically concentrated, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability and availability of phosphorus. Second, after it is applied as a fertilizer, phosphorus will also be released to the broader environment. There, it contributes to harmful algal blooms and eutrophication, which threaten surface water quality and can harm aquatic ecosystems and the communities and industries that rely on them. These considerations motivate the coupled development of techniques for removing and …

Fate Of Metals In Presence Of Minerals And Mineral-Organic Assemblages, Neha Sharma

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Metals can enter aquatic systems from natural and anthropogenic processes associated with weathering, sediment re-suspension, industrial activities, and atmospheric deposition. Metals pose health and environmental risks at high concentrations due to their potential toxicity and bioaccumulation, but many trace metals also serve as essential micronutrients for biogeochemical processes in natural aquatic systems. Biogeochemical processes such as methanogenesis, denitrification, and mercury methylation require transition metals such as nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), and molybdenum (Mo) for completion. These biogeochemical processes can be substantial contributors of greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), into the atmosphere. The behavior, …

Nanoscale Interfacial Control Of Ion Behaviors And Caco3 Formation In Environmental Systems, Yaguang Zhu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Interfaces in environmental systems can change the distribution of pollutants and nutrients, determine the fate and transport of nanoparticles, and affect the efficiency of engineering projects. Complex interactions, including electrostatic interactions, Van der Waals interactions, chemical interactions, and ion-surface specific interactions, can all contribute to different ion, ion-pair, and nanoparticle formations near interfaces. Although environmental interfaces play critical roles, only a limited number of studies have considered the nanoscale picture of how they control ions and nanoparticles. Thus, this dissertation addresses three research questions: (1) How does sulfate chemically interact with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) during its heterogeneous formation on quartz …

Photochemical Formation Mechanisms And Applications Of Mn Oxide Nanomaterials, Zhenwei Gao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Manganese (Mn) oxides are ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial environments, and the rich redox chemistry of manganese is of interest in engineered systems, such as batteries and water oxidation catalysts. Mn oxides have large surface areas and are highly active in adsorption and redox reactions. Our research group recently reported photochemically-assisted abiotic inorganic oxidation of Mn2+(aq) to δ-MnO2 nanosheets in the presence of nitrate and without a microorganism, demonstrating that abiotic Mn oxidation processes are not negligible. My doctoral work focuses on investigating the effects of various aquatic chemistry parameters, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), peroxyl radical (ROO•), reactive halogen …

Application Of A 14c-Assay To Assess Methanotrophic Biodegradation Of Tce In Low Ph Groundwater, Evan Groome

All Theses

Current biological strategies for remediating trichloroethylene (TCE) in low pH aquifers (i.e., pH14C-TCE assay was developed to determine pseudo first-order rate constants for the degradation of TCE in microcosms containing soil and groundwater from the Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (BOMARC) superfund site, where the pH ranges from 4.1 to 4.9. The ¹⁴C-TCE assay was also adapted to calculate soil-normalized rate constants for data from this site, as well as data that Szwast²¹ collected from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). In addition to natural attenuation, biostimulation through amendments of methane and nutrients were also assessed. This treatment …

Wetland Soil Development Along Salinity And Hydrogeomorphic Gradients In Active And Inactive Deltaic Basins Of Coastal Louisiana, Amanda Fontenot

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal wetlands provide an abundance of ecosystem services that benefit society, such as essential habitat for commercial species, storm protection, nutrient cycling, and carbon storage. Louisiana faces rapid rates of relative sea level rise (natural subsidence and eustatic sea levels) that threaten wetland survival, which are amplified by a reduction of riverine sediment input. An important determining factor of marsh survival is the formation of wetland platform elevation, known as vertical accretion, which is determined by several processes including sediment deposition & erosion, below ground biomass (BGB) productivity, decomposition of organic matter, shallow & deep subsidence, and soil compaction. Feldspar …

Learning From Machines: Insights In Forest Transpiration Using Machine Learning Methods, Morgan Thornwell

Dissertations and Theses

Machine learning has been used as a tool to model transpiration for individual sites, but few models are capable of generalizing to new locations without calibration to site data. Using the global SAPFLUXNET database, 95 tree sap flow data sites were grouped using three clustering strategies: by biome, by tree functional type, and through use of a k-means unsupervised clustering algorithm. Two supervised machine learning algorithms, a random forest algorithm and a neural network algorithm, were used to build machine learning models that predicted transpiration for each cluster. The performance and feature importance in each model were analyzed and compared …

