Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Quantifying The Source And Pathway Of Dissolved Reactive Phosphate In Karst Drainage Of The Inner-Bluegrass, Cory Radcliff

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

In the Midwestern U.S. seasonal hypoxia experienced in the Gulf of Mexico and harmful algal blooms in inland freshwater ponds, lakes, and rivers are partly fueled by dissolved orthophosphate loadings from disturbed landscapes. Efforts to reduce dissolved reactive phosphate (DRP) loadings have had varying levels of success and have led to insufficient water quality improvements. Inefficiencies in conservation strategies can stem from poor understanding of phosphate source and flow pathway dynamics. This study focused on monitoring sources and flow pathways of dissolved reactive P in a karst agroecosystem with phosphatic limestone. We collected event water samples at the Camden Creek …

Evaluating The Biotic Condition Of Restored Streams In Kentucky’S Inner Bluegrass Region, Charles Cole Crankshaw

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Numerous stream restoration projects have been implemented in Kentucky’s Inner Bluegrass region to offset anthropogenic impacts. These projects range from full channel realignments to volunteer-led riparian installations. To assess the ability of said projects to restore stream habitat and biota, full restoration (n=12) and riparian (n=6) sites were compared to reference (n=6) and disturbed (n=12) sites using RBP and SVAP protocols, macroinvertebrate samples, and geomorphology. General trends for SVAP, RBP, and BI scores, starting with highest habitat or biotic quality, were reference sites, full and riparian restoration sites, then disturbed sites. The number of EPT taxa, another indicator of biological …

Case Study Of Gravity-Fed Mountain Spring Tap System In Ha Leronti, Lesotho, Africa, Sarah Peterson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Water security has been declining rapidly in Lesotho, Africa in recent years. Lack of water has led to food insecurity, livestock deaths, and the spread of disease. Rural Basotho depend on rainfall to sustain their livelihoods; however, precipitation variability has recently increased due to climate change. For those who reside in the highlands of Lesotho, mountain springs can be a clean source of water. The tap system in the village of Ha Leronti relies on gravity to distribute water from two mountain springs to the ten village taps and nearby school campus. However, it is incapable of transporting the basic …

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

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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

Peer-To-Peer Energy Trading For Networked Microgrids, Jonathan David Warner

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Considering the limitations of the existing centralized power infrastructure, research interests have been directed to decentralized smart power systems constructed as networks of interconnected microgrids. Therefore, it has become critical to develop secure and efficient energy trading mechanisms among networked microgrids for reliability and economic mutual benefits. Furthermore, integrating blockchain technologies into the energy sector has gained significant interest among researchers and industry professionals. Considering these trends, the work in this thesis focuses on developing Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy trading models to facilitate transactions among microgrids in a multiagent network. Price negotiation mechanisms are proposed for both islanded and grid-connected microgrid …

Determination Of Pollutant Load Reductions To Three Mile Creek As A Result Of The Implementation Of Storm Water Bio-Infiltration Basins On The Usa Campus, Jordan E. Blackmon

Honors Theses

Three Mile Creek has been identified as an impaired urban stream and is now a priority for cleanup for both the City of Mobile and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Methods to better manage storm water runoff on the USA campus have begun, with a goal to reduce sediment and nutrient inputs to Three Mile Creek. Both sediment and nutrient inputs to Three Mile Creek disrupt habitat and lower dissolved oxygen concentrations, which are detrimental to overall stream health. Low Impact Development strategies are an innovative way to use nature-like, green-infrastructures to minimize storm water runoff quantity and improve …

Revised Draft Final Butte Reclaimed Areas Maintenance And Monitoring (M&M) Plan In Accordance With Butte Reclamation Evaluation System (Bres), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Changes In Land Use Land Cover And Climate On Long-Term Total Dissolved Solids Trends In The Mid-Atlantic Region Of The United States, Melaine Edouard Kolimedje

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Mid-Atlantic region (MAR) of the U.S. is subjected to a variety of stressors that affect the headwaters of the major rivers. Some of these stressors are abandoned mine drainage, agriculture, municipal point sources, urban areas, out-of-basin diversions, competing water uses, rapid population growths in the lowlands, alterations in water availability due to climate change and habitat alteration. In addition to these regional stressors, the rapid population growths and energy sources shifting have resulted in changes in land use and land cover (LULC) over the last few decades. The interactive effects of LULC and interannual/long-term climate changes have resulted in …

Erosion And Sediment Controls On Reclaimed Mine Refuse Impoundments, Sara Dalen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

To ensure the sustainable use of one of West Virginia’s precious resources, conscientious long-term management of residual waste is of immense importance. This thesis examined two main topics: i) the dewatering process of acid mine drainage (AMD) sludge, and ii) an investigation of soil loss predictions of a reclaimed coal refuse impoundment.

