Evaluation Of Existing Wwtp Using Gps-X Modelling And Simulation Software, Mohamed Hussein Hegazy, Mohamed Ibrahim Sobhy, Mohamed Nouh Meshref, Marwan Ahmed Elghonimy

Civil Engineering

Research on ways to make WasteWater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) work better is still limited. In this study, GPS-X simulation was used to predict how a WWTP behaves under different operating conditions and to suggest ideas for future improvement. GPS-X version 8.5 was applied for dynamic modelling and simulation to check the performance of the Arab Abo Saed Wastewater Treatment Plant in Helwan, Egypt. Two operating cases were studied: one with the highest water flow and the lowest pollutant levels, and another with the lowest water flow and the highest pollutant levels. Real data from two years (2022–2023) was used for …

Sea Level Trends Near Critical Levees In The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Reyna Sanchez Gomez

Master's Theses

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) levee system faces threats from rising sea levels, land subsidence, and deteriorating levees, all of which pose risks to California’s primary surface water supply. The purpose of this thesis is to assess relative sea level rise (RSLR) and estimate the spatially varying factors that influence water levels in the Delta. This thesis extends the work of Baranes et al. (2023) to the period 1975-2022 by appending recently acquired water-level records (1975-1982) to modern datasets (1982-2022) from 10 water-level stations. These water level datasets were digitized, quality-assured, and referenced to a common geodetic datum, as described …

Dataset For Equity And Justice In Water Pricing And The Effects On Water Distribution System, Brian Barkdoll

Michigan Tech Research Data

“Equity and Justice in Water Pricing and the Effects on Water Distribution System Management” Equity and justice regarding access to potable drinking water are paramount. Municipal Water Distribution Systems supply potable water to users and are essential to public health. They comprise a complicated set of source(s), pump(s), tank(s), and pipes. The price of water to users can affect the amount of usage. To find the optimal price of water to maximize utility revenue and allow changes to the system components for capital and maintenance expenditures, network modeling using the network solver fixed was performed for 15 real MDWSs.  A …

Green Roofs For Grey Water Treatment – Comparative Study Of Economic And Environmental Impacts, Shaden S. Attia

Theses and Dissertations

Cities are under more pressure than ever to use sustainable methods for managing water and other resources because of urbanization, climate change, and a lack of water. Standard greywater treatment systems (SGTSs) work well, but they use a lot of resources and don't provide a lot of ecosystem services. Greywater-treating green roofs (GTGRs) have emerged as a promising Nature-Based Solution (NBS), combining wastewater recycling with benefits like regulating temperature, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and reducing the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Even with this potential, there is still not enough real-world research on how GTGRs affect both the economy …

Comparative Evaluation Of Conventional And Sustainable Concrete Protective Coatings: Performance, Economic, And Environmental, Andro Ebrahim

Theses and Dissertations

Concrete structures are highly susceptible to deterioration from environmental, chemical, and mechanical factors, making protective coatings essential for ensuring durability and reducing maintenance demands. This study aims to compare and evaluate conventional and innovative coating systems for concrete protection across three dimensions—technical performance, environmental sustainability, and life cycle cost efficiency—and to assess whether coatings often regarded or marketed as sustainable genuinely achieve sustainability across these three pillars. Four representative coatings were selected for assessment: epoxy solvent-based, epoxy solvent-free, acrylic water-based, and cementitious. Technical performance was examined through laboratory testing, expert interviews, and multiple real project cases, providing a comprehensive understanding …

Proposed Modifications To The Egyptian Concrete Code Based On A Comprehensive Sustainability Assessment Of Portland Cement Alternatives For Climate Change Mitigation, Yasmin Elhakim

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a major challenge facing planet earth today. This phenomenon is foreseen to continue to represent a major concern for decades to come. The construction industry is one of the most polluting sectors worldwide and is considered one of the top greenhouse gas emitters. Egypt, in particular, is one of the most vulnerable countries to the adverse effects of climate change. The construction sector plays a major role in Egypt’s economy, contributing significantly to the national GDP, yet it also represents one of the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. However, the Egyptian Concrete Code does not enforce the …

Efficiency Evaluation Of Different Methods For Nitrogen Removal In Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants: An Integrative Review, Cristiane G. Ferrarezzi, Juliana Canto Duarte

The School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering (SEE) Graduate Student Publications

Domestic wastewaters present high nitrogen levels due to the urea and ammonia, which are excreted into urine. Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) normally face some challenges in keeping their treated wastewater at a low total nitrogen concentration, since the majority of their wastewater is domestic. Low nitrogen levels in the treated wastewater are important to avoid increasing eutrophication of the receptor body, which receives the treated wastewater. This work presents an integrative review considering studies related to denitrification in domestic WWTPs published from January 1st, 2018, to April 30th, 2023. This review aims to identify the most effective methods for …

