Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

Application Of Artificial Intelligence For Co2 Storage In Saline Aquifer (Smart Proxy For Snap-Shot In Time), Marwan Mohammed Alnuaimi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology have grown in popularity. Smart Proxy Models (SPM) are AI/ML based data-driven models which have proven to be quite crucial in petroleum engineering domain with abundant data, or operations in which large surface/ subsurface volume of data is generated. Climate change mitigation is one application of such technology to simulate and monitor CO2 injection into underground formations.

The goal of the SPM developed in this study is to replicate the results (in terms of pressure and saturation outputs) of the numerical reservoir simulation model (CMG) for CO2 injection into …

2021 Fall Engr333 Project Section B Final Report, Calvin University 2021 Engr333 Section B

ENGR 333

In 2020, residences used 16.5% of all final energy in the United States, and residences were responsible for 19.3% of all U.S. CO2 emissions. Calvin ENGR 333 students partnered with Habitat for Humanity to tackle the issue of carbon emissions when designing their homes. Habitat for Humanity for Kent County is endeavoring to design homes that reduce energy consumption, energy expenditures, and carbon emissions. They are embarking upon a “carbon footprint build” that will minimize energy consumption and carbon emissions, both during construction and across the lifetime of their new Habitat for Humanity homes. This semester, the senior mechanical engineering …

2021 Fall Engr333 Project Section A Final Report, Gerald Darkey, Jonathan Jansma, Chris Singh, Ryan Whitney, Adam Brunsting, Adam Tjoelker, Jack Van Der Molen, Cornelius Van Liere, Derrick Bittner, William Terpstra, Matthew Winkle, Kelsey Yen, Kasen Anderson, Jack Cahalane, Samantha Krupa, James Kulaga, Chukwudubem Nweke, Nathan Holwerda, Jacob Meulink, John Stehouwer, Isaac Spackman, Moses Yang

ENGR 333

Habitat for Humanity (HFH) requested a carbon footprint analysis of their most recent home build. Mark Ogland-Hand, a representative of HFH, connected with Professor Heun’s ENGR 333 students to perform the carbon footprint analysis on their new low carbon house. Assuming Consumer’s Energy will incorporate their predicted percentage of renewables into their electric grid, the London home reduces projected carbon emissions by 18% when compared to a “To Code” house over a 25 year lifespan. For the current Consumer’s Energy grid, the “Improved” London house is shown to reduce projected carbon emissions by 30% when compared to the current London …

2021 Fall Engr333 Poster, Section B, Calvin University 2021 Engr Section B

ENGR 333

In 2020, residences used 21% of all final energy in the United States and were responsible for 20% of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions (henceforth referred to as carbon emissions). Habitat for Humanity for Kent County is endeavoring to design homes that reduce energy consumption, energy expenditures, and carbon emissions. They have established a goal of a “low carbon footprint build” that will minimize energy consumption and carbon emissions, both during construction and across the lifetime of the house. To accomplish this goal, Habitat for Humanity for Kent County partnered with Calvin’s ENGR 333 – Thermal System Design and asked …

2021 Fall Engr333 Poster, Section A, Gerald Darkey, Jonathan Jansma, Chris Singh, Ryan Whitney, Adam Brunsting, Adam Tjoelker, Jack Van Der Molen, Cornelius Van Liere, Derrick Bittner, William Terpstra, Matthew Winkle, Kelsey Yen, Kasen Anderson, Jack Cahalane, Samantha Krupa, James Kulaga, Chukwudubem Nweke, Nathan Holwerda, Jacob Meulink, John Stehouwer, Isaac Spackman, Moses Yang

ENGR 333

Habitat for Humanity (HFH) built a low-carbon home at 726 London Street SW. Mark Ogland-hand, a representative of HFH, connected with Professor Matthew Heun to begin a carbon study of this new home with the goals of understanding the carbon footprints of a traditional HFH home, the London home, and future improvements feasible for HFH to make in reducing the carbon emissions of their houses.

2021 Fall Engr333 Seminar Presentation, Anika Huizinga, John Stehouwer, William Terpstra, Duncan Waanders

ENGR 333

File for student presentation, given by students in the Fall 2021 class of ENGR333.

