Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Tunable Nanocomposite Membranes For Water Remediation And Separations, Sebastián Hernández Sierra

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Nano-structured material fabrication using functionalized membranes with polyelectrolytes is a promising research field for water pollution, catalytic and mining applications. These responsive polymers react to external stimuli like temperature, pH, radiation, ionic strength or chemical composition. Such nanomaterials provide novel hybrid properties and can also be self-supported in addition to the membranes.

Polyelectrolytes (as hydrogels) have pH responsiveness. The hydrogel moieties gain or lose protons based on the pH, displaying swelling properties. These responsive materials can be exploited to synthesize metal nanoparticles in situ using their functional groups, or to immobilize other polyelectrolytes and biomolecules. Due to their properties, these …

Linking Climate Change And Socio-Economic Impact For Long-Term Urban Growth In Three Mega-Cities, Qi Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization has become a global trend under the impact of population growth, socio-economic development, and globalization. However, the interactions between climate change and urban growth in the context of economic geography are unclear due to missing links in between the recent planning megacities. This study aims to conduct a multi-temporal change analysis of land use and land cover in New York City, City of London, and Beijing using a cellular automata-based Markov chain model collaborating with fuzzy set theory and multi-criteria evaluation to predict the city's future land use changes for 2030 and 2050 under the background of climate change. …

Biological Nutrient Removal (Bnr) Process Optimization And Recovery Of Embedded Energy Using Biodiesel By-Product, Sultan Salamah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) as well as biological nitrogen removal require a carbon source to be carried out. Volatile fatty acid (VFAs) (mainly acetic and propionic acids) are the major driving force for EBPR. Many domestic wastewaters have an insufficient amount of VFAs. However, carbon sources such as acetic and propionic acids can be produced using primary solids fermentation process. Due to the cost of VFA production, an external carbon source can be added to the biological nutrient removal (BNR) system that can be fermented to provide the desired VFAs. Glycerol (biodiesel by-product) offers a solution to reduce carbon …

Reducing Sulfuric Acid Pretreatment In A Nanofiltration Process Treating Surficial Groundwater, Carlyn Higgins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nanofiltration (NF) is a pressure driven membrane process employed in drinking water treatment that requires pretreatment for reliable operation. The objective of this research was to determine if NF membranes can proficiently operate with a decreased or eliminated dose of sulfuric acid pretreatment. When used as pretreatment, sulfuric acid prevents calcium carbonate scaling on NF membranes, yet is costly, hazardous, and imparts high sulfate concentrations to NF feed and concentrate streams. To conduct this research, a 0.324 million gallon per day (MGD) NF pilot plant was operated for 3,855 run-hours at a flux rate of 15 gallons per square foot-day. …

The Technical, Economic, And Environmental Feasibility Of Rice Straw Residue For Biomass Energy Production In India, Gaurav Kumar

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study assessed the feasibility of mobilizing rice straw (paddy residues) for small scale (250kW) bioenergy applications in India by establishing sustainable residue removal rates and cost of supply values for two production regions (Punjab and Haryana). A key objective was to refine the methodology for estimating costs for collection and transportation of rice straw harvesting for bioenergy use. The delivered cost of rice straw retrieved from one hectare of land and transported 10 km to the power plant has been estimated at INR 2.05 (USD 0.03) per kg. Various technological options have been explored for electricity generation from rice …

A Practical Approach To Constant Head Drip Chlorination Using An Outlet Controlled System, Joanna Marie Lewis

