Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Using Aqueous Geochemistry Of Acid Mine Drainage To Spatially Investigate Concentrations Of Rare Earth Elements Throughout West Virginia, Pennsylvania, And Maryland, Elyssa Lynn Allen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Rare earth elements (REEs) are an important commodity utilized in many industries such as electronics, defense, manufacturing, medicine, and green energy production. A lack of economical domestic sources forces the United States to import a majority of its supply, and incentivizes novel methods of acquisition. Mining regions of the United States, such as Appalachia or the West, are afflicted with acid mine drainage (AMD) impacted surface waters. REEs occur in varying concentrations within coal seams, indicating that coal and its waste are potential avenues of recovery that might also incentivize the remediation of coal impacted areas. Understanding spatial and geochemical …

Sustainable Nutrient Management Opportunities For Small Communities In The U.S. With Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Systems, Denis Sigei Ruto

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lagoon wastewater treatment systems are among the most widely used secondary treatment technologies serving small and rural communities in the United States due to their low capital and operating costs, minimal energy requirements, and operational simplicity. While effective for removal of organic matter and suspended solids, most lagoon systems were not designed to achieve advanced nutrient removal. As regulatory priorities increasingly emphasize control of total nitrogen and total phosphorus to protect receiving waters and public health, lagoon-dependent communities face growing compliance challenges. These challenges are exacerbated by aging infrastructure, limited technical capacity, financial constraints, and insufficient infrastructure data, highlighting the …

Assessing Water Quality In Drinking Water Distribution Systems: Rural Infrastructure Challenges, Hydrodynamic Effects On Biofilms, And Biofilm Contribution To Disinfection By-Products Formation, Vinila Vasam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Access to clean and safe drinking water remains one of the most persistent public health and environmental challenges in the United States. Maintaining water quality after leaving the treatment plant in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) is a complicated and often overlooked challenge. Most research focuses on water treatment and source water quality, but not on the miles of pipe that follow. Aging infrastructure, complex flow patterns in the DWDS, and limited resources make water quality management especially difficult. This dissertation includes three core studies: 1) A system-level analysis of small and rural utilities in the geographically complex region of …

Exploring The Interplay Of Operational Conditions, Microbial Communities, And Water Quality In Drinking Water Ozone-Biofiltration, Kara Yvonne Cunningham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ensuring reliable access to safe drinking water is a growing global challenge as water utilities face variable source water quality driven by population growth, land‑use change, and climate change impacts. To address these challenges, utilities are implementing advanced treatment technologies designed to improve reliability under variable source water conditions. Ozone-biofiltration has emerged as a treatment approach that can reduce a wide range of natural and anthropogenic contaminants. However, despite its increased use, there is limited insight into the biological processes shaping filter function or how they respond to operational and environmental changes. Advances in molecular microbiology and high-throughput sequencing now …

Feasibility Study Of Concurrent Removal Of Organics And Ammonium Using An Iron Dosed Upflow Anaerobic Sludge-Blanket Bioreactor, Morgan Elizabeth Amos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Aerobic microbial reactions have commonly been utilized in treatment processes to oxidize and remove organics and nitrogen through aeration, using processes such as nitrification that converts ammonium (NH₄⁺) into nitrite (NO₂^-) and nitrate (NO₃^-). Anoxic microbial reactions like denitrification often require organic compounds as an external source to chemically reduce the oxidized nitrogen (NO₃^- and NO₂^-) to nitrogen gas (N₂) for nitrogen removal from the liquid phase. These mainstream processes have a high chemical cost and energy footprint which results in an increased release …

Prioritizing Amd Impaired Watersheds For Watershed-Scale Restoration Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, James Nicholas Marino

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) remains a significant environmental challenge in coal-mining and hard rock regions like West Virginia, degrading water quality and ecosystem health. Traditional site-specific remediation efforts often prove inefficient in addressing AMD at large scale. This study explores watershed-scale restoration as a more effective solution, leveraging centralized treatment facilities and multi-source pollution management. This study will follow Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), specifically the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), to develop a structured rubric for grading watersheds. The process involves identifying critical criteria, organizing them into a hierarchy, and generating weights for clusters of criteria through collaboration with decision makers. …

