Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Weather-Based Damage Prediction Models For Electric Distribution Networks, David W. Wanik

Master's Theses

From thunderstorms to hurricanes, electric distribution networks are subject to a wide range of warm weather storm events. Tropical Storm Irene (2011) and Hurricane Sandy (2012) are two events in recent memory that disrupted over half of The Connecticut Light and Power Company’s (CL&P) service territory, which left some customers without power for up to eleven days. This research study investigates a damage prediction framework for both thunderstorms and hurricanes that combines two generalized linear models to probabilistically determine the occurrence and extent of damages, known as trouble spots, to the overhead power distribution network. The models are inputted with …

Investigation Of In-Situ Immobilization Of Contaminated Sediments Using Alginate Gels For The Reduction Of Ecological Risk, Michael V. Podany Mr.

Master's Theses

Remediation methods for contaminated sediments include dredging, treatment and disposal and sediment isolation through capping. These methods are costly and adversely impact local ecosystems, in some cases causing major disturbances to the sediment bed and water column. A new remediation technique is proposed for slowly biodegradable contaminants using alginate hydrogels as a binding agent of sediment. The rational is that sediment particles bound in alginate hydrogel are less likely to be resuspended and the treatment is less disruptive than capping. Here we show addition of alginate increased the shear strength of sediment comprised of defined particle sizes. The increase in …

2012 Fall Engr333 Project Final Report, 2012 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

Calvin College is considering an addition to the West Wing of the Spoelhof Center to provide additional space for the art and business programs. The construction of this new addition provides the opportunity to investigate the feasibility of installing new, sustainable technology. This semester the students of Engineering 333 were presented with the following challenge: “What it will take for Calvin College to install a geothermal HVAC system for the West Wing?” A geothermal HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system utilizes the relatively constant temperature of the earth to provide heating during winter and cooling during summer. Geothermal HVAC …

2012 Fall Engr333 Student Seminar Presentation, 2012 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

File for student presentation, given by students in the Fall 2012 class of ENGR333.

Spatial Patterns Of Mercury In Atmospheric Deposition, Soils And Lake Biota In The Adirondack Park, New York, Xue Yu

Civil and Environmental Engineering - Dissertations

Mercury (Hg), as a trace element cycling in the environment, poses a serious health threat to both humans and wildlife due to its toxicity. Atmospheric deposition is the main source of Hg to most remote environments. The Adirondack Park in New York State of the United States receives moderate Hg deposition, and is a region characterized by relatively high concentrations of Hg in the terrestrial and especially aquatic biota. It is important to understand the mechanisms that contribute to the sensitivity of this region to Hg inputs. In my research, studies of the spatial patterns of Hg in atmospheric deposition, …

Estimation Of Solute Fluxes From Ungaged Headwater Catchments In The Catskill Park Of New York State, Chris Gianfagna

Civil and Environmental Engineering - Theses

Predictions of flow and subsequent solute fluxes from ungaged basins have important implications both for water resources management and ecosystem monitoring studies. The Catskill region of New York State is one such place that requires both water resources management and ecosystem monitoring due to its strategic location as the main water-supplying region for New York City. This study examines the differences in chemical mass flux estimates made in ungaged basins using three different chemistry aggregation methods for solute concentrations determined from monthly grab samples. The efficacy of area ratios for predicting flow at the upstream location of a nested pair …

Soil Erosion And Surface Water Quality Impacts Of Natural Gas Development In East Texas, Usa, Matthew W. Mcbroom, Todd Thomas, Yanli Zhang

Faculty Publications

Due to greater demands for hydrocarbons and improvements in drilling technology, development of oil and natural gas in some regions of the United States has increased dramatically. A 1.4 ha natural gas well pad was constructed in an intermittent stream channel at the Alto Experimental Watersheds in East Texas, USA (F1), while another 1.1 ha well pad was offset about 15 m from a nearby intermittent stream (F2). V-notch weirs were constructed downstream of these well pads and stream sedimentation and water quality was measured. For the 2009 water year, about 11.76 cm, or almost 222% more runoff resulted from …

Laboratory Investigation Of The Effects Of Temperature And Moisture On Interface Shear Strength Of Textured Geomembrane And Geosynthetic Clay Liner, Taki Stavros Chrysovergis

