Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Adsorption Of Pfas On Bridged Functionalized Organosilica Materials, Elisha Lawerh Kabutey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PFAS are hazardous contaminants that have a devastating impact on human health and the environment. Their hazardous nature has led to the development of various adsorption methods for removing these contaminants from water sources. In this study, functionalized organosilica materials were synthesized from bis[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl] amine using the sol-gel method. The surface amino groups of the organosilica were converted into amine hydrochloride groups. Their adsorption properties were evaluated using salts of perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid. Results showed excellent adsorption capacity of the materials. Adsorption of PFAS leads to particle agglomeration and flotation of the spent material. A column …

Feasibility Analysis For The Implementation Of An Anaerobic Digestion System In The City Of Pittsburgh, Pa, Gianna L. Kolencik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study is investigating the feasibility of an anaerobic digestion system

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the old State Correctional Institute (SCI-Pittsburgh)

located at 1922 Westhall St. This location is immediately upstream of the Allegheny

County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) along the Ohio River. Municipal solid waste

from ALCOSAN may be used as the main form of feedstock. ALCOSAN produced

roughly 36,500 tons of dry sludge in the reporting year 2023-2024. Based on the volume

of dry sludge from ALCOSAN it is estimated that an anaerobic digestion system could

yield approximately 29,930,000 kWh of energy, which is enough to power over …

Development Of Bio-Based Coating Materials For Environmentally Friendly Controlled-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer Applications, Anne Carolyne Mendonca Cidreira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Automated Controlled Tile Drainage On Field Discharge Water, Soil Moisture, And Crop Yield In Southeastern South Dakota, Joshua Becker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Automated controlled tile drainage is an innovative approach to water management, using dynamic weir settings programmed to drain water out of the tile system if it encroaches into the root zone at pre-programmed depths and duration. While past studies have indicated potential yield and water quality benefits of controlled drainage, there has been very little research into the performance of automated controlled drainage. In addition to overall performance, there is a gap in knowledge of management settings to optimize yield and water quality benefits. Two experiments, one plot-scale and one modeling, were conducted to assess the impact of automated controlled …

Development Of Innovative Flocculation Technologies For Agricultural Water Treatment, Noor Haleem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of innovative flocculation technologies is essential for addressing the challenges of agricultural water treatment. These technologies play a crucial role in removing contaminants such as suspended solids and nutrients, thereby ensuring safer water for irrigation and livestock consumption. By enhancing water quality and wastewater management, they contribute significantly to environmental sustainability and public health in agricultural communities. This comprehensive thesis extensively explores various dimensions of flocculation, with a focused effort on methodologies and resources aimed at strengthening sustainability and efficiency. A pivotal aspect of the research involves synthesizing cationic starch (CS), a flocculant derived from an underutilized resource, …

Removal Of Phosphorous, Copper And Zinc From Stormwater Using Powdered Activated Carbon (Pac) Based Water Treatment Residuals, Foysol Mahmud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main aim of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) based water treatment residual (WTR) in eliminating phosphorus (P), Copper (Cu), and Zinc (Zn) from stormwater. The characteristics of the PAC WTR were analyzed, and a series of batch and column tests were conducted to determine its capacity to remove P, Cu, and Zn from stormwater and synthetic solutions. The PAC WTR conformed to the Langmuir isotherm model, demonstrating P adsorption capacities of 3.51 mg/g at pH 5. Regarding Cu and Zn removal, the PAC WTR also adhered to the Langmuir isotherm model, showing …

Changes To Water Quality And Discharge In An Urban Stream In Southwest Jefferson County., Karina Henson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mill Creek is the largest watershed in Southwest Jefferson County, where thousands of people live and work. Streams in the watershed have historically been channelized and altered to promote drainage, and stream health is of major concern. Louisville MSD is currently developing a watershed plan for Mill Creek by seeking understanding of current stream conditions. This paper will focus on historical trends in stream discharge and water quality. Peak and daily discharge, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, and temperature data from USGS gages at Mill Creek and the Mill Creek Cutoff was analyzed to understand how water quality and flow rates …

Livestock Wastewater And Air Quality Management Using Microalgae, Capacitive Deionization, And Biofilters, Augustina Kwesie Osabutey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wastewaters play a significant role in the negative impact of phosphorus on the environment, such as eutrophication. However, phosphorus is a limiting nutrient essential for life which has gained global attention on productive technologies for phosphorus recovery. Several technologies have been developed for phosphorus removal and recovery from wastewater to help alleviate phosphorus loss to the environment. Capacitive deionization technology, which was earlier developed for water desalination and ion removal, is actively being explored for its ability to remove phosphorus from wastewater. This review describes capacitive deionization technology (CDI) and its various types. Significant attention is given to the use …