Evaluation Of Rare Earth Element Hydraulic Preconcentrate Material Strength Characteristics And Operation Manual Development For Triaxial Machine Testing, Nicholas C. Stalnaker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As part of ongoing efforts to establish a domestic Rare Earth Elements (REE) supply chain, Hydraulic Preconcentrate (HPC) generated at the Horseshoe Bend (HsB) treatment plant was produced and evaluated as a potential feedstock source. Following adjustment of the site’s clarifiers to the required pH set points, HPC was collected and pumped into 24 geobags. These geobags were passively dewatered to raise the total solids content. The evaluation included three geobag types: woven geotextile, composite (woven and non-woven), and geobags enhanced with Capillary Channel Fiber (CCF) (Bird, 2024). Hydraulic Preconcentrate (HPC) material is collected through efforts to contain and properly …

Using Data Science And Sustainability Assessment Tools To Evaluate Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Haidar Shakuir Aldaach

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Wastewater management in small communities has faced numerous challenges in recent years, including population growth, limited budgets for operation and maintenance, and stringent effluent standards required by environmental regulations. These challenges motivate enhancing wastewater treatment processes to protect water quality. Wastewater treatment performance can be improved in small towns and rural regions by implementing data-driven strategies. Data science, life cycle assessment (LCA), and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) are three data-driven decision-making tools that require data collection, modeling, computational models, and statistical analysis that could be utilized to improve wastewater treatment efficiencies. In this study, these three tools were adopted …

Watershed-Level Survey Of Antimicrobial Resistance From Onsite Wastewater Systems, Trey Franklin Clark

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has quickly become one of the largest global health and development threats. Research related to environmental modes of transmission of AMR has accelerated in recent years, and the US Environmental Protection Agency is particularly interested in this emerging contaminant. Knowledge of how onsite (decentralized) wastewater treatment systems contribute to this issue is lacking, so this research serves to analyze and quantify the environmental dissemination of AMR and fecal contamination from these sources at a watershed level while using statistical analysis to assess relationships between physiochemical, spatial, and sampling parameters. This research surveyed four watersheds …

Recovery Of Iron And Aluminum From Acid Mine Drainage For Beneficial Uses, Katelyn Renee Pepe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a widespread issue across the globe, in which some of the most critical cases are created by the mining industry. Researchers have investigated ways to derive benefits from AMD, such as precipitating rare earth elements (REEs) to generate potential revenue from AMD treatment and supplement market demand. However, the bulk of precipitated sludge is composed of iron and aluminum, which also have market value but are discarded in current practice.

Using the Omega site in West Virginia (WV) as a representative AMD source, the objectives of this study are (1) to determine a replicable precipitation …

Performance And Field Testing Of Geotextiles For Dewatering Rare Earth Element Hydraulic Preconcentrate From Hardrock Amd, Ian R. Bird

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As part of ongoing efforts to develop a domestic Rare Earth Elements (REE) supply chain the Hydraulic Preconcentrate (HPC) produced at the Horseshoe bend treatment plant (HsB) was manufactured and evaluated as a potential source for feedstock. After the existing clarifiers on the site were flipped to the desired pH set points, HPC was manufactured and pumped to 24 geobags. The geobags were then passively dewatered to increase the total solids percentage. The geobags evaluated were comprised of: Woven geotextiles, composite (woven and non- woven), and geobags augmented with Capillary Channel Fiber (CCF). Column Filtration Tests (CFTs) were performed onsite …

Benchmarking The Global Warming Potential Of Asphalt Pavements In West Virginia, Md Reasad Samrat

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With the rising focus on sustainable infrastructure, interest in environmentally friendly paving practices has grown significantly. This thesis investigates the environmental impacts of asphalt mixtures in West Virginia from a sustainable asphalt mix design perspective, with a particular emphasis on the utilization of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The research aligns with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Climate Challenge, which aims to encourage state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to implement low-carbon materials and consider the ecological effects of their paving activities. This study establishes the initial benchmark values for greenhouse gas emissions associated with asphalt pavements in West Virginia. The …

Novel Membrane Materials For Nutrient Recovery From Nutrient-Rich Resources, Km Prottoy Shariar Piash

