Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Pathogen Indicator Monitoring In The Ross Barnett Reservoir, Hannie Quay Parker Capps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Man-made reservoirs are often used for both water supply and recreation. The Ross Barnett Reservoir in central Mississippi, a 33,000-acre man-made lake, provides drinking water to the city of Jackson, MS, and forty-eight surrounding communities. Further, an estimated 2.5 million people visit the Reservoir each year for recreational purposes, including boating, fishing, water-skiing, and swimming. Protecting the water quality in the Reservoir is important for these visitors and inhabitants along the shoreline, and for these reasons, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected it as a Priority Watershed in Mississippi. Presently, there is a concern regarding recent data collected that …

Autotrophic Ammonia Oxidation Activity Of Ammonia Oxidizing Archaea And Bacteria In Recirculating Aquaculture System, Iftita Rahmatika

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Ammonia oxidation is the important biological step in nitrogen removal in aquaculture system of shrimp production. This process is driven by the ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and the newly discovered ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA). In this study, the abundances, communities and autotrophic ammonia oxidation activity of AOA and AOB in the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) were investigated. Bioballs were sampled from the low and high salinity RAS (0 and 20 PPT, respectively). The abundance of AOA and AOB amoA genes were monitored for 5 months with qPCR. The abundance of AOA amoA genes was 2-700 times higher than AOB in …

การประเมินคาร์บอนฟุตพริ้นท์องค์กรและวิเคราะห์แนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจกที่เหมาะสม กรณีศึกษาโรงงานปิโตรเคมีขั้นกลางในประเทศไทย, จิราภรณ์ ธรรมเนียมอินทร์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อประเมินคาร์บอนฟุตพริ้นท์องค์กรและประเมินแนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจก พร้อมทั้งเสนอแนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจกที่เหมาะสมกับโรงงานในกลุ่มอุตสาหกรรมปิโตรเคมีขั้นกลางในประเทศไทย งานวิจัยได้ศึกษาโรงงานตัวแทนทั้งหมด 6 โรงงาน ครอบคลุมผลิตภัณฑ์ 9 ผลิตภัณฑ์ (เอทิลีนออกไซด์ เอทิลีนไกลคอล ไวนิลคลอไรด์มอนอเมอร์ คิวมีน ฟีนอล แอซีโทน บิสฟีนอล เอ อีพิคลอโรไฮดริน และกรดเทเรฟทาลิกบริสุทธิ์) รวบรวมข้อมูลย้อนหลัง 3 ปี ตั้งแต่ พ.ศ.2555-2557 และแบ่งแหล่งกำเนิดก๊าซเรือนกระจกออกเป็น 2 ประเภท คือ การปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกทางตรงและทางอ้อม ผลการวิจัยพบว่าขนาดคาร์บอนฟุตพริ้นท์องค์กรของโรงงานตัวแทน มีค่าอยู่ในช่วง 70,253-570,307 t CO2eq ต่อปี ส่วนใหญ่มาจากการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกทางอ้อม โดยมีการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกสูดสุดมาจากการใช้ไฟฟ้าคิดเป็นร้อยละ 40 ของการปล่อยเรือนกระจกทั้งหมด รองมาด้วยการใช้ไอน้ำและการปล่อยคาร์บอนไดออกไซด์จากปฏิกิริยาในกระบวนการผลิต ค่าความเข้มคาร์บอนมีค่าอยู่ระหว่าง 0.269-1.101 t CO2eq/t product มีค่าความเข้มคาร์บอนเฉลี่ยเท่ากับ 0.425 t CO2eq/t product จากการวิเคราะห์มาตรการอนุรักษ์พลังงาน พบว่า มีศักยภาพในการลดปริมาณก๊าซเรือนกระจกได้ 166,820 t CO2eq คิดเป็นร้อยละ 3.89 ของการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกทั้งหมดของกลุ่มโรงงานตัวแทน โดยมาตรการประหยัดไอน้ำเป็นมาตรการที่สามารถลดการปล่อยก๊าซเรือนกระจกได้สูงสุด คิดเป็นร้อยละ 82.89 ของมาตรการที่ดำเนินการทั้งหมด สำหรับแนวทางการลดก๊าซเรือนกระจกมีความเหมาะสมและสามารถนำไปปรับใช้กับกลุ่มอุตสาหกรรมปิโตรเคมีขั้นกลาง แนะนำทั้งหมด 5 แนวทาง ประกอบด้วย (1) การเปลี่ยนแหล่งพลังงานทางอ้อม (2) การเพิ่มประสิทธิภาพการใช้พลังงานจากมาตรการอนุรักษ์พลังงาน (3) การจัดการก๊าซคาร์บอนไดออกไซด์จากปฏิกิริยาในกระบวนการผลิต (4) การปรับปรุงและพัฒนาเทคโนโลยีในกระบวนการผลิต และ (5) การปรับเปลี่ยนการใช้สารทำความเย็น