Removal Of Disinfection Byproducts In Drinking Water Using Biological Filtration, Peng Dai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drinking water disinfection is essential to protecting public health from waterborne diseases. However, the reaction of disinfectants with natural organic matter (NOM) can form carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Drinking water treatment facilities employ precursor control and alternative disinfectants to minimize regulated DBPs formation to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. Despite their efficacy, some limitations have been observed during the application, such as increased cost of enhanced coagulation, high demand for sludge disposal, inconsistency in precursor removal, and formation of more toxic unregulated and unknown DBPs. Therefore, it is important to develop more efficient and safe strategies for DBPs …

An Enhanced Framework To Compute Road User Costs Associated With Construction Zones, Jeremiah Adebiyi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The monetary quantification of inconveniences caused to the road users by ongoing construction activities is known as the Road Users Costs (RUCs). While the importance of RUCs is widely known, some highway agencies lack an appropriate methodology to compute RUCs. Thus, there is a need to develop a framework to compute RUCs that can be adopted quickly by highway agencies. This study reviewed existing literature and conducted a nationwide survey to identify and summarize the current practices of computing RUCs. It developed an enhanced framework and tool to compute RUCs that balances the effort required to calculate RUCs and the …

Develop A Multi-Functional Green Pervious Concrete (Mgpc) Pavement With Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) Removal Function., Hong Shang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater runoff induced Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminant increasingly imperils the groundwater quality and the sustainable development of human society due to the potential carcinogenic risks. Pavement can be considered as the first line of defense for contaminant removal of the stormwater runoff. New construction materials with stormwater runoff quantity and quality control are in urgent demand for updating the existing pavement system. An innovative material called Multi-functional Green Pervious Concrete (MGPC) was developed in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Louisville. This material uses organoclay as the amendment to enhance the PAHs removal capacity of …

Annealing Of Encapsulated Heavy Metals From Brine Water Utilizing Microwave Enabled Sol-Gel Process, Adam Michael Flynn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Various waste encapsulation strategies have been investigated to solidify and stabilize heavy metal wastewater for proper long-term storage. This work aims to enhance a method of novel sol-gel encapsulation of heavy metals from mock brine waters using tetramethyl orthosilicate with the addition of an annealing step at various temperatures in order to reduce leaching of metals from the silica monoliths when exposed to water. The metals tested for encapsulation and leaching were mercury (II) chloride, potassium dichromate, sodium selenite, boric acid, cadmium chloride, and copper (II) acetate. The annealing of the silica monoliths led to an increased degree of for …

Nitrate And Phosphate Removal From Denitrification Bioreactors Using Woodchips, Steel Chips And Agricultural Residue Media, Abdoul Aziz Kouanda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate and phosphate present in agricultural subsurface drainage water can impact surface water quality thus impacting the environment and human health by causing eutrophication and Methemoglobinemia in young infant. Biological denitrification and phosphate adsorption filters are treatments options that can help reduce nitrate and phosphate concentration from agricultural subsurface drainage before it can be discharged in surface water. The first objective of this dissertation was to determine the Michaelis-Menten kinetics model parameters for nitrate removal in bioreactors using the fresh, aged, and composted woodchips. The composted woodchips achieved a denitrification rate 2.4 times higher than the fresh woodchips which was …

Laboratory Measurements Of Bed Shear Stress In Open Channel Flow And Soil Erosion Rate In Cohesive Soils, Gunnar Schurmann Kern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between soil erosion rate and bed shear stress is an important problem in sediment transport and scour. However, reliable measurements of the soil erosion function are challenging, both in the field and in the laboratory. The objective of this study is to investigate an experimental setup for conducting bed shear stress and soil erosion rate measurements using an open channel flume with a rough bed. These experiments were performed in an A-8 Hydraulic Channel with a fixed gravel bed. The flow discharge was kept constant at 0.158 ft.3/s, and bed shear stress was varied by changing the channel …

Long Term Evaluation Of E. Coli Removal From Stormwater Using Recycled Steel Byproducts, Brenden Olevson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater runoff often carries a variety of pollutants and pathogens that can endanger public health and wildlife. One contaminant of concern often highlighted in stormwater quality is Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) because its presence indicates microbial contamination in water. Different types of media filtration are being studied to reduce contaminant concentrations in stormwater. In this study, steel byproducts were examined as a potential material to use in media filtration to remove E. Coli and other contaminants from stormwater. Batch scale studies were conducted in laboratory to evaluate the E. Coli removal potential of steel chips and steel slag over a 24-hour …

A Speciation Modeling Study Of Heavy Metal Adsorption To Plastic In Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Units, Kaitlyn Hague