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Global demand for fertilizer production is expanding substantially to meet the food demand of an increasing world population. Anaerobic digestate (AD) of various centralized wastewater facilities contains substantial amounts of ammonium (NH₄⁺) (300-800 mg/L), potassium (K⁺) (13-120 mg/L), and phosphorus (P) (30-100 mg/L)- based nutrients. In addition to reducing energy costs and CO₂ emissions compared to conventional fertilizing raw material manufacturing, recovering nutrients from these waste streams could help mitigate problems such as eutrophication, which otherwise incurs billions of dollars losses to US economy annually. Apart from nutrients, wastewater streams also contain organic pollutants …

Application Of Metagenomic And Molecular Microbiology Techniques To Elucidate Sources Of Fecal Pollution And Anthropogenic Antibiotic Resistance Genes To Surface Water: A Step Towards A “One Health” Approach To Watershed Management, Mehedi Hasan Tarek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The use of fecal indicator bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, is a widely established regulatory and monitoring practice to detect surface water contamination associated with fecal pollution. However, the detection or quantification of fecal indicator bacteria alone does not accurately inform the sources of fecal pollution. The development of molecular and metagenomic methods that target the DNA of microorganisms has resulted in a host of new tools for monitoring fecal pollution and its sources, as well as for understanding emerging microbial threats, such as antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is a critical “One Health” challenge presenting a high risk to …

Leveraging Data Science To Promote Sustainable Resource Recovery From Organic Waste Streams In Rural Regions, Mohammed Tamim Zaki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Conventional organic waste management practices such as landfilling contribute to global warming and degrade environmental and human health. Alternatively, organic waste can be treated to recover energy, nutrients, and carbon through resource recovery technologies. Data science could benefit such technologies by improving their efficiency through data-driven process modeling along with reducing environmental and economic burdens via life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA), respectively.

A critical review of 616 peer-reviewed articles published during 2002–2022 was conducted on the use of data science methods in resource recovery from organic waste. Although applications of machine learning (ML) methods have drastically increased …

Optimizing Sample Collection And Data Interpretation For Effective Wastewater-Based Epidemiology In Combined Sewer Systems, Christopher Allen Anderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

COVID-19 has spurred growth in the science surrounding wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) pertaining to the detection of severe acute respiratory virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in waste streams as an early warning signal for public health. However, the highly variable wastewater environment has made it difficult to standardize an approach for sampling and analysis, especially in locations using combined sewer infrastructure. This study addresses knowledge gaps of WBE via three specific aims: (1) to compare diurnal fluctuations of SARS-CoV-2 and the human fecal indicator, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent samples collected during dry versus wet weather conditions; …

Concentrated Wastewater Treatment Using A Ferric Iron-Dosed Anaerobic Upflow Sludge Blanket Reactor For Recovery Of Phosphorus And Ammonium, Carley E. Shingleton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study evaluated the performance of a novel, ferric iron-dosed anaerobic bioreactor to recover two separate nutrient products from concentrated wastewaters -- phosphorus as vivianite (Fe₃(PO₄)₂×8H₂O) and an ammonium-containing effluent with low organics. A bench-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor fed with a synthetic wastewater (458.0 mg/L total organic carbon, 282.7 mg/L ammonium, and 84.4 mg/L phosphate) was dosed with a ferric chloride solution at an org. C/Fe³⁺ molar ratio ~17.5 to facilitate organic carbon oxidation coupled to iron reduction. The reactor design allowed natural settling of vivianite to its …

Spatiotemporal Trends In Particle-Associated Microbial Communities In A Chlorinated Drinking Water Distribution System, Madison Haddix

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Bacteria can survive treatment and enter drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs), or enter DWDSs through intrusion or maintenance work on the system. DWDSs can also be suitable environments for bacterial regrowth. Many factors can affect the microbial community composition of DWDSs, including various spatiotemporal, hydraulic, and water quality parameters. Although most bacteria within DWDSs are harmless, opportunistic pathogens, such as Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium avium, can inhabit DWDSs and premise plumbing and are the leading cause of waterborne disease outbreaks in developed countries. Previous studies have attempted to establish relationships between various parameters and microbial …

