Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Lithium Extraction From Aqueous Solution Using Magnesium Doped Lithium Ion-Sieve Composite, Ujjwal Pokharel

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on the development of a magnesium doped ion-sieve composite to extract lithium from an aqueous solution using adsorption process. The extraction process will provide a sustainable alternative to the currently practiced solar evaporation/concentration method which is very slow (takes 24 months) and water intensive. Currently, most of the lithium in the world comes from the mining of lithium or from the evaporative extraction process from the brine. Additionally, the Salton Sea area geothermal brines are recognized as potentially important domestic sources of lithium. Lithium concentration in geothermal brines from the Salton Sea area is reported to be …

Adaptation Of Nirtrifiers And Heterotrophs To Low Dissolved Oxygen In An Activated Sludge Biological Nutrient Removal Pilot Plant, Shashank Khatiwada

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Low dissolved oxygen (DO) operation is one of the innovative technologies in biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes that is being investigated due to the potential to reduce aeration requirements, reduce a treatment plant’s carbon footprint, and to lower costs associated with chemical addition to promote denitrification. These benefits are achieved through development of micro-zones, within aerated basins where simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) can occur. In this study, an activated sludge BNR pilot was run in an anerobic/aerobic (A/O) configuration at a controlled temperature and constant flow to observe microorganism-driven transformations of nitrogen and phosphorus at varying low DO conditions. …

Evaluating Direct Filtration As An Alternative To Conventional Carbon-Based Advanced Treatment For Indirect Potable Reuse, Savannah M. Flemmer

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) is recharging purified wastewater into the Potomac Aquifer via the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) project. Conventional SWIFT treatment applies coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, ozonation, biofiltration, granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, and ultraviolet disinfection to secondary effluent to produce water that meets drinking water standards for managed aquifer recharge. HRSD is considering implementing direct filtration as an alternative to conventional treatment for two additional SWIFT facilities. Direct filtration presents an opportunity for significant cost savings by eliminating sedimentation, shortening flocculation detention time, and reducing coagulant usage. Without upstream removal of solids and organics, however, biofilters …

Biocrude Production From Lignin In Hydrothermal Medium: Effect Of Rapid Heating And Short Residence Time, Kyoko Hirayama

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study aims to address knowledge gaps in the production of valuable products from waste streams generated during lignocellulosic biofuel production. The primary objective is to develop a process that converts lignin, a byproduct of bioethanol refineries, into a sustainable biolubricant.

The first chapter examines recent advancements in synthesizing biolubricants and investigates their scalability. It explores innovative materials, catalysts, chemical modification approaches, and additives that have emerged in the field. A particular hurdle is the oxidative stability of biolubricants derived from plant oils, which are prone to autooxidation due to their C=C bonds. To overcome this, the study aims to …

Reduced Metal Nanocatalysts For Selective Electrochemical Hydrogenation Of Biomass-Derived 5-(Hydroxymethyl)Furfural To 2, 5-Bis(Hydroxymethyl)Furan In Ambient Conditions, Baleeswaraiah Muchharla, Moumita Dikshit, Ujjwal Pokharel, Ravindranath Garimella, Adetayo Adedeji, Kapil Kumar, Wei Cao, Hani Elsayed-Ali, Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni, Naif Abdullah Al-Dhabi, Sandeep Kumar, Bijandra Kumar

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Selective electrochemical hydrogenation (ECH) of biomass-derived unsaturated organic molecules has enormous potential for sustainable chemical production. However, an efficient catalyst is essential to perform an ECH reaction consisting of superior product selectivity and a higher conversion rate. Here, we examined the ECH performance of reduced metal nanostructures i.e., reduced Ag (rAg) and reduced copper (rCu) prepared via electrochemical or thermal oxidation and electrochemical reduction process, respectively. Surface morphological analysis suggests formation of nanocoral and entangled nanowire structure formation for rAg and rCu catalysts. rCu exhibits slight enhancement in ECH reaction performance in comparison to the pristine Cu. However, the rAg …

Numerical Study Of Sediment Suspension Affected By Rigid Cylinders Under Unidirectional And Combined Wave-Current Flows, Sha Lou, Xiaolan Chen, Shengyu Zhou, Gangfeng Ma, Shuguang Liu, Larisa Dorzhievna Radnaeva, Elena Nikitina, Irina Viktorovna Fedorova

