Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Using Ftir-Atr To Predict Saccharification From Enzymatic Hydrolysis Of Physically Pretreated Lignocellulosic Biomass, Rajasri Alaparthi

Master’s Theses

Producing biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass (i.e., non-edible plants) can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The main challenge in converting lignocellulose to fuel, however, lies in the bioconversion process of biomass to sugars. To overcome the recalcitrance of the plant cell walls, pretreatment (e.g., ball milling) can be coupled with enzymatic hydrolysis to produce sugar monomers (e.g., glucose and xylose). The research question in this thesis study was “Can Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) applied to untreated and physically pretreated lignocellulosic biomasses coupled with chemometric analysis predict sugar yields from enzymatic hydrolysis?” PLS models were constructed by correlating the …

A Comparison Of Data-Driven And Process-Based Modeling For Nutrient Estimation In A Eutrophic Reservoir, Yohtaro Kobayashi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As land use around bodies of water changes, the need to model the body of water increases. Models help to educate, understand, and predict the state of water. Process-based models are commonly used in modelling bodies of water, but there are challenges with these kinds of models. They require data which can be difficult for certain communities to obtain due to logistics or cost, are computationally intensive, technically complicated, and require calibration. In contrast, a data-driven model simply connect relationships from the data, are not as computationally intensive nor technically complicated, and do not require calibration. This research compared a …

Life Cycle Studies To Evaluate The Physiological And Biochemical Effects Of Copper Oxide And Surface-Coated Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles On Green Onion (Allium Fistulosum) And Carrot (Daucus Carota L.) Plants: Insights Utilizing Two-Photon Microscopy And Spectroscopy, Yi Wang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

With the recent increase of nanomaterial production, nano copper oxide (nCuO) and surface-modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO2) are among the most widely applied nanoparticles in industry and daily lives. Their use has resulted in accumulation in soils as a consequence of their direct or indirect release. Hence, these NPs may raise a potential risk to crops cultivated in soils. Moreover, the physiological effects of nCuO on green onion (Allium fistulosum) and surface-coated nTiO2 on full-grown carrot (Daucus carota L.) are still unknown. Green onion is characterized by its high content of the antioxidant allicin, and carrot is a worldwide economic …

Sustainable And Resilient Construction: Current Status And Future Challenges, Niamh Murtagh, Lloyd Scott, Jingli Fan

Articles

The construction industry globally is one of the most environmentally damaging of sectors. Additionally, the resources consumed and the operational energy requirements of buildings are ‘locked-in’, potentially for decades. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recognised construction as a sector in which significant improvements can, and indeed must, be made. But the industry is often argued to be unique, in its multiplicity of stakeholders, transient organisational structures, avoidance of risk and impact on society. The current Virtual Special Issue (VSI) sought to bring together a collection of papers on progress and potential for improvement in the construction sector, in …

Thermal Analysis And Post Construction Verification, Cormac Flood, Lloyd Scott

Articles

Purpose – The residential sector in Ireland accounted for 25 per cent of energy related CO2 emissions in 2016 through burning fossil fuels, a major contributor to climate change. In support of Ireland’s CO2 reduction targets, the existing housing stock could contribute greatly to the reduction of space-heating energy demand through retrofit. Approximately 50 per cent of Ireland’s 2m dwellings pre-date building regulations and are predominantly of cavity and solid wall construction, the performance of which has not been extensively investigated at present. Although commitment to thermal upgrade/retrofit of existing buildings may increase under future government policies, the poor characterisation …

Physical And Biological Factors Affecting Oxygen Transfer In The Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Process, Kenneth A. Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations

“The activated sludge (AS) process is widely utilized for wastewater treatment due to its versatility and general resiliency, but is energy intensive, requiring aeration and mixing energy inputs to maintain the biochemical reaction and optimize treatment performance. This study is focused on determining different factors that influence oxygen transfer and consequently its energy demand.

