Further enhancement of energy generation is desired for practical application of anaerobic microbial systems such as microbial fuel cells (MFC) and anaerobic digesters (AD). A possible approach is to enhance the ability of microbial communities to transfer electron extracellularly in the form of electrical current. Critical to perform direct extracellular...
While most biological materials are insulating in nature, efficient extracellular electron transfer is a critical property of biofilms associated with microbial electrochemical systems and several microorganisms are capable of establishing conductive aggregates and biofilms. Though construction of these conductive microbial networks is an intriguing and important phenomenon in both natural...
Biodiesel has gained a significant amount of attention over the past decade as an environmentally friendly fuel that is capable of being utilized by a conventional diesel engine. However, the biodiesel production process generates glycerol-containing waste streams which have become a disposal issue for biodiesel plants and generated a surplus...
Oregon's nursery and greenhouse industry has ranked the first in the State's agricultural for 18 years. The majority of nursery sales from the Pacific Northwest come from Oregon. Due to data limitations, empirical study of the Oregon nursery industry is rare. The present dissertation consists of three essays that analyze...