enviro news final newsletter 2005.pdf2 faculty lars t. angenent ph.d., 1998 iowa state university...
TRANSCRIPT
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
MAY 2005
Vol. 5
Environmental Engineering Science Program at Washington University in St. Louis
www.env.wustl.edu
INSIDE
Faculty Listing ....................... 2Students.............................3-5Alumni..........................4Program Activities...............6-10Project Highlights..........11-19
The growth spurt of the Environmental Engineering
Science Program continues - we have critical mass in both the
Air and Water Quality Groups, and a sizeable number of
graduate students. The student body remains diverse, and we
are attracting students from different nooks and corners of the
United States (incoming class had students from University of
Florida, Cornell, Stanford, and Miami University) and several
different countries worldwide. In addition to their academic
duties and work on their research projects, the students
remain active through the Environmental Engineering Student
Association (ENVESA; see details on page 3). The quality of
students is excellent - and several are winning competitive
National Awards.
As we proceed to develop our next 10 year Strategic
Plan, we have begun to define the emphasis areas in the Air
and Water Quality Groups. The Aerosols and Air Quality
Group studies topical issues over a multitude of scales - from
the formation, growth and control aspects of particles, to their
measurement at sources and in the atmosphere, to their global
transport. This holistic look enables us to address the “life
history” of an aerosol - from its inception to its eventual fate
(exposure or use as an useful product). The Water Quality
Group involves several core disciplines and focuses on the
application of scientific
principles to treatment and
remediation, and an
examination of aquatic
systems over a multitude of
scales. The group has
extensions and collaborative projects in water resources,
aerosols and air quality and energy related problems. The
Sustainable Technology group is focusing its efforts on
environmentally benign processing, and the NSF Engineering
Research Center on Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis
(CEBC, see page 18) has resulted in the initiation of several
projects ranging from safe reactor design, development of
concepts of reaction engineering for new clean processes,
sensor development and hydrogen production.
I look forward to sharing with you elements of the
Environmental Engineering Science Program Strategic Plan in
the next Newsletter. We value your opinions and comments, so
please keep them coming!
Pratim Biswas
The Stifel and Quinette Jens Professor
Director, Environmental Engineering Science
ENVIR NEWS
HCRAESER YTILAUQ RIA DNA SLOSOREAsiuoL .tS ni ytisrevinU notgnihsaW
elacsonaN elacsoseM elacsageM
:shtgnertS selacs lareves revo seussi ytilauq ria dna losorea sserdda:sisahpmE selcitrap )onan( enifartlu
htworG ,noitamroFlortnoC &
erehpsomtA tropsnarT labolG
tnemerusaeM losoreA
:saerA noitacilppAygolonhceT elcitraponaN -
scitamrofnI latnemnorivnE ,ytilauQ riA tneibmA -lortnoC elcitraP enifartlU -
)secruoS etanretlA ,noitsubmoC( ygrenE -enicidemonaN ,ygolonhcetonaN latnemnorivnE -
ytisrevinU notgnihsaW ta hcraeseR ytilauQ retaWni sessecorp lacigoloib dna lacimehc fo gnidnatsrednu gnicnavdA
smetsys citauqa dereenigne dna larutan
ot snoitacilppAsmetsyS latnemnorivnEretawetsaW dna etsaW lacigoloiB•
tnemtaerT
tnemtaerT retaW gniknirD•
noitaidemeR latnemnorivnE•noitaidemeroiB–
tropsnarT dna etaF–
tnemtaerT etsaW suodrazaH•
ytilauQ retaW elacs-dehsretaW•
senilpicsiD eroC
yrtsimehC citauqA
ygolonhcetoiB latnemnorivnE
ygoloiborciM latnemnorivnE
sisylanA ataD laitapsoeG hcaorppA hcraeseR
ot selpicnirp cifitneics ylppA•noitaidemer dna tnemtaert
morf smetsys citauqa eziretcarahC•selacs ralucelom ot cipocsorcam
dna lacimehc fo smsinahcem etadiculE•.sessecorp lacigoloib
snoisnetxE hcraeseR dna hcaertuO
secruoseR retaWytilibaniatsuS•
yciloP•
ytilauQ riA dna slosoreAslosoreaoiB•
slateM yvaeH•
detaleR-ygrenEslleC leuF laiborciM•noitartseuqeS nobraC•
2
FACULTY
Lars T. Angenent
Ph.D., 1998
Iowa State University
Assistant Professor, Department of
Chemical Engineering.