AS morphology, as described by the d₁₀, d₂₀, d₃₂, specific filament length (SFL), 30 min settleability (SV₃₀), etc., does influence the OTE. Filamentous organisms increase the hydrodynamic radius of suspended particles, which dilates mixed liquor apparent viscosity (µ …

The Combined Toxic Effect Of Nanoparticles And Lead In The Presence Of Algae (Raphidocelis), Xuesong Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The elevated toxicity of toxic metals in the presence of nanoparticles (NPs) has raised significant concerns on the NP environmental safety. This research focuses on the impact of environmental conditions, specifically algae, on this type of toxicity. An indicator aquatic organism, Ceriodaphnia dubia (C. dubia), was used to examine the combined toxicity and toxicity mitigation from algae by monitoring its 24-h mortality. Four papers are included in this research, which focus on four aspects of the combined toxicity and the corresponding algae (Raphidocelis) impact. The first paper examines the algae impact on the combined toxicity of …

Investigation Of Urea Decomposition And Deposit Formation In Diesel Exhaust After-Treatment System, Anand Alembath

Doctoral Dissertations

“Urea-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system has proved to be an effective solution to reduce NO_x emissions in commercial vehicle (CV) diesel engines. A significant challenge in urea injection is to comprehend its decomposition chemistry that leads to formation of undesired deposits in the exhaust system unit. Due to complex interaction of multi-phase fluid flow and transport processes, significant uncertainty is associated with the identification of interacting factors that control the deposit initiation and its growth. To meet the future ultra-low NO_x emissions and to deliver ammonia without deposit formation, there is an imminent need to develop the urea-SCR …

Wastewater Treatment Fatty Acids For Biodiesel Production, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater scum is the thick oily substance that floats on top of the primary and secondary tanks within a wastewater treatment plant. Scum has a 30% to 60% lipid content making it an excellent resource for the biodiesel industry. Also the use of scum would reduce the cost of current management practices such as landfill disposal or incineration. In this article there is an overview of lipid byproducts currently being produced at wastewater treatment plants today. This is followed by a presentation showing a full length process for turning wastewater scum into biodiesel raw material.

Data Driven Synthetic Load Modeling For Smart City Energy Management Studies, Fernando Bereta Dos Reis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this dissertation is to provide synthetic residential load models with granular level information on the customers having information about the appliances that constitute each individual residential customer through time. The synthetic load model is capable of being widely utilized by the power system research community since only publicly available data is utilized for its generation. This gives researcher’s access to how the synthetic load was made and also how accurate the model is in representing real power system regions. As the title of the dissertation suggests, the synthetic residential load models are intended for smart city …

Accumulation And Release Of Nutrients By Immersed Stalks Collected On Selected Dates Following Harvest, John E. Gilley, David B. Marx

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in runoff from cropland areas may be influenced by accumulation and release of P and N by stalk residues. A laboratory study was conducted to measure the effects of time since harvest and immersion period on accumulation and release of P and N by corn, soybean, and wheat stalks. Experimental variables included type of stalk material (corn, soybean, and wheat), time since harvest (six residue collection dates over an approximate 1-year period), and stalk immersion period (25 s (0.42 min), 250 s (4.2 min), 2500 s (42 min), 25,000 s (6.9 h), …

Implementation Of Real-Time Decision Support Technology At Akron Water Reclamation Facility, Hunter Durbin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Advances in computer science, data analytics, hardware, and software are changing the way that sewer collection systems are able to operate. By combining these technologies into something called a Real-Time Decision Support System (RTDSS), operators of sewer collection systems can make operational decisions supported by data being recorded throughout the sewer system in real-time. A RTDSS has the potential to optimize the available capacity of a sewer collection system at a lower cost compared to traditional construction solutions. The City of Akron is in the process of implementing a RTDSS in their sewer collection system. This report analyzes how the …

Water Condensation Collection For Disaster Relief, Tyler Gaydosh

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Numerous populations experience sudden, unexpected circumstances where drinking water supply may be compromised. Current leading response strategies include the delivery of disposable water bottles, a simple and effective way of meeting the demand of fresh drinking water. The lack of reusability results in problems with waste and cost. Any response to provide drinking water to a population in these circumstances must consider a prolonged crisis and these limitations: minimal delivery opportunities, power supply, and waste management (e.g., aftereffects of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico). A review of alternatives for water collection was done to determine a viable collection method that …

