Description
and Abstracts of REU Projects for Summer 2002
TITLE: Changes
in the Tar Creek Watershed Mine Discharges - Chemical
and Hydrological Charactertistics
Abstract: Northeastern
Oklahoma was home to massive lead and zinc mining
operations from early 1900's until 1970. The ore was
mined from a near-surface aquifer, and when mining
stopped, water was allowed to fill the mine voids.
In 1979, poor quality mine water began discharging
to the surface. The United States Geological Survey
(USGS) conducted a water quality study of this area
in 1983. I revisited eight of the original USGS sampling
locations and identified other discharges not sampled
by USGS. Sampling was conducted in June and July.
Grab samples were analyzed in the lab for metals,
anions, and cation, and physical parameters were measured
in the field. This study will determine changes in
water quality of mine water discharges compared to
historical data and biogeochemical changes in the
mines.
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TITLE: Development
of a Monitoring System for Compactors for Increased
Efficiency and Reliability of Construction Processes
Abstract:
TITLE: Development
of a New Method for Measurement of Henry’s Law
Constants
Abstract: In this project, a new method
of measuring Henry’s Law Constants was developed
and tested. The method is optimized for low-volatility
compounds, and makes use of a specially-designed countercurrent-flow
air stripping tower. Henry’s Law Constant values
are determined based on the equations of countercurrent
mass transfer. The countercurrent packed tower was
constructed during this first half of the project
period, and then it was used to measure the Henry’s
Law Constants of isopropanol and MTBE. Experimentally-determined
results for these compounds were found to agree well
with reported values.
Publications/Presentations: J. Caires,
M. Suzuki, S. Velmurugan, T. Kibbey "Measurement
of Henry’s Law Constants of Low Volatility Compounds
Using a Countercurrent Air Stripping Method,"
in preparation for Journal of Environmental Engineering.
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TITLE: Performance
Enhancements For The ADCIRC Hydrodynamic Model
Abstract: Two
aspects of the ADCIRC hydrodynamic model are addressed
in this research work. First, the predominant I/O
mode is ASCII, which is very inefficient in terms
of time and space, so file I/O using the NetCDF paradigm
was implemented. It is shown that I/O times can be
reduced by up to 1/2, depending on the application,
and that file sizes are reduced by 2/3. Second, the
parallel version of ADCIRC was benchmarked on a cluster
of Linux workstations (1 GHz, Pentium III processors).
It is shown that speedup is nearly ideal through 16
processors, and that the performance is slightly better
than a cluster of 500 MHz Sun Workstations. [top]
TITLE: Cold
Mix Recycled Asphalt
Abstract: There
is little data demonstrating that partial depth cold
in-place recycled asphalt is an effective material
for use in paved roads. Furthermore, when testing
and collection of data is completed the question arises
as to the comparability of laboratory results to actual
results seen in the field. An investigation answers
these questions.
To determine the properties of partial
depth cold in-place recycled asphalt representative
properties of the asphalt were tested. The stability
of the asphalt was examined utilizing induced damage.
Tensile strength was another property studied, in
this testing ASTM standards were utilized and dry
and moisture damaged specimens were examined. Finally,
rutting potential was considered as an APA guided
rutting potential test was run. Considering the comparability
of laboratory and field prepared specimens, field
prepared cored samples were obtained from a partial
depth cold in-place recylcing site in Lebanon, Kansas.
These samples were tested using the same methods as
testing completed on laboratory prepared specimen
and the results compared.
Based on the above analysis the following
conclusions were drawn: When compared to Oklahoma
Department of Transportation standards partial depth
cold in-place recycled asphalt is not effective as
a top course asphalt. However, the material may prove
to be an acceptable base course with further testing.
And, comparison of results indicates that laboratory
and field prepared specimens are comparable. [top]
TITLE: Effects
Of A Second Waste Water Treatment Discharge On Do
Deficit and Water Quality In The South Canadian River
Abstract: Norman,
Oklahoma plans to build a second wastewater treatment
plant before the year 2020 to accommodate future growth.
The Canadian River and the Little River are being
considered for the plant's discharge. Discharging
to the Canadian River will have higher initial economic
costs and lower adverse environmental effects than
to the Little River. Y% is the maximum expected
change of key nuturients in the Canadian River while
Little River concentrations are expected to change
by Z%. There is significant risk of depleting
the amount of dissolved oxygen in Little River due
to the BOD content of the wastewater. Using the Streeter-Phelps
dissolved oxygen sag model, the cirtical value for
dissolved oxygen was calculated at T mg/L.