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

การบำบัดดินปนเปื้อนอาร์เซเนตโดยใช้สารลดแรงตึงผิวชีวภาพแรมโนลิพิดร่วมกับเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์, วริศรา ตันติวงศ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ดินปนเปื้อนอาร์เซเนตเป็นปัญหาที่ส่งผลกระทบต่อสุขภาพประชาชนและความมั่นคงของระบบนิเวศ การบำบัดดินปนเปื้อนอาร์เซเนตจึงเป็นสิ่งจำเป็น งานวิจัยนี้ศึกษาการกำจัดอาร์เซเนตออกจากดินปนเปื้อนสังเคราะห์ด้วยวิธีการล้างดิน โดยใช้สารล้างดินที่มีค่าพีเอชเท่ากับ 11 จำนวน 4 ประเภท ประกอบด้วย น้ำกลั่น สารละลายเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์ สารละลายแรมโนลิพิด และสารละลายแรมโนลิพิดผสมเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์ ดินที่ทำการศึกษาเป็นดินเกรดวิเคราะห์ 2 ชนิด คือ ดินเหนียวเคโอลิไนท์และดินทรายซิลิกา ซึ่งดินทั้ง 2 ชนิด ไม่มีสารอินทรีย์เป็นองค์ประกอบและมีประจุที่ผิวดินเป็นประจุลบ โดยดินเหนียวเคโอลิไนท์และดินทรายซิลิกาสามารถดูดซับอาร์เซเนตได้ 80.10 และ 29.16 มิลลิกรัมอาร์เซเนตต่อกิโลกรัมดิน ตามลำดับ การดูดซับอาร์เซเนตและสารลดแรงตึงผิวแรมโนลิพิดของดินเหนียวเคโอลิไนท์เป็นไปตามสมการการดูดซับของฟรุนดิชไอโซเทอมและมีความเร็วในการดูดซับเป็นไปตามอัตราเร็วปฏิกริยาอันดับที่สองเสมือน ส่วนการดูดซับอาร์เซเนตและสารลดแรงตึงผิวแรมโนลิพิดของดินทรายซิลิกาเป็นไปตามสมการการดูดซับของฟรุนดิชไอโซเทอมและแลงเมียร์ไอโซเทอมตามลำดับ และมีความเร็วในการดูดซับเป็นไปตามอัตราเร็วปฏิกริยาอันดับที่สองเสมือน การศึกษาประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดอาร์เซเนตออกจากดินปนเปื้อน พบว่า กรณีดินเหนียวเคโอลิไนท์ สารละลายแรมโนลิพิดให้ประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดอาร์เซเนตได้ดีที่สุดเท่ากับร้อยละ 63.36 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 20 ชั่วโมง ตามมาด้วยสารละลายเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์ น้ำกลั่น และสารละลายแรมโนลิพิดผสมเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์ ซึ่งมีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดอาร์เซเนตเท่ากับ 59.72 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 20 ชั่วโมง และ 54.47 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 24 ชั่วโมง และ 32.56 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 16 ชั่วโมง ตามลำดับ และกรณีของดินทรายซิลิกา สารละลายเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์ให้ประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดอาร์เซเนตได้ดีที่สุด เท่ากับร้อยละ 96.63 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 4 ชั่วโมง ตามมาด้วยสารละลายแรมโนลิพิด สารละลายแรมโนลิพิดผสมเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์ และน้ำกลั่น ซึ่งมีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดอาร์เซเนตเท่ากับ 86.14 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 4 ชั่วโมง และ 75.18 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 8 ชั่วโมง และ 29.54 โดยมวล ที่เวลาล้างดิน 24 ชั่วโมง ตามลำดับ นอกจากนี้แม้ว่าการใช้สารละลายแรมโนลิพิดและเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์แยกกันจะให้ประสิทธิในการกำจัดอาร์เซเนตได้ดีกว่า แต่ผลการทดลองยังพบว่าการใช้สารละลายแรมโนลิพิดผสมเฟอร์ริกคลอไรด์มีแนวโน้มที่ดีในการป้องกันไม่ให้เกิดการดูดซับอาร์เซเนตซ้ำบนผิวดิน

Towards A Better Understanding Of Indoor Exposure To Air Pollutants: Window Opening Occurrence In U.S. Residences, Gauri Dilip Date

Masters Theses

"Opening a window dramatically alters how we are exposed to air pollutants. Online questionnaire surveys were deployed to assess window-opening occurrence of the occupants of US homes. This information will be used to better quantify population exposure to pollutants of indoor and outdoor origin. Frequency distributions of demographics were generated which showed percentages of respondents who participated in the surveys from categories including gender, race, household income and occupancy. In April 2016, 49.3% of the people surveyed opened their windows for at least 1 hour in a day. This increased to 52.5% in September 2016 and reduced considerably to 24.4% …

Advanced Buffer Materials For Indoor Air Co₂ Control In Commercial Buildings, Pavithra Ethi Rajan

Masters Theses

"The following describes a novel passive approach to control the indoor CO₂ levels in enclosed spaces, primarily focusing on commercial buildings. Amine impregnated silica sorbents were identified as suitable candidates and synthesized; the amine loading ratio was varied to create a range of materials. These samples along with other commercial zeolite candidates have been tested over a range of CO₂ concentrations to determine the CO₂ adsorption capacity in laboratory systems and under simulated room conditions. The research work also focuses on the CO₂ desorption capacity of the candidate adsorbents. The desorption is allowed to occur gradually …

The Use Of Ceramic Water Filters Under Pressure In An In-Line Water Pumping System, Travis Dean Gardner

