This thesis studies connections between disorder type in tree polymers and the branching random walk and presents an application to swarm site-selection. Chapter two extends results on tree polymers in the infinite volume limit to critical strong disorder. Almost sure (a.s.) convergence in the infinite volume limit is obtained for...
Airports are required by the Federal Aviation Administration to perform deicing of aircraft pavement during icy conditions. Until recently, there were no discharge controls in place and deicing fluid contaminated nearby water bodies from storm water runoff. EPA regulations now require airports to collect the deicing fluid and meet discharge...
Stem rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis subsp. graminicola, can cause yield reductions exceeding 90% on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) crops grown for seed if not treated with fungicide in the spring. There is evidence that late-spring stem rust epidemics are initiated by populations that survived the winter....
Anaerobic digestion is a microbially mediated process by which organic matter is decomposed in the absence of oxygen. The end products of anaerobic digestion include treated sludge and biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, which can be recovered and used for energy generation. The majority of wastewater treatment...
This project determined how the presence of environmental biofilms on sand, granular activated carbon and biochar affected the sorption capacity and desorption quantity of copper, zinc, nutrients and organic carbon from stormwater. These contaminants have harmful and toxic environmental impacts on aquatic life, can lead to eutrophication of surface waters,...
Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) has recently appeared as a promising approach for removing nitrogen from landfill leachates because it requires less oxygen and no organic carbon compared to traditional nitrification-denitrification system, and it produces low sludge volumes, thereby reducing operating and biological sludge disposal costs by over 60%. Anammox bacteria...
Incompatibility between Fenton’s Reagents and a potassium dichromate COD test provides interference that prevent accurate measurements of the concentration of organics from oxidized samples. Several treatment options were tested to remove this interference. Oxidation of reagents was eliminated as a potential method for removal of interference due to sample contamination....
Stormwater picks up pollutants as it flows over impervious surfaces before ending up in water resources. Best management practices are implemented to remove pollutants from stormwater. Puralytics manufactures a stormwater treatment product called the LilyPad. The LilyPad consists of a titanium dioxide nanoparticle photocatalyst immobilized on polypropylene substrate. Treatment of...
Anaerobic co-digestion of fats, oils, and grease (FOG) for increased methane (CH4)
production has been of increasing interest to municipal wastewater treatment plants
(WWTP) due to the potential economic benefit of using the produced biogas for
cogeneration of energy. FOG loading increase must be done carefully to mitigate the
risk...
Traditional robots have a long history in nuclear-related work because their integration decreases risk to humans in dangerous environments. Soft robotics is one promising new branch of traditional robotics with proposed applications in industry, medicine, and society. Collaborators from the Robotics mLab at Oregon State University (OSU) are currently working...