There is minimal risk of depleting the dissolved oxygen
in the Canadian River due to a high re-aeration rate.
Economic losses accompany discharge to the Little
River due to the contamination of Norman's drinking
water supply. Wastewater should therefore be discharged
into the Canadian River instead of the Little River.
Note: Variables
are in bold. These are values that are currently being
determined through data analysis. [top]
TITLE: Nanoporous
Materials As Advanced Adsorption Media
Abstract: Traditional
adsorbents, such as activated carbon, are not efficient
at adsorbing polar organic molecules. Examples of
difficult to adsorb polar oranic molecules are pharmaceuticals
like acetaminophen and low molecular weight alcohols
such as butanol. Even though activated carbon is known
for its large amount surface area per mass, we hypothesize
that the reason for poor adsorption of polar organic
molecules is that activated carbon's surface is not
polar enough. Our goal was to synthesize a more efficient
adsorbent with increased surface polarity but similar
surface area. To synthesize an adosrbent with increased
polarity we first used microemulsion templated acrylic
polymers. Then once completed, we tested the adsorption
of various alcohols (C4 - C7)
on our porous polymer matrices. The results indicate
that the adsorption of the porous polymers was very
poor compared to that of activated carbons. The two
potential reasons for finding poor adsorption with
our porous polymers are that A) the surface was too
polar or B) there was insufficient surface area. We
are currently investigating these possibiolities.
We are also investigating other types of alternative
adsorbents such as coated alumina and silica gel.
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TITLE: Development
of a High Speed Dynamic Method for the Measurement
of the Capillary Pressure-Saturation Relationship
Abstract: This
study evaluates the criteria for establishing an accurate
capillary pressure-saturation relationship from non-equilibirum
data, thus shortening the length of the traditional
process. A pressure cell holds the saturated sand,
and applied pressure causes water to drain from the
sand into a vertical tube where the height is measured.
The height of water does not equilibrate at each pressure
increase. Instead, the slope of the height is given
a threshold value that, when realed, allows an increase
in pressure. From corrected height and pressure data,
the capillary pressure and saturation are calculated.
The best relationship was calculated from a run with
a time interval of 3 min. between increases in pressure,
and 1*10-8 for the height slope.
This experiment was completed in approximately 3 hours,
as compared to earlier runs that lasted 8-14 hours.
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TITLE: The Environmental
Impacts of the Military Herbicide "Agent Blue":
A Case Study
Abstract: "Agent
Blue", which consists of cacodylic acid, contains
such high concentrations of arsenic that the question
becomes whether or not there is a relationship between
the concentrations of arsenic present in the soil,
fish, sediment and vegetation. This research used
existing data collected from the Hardstand 7 site
at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, to do a statistical
analysis to determine environmental impacts of the
herbicide. Several databases and GIS modeling were
used to interpret the results so that strong and reliable
conclusions can be drawn. First, there is evidence
to suggest that there is evidence of bioaccumulation
in vegetation, silt and soil to which agent blue was
applied. This soil would need to be tested through
sampling again, but will most likely show above average
levels of arsenic even today. Secondly, the Bluegill
Spotted Sunfish and water that was tested show slight
traces of arsenic, but the levels are not at a point
that they might be considered dangerous. In order
to reach further conclusions, a logical next step
would be to collect more data for environmental sampling.
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TITLE: Effects
of the Addition of Wastewater Effluent and the Consequential
Erosion and Suspended Sediment Deposition on the Microinvertebrates
in the Central Little River, Norman, Oklahoma
Abstract: By combining
laboratory and field techniques, the predicted influence
of wastewater effluent on the Little River in Norman,
Oklahoma was determined. The hypothesis for the research
was that the addition of the wastewater effluent would
have a detrimental effect on the Little River ecosystem.
Through the measurement of in-situ parameters, the
physical and biochemical baseline conditions for the
Little River were established. To determine the effects
of an additional 4.5 million gallons per day (MGD)
on the physical habitat of the river and the macroinvertebrate
species that reside in it, habitat and bioassessments
were conducted to establish an ecological background.
With the assistance of other scientific literature,
possible theories were made as to how the additional
effluent will affect the Little River ecosystem. It
was concluded that the discharge will have a negative
effect on the river's ecosystem by changing the habitat
structure and the species diversity and richness in
the impacted river.
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