Taking The Waste Out Of Wastewater: Evaluation And Implementation Of Sustainability Measures At Base Aérea N.°5’S Wastewater Treatment Plant, Abigail Monahan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Wastewater treatment is a critical process by which the concentration of pollutants in wastewater are reduced to minimize the resulting effluent’s impact on human health and the environment. Base Aérea N.°5, an airbase located in Monte Real, Portugal, is striving to enhance their wastewater treatment methods to decrease the impact of the treated effluent on the environment. They can reduce the effluent’s impact by implementing more advanced wastewater treatment to decrease the concentration of micropollutants and pathogens in the effluent, and they can reuse the treated effluent to decrease the volume of freshwater they extract. This work seeks to evaluate …

2021 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2021 ENGR333 project focused on the sustainable housing and featured a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Kent County.

I asked the students “What is the expected carbon emissions savings of the [Habitat for Humanity] carbon footprint build house?” And “If the carbon footprint build house is not carbon-neutral, you must answer a second question: How can carbon emissions be reduced by a further 20%?”

Calvin’s PR office followed the students’ work throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, the project was featured on Calvin’s News and Stories site with an article by Matt Kucinski …

Unintended Consequences Of Air Cleaning Chemistry, Douglas B. Collins, Delphine K. Farmer

Faculty Journal Articles

Amplified interest in maintaining clean indoor air associated with the airborne transmission risks of SARS-CoV-2 have led to an expansion in the market for commercially available air cleaning systems. While the optimal way to mitigate indoor air pollutants or contaminants is to control (remove) the source, air cleaners are a tool for use when absolute source control is not possible. Interventions for indoor air quality management include physical removal of pollutants through ventilation or collection on filters and sorbent materials, along with chemically reactive processes that transform pollutants or seek to deactivate biological entities. This perspective intends to highlight the …

Final 2021 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) School Soil Sampling Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Submittal #3 [Covering Emerson Elementary, Headstart (Former Lincoln School), Headstart (Former Monroe School), & Margaret Leary Elementary], Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Final 2021 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) School Soil Sampling Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Submittal #2 (Covering Highland View Christian School, Hillcrest Elementary, Kennedy Elementary, Silver Bow Montessori, & West Elementary), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Final 2021 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) School Soil Sampling Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Submittal #1 (Covering Ramsay Elementary School), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Uranium, Lead, And Rare Earth Element Pollution In Natural Soils And Sediments, Hope Rasmussen

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metals in the environment add to the global burden of pollution, negatively impacting public health and ecosystem resilience. This study included projects regarding uranium (U), lead (Pb), and rare earth elements (REE) in natural samples, due to their known toxicity, ubiquity, and relevance in context to recent pollution trends. The first project focused on testing the potential of using a hydroxyapatite product as a remediation solution for U-contaminated groundwater and soil at an EPA Superfund site. The results showed that the U was sequestered in a highly crystalline mineral form within the solids, guiding the EPA to specify the …

How A Low-Cost Method For Cumulative Water-Sampling Shows Need For Improvement Of Legal Public-Contact Standards In The United States, Samuel C. Kessler

Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers

Across the world, it is estimated that 4.5 billion people live near water sources “impaired” for use or contact. Standards for human-interaction are established by international organizations such as the WHO, and legislative bodies from national to local levels with jurisdiction over the quality of our waterways to ensure public & environmental health. Standards are often assessed from “grab-samples” taken from a waterbody at a certain time, with a minimum number analyzed. Water-quality standards in the United States are enforced under the Clean Water Act (CWA) via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), applying to “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). …

Moving Beyond ‘More Crop Per Drop’: Insights From Two Decades Of Research On Agricultural Water Productivity, Meredith Giordano, Susanne M. Scheierling, David O. Tréguer, Hugh Turral, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Concern over increasing water scarcity has led to the introduction of the concept of agricultural water productivity and an emphasis on interventions to achieve ‘more crop per drop’. Yet, a strong debate continues on how the concept is to be defined and used. Drawing largely from the irrigation literature, the origins of the concept and its methodological developments are reviewed, and its use in applied work over two decades is discussed. Based on this analysis of conceptual and applied research, key insights into the concept’s contributions and limitations are presented, as well as opportunities for further refinements.

