Chemistry Commons^™

A Biogeochemical Comparison Of Fossil (Carboniferous) And Modern Crustose Red Algae, Michael A. Kruge, John E. Utgaard, William Ferry

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The nature of the contribution of the various types of algae to sedimentary organic matter continues to be a topic of research interest. Crustose red algae have however received less attention than other types. The fossil calcareous red algae (Rhodophyta) analyzed in this study are two relatively unrecrystallized specimens of Parachaetetes (Family Solenoporacea) from the lower part of the Ste. Genevieve Formation (Carboniferous, Visean) in Union County, Illinois, USA. They occurred in the patch reef phase of a small carbonate mudmound-patchreef. The three modern specimens (collected and identified by F. Collier) are the crustose algae Lithothamnion, Clathromorphum and Phymatolithon …

Chemistry Of Maceral And Groundmass Density Fractions Of Torbanite And Cannel Coal, Zhiwen Han, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Microscopically, torbanite and cannel coal are composed of coarser macerals set in a fine-grained to amorphous groundmass. It is often assumed that the amorphous groundmass is genetically related to the distinct macerals. The separation of macerals and groundmass from 14 late Paleozoic torbanite, cannel, and humic coals permits the analysis of individual constituents using elemental analysis and flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Cluster and principal component analyses of the Py-GC/MS data further reveal the chemical similarities and differences between the various constituents. Pyrolyzates of Botryococcus-related alginites are characterized by an abundance of normal alkadienes, alkenes, and alkanes. Even their …

Classification Of Torbanite And Cannel Coal. Ii. Insights From Organic Geochemical And Multivariate Statistical Analysis, Zhiwen Han, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Petrographic and megascopic criteria have traditionally been used as the basis for the classification of torbanite and cannel coal. For this study, it was hypothesized that modern analytical organic geochemical and multivariate statistical techniques could provide an alternative approach. Towards this end, the demineralized residues of 14 torbanite (rich in Botryococcus-related alginite) and cannel (essentially, rich in organic groundmass and/or sporinite) coal samples were analyzed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Cluster analysis performed on the Py-GC/MS data clearly distinguished the torbanite from the cannel coal, demonstrating a consistency between the chemical properties and the petrographic composition. All the torbanite …

Molecular Organic Geochemistry Of New York Bight Sediments. Sources Of Biogenic Organic Matter And Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

As part of a multidisciplinary evaluation of the environmental impact of waste disposal in the New York Bight, a preliminary effort was undertaken to assess the molecular geochemistry of its sedimentary organic matter (OM). For this initial phase of the study, samples were taken from two New York Bight cores collected outside the area of known dumping [in Sandy Hook Bay, NJ], to establish the environmental context for future work on sediments from within dumpsite zones. The method employed was flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), which is an organic microanalysis technique suitable for solid samples, in this case dried, raw …

Chemical Signals From Submarine Fluid Advection Onto The Continental Shelf, W. S. Moore, Timothy J. Shaw

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Environmental And Botanical Controls On Peatification - A Comparative Study Of Two New Zealand Restiad Bogs Using Py-Gc/Ms, Petrography And Fungal Analysis, Tomasz K. Kuder, Michael A. Kruge, J C. Shearer, S L. Miller

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study shows that chemical properties of two restiad species, Empodisma minus and Sporadanthus traversii, may contribute to their success as peat-formers in a climate of the North Island of New Zealand which is not conducive to raised mire development. Unlike Sphagnum, the equivalent northern hemisphere peat-former, restiads possess lignin in their tissues. In addition, the presence of non-lignin polyphenols (including tannins and phenolic acids) in restiads may be an important factor in peat formation due to the allelopathic decay retardation. Patterns of degradation of plant biopolymers have been examined and the pathway of degradation of monocotyledons (loss …

A Molecular Evaluation Of Contaminants And Natural Organic Matter In Surface Sediments From Western Lake Ontario, Michael A. Kruge, Prasanta K. Mukhopadhyay, C.F. Michael Lewis