Evaluation And Modeling Of Electrodialysis For High-Recovery Brackish Water Desalination, Shahrouz Jafarzade Ghadimi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research investigates the feasibility of desalination of brackish water with electrodialysis (ED), using laboratory testing and mathematical modeling. Several experiments were performed to characterize ion-specific transport and to evaluate tradeoffs between salinity removal and specific energy consumption. A 200 cm2 Ameridia ED stack was used to perform desalination experiments with real brackish groundwater from the Kay Bailey Hutchison desalination plant in El Paso, Texas, and the results showed limiting current density of 160 A/m2 for 5 cm/s. A higher conductivity reduction was observed for flow velocity of 5 cm/s compared to 13 cm/s. Ion transport selectivity (based on relative …

Electrification Of Domestic Hot Water To Aid The Integration Of Renewable Energy In The California Grid, Alejandro Cervantes

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Water heating in residential buildings, also known as domestic hot water (DHW), is the third largest use of energy after appliances and space conditioning. About 90% of the residential buildings in the state use natural gas fueled water heaters, 6% use electricity, and a small percent use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or solar water heaters. The current energy use associated with residential water heating is small relative to the total amount of energy consumption in the residential building sector, but it is still a contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Improving hot water systems can be beneficial for bill customer …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Replacing Lpg Stoves With Induction Stoves In Rural Households Of Kavre District Nepal, Grishma Raj Dahal

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Nepal imports nearly 260,000 tons of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and other fossil fuels annually from India. This fuel dependency is one of the main reasons for Nepal’s trade deficit with India. The Government of Nepal has recently started promoting electric induction stoves for cooking as an alternative to LPG. Induction stoves are pollution free at the point of use, and they are meant to reduce Nepal's dependence on LPG.

This study includes a cost-benefit analysis for replacing LPG stoves with induction stoves for households in rural areas of Kavre District, Nepal. The study involved the use of data for …

A Comparison Of Zinc Levels In Runoff From Rubberized Hot Mix Asphalt And Conventional Pavement, Peter A. Duin

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

High levels of dissolved zinc in water bodies can be toxic to aquatic organisms. There are currently over 40 waterways in California that have on occasion been in exceedance of Clean Water Act minimum toxicity threshold standards for zinc. Recycled tires that contain 1-2% zinc by mass are commonly used in California paving formulations known as Rubberized Hot Mix Asphalt (RHMA). The addition of tires to RHMA increases the zinc content of the pavement in comparison to conventional HMA. This research assesses the zinc content and leaching rate of RHMA in field and laboratory settings to estimate its contribution of …

Evaluation Of 1-D And 2-D Hydraulic Models For Designing And Assessing Fullspan Stream Crossings, Alyssa Sachiko Virgil

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This project compared design decisions and hydraulic analyses of full-span stream crossings using one- and two-dimensional (1-D and 2-D) hydraulic models. The project was initiated by the California Department of Transportation’s interest in moving from 1-D to 2-D hydraulic modeling and by the Federal Highways Administration’s support for adopting SRH-2D (Sedimentation and River Hydraulics-2D developed by the US Bureau of Reclamation) in Aquaveo, LLC’s Surface-water Modeling System as their standard design model. Two-dimensional hydraulic models calculate more detailed water depths and velocities than 1-D models, which can better identify fish passage conditions, areas of potential scour or deposition, and aquatic …

Sediment Yield In Salmon Creek After Decommissioning Logging Roads, Northern Humboldt County, California, Malia S B Gonzales

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Salmon Creek watershed is located in the Headwaters Forest Reserve in northern California and is known for the ecological value of its old-growth redwood forest, high biodiversity, and sensitive habitat for endangered species. The Bureau of Land Management primarily manages the Reserve. The land-use history of the Upper Salmon Creek watershed includes extensive timber harvest and road development. Watershed restoration in the Upper Salmon Creek watershed started in 2000 with the primary goal for the Reserve to protect and recover ecologic diversity and threatened native species. Since then, of the 23 miles, 13.5 miles of logging roads and 101 stream …

Vegetation Detection Using Deep Learning And Conventional Methods, Bulent Ayhan, Chiman Kwan, Bence Budavari, Liyun Kwan, Yan Lu, Daniel Perez, Jiang Li, Dimitrios Skarlatos, Marinos Vlachos

