Environmental Chemistry Commons^™

Targeting Chemical Pollutants Through Assimilation Of Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvents With Metal-Organic Frameworks, Carbon Nanotubes, And Activated Carbon, Tanner William Baughman

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Water contamination by heavy metals has a harmful human threat to the environment and to human health. This is derived from their bioaccumulation and toxicity characteristics. The study directly looks at the assimilated of lignin-derived hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (HDES) with 3 different class of materials: Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), and Activated Carbon (AC). Four different HDES mixtures were assimilated into these porous materials through impregnation. Composites were evaluated by characteristic peaks through Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The morphology of the samples was assessed as well through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The colloidal stability …

Czts Nanoparticles As Cost Efficient Catalysts For Producing Green Hydrogen, Aidan Hau

Undergraduate Research Symposium (2026- )

Hydrogen gas is produced to be used as feedstock, fertilizer, and fuel. Traditional hydrogen production produces “gray hydrogen” in a process that uses and releases fossil fuels into the atmosphere. One way to produce “green” hydrogen is with renewable energy technologies that produce hydrogen gas using electrolysis without emitting fossil fuels. In electrolysis, the hydrogen atoms bonded to oxygen in a water molecule are split to produce hydrogen. A typical catalyst for this process would be a precious metal like palladium, which can be costly. In order to make green hydrogen production more affordable, an alternative catalyst composed of CZTS …

Monitoring Of Dissolved Calcium Levels In Creeks, Embayment, And Kentucky Lake Waters In Western Kentucky, Majeda Dalloul

Scholars Week

In order to reduce the economic and ecological impacts of aquatic alien species, studies are warranted across major taxonomic groups, geographic regions, and habitat types. This study addressed the dissolved calcium levels in Kentucky Lake and their implications for one of the top-ranked invasive species, the zebra mussel, and its colonization.  Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are well known for their “biofouling” capabilities, costing billions of dollars (for northeastern and midwestern states) in their removal from industrial, public, and power plant water supply lines. Calcium is one of the essential elements that contribute to the growth and reproduction of zebra …

Method Validation Of Metals In Environmental Soil Samples, Sofia Deangelis, Nana Nguyen

Student Research Symposium

Vehicles are a major source of metal accumulation in terrestrial environments. Green infrastructure, such as bioswales, has been implemented as a way to mitigate this damage. However, there is a limited understanding of the processes that occur in these bioswales as few go back after implementation to identify areas in the bioswale with accumulation of pollutants. Inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has the potential to be used in this type of study due to the machine’s high sensitivity and selectivity. However complications can arise while using the ICP-MS to characterize complex environmental samples. This study seeks to optimize microwave assisted …

Multiscale Variability Of Heavy Metals In A Western U.S. Snowpack, Kelsey Hefner

Student Research Symposium

Natural and anthropogenically sourced particulates are deposited from the atmosphere to landscapes via dry and wet deposition, making frozen winter snowpack a natural archive of atmospheric elemental composition. Wildfires in the Western United States are increasing in extent, duration, and severity, especially in alpine regions. Severe fires remove forest canopy and can impact how atmospheric elements are dispersed and stored across snow-dominated watersheds. We evaluated Al, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, As, Zn, Se, Mo, Cd, and Pb concentrations in 394 winter snow core samples. We collected samples in 2019 and 2020 from a chronosequence of eight forests that burned …

Quantifying The Role Of Water Quality On Nitrogen Cycling In A Trophic Estuary, Kayla Gonzalez-Boy

Symposium of Student Scholars

Jobos Bay Estuary is an intertidal, tropical estuary located in southern Puerto Rico. The estuary covers about 12 km² and has a variety of habitats, such as seagrass beds, mangroves, mud flats, and coral reefs, which play important roles in sediment trapping and water quality maintenance. Seagrasses also serve as nursery and feeding grounds and provide shelter for macrofauna. Currently, the role of seagrasses and water quality on nitrogen (N) cycling in trophic estuaries is not well constrained. Understanding variations in sediment-based effects on N cycling rates and transformations, and how they are associated with water quality, is an …