Master's Theses

A laboratory investigation was conducted to determine the effects of temperature and moisture on the shear strength of textured geomembrane (T-GM) and geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) interface. Several landfill slope failures involving geosynthetics have occurred within the past three decades. Interface shear strength of T-GM/GCL is well documented for testing conducted at laboratory temperatures and at moisture contents associated with GCLs in submerged conditions. However, in-service conditions for landfill liner systems include a wide range of temperatures (extending from below 0 °C to above 40 °C) and a wide range of moisture conditions. Large-scale interface direct shear tests were performed …

Microbiologically Enhanced Mixing Across Scales During In-Situ Bioremediation Of Uranium, Reinaldo E. Alcalde

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Production of nuclear fuels for weapons and electric energy has resulted in groundwater uranium contamination at Department of Energy (DOE) sites. Reduction of uranium by dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (DMRB) is an effective approach for in-situ bioremediation of these sites. In this process, an organic electron donor is typically delivered through a well into groundwater in order to promote the biological reduction of soluble and toxic U(VI) to insoluble and less toxic U(IV). A key challenge is mixing the organic electron donor with U(VI) in groundwater where laminar flow conditions prevail. A potential solution is to enhance reaction beyond the scale …

A Watershed Scale Evaluation Of Selected Second Generation Biofeedstocks On Water Quality, Gurdeep Singh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compares a novel simulation approach to the conventional Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeler's approach for targeting biofuel crop production on marginal lands. In conventional SWAT modeling approach, non-spatial definition of hydrological response units (HRUs) results in the simulation of biofuel crops on both marginal and non-marginal land. This study provides an alternative approach in which a marginal-land raster was integrated into the land use and land cover (LULC) raster in such a way that the land uses were divided into marginal and non-marginal components. This modified LULC was used for model setup which resulted in marginal …

Pervious Pavement Infiltrometer, Madeline Musgrove

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project tests infiltration rates on three different slabs of pervious pavement. A methodology was put in place to ensure that all three slabs were tested the same way. The test that is used for the infiltration rates is a constant head test. A steel ring is placed on the surface of the pervious pavement and sealed with Plumbers Putty around the bottom of the ring. A mark is then sketched on the inside of the ring at 2 inches above the surface of the pavement for a constant backpressure that is equal in all scenarios. Five gallons of water …

Analysis Of Electromagnetic Stimulation Of Transport In Water For Geoenvironmental Applications, Mahsa Azad

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Air sparging is a popular soil and groundwater remediation technique, which enables the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through diffusing contaminant-free air into saturated zones of soil. However, the VOC removal process is slow due to the soils' low permeability, and might take months to years depending on the type of the soil and contaminant. The goal of this thesis is to study the effect of electromagnetic (EM) waves —with minimal heat generation— on transport mechanisms such as diffusion, in order to improve airflow and expedite the cleanup process using air sparging or similar technologies. Because water dipole molecules …

The Effects Of Temperature On Indicator Species Tests For Water Quality, Maranda Guinn

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study sought to investigate the different response of two indicator species tests: Hach® PathoScreenâ„¢ Field Test and IDEXX Colilert® using the Quanti-Tray/2000® enumeration method. Both tests were carried out according to the instructions enclosed in the packages using diluted water samples taken from the secondary clarifier at the West Side Waste Water Treatment Plant in Fayetteville, AR. The tests were carried out at various temperatures in an attempt to reflect conditions that could be encountered in the field, where electricity, equipment, and expertise may not be available. The PathoScreenâ„¢ test responded adequately at a relatively wide range of temperatures, …

Novel Electron Shuttling Compounds, Ramasubramanian Neeraja

All Theses

Electron mediator's usage in remediation technologies might be an excellent alternative to increase the rate of transformation of various contaminants such as nitroamine, polyhalogenated compounds and many others. Employing electron shuttles open up different pathways for the contaminant transformation and the reaction goes to completion at a much faster rate. Anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) has been known to be a model electron shuttle with good shuttling capacity followed by humic acids. But the necessity for identifying electron shuttles suitable for field applications is important. As remediation technologies will command application of the shuttles on a large scale, tracing shuttles which are cheap, …