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2019-2020

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Contents

Introduction: Foreword • Director’s Letter • Nebraska Water Center (NWC) Overview and Timeline • In Memoriam: Kyle Hoagland

Research • Water Sciences Laboratory • Nebraska Vadose Zone Program • Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project • Water for Agriculture Project • Greeley Award • U.S. Geological Survey 104b Projects

Extension & Outreach: NWC Events • Nebraska Nitrate Initiative • Bazile Groundwater Management Area • Water and Integrated Crops Hub • Water Faculty Directory • State Legislative Funding • Water Resources Advisory Panel

Teaching: Know Your Well • Sorab Panday Spotlight • NWC Postdoc Profiles • NWC Student Intern Profiles • …

Nanomaterials In The Environment, Human Exposure Pathway, And Health Effects: A Review, Arindam Malakar, Sushil R. Kanel, Chittaranjan Ray, Daniel D. Snow, Mallikarjuna N. Nadagouda

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Nanomaterials (NMs), both natural and synthetic, are produced, transformed, and exported into our environment daily. Natural NMs annual flux to the environment is around 97% of the total and is significantly higher than synthetic NMs. However, synthetic NMs are considered to have a detrimental effect on the environment. The extensive usage of synthetic NMs in different fields, including chemical, engineering, electronics, and medicine, makes them susceptible to be discharged into the atmosphere, various water sources, soil, and landfill waste. As ever-larger quantities of NMs end up in our environment and start interacting with the biota, it is crucial to understand …

Baseflow Nitrate Dynamics Within Nested Watersheds Of An Agricultural Stream In Nebraska, Usa, Galen Richards, Troy E. Gilmore, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Tiffany Messer, Daniel D. Snow

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

There is a need to evaluate high surface nitrate concentrations across agricultural watersheds, both spatially and temporally, to increase understanding of source and timing of nitrogen loads in streams and rivers. Bazile Creek is a high-nitrate stream originating in the agriculturally intensive Bazile Groundwater Management Area of Eastern Nebraska, USA. It is a gaining stream that receives groundwater with high nitrate concentrations originating from nonpoint sources. The objective of this study was to determine spatial and temporal variability of baseflow nitrate concentrations in Bazile Creek and its tributaries and to relate this variability to watershed characteristics. Surface-water nitrate samples were …

Surveillance Of Plasticizers, Bisphenol A, Steroids And Caffeine In Surface Water Of River Ganga And Sundarban Wetland Along The Bay Of Bengal: Occurrence, Sources, Estrogenicity Screening And Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment, Paromita Chakraborty, Nancy W. Shappell, Moitraiyee Mukhopadhyay, Sathaporn Onanong, Daniel D. Snow

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The transboundary River Ganga serves as a conduit for meltwater from the Himalayas and is a major freshwater source for two thirds of Indian population before emptying into the Sundarban Delta, the largest estuary in the Bay of Bengal. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) such as phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and bisphenol A (BPA) used as organic plastic additives can pollute the aquatic environment receiving plastic litter. Hence, we have investigated these EDCs in water samples from Ganga and Sundarban wetland of India. Since these compounds exhibit estrogenic potential, we have further measured steroids and evaluated the estrogenic activity (estradiol equivalents, …

Transmission Routes Of The Microbiome And Resistome From Manure To Soil And Lettuce, Yuepeng Sun, Daniel D. Snow, Harkamal Walia, Xu Li

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The land application of animal manure can introduce manure microbiome and resistome to croplands where food crops are grown. The objective of this study was to characterize the microbiome and resistome on and in the leaves of lettuce grown in manured soil and identify the main transmission routes of microbes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from soil to the episphere and endosphere of lettuce. Shotgun metagenomic results show that manure application significantly altered the composition of the microbiome and resistome of surface soil. SourceTracker analyses indicate that manure and original soil were the main source of the microbiome and resistome …

Policy Changes Impact In Deforestation Of The Brazilian Amazon, Iara Silva Jaques

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since discovered and inhabited, the Brazilian Amazon has been explored and impacted negatively by human activities. The conversion of forest to pastureland and farmland, as well as mining activities, road opening, wood and ore extraction and fire are historically the main causes of environmental damages and forest loss in the region. This project overviewed the latest changes in environmental policy and practices towards environmental protection conducted by the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, since he took office in 2019, and analyzed the progress of deforestation in the recent years under the new federal administration. Geographic Information System analysis were used to …

Environmental Hygiene For Covid-19: It's All About The Mask, Daniel B. Oerther, Mona Shattell

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Global Air Quality Trekkers: Nandi Clean Kitchen Study, Samantha Dykhuis, Stephanie Schiavo, Avalin Senefeld

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Indoor air pollution is a widespread environmental health challenge sub-Saharan Africa and is the leading cause of premature death in many sub-Saharan African countries. This pollution is primarily caused by the burning of biomass fuels inside an enclosed kitchen in order to provide heat for cooking. Global Air Quality Trekkers is an undergraduate engineering team within the EPICS department at Purdue that began in fall 2016. Our objective is to create a kitchen design that utilizes natural ventilation to mitigate the amount of air pollutants present in these kitchens, specifically in the Nandi community of Western Kenya. This year, our …