Design Optimization And Optical Characterization Of A High Temperature Solar Receiver, Samia Afrin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a fast forwarding technology in power generation sector because of its' competitive price, abundance in nature and the most important fact is its' energy storage capability. Among the four types of available CSP technology, central receiver has more potential concerning with high temperature, power block efficiency and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Other than conventional type of receiver design, the concept of this work is very particular in a sense of its design novelty.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) come up with a new concept of high temperature solar receiver called near black body (NBB) …

Salt And Mineral Recovery From High Salinity Waters, Osvaldo Alejandro Broesicke

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Natural salt springs in the Salt Fork Basin in Crosby County, Texas, result in the natural salt pollution of the Brazos River, rendering it unusable for most potable purposes. Previous research indicates that by intercepting the source of the pollution, water quality of the Brazos River can be greatly improved. This paper investigates and assesses two strategies for salt and mineral recovery using natural brine collected from the Salt Fork Basin, the first of which is presented in a separate work.

The research described in this paper evaluates the potential of a desulfation, soda-caustic softening, acidification/decarbonation, and evaporation process to …

Recovery Of Nutrient Nitrogen From Municipal Wastewater Residuals By Gas Membrane Separation, Evelyn Rios

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There are relatively high amounts of ammonia returned to the headworks of a municipal wastewater plant that are extracted from the dewatering process. This ammonia load contributes to a significant oxygen demand in the secondary treatment, requiring greater air blower energy costs. This goal of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of the recovery of an ammonium sulfate product from belt press filtrate. The objectives of this research were to: (1) analyze wastewater treatment average monthly data flows and constituents with respect to ammonia nitrification, (2) the evaluate the technical performance of a two sage gas-separation membrane for recovering …

Dispersion Modeling Of Nitrogen Dioxide (No2) And Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) From Backup Generators At Data Centers In Prineville, Oregon, Brooke E. Harmon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

As our society becomes increasingly dependent on digital communication (e.g., social media and email) and computerized storage (e.g., digitized medical records and government documents), tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Apple are constructing and managing an increasing number of massive Internet data centers. These data centers house a network’s most critical systems and are vital to the continuity of daily operations. Requiring as much electricity as a medium size city, data centers rely on complex auxiliary power systems to prevent disruption to service. These backup systems consist of tens of multi-megawatt diesel-powered generators that release combustion byproducts, including over …

Dynamic Effect Of Light And Turbulence On Algal Photosynthetic Rate: A Water-Quality Model, Andres R. Rivas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Several studies provide evidence that algal photosynthetic rates depend on various changing factors such as light attenuation, temperature, and nutrient limitation (Chapra, 1997). However, recent papers show that turbulence and photosynthetic rate dynamics is also important (Ross, 2006). In this study, the photosynthetic rate model used is the one proposed by Chapra (1997), where it depends directly on temperature, nutrient and light limitation factors. At the same time, the effect of turbulence or random-walk of algae particles in the water column was also introduced in this model. To account for this factor, the model added was that proposed by Ross …

Determining Soil Erosion With Varying Corn Stover Cover Factors, Nicole K. Koeninger

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Since the Dust Bowl, conservation agriculture has become a common practice globally. Because of the rising interest in the use of corn biomass as a feedstock for biofuel production, the effects of corn stover removal on soil erosion were explored. It was hypothesized that selective harvesting strategies would impact soil erosion differently across a variety of slopes. Soil erosion boxes were constructed, and a rainfall simulator with an intensity of 30 mm hr^-1 for 46 min was used to create runoff from slopes of 1, 5, and 10% and three cover factor treatments (no removal and two simulated corn …

Development Of Techniques For Assessing And Restoring Streams On Surface Mined Lands, Whitney Cole Blackburn-Lynch