Study Of Capillary Channel Fiber Augmented Geobags For Accelerated Dewatering Of High Moisture Content Fine-Grained Acid Mine Drainage Precipitate, Luke William Daugherty

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this study was to investigate techniques to accelerate filtration and dewatering of Acid Mine Drainage precipitate using geobags augmented with Capillary Chanel Fibers and internal lateral drainage structures. Laboratory and field research investigated increasing the total solids retention of Acid Mine Drainage precipitate in geobag storage systems. Current geobag design and field application of treated AMD precipitate exhibits limited filtration and drainage efficiency due to the high moisture content (2500%) polymer amended AMD flocculated solids. Capillary channel fibers (CCFs) are geosynthetic yarns formed with microgrooves and set into bundled arrangements capable of wicking water, via capillary action, …

Simulating Energy Performance Of Buildings: A Study Using Equest And Energy Star® Portfolio Manager, Sabin Wagle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The urgent need for improving building energy efficiency in response to global warming and environmental sustainability has highlighted the importance of practical techniques to optimize energy performance. The study utilizes the eQUEST simulation engine and Energy Star® Portfolio Manager to evaluate retrofit and design parameters and conduct a sensitivity analysis to explore the impact of different parameters on building energy performance. The study develops building energy models in eQUEST using data from two fully operational Distribution centers. It is calibrated using the Normalized Mean Bias Error (NMBE) and Coefficient of Variation of Root Mean Square Error (CV(RMSE)) method, meeting the …

Development Of A Framework To Support Community-Scale Nutrient Recovery For Local Crop Fertilization And Production, Scott A. Lopez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nutrient and resource recovery (NRR) has become increasingly crucial as regions face deteriorating sanitation infrastructures, limited support, and growing environmental challenges. Implementing region-specific NRR technologies and systems could provide effective circular economy insights into addressing these challenges. Because of the multidisciplinary challenges associated with the design and implementation of NRR strategies, various government and local decision-makers need to collaborate effectively in the decision-making process. Structured decision-making (SDM) methodologies are practical when determining the most appropriate NRR strategy for nutrient-rich waste streams. However, applications of computational SDM limited because of the vast amounts of data that are needed to analyze the …

Blowdown Wastewater Co-Treatment With Produced Water For Resource Recovery: Moving Towards Zero Liquid Discharge And Sustainable Waste Management, Mohammad Hafez Ahmed

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cooling of low-pressure steam and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) process at coal-fired powerplants often require large quantities of freshwater and can generate waste streams from the blowdown (BD) operations. Treating these wastewaters for reuse can offset the freshwater demand, which is beneficial especially in semiarid and arid regions. However, the traditional treatment (i.e., chemical softening and evaporation) of cooling BD water (BDW) is chemical- and energy-intensive and adds to the overall costs of water management for powerplants. Furthermore, the updated Effluent Limitation Guidelines and Standards for powerplants set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) …

Evaluating Potential Soil Amendments And Geomorphic Methods For Mine Land Reclamation, Amanda Rodrigues Silva

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The United States has approximately 22% of the world’s coal reserves. Since 1961, the electric power sector has been the major user of coal in the U.S., accounting for 91.9% of the coal consumed in the country in 2021. Sixty-two percent of total U.S. coal production in 2021 was sourced from surface mining, and Wyoming, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Montana were responsible for 74% of this total production.

Coal-mining activities expose sulfide minerals in rocks that, when in contact with oxidizing conditions, produce sulfate-rich drainage known as acid mine drainage (AMD). AMD treatment typically involves chemical treatments to raise …

Predictions Of Produced Water Quality And Recycled Water Optimization For Spatially-Distributed Wells In Point Pleasant Formation, Armel Quentin Mbakop

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The treatment of produced water as a fracturing fluid is becoming an increasingly important aspect of water management surrounding the booming of the unconventional oil and gas industry. Two main problems facing the oil and gas industry are the availability of water for well drilling and completion and disposal of the produced water. Unconventional well drilling and completion in the Utica shale requires large amounts of water. The wastewater that results after production—containing high levels of organic and inorganic matter— is usually disposed of through deep well injection. A new approach reuses this produced water as part of subsequent fracturing …