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microplastics are an emerging concern due to their harmful effect to organisms and their ability to facilitate transport of contaminants including heavy metals. Microplastics can enter the environment through wastewater treatment plants, landfill leachate, and littering. Once in the environment microplastics can be distributed throughout rivers, the ocean, and lakes. In order to understand the adsorption of heavy metals to microplastics a geochemical modeling study was completed using Visual Minteq. Lab tests were completed to better understand what constituents are available in wastewater at four different locations: influent, clarifiers, digesters, and effluent. These constituents were then used to observe how …

Evaluating And Predicting The Risk Of Algal Blooms In A Freshwater Lake Through A 4-Dimensional Approach: A Case Study On Lake Mitchell, Sumit Kumar Ghosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Excessive algal growth in freshwater lakes can negatively impact ecosystems, recreation, and human health. Though algae are a natural part of freshwater ecosystems, elevated nutrient loading from anthropogenic and natural sources can lead to algal blooms. Both algae and blue-green algae (BGA) are responsible for algal blooms; however, BGA (cyanobacteria) is more dangerous. The first objective of this research was to prepare a conceptual model to understand how various environmental variables affect algae. This conceptual model was used to choose the environmental variables that help increase or decrease algae in the water environment. The second objective was to develop empirical …

Data Driven Synthetic Load Modeling For Smart City Energy Management Studies, Fernando Bereta Dos Reis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this dissertation is to provide synthetic residential load models with granular level information on the customers having information about the appliances that constitute each individual residential customer through time. The synthetic load model is capable of being widely utilized by the power system research community since only publicly available data is utilized for its generation. This gives researcher’s access to how the synthetic load was made and also how accurate the model is in representing real power system regions. As the title of the dissertation suggests, the synthetic residential load models are intended for smart city …

Forward Osmosis For Algae Dewatering And Electrical Field-Driven Membrane Fouling Mitigation, Faris Munshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Efficient and low-energy microalgae harvesting is essential for sustainable biofuel production. Forward osmosis (FO) can provide a potential alternative for algae separation with low energy consumption by using osmotic pressure. In this study, an aquaporin-based polyethersulfone (PES) membrane was evaluated for algae dewatering using FO with three different types of draw solutions (DSs: NaCl, KCl and NH4Cl), and under different cross flow velocities (CFVs). 81% of algae dewatering was achieved with a 29% flux drop. Among three different DSs, although NH4Cl was the best candidate for improved water flux and low reverse salt flux (RSF), it could accelerate cell division, …

Characterization Of Florida Landfills With Elevated Temperatures, Ryan Joslyn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The occurrence of elevated temperatures within landfills is a very challenging issue for landfill operators to detect and correct. Little is known regarding the causes of elevated temperatures (ETs) and the number of landfills currently operating under such conditions. Therefore, the goal of this research was to determine which landfills within Florida have been impacted by ETs, and to develop a more complete understanding of the factors that may lead to these landfills becoming elevated temperature landfills (ETLFs). Historical landfill gas wellhead data, waste deposition reports, and landfill site geometry were collected for 27 landfill cells through the FDEP OCULUS …

Treatment Of Electric Utility Wastewaters By Sol-Gel Solidification And Stabilization, Alex Kearns

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To meet the demands of new regulations on coal-fired power plants, many treatment scenarios require a zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) approach. Two revisions to regulations in 2015, the Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) and Coal Combustion Residuals (CCRs) rule, drastically changed the treatment approach for managing effluents at coal-fired plants. In some scenarios, coal-fired plants retired early deeming the capital cost for maintaining compliance too expensive. Traditionally, stabilization/solidification (S/S) ZLD technologies have fallen in two categories: cementitious and vitrification. However, neither approach offers the ideal solution for coal-fired power plants needing ZLD by S/S methods. In what follows, a novel sol-gel encapsulation …

An Assessment Of Biosorption Activated Media For The Removal Of Pollutants In Up-Flow Stormwater Treatment Systems, Andrew Hood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen and phosphorus are often the limiting nutrients for marine and freshwater systems respectively. Additionally, stormwater often contains elevated levels of pathogens which can pollute the receiving water body and impact reuse applications [1-4]. The reduction of limiting nutrients and pathogens is a common primary target for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) [5]. Traditional BMPs, such as retention/detention treatment ponds require large footprints and may not be practical in ultra-urban environments where above ground space is limited. Upflow filters utilizing biosorption activated media (BAM) that can be placed underground offer a small footprint alternative. Additionally, BAM upflow filters can be …