Hold Paramount The Health, Safety, And Welfare Of The Public And The Planet, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Utilization Of Plastic Waste In The Concrete Industry, Nancy Abdelmoneim Sakr

Theses and Dissertations

Plastic recycling has emerged as a crucial strategy that aligns with environmental, social and economic sustainability indicators. Currently, substantial volumes of plastic waste are either deposited in landfills or incinerated, neglecting the potential to harness its embodied energy and the energy consumed for producing virgin materials. A key advantage of plastic lies in its promising mechanical properties. Concrete mix design is fundamental to a wide range of construction applications, including brick walls, reinforced concrete slabs and concrete pavements. Despite the adoption of recycled plastic in construction materials in various countries, its widespread implementation remains limited. This is primarily due to …

Fly Ash Proppant Developed For Hydraulic Fracturing, Raz Rzgar Haydar

Theses and Dissertations

Proppants are critical components in hydraulic fracturing, used to maintain fracture conductivity and enhance reservoir stimulation. In high-pressure and harsh reservoir environments, the use of high-strength proppants is essential to ensure well performance. Conventional proppants, being sand, ceramic, and sintered bauxite can be expensive, and their use often requires costly fracture fluids. This study investigates the possibility of utalizing fly ash geopolymers as a sustainable alternative that is also cost-effective for proppants manufacturing. Fly ash, a by-product from the combustion of coal and other materials, was explored as a base material for proppants, utilizing an alkaline solution as an activator …

Irrigation Efficiency In Green Wall Systems Utilizing Iot: Developing And Testing A Method To Optimize Water Use For Green Walls, Yomna Zaghloul

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the application of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based automated irrigation system for green walls in Cairo, Egypt, assessing its impact on water conservation, energy consumption, and plant health across a three-month experimental period. The research compared a sensor-controlled drip irrigation system utilizing the ESP8266 microcontroller and real-time environmental monitoring against conventional timer-based irrigation methods. Water usage data revealed that the IoT system consistently achieved substantial savings—averaging nearly 60% less water consumption than the control group—without compromising overall plant vitality. Energy efficiency was also improved, with automated cycles reducing pump operating time by more than 50%. Plant growth …

Towards Decarbonizing Concrete Industry In Egypt: Material Alternatives, And Economic Viability, Reem Gamal

Theses and Dissertations

The construction industry remains one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, with cement and steel production accounting for approximately 15% of total emissions. As global infrastructure demands continue to rise, there is an increasing need for practical tools that support low-carbon construction practices in line with international climate commitments. This research presents the development and testing of a mathematical, adaptable decision support system designed to assess both the environmental and financial impacts of material selection in concrete production. Focusing on life cycle stages A1 to A3, raw material extraction, transportation, and manufacturing, the decision support system enables …

Performance, Economic And Environmental Evaluation Of A Solar-Assisted Vacuum Deaeration Heating System., Liew Shan Kun

Student Works (2020-2029)

This research evaluates the performance of a solar-assisted heating (SAH) system for makeup water in a vacuum deaeration process. The system integrates solar energy into the heating process, with parametric analysis conducted across varying configuration of total solar radiation and water flow rates. The total solar radiation at the experimental site in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia, characterized by tropical weather, fell within the range between 414W/m2 to 568W/m2. Performance analysis showed that a flow rate of 0.4 LPM achieved the target temperature of 61°C required for the deaeration process. Thermal efficiency peaked at 62.60% under a solar radiation of 900 …

When Words Flow Like Water: How The Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement Failed To Prevent Hydrogeologic Harm In Minnesota, Carly Gutzmann

Journal of Earth and Life Science

For the aquifers of Minnesota, the environmental impact statement (EIS) was a promise of protection that never left the page. An environmental impact statement is meant to be an aid in the decision making process in order to ensure that projects consider potential environmental harms that may occur. However, they are often used instead as another regulatory box to check, rather than as active considerations when planning. As such, a project plan can be flawed from the start—if project developers only consider environmental impacts after they have already put considerable time, effort, and funding into their project as-is, they may …

Measuring The Impact Of 3d Printers On The Health Of Youth, Alexis Kostin, Olla Obeid, Oz Trost

Wetterhahn Science Symposium Posters

3D printers are used more widely than ever before; they can be found in factories, hospitals, and even schools. However, the health effects of the VOCs and UFPs that these machines emit have yet to be fully understood. In collaboration with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, this study utilizes an Air Gradient One sensor at the Diamond Lab to monitor VOC and UFP emissions before, during, and after 3D printing sessions. By comparing these levels to EPA and CDC safety standards, we aim to quantify the respiratory risks posed to youth.

