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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Comparing Phosphorus Removal Efficiencies And Mechanisms Via Two Cost-Effective Specialty Adsorbents In A Cascade Upflow Filtration System, Sydney Kilgus-Vesely
Comparing Phosphorus Removal Efficiencies And Mechanisms Via Two Cost-Effective Specialty Adsorbents In A Cascade Upflow Filtration System, Sydney Kilgus-Vesely
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Finding solutions to treat water that contains phosphorus is an important effort due to the harmful impacts it presents to both human health and the environment. Phosphorus is considered a limiting factor in water oftentimes and therefore controls the growth of algal bloom in a water body. The increase of algal populations due to wastewater effluent, stormwater runoff, and agricultural discharge in Florida waters has a direct link to the event of harmful algal blooms such as red tide in coastal regions, eutrophication of waterbodies, and fish kills. Finding low cost, energy efficient, and low maintenance green sorption media (GSM) …
Exploring A Lab-Scale Cascade Upflow Bioreactor System For Nitrogen Removal Via Biosorption Activated Media, Alejandra Robles Lecompte
Exploring A Lab-Scale Cascade Upflow Bioreactor System For Nitrogen Removal Via Biosorption Activated Media, Alejandra Robles Lecompte
Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024
Many Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been developed to reduce excessive nutrients in stormwater runoff and mitigate harmful algal blooms in downstream receiving water bodies. This study demonstrates a new BMP by comparing two green sorption media (i.e., specialty adsorbents) for nutrient removal in cascade upflow biofiltration systems operated in parallel. The proposed filtration technology can control hydraulic gradients, prevent clogging and settlements, and increase hydraulic loading while removing more nutrients in an integrated physicochemical and microbiological treatment process. The two green sorption media being tested in this study include zero-valent-iron and perlite-based green sorption media (ZIPGEM) and biochar, iron, …
Application Of Biologically Activate Carbon For Treatment Of Sulfide-Laden Groundwater, Jessica Cormier
Application Of Biologically Activate Carbon For Treatment Of Sulfide-Laden Groundwater, Jessica Cormier
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
Small-system water purveyors must overcome many challenges to provide an adequate and safe water supply to its consuming public. This dissertation reports on research related to the application of biologically activated carbon (BAC) media filters for the treatment of well water to remove disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor matter, measured as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), at two treatment plants serving a small community water system. Four research questions were investigated individually in discrete, yet interconnected studies at two water treatment facilities processing groundwater that contained hydrogen-sulfide (~1.2 mg/L) and dissolved organic carbon (~2.0 mg/L). The first study revealed that BAC filters …
A Novel Antibody-Dependent Mc-Lr Detecting Biosensor For Early Warning Of Harmful Algal Blooms (Habs), Stephanie Stoll
A Novel Antibody-Dependent Mc-Lr Detecting Biosensor For Early Warning Of Harmful Algal Blooms (Habs), Stephanie Stoll
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
Microcystins (MCs) are toxins produced by cyanobacteria commonly found in harmful algal blooms (HAB) occurring in many surface waters. Due to their toxicity to humans and other organisms, the World Health Organization (WHO) set a guideline of 1 µg/L for microcystin-leucine-arginine (MC-LR) in drinking water. However, current analytical techniques for the detection of MC-LR such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are costly, bulky, time-consuming, and mostly conducted in a laboratory, requiring highly trained personnel. Therefore, an analytical method that can be used in the field for rapid determination is essential. In this study, an Anti-MC-LR/MC-LR/Cysteamine …
Using Iphone Significant Location Data To Improve Air Pollution Exposure Estimation, Elizabeth Eastman
Using Iphone Significant Location Data To Improve Air Pollution Exposure Estimation, Elizabeth Eastman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
An accurate estimation of human exposure to ambient air pollution is crucial for air pollution health studies. Time-activity patterns may introduce substantial uncertainties in exposure estimation. As smartphones are becoming increasingly popular and their ownership is becoming ubiquitous in the US. Virtually all smartphones can collect location data, and such data is continuously somewhere. Therefore, it is clear that such stored location data has the potential to be used for characterizing an individual's time-activity patterns for air pollution health studies. However, studies on the accuracy and feasibility of using a smartphone's location data in air pollution exposure estimation are still …
Index-Based Approach With Remote Sensing For The Assessment Of Extreme Weather Impact On Watershed Vegetation Dynamics, Kushan Bellanthudawage
Index-Based Approach With Remote Sensing For The Assessment Of Extreme Weather Impact On Watershed Vegetation Dynamics, Kushan Bellanthudawage
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
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 …