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) analysis of bottom sediment from Lake Ontario was shown to be effective in assessing organic contaminants, especially attractive as it is a rapid technique requiring little sample preparation. Pyrolyzates of samples richer in organic matter (OM) were relatively enriched in aliphatic hydrocarbons and pyrrolic nitrogen compounds, while leaner samples were more aromatic and pyridinic. Alkylbenzene and alkylphenol distributions in the pyrolyzates were most compatible with derivation from aquatic (algal, bacterial) OM. The organonitrogen compounds indicated the presence of degraded proteinaceous material from aquatic sources and/or sewage. Normal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon distributions indicate, at least in …

Petrographic And Chemical Properties Of Carboniferous Resinite From The Herrin No. 6 Coal Seam, John C. Crelling, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Resinite is a naturally occurring substance found in coal and derived from original plant resins. It is ubiquitous in North American coals and comprises 1 to 4% by volume of most Illinois coals. It has been commercially exploited in the western USA for use in adhesives, varnishes and thermal-setting inks. The major objectives of this study were: (1) to separate resinite macerals from the Herrin No. 6 coal seam and to carefully verify, by petrographic and fluorescence microspectrophotometric methods, that the separated material was indeed resinite; (2) to characterize the chemical composition of the separated resinite by Py–GC–MS techniques; and …

Forensic Soil Analysis: Characterization Of The Sand Fraction, John Baize

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive analytical method for the characterization of soil by examining particle size, elemental composition, and percent organic matter in soil, and to determine its forensic applicability. In this study, five soils of varying geological locations were examined including two samples from Kentucky; two samples from Pennsylvania; and one from Washington D C A Gilson sonic sieve shaker was used to separate fractions of soil to determine particle size, and a JEOL scanning electron microscope with a Kevex EDS detector was used to determine elemental composition. These techniques coupled with percent total …

Development Of An Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Combustor (Afbc), William Orndorff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relatively recent interest in the U.S. in the development of atmospheric fluidized bed combustion (AFBC) has been preceded by two main factors. First of these is the ever present problem of acid rain and growing public support for cleaner burning fossil fuels. Second is the increasing demand on public landfills and subsequent need for burning of municipal solid waste. From these factors and their corresponding influences, Western Kentucky University has the impetus and has received the financial assistance necessary to build and develop a laboratory scale AFBC system. A brief history of the events leading to this development, as …

Estimation Of Groundwater Velocities From Yucca Flat To The Amargosa Desert Using Geochemistry And Environmental Isotopes, Ronald L. Hershey, Steve Y. Acheampong

Publications (WR)

Geochemical modeling techniques were applied to groundwater flowpaths from Yucca Flat on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to the Amargosa Desert, south of the NTS to estimate groundwater flow velocities for independent comparison to velocities calculated by other methods. The groundwater flowpaths examined considered flow in the carbonate aquifer beneath Yucca and Frenchman flats mixing with flow from carbonate aquifers east and southeast of the NTS and discharging at wells south of the NTS border. The approach used the computer codes WATEQ4F and NETPATH to calculate chemical speciation, determine the saturation state of mineral phases, and simulate mixing and the …

Celluloid Blackness : Race, Modernity, And The Conflicted Roots Of American Cinema (1915-1939), Lincoln Farr

Honors Theses

Introduction: "The Problem of the Twentieth Century" In a full page interview in the New York Times on May 29, 1912, the Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Carl G. Jung told the American people, "It seems to me that you are about to discover yourselves. You have discovered everything else-all the land of this continent; all the resources, all the hidden things of nature."Jung used the interview to address the American people, at a moment which he somehow recognized as crucial in the development of human civilization. America, the "tragic" country which he struggled to comprehend, would soon become the harbinger of …

Application Of Environmental Organic Petrology And Geochemistry To Fingerprint Organic Pollutants In The Recent Sediments Of Lake Ontario, Prasanta K. Mukhopadhyay, Michael A. Kruge, C.F. Michael Lewis

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Selected surface sediment samples (sediment depth 0-10 cm) collected in the Niagara basin (western Lake Ontario) were chosen for organic matter characterization using organic petrological and geochemical techniques normally reserved for the study of coal, petroleum source rock and crude oil. The study was performed to assess the effectiveness of these techniques in discriminating between natural and anthropogenic organic matter and to determine the extent of organic pollution of the lake sediments. The organic carbon contents of the samples vary from 1.5 to 3.5%, with upper layer (0-5 cm) samples have higher TOC values than those from the lower layer …