Utilizing Macroinvertebrate Communities And Chloride Levels To Evaluate Water Quality In Three Streams Near Winona, Minnesota, Amelia Engman, Izabella Setla

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Certain water quality and chloride levels are ideal for specific macroinvertebrate species. This study evaluates the water quality of three streams in and around Winona, Minnesota, using the macroinvertebrate communities present and chloride levels as indicators. Three upstream samples were taken and thoroughly examined at three different locations: Garvin Brook, Gilmore Creek, and Pleasant Valley Creek. During the snowmelt season, four sets of upstream and one set of downstream water samples were taken from each. The samples were analyzed using a Vernier chloride ion-selective electrode. The Izaak Walton League of America's Save Our Streams invertebrate classification system was used to …

The Phosphorus Problem In The Pre-Biotic World, Erica Bronwyn Mobley

ONU Student Research Colloquium

The so-called “phosphorus problem” in prebiotic life has traditionally been framed in terms of phosphate solubility. Phosphates (PO₄^3-) are generally insoluble and therefore cannot supply adequate nutrients for protocellular metabolism. Phosphite (HPO₃^2-) is thought to solve this problem, but introduces a new obstacle, what might be termed the “phosphorus permeability problem”. Phosphate and phosphite are both charged at circumneutral pH and cannot cross a lipid membrane. No evolutionary pressure exists to drive formation of transporters prior to the existence of a membrane, and so the first protocells likely lacked transporters. We suggest that volatile …

Evaluating The Impact Of River Settlement On Phosphorus Uptake, Erica Bronwyn Mobley

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Phosphorus sorption to sediments is an important process that can buffer dissolved P concentrations. Both the amount of P and sediment as well as the mode of binding can influence transport of P in aquatic ecosystems. This study focused on determining sediment stocks in the Maumee River basin and quantifying reactive and total P extracted from sediment by a sequential multi-step process. Quantification of sediment stock will enable more accurate modeling of P retention and ultimately P loading into western Lake Erie.

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Novel Reaction-Based Azaborine Fluorescent Probe Capable Of Selectively Detect Carbon Monoxide Based On Palladium-Mediated Carbonylation Chemistry, Samuel Moore, Carl Jacky Saint-Louis

Symposium of Student Scholars

Azaborines are fascinating compounds because they possess valuable properties such as photochemical stability, have high molar absorption coefficient and high fluorescent quantum yields, as well as large Stokes shifts and tunable absorption/emission spectra. Here, we designed, synthesized, and will examine a novel reaction-based azaborine fluorescent probe capable of selectively detect carbon monoxide (CO) based on palladium-mediated carbonylation chemistry. This novel azaborine fluorescent probe will exhibit high selectivity for CO and display a robust turn-on fluorescent response in the presence of CO in aqueous buffer solution.

Corrosion Prevention Of Aluminum Alloy, Andrea Brenner

Symposium of Student Scholars

Aluminum alloy (Al-alloy) is a widely used metal in construction, aerospace, aviation, and other necessary fields due to its lightweight and tweakable properties. However, corrosion is inevitable on metals and alloys, and that causes millions of dollars of revenue loss every year. Therefore, we propose to research fabricating coating to prevent corrosion on Al-alloy. This study uses an iron-based metal-organic framework (MOF) and polyurethane (PU) based composite coating to prevent corrosion on the Al-alloy. The makeup of the composite material is changed by varying the percentage of MOF. In addition, a binder is also used to enhance the homogenization between …

Temporal Changes And Possible Sources Of Dissolved Calcium Levels In Stream, River, And Lake Waters In Western Kentucky, Kelsie Meystedt