Deep Learning Framework For Sow Posture Classification From Depth Images: Comparison With Data Transformation Techniques, Models, And Cross-Validation, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu R. Sharma, Suzanne M. Leonard, Yeyin Shi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Piglet preweaning mortality (PWM) in the United States averages ≈14–15%, with sow overlaying causing about one third proportion of these losses. This research aimed to develop and evaluate deep learning models to classify six sow postures using depth images to monitor behaviors linked to overlaying risk. Top-down depth images were captured with Kinect V2^® cameras at 10 frames min^-1 for five consecutive days (2 days before to 2 days after farrowing), yielding 26,506 training images from 18 sows, 17,901 testing images from 12 sows, and 4,697 additional images from three sows in diagonal stalls for external validation. Three …

Design And Fabrication Of A Scaled Automated Dairy Farm Model: A Report, Md Towfiqur Rahman

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Summary

This study investigates how ventilation systems work in dairy barns and builds a scaled model to support education and research. The project is designed to help students from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), K-12 learners, and researchers in animal science, veterinary medicine, and engineering gain visual experience with dairy facility components and processes. Different ventilation methods were studied, leading to the design of a 1/64-scale tunnel-ventilated dairy barn meant for 60 Holstein Friesian cows. Barn dimensions were set based on real Holstein cow measurements to ensure proper cow comfort, while airflow requirements were calculated and scaled down. Miniature fans …

Effects Of Metals On Persulfate Activation For The Decomposition Of Pfas, Malu Deav Devadasan

Civil Engineering Dissertations

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent environmental contaminants widely used in industrial and consumer products due to their unique physicochemical properties. Their resistance to degradation, potential for bioaccumulation, and associated adverse health effects have prompted increasing regulatory attention, including the establishment of drinking water standards for six PFAS compounds by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2024.

Current PFAS treatment technologies are often energy-intensive and costly or generate secondary waste streams requiring further management. Meanwhile, this research investigated transition metal-catalyzed advanced oxidation processes for PFAS decomposition in water under ambient conditions. Previous studies demonstrated effective degradation of perfluorocarboxylic acids …

Assessment Of Emissions Factors For Produced Water And Other Atmospheric Liquid Storage Tanks On Natural Gas Sites, David Glenn Childs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As the US natural gas (NG) sector continues to grow, concerns have increased regarding the effects and increasing volume of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. While NG is a cleaner burning fuel than diesel and gasoline, unburned methane (CH₄) has a global warming potential (GWP) 27-30 times that of carbon dioxide (CO₂). To better quantify CH₄ emissions on NG sites, the US Department of Energy (DOE) granted West Virginia University (WVU) funding to collect direct measurements at well sites and compressor stations.

In this work, a total of 18 sites, including controlled and uncontrolled …

Evaluation Of Engineering Controls In Mitigation Of Fecal And Chloride Contamination To An Urban Stream, Gabriel J. Zenny

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fecal coliform contamination is a major contributor to surface water pollution in the United States’ (U.S.) waterways, whether from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) (point source pollution), runoff from precipitation and snowmelt (nonpoint source pollution), or exfiltration from aging and failing infrastructure. In addition to fecal bacteria, chloride contamination is also a major, prevalent surface water contaminant impacting U.S. waterways. Chloride contamination is predominantly released into U.S. waterways as nonpoint source pollution, endemic to northern areas that use industrial brine and salt as a form of mitigation for ice accumulation on roadways. The purpose of this research was to investigate impairment …

Assessing Water Quality In Drinking Water Distribution Systems: Rural Infrastructure Challenges, Hydrodynamic Effects On Biofilms, And Biofilm Contribution To Disinfection By-Products Formation, Vinila Vasam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Access to clean and safe drinking water remains one of the most persistent public health and environmental challenges in the United States. Maintaining water quality after leaving the treatment plant in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) is a complicated and often overlooked challenge. Most research focuses on water treatment and source water quality, but not on the miles of pipe that follow. Aging infrastructure, complex flow patterns in the DWDS, and limited resources make water quality management especially difficult. This dissertation includes three core studies: 1) A system-level analysis of small and rural utilities in the geographically complex region of …

Feasibility Study Of Concurrent Removal Of Organics And Ammonium Using An Iron Dosed Upflow Anaerobic Sludge-Blanket Bioreactor, Morgan Elizabeth Amos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Aerobic microbial reactions have commonly been utilized in treatment processes to oxidize and remove organics and nitrogen through aeration, using processes such as nitrification that converts ammonium (NH₄⁺) into nitrite (NO₂^-) and nitrate (NO₃^-). Anoxic microbial reactions like denitrification often require organic compounds as an external source to chemically reduce the oxidized nitrogen (NO₃^- and NO₂^-) to nitrogen gas (N₂) for nitrogen removal from the liquid phase. These mainstream processes have a high chemical cost and energy footprint which results in an increased release …