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Sediment transport modeling for flows with cylinders is very challenging owing to the complicated flow–cylinder–sediment interactions, especially under the combined wave-current flows. In this paper, an improved formulation for incipient sediment suspension considering the effect of cylinder density (i.e., solid volume fraction) is employed to simulate the bottom sediment flux in the flow with cylinders. The proposed model is calibrated and validated using laboratory measurements under unidirectional and combined wave-current flows in previous studies. It is proved that the effects of cylinders on sediment suspension can be accounted for through a modified critical Shields number, and the proposed model is …

Compound Flooding In Convergent Estuaries: Insights From An Analytical Model, Ramin Familkhalili, Stefan Talke, David A. Jay

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We investigate here the effects of geometric properties (channel depth and cross-sectional convergence length), storm surge characteristics, friction, and river flow on the spatial and temporal variability of compound flooding along an idealized, meso-tidal coastal-plain estuary. An analytical model is developed that includes exponentially convergent geometry, tidal forcing, constant river flow, and a representation of storm surge as a combination of two sinusoidal waves. Nonlinear bed friction is treated using Chebyshev polynomials and trigonometric functions, and a multi-segment approach is used to increase accuracy. Model results show that river discharge increases the damping of surge amplitudes in an estuary, while …

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 …

Ooi Biogeochemical Sensor Data: Best Practices And User Guide. Version 1.0.0., Hilary I. Palevsky, Sophie Clayton, Dariia Atamanchuk, Roman Battisti, Jennifer Batryn, Annie Bourbonnais, Ellen M. Briggs, Filipa Carvalho, Alison P. Chase, Rachel Eveleth, Rob Fatland, Kristen E. Fogaren, Jonathan Peter Fram, Susan E. Hartman, Isabela Le Bras, Cara C.M. Manning, Joseph A. Needoba, Merrie Beth Neely, Hilde Oliver, Andrew C. Reed, Jennie E. Rheuban, Christina Schallenberg, Michael F. Vardaro, Ian Walsh, Christopher Wingard

OES Faculty Publications

The OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide is intended to provide current and prospective users of data generated by biogeochemical sensors deployed on the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) arrays with the information and guidance needed for them to ensure that the data is science-ready. This guide is aimed at researchers with an interest or some experience in ocean biogeochemical processes. We expect that users of this guide will have some background in oceanography, however we do not assume any prior experience working with biogeochemical sensors or their data. While initially envisioned as a “cookbook” for end users …

Evaluating Essential Processes And Forecast Requirements For Meteotsunami-Induced Coastal Flooding, Chenfu Huang, Eric Anderson, Yi Liu, Gangfeng Ma, Greg Mann, Pengfei Xue

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Meteotsunamis pose a unique threat to coastal communities and often lead to damage of coastal infrastructure, deluge of nearby property, and loss of life and injury. The Great Lakes are a known hot-spot of meteotsunami activity and serve as an important region for investigation of essential hydrodynamic processes and model forecast requirements in meteotsunami-induced coastal flooding. For this work, we developed an advanced hydrodynamic model and evaluate key model attributes and dynamic processes, including: (1) coastal model grid resolution and wetting and drying process in low-lying zones, (2) coastal infrastructure, including breakwaters and associated submerging and overtopping processes, (3) annual/seasonal …

Integrating Deep Learning And Hydrodynamic Modeling To Improve The Great Lakes Forecast, Pengfei Xue, Aditya Wagh, Gangfeng Ma, Yilin Wang, Yongchao Yang, Tao Liu, Chenfu Huang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Laurentian Great Lakes, one of the world’s largest surface freshwater systems, pose a modeling challenge in seasonal forecast and climate projection. While physics-based hydrodynamic modeling is a fundamental approach, improving the forecast accuracy remains critical. In recent years, machine learning (ML) has quickly emerged in geoscience applications, but its application to the Great Lakes hydrodynamic prediction is still in its early stages. This work is the first one to explore a deep learning approach to predicting spatiotemporal distributions of the lake surface temperature (LST) in the Great Lakes. Our study shows that the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, …

Recent Advancements In Electrochemical Conversion Of Carbon Dioxide, Nandan Nag, Amit Kumar, Sumit Sharma, Sandeep Kumar, Amit K. Thakur

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into eco-friendly and clean products is a promising approach to eradicate pollution. Although carbon dioxide emission is inhibited by the advent of renewable sources of energy, it is present in the atmosphere and needs to be cleaned. The reduction of carbon dioxide from atmospheric gases can be accomplished by its adsorption and subsequent transportation to electrolytic chambers, where it is reduced to hydrocarbons, organic acids or carbonates. This review focuses on developing a three compartment electrochemical cell to reduce carbon dioxide used as a catholyte. Various factors affecting the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and …