Examination Of The Effectiveness Of Bioretention Cells And Porous Paving Practices In Aiken, Sc, Casey Johnson

All Theses

This work seeks to quantify the impact and effectiveness of green infrastructure practices, specifically bioretention cells and porous asphalts, for the reduction of peak flow and volume of stormwater that discharges into the headwaters of the Sand River watershed in Aiken, SC. Stormwater runoff flows and volumes were monitored in the upper Sand River watershed that includes the urban Aiken area, along with two nested subwatersheds, prior to, during, and after the construction of the bioretention cells and porous asphalt sites. Flow data from these monitoring stations were analyzed and the data suggested that there was no significant reduction in …

Reverse Osmosis Desalination With Integrated Compressed Air Energy Storage: Conceptual Design And Modeling, Pooja Mahajan

All Theses

Growing fresh water needs have led to an interest in water desalination using reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Energy consumption has a large share in the expenses incurred to drive a reverse osmosis desalination system. With depleting fossil fuel reserves, tapping renewable sources of energy is a promising alternative to meet the energy requirements. Wind power coupled to an RO desalination system is a potential means of delivering clean water using sustainable energy. This work investigates modeling of a conceptual wind-energy-driven RO desalination system that is made possible because of an air-pressure energy storage mechanism. Bench-scale experiments were performed on an …

Investigating The Impacts Of Conventional And Advanced Treatment Technologies On Energy Consumption At Satellite Water Reuse Plants, Jonathan Roy Bailey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the ever increasing world population and the resulting increase in industrialization and agricultural practices, depletion of two of the world's most important natural resources, water and fossil fuels, is inevitable. Water reclamation and reuse is the key to protecting these natural resources. Water reclamation using smaller decentralized wastewater treatment plants, known as satellite water reuse plants (WRP), have become popular in the last decade. With stricter standards and regulations on effluent quality and requirements for a smaller land footprint (i.e. real estate area), additional treatment processes and advanced technologies are needed. This greatly increases the energy consumption of an …

Development And Evaluation Of Beat Management Practices (Bmps) For Highway Runoff Pollution Control, Daniel Edward Jones

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Other Student Research

As non-point source pollution, storm water runoff is one of the main contributors to stream impairment in the United States. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) requires Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) to obtain a permit under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to manage this pollution. Many municipalities and non-traditional MS4s such as the Nebraska Department of Roads are under federal regulations that require new developments or redevelopments of a certain size to capture (and treat) runoff from all new impervious surfaces (roofs, driveways, sidewalks, and so forth) onsite, instead of allowing it to run into …

Bioflocculation Of Wastewater Treatment Pond Suspended Solids, Louis Lefebvre

Master's Theses

Bioflocculation of Wastewater Treatment Pond Suspended Solids

Louis Lefebvre

Wastewater treatment lagoons and high rate algae ponds (HRAPs) can provide cost effective wastewater treatment, but they commonly have high effluent concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS). In this thesis algae pond effluent was treated in a beaker testing apparatus (mixed and aerated) with various mixtures of activated sludge and primary effluent simulating differing activated sludge aeration basin compositions then was allowed to settle to assess settleability. Conventionally, microalgal suspended solids are removed by chemical coagulation followed by separation methods that often have a high cost relative to the low cost …

Performance Of A Wastewater Treatment Pond System With Microfiltration, Eric Todd Martin

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

PERFORMANCE OF A WASTEWATER TREATMENT POND SYSTEM WITH

MICROFILTRATION

Eric Martin

The Woodlands Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWWTP) treats wastewater from the Woodlands housing community near Nipomo, California. The treated effluent is recycled for irrigation of a golf course within the community. The treatment facility consists of three facultative ponds in series followed by a microfiltration system and chlorine disinfection. Microfiltration of wastewater pond effluent is a fairly new, and potentially challenging, application of microfiltration. This thesis describes the operating conditions and behavior of the WWWTP pond system followed by a microfiltration system for the purpose of producing recyclable water …

Real-Time Prediction System Of Bathing Water Quality At Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, Zeinab Bedri, John O'Sullivan, Aisling Corkery, Louise Deering, Katalin Demeter, Wim Meijer, Gregory O'Hare, Bartholomew Masterson

Conference papers

Variations in water quality at recreational bathing beaches can have significant impacts with respect to compliance with related water quality standards, such as Directive 76/160/EEC. The “Blue Flag” award which bases its water quality standards upon the guideline E.coli levels of Directive 76/160/EEC, has become the measure of recreational value of bathing areas. Loss of such designations can have significant impacts with respect to local tourist economies. A revised Bathing Water Directive (Directive 2006/7/EC) came into force in 2006 and will supersede the existing 1976 Directive with effect from December 2014.