Masters Theses

"Ceramic pot filters (CPFs) have proven an effective point of use (POU) filter due to their relative low cost, ease to manufacture, and effectiveness at treating contaminated water. These filters are used by individual homes, and sometimes multiple filters are needed for each home in order to produce enough water for the family's household. If these filters could be used in-line with a pumping system or elevated storage tank, water could be filtered and used on demand for a community in an economically feasible way. However, CPFs are too fragile to use under pressure due to the weak points where …

Cloth-Air Partitioning Of Oxybenzone, Jonathan T. Hill

Masters Theses

"Clothing has been proven to be a significant accumulator of chemicals from the air. Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) have a high affinity towards textiles, and measuring the equilibrium partition coefficient between cloth and air (K_cloth-air) for SVOCs is crucial in predicting human exposure to these compounds. This study aims to quantify K_cloth-air for oxybenzone to contribute to a larger human exposure experiment carried out at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). K_cloth-air for oxybenzone was calculated using data collected from the exposure chamber at DTU and from performing extractions of oxybenzone in fabric samples from the …

Vegetation Based Assessment And Monitoring Tools For Landfill Leachate Treatment And Fugitive Plumes, Rahul Sukharia

Masters Theses

"Solid waste and leachate generation from solid waste landfills has a legacy of detrimental and toxic impacts on the environment. Disposal practices are expensive, failure prone and have not been able to keep up with the pace of disposal of toxic compounds. In general, a landfill acts as a "bathtub" with infiltration of water through the landfill cover into the landfill, reacting with the waste and transferring toxic components into the leachate. Irrigating the evapotranspiration (ET) covers with leachate collected from the landfill has been developed and applied. Such methods can keep the leached pollutants in a loop, which reduces …

Bioaccessibility Of Lead From Lead-Contaminated Soil Upon Phosphate Amendment Using A Physiologically-Based Extraction Test, Samantha Jo Dicenso

Masters Theses

"Lead is known to cause health problems in humans, especially children, and an effective in‐situ remediation option has been sought for years. Adding phosphoric acid (PA) to contaminated soil causes a reaction that binds the lead to phosphate to produce pyromorphite (Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl), a form of lead believed to be non‐bioavailable; however, field trials have given varied results (Bosso et al 2008; Munksgaard and Lottermoser 2011; Tang et al. 2009). One explanation for these results might be the impact of the agent used to raise pH after phosphoric acid addition. In order to examine this explanation soil was collected from the …

Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) Of Ore Transportation Route Alternatives For Eagle Mine, Soumith Kumar Oduru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Transportation sector at large is a major consumer of fossil fuels and constitutes more than a quarter of the global greenhouse gas emissions. When making infrastructure route and mode choice decisions for new freight-oriented projects, it is important that environmental and emissions considerations are included as an integral part of the selection process. Emissions from freight transportation projects related to mining and natural resource industry are especially critical, as they involve high volumes and tonnages often in pristine environments. The most logical time for emissions analysis is during modal and route analysis that are often conducted in the planning stage …

Trend Analysis In Rainfall, Reference Evapotranspiration And Aridity Index In Southern Senegal: Adaptation To The Vulnerability Of Rainfed Rice Cultivation To Climate Change, Komlan Koudahe, Koffi Djaman, Ansoumana Bodian, Suat Irkmak, Mamadou Sall, Lamine Diop, Alpha B. Balde, Daran Rudnick

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Rainfall and evapotranspiration are two vital elements for food production under rainfed agriculture. This study aims at investigating the combined changes in these variables in the form of aridly index in the southern Senegal. The temporal trends in annual and monthly (from May to October) aridity index, rainfall and evapotranspiration are examined and adaptation strategies to the vulnerability of rainfed rice cultivation to the changes are developed. The results show a significant decreasing trend in annual rainfall at all study locations for the period 1922-2015. When analyzing the trends in sub-periods, there are two clear patterns in the annual rainfall …

Prototype Development Of Small Scale Transportable Fuel Production System For Agricultural Byproducts, Jurarat Nisamaneenate

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objective is to study the potential of peanut shell waste and cassava rhizome conversion using a modular fixed bed gasifier coupled with thermal integration unit. The thermal integration unit improved gasification reaction in which lower tar content and high gas production efficiency can be achieved. The air flow rate had integrated effects on product yield and composition; higher air flow rate resulted in higher gas yield with less tar and char. The result from peanut shell gasification indicated the optimal conditions without catalyst addition at air flow rate of 3.06 m3/hr where carbon and hydrogen conversions were 87.10% and …