The first aspect of this thesis addresses clarification and remediation of AMD prior to disposal is a prominent component to preventing runoff and seepage of environmentally detrimental byproducts. To examine the effects of flocculation and dewatering more closely by means of geotextiles, an AMD sludge was analyzed. The …

Quantification Of Nitric Oxide Concentration Using Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Sensors, Jakob Meier, Joseph Stapleton, Eric M. Hofferber, Abigail Haworth, Stephen D. Kachman, Nicole M. Iverson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nitric oxide (NO), a free radical present in biological systems, can have many detrimental effects on the body, from inflammation to cancer. Due to NO’s short half-life, detection and quan- tification is difficult. The inability to quantify NO has hindered researchers’ understanding of its impact in healthy and diseased conditions. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), when wrapped in a specific single-stranded DNA chain, becomes selective to NO, creating a fluorescence sensor. Unfortunately, the correlation between NO concentration and the SWNT’s fluorescence intensity has been difficult to determine due to an inability to immobilize the sensor without altering its properties. Through the …

Early Wildfire Detection By Air Quality Sensors On Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Optimization And Feasibility, Doaa Rjoub

Masters Theses

“Millions of acres of forests are destroyed by wildfires every year, causing ecological, environmental, and economical losses. The recent wildfires in Australia and the Western U.S. smothered multiple states with more than fifty million acres charred by the blazes. The warmer and drier climate makes scientists expect increases in the severity and frequency of wildfires and the associated risks in the future. These inescapable crises highlight the urgent need for early detection and prevention of wildfires. This work proposed an energy management framework that integrated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with air quality sensors for early wildfire detection and forest monitoring. …

Index-Based Approach With Remote Sensing For The Assessment Of Extreme Weather Impact On Watershed Vegetation Dynamics, Kushan Bellanthudawage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Spatial technologies such as satellite remote sensing can be used to identify vegetation dynamics over space and time, which play a critical role in earth observations. Biophysical and biochemical features associated with vegetation cover can then be used to elucidate climate change impact such as floods and droughts on ecosystem that may in turn affect watershed-scale water resources management. Unlike single flood or drought event, intermittent extreme weather events may exert more physiological and biological pressures on the canopy vegetation. This study aims to investigate the climate change impacts on canopy vegetation, which occurred from March 2017 to October 2017 …

Chlorination As Drinking Water Disinfection Technique And Disinfection By Products: A Scientometric Analysis, Sapna Ramchandra Shinde, Sayali D. Apte Dr, Kanchan C. Khare Dr, Philipp Otter Mr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2015, defined to achieve a better and more sustainable future, contains goal number 6 related to safe and affordable drinking water facility for all till 2030. The rural and remote areas in the developing countries predominantly face the scarcity of pathogen free drinking water leading to water borne diseases and deaths due to consumption of contaminated water indicating a need of advancement in the drinking water disinfection techniques. The paper discusses scientometric analysis of publication trends in chlorination as a popular disinfection techniques and research related to the Disinfection By Products (DBPs) that are produced …