Separation And Artificial Maturation Of Macerals From Type Ii Kerogen, Michael A. Kruge, Patrick Landais, David F. Bensley, B Artur Stankiewicz, Marcel Elie, Olivier Ruau

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Immature Type II kerogen (HI= 660 mg/g) from the Lower Toarcian of the Paris Basin was separated into an alginite concentrate (HI = 952 mg/g) and an amorphous organic matter (AOM) concentrate (HI = 573 mg/g) by density centrifugation. The flash pyrolyzate of the alginite is characterized by high relative concentrations of several series of n-alkanones and n-alkenones (including mid-chain alkyl ketones), in addition to n-alkanes, n-alk-1-enes and n-alkadienes. To our knowledge, this Toarcian alginite is the oldest example of marine organic matter whose pyrolyzate contains mid-chain alkanones in such high relative concentrations. In sharp …

Artificial Maturation Of Alginite And Organic Groundmass Separated From Torbanites, Michael A. Kruge, Patrick Landais, David F. Bensley

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The two principal organic constituents — Botryococcus-related alginite and organic groundmass — were isolated by density separation from two torbanite samples (from the Stellarton Fm., Nova Scotia, Canada and the King Cannel, Utah, USA). The groundmass consisted of degraded algal, bacterial and terrestrial plant debris. Aliquots of alginite and groundmass were separately heated in gold tubes for 24 hr. with 70 MPa confining pressure, at fixed temperatures ranging between 250 and 375°C. The 250, 300 and 325°C experiments run on the alginite produced very low yields of CHCl3-extractable organic matter (EOM), indicating that very little of the generation potential …

Flash Pyrolysis Of Anthropogenic And Natural Organic Matter In Polluted Sediments, Sami T. Abdel Bagi, Michael A. Kruge, Gary L. Salmon

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

INTRODUCTION - Combustion products along with spilled petroleum and industrial chemicals contribute to environmental degradation by contaminating soils and sediments. Such anthropogenic organic matter (OM), if preserved in sediments, can serve an archival function, documenting the local, history of industrial pollution. Christensen and Zhang (1993) determined the sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (P AH) to Lake Michigan from sedimentary records, finding that coal combustion was a major source for PAHs in these sediments. Bodzek and Luks-Betlej (1993) reported that atmospheric deposition is the main source of PAH in soils of the heavily industrialized Upper Silesia region of Poland. Smith and …

Bulletin 4307 - Grass Control In Pastures Using Herbicides, Alexandra Wallace

Bulletins 4000 -

This Bulletin discusses three methods for herbicide control of grasses in pastures:

• pasture manipulation, in the early stages of pasture growth;
• spray-topping late in the growing season; and
• hay freezing, late in the growing season.

Transitions In Masculinity And Hemingway's Developed "Code", Daniel Polk

Honors Theses

The "Hemingway Code" is much more than two words that fit nicely together for a scholar's usage; the words signify a much deeper championing of masculinity, almost a haunting presence. For Ernest Hemingway living life every day, every moment with its fullest masculine fervor, became an obsession, a never-ending quest to be at one with the attitude of never complaining, never crying out, panicking, thinking too much, or regretting. To live a manly life in a series of tactical victories, performed with steadfast ritualistic mannerisms, is to embody masculinity, and therefore the "Hemingway Code."

Exposure Of A Food Crop To Trichloroethylene From A Contaminated Aquifer, Richard G. Baringer

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed a methodology for assessment of the exposure of a mature corn crop to trichloroethylene from a contaminated aquifer. The methodology was then applied to the case of Hill AFB to determine the ability of the methodology to provide information about a specific exposure. Current procedures sample for food contamination but do not attempt to predict exposure problems. A review of the potential exposure pathways from the aquifer to the crop was conducted. Based on this review, the exposures due to soil gas and irrigation were modeled. Empirical estimated were used to approximate the expected flux of soil …

Bulletin 4283 - Nitrogen Fertilisers For Cereal Production, M. G. Mason

Bulletins 4000 -

Because fertiliser prices are high, it is important to understand what affects the response to fertilisers by crops.