Extreme Weather Disaster Resilient Port And Waterway Infrastructure For Sustainable Global Supply Chain, Quang Van Nguyen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global supply chain is largely dependent on seaports and marine terminals. Ports serve international cargo traffic for imports and exports. About 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea and over 70% as containerized cargo ships. Coastal hurricanes/cyclones and rainfall flood disasters cause major disruptions for sea shipping traffic, disruptions of port infrastructure, and adverse impacts on coastal communities each year. Additionally, these weather related disasters threaten millions of people, damage infrastructure, and cost billions of dollars in global supply chain disruptions. Sustainable global supply chains, port infrastructure, and coastal community impact by these extreme weather disasters are the …

Coupling Infrastructure Resilience And Flood Risk Assessment For A Coastal Urban Watershed, Justin Joyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis sheds light on coupling potential flood risk and drainage infrastructure resilience of low-lying areas of a coastal urban watershed to flood hazards and subsequent multi-scale impacts of those hazards via detailed modeling frameworks. Physically based models along with statistical models are employed to highlight the complexity for characterizing flood risk while evaluating such risk under various levels of adaptive capacity from traditional flood management techniques to low impact development (LID), as a first step to conduct resilience assessment. Findings indicate that the coupling flood risk and infrastructure resilience is achievable by the careful formulation of flood risk associated …

Water–Soil–Vegetation Dynamic Interactions In Changing Climate, Xixi Wang, Xuefeng Chu, Tingxi Liu, Xiangju Cheng, Rich Whittecar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Previous studies of land degradation, topsoil erosion, and hydrologic alteration typically focus on these subjects individually, missing important interrelationships among these important aspects of the Earth's system. However, an understanding of water–soil–vegetation dynamic interactions is needed to develop practical and effective solutions to sustain the globe's eco-environment and grassland agriculture, which depends on grasses, legumes, and other fodder or soil-building crops. This special issue is intended to be a platform for a discussion of the relevant scientific findings based on experimental and/or modeling studies. Its 12 peer-reviewed articles present data, novel analysis/modeling approaches, and convincing results of water–soil–vegetation interactions under …

Heavy Metal Distribution And Groundwater Quality Assessment For A Coastal Area On A Chinese Island, Sha Lou, Shuguang Liu, Chaomeng Dai, An Tao, Bo Tan, Gangfeng Ma, Roman Sergeeyvich Chalov, Sergey Romanovich Chalov

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Chongming Island is located in the lower Yangtze Estuary in China. Due to the Leachate from a refuse landfill and the hydrodynamics of the Yangtze Estuary, the groundwater environment is particularly complicated on Chongming Island. Field observations were carried out around the landfill disposal site. The groundwater table, temperature, pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen were measured in the field by portable equipment, and 192 water samples were collected at eight groundwater sites and one surface water site. Through laboratory analysis we found the highest measured concentration of Cr to be 54.07 μg/L, and the measured concentration of Zn was in …

Cost-Effective Recovery Of Concentrated Cooling Tower Blowdown Using The Cerro Process, Lindsey Nicole Larson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Concentrate Enhanced Recovery Reverse Osmosis (CERRO) process is a seawater-RO unit that can cost-effectively achieve extremely high recoveries from water high in silica, carbonate and sulfate concentrations. This relatively new technology takes advantage of the induction time of potential foulants to recover more water than what is normally achievable with a conventional desalination system. The scope of the project was to evaluate the efficiency of the CERRO process as a pilot study using cooling tower blowdown which varied in water quality parameters daily. It was found that the CERRO pilot could successfully achieve 85% recovery, and the main limitation …

Quantification Of The Impact Of Asphalt Pavement Conditions On Gas Emissions, Oscar Daniel Gonzalez Calvo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research develops a methodology to quantify the impact of asphalt pavement conditions on vehicular gas emissions based on statistical analysis to correlate the relationship between asphalt pavement roughness and gas emissions. ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) hypoThesis tests were used to compare the factors affecting the results. The roughness was measured with the International Roughness Index (IRI) using a profilometer provided by TxDOT and the gas emissions were measured with a Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS).