การศึกษาปัจจัยที่มีผลต่อพฤติกรรมการคัดแยกขยะมูลฝอยในครัวเรือนและผลกระทบทางสิ่งแวดล้อมจากการจัดการขยะมูลฝอย : กรณีศึกษาโครงการอาคารชุดบ้านเอื้ออาทรบางโฉลง นิติบุคคล 1 จังหวัดสมุทรปราการ, ปกรณ์เกียรติ หมื่นสิทธิโรจน์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ขยะมูลฝอยเป็นหนึ่งในปัญหาสำคัญด้านการจัดการสิ่งแวดล้อมที่ส่งผลกระทบต่อคุณภาพชีวิตของมนุษย์ทั่วโลก รวมถึงประเทศไทย งานวิจัยนี้จึงมุ่งศึกษาแนวทางในการจัดการขยะมูลฝอยที่เหมาะสมสำหรับชุมชนศึกษาและชุมชนอื่นที่มีลักษณะใกล้เคียงกัน โดยการศึกษานี้ประยุกต์ทฤษฎีพฤติกรรมตามแผนและแบบจำลองสมการโครงสร้าง สำหรับการศึกษาปัจจัยที่มีอิทธิพลต่อพฤติกรรมการคัดแยกขยะมูลฝอยในครัวเรือนและการแทรกแซงเพื่อการปรับเปลี่ยนพฤติกรรม อีกทั้ง ยังศึกษาผลกระทบทางสิ่งแวดล้อมโดยใช้การวิเคราะห์การไหลของวัสดุและการประเมินวัฏจักรชีวิตของขยะพลาสติก PET และ PE ที่มีมูลค่าทางเศรษฐกิจและมีปริมาณมาก ผลการศึกษาพบว่า ปัจจัยด้านความรู้เป็นปัจจัยที่ส่งผลกระทบมากที่สุด รองลงมาคือการคล้อยตามบุคคลอ้างอิง จึงเลือกใช้โปสเตอร์ให้ความรู้และโปสเตอร์ที่แสดงถึงการมีส่วนร่วมของคนในชุมชนเป็นการแทรกแซง ผลการศึกษาไม่พบความแตกต่างที่มีอย่างสำคัญของการใช้โปสเตอร์ทั้ง 2 ลักษณะ และผลการศึกษาผลกระทบทางสิ่งแวดล้อมจากการจัดการขยะมูลฝอยของชุมชนพบว่า สถานการณ์ปัจจุบัน (S0) ชุมชนมีสัดส่วนการรีไซเคิล PET และ PE เท่ากับ 15.81 และ 2.54% ตามลำดับ และมีสัดส่วนการฝังกลบ PET และ PE เท่ากับ 84.19 และ 97.46% ตามลำดับ นอกจากนี้ สถานการณ์จำลองที่เป็นตั้งโรงงานคัดแยกขยะ (S4) สามารถลดผลกระทบทางสิ่งแวดล้อมจาก S0 โดยรวมได้ โดยเฉพาะด้านศักยภาพในการเกิดภาวะโลกร้อนที่ลดลงถึง 1.4 เท่าของ S0 แสดงให้เห็นว่าการคัดแยกขยะเป็นสิ่งสำคัญ ดังนั้น จึงได้จัดทำข้อเสนอแนะ 5 ประการ ได้แก่ (1) การส่งเสริมกิจกรรมที่มีชุมชนเป็นฐาน (2) การสร้างความเข้าใจให้แก่ประชาชน รวมถึงมีการสื่อสารอย่างสม่ำเสมอ (3) สร้างบุคคลต้นแบบและบรรยากาศที่เป็นส่งเสริมการคัดแยกขยะมูลฝอยในครัวเรือน (4) จัดหาหรือพัฒนาโครงสร้างพื้นฐานให้เพียงพอ และ (5) สร้างแรงจูงใจในรูปแบบต่าง ๆ

Predicting The Impacts Of Climate Change On The Great Lakes Water Levels Using A Fully Coupled 3d Regional Modeling System, Miraj Kayastha

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Great Lakes of North America are the largest surface freshwater system in the world and many ecosystems, industries, and coastal processes are sensitive to the changes in their water levels. The recent changes in the Great Lakes climate and water levels have particularly highlighted the importance of water level prediction. The water levels of the Great Lakes are primarily governed by the net basin supplies (NBS) of each lake which are the sum of over-lake precipitation and basin runoff minus lake evaporation. Recent studies have utilized Regional Climate Models (RCMs) with a fully coupled one-dimensional (1D) lake model to …

Dynamics Of Simultaneous Nitrite Ion And Ammonia Chlorination In Complex Water Quality Matrices And Their Impact On Chlorine Residual Speciation During Disinfection, Shirin Estahbanati