Among the many factors influencing crop response to nitrogen applications, the most important are the season, soil type, paddock history, time of application and source of nitrogen. Before deciding whether to use nitrogen on a cereal crop, which source to use and at what rate, you need some understanding of how these factors work.

Greatest responses to nitrogen fertilisers can be expected in areas with a relatively long growing season. In such areas light soils with a low nitrogen status give the …

Speciation Of Heteroatoms In Coal By Sulfur- And Nitrogen-Selective Techniquestrogen-Selective Techniques, Stephen R. Palmer, Michael A. Kruge, Edwin J. Hippo, John C. Crelling

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The peroxyacetic acid oxidation products from a series of coals of organic sulfur content 0.5-9.8 wt% were examined. The distributions of organic S and N compounds were determined by gas chromatography with sulfur-selective flame photometric and nitrogen-selective thermionic specific detection respectively. A selected sample was also examined in greater detail using low-voltage high-resolution mass spectrometry. The distribution of organic sulfur compounds in the oxidation products was remarkably similar for all the coals. The number of sulfur compounds detected was small compared with that of organic nitrogen compounds detected. This suggests that the sulfur chemistry of coal is considerably simpler than …

Fossil Charcoal In Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary Strata: Evidence For Catastrophic Firestorm And Megawave, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Organic matter separated from calcareous sandstone from the upper portion of a deep-water tsunami deposit at Arroyo el Mimbral, Taumalipas (Mexico), which marks the biostratigraphically-defined Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, consists primarily of fossil charcoal, including semifusinite and pyrofusinite. Analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed the highly aromatic and polyaromatic character of the organic matter assemblage, typical of the products of partial combustion. The organic matter probably originated as terrestrial vegetation that was caught in a firestorm and subsequently transported far offshore in the backwash of a megawave. These data are consistent with the hypothesis of combustion of large masses of vegetation triggered by …

Flash Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Of Lower Kittanning Vitrinites: Changes In The Distributions Of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons As A Function Of Coal Rank, Michael A. Kruge, David F. Bensley

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Chemical analyses restricted to a single coal maceral permit a focus on rank effects without concern for variations in organic matter type. Vitrinite concentrates of high purity were isolated from coal samples of the Lower Kittanning seam by multi-step density gradient centrifugation, with reflectances ranging from 0.66 to 1.39% Rmax. In addition to the previously recognized losses of phenolic compounds, the vitrinite pyrolyzates exhibit marked increases in relative concentrations of tri- and tetraaromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]fluorene, methyl-phenanthrenes, methylfluorenes and methylchrysenes) above 0.9% Rmax, i.e., beyond the "second coalification jump" of Teichmüller. Thus, petrographically-recognizable physical transformations are shown …

Senior Theses: Department Of Physical Sciences, Frank Baldridge, Billy B. Stapleton, James Bond, Mark A. Blair

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

1993 Fall Semester Senior Theses for the class Physical Science 471:

Petrologic Classification of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks by Frank Baldridge

X -Ray Analysis of Cave Sediments From Pigeon Water Cave of Northeastern Pine Mountain by Billy B. Stapleton

The Correlation of Stream-deposited Breccias In Bat Cave, Carter Caves, Kentucky by James Bond

Jointing and Faulting in Selected Areas of Eastern Kentucky by Mark A. Blair

Identification And Quantitation Of Volatile Amines In Chesapeake Bay Sediments, Neeraja Y. Krishna

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Sediments from different parts of the Chesapeake Bay were analyzed to determine the presence of volatile amines. A HF-HCl extraction method was used to extract both exchangeable and fixed amines from the sediments and a purge-and-trap technique was used to concentrate the amines. Following derivatization with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA), the HFBA-amines were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection and with mass spectrometric detection. One primary amine, i-amylamine with a concentration ranging from 0. 78 nmoles/g dry weight to < 0.05 nmoles/g dry weight was found in a total of twenty seven samples collected on three different dates in 1993. Another primary amine, 2-methylbutylamine with a concentration ranging from 0.18 nmoles/g dry weight to < 0.05 nmoles/g dry weight was found in a total of twenty three samples collected on three different dates in 1993. A secondary amine, diethylamine was detected but could not be quantified in a total of seven samples collected in September 1993. The concentrations of these amines varied with location in the Bay, depth in the sediment, and time of year the sediments were collected. The origin of i-amylamine and 2-methylbutylamine might be from the biological decarboxylation of amino acids leucine and isoleucine, respectively. The origin of diethylamine is unknown.