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Land cover classification with the focus on chlorophyll-rich vegetation detection plays an important role in urban growth monitoring and planning, autonomous navigation, drone mapping, biodiversity conservation, etc. Conventional approaches usually apply the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for vegetation detection. In this paper, we investigate the performance of deep learning and conventional methods for vegetation detection. Two deep learning methods, DeepLabV3+ and our customized convolutional neural network (CNN) were evaluated with respect to their detection performance when training and testing datasets originated from different geographical sites with different image resolutions. A novel object-based vegetation detection approach, which utilizes NDVI, computer …

The Integration Between Strategy Formulation And Implementationin Construction Contracting Firms In Ireland, Ahmed Hassan

Doctoral

The role of the construction sector in Ireland is critical in terms of the economic and social development however the economic, competitive, and regulatory business environment present a myriad of complexities to firms operating within the sector. The importance of strategic planning for business survival and prosperity has been well documented over several decades of research but there remains a paucity of empirical evidence to determine the in strategic decision-making process under these volatile environmental conditions.This study addresses the perceptible gap in existing knowledge by investigating the characteristics of the strategy strategic decision-making process, strategic choices, and implementation process in …

Improving Air Pollution Exposure Estimation Using Cell Phone Location Data And Low-Cost Sensors, Xiaonan Yu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Human exposure estimation to air pollution plays an important role in epidemiological studies which are designed to reveal correlations between human exposures to certain air pollutants and certain diseases, such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and reproductive diseases. Traditionally, when people's mobile data is hard to get, home location is used to estimate people's exposures assuming that people stay at home all the time. Whereas, people move and it is more accurate to estimate people's exposures including people's mobility. In our study, we showcased two methods to obtain people's mobile data: Google Maps location history (GMLH) data and Call Detailed Record …

Preliminary Design And Analysis Of A Wave Energy Converter With Electromagnetic Induction, Laura Fernandez De Valderrama

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the energy demand increases with the constantly increasing population, as well as the effort to replace conventional fossil fuels with cleaner sources of energy, ocean energy has emerged as a potential global resource. The ocean contains an enormous amount of energy that has not been exploited yet, although efforts have augmented during the past decades.

The overall purpose of this research is to design, model, and analyze, a wave energy converter (WEC) prototype to contribute to the current research in this field. This particular work represents the first stage of the research process in which the ultimate goal is …

Tracing Sources Of Natural Organic Matter, Trihalomethanes And Metals In Groundwater From A Karst Region, Connie O'Driscoll, Eoin Mcgillicuddy, Peter Croot, Pamela Bartley, John Mcmyler, Jerome Sheahan, Liam Morrison

Articles

Groundwater offers an important source for drinking water around the world; however, groundwater quality is under increasing pressure and is particularly vulnerable in karst areas. Total organic carbon (TOC) is significantly related to groundwater quality and when not removed by water treatment processes can give rise to the formation of disinfection by-products trihalomethanes (THMs) above the level of compliance. This study investigated the source of organic matter giving rise to the THM exceedances in a groundwater supply in a karst area. Results highlighted that source water for this groundwater supply was prone to surface water infiltration linked to rainfall events; …

ประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทและจลนพลศาสตร์ของถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่เมื่อใช้เม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพเป็นแหล่งอินทรีย์คาร์บอน, มัลลิกา พั้วพวง