Dissertations and Theses

Although chlorination of ammonia and nitrite ions have been studied comprehensively, the kinetics of chlorination in water matrices containing ammonia in the presence of nitrite ion have not been fully understood. The coexistence of the two nitrogen compounds is a phenomenon most often encountered during biological nitrification of municipal wastewaters. The spatial variation of the nitrogen species generates unpredictable complications in the effectiveness of chlorination as the disinfection process. The focus of the research study was the examination of chlorine residual speciation and the fate of ionic nitrogen species, i.e. nitrite and nitrate ions, under various experimental conditions. The experimental …

Removal Of Ferrous And Arsenic From Contaminated Groundwater By Co-Precipitation Coupling With Membrane Separation Process, Bonita Pen

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This work aimed to​ treat contaminated groundwater with arsenic and ferrous iron pollutants to be drinking water standard following by WHO by co-precipitation process and membrane separation process. The relative effect of different solid media types (scouring sponge, scouring pad, plastic ring, and activated carbon foam) and operating conditions on oxygen mass transfer coefficient (KLa) and hydrodynamic bubble parameters was studied. The optimization process of ferrous oxidation and arsenic removal was observed by Design of Experiment (DOE) with Central Composition Design of Response Surface Methodology (CCD-RSM). Lastly, separation process was experimented with conventional process and membrane technology, i.e., settling process, …

วิธีการจัดการของเสียแผงพลังงานแสงอาทิตย์ชนิดผลึกซิลิกอนจากโรงไฟฟ้าพลังงานแสงอาทิตย์ที่เหมาะสมสำหรับประเทศไทย, อิงฉัตร สุภาพยาม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

นับตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2545 ประเทศไทยเริ่มมีการลงทุนผลิตไฟฟ้าจากแผงพลังงานแสงอาทิตย์ และมีการติดตั้งใช้งานเพิ่มขึ้นต่อเนื่องโดยเฉพาะแผงในกลุ่มผลึกซิลิกอน ในอนาคตประเทศไทยมีแนวโน้มที่จะเผชิญกับปัญหาจากของเสียแผงในปริมาณมาก ดังนั้นงานวิจัยนี้จึงมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อการคาดการณ์ปริมาณของเสียแผง และประเมินแนวทางการจัดการของเสียแผงชนิดผลึกซิลิกอน ผลการดำเนินงานพบว่าปริมาณของเสียแผงสะสมที่จะเกิดขึ้น ในปี พ.ศ. 2582 จากทั้ง 2 มุมมอง (1. แผงหมดอายุการใช้งานเมื่อครบ 20 ปี 2. แผงที่ชำรุดรวมกับแผงหมดอายุการใช้งานเมื่อครบ 20 ปี) มีปริมาณอยู่ในช่วง 237,394 - 322,856 ตัน ซึ่งเป็นกระจกมากเกินครึ่งของปริมาณของเสียที่เกิดขึ้นสะสมอยู่ในช่วง 163,921 – 222,932 ตัน สำหรับวัสดุพอลิเมอร์ (วัสดุห่อหุ้ม แผ่นปิดด้านหลัง และซิลิโคน) มีปริมาณรวมกันอยู่ในช่วง 31,384 – 42,682 ตัน และจากการประเมินแนวทางการจัดการทั้ง 3 (1.แนวทางที่ใช้ในปัจจุบัน 2.แนวทางการบดหยาบ 3.แนวทางการอบแยก) พบว่าทุกแนวทางมีรายได้มากกว่าต้นทุนการจัดการเบื้องต้น แสดงให้เห็นถึงความเป็นไปได้ของระบบเศรษฐกิจหมุนเวียน และในแนวทางการอบแยกที่มีการใช้ความร้อนจะทำให้เกิดการสลายตัวของวัสดุพอลิเมอร์ ในรูปค่าความร้อนของเชื้อเพลิง โดยวัสดุห่อหุ้มมีค่าความร้อนมากที่สุดอยู่ในช่วง 38.46 – 40.54 เมกะจูลต่อกิโลกรัม (มีค่าใกล้เคียงกับไบโอดีเซล 40.2 เมกะจูลต่อกิโลกรัม) มีโอกาสที่จะนำเอาพลังงานที่เกิดขึ้นกลับคืนมาใช้ในกระบวนการ เพื่อช่วยลดการใช้เชื้อเพลิง และจากการนำกลับของวัสดุในปริมาณที่มากที่สุด จะช่วยชดเชยผลกระทบทางสิ่งแวดล้อมที่เกิดขึ้น ถือเป็นเครดิตที่เกิดขึ้นจากการประเมินผลกระทบสิ่งแวดล้อม