Molecular Biology for Environmental
Engineering, Bioaerosols, Anaerobic
Waste Treatment, Biological
Wastewater Treatment
Richard L. Axelbaum
Ph.D.,1988
University of California
Associate Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering.
Nanoparticle Synthesis,
Combustion
Pratim Biswas
Ph.D., 1985
California Institute of Technology
Stiffel and Quinette Jens Professor.
Director, Environmental Engineering
Science Program.
Aerosol Science and Engineering,
Air Quality and Pollution Control
Da-Ren Chen
Ph.D., 1997
University of Minnesota
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering.
Particle Measurement and Instrumentation,
Particle Filtration and Separation, Aerosol
Dynamics Modeling, Aerosol Science and
Technology
Milorad P. Dudukovic
Ph.D., 1972
Illinois Institute of Technology
Department Chairman, Chemical
Engineering.
Laura and William Jens Professor of
Environmental Engineering
Daniel Giammar
Ph.D., 2001
California Institute of Technology
Assistant Professor,
Civil Engineering.
Aquatic Chemistry, Water Quality
Engineering, Fate and Transport of
Inorganic Contaminants
Rudolf B. Husar
Ph.D., 1970
University of Minnesota
Director, Center for Air Pollution and
Trends Analysis, (CAPITA), Profes-
sor, Mechanical Engineering.
Environmental Informatics, Aerosol
Pattern and Trend Analysis
Maxine Lipeles
J.D., 1979
Harvard University
Professor, College of Law
Environmental Law
Jay R. Turner
D.Sc., 1993
Washington University
Associate Professor, Chemical
Engineering.
Air Quality Management
Brian A. Wrenn
Ph.D., 1994
U. of Illinois
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering.
Bioremediation Processes, Soil,
Sediment, Groundwater Treatment
Stephan Falke D.Sc., 1999 - Washington University,
Mechanical Engineering Department, Research Assistant
Professor, Air quality data analysis, environmental informa-
tion systems
Charles A. Buescher M.S., 1961- Washington University
Senior Professor, Water Quality
H. G. Schwartz Ph.D., 1966 - California Institute of
Technology, Senior Professor
R e s e a r c h & A f f i l i a t e d F a c u l t y
3
STUDENTS
ENVESA
2004/2005 ENVESA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President: James Noel
Vice Pres.: Claire Farnsworth
Secretary: Kuk Cho
Treasurer: Eric Kettleson
Advisor: Dr. Daniel Giammar
Left to right, back row: Trent Stober (MWEA President), Zhengki Li, Daniel
Giammar, Biplabl Muhkerjee, Tom Ratzki (MWEA Student Activities Chair),
Mohamed Dahab (WEF Vice President) Front row: James Noel, Rebecca
Hoffman, and Sara Dryden
The 2004-2005 school year was an outstanding yearfor EnvESA, the Environmental Engineering Student Associa-tion, with members participating in new activities and receivingmany awards. EnvESA’s purpose is to provide a forum tointeract with individuals interested in environmental scienceoutside the classroom and the research laboratory. This yearthe organization has been focused on becoming more involvedin activities outside of the university and making connectionswith working professionals.
The beginning of the academic year was very produc-tive, with several EnvESA members presenting their researchat the Mid-American Environmental Engineering Conferenceheld at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in September.Washington University had very strong showing at the confer-ence and one EnvESA member, Rebecca Hoffmann, wasawarded the MAEEC award for best presentation. Throughout the year, other EnvESA members presented their researchat conferences such as the American Association for AerosolResearch (AAAR), Air and Waste Management Association(AWMA), American Chemical Society (ACS), and the WaterEnvironment Federation Technology (WEFTEC) conferences.James Noel was nominated for the Richard A. Glenn Awardfor Fuel Chemistry at the ACS conference. Rafael McDonaldreceived the prestigious AWMA Milton Feldstein MemorialAward at the Indianapolis Annual Conference. While SarahDryden and Bukky Akinyemi swept the Missouri WaterEnvironment Association’s Ronald F. Layton Student Scholar-ships at the annual MWEA meeting.