Detection Of Fecal Bacteria In Watersheds Impacted By Acid Mine Drainage, Claire Addison Mcdonald

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Escherichia coli, a fecal coliform, is an essential component of water quality monitoring, entering waterways through sewage deposits, agricultural land and livestock, and wildlife. Various fast and user-friendly methods for quantifying E. coli make it the principal indicator bacteria for fecal contamination. The most common methods for E. coli quantification are culture-based and involve cultivating samples onto nutrient agar and counting the visible colonies. However, E. coli can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state in stressful environments. Bacteria in a VBNC state are still alive but reduce key metabolic activities that typically encourage growth and division, allowing them …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence For Co2 Storage In Saline Aquifer (Smart Proxy For Snap-Shot In Time), Marwan Mohammed Alnuaimi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology have grown in popularity. Smart Proxy Models (SPM) are AI/ML based data-driven models which have proven to be quite crucial in petroleum engineering domain with abundant data, or operations in which large surface/ subsurface volume of data is generated. Climate change mitigation is one application of such technology to simulate and monitor CO2 injection into underground formations.

The goal of the SPM developed in this study is to replicate the results (in terms of pressure and saturation outputs) of the numerical reservoir simulation model (CMG) for CO2 injection into …

Evaluating Effects Of Sediment On Microbial Loading In A Drinking Water Distribution System, Erika Osborne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) are critical for protecting public health by ensuring safe water is transported from centralized treatment facilities to consumers. Sediment accumulation in DWDS is a common challenge that water utilities face that may pose some health risks when waterborne pathogens colonize biofilms formed on the sediment surface. Water utilities often establish flushing routines to help mitigate sediment accumulation in their system but the role that sediment plays in contributing to the total microbial loading in the system is unclear. The main objective of this study was to determine if sediment in a DWDS presents a significant …

Stormwater Sensitivities To The Climatic And Land Cover Drivers In A Heavily Urbanized Coastal Basin Along The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Usa., Md Faisal Razy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Stormwater runoff response in a complex coastal-urban basin varies with the changes in climatic and land cover drivers. This thesis aims to assess the runoff responses to variation in climatic and land cover variables and perform a sensitivity analysis in complex coastal-urban basins. The Buffalo San Jacinto Basin (BUSJ) of southeast Texas, USA was considered a pilot study area for this research. BUSJ is a heavily urbanized coastal basin, draining an area of 3132 km² through the City of Houston, Texas into the northern Gulf of Mexico, USA. A process-based hydrological model was developed with fine spatio-temporal resolutions for …

Development Of An Innovative Co-Treatment Technology For Produced Water And Blowdown Water: A Regional Approach Of Water Management For Energy Production, Golnoosh Khajouei

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Freshwater use for power generation represents the second-largest water use globally. In the United States, freshwater withdrawals for thermoelectric power accounted for 38% of the total freshwater withdrawals for all uses in 2010. Cooling systems are the most water-intensive part of the thermoelectric generation process. For instance, one 300 MW power generator required about 20,000 m³/h circulating cooling water. The cooling operation discharges a large volume of wastewater in the form of blowdown water (10-20% of the consumed water) that requires treatment for reuse or surface discharge. Produced water (PW), the fluid which returns to the surface from …

Elucidating Biogeochemical Reactions Of Iron For Ammonium Removal And Nutrient Recovery From Wastewaters: Moving Toward Sustainable Wastewater Management, Rifat Anwar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Development and applications of anaerobic treatment technologies has been discussed as an effective alternative to conventional aerobic processes for removal of nitrogen from wastewaters. With abundance of iron and its high reduction potential, employing ferric reduction-based reaction pathways in engineering processes could be an effective strategy to promote energy efficiency of wastewater treatment. In particular, ferric reduction coupled to ammonium oxidation (Feammox), a novel microbial metabolic function recently found to occur under anaerobic/anoxic condition through iron dosing, can be used for nitrogen pollutant removal. Iron dosing for wastewater treatment could also promote other microbial and chemical reactions that facilitate nutrient …