Effects Of Configuration And Operating Conditions On Turbidity Removal Of Jet Clarifier, Ploypailin Romphophak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In water treatment, flocculation creates large and weighty flocs enough to be removed by the downstream processes of sedimentation and filtration. Among the various existing technologies, the jet clarifier is considered as an effective and compact system as it couples flocculation and clarification in a single unit. For the design of jet mixing, much experimental work has been done and many correlations have been proposed. However, these correlations are case specifics, and, to date, there is no comprehensive view for the flocculation aspect. In order to evaluate the performance of the jet clarifier for turbidity removal and understand hydrodynamics to …

Recovery Of Phosphorus From Florida Phosphatic Waste Clay, Amir Eskanlou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This MS thesis examines the recovery of phosphorus (P) from Florida waste clay (WC). A comprehensive literature review revealed that: (i)-The most important values being lost to WC are P and rare earth elements (REEs). For the recovery of these values from WC, two crucial attempts are the removal of extremely fine-sized clays, followed by the recovery of phosphate content, which can pave the path for the recovery of REEs; (ii)-Any scientific/ technological solution should, at the same time, be economically and environmentally attractive to the industry. As such, moving from mostly chemical separation processes to the primarily physical/ physicochemical …

The Influence Of Channel Deepening On Tides, River Discharge Effects, And Storm Surge, S. A. Talke, Ramin Familkhalili, D. A. Jay

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We combine archival research, semi-analytical models, and numerical simulations to address the following question: how do changes to channel geometry alter tidal properties and flood dynamics in a hyposynchronous, strongly frictional estuary with a landward decay in tidal amplitudes? Records in the Saint Johns River Estuary since the 1890s show that tidal range has doubled in Jacksonville, Florida. Near the estuary inlet, tidal discharge approximately doubled but tidal amplitudes increased only ∼6%. Modeling shows that increased shipping channel depths from ∼5 to ∼13m drove the observed changes, with other factors like channel shortening and width reduction producing comparatively minor effects. …

Large-Scale Variation In Wave Attenuation Of Oyster Reef Living Shorelines And The Influence Of Inundation Duration, Rebecca L. Morris, Megan K. La Peyre, Bret M. Webb, Danielle A. Marshall, Donna M. Bilkovic, Just Cebrian, Giovanna Mcclenachan, Kelly M. Kibler, Linda J. Walters, David Bushek, Eric L. Sparks, Nigel A. Temple, Joshua Moody, Kory Angstadt, Joshua Goff, Maura Boswell, Paul Sacks, Stephen E. Swearer

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the paramount goals of oyster reef living shorelines is to achieve sustained and adaptive coastal protection, which requires meeting ecological (i.e., develop a self-sustaining oyster population) and engineering (i.e., provide coastal defense) targets. In a large-scale comparison along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the efficacy of various designs of oyster reef living shorelines at providing wave attenuation was evaluated accounting for the ecological limitations of oysters with regards to inundation duration. A critical threshold for intertidal oyster reef establishment is 50% inundation duration. Living shorelines that spent less than half of the time ( …

Laboratory Study Of The Effects Of Flexible Vegetation On Solute Diffusion In Unidirectional Flow, Sha Lou, Hao Wang, Hongzhe Liu, Guihui Zhong, Larisa Dorzhievna Radnaeva, Elena Nikitina, Gangfeng Ma, Shuguang Liu

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Flexible vegetation is an important part of the riverine ecosystem, which can reduce flow velocity, change turbulence structure, and affect the processes of solute transport. Compared with the flow with rigid vegetation, which has been reported in many previous studies, bending of flexible vegetation increases the complexity of the flow-vegetation-solute interactions. In this study, laboratory experiments are carried out to investigate the influence of flexible vegetation on solute transport, and methods for estimating the lateral and longitudinal diffusion coefficients in the rigid vegetated flow are examined for their applications to the flow with flexible vegetation.