EnvESA continues with its community service commit-
ment by maintaining an Adopt-A-Highway section of I-170 between the Delmar and Ladue exits. Dr. DanGiammar, EnvESA’s faculty advisor, and EnvESA mem-bers helped middle-school students learn about laboratorytechniques in “Moving and Shaking: An Introduction toEngineering,” coordinated as a Learning Lab through theGifted Resources Council. EnvESA members have alsovolunteered in Forest Park’s Riverkeepers to help main-tain the park’s water quality. In addition, members will behelping Joe Darmody as judges at the Greater St. LouisScience Fair in April.
During the school year, the student chapter of Air andWaste Management Association (AWMA) continued to growand prosper. Within the past six months, student membershipincreased to 14 members, up from 11. Several EnvESAmembers attend the AWMA monthly meetings, where theyhave a chance to socialize with professionals and enjoy both agood meal and an informative seminar. In addition, severalstudents will be presenting their work in Minneapolis at theNational AWMA conference this June.
The student chapter of Water Environment Federationreceived their official certificate and plaque from the Federa-tion and was presented by the chair of student activities, TomRatzki, this past January. Student membership has nowreached 14, and is continually growing. WEF student mem-bers overwhelmingly outnumbered (5 to 1) the WEF studentsfrom other area schools at the annual MWEA meeting lastMarch.
For the first time ever, EnvESA reached its fundraisinggoal for the year through a dinner cruise raffle and a car washover the summer. Some social activities included numerouspotlucks, an amazing Christmas party, and other gatherings.Our co-ed intramural volleyball team went very defeated thispast semester (0-4), but good fun was had by all.
EnvESA meets biweekly and have frequently includedspeakers discussing job outlooks and careers, AWMA, andWEF activities. EnvESA has also had the pleasure of one-on-one conversations with Environmental Engineering SeminarSpeakers. Plans are in the works for an Earth Day openhouse with guest speakers, as well as student and com-pany presentations.For more informa-tion about EnvESAor any of the afore-mentioned activities,please contactEnvESA [email protected].
4
OUR NEWEST ALUMNI
ALUMNI
2004 Graduates
· Neil Deardorff
· Samuel Fisher
Dr. Gary Logsdon, 2004 Kappe Lecturer,
Washington University Graduate
· Zhengkai Li
· Ayano Ito
Dr. Gary Logsdon, D.Sc.
‘71, was selected as the
Kappe Lecturer in 2004.
He visited the University
and presented a stimulating
talk on “Avoiding Water-
borne Disease Outbreaks
by Understanding Prior
Outbreaks” (http://
www.env.wustl.edu/
Seminars/Abstracts/
2004Kappe.pdf) on
September 17, 2004. Gary
Logsdon started his
distingushed career as a
Commissioned Officer in
the U.S. Public Health
Service in Cincinnati where he researched drinking water.
During his tenure with the Public Health Service, Logsdon
returned to Washington University to obtain his doctoral
degree. After completing his educational studies, he returned
to the Public Health Service and in 1989, he helped develop
the U.S. Environmental Agency’s Surface Water Treatment
Rule. After 26 years of work in the Public Health Service,
Gary retired and started a second career as a consulting
engineer with Black & Veatch. Here he worked on pilot plant
water filtration studeis and worked as a Principle Investigator
for the American Water Works Association Research
Foundation. This project produced the best-selling report on
‘Filter Maintenance and Operations Guidance’, in the history
of the AWWARF.
Dr. Logsdon has received several professional honors,
including; the Civil Engineering Academy of Distinguished
Alumni from University of Missouri, A.P. Black Research
Award, American Water Works Association, USEPA
Engineering of the Year, National Society of Professional
Engineers, Oustanding Service Medal, and Commendation
Medal from the U.S. Public Health Service.
CLASS OF 1964
OLYMPIC TORCH RUN
2004 KAPPE LECTURE
Left to Right, back row: T. Stumph, F. Verde, D. Brooman, C. Gillespie,
G. Schillinger, G. Brower, E. Lee, B. Benson, O. Chicoineau, J. Coyne,
E. Theiss, P. Moore, E. Edgerley Jr., N. Burbank Jr. Middle row: J. Buzzell Jr.,
DW Ryckman, M. Crowe, J. Goeppner, C. Lue-Hing, J. Kumagai, G. Arnold,
C. Buescher Jr. Front row: T. Popowchak, H. Roy, J. O’Rourke, H. Tomlinson,
D. Kantawala, R. Rock, R. Skrinde, and H. Wood
The campus of Washington University was the site of the 1904 Olympics,
and this past summer the Olympic Torch was carried through campus
enroute to the site of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Pictured here are
Achariya Suriyawong, doctoral student; Olympic Torch Bearer; Chancel-
lor Mark Wrighton; Prakash Kumar, DSc 2005; and Joong-hyuk Kim,
visiting scholar, AAQRL.