Satellite-Based Monitoring Of Irrigation Water Use: Assessing Measurement Errors And Their Implications For Agricultural Water Management Policy, T. Foster, Taro Mieno, Nicholas Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Reliable accounting of agricultural water use is critical for sustainable water management. However, the majority of agricultural water use is not monitored, with limited metering of irrigation despite increasing pressure on both groundwater and surface water resources in many agricultural regions worldwide. Satellite remote sensing has been proposed as a low-cost and scalable solution to fill widespread gaps in monitoring of irrigation water use in both developed and developing countries, bypassing the technical, socioeconomic, and political challenges that to date have constrained in situ metering. In this paper, we show through a systematic meta-analysis that the relative accuracy of different …

Risk Assessment In Waste Sampling Activity For A Selected Food Industry, Razali Nurul Syazreen

Student Works (2020-2029)

Waste sampling is one of the main activities during environmental audit. This activity has been estimated as a non-risky activity and lead to inadequate risk assessment in the activity. The purpose of this study is to create a safer workplace for enforcement body in general and DOE officer in specific during waste sampling activity. Main objectives are to identify the hazards, further assess the hazards and determine the control measure to reduce the hazards. Observation and on-the-job training have been conducted to three food industry located in Shah Alam to identify the hazards. Structured surveys were conducted with 293 participants …

Sediment Outflow Under Simulated Rainfall Conditions With Varying Geotechnical Properties, Pranjay Joshi, Akhilesh Kumar, P. V. Singh, Jahangeer Jahangeer

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The vulnerability of soil toward erosion might be reduced by having a good vegetative cover over the soil surface, slope improvement, and improving soil properties so that it is not easily detached and transported. However, the establishment of proper vegetative cover is a long process because it takes time for seeds to germinate and attain maturity. As an alternative approach, if soil resistance was increased by increasing the shear strength of soil against erosive forces offered by eroding agents, the soil system would become capable of withstanding the detachment of its particles on the application of shear stress. To achieve …

Water Scarcity And Fish Imperilment Driven By Beef Production, Brian D. Richter, Dominique Bartak, Peter Caldwell, Kyle Fankel Davis, Peter Debaere, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Tianshu Li, Landon Marston, Ryan Mcmanamay, Mesfin Mekonnen, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Richard R. Rushforth, Tara J. Troy

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Human consumption of freshwater is now approaching or surpassing the rate at which water sources are being naturally replenished in many regions, creating water shortage risks for people and ecosystems. Here we assess the impact of human water uses and their connection to water scarcity and ecological damage across the United States, identify primary causes of river dewatering and explore ways to ameliorate them. We find irrigation of cattle-feed crops to be the greatest consumer of river water in the western United States, implicating beef and dairy consumption as the leading driver of water shortages and fish imperilment in the …

Assessment Of An Automated Calibration Of The Sebal Algorithm To Estimate Dry-Season Surface-Energy Partitioning In A Forest–Savanna Transition In Brazil, Leonardo Laipelt, Anderson Luis Ruhoff, Ayan Santos Fleischmann, Rafael Henrique Bloedow Kayser, Elisa De Mello Kich, Humberto Ribeiro Da Rocha, Christopher Michael Usher Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) provides a strong connection between surface energy and hydrological cycles. Advancements in remote sensing techniques have increased our understanding of energy and terrestrial water balances as well as the interaction between surface and atmosphere over large areas. In this study, we computed surface energy fluxes using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) algorithm and a simplified adaptation of the CIMEC (Calibration using Inverse Modeling at Extreme Conditions) process for automated endmember selection. Our main purpose was to assess and compare the accuracy of the automated calibration of the SEBAL algorithm using two different sources of meteorological …

An Analysis Of Tinker Air Force Base Thermal Spray Hazardous Waste Stream From 2003-2019 And Its Potential Reclamation, Amy E. Silverbush

Theses and Dissertations

The disposal of hazardous waste threatens the environment and human health. However, certain hazardous wastes can be recycled or reclaimed to alleviate environmental and financial impacts associated with its disposal and resource demand reduction. A hazardous powder produced by the United States Air Force stems from aircraft maintenance and is composed of metals and ceramics, called thermal spray. This waste can be purchased by an industrial recycler if the waste is composed of valuable metals. Historic data from the depot-level maintenance base Tinker Air Force Base initiated an analysis of annual thermal spray hazardous waste disposal fees, which combined with …