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Surface mining is a commonly used method for extracting coal in the Appalachian Coalfields of the U.S. This mining practice produces excess spoil or overburden, which is often placed in adjacent valleys resulting in the creation of valley fills. These valley fills bury headwater streams, which in turn can negatively impact downstream ecosystems. In 2008, the University of Kentucky designed and constructed 1,020 m of ephemeral, intermittent and headwater streams on an existing valley fill (Guy Cove) as a proof-of-concept. The goal of the project was to evaluate whether or not a stream recreation could occur on mined lands, particularly …

Optimization Of Glycerol And Biodiesel Waste Prefermentation To Improve Ebpr, Marzieh Ghasemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process efficiency relies on different operational and process conditions especially the type of carbon source available in the wastewater. Acetic acid and propionic acid are the two major volatile fatty acids (VFAs) found in domestic wastewater which can drive biological phosphorus (P) removal to the desired level. However, often domestic wastewater does not have a sufficient amount of VFAs. Due to high acetate and propionate production-cost, it is not economic to add acetate and propionate directly in full-scale wastewater treatment plants. This brought up the idea of using external carbon sources (e. g. molasses …

Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Water Footprint Of Residential Waste Collection And Management Systems, Mousa Maimoun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three troublesome issues concerning residential curbside collection (RCC) and municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems in the United States motivated this research. First, reliance upon inefficient collection and scheduling procedures negatively affect RCC efficiency, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and cost. Second, the neglected impact of MSW management practices on water resources. Third, the implications of alternative fuels on the environmental and financial performance of waste collection where fuel plays a significant rule. The goal of this study was to select the best RCC program, MSW management practice, and collection fuel. For this study, field data were collected for RCC programs …

An Improved Biosolid Gasifier Model, Hannah Mclean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As populations increase and cities become denser, the production of waste, both sewage sludge and food biomass, increases exponentially while disposal options for these wastes are limited. Landfills have minimal space for biosolids; countries are now banning ocean disposal methods for fear of the negative environmental impacts. Agricultural application of biosolids cannot keep up with the production rates because of the accumulation of heavy metals in the soils. Gasification can convert biosolids into a renewable energy source that can reduce the amount of waste heading to the landfills and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. A recently published chemical kinetic …

Mathematical Modeling Of Carbon Removal In The A-Stage Activated Sludge System, Thomas Nogaj

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research developed a dynamic activated sludge model (ASM) to better describe the overall removal of organic substrate, quantified as chemical oxygen demand (COD), from A-stage high rate activated sludge (HRAS) systems. This dynamic computer model is based on a modified ASM1 (Henze et al., 2000) model. It was determined early in the project that influent soluble COD, which is normally represented by a single state variable in ASM1, had to be subdivided into two state variables (SBs and SBf, or slow and fast fractions) to simulate the performance of A-stage systems. Also, the addition of state variables differentiating colloidal …

Characterization Of Two Biochars Derived From Horse Muck And Their Ability To Reduce Pathogen Transport In Soil, David Griffith

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Biochars have been created and characterized from a variety livestock manure biomass including poultry, dairy, and swine. However, no research has been conducted on the physical and chemical makeup of biochar pyrolyzed from horse muck. Two horse muck derived biochars containing either straw (HS) or woodchip (HW) bedding were pyrolyzed at 700°C and characterized for their physical and chemical properties. Tests revealed both biochars had high alkalinity, moderate specific conductivity, and low surface area as compared to other biochars in the literature. HS contained more mineral structures than HW. Scanning electron microscopy presented differences in particle shape, size, and presence …

Simulating Energy Efficient Control Of Multiple-Compressor Compressed Air Systems, Sean Murphy, J. Kelly Kissock

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

In many industrial facilities it is common for more than one air compressor to be operating simultaneously to meet the compressed air demand. The individual compressor set-points and how these compressors interact and respond to the facility demand have a significant impact on the compressed air system total power consumption and efficiency. In the past, compressors were staged by cascading the pressure band of each compressor in the system. Modern automatic sequencers now allow more intelligent and efficient staging of air compressors.