Scholars Week

ABSTRACT

Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are an exotic and invasive mollusk that spread extensively over various rivers and lakes in the United States. These mussels are known for being notorious in their “biofouling” capabilities, costing the U.S. government billions of dollars in removal operations. Recently, zebra mussel colonies were found in Kentucky Lake possibly due to human activities increasing the salinity of today’s freshwater resources. The increase in salinity from human activities may have adversely affected the ecosystems and water supplies. The Specific aim of this study was to determine the temporal trend of dissolved calcium in Kentucky Lake …

Wastewater-Based Estimation Of Substances Discharged At The Rest Areas Along The State Highways In Kentucky, Katherine E. Gray, Eugene Shin, Tyler Whitt, Andrew Windhorst, Houston Hampton, Chris Delcher, Bikram Subedi

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The availability of licit and illicit stimulants and its adverse consequences on public health has emerged as a major drug threat to communities in the United States. Despite several drug-involved traffic incidents along the interstate highways, this report represents the first comprehensive and quantitative report of drugs discharged at the rest areas along the interstate highways. In this National Institute of Justice-funded study, the amount of several discharged drugs focusing on stimulants but also including opioids and prescription antipsychotics are being measured in raw wastewater collected from five rest areas and a truck servicing facility using a state-of-the-art mass …

Corrosion Prevention On Aluminum Alloy, Andrea Brenner

Symposium of Student Scholars

Aluminum alloy (Al-alloy) is a widely used metal in construction, aerospace, aviation, and other necessary fields due to its lightweight and tweakable properties. However, corrosion is inevitable on metals and alloys, and that causes millions of dollars of revenue loss every year. Therefore, we propose to research fabricating coating to prevent corrosion on Al-alloy. This study uses an iron-based metal-organic framework (MOF) and polyurethane (PU) based composite coating to prevent corrosion on the Al-alloy. The makeup of the composite material is changed by varying the percentage of MOF. In addition, a binder is also used to enhance the homogenization between …

Water Purification And The Industries It Supports, Zeljka Zec, Kj Bell

Symposium of Student Scholars

Water Purification and the Industries It Supports

Zeljka Zec and KJ Bell

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Ga 30144

Clean and readily available water plays a crucial role in daily societal functions. The dynamic research of water purification involves the process of removing undesired chemical or biological contaminants that affect our use of fresh, consumable water. Depending on desired applications, purification quality is adjusted for use in medical settings, manufacturing, agriculture or personal use in households. Several methods and techniques have been used in the water purification process. Those processes are coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration. …

Scan Of The Advantage Of Using Biofuels, Ethanol, Ana Carla Bueno

Symposium of Student Scholars

The environment is the big sink where all the human waste produced is deposited, mainly the pollutant gases from cars. It is inevitable not to contaminate drinking water, air, and all other ecosystems on the planet, and it was from these concerns that scientists began to develop alternative ways to mitigate the side effects of pollution. Currently, there are many strategies to soften the emission of pollutant gases into the atmosphere, and the biggest competitor of traditional fossil fuel is biofuels. The big challenge in the production of this type of fuel is the competition with the conventional fossil fuel, …

Balancing Community Health And Industry Objectives, Lindsay Tudor

Symposium of Student Scholars

Balancing Community Health and Industry Objectives

Lindsay Tudor

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144

The ever-changing regulatory and federal standards set by the EPA and other organizations are creating a large impact on chemical manufacturing. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains jurisdiction under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to enforce regulations structured to impart information regarding the health and safety of individuals, environmental impacts, and exposure thresholds of chemical substances. Flame retardants are among the chemicals assessed and restricted, most recently isopropyl phenyl phosphate. Isopropyl phenyl phosphate is a flame retardant/lubricant utilized in various …

006— Pretreatment And Fiber Content Analysis Of Cannabis Sativa, Dina Bu, Jessica Roggie, Sarah Schmidlin, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