Emulsion Characterization Study For Improved Bilgewater Treatment And Management, Daniela Diaz Hernandez
Emulsion Characterization Study For Improved Bilgewater Treatment And Management, Daniela Diaz Hernandez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
The need for proper management of bilgewater to meet discharge regulations (e.g., 15 ppm oil) has revealed the necessity to expand the current understanding of bilgewater emulsions. This study proposed to evaluate emulsion stability under various environmental conditions and to identify governing parameters for emulsion formation. The stabilizing properties of eight-commercial cleaners and two-neat surfactants were evaluated. In situ characterization techniques were used for monitoring emulsion stability. Additionally, a needle-type pH microsensor and fluorescence spectroscopy were used for analyzing mass transfer at the oil-water interface. Water quality of extracted bilgewater showed to highly vary between vessels (e.g., conductivity: 1.74 -- …
Ultraviolet Irradiation Combined With Chlorine Dioxide Pre-Oxidation For Disinfection By-Product Control, Paula Campesino
Ultraviolet Irradiation Combined With Chlorine Dioxide Pre-Oxidation For Disinfection By-Product Control, Paula Campesino
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
The use of ultraviolet (UV) light and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) as an advanced oxidation process (AOP) has been investigated at the bench-scale to understand the effects of their use on disinfection by-product (DBP) formation potential (FP) in chlorinated groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW) supplies. Two GWs and two SWs of varying qualities were subject to a series of AOP treatment sequences at the bench scale: sodium hypochlorite, to serve as a baseline; ClO2-Cl2, UV-Cl2, and UV-ClO2-Cl2. In these treatment sequences, Cl2 is used as a primary and secondary disinfectant. Several water quality parameters were measured throughout the experiments, including …
Chemically Stabilized Oil-In-Water Emulsion Separation Using A Custom Aquaporin-Based Polyethersulfone (Pes) Forward Osmosis Membrane System, Annmarie Ricchino
Chemically Stabilized Oil-In-Water Emulsion Separation Using A Custom Aquaporin-Based Polyethersulfone (Pes) Forward Osmosis Membrane System, Annmarie Ricchino
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
The stability of oil-in-water emulsions is enhanced by the presence of surfactants in the water, thereby increasing difficulty of remediation. In this study, mineral oil and a standard bilge mix (SBM) were used as model oils for forward osmosis (FO) performance evaluation and two different high-concentration feed solutions (FS) were tested: 10,000 and 100,000 ppm oil/surfactant (9:1 Oil/Surfactant, wt %). It was hypothesized that the charge-charge interactions between the surfactant portion of the micelles and the membrane would play an important role in membrane fouling. Therefore, the effects of both an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]) and a nonionic …
Adsorption Capacity Assessment Of Advance Green Environmental Media To Remove Nutrients From Stormwater-Runoff, Hanan Elhakiem
Adsorption Capacity Assessment Of Advance Green Environmental Media To Remove Nutrients From Stormwater-Runoff, Hanan Elhakiem
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Best Management Practices (BMPs) in stormwater treatment are a suite of treatment alternatives to deal with pollutant removal problems from stormwater runoff. Biosorption-activated media (BAM) are green sorption media consists of recycled materials have shown excellent nutrient removal as an effective BMP by enhancing physicochemical and microbiological processes. In this study, Iron-Filling Green Environmental Media (denoted as IFGEM-3) and Advanced Green Environmental Media 1 and 2 (denoted as AGEM-1 and AGEM-2) were produced and tested for their adsorption capacities as well as removal and recovery potential for phosphate, nitrate, and ammonia against natural soil (baseline) collected from a stormwater retention …
Assessment Of A Surface Water Supply For Source And Treated Distribution System Quality, Angela Rodriguez
Assessment Of A Surface Water Supply For Source And Treated Distribution System Quality, Angela Rodriguez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study focused on providing a source to tap assessment of surface water systems with respect to (i) the use of alternative biomonitoring tools, (ii) disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation and control, and (iii) corrosion control. In the first study component, two water systems were microbiologically evaluated using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence technology. It was determined that microbial ATP was useful as a surrogate for biomonitoring within a surface water system when paired with traditional methods. Although microbial activity differed between distribution systems that used either chloramine or chlorine disinfectant, in both cases flowrate and season affected microbial ATP values. In …
An Assessment Of Biosorption Activated Media For The Removal Of Pollutants In Up-Flow Stormwater Treatment Systems, Andrew Hood
An Assessment Of Biosorption Activated Media For The Removal Of Pollutants In Up-Flow Stormwater Treatment Systems, Andrew Hood
