Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Environmental Sciences

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

2008

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Aquatic Bacteria Removal Using Carbon Nanotubes, Suvish Melanta May 2008

Aquatic Bacteria Removal Using Carbon Nanotubes, Suvish Melanta

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this project is to explore the functionality of carbon nanotubes as a bacterial removal method, specifically towards water-borne bacterial pathogens in wastewater by utilizing its unique magnetic and bacteria-binding properties. The general protocol set for this research follows five steps: 1) Preparation of wastewater media, 2) preparation of CNT culture, 3) preparation of reaction mixture with CNTs for bacterial binding, 4) magnetic separation of bacteria-bound-CNT clusters and, 5) assessment of supernatant. The CNTs effectively removed bacterial contaminants in the wastewater (10%, v/v) after the sand filtration process from the Paul R. Noland Wastewater Facility at Fayetteville, Arkansas. …

Go to article

Benefits Of Leed Designs In Arkansas K-12 Schools, Philip Thrift May 2008

Benefits Of Leed Designs In Arkansas K-12 Schools, Philip Thrift

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper provides and evaluation of an existing LEED certified sustainable green building for energy-efficiency, environmental impact, economic value, and occupant health. The new Bethel Middle School located in Bryant, Arkansas was the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified public school building in the state. Based on actual building specifications and validated with the first year's utility bills, a simulation model was used to evaluate various design aspects of the school building. The building's baseline energy usage was compared with numerous energy and environmental scenarios. Results include both environmental and economic assessments. Overall, the study found that …

Go to article

Projecting The Economic Impact Of The Fayetteville Shale Play For 2008-2012, Katherine A. Deck Mar 2008

Projecting The Economic Impact Of The Fayetteville Shale Play For 2008-2012, Katherine A. Deck

Publications and Presentations

In 2006, the Center for Business and Economic Research released an economic impact study of the newly developing natural gas industry related to the Fayetteville Shale. The Fayetteville Shale is an unconventional gas reservoir located on the Arkansas side of the Arkoma Basin, ranging in thickness from 50 to 325 feet and ranging in depth from 1,500 to 6,500 feet. That study concluded that from 2005 to 2008, economic output of over $5.5 billion and 9,683 jobs would be generated as a result of investments in the Fayetteville Shale. Those estimates were based on the best information available when the …

Go to article

Life Cycle Analysis For The Cultivation And Combustion Of Miscanthus For Biofuel Compared With Natural Gas, Amanda Ashworth, Charles West, Michael Popp, Mireille Montrejaud-Vignoles, Caroline Sablayrolles, Gabrielle Benoit Jan 2008

Life Cycle Analysis For The Cultivation And Combustion Of Miscanthus For Biofuel Compared With Natural Gas, Amanda Ashworth, Charles West, Michael Popp, Mireille Montrejaud-Vignoles, Caroline Sablayrolles, Gabrielle Benoit

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

As negative environmental and economic impacts of fossil fuels have escalated, so has the importance of renewable bioenergy crops whose feedstocks are noncompetitive with food supplies. Compared with fossil fuels, use of lignocellulosic feedstocks offers potential for greenhouse gas reduction and highly positive net energy returns because of low input demand and high yields per unit of land area, thus making them advantageous for the emerging biofuel industry. The aim of this study was to simulate environmental impacts of producing a biofuel grass for combustion use based on the inventory of inputs and their effects on eutrophication of surface waters; …

Go to article

Using Combined Prediction Models To Quantify And Visualize Stormwater Runoff In An Urban Watershed, Keshia Koehn, Christina Scarlat, Kristofor Brye Jan 2008

Using Combined Prediction Models To Quantify And Visualize Stormwater Runoff In An Urban Watershed, Keshia Koehn, Christina Scarlat, Kristofor Brye

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Stormwater runoff can transport nutrients, sediments, chemicals, and pathogens to surface waterbodies. Managing runoff is crucial to preserving water quality in rapidly developing urban watersheds like those in Northwest Arkansas. A watershed containing the majority of the University of Arkansas campus was designated as the study area because stormwater from it drains into the West Fork of the White River, designated as an impaired waterbody due to siltation. The project objective was to develop methodology to test existing stormwater drainage infrastructure, identify potential areas of improvement, and estimate potentially contaminated runoff by combining two widely used prediction models. The U.S. …

Go to article

Using Biosolids To Enhance Phytoremediation Of Oil-Contaminated Soil, Heather N. Markway, Duane C. Wolf, Kaaron J. Davis, Edward E. Gbur Jan 2008

Using Biosolids To Enhance Phytoremediation Of Oil-Contaminated Soil, Heather N. Markway, Duane C. Wolf, Kaaron J. Davis, Edward E. Gbur

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

While the plant rhizosphere and associated microbial processes have been shown to amplify the degradation rate of chemical residues in soils, phytoremediation can be a slow process. The objective of this greenhouse study was to determine if the addition of biosolids as an organic soil amendment would enhance growth of plants in oil-contaminated soil and thus potentially increase effectiveness of phytoremediation. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) or sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf (Piper)) was grown in a Captina silt loam (finesilty, siliceous, mesic Typic Fragiudults) contaminated with 5% crude oil (v/w) and amended with 24 g biosolids/kg soil. …

Go to article

Runoff Using A Combined Geographic Information System And Curve Number Approach, Keshia M. Koehn Jan 2008

Runoff Using A Combined Geographic Information System And Curve Number Approach, Keshia M. Koehn

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Stormwater runoff can transport nutrients, sediments, chemicals, and pathogens to surface water bodies. Managing runoff is crucial to preserving water quality in rapidly developing urban watersheds like Northwest Arkansas. A watershed containing much of the University of Arkansas campus was identified as the target area for this study because stormwater from this location drains into the West Fork of the White River, designated as an impaired water body due to siltation. The project objective was to develop a methodology to test existing stormwater drainage infrastructure, identify potential areas of improvement, and estimate potentially contaminated runoff by combining two widely used …

Go to article

The Impact Of Severance Taxes On The Arkansas Natural Gas Market, Tammy Lippert Jan 2008

The Impact Of Severance Taxes On The Arkansas Natural Gas Market, Tammy Lippert

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

The recent development of the Fayetteville Shale Play, an unconventional natural gas reservoir in Central and Eastern Arkansas, has created considerable opportunities for the state and its citizens as the industry has made substantial investment in the region. These developments have resulted in thousands of new jobs for Arkansans, billions of dollars in direct and indirect output, and millions in state and local tax revenues. One of the most visible issues in recent state news has been the controversy surrounding the severance tax levied by the state government on the extraction of natural gas. The question at hand has been …

Go to article