Cannabis sativa commonly known as hemp is one of the fastest-growing plants whose refined products have immense commercial value. Various products include refined hemp such as: biofuels, biodegradable plastics, textiles, dietary supplements, paper, clothing, and much more. Hemp fibers are also used in construction and manufacturing applications by strengthening their composite products. Hemp is a high yielding, sustainable, and environmentally friendly crop due to its various qualities, and has the potential to yield valuable raw materials for a great number of applications. Our research evaluates the pretreatment of hemp as well as the comparative analysis of the fiber content thereof. …

041— Fiber Decomposition And Pretreatment Analysis Of Cannabis Sativa L.: Hemp, Dina Bu, Jessica Roggie, Sarah Schmidlin, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

Hemp is a subspecies of Cannabis sativa L. along with marijuana, yet the two differ in chemical constituent levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Hemp contains 0.3% THC, compared to marijuana 17.1%, allowing it to be a safe and compelling biomass for investigation. The refined products of hemp are vast due to its fast-growing properties; therefore various commercial industries have included refined hemp in biofuels, biodegradable plastics, textiles, dietary supplements, paper, clothing, and much more. Construction and manufacturing applications have also been seen to include hemp to strengthen their composite products. The high-yielding, sustainable, and environmentally friendly qualities …

Comparison Of Methods For Measuring Cation Exchange Capacity In Clays, Sarah Glaesemann

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Past, Present, And Future– A Review Of Berrien County Water And Great Lakes Water Resources And Quality, Jongwan Bae

Honors Scholars & Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium Programs

The decrease in water quality for environmental and drinking water has been prevalent in the Great Lakes region, where industrialization, agricultural development, and population increase have contributed substantially. Looking through historical reports and the present, the degradation in water quality will likely continue. Our research intends to use inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy to create a methodology to quantitatively detect various heavy metals and other elements from any water source. Current research has been on the determination of a niche in water testing and the creation of an infographic, as well as data of simple water samples.

Copper (Ii) Sequestration By Pamam Dendrimers In Tap Water, Hannah Castillo

Honors Scholars & Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium Programs

Dendrimers are nanomaterials that are widely studied for a variety of applications because of their distinctive properties. One such property of, specifically, the generation 2-PAMAM Dendrimer is its particular affinity for copper (II) ions. This could be influential in selective heavy metal extraction, particularly in contaminated water. Our research aims to test the sequestration and selectivity of PAMAM dendrimers with amine surface groups for copper (II) ions in a chemical environment with interfering species, such as tap water, using Inductively Coupled Plasma spectroscopy. Ongoing research has involved developing methods for dendrimer extractions and creating calibration curves for standards to ensure …

Determination Of Atrazine In Glacier Creek Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Spencer Witte

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Atrazine is a commonly used herbicide in agriculture that has been shown to cause adverse health-effects on biological organisms. Glacier Creek Preserve (GCP), a prairie preserve near Omaha, NE, contains restored prairie and agricultural land uses within a single watershed. Surface water samples were collected at various locations of GCP from May to July to quantify atrazine concentrations. Sample preparation included filtering with a 0.45 micron filter and solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a reversed-phase cartridge. The analyte was eluted off the cartridge with ethyl acetate and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Quantitation was performed with an internal standard calibration …

154— Alfalfa Hay As Non-Human Feedstock For Second Generation Biofuels: Hope Or Hoax? Part Ii, Arianna Soriano, Sofia Kostrinsky, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

The excessive use of fossil fuels has negatively impacted the environment because of greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers are now searching for ways to counterbalance the damage which has been done to the Earth after centuries of greenhouse gas emissions. Potential alternatives to fossil fuels include biofuels, an overlooked and cost-effective source of energy. Many efforts have been focused on the production of first-generation biofuels, fuels attained from human food sources, such as corn. First-generation biofuels have been linked to the increase in food prices, which is a problem because it negatively impacts many developing countries. Our research is geared towards …