Design And Commissioning Of An E-Beam Irradiation Beamline At The Upgraded Injector Test Facility At Jefferson Lab, Xi Li, Helmut Baumgart, Charles Bott, Gianluigi Ciovati, Shaun Gregory, Fay Hannon, Mike Mccaughan, Robert Pearce, Matthew Poelker, Hannes Vennekate, Shaoheng Wang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Jefferson Lab is a continuous-wave superconducting linear accelerator capable of providing an electron beam with energy up to 10 MeV. A beamline for electron-beam irradiation has been designed, installed and successfully commissioned at this facility, aimed at the degradation study of 1,4-dioxane and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater treatment. A solenoid with a peak axial magnetic field of up to 0.28 T and a set of raster coils were used to obtain a Gaussian beam profile with a transverse standard deviation of ∼15.0 mm at the target location. Monte-Carlo simulations using …

Understanding Ch4 Emissions From Compostables: An Exploration Of Local Ch4 Emissions From Landfilled Compostables And The Efficacy Of Emission Mitigation Via Anaerobic Biogas Digestion, Jordan-Yoosuf Aljbour

University Honors Theses

Methane (CH₄) is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas within the atmosphere, comprising ~16% of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas composition on Earth. It has an ~12-year lifetime relative to its eventual oxidation via reaction with tropospheric hydroxyl radicals (OH), and has a 100-year indirect global warming potential (GWP) approximately ranging between 28-36 [Environmental Protection Agency, 2021]. In recent years, the observed average global concentration of atmospheric CH₄ has increased by ~11.0% from 2020 (~15.3 ppb) to 2021 (~17.0 ppb) [Dlugokencky et al., 1994; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2022]. With …

Effects Of Experimental Scale On The Adsorption Of Two Pharmaceutical Drugs Detected In Municipal Wastewater Effluent, Michael Moore

Master's Theses

Pharmaceutical drugs are being produced and consumed in increasing quantities every year and are poorly treated by conventional wastewater treatment processes, leading to increasing detection of such compounds in surface water, groundwater, and municipal drinking water. Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) is a promising method for treating these emerging compounds through combined adsorption and degradation of target compounds in soil. This thesis examines the consistency of results from typical studies like adsorption isotherms and soil columns utilized in analysis of SAT performance, across varying experimental scales. The adsorption behavior of two pharmaceuticals was investigated as a function of experimental scale and …

Reactive Iron Mineral Coatings In Redox Transition Zones Of A Site With Historical Contamination: Abiotic Attenuation, Xin Yin

Dissertations

Reactive iron mineral coatings are found throughout reduction-oxidation (redox) transition zones and play a significant role in contaminant transformation processes. In this study, an 18.3-meter core is collected, subsampled, and preserved under anoxic conditions to maintain its original redox state. Screening analyses are conducted at sampling increments of 5.08 cm in depth for the following: elemental concentrations with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), sediment pH, sediment oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), total volatile organic carbon (TVOC) in the sample headspace, and abundant bacteria (16S rRNA sequencing). Using the Fe and S gradients correlated with microbial data, five RTZs are delineated. To characterize iron mineral …

Hydrodynamic Limitations To Mangrove Seedling Retention In Subtropical Estuaries, Kelly M. Kibler, Christian Pilato, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Jyotismita Taye

Flow-biota Interaction and Natural Infrastructure Design

Mangrove forest sustainability hinges upon propagule recruitment and seedling retention. This study evaluates biophysical limitations to mangrove seedling persistence by measuring anchoring force of two mangrove species (Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia germinans). Anchoring force was measured in 362 seedlings via lateral pull-tests administered in mangrove forests of two subtropical estuaries and in laboratory-based experiments. Removal mechanism varied with seedling age: newly-established seedlings failed due to root pull-out while seedlings older than 3 months failed by root breakage. Anchoring force of R. mangle seedlings was consistently and significantly greater than A. germinans (GLM: p = 0.002), however force to …

A Circular Economy Approach To Improve E-Waste Recycling In California: Economic Potential And Policy Options, Kripa Shah