Editorial: Coastal Flooding: Modeling, Monitoring, And Protection Systems, Valentina Prigiobbe, Clint Dawson, Yao Hu, Hatim O. Sharif, Navid Tahvildari

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Coastal flooding has received significant attention in recent years due to future sea-level rise (SLR) projections and intensification of precipitation, which will exacerbate frequent flooding, coastal erosion, and eventually create permanently inundated low-elevation land. Coastal governments will be forced to implement measures to manage risk on the population and infrastructure and build protection systems to mitigate or adapt to the negative impacts of flooding. Research in this area is required to establish holistic frameworks for timely and accurate flooding forecast and design of protection systems.

Assessment Of The Hydrograv® Adapt Variable Height Secondary Clarifier Inlet At Hrsd Nansemond Treatment Plant, Matthew Poe

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) recently completed the first North American and center driven installation of the Hydrograv® Adapt Variable Height Secondary Clarifier Inlet (Adapt) at HRSD’s Nansemond Treatment Plant. This is a variable height inlet structure designed to decrease clarifier effluent turbidity and maintain low turbidity during high flow events. Low turbidity is achieved by feeding the secondary clarifier influent within the solids blanket during dry weather conditions and lifting the inlet structure during wet weather conditions to avoid disrupting the blanket. The Adapt clarifier was monitored alongside an identical fixed inlet clarifier to assess performance. Both clarifiers …

Integrated Processing Of Municipal Solid Waste For Maximizing Waste Reduction, Carbon Recovery And Fuel Production, Kameron J. King

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nationally and internationally, waste generation is increasing and along with it negative environmental impacts. Many people think waste ends at disposal; however, environmental impacts have already begun. Unfortunately, 50% of waste ends up in a landfill which is the third largest source of human related methane emissions and a leading cause of global climate change. This study investigated a novel waste management strategy in hopes of mitigating negative environmental effects caused by conventional waste management practices. The novelty of the study lies in the development of an integrated method of hydrothermal carbonization and an anaerobic digestion (HTC + AD) process …

Stability Of Low Crested And Submerged Breakwaters: A Reanalysis And Model Development, Christopher P. Burgess

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Low-crested and submerged structures (LCS) play an integral part in the stabilization of shorelines for recreational purposes, yet there are a plethora of empirical models and gaps in the understanding of their stability and damage progression. The objectives were: i) to evaluate the present formulae, ii) explore variable importance, iii) formulate a stability model, iv) extend the current datasets and v) explore a new model for LCS. The literature points to an increasing understanding of the initiation of damage of LCS and recent exploration of the shear stress-induced erosion (van Rijn, 2019). Assessment of two existing models (Kramer, 2006 and …

Laboratory Study Of The Effects Of Flexible Vegetation On Solute Diffusion In Unidirectional Flow, Sha Lou, Hao Wang, Hongzhe Liu, Guihui Zhong, Larisa Dorzhievna Radnaeva, Elena Nikitina, Gangfeng Ma, Shuguang Liu

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Flexible vegetation is an important part of the riverine ecosystem, which can reduce flow velocity, change turbulence structure, and affect the processes of solute transport. Compared with the flow with rigid vegetation, which has been reported in many previous studies, bending of flexible vegetation increases the complexity of the flow-vegetation-solute interactions. In this study, laboratory experiments are carried out to investigate the influence of flexible vegetation on solute transport, and methods for estimating the lateral and longitudinal diffusion coefficients in the rigid vegetated flow are examined for their applications to the flow with flexible vegetation.

Results

The experimental observations …

Large-Scale Variation In Wave Attenuation Of Oyster Reef Living Shorelines And The Influence Of Inundation Duration, Rebecca L. Morris, Megan K. La Peyre, Bret M. Webb, Danielle A. Marshall, Donna M. Bilkovic, Just Cebrian, Giovanna Mcclenachan, Kelly M. Kibler, Linda J. Walters, David Bushek, Eric L. Sparks, Nigel A. Temple, Joshua Moody, Kory Angstadt, Joshua Goff, Maura Boswell, Paul Sacks, Stephen E. Swearer

