The rapid accumulation of plastic waste in landfill, waterways and oceans is becoming a critical problem, one that current recycling technologies are not capable of solving. Recent proposed approaches in the depolymerization of waste plastics employ an Olefin-Intermediate Process (OIP), where feedstocks like polyolefin plastics are ‘activated,’ producing an olefin...
Oregon strawberries are known for their high quality, intense flavor, sweetness, and rich red color. With optimal weather conditions, including rainy and mild seasons, Oregon has one of the best strawberry farming environments. Amongst the factors for a suitable strawberry farming environment, soil significantly influences strawberry growth and quality. The...
This study explores an underground museum located in Pendleton, Oregon. Using the method of Critical Discourse Analysis, I identify the ways Whiteness and Chinese as “the Other” are visually and verbally depicted. This study uses a qualitative approach to identify the ways both groups are presented on the tour. The...
The lagoons spanning Alaska’s Beaufort Sea coast provide a unique habitat for arctic wildlife. These lagoons and the food webs they support face extreme seasonality with nine months of ice cover followed by a spring thaw that pulses a large amount of freshwater and nutrients into the lagoons. Bacteria link...
Modification of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) by altering the sizes of the anode and the cathode, or their interaction with the liquid stream affects the performance of the MEC, but it remains difficult to quantify how much each change will contribute to the overall performance. Through this study, a method...
United States Department of Agriculture-Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) guidelines for beef jerky processing support producers' ability to satisfy the performance standard requirements for achieving a 5-log reduction in Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7. The first compliance guide for jerky processors was created in response to several Salmonella outbreaks...
Attributional and consequential life cycle assessments are useful in evaluating the environmental impacts of a process, product, or decision. Both types of life cycle assessments differ however in their scope and their ability to answer specific questions. In order to fully understand and compare the environmental impacts of a sugarcane...
Population growth driven sustainability issues, including the food resource issue, are pressing problems in need of attention. The goal of the present thesis is to examine the ability of an electric non-thermal plasma based microreactor to destroy ethylene, a known plant hormone responsible for losses in the range of 20%...