Disinfection By-Product Formation Potential Assessment For Central Florida Groundwater Supplies, Tulsi Shukla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disinfection of potable water supplies is a primary requirement of the United States' Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) Safe Drinking Water Act. The use of chlorine as a disinfectant is widely accepted by water purveyors due to its effectiveness and low cost. However, chlorine reacts with natural organic matter present in water supplies to form suspected carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs). In this work, the formation of the regulated chlorinated by-products total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) for eleven Central Florida wells has been investigated. Fluorescence, UV-254, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), specific UV absorbance (SUVA), chlorine decay, and TTHM and HAA5 …

Escherichia Coli Removal From Stormwater Using Steel Chips Filter, Peng Dai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Media filtration has received increasing attention as an effective technology that can facilitate the removal of particles and dissolved pollutions in the stormwater. However, most traditional media filtration systems are generally ineffective in removing bacteria, causing pollution of groundwater and receiving surface water. In this study, recycled steel chips were evaluated as low-cost filter materials for bacterial removal from stormwater. Laboratory column experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of steel chips particle size, flow rate, initial E.coli concentration, pH, natural organic matter (NOM), steady and intermittent flow on E.coli removal. The results showed that E.coli removal decreased from 99.4% …

Pilot Scale Evaluation Of E. Coli Filtration Removal From Stormwater Using Recycled Steel, Jason Neville

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microbial pathogens are considered one of the most important pollutants in regards to surface waters such as coastal waters, rivers and urban estuaries. Escherichia Coli (E. coli) is a bacterial microorganism found in the guts of humans and some animals that if ingested can cause diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, and vomiting. E. coli carried by stormwater runoff can deteriorate water quality of receiving bodies of water. It is necessary to develop technologies to remove E. coli from stormwater runoff to protect surface waters and public health. The use of steel byproducts as an adsorption technology is an emerging stormwater treatment …

Stream Flow Analysis Of The Big Sioux River Just South Of Brookings, South Dakota, Samuel Ruppert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Floods are the most common type of natural disaster in the world and one of the most damaging. Changes in climate conditions such as precipitation and temperature are causing changes in stream flow. This means that in order to better understand flooding and possibly develop a system for making flood predictions, stream flow needs to be analyzed more closely. The primary objective of this thesis is to analyze the Big Sioux River just south of Brookings, South Dakota, both annually and seasonally. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has stream gauges placed in rivers and streams all over the United …

The Effect Of Edge-Of-Field Nutrient Management Practices On Microbial Concentrations In Subsurface Drainage Water And The Associated Risk Of Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination, Sara Mardani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many in-field and edge-of-field management practices have been used to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural fields. The denitrification woodchip bioreactor (WB) is one edgeof- field management practice that has proven to be effective in removing nitrate from subsurface drainage water. The success in nitrate removal achieved with WBs has raised interest in expanding their capabilities for removing other agricultural pollutants, including phosphorus, by using other types of media like phosphorus-sorbing filters or combining these filters with woodchips to remove both nitrate and phosphorus as dual-nutrient removal systems. Despite the extensive research done on WBs and nutrient filter materials, little consideration …

Assessment Of A Surface Water Supply For Source And Treated Distribution System Quality, Angela Rodriguez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on providing a source to tap assessment of surface water systems with respect to (i) the use of alternative biomonitoring tools, (ii) disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation and control, and (iii) corrosion control. In the first study component, two water systems were microbiologically evaluated using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence technology. It was determined that microbial ATP was useful as a surrogate for biomonitoring within a surface water system when paired with traditional methods. Although microbial activity differed between distribution systems that used either chloramine or chlorine disinfectant, in both cases flowrate and season affected microbial ATP values. In …

Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Biomimetic, Bioinspired And Bio-Related Functional Polymers For Atmospheric Water Recovery, Abdullah Alqassar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric water recovery in changing environments has received wide attention in environmental science and engineering communities due to rapid population growth and frequent droughts. This study is focused on the design, synthesis, and characterization of biomimetic, bioinspired, and bio-related functional polymers (b3p) to help resolve the water supply issue especially in arid or semi-arid regions. It is aimed to develop unique synthetic methods to access well-defined polymers with the aid of nanomaterials and metal to produce next generation polymer materials for better atmospheric water recovery. The design of such new b3p is bioinspired by some skin materials of biological species …

Long-Term Carbon And Copper Impact On Nutrient Removal Via Green Sorption Media In Dynamic Linear Ditch Environments, Diana Ordonez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient-laden stormwater runoff causes environmental and ecological impacts on receiving water bodies. Biosorption Activated Media (BAM) composed of the sand, tire crumb, and clay have been implemented in stormwater best management practices due to its ability to efficiently remove nutrients from stormwater runoff, such as in roadside linear ditches, via unique chemophysical and microbiological processes. In this study, a set of fixed-bed columns were set up to simulate some external forces in roadside linear ditches and examine how these external forces affect the performance of BAM. In our experiment, scenario 1 simulates the impact that animals such as tortoises, moles …