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the paramount goals of oyster reef living shorelines is to achieve sustained and adaptive coastal protection, which requires meeting ecological (i.e., develop a self-sustaining oyster population) and engineering (i.e., provide coastal defense) targets. In a large-scale comparison along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the efficacy of various designs of oyster reef living shorelines at providing wave attenuation was evaluated accounting for the ecological limitations of oysters with regards to inundation duration. A critical threshold for intertidal oyster reef establishment is 50% inundation duration. Living shorelines that spent less than half of the time ( …

Assessment Of Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells Degradation Due To Water Ingress Effect On The Cds Buffer Layer, Deewakar Poudel, Benjamin Belfore, Shankar Karki, Grace Rajan, Sina Soltanmohammad, Angus Rockett, Sylvain Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The effect of water ingress on the surface of the buffer layer of a Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cell was studied. Such degradation can occur either during the fabrication process, if it involves a chemical bath as is often the case for CdS, or while the modules are in the field and encapsulants degrade. To simulate the impact of this moisture ingress, devices with a structure sodalime glass/Mo/CIGS/CdS were immersed in deionized water. The thin films were then analyzed both pre and post water soaking. Dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was performed on completed devices to analyze impurity diffusion …

The Influence Of Channel Deepening On Tides, River Discharge Effects, And Storm Surge, S. A. Talke, Ramin Familkhalili, D. A. Jay

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We combine archival research, semi-analytical models, and numerical simulations to address the following question: how do changes to channel geometry alter tidal properties and flood dynamics in a hyposynchronous, strongly frictional estuary with a landward decay in tidal amplitudes? Records in the Saint Johns River Estuary since the 1890s show that tidal range has doubled in Jacksonville, Florida. Near the estuary inlet, tidal discharge approximately doubled but tidal amplitudes increased only ∼6%. Modeling shows that increased shipping channel depths from ∼5 to ∼13m drove the observed changes, with other factors like channel shortening and width reduction producing comparatively minor effects. …

Characterizing Seagrass Effects On Hydrodynamics Of Waves And Currents Through Field Measurements And Computational Modelling, Ramin Familkhalili, Navid Tahvildari

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Low-lying coastal and estuarine areas are among the most populated regions globally, have high economic significance, and are increasingly threatened by climate change, sea level rise, nuisance flooding, and extreme storms. Nature-based coastal protections are sustainable and sea-level resilient alternatives compared to traditional solutions such as dikes and seawalls. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) or seagrasses can provide coastal flood and erosion protection by attenuating storm wave and current energy and stabilizing seabed sediments. However, more research is needed to understand the interactions between flow, SAVs, and sediments. These dynamic interactions affect flow at different scales and seagrass productivity. In this …

Detailed Modeling Of The Flash Hydrolysis Of Algae For Biofuel-Production In Comsol Multiphysics, Noah Joseph Legrand

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Algae-derived biofuels are being commercialized as an important renewable energy source. Like any new technology, conversion improvements are desired, including reductions in process complexity and better utilization of the entire microalgae feedstock. The Old Dominion Biomass Laboratory has focused on flash hydrolysis for algae biofuel production. That process involves rapidly heating algae and water mixed as a slurry to a subcritical state. Results from small-scale bench tests are promising, but process scale up is a challenge. Currently there exists a pilot laboratory scale system utilizing induction heating in order to reach controlled reaction temperatures with a reaction duration of 10 …

An Accurate Vegetation And Non-Vegetation Differentiation Approach Based On Land Cover Classification, Chiman Kwan, David Gribben, Bulent Ayhan, Jiang Li, Sergio Bernabe, Antonio Plaza

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Accurate vegetation detection is important for many applications, such as crop yield estimation, landcover land use monitoring, urban growth monitoring, drought monitoring, etc. Popular conventional approaches to vegetation detection incorporate the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which uses the red and near infrared (NIR) bands, and enhanced vegetation index (EVI), which uses red, NIR, and the blue bands. Although NDVI and EVI are efficient, their accuracies still have room for further improvement. In this paper, we propose a new approach to vegetation detection based on land cover classification. That is, we first perform an accurate classification of 15 or more …

The Impacts Of Surface Gravity Waves On Buoyant Plume Dilution, Bruce William Husselbee

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A common practice in coastal areas is to collect, treat and discharge fluids including treated wastewater, stormwater or power plant effluent to areas of lesser impact. The discharge of these fluids, conveyed through pipelines into coastal areas, continues to be an important human health and environmental concern. The fluid discharged from these pipelines is often buoyant which allows for dilution and dispersion into these ambient waters.