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Nitrogen and phosphorus are often the limiting nutrients for marine and freshwater systems respectively. Additionally, stormwater often contains elevated levels of pathogens which can pollute the receiving water body and impact reuse applications [1-4]. The reduction of limiting nutrients and pathogens is a common primary target for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) [5]. Traditional BMPs, such as retention/detention treatment ponds require large footprints and may not be practical in ultra-urban environments where above ground space is limited. Upflow filters utilizing biosorption activated media (BAM) that can be placed underground offer a small footprint alternative. Additionally, BAM upflow filters can be …
Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Biomimetic, Bioinspired And Bio-Related Functional Polymers For Atmospheric Water Recovery, Abdullah Alqassar
Design, Synthesis And Characterization Of Biomimetic, Bioinspired And Bio-Related Functional Polymers For Atmospheric Water Recovery, Abdullah Alqassar
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Atmospheric water recovery in changing environments has received wide attention in environmental science and engineering communities due to rapid population growth and frequent droughts. This study is focused on the design, synthesis, and characterization of biomimetic, bioinspired, and bio-related functional polymers (b3p) to help resolve the water supply issue especially in arid or semi-arid regions. It is aimed to develop unique synthetic methods to access well-defined polymers with the aid of nanomaterials and metal to produce next generation polymer materials for better atmospheric water recovery. The design of such new b3p is bioinspired by some skin materials of biological species …
Long-Term Carbon And Copper Impact On Nutrient Removal Via Green Sorption Media In Dynamic Linear Ditch Environments, Diana Ordonez
Long-Term Carbon And Copper Impact On Nutrient Removal Via Green Sorption Media In Dynamic Linear Ditch Environments, Diana Ordonez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Nutrient-laden stormwater runoff causes environmental and ecological impacts on receiving water bodies. Biosorption Activated Media (BAM) composed of the sand, tire crumb, and clay have been implemented in stormwater best management practices due to its ability to efficiently remove nutrients from stormwater runoff, such as in roadside linear ditches, via unique chemophysical and microbiological processes. In this study, a set of fixed-bed columns were set up to simulate some external forces in roadside linear ditches and examine how these external forces affect the performance of BAM. In our experiment, scenario 1 simulates the impact that animals such as tortoises, moles …
Comparison Of A Modified And Traditional Rapid Infiltration Basin For Treatment And Control Of Nutrients In Wastewater Effluent, Jessica Cormier
Comparison Of A Modified And Traditional Rapid Infiltration Basin For Treatment And Control Of Nutrients In Wastewater Effluent, Jessica Cormier
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Rapid infiltration basins (RIB) have been historically used in Florida for groundwater recharge, effluent disposal, or a combination of both. However, this technique has proven ineffective in providing nitrogen control unless the RIB is modified in some manner. In this study, a traditional RIB was compared to a modified RIB constructed with manufactured biosorption activated media (BAM) to evaluate nitrate removal from reclaimed water. The RIBs are used for reclaimed and excess storm water disposal. Few, if any, studies have been published where BAM-modified RIBs have been used for this purpose. In this work, a mixture of clay, tire crumb, …
Assessing Interactions Between Estuary Water Quality And Terrestrial Land Cover In Hurricane Events With Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing, Chandan Mostafiz
Assessing Interactions Between Estuary Water Quality And Terrestrial Land Cover In Hurricane Events With Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing, Chandan Mostafiz
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Estuaries are environmentally, ecologically and environmentally important places as they act as a meeting place for land, freshwater and marine ecosystems. They are also called nurseries of the sea as they often provide nesting and feeding habitats for many aquatic plants and animals. These estuaries also withstand the worst of some natural disasters, especially hurricanes. The estuaries as well as the harbored ecosystems undergo significant changes in terms of water quality, vegetation cover etc. and these components are interrelated. When hurricane makes landfall it is necessary to assess the damages as quickly as possible as restoration and recovery processes are …
Innovative Pollutant Load Monitoring, Eric Gurr
Innovative Pollutant Load Monitoring, Eric Gurr
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Modern streamflow measuring equipment, water quality sampling techniques and a better understanding of pollutant washoff are continuously being developed as today's society is in critical need of improving water management, minimizing developmental impacts and preventing environmental hazards. In particular, the study of the spatial, temporal and volumetric characteristics of annual pollutant loading caused by variations in precipitation, land use and other anthropogenic factors is of great significance due to their relation to future global water demands. The research presented here falls in three parts. In the first part of the dissertation, an acoustical Doppler velocity profiler installed in a submerged …