Aspects Of Gold Recovery From An Indigenous Ore, Cormac Patrick Mcnamee

Masters

This project involved the investigation into the basic electrochemistry of the thiourea-formamidine disulphide redox couple and an estimation of the formal potential, Eo1 for the couple. By carrying out optimisation experiments on the leaching of gold from an ore sample from the Avoca mine in Co. Wicklow, the optimum leaching conditions were determined for maximum gold extraction. The effects of various organic and inorganic species on the adsorption of gold onto activated carbon and modified peat were investigated with the use of factorial designed experiments. The Langmuir Isotherm model was applied to estimate the capacity of the carbon for these …

Development Of Membrane Film Fiber Optic Based Sensors For The Remote Monitoring Of The Quality Of Surface And Groundwater, Leonidas G. Bachas

KWRRI Research Reports

The objective of this study was the development of chromo- and fluoroionophores and their subsequent use in sensors capable of surface and groundwater monitoring. Several reagents (modified crown ethers and porphyrins) were synthesized based on principles of chemical recognition and used for metal and pH sensing. The modified crown ether reagents include a chromogenic or fluorogenic group. The selectivity of these reagents is controlled by the size of the crown ether ring and the type of the chromogenic or fluorogenic side-arm. In addition, a fluorogenic crown ether was synthesized that incorporates a fluorogenic side-arm and a perfluorinated carbon chain. The …

An Analysis Of Dissolved Organic Compounds And Their Contribution To Iron Complexation In The Shallow Leachate Plume Of The West Kl Landfill Kalamazoo, Michigan, Eric Fahle

Masters Theses

High concentrations of dissolved iron are present in downgradient groundwater samples adjacent to the western border of the West KL Landfill. Analysis by Rudder (1988) of groundwater samples indicates oversaturation of selected iron oxides, iron sulfides and siderite in monitoring wells TW-4 and M3.

Previous research suggests that pyrogallol, gallic acid, tannic acid and similar organic compounds may retard the oxidation of ferrous iron in the shallow leachate plume of the West KL landfill (Rudder, 1988). Present research utilizing solid phase extraction, reverse phase high performance chromatography, Fourier transform IR spectrophotometry, UV/Visible spectrophotometry, and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy indicate that pyrogallol, …

Seed Phosphorus In Wheat And Lupins, Blakely Paynter, K. Adcock, R. W. Bell, Tim Pope

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Trial 90NO119

Seed P in wheat.

Location: Greenhills.

Design: 2 applied P x 3 seed P x 4 replicates, sowing wheat (cv. Aroona) seed from 89N33 at 70 kg/ha on May 15, 1990.

Trial 90NO120

Seed P in wheat.

Location: York

Design: 2 applied from P x 3 seed P x 4 replicates, 89N33 at 70 kg/ha on May 25, 1990.

Trial 90NO117

Seed P in lupins

Location: Greenhills.

Design: 2 applied P x 3 seed P x 4 replicates, sowing lupins (cv. Gungurru) from 85BA35 at 100 kg/ha on May 15, 1990.

Trial 90NO118

Seed P in lupins.

Location: …

Organic Geochemistry And Petrography Of Spanish Oil Shales, Michael A. Kruge, Isabel Suarez-Ruiz

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Four of the principal oil shale units of Spain were examined by organic geochemical and petrographic methods. The samples included three lacustrine shales (Carboniferous from Puertollano, Cretaceous from Llames and Miocene from Rubielos de Mora) and one marine shale (Lower Jurassic from Punta del Cuerno ). The petrographic observations show a dominance of liptodetrinite associated with bitumen-stained mineral matter and alginite, as well as a paucity of structured terrestrial organic matter. Geochemical work shows that the soluble organic matter is a mixture of terrestrially derived and aquatic, with the lacustrine samples having the strongest land plant signatures. Low values of …