AirSim, a compressed air simulation tool, is now able to simulate multiple-compressor systems with pressure band and automatic …

Sustainable Design Of Buildings Using Semantic Bim And Semantic Web Services, Mehrdad Niknam, Saeed Karshenas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In response to the growing concerns about climate change and the environment, sustainable design of buildings is increasingly demanded by building owners and users. However, fast evaluation of various design options and identification of the optimized design requires application of design analysis tools such as energy modeling, daylight simulations, and natural ventilation analysis software. Energy analysis requires access to distributed sources of information such as building element material properties provided by designers, mechanical equipment information provided by equipment manufacturers, weather data provided by weather reporting agencies, and energy cost data from energy providers. Gathering energy related information from different sources …

An Assessment Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contamination In Fish From The Inland And Great Lakes Of Michigan, Emily Sokol

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Fish within the Great Lakes region of North America are an invaluable resource with economic and cultural significance. While these fish are vital, they contain chemical pollutants that are hazardous to human health. One such man-made group of chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs), continue to be a problem long after the ban on production (1979).

The objective of this research thesis was to assess PCB contamination in fish within the Great Lakes Region. This objective was completed by determining the sources of PCB contamination, defining the ecosystem characteristics that significantly affect fish contamination, predicting when it will be safe to …

Perspectives On Environmental Management System Requirements, Raquel Taveras

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This report offers perspectives on effective environmental management procedures gained through field experience with the Peace Corps in Peru and with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Copenhagen, Denmark. The work in Peru focused on case studies of rural water supply management within the context of local legislation and development strategies and environmental management principles. The objective of this study was to lay out a framework for future development workers and governmental agencies aiming to improve the administration and operation of rural water system. UNOPS on the other hand, as the operational arm of the UN for …

Kitchen 2.0: Investigation Of The Effect Of Ventilation On Indoor Air Quality, Kelli Marie Whelan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Even in today’s technology-filled world, nearly half of the global population still relies on some form of biomass to meet their daily energy requirement. Currently, improved combustion technologies (improved cookstoves) are the most common intervention to reduce fuel usage and to reduce human exposure to harmful products of incomplete combustion. This report explores an alternative option to cookstove replacement: ventilation as a low-cost, low-impact solution for health risk reduction.

Improving Flow Distribution In Small-Scale Water-Supply Systems Through The Use Of Flow-Reducing Discs And Methods For Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Solar Powered Pumping For A Drinking Water Supply In Rural Panama, Briana I. Drake

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

As continued global funding and coordination are allocated toward the improvement of access to safe sources of drinking water, alternative solutions may be necessary to expand implementation to remote communities.

This report evaluates two technologies used in a small water distribution system in a mountainous region of Panama; solar powered pumping and flow-reducing discs. The two parts of the system function independently, but were both chosen for their ability to mitigate unique issues in the community. The design program NeatWork and flow-reducing discs were evaluated because they are tools taught to Peace Corps Volunteers in Panama.

Even when ample water …

Water Use And System Reliability Under Dieselgenerator And Solar Photovoltaic Powered Pumping Systems: A Case Study Of Solla Togo, Alicia R. Sherrin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Access to improved potable water sources is recognized as one of the key factors in improving health and alleviating global poverty. In recently years, substantial investments have been made internationally in potable water infrastructure projects, allowing 2.3 billion people to gain access to potable water from 1990-2012. One such project was planned and installed in Solla, Togo, a rural village in the northern part of the country, from 2010-2012. Ethnographic studies revealed that, while the community has access to potable water, an estimated 45% of the village’s 1500 residents still rely on unprotected sources for drinking and cooking. Additionally, inequality …

Low Impact Development (Lid) Opportunities In The District Of Lamúd, Perú: A Study Of Hydrology, Costs And Maintenance Of Appropriate Stormwater Best Management Practices (Bmps), Olga M. Cano

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The study aims at identifying opportunities to implement Low Impact Development (LID) Best Management Practices (BMPs) for stormwater management, in the District of Lámud, Perú. Other studies have noted the importance of appropriate stormwater management as part of urban development in developing countries.

Environmental, economic and social aspects were analyzed to identify the most appropriate case. Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) 5.1, was used to obtain runoff results. Ten case scenarios were set up with LID BMP combinations of infiltration trenches, vegetated swales, and retention ponds. Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) life cost models were used as a reference to calculate …

Stabilization Of Iron Mine Tailings Through Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation, Noah D. Buikema

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Mine tailings are deposited into large-scale impoundments. Seasonal temperature fluctuations destabilize particles on the impoundment surface. Wind-induced shear stresses on the destabilized particles can in turn result in suspension of micron-sized particles into the atmosphere, creating dust storms that pose hazards to humans and the environment. Thus, efficient and sustainable methods of dust abatement are needed. One novel method for controlling dust emissions is biomodification. For example, Sporosarcina pasteurii can promote biocalcification in soil via ureolysis. However, application of this method to fined grained materials, such as mine tailings, is challenging. The goal of this work was to perform a …