5
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES 2004
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIPS
Charles & Gayle Leben with sponsored students,
Prakash Kumar and Sarah Dryden.
2004 RECIPIENTS
Biplab Muhkerjee Charles Buescher Jr. ScholarshipHui Zheng Charles & Marlene Buescher Scholarship &
Cecil Lue Hing ScholarshipT.C. Hsiao Forest & Patricia McGrath ScholarshipJingkun Jiang Sverdrup Scholarship and
Ed Edgerly ScholarshipChris Hogan Henry G. Schwartz Scholarship and
Paul B. Hodges Memorial ScholarshipErik Pitoniak Otis, Dorothy & Bryce Sproul ScholarshipJennifer Garlock Henry & Marjorie Reitz ScholarshipSarah Dryden Leben Family Scholarship,
ENVIRSAN Scholarship
Rafael McDonald received the prestigious Milton Feldstein Memorial
Award from the Air and Waste Management Association President at the
97th Annual Meeting held in Indianapolis, IN in June 2004. Rafael, a
doctoral student in the Program also won the First Prize in their Poster
Paper Competition.
HONORS & AWARDS
Congratulations to Seniors Carley Schaffer and Lance
Moen who just won two awards for their entry in the
WERC Environmental Design Contest held at New Mexico
State University. Their design for a system to remove
arsenic and nitrate from drinking water won awards for
Best Conceptualization of Design and Most Output per
Unit Team Member. The design competition included 34
teams from 22 different universities. The design contest
involved a written report, oral and poster presentations,
and the construction and demonstration of a bench-scale
unit. The project was supervised by Dr. Daniel
Giammar.
AEESP DISTINGUISHED DOCTORAL THESIS AWARD
Dr. Pramod Kulkarni, Doctoral Student in the Aerosol
and Air Quality Research Laboratory working under the
guidance of Dr. Pratim Biswas won the American Asso-
ciation for Environmental Engineering Science Professors
2004 CH2MHill Outstanding Distinguished Doctoral
Dissertation Award.
WERC ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN CONTEST
6
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES 2004
REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
Angenent L. T., Sonnenburg J. and Gordon, J.
I. “Getting a grip on things: how do communi-
ties of bacterial symbionts become estab-
lished in our intestine?,” Nature Immunology,
Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 569-573 (2004).
Angenent L. T., Karim K., Al-Dahhan M. H.,
Wrenn B. A. and Domíguez-Espinosa R..
“Production of bioenergy and biochemicals
from industrial and agricultural wastewater,”
TRENDS in Biotechnology, Vol. 22, No. 9, pp.
477-485 (2004).
Kelley S. T., Thiesen U., Angenent L. T., St.
Amand, A. and Pace N. R. “Molecular
analysis of shower curtain biofilm microbes,”
Applied and Environmental Microbiology,
Vol. 70, No. 7, pp. 4187-4192 (2004).
Angenent L. T., Sung S. and Raskin L. “The
formation of granules and Methanosaeta
fibres in anaerobic migrating blanket reactor
(AMBR),” Environmental Microbiology, Vol.
6, No. 4, pp. 315-322 (2004).
Sun, Z., Axelbaum, R.L. and Davis, R.W., “A
Sectional Model for Investigating
Microcontamination in a Rotating Disk CVD
Reactor,” Journal of Aerosol Science and
Technology 38 1161-1170 (2004).
Sun, Z., Axelbaum, R.L. and Huertas, J.I.,
“Monte Carlo Simulation of Multicomponent
Aerosols Undergoing Simultaneous Coagula-
tion and Condensation,” Journal of Aerosol
Science and Technology, 38 963-971 (2004).
Sunderland, P.B., Urban, D.L., Stocker, D.P.,
Chao, B.-H. and Axelbaum, R.L., “Sooting
Limits of Microgravity Spherical Diffusion
Flames in Oxygen-Enriched Air and Diluted
Fuel,” Combustion Science and Technology,
176 2143-2164 (2004).
Kulkarni P., Dutari G., Biswas P. and Haught,
R.: “Gravity settling characteristics of
Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in aqueous
suspension using in situ static light scatter-
ing”, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemi-
cal and Engineering Aspects, Vol.233 (1-3),
(2004).