183— Cannabis Sativa: Pretreatment And Fiber Content Analysis, Dina Bú, Arianna Soriano, Sofia Kostrinsky, Sarah Schmidlin, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

Cannabis Sativa commonly known as hemp, is one of the fastest growing plants whose refined products have immense commercial value. Refined hemp is included in various products: biofuels, biodegradable plastics, textiles, dietary supplements, paper, clothing and much more. Hemp fibers are also used in construction and manufacturing applications as a way to strengthen composite products. These qualities make hemp a high yielding, sustainable, and environmentally friendly crop with the potential to yield valuable raw materials for a large number of applications. Our research evaluates the pretreatment of hemp and the comparative analysis of the fiber content thereof. Our goal is …

385— Optimizing Nitrogen Concentrations To Maximize Lipid Yields For Biodiesel Production, Wady Jacoby, Daria Zhogina, Pavel Ananev, Lauren Saggese, Max Muller, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

Select subspecies of microalgae are considered to be the most promising candidates for third generation renewable resources of biodiesel. Algae not only ingest excess carbon emissions from the atmosphere, they also convert it into energy-dense lipids which can be harvested, and then transformed into biodiesel. However, before the fuel industry can adopt algae farming as a realistic alternative to fossil fuels, the process of harvesting algal lipids must be optimized further. Our research aims to make algal lipid extraction more realistic by determining the ideal growing conditions of the algae species Chlorella Vulgaris. Our research this semester focused on two …

Analysis Of Petroleum Products For Forensic And Environmental Applications, Sarah Ghali, Sarah Porter

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

In both forensic and environmental applications, it is often important to identify ignitable liquid (IL) residues, to find a suspect or to clean up an oil spill. The ASTM method is commonly used; the extraction methods vary, but the data collection is the same. The instrument used in the ASTM method is gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), which allows a visual identification of the IL contaminating the sample. In this study, the use of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) was used in conjunction with chemometric analysis. Samples were prepared were to simulate an oil spill in natural waters. Two chemometric …

Near Real-Time Determination Of The Prevalence Of Cannabinoids, Cathinones, And Synthetic Opioids, Catherine O'Rourke, Bikram Subedi

Scholars Week

Unregulated new psychoactive substances (NPS) in “pure” or “preparation” forms are designed to mimic the effects of controlled substances, and are introduced and reintroduced in the market as a cheap substitute of established regulated drugs in quick succession to loophole the law enforcement efforts on combating drugs. For example, carfentanil, a synthetic opioid activates the opioid receptors similar to morphine but it is astoundingly potent compared to a typical drug of abuse (100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine). Based on the cost- and time-intensive forensic analysis, National Drug Early Warning System reported the …

High Functional Diversity Of Contaminated Soils From Liberty State Park, Nina M. Goodey

Sustainability Seminar Series

Urban brownfields present an opportunity to study the functioning of degraded ecosystems. We investigated the soils of Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, which once supported a major rail yard and port facility with docks for shipping cargo to New York City. ICP-MS and pyrolysis-GC-MS studies were used to show that our study site is contaminated with heavy metals and organic contaminants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We used fluorescence spectroscopy to measure soil enzymatic function at multiple locations within the brownfield and found the following types of sites: 1.) hotspots with high heavy metal concentrations and high extracellular …

Determination Of Cannabinoids, Cathinones, And Synthetic Fentanyls Using Wastewater-Based Epidemiology, Catherine O'Rourke, Bikram Subedi

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Unregulated new psychoactive substances (NPS) in “pure” or “preparation” forms are designed to mimic the effects of controlled substances, and are introduced and reintroduced in the market as a cheap substitute for established regulated drugs in quick succession to loophole the law enforcement efforts on combating drugs. For example, carfentanil, a synthetic opioid activates the opioid receptors similar to morphine but it is astoundingly potent compared to a typical drug of abuse (100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine). Based on the cost- and time-intensive forensic analysis, National Drug Early Warning System reported the …