The revised Directive gives stronger focus on the protection …

Long-Term Trends In Air Temperature Distribution And Extremes, Growing Degree-Days, And Spring And Fall Frosts For Climate Impact Assessments On Agricultural Practices In Nebraska, Kari E. Skaggs, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Air temperature influences agricultural practices and production outcomes, making detailed quantifications of temperature changes necessary for potential positive and negative effects on agricultural management practices to be exploited or mitigated. Temperature trends of long-term data for five agricultural locations, ranging from the subhumid eastern to the semiarid western parts of Nebraska, were studied to determine local temperature changes and their potential effects on agricultural practices. The study quantified trends in annual and monthly average maximum and minimum air temperature (T_max and T_min), daily temperature range (DTR), total growing degree-days, extreme temperatures, growing-season dates and lengths, and …

Transport Of Engineered Nanomaterials In Porous Media: Groundwater Remediation Application And Effects Of Particle Shape, Megan Seymour

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Other Student Research

Nanotechnology, referring to any science which utilizes particles at the nanoscale, has substantially grown in recent years for its wide spectrum of potential uses. Many theories and models have been developed around the transport of spherical particles; however nanoparticles can be found in various shapes which could greatly affect the predicted transport and retention in the subsurface.

This research explores the beneficial use of carbon nano-onions (CNOs) for environmental remediation and investigates the transport of CNOs in saturated porous media. Surface oxidized CNOs possessed 10 times higher sorption capacity compared to C₆₀ for heavy metal ions including Pb^{2+ …}

Using Slow-Release Permanganate Candles To Remove Tce From A Low Permeable Aquifer At A Former Landfill, Mark D. Christenson, Ann Kambhu, Steve D. Comfort

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Past disposal of industrial solvents into unregulated landfills is a significant source of groundwater contamination. In 2009, we began investigating a former unregulated landfill with known trichloroethene (TCE) contamination. Our objective was to pinpoint the location of the plume and treat the TCE using in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO). We accomplished this by using electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) to survey the landfill and map the subsurface lithology. We then used the ERI survey maps to guide direct push groundwater sampling. A TCE plume (100-600 µg L^-1) was identified in a low permeable silty-clay aquifer (K_h = 0.5 …

Slides: What Laundry Can Teach Us: Five Principles For New Business Models, Teju Ravilochan

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Teju Ravilochan, CEO, The Unreasonable Institute

17 slides

Slides: Envirofit: Making The World Fit For Humanity, Jessica Alderman

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jessica Alderman, Director, ENVIROFIT

15 slides

Slides: Multi-Dimensional Energy Poverty Index (Mepi), Morgan Bazilian

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Morgan Bazilian, Deputy Director, Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

8 slides

Agenda: 2012 Energy Justice Conference And Technology Exposition, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center For Energy & Environmental Security, University Of Colorado Boulder. Colorado European Union Center Of Excellence, University Of Colorado Boulder. Presidents Leadership Institute

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Co-sponsored with the Colorado European Union Center of Excellence and the Presidents Leadership Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The ability to harness energy is fundamental to economic and social development. Worldwide, almost 3 billion people have little or no access to beneficial energy resources for cooking, heating, water sanitation, illumination, transportation, or basic mechanical needs. Energy poverty exacerbates ill health and economic hardship, and reduces educational opportunities, particularly for women and children. Specifically, access to efficient and affordable energy services is a prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) relating to poverty eradication.

In response, the UN …

Slides: Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technologies: A Light To The World, Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Jason B. Aamodt, Blake Feamster

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jason Aamodt, Attorney; Adjunct Professor, University of Tulsa

15 slides

Slides: Meeting The Needs Of Women Through Clean Cooking Solutions, Corinne Hart

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Corinne Hart, Program Manager, Gender and Markets, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

20 slides