Kommu S., Khomami B. and Biswas P.:
“Simulation of aerosol dynamics and trans-
port in chemically reacting particulate matter
laden flows. Part I: Algorithm development
and validation”, Chem. Engr. Sci., vol. 59 (2),
345-358, (2004).
Kommu S., Khomami B. and Biswas P.:
“Simulation of aerosol dynamics and trans-
port in chemically reacting particulate matter
laden flows. Part II: Application to CVD
reactors”, Chem. Engr. Sci., vol. 59 (2), 3 359-
371 (2004).
Rodriguez S., Almquist C., Tai Gyu Lee, T.G.;
Furuuchi M.; Hedrick E. and Biswas P.: “A
Mechanistic Model for Mercury Capture with
In Situ Generated Titania Particles: Role of
Water Vapor, J. Air and Waste Mgmt.
Associn., vol. 54, 149-156 (2004).
Lee T.G., Biswas P. and Hedrick E.: “Overall
Kinetics of Heterogenous Elemental Mercury
Reactions on TiO2 Sorbent Particles with UV
Irradiation”, Ind. Engr. Chem. Res., vol. 43 (6),
1411-1417 (2004).
Martuzevicius D., Grinshpun S.A., Reponen
T., Gorny R.L., Shukla R., Lockey J., Hu S.H.,
McDonald R., Biswas P., Kliucininkas L.,
LeMasters G., “ Spatial and temporal varia-
tions of PM2.5 concentration and composi-
tion throughout an urban area with high
freeway density - the Greater Cincinnati
study” Atmos. Environ., vol. 38 (8): 1091-1105,
(2004).
Yoshikawa F, Namiki N, Otani Y, Biswas P., “A
titanium dioxide-silica glass granule packed
bed reactor for degradation of airborne
organic compounds”, J. Chemical Engr. of
Japan, vol.37 (4): 503-513 (2004).
Hogan C., Lee M., Biswas P., “Capture of Viral
Particles in soft X-ray Enhanced Corona
Systems: Charge Distribution and Transport
Characteristics”, Aerosol Sci. Technol., vol.
38(5):475-486 (2004).
Kulkarni P. and Biswas P., “A Brownian
dynamics simulation to predict morphology of
nanoparticle deposits in the presence of
interparticle interactions”, Aerosol Sci.
Technol., vol. 38, 541-554 (2004).
McDonald R. and Biswas P., “A methodology
to establish the morphology of ambient
aerosols”, J. Air Waste Mgmt. Associn., vol.
54, 1069-1078 (2004).
McDonald R., Hu S., Martuzevicius D.,
Grinshpun S.A., Le Masters G. and Biswas P.,
“Intensive short term measurements of the
ambient aerosol in the Greater Cincinnati
airshed”, Aerosol Sci. Technol., vol. 38, 70-79,
(2004).
C.-J. Tsai, Da-Ren Chen, HungMin Chein,
Sheng-Chieh Chen, Jian-Lun Roth, Yu-Du
Hsu, Weiling Li. and P. Biswas, “Theoretical
and Experimental Study of an Axial Flow
Cyclone for Fine Particle Removal in Vacuum
Conditions,” Journal of Aerosol Science, 35,
p1105-1118 (2004).
C.-J. Tsai, S.-C. Chen, C.-H. Huang and Da-
Ren Chen, “A Universal Calibration Curve for
the TSI Aerodynamic Particle Sizer,” Aerosol
Science and Technology, 38(5), p467-474
(2004).
Z. Gerald Liu, Da-Ren Chen, N. Perera, G.
Pingen, J. C. Lincoln and E. M. Thurow,
“Transient Analysis of Engine Nanoparticles
Using Fast Scanning Differential Mobility
Particle Analyzer”, SAE Paper #2004-01-0971,
SAE Transaction, (2004).
C-J Tsai, J.-S. Lin, S. G., Aggarwal and Da-Ren
Chen, “Thermophoretic Deposition of
Particles in Laminar and Turbulent Flows,”
Aerosol Science and Technology, 38, p131-
139 (2004).
Bhusarapu, S.; Fongarland, P.; Al-Dahhan,
M.H.; Dudukovic, M.P., “Measurement of
overall solids mass flux in a gas-solid circulat-
ing fluidized bed,” Powder Technology, 148(2-
3), 158-171 (2004).
Bhusarapu, Satish; Al-Dahhan, Muthanna;
Dudukovic, M. P., “Quantification of solids
flow in a gas-solid riser: single radioactive
particle tracking,” Chemical Engineering
Science, 59(22-23), 5381-5386 (2004).
Chen, P.; Sanyal, J.; Dudukovic, M.P., “CFD
modeling of bubble columns flows: imple-
mentation of population balance,” Chemical
Engineering Science, 59(22-23), 5201-5207,
(2004).
Roy, S.; Kemoun, A.; Al-Dahhan, M.H.;
Dudukovic, M.P.; Skourlis, Thomas B.;
Dautzenerg, Frits M., “Countercurrent flow
distribution in structured packing via com-
puted tomography,” Chemcal Engineering and
Processing, 44(1), 59-69 (2004).
Falke, S., Stella, G., Keating, T. and B.
Hemming, “Data Management Challenges in
Developing a Network of Distributed North
American Emissions Databases”, Proceed-
ings, 13th International Emission Inventory
Conference: Working for Clean Air in
Clearwater, US EPA, (2004).
Giammar, D.E. and Hering, J.G., “Influence of
dissolved sodium and cesium on uranyl oxide
7
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES 2004
hydrate solubility,” Environmental Science
and Technology, 38: 171-179 (2004).
A.P. Sullivan, R.P. Weber, A.L. Clements, J.R.
Turner, M.S. Bae and J.J. Schauer “A
Method for On-Line Measurement of Water-
Soluble Organic Carbon in Ambient Particles:
Results from an Urban Site,” Geophysical
Research Letters, 31, L13105 (2004).
Li, Z. and B.A. Wrenn. Effects of ferric
hydroxide on the anaerobic biodegradation
kinetics and toxicity of vegetable oil in
freshwater sediments. Water Research 38:
3859-3868 (2004).
Angenent, L.T., K. Karim, M.H. Al-Dahhan,
B.A. Wrenn, and R. Dominguez-Espinosa.
Production of bioenergy and biochemicals
from industrial and agricultural wastewater.
Trends in Biotechnology 22: 477-485 (2004).
Wincele, D.E., B.A. Wrenn, and A.D. Venosa.
Sedimentation of oil-mineral aggregates for
remediation of vegetable oil spills. J. Environ-
mental Engineering 130: 50-58 (2004).
REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS (Cont.)
ANNUAL ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
Left to right: Cecil Lue-Hing, Ken Anderson, Otis Sproul, Richard Pinckert, George Schillinger, John L.
Stein, Qian Qiu Zhao, and Charles Buescher, Jr.
Dr. Otis Sproul, Chair
Ken Anderson, Ameren UE
Charlie Buescher, Sr. Prof.
Dr. Keith Carnes, EPRI
Dr. C. Lue-Hing, Lue-Hing Assoc.
Dr. Richard Pinckert, Boeing
George Schillinger, Am. Bottoms
Dr. H. Gerry Schwartz, Sr. Prof.
John L. Stein, Anheuser Busch (ret.)
Dr.Qian Qiu Zhao, DuPont
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
The Advisory Board met with the Environmental Engineering Science Faculty mem-
bers on November 5, 2004. After a brief update on the Program and the key focal
areas of research, discussions focused on how collaborative research in the envi-
ronmental sciences could be fostered and promoted campus wide. Plans to
enhance the Industrial Partners Program was also discussed (see page 10).
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM
The Environmental Engineering Science Program Faculty are also
a part of the University’s Environmental Studies Program that
offers a BS degree in Environmental Studies. After a set of Intro-
ductory courses, the students opt for a Major Track, with flexibility
provided to the UG student to design a curriculum that suits their
interests. The Environmental Engineering Minor (http://
www.env.wustl.edu/envminor.htm) is also available to students
in the Environmental Studies Program.
Program details can be viewed at: http://epsc.wustl.edu/enst/
8
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES 2004
2004 RYCKMAN LECTURE PRESENTED BY DR. CHARLES O’MELIA
Dr. Charles
O’Melia, professor at
Johns Hopkins
Univeristy, presented
the second annual
Rick and Betty
Ryckman Lecture at
Washington University
in St. Louis. On
November 5, 2004, Dr.
O’Melia presented his
talk titled “Aquasols:
On the Role of
Secondary Minima”.
Dr. O’Melia is the
Abel Wolman
Professor of Environ-
mental Engineering at
Johns Hopkins University. His research interests are in
aquatic chemistry, environmental colloid chemistry, water
and wastewater treatment and modeling of natural surface
and subsurface waters. He received his MS and PhD
degrees from the University of Michigan, and his BS
degree from Manhattan College. He has won numerous
awards such as the AP Black Research Award from
AWWA in 1990, the Gordon Maskew Fair Medal from
the Water Environment Federation in 1993, several
Awards from the Association of Environmental Engineer-
ing Science Professors. In 1989, he was elected to the
National Academy of Engineering.
Dr. O’Melia elegantly presented the implications for
colloid transport of reversible deposition in secondary minima,
and pointed out the differences from those involving irrevers-
ible deposition in primary minima. First, particles that are
continually captured and released will travel much farther in the
subsurface than might be expected if the classic irreversible
filtration model is applied. Second, and perhaps more
significantly, deposition in the secondary well can increase with
increasing particle size. Although particle transport by
convective diffusion increases as particle size decreases,
particle “attachment” in secondary minima decreases with
Dr. Charles O’Melia presented the secondRyckman Lecture presentation in November2004.
decreasing particle size. Thus, smaller particles (those
with diameters in the order of a few tens of nm) would be
more effective in the facilitated transport of highly sorbing
contaminants such as hydrophobic organic molecules,
metals and radionuclides. Other contaminants are
themselves particles, such as viruses (10s of nm in
diameter) and bacteria (near 1 μm in diameter). Due to
this difference in size, viruses could be transported over
much larger distances than bacteria. Third, the transport of
colloids and, hence, the transport of contaminants
associated with them, depends on the Hamaker constant of
the particle-water-aquifer media system. Colloids of lower
Hamaker constant are likely to be transported farther than
colloids of higher Hamaker constant. The extent of adsorption
of specific contaminants and the Hamaker constant for the
particle-aquifer system are both characteristics of the particles
and contribute to the effectiveness of colloid-facilitated
transport. Finally, the solution chemistry of the pore waters,
through pH, ionic strength, types of solutes, and the valence of
the ions, ultimately controls the deposition and release of
colloidal particles in porous media. The pH determines the
charge density and surface potential of the surfaces. When the
surfaces are similarly charged, their interaction can be
unfavorable, with an energy barrier and secondary minimum.
The ionic strength and valence of the ions determines the
shape of the interaction energy curve, including the presence
and height of the energy barrier and the presence and depth of
the secondary well. Since the subsequent release of a particle
depends on the mode in which the particle is deposited
(primary or secondary), these factors are particularly
important in determining the extent of colloid transport in the
subsurface.
Inaugural Ryckman Lecture 2003
Dr. Perry L. McCarty, Stanford University
“Precautionary Approach for Toxic Chemicals
in the Environment - Experiences and Concepts
in the Making”
PREVIOUS RYCKMAN LECTURES
9
D.W.
Ryckman
founding
Director of
the Environ-
mental
Engineering
Science
Program at
Washington
University in
St. Louis
passed away
on Septem-
ber 14, 2004.
DeVere W. “Rick” Ryckman, was
the founding director and responsible for
setting up the environmental engineering
science department at Washington
University, died Tuesday (Sept. 14,
2004) of complications of lymphoma at
St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in
Creve Coeur. He was 80 and a resident
of Ballwin.
Mr. Ryckman was brought up on a
farm in South Boardman, Michigan. He
attended the University of Maine before
enlisting in the Navy as a member of the
Construction Battalion, stationed in the
Pacific while serving in World War II.
After his military service, Mr.
Ryckman earned a bachelor of science
degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, N.Y., one of the
nation’s oldest technological universities.
Mr. Ryckman received a master’s
degree from Michigan State University
and a doctorate of science from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
environmental engineering.
In 1956, Mr. Ryckman moved to
St. Louis, where he was in charge of
setting up a new department in environ-
IN MEMORY
mental engineering at Washington
University. The Program was established
with Drs. Edgerly, Burbank, Tomlinson,
and Skrinde. He would teach there for
the next 15 years. At the university, Mr.
Ryckman was the A.P. Greensfelder
professor of engineering.
In 1962, Mr. Ryckman helped
organize a graduate program at the
University of Hawaii. From 1963 to
1975, Mr. Ryckman was a partner in the
environmental consulting firm RETA
(Ryckman, Edgerley Tomlinson and
Associates). In 1975