Results

The experimental observations …

Characterizing Seagrass Effects On Hydrodynamics Of Waves And Currents Through Field Measurements And Computational Modelling, Ramin Familkhalili, Navid Tahvildari

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Low-lying coastal and estuarine areas are among the most populated regions globally, have high economic significance, and are increasingly threatened by climate change, sea level rise, nuisance flooding, and extreme storms. Nature-based coastal protections are sustainable and sea-level resilient alternatives compared to traditional solutions such as dikes and seawalls. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) or seagrasses can provide coastal flood and erosion protection by attenuating storm wave and current energy and stabilizing seabed sediments. However, more research is needed to understand the interactions between flow, SAVs, and sediments. These dynamic interactions affect flow at different scales and seagrass productivity. In this …

Exposure Assessment Of Emerging Contaminants: Rapid Screening And Modeling Of Plant Uptake, Majid Bagheri

Doctoral Dissertations

"With the advent of new chemicals and their increasing uses in every aspect of our life, considerable number of emerging contaminants are introduced to environment yearly. Emerging contaminants in forms of pharmaceuticals, detergents, biosolids, and reclaimed wastewater can cross plant roots and translocate to various parts of the plants. Long-term human exposure to emerging contaminants through food consumption is assumed to be a pathway of interest. Thus, uptake and translocation of emerging contaminants in plants are important for the assessment of health risks associated with human exposure to emerging contaminants. To have a better understanding over fate of emerging contaminants …

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

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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

Reduction Of Energy Consumption Through Pump Efficiency Analysis, Riley Dodds

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Water scarcity, global warming, lack of fossil fuels, and future Green Act goals and legislature are at the forefront of policy change and election discussion within the United States. As civil engineers these topics are heavily discussed and challenged within the field and new solutions along with innovations are in constant demand. Within the community of Akron, the Akron Water Supply Water Plant continues to actively innovate and solve numerous concerns ranging from the quality of water to the overall operating costs. Energy consumption cost Akron Water Supply over $952,914.32 and 14,411,960 of kilowatts per hour of electrical energy to …

A Techno-Economic Comparison Of Battery Electric And Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Transit Bus Fleet Options For Humboldt County, California, Aditya S. Kushwah Mr.

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study analyzes the techno-economic feasibility of converting the conventional transit bus fleet of the Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) into a battery-electric or a hydrogen-fueled bus fleet. The study identifies which of these technologies represents the more economically viable investment for HTA by analyzing the costs and benefits associated with each pathway. Both pathways involve zero-emission or low-emission technologies.

The study outcomes suggest that the conversion of the HTA’s current conventional fleet to an electric fleet is more feasible than conversion to a hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet. The total discounted cost (3% rate) of converting the 21-bus conventional fleet …

Combining Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction And Anammox For Treatment Of Nitrate-Rich Wastewater: A Short Review, Xinyi Zou, Chongjun Chen, Changhong Wang, Qun Zhang, Zhuowei Yu, Haiping Wu, Chao Zhuo, Tian C. Zhang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Treatment of nitrate-rich wastewater is important but challenging for the conventional biological denitrification process. Here, we propose combining the electrochemical reduction and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) processes together for treatment of nitrate-rich wastewater. This article reviews the mechanism and current research status of electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonium as well as the mechanism and applicability of the anammox process. This article discusses the principles, superiorities, and challenges of this combined process. The feasibility of the combined process depends on the efficiency of electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonium and the conditions in the anammox process to use the reduced ammonium …

Assessment Of Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells Degradation Due To Water Ingress Effect On The Cds Buffer Layer, Deewakar Poudel, Benjamin Belfore, Shankar Karki, Grace Rajan, Sina Soltanmohammad, Angus Rockett, Sylvain Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The effect of water ingress on the surface of the buffer layer of a Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cell was studied. Such degradation can occur either during the fabrication process, if it involves a chemical bath as is often the case for CdS, or while the modules are in the field and encapsulants degrade. To simulate the impact of this moisture ingress, devices with a structure sodalime glass/Mo/CIGS/CdS were immersed in deionized water. The thin films were then analyzed both pre and post water soaking. Dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was performed on completed devices to analyze impurity diffusion …