This research also presents the savings obtained in gas emissions using different maintenance and rehabilitation strategies established by TxDOT (Preventive Maintenance, Light Rehabilitation, Medium …

The Former Asarco Demolition Fallout, A Post Study On Lead Soil Concentrations And Environmental Agents Of Redistribution In El Paso, Texas, Stephanie A. Robinson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The former El Paso ASARCO Smelting and Refining Co. operated between 1877 and 1999, the pyrometallurgic activity was estimated to have discharged excess of a 1,000 tons of lead (Pb) into the atmosphere from 1969-71. It was estimated 96 tons of (Pb) were emitted on an annual basis from the standing ore and fluid beds. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that lead (Pb) is the heavy metal of the highest concentration within the vicinity of the smelter. After the smelter production ceased, flash flooding common to the southwest, such as the 2006 historic flood, increased transportation of superficial contaminants …

Removal Of Pharmaceuticals From Aqueous Solutions Using A1-Mg/Rgo Composite, Spencer Jones

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Projecting Regional Climate And Cropland Changes Using A Linked Biogeophysical-Socioeconomic Modeling Framework: 1 Model Description And An Equilibrium Application Over West Africa, Guiling Wang, Kazi Farzan Ahmed, Liangzhi You, Miao Yu, Jeremy S. Pal, Zhenming Ji

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Works

Agricultural land use alters regional climate through modifying the surface mass, energy, and momentum fluxes; climate influences agricultural land use through their impact on crop yields. These interactions are not well understood and have not been adequately considered in climate projections. This study tackles the critical linkages within the coupled natural-human system of West Africa in a changing climate based on an equilibrium application of a modeling framework that asynchronously couples models of regional climate, crop yield, multimarket agricultural economics, and cropland expansion. Using this regional modeling framework driven with two global climate models, we assess the contributions of land …

Studies Of Air Pollutants And Their Impact On Respiratory And Cardiovascular Diseases In The El Paso Del Norte Region With Emphasis On Mobile Emissions, Juan Gustavo Arias Ugarte

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Air pollution may cause different diseases, such as cardiovascular and lung diseases. Traffic is a major source of mobile emissions causing air pollution. Exhaust emissions from mobile sources (Emissions of Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides and Hydrocarbons) and Non-exhaust (Brake and Tire) are complex mixtures of gases and dust, including a large number of ultrafine particles, especially in areas with high traffic density. Recent studies have shown high rates of morbidity and mortality in people exposed to these types of emissions because the fine and ultrafine particles can be transported from the respiratory airways to the organs, thus contributing to increase …

Characterization Of Ecological Water Stress In The U.S. Great Lakes Region Using A Geospatial Modeling Approach, Sara Alian

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Anthropocentric water resources management affects aquatic habitats by changing streamflow regime. Understanding the impacts of water withdrawal from different sources and consumption by various economic sectors at different spatial and temporal scales is key to characterizing ecologically harmful streamflow disturbances. To this end, we developed a generic, integrative framework to characterize catchment scale water stress at annual and monthly time scales. The framework accounts for spatially cumulative consumptive and non-consumptive use impacts and associated changes in flow due to depletion and return flow along the stream network. Application of the framework to the U.S. Great Lakes Region indicates that a …

Air Injection As A Scour Countermeasure At Bridge Piers, Ravi Teja Reddy Tippireddy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Local scour is a major cause of concern for the stability of bridge piers and the safety of the public using the bridges. Structural countermeasures and flow-altering devices have been developed to deal with local scour. Many armoring structural countermeasures are very effective and efficient in clear water conditions but are susceptible to moving bed forms and leaching. The flow-altering devices are effective in both clear water conditions and moving bed forms, but are prone to clogging, less efficient in changing flow direction, etc. This study aims to reduce the local scour by injecting air in order to reduce the …

Characterization Of Kinetics And Performance In A Microbial Fuel Cell Supplied With Synthetic Landfill Leachate, Zhimin Song

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Biodegradable municipal solid waste (MSW) is rich in biochemical energy; however, much of this energy is sequestered in conventional landfills. Although bioreactor landfills enhance conversion of MSW to methane, the generated methane is a potent greenhouse gas and cannot be fully captured in landfills. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can directly convert the biochemical energy in MSW to electricity, treat leachate, extend landfill longevity, and minimize fugitive methane emissions. However, the electricity production from MFCs cannot yet meet the energy demands of treatment and improvements in the performance of leachate-fed MFCs are needed. Effective approaches for the design and operation of …

Geotechnical Laboratory Testing For 2-D Fem Analysis Of Geomorphic And Planar Sloped Caps And Covers For Sustainable Mine Refuse Deposition, Sun Hee Park

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis reports the findings of the application of Geomorphic Landform Design principles to the Royal Scot abandoned coarse coal refuse (CCR) pile located in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The Royal Scot facility has many environmental concerns including severe erosion, acid-mine/rock drainage, and sediment transport. A cap and cover system is proposed to be implemented which incorporates the GLD principles. A two-layer cap and cover system will be used to reclaim the site and return it back to a stable state and reduce the production of acid-mine drainage. The system is composed of a hydraulic barrier composed of compacted CCR, …