The Use Of Jatropha Curcas To Achieve A Self Sufficient Water Distribution System: A Case Study In Rural Senegal, Alexandra Archer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The use of Jatropha curcas as a source of oil for fueling water pumps holds promise for rural communities struggling to achieve water security in arid climates. The potential for use in developing communities as an affordable, sustainable fuel source has been highly recommended for many reasons: it is easily propagated, drought resistant, grows rapidly, and has high-oil-content seeds, as well as medicinal and economic potential. This study uses a rural community in Senegal, West Africa, and calculates at what level of Jatropha curcas production the village is able to be self-sufficient in fueling their water system to meet drinking, …

A Sub-Basin Water Resource Quantification And Aquifer Productivity Assessment For The Northwest Borehole Scheme Near Opuwo, Namibia, Lucas C. Moilanen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Namibia is the most arid country in southern Africa, and is classified as experiencing medium-water stress from 2010-2014 by the Water Resources Institute (WRI) (World Bank, 2015) (Gassert, 2013). Increased water-resources management responsibility at the municipal level, population growth and urbanization trends necessitate community-scale quantification of water resources.

An annual water balance for the contributing sub-basin to Opuwo, Namibia was performed. The Behnke and Maxey method was used to estimate PET, and the methodology outlined by Allen, et al was used to determine soil moisture response to individual rainfall events for one hypothetical year. Water balance results indicate that of …

Application Of Hydrodynamic Models In Simulating The Thermal Regime Of Lake Superior, Rasika K. Gawde

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In large systems, such as the Great Lakes and coastal oceans, physical processes have a significant influence on chemical and biological phenomena. Hydrodynamic modeling assists in describing these physical characteristics and in recent years, these models have been extensively applied in the Great Lakes basin to study the response of the lake ecosystem to long-term meteorological forcing conditions.

Due to its role in mediating physical, biological and chemical processes in lake environments, water temperature (and the attendant thermal regime) has been the parameter of interest in many of these mathematical modeling studies and was adopted as the primary metric for …

Evaluation Of Sixteen Reference Evapotranspiration Methods Under Sahelian Conditions In The Senegal River Valley, Koffi Djaman, Alpha B. Balde, Abdoulaye Sow, Bertrand Muller, Suat Irmak, Mamadou K. N'Diaye, Baboucarr Manneh, Yonnelle D. Moukoumbi, Koichi Futakuchi, Kazuki Saito

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Study region: Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) plays a key role in irrigation sys-tems design, water management under irrigated and rainfed production. Underthe sahelian conditions in the Senegal River Valley that receives less than 300 mmannual rainfall, rice crop water use should be estimated for the sustainability of theresource. Study focus: However the Penman–Monteith (PM) equation is revealed the mostaccurate one; it necessitates several climatic parameters that are not always avail-able mostly in the developing countries. The objective of this study was to evaluatethe performance of 16 ETo equations against the ASCE-PM equation under thesahelian conditions at Ndiaye and Fanaye …

Climate Change Implications For Health-Care Waste Incineration Trends During Emergency Situations, Emilia Mmbando Raila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare waste (HCW) incineration practices in the global South countries are among the major sources of black carbon (BC) emissions or smoke. This study analyzes HCW incineration trends during emergency situations and smoke from HCW incineration processes in Haiti. The study was prompted by the current arguments about the climate change and the growing health effects associated with BC emissions. The conceptual framework was based on both adverse health effects from BC emissions exposure and climate change potential of BC emissions. Therefore, the goal was to determine whether cardboard HCW sharps containers emit lower BC emissions to the atmosphere during …

Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) Of Tourism Activities, Kayla Santello

Honors Theses and Capstones

Abstract— Tourism, like other developed industries is a commerce that requires energy inputs and yields outputs with significant effects on the environment. However a comprehensive study examining the life cycle impact associated with each tourism component including transportation, accommodation, food services, and recreation is still lacking. Therefore a search of previous tourism life cycle studies was carried out and ten studies were further investigated. Indicators, assessment approaches, and system boundaries of these previous studies were assessed. Then the outcomes were normalized and compared in order to obtain ranges for the four components of tourism. It was found that energy intensity …