Master's Projects and Capstones

The higher consumption rates of electronic devices along with their short life cycles and few repair options poses a huge challenge for E-waste industries to manage them effectively. E-waste comprises of hazardous materials and toxic constituents that can affect the environment and public health through improper disposal. However, they also contain few valuable materials that, if recovered, can reduce the dependence on virgin raw materials. Circular economy has the potential to utilize these valuable materials and gain environment and socio-economic benefits. The research explains how the adoption of a circular economy approach can help improve the E-waste recycling in California …

The Living Breakwaters Pdr Efforts: Conceptual Scheduling, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy caused nearly $19 billion in damages in New York City including 69,000 residential units across the five boroughs. This disaster precipitated a post-disaster-rebuilding (PDR) project including roughly $4.2 billion in a Community Development Block Grant allocated towards PDR projects. A portion of the grant was used to construct a living breakwater in Tottenville, Staten Island, consisting of a resiliency approach to risk reduction through erosion prevention, wave energy attenuation, and enhancement of ecosystems and social resiliency to improve resistance to storms for the community of Tottenville. The ridges of each breakwater are designed with …

Floating Treatment Wetlands For Brackish Waters: Plant Selection And Nutrient Uptake Potential., Andrea Landaverde

All Theses

Brackish water bodies in coastal regions provide critical ecosystem services that support human and environmental health. Anthropogenic activities such as agricultural and industrial activities, construction, urban settlements, and tourism contribute to increased inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in brackish coastal ecosystems. Excess nutrients can lead to impaired water quality and affect marine organisms. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are a vegetated-base technology used to remove contaminants from water column, that has been mainly studied and applied in freshwater systems. Application of FTWs in brackish systems requires further investigation, as high salinity in brackish waters could result in toxicity to …

Fate And Transport Of Toxoplasma Gondii Oocysts In Saturated Porous Media: Effects Of Electrolytes And Natural Organic Matter, Christian Pullano

All Theses

Toxoplasma gondii is a pathogenic microorganism that is currently a threat to public health. Understanding the fate and transport of T. gondii through the soil and groundwater is vital in determining the risk it poses to water resources and human health. The physico-chemical interactions between the groundwater and the bio colloid within an aquifer will dictate its mobility and its ability to infect humans. This research examines how various naturally occurring groundwater chemistries containing organic compounds and monovalent and divalent salt solutions will alter the fate and transport of T. gondii. Solutions containing various concentrations of humic acid, fulvic …

Exploring The Effects Of Varied Land Use On Elemental Concentrations Within Streams, Logan Jennings

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is well documented that human activity influences the chemistry of surrounding waters. As such, it is possible that there is a link between land use within a watershed and the chemical composition of the stream. The objectives of this study are to determine if varied land use does affect the concentrations of macronutrients and trace elements present in the streams of Northwest Arkansas, and if so, to determine what extent urban and agricultural development are responsible for these changes. Water samples were collected across 19 streams in the Northwest Arkansas region between January and March of 2022. Water samples …

Wetland Uranium Transport Via Iron-Organic Matter Flocs And Hyporheic Exchange, Connor J. Parker

All Dissertations

Uranium (U) released from the M-Area at the Department of Energy Savannah River Site into Tims Branch, a seasonal wetland and braided stream system, is estimated to be 43,500 kg between 1965 and 1984. The motivation for this work is the uranium’s persistence in the wetland for decades, where it is estimated that 80% of the U currently remains in the Tims Branch wetland. U has begun to incorporate into wetland iron (Fe) and carbon cycles, associating with local Fe mineralogy and deposits of rich wetland organic matter (OM). The objective of this work is to characterize the chemical phases …

Characterization Of Water Flow And Solute Transport Driven By Preferential Flow In Soil Vadose Zone, Abdullah Al Mamun

All Dissertations

The vadose zone acts as a buffer zone between the ground surface and the aquifers underneath and controls the transmission of infiltrating water and contaminants, for example, pesticides and chemical spills. Therefore, understanding the flow and transport processes that dominate the vadose zone is important. Macropores are ubiquitous and particularly found in abundance in the vadose zone. These macropores facilitate preferential flow, through which water travels rapidly deep into the soil, bypassing most of the porous matrix. Preferential flow and transport have environmental significance as their processes impact hydrology, ecology, agriculture, subsurface contamination, and waste management sectors. Thus, the overall …