Exploring The Interplay Of Operational Conditions, Microbial Communities, And Water Quality In Drinking Water Ozone-Biofiltration, Kara Yvonne Cunningham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ensuring reliable access to safe drinking water is a growing global challenge as water utilities face variable source water quality driven by population growth, land‑use change, and climate change impacts. To address these challenges, utilities are implementing advanced treatment technologies designed to improve reliability under variable source water conditions. Ozone-biofiltration has emerged as a treatment approach that can reduce a wide range of natural and anthropogenic contaminants. However, despite its increased use, there is limited insight into the biological processes shaping filter function or how they respond to operational and environmental changes. Advances in molecular microbiology and high-throughput sequencing now …

From Floodplain To Floodplain: Analyzing Stream And Riparian Restoration Methodologies And Impacts, Noah P. Lane

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Stream restoration is a relatively new scientific field. Currently, there is not a definitive methodology for performing restorations that all professionals in industry and academia can agree upon. This has allowed for multiple ideologies to be developed and altered that vary by geographic location and the professional using them. In addition to the methodologies used, the publicly available design guidance published by state government organizations also varies by regulatory authority, method of analysis, ecoregion, and restoration objectives. In some cases, design guidance is replicated from a different geographical area and may not satisfy local needs or existing site conditions. Since …

Sustainable Nutrient Management Opportunities For Small Communities In The U.S. With Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Systems, Denis Sigei Ruto

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lagoon wastewater treatment systems are among the most widely used secondary treatment technologies serving small and rural communities in the United States due to their low capital and operating costs, minimal energy requirements, and operational simplicity. While effective for removal of organic matter and suspended solids, most lagoon systems were not designed to achieve advanced nutrient removal. As regulatory priorities increasingly emphasize control of total nitrogen and total phosphorus to protect receiving waters and public health, lagoon-dependent communities face growing compliance challenges. These challenges are exacerbated by aging infrastructure, limited technical capacity, financial constraints, and insufficient infrastructure data, highlighting the …

Using Aqueous Geochemistry Of Acid Mine Drainage To Spatially Investigate Concentrations Of Rare Earth Elements Throughout West Virginia, Pennsylvania, And Maryland, Elyssa Lynn Allen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Rare earth elements (REEs) are an important commodity utilized in many industries such as electronics, defense, manufacturing, medicine, and green energy production. A lack of economical domestic sources forces the United States to import a majority of its supply, and incentivizes novel methods of acquisition. Mining regions of the United States, such as Appalachia or the West, are afflicted with acid mine drainage (AMD) impacted surface waters. REEs occur in varying concentrations within coal seams, indicating that coal and its waste are potential avenues of recovery that might also incentivize the remediation of coal impacted areas. Understanding spatial and geochemical …

Impact Of Natural Disasters On Construction And Engineering Solutions, Karima Ao Damson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This Honors Research Project seeks to research and explain the impact of natural disasters on the construction and reconstruction of infrastructure in countries with the highest risk of natural disasters and compare them to the requirements in the United States in the states most prone to natural disasters. The objectives are to identify the countries most prone to natural disasters, describe the environmental impacts of the natural disasters, describe the impacts on construction and reconstruction requirements, and research whether construction and civil engineering solutions currently applied to the individual countries could be improved or reproduced in other countries exposed to …

Applying Transfer Learning For Street-Scale Nuisance Flood Forecasting In Coastal-Urban Environments, Binata Roy, Jonathan L. Goodall, Diana Mcspadden, Chetan Kumar, Steven Goldenberg, Yidi Wang, Malachi Schram

Data Science Faculty Publications

An important challenge with Machine Learning (ML) is its transferability; that is, whether an ML model trained on one set of data can be applied to a second set of data without requiring full retraining of the model. Transfer Learning (TL) addresses this challenge by transferring knowledge learned in the source domain (the data it was trained on) to the target domain (a second set of data that is statistically different but related, which the model was not trained on). This study investigates the use of TL for street-scale nuisance flood forecasting by exploring whether an ML model trained for …

Analyzing A Benchtop Model Of Combined Heat Power To An Industrial Scale, Chase Steven Carlton, Ashley Leach, Andrew Martin-Biggs, Tessa Wilker

UNH URC Open (2026 and after)

Analyzing a Benchtop Model of Combined Heat Power to an Industrial Scale

Environmental Engineers Develop Solutions To Problems Of Planetary Health: The Legacy Of Professor P. Aarne Vesilind, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The principal ethical obligation of the engineering profession, to "hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the public," has been challenged for decades. Professor P. Aarne Vesilind identified two primary deficiencies: an anthropocentric bias that values nature only instrumentally and the use of non-mandatory, aspirational language for environmental protection, which resulted in the exclusion of enforceable environmental canons. This paper argues that two recent developments provide a comprehensive response to Vesilind's recommendations for engineering ethics. First, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has redefined environmental engineering as "developing solutions to problems of planetary health." Second, Oerther proposed a …