Initial dilution, defined as the maximum concentration of a discharged fluid at the maximum rise in height within a buoyant plume, is critical in the consideration of the environmental impacts of a discharge into …

Lignin: A Likely Precursor Of A Significant Fraction Of Humic Substances Via Oxidative Transformations, Seyyedhadi Khatami

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Lignin is a major component of decaying terrestrial vegetation in soils and has been arguably reported to contribute substantially to the formation of soil carbon humus, and natural dissolved organic matter (DOM). To better understand the process by which this humification occurs, lignin and lignin-derived monomers were subjected to both biotic and abiotic oxidation processes. Two well-known oxidative transformation strategies were employed. The first involved the fungal degradation of brown-rot degraded wood subjected to a white-rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) whose enzymes are particularly effective in lignin degradation via enzymatic oxidation. This enzymatic attack was monitored by ultrahigh resolution …

Historical Trends In Air Temperature, Precipitation, And Runoff Of A Plateau Inland River Watershed In North China, Along Zhang, Ruizhong Gao, Xixi Wang, Tingxi Liu, Lijing Fang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Understanding historical trends in temperature, precipitation, and runoff is important but incomplete for developing adaptive measures to climate change to sustain fragile ecosystems in cold and arid regions, including the Balagaer River watershed on the Mongolian Plateau of northeast China. The objective of this study was to detect such trends in this watershed from 1959 to 2017. The detection was accomplished using a Mann-Kendall sudden change approach at annual and seasonal time scales. The results indicated that the abrupt changes in temperature preceded that in either runoff or precipitation; these abrupt changes occurred between 1970 and 2004. Significant (α = …

Vegetation Detection Using Deep Learning And Conventional Methods, Bulent Ayhan, Chiman Kwan, Bence Budavari, Liyun Kwan, Yan Lu, Daniel Perez, Jiang Li, Dimitrios Skarlatos, Marinos Vlachos

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Land cover classification with the focus on chlorophyll-rich vegetation detection plays an important role in urban growth monitoring and planning, autonomous navigation, drone mapping, biodiversity conservation, etc. Conventional approaches usually apply the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for vegetation detection. In this paper, we investigate the performance of deep learning and conventional methods for vegetation detection. Two deep learning methods, DeepLabV3+ and our customized convolutional neural network (CNN) were evaluated with respect to their detection performance when training and testing datasets originated from different geographical sites with different image resolutions. A novel object-based vegetation detection approach, which utilizes NDVI, computer …

Defining Boat Wake Impacts On Shoreline Stability Toward Management And Policy Solutions, Donna Marie Bilkovic, Molly M. Mitchell, Jennifer Davis, Julie Herman, Elizabeth Andrews, Angela King, Pamela Mason, Navid Tahvildari, Jana Davis, Rachel L. Dixon

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Coastal economies are often supported by activities that rely on commercial or recreational vessels to move people or goods, such as shipping, transportation, cruising, and fishing. Unintentionally, frequent or intense vessel traffic can contribute to erosion of coastlines; this can be particularly evident in sheltered systems where shoreline erosion should be minimal in the absence of boat waves. We reviewed the state of the science of known effects of boat waves on shoreline stability, examined data on erosion, turbidity, and shoreline armoring patterns for evidence of a response to boat waves in Chesapeake Bay, and reviewed existing management and policy …

Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation Reactions Of Lipids, Alexander Asiedu

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of lipids was investigated using 2-propanol as hydrogen donor for producing liquid hydrocarbons, e.g. jet fuels. The main sources of lipids selected in this study were waste cooking oil (WCO) and oil-laden algae-derived biofuel intermediate (BI). Two different catalysts were employed in this study, namely activated carbon and trimetallic-doped zeolite.

The CTH reaction was between WCO and 2-propanol in a continuous flow reactor over a packed-bed activated carbon at near atmospheric pressure. Results revealed a high level of alkenes and aromatics compounds, which are not stable and are not environmentally unfriendly. To reduce these compounds in …

Application Of A Biodegradable And Recyclable Chelating Agent For Ash Removal From Algae, Temitope George Daramola

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Ash is inherent in algae biomass and it causes operational difficulties, equipment failure, and disposal issues during biomass conversion to biofuels and bioproducts. The objectives of this study are to (i) investigate the use of the biodegradable chelating agent for reducing ash content of algae and (ii) evaluate the potential of regeneration and recycle of the chelating agent for multiple uses. Conventionally, ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA) has been studied extensively to remove ash from biomass. However, EDTA is non-biodegradable and causes environmental issues at the disposal.

Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) is a biodegradable chelating agent and was used in this study for …