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้ศึกษาการนำเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพมาใช้เป็นแหล่งสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนและตัวกลางในถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่ โดยเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ 3 ชนิดที่ใช้ในการทดลอง ได้แก่ PLA, PHBV และ PBS แบ่งการทดลองออกเป็น 3 ช่วง การทดลองช่วงแรกศึกษาสมบัติทางกายภาพของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ พบว่าพลาสติกชีวภาพชนิด PBS มีสมบัติความชอบน้ำ ขณะที่ PLA และ PHBV ไม่ชอบน้ำ ผลการละลายน้ำของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพพบว่า PBS ตรวจพบสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนละลายในน้ำประปาและน้ำปราศจากไอออน เพิ่มขึ้นสูงกว่า PLA และ PHBV ตามลำดับ เมื่อทดสอบการดูดซับไนเตรทของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ พบว่าที่ค่า พีเอชในช่วงที่มากกว่า 4 พื้นผิวของเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพทั้ง 3 ชนิดจะแสดงประจุเป็นลบ จึงไม่พบการดูดซับหรือดูดติดผิวของไนเตรทบนตัวกลาง การทดลองช่วงที่สองศึกษาประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทในถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่เมื่อทำการเดินระบบแบบทีละเท พบว่าเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพชนิด PHBV และ PBS มีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทมากกว่าร้อยละ 90 ในขณะที่ PLA กำจัดไนเตรทได้เพียงร้อยละ 48 เมื่อทำการศึกษาค่าจลนพลศาสตร์การกำจัดไนเตรท พบว่ากระบวนการดีไนตริฟิเคชันที่เกิดขึ้นเป็นปฏิกิริยาอันดับศูนย์ ความเข้มข้นไนเตรทคงเหลือของการทดลองแบบทีละเทเข้าใกล้ศูนย์ที่ระยะเวลา 12 และ 15 ชม. ตามลำดับ เมื่อใช้เม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพชนิด PHBV และ PBS เป็นแหล่งสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอน การทดลองช่วงสุดท้ายเป็นการเดินระบบแบบต่อเนื่องในถังปฏิกรณ์ชีวภาพแอน็อกซิกชนิดเบดเคลื่อนที่ ผลการทดลองพบว่าถังปฏิกรณ์ที่บรรจุเม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ มีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทที่สภาวะคงตัวเท่ากับร้อยละ 12.87±4.92, 8.11±5.31, 12.33±8.37 และ 84.83±4.58 มีระยะเวลากักน้ำ 12, 16, 20 และ 24 ชม. ตามลำดับ โดยจลนพลศาสตร์ของการกำจัดไนเตรทจัดเป็นปฏิกิริยาอันดับหนึ่ง เนื่องจากมีปริมาณของสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนในระบบอย่างจำกัด ทำให้ปฏิกิริยาดีไนตริฟิเคชันเกิดได้ช้าลง ขณะที่เมื่อใช้เม็ดพลาสติกชีวภาพ PBS เป็นแหล่งอินทรีย์คาร์บอน ถังปฏิกรณ์ที่บรรจุตัวกลางดังกล่าวมีประสิทธิภาพการกำจัดไนเตรทร้อยละ 99.47±0.52, 99.34±1.83, 100 และ 98.91±0.95 ที่ระยะเวลากักน้ำ 12, 8, 4 และ 2 ชม. ตามลำดับ เนื่องจากในระบบมีสารอินทรีย์คาร์บอนเพียงพอต่อการเกิดกระบวนการดีไนตริฟิเคชันจึงทำให้ปฏิกิริยาเกิดขึ้นได้อย่างสมบูรณ์

การจัดการขยะมูลฝอยจากร้านกาแฟอย่างยั่งยืน, ธิดารัตน์ อินทร์พระเนตร

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อหาแนวทางในการลดปริมาณขยะมูลฝอยจากร้านกาแฟตามหลักการเศรษฐกิจหมุนเวียน ด้วยวิธีการลงพื้นที่สำรวจและรวบรวมข้อมูลชนิดและปริมาณขยะมูลฝอยที่เกิดขึ้นจากร้านกาแฟกรณีศึกษาใน กรุงเทพมหานคร 5 สาขา โดยแบ่งเป็นร้านกาแฟในสถานีบริการน้ำมัน 1 สาขา ร้านที่เป็นเค้าเตอร์ 2 สาขาและร้านกาแฟแบบ stand alone (มีพื้นที่มากกว่า 50 ตร.ม.) 2 สาขา ในช่วงเดือนตุลาคมถึงพฤศจิกายน ปี พ.ศ.2562 จากผลการศึกษาพบว่า ปริมาณขยะมูลฝอยที่เกิดขึ้นในพื้นที่เกิดจาก 2 กิจกรรมหลักคือ ขยะจากการเตรียมเครื่องดื่มและอาหาร แบ่งเป็นขยะอินทรีย์ ได้แก่ เศษอาหารและกากกาแฟ และขยะบรรจุภัณฑ์ ได้แก่ แกลลอนนมสด ถุงบรรจุภัณฑ์พลาสติก กระป๋องนมข้นจืด แกลลอนนม HDPE เป็นต้น คิดเป็นร้อยละ 92 ของขยะมูลฝอยทั้งหมด โดยขยะถูกนำไปกำจัดด้วยการฝังกลบทั้งหมดและขยะจากการบริโภคของลูกค้า เช่น แก้วเครื่องดื่มร้อนและเย็นพลาสติก ขวดน้ำดื่ม PET และกล่องเบเกอร์รี่ เป็นต้น คิดเป็นร้อยละ 8 ของขยะมูลฝอยทั้งหมด จึงเสนอแนวทางเลือกการจัดการขยะมูลฝอยตามหลักการเศรษฐกิจหมุนเวียน ผ่านการใช้หลักการออกแบบผลิตภัณฑ์ที่มีผลกระทบด้านสิ่งแวดล้อมต่ำ เลือกใช้ผลิตภัณฑ์ที่เป็นมิตรต่อสิ่งแวดล้อม การใช้บรรจุภัณฑ์จากวัสดุชีวภาพ การรีไซเคิล การเผาขยะเป็นเชื้อเพลิง RDF การหมักทำปุ๋ยและผลิตแก๊สชีวภาพ เป็นต้น ซึ่งนอกจากจะเป็นการลดการเกิดของเสียแล้วยังเป็นการสร้างมูลค่าเพิ่มให้กับขยะมูลฝอยอีกด้วย นอกจากนี้ยังนำเสนอทางเลือกเชิงนโยบายเพื่อให้ ภาครัฐบาล ภาคธุรกิจร้านกาแฟและประชาชนเข้ามามีบทบาทในการรับผิดชอบการจัดการขยะมูลฝอยให้มีประสิทธิภาพมากยิ่งขึ้น

Evaluation Of The Mechanisms And Effectiveness Of Nano-Hydroxides, Wood And Dairy Manure-Derived Biochars To Remove Fluoride And Heavy Metals From Water, Anna Rose Wallace, Wenjie Sun Dr, Chunming Su Dr

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective treatment processes for the removal contaminants, such as fluoride and heavy metals, from polluted water have been urgently needed due to serious environmental health and safety concerns. In this dissertation, a variety of materials including various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, biochars and surface modified biochar were studied to evaluate their effectiveness and mechanism on removing fluoride or mixed heavy metals from water.

In the Chapter 2, this study investigated the adsorptive removal of fluoride from water using various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, focusing on ferrihydrite, hydroxyapatite (HAP) and brucite, which have the potential to be used as sorbents for surface …

Concentrations, Sources, And Health Risks Of Particulate Matter In Southeast Us.: Current Status And Future Changes, Fenglin Han

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Evaluation of long-term air quality trends and prediction of future air quality may help to design and demonstrate effectiveness of control strategies and guide future air quality management. As one of the six criteria air pollutants (CAPs) regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM_2.5) is of great interests since it has adverse effects on human health, visibility and climate. This study aims to understand the current status and future changes in concentrations, sources, and health risks of PM_2.5 in Southeast US. Firstly, observations were analyzed …

Using Nano- And Micro- Structural Materials For Concrete Environmental Applications, Hala Nabeel Elia

Theses and Dissertations

Utilized globally in the construction industry, concrete is an integral component of homes, roads, airports, skyscrapers, and tunnels. Traditional concrete components are cement, fine aggregate (sand), coarse aggregate (gravel or crushed stone), and water. When cement and water compound together they will make a paste which binds all the aggregates together to make the concrete. Unfortunately, every one ton of cement manufactured emits 0.9 ton of CO2into the air. The goal of this two-part work was to obtain an environmentally friendly concrete. The first part used supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), fly ash and silica fume, to create concrete with high …

Flood Dynamics In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Past, Present, And Future, Lumas Terence Helaire

Dissertations and Theses

The Portland area has an extensive flood history since it was founded in 1845. In the late 19th century, the Portland area was prone to flooding from snowmelt freshets (3-6 months duration) and brief winter rain or rain-on-snow events. Since that time the magnitude of spring freshets has been curtailed by 45% due to climate change, flow diversions, and reservoir management. Along with changes in hydrology, the bathymetry of the Lower Columbia River has been altered by the dredging of the navigation channel, diking, and land reclamation. To understand how these changes in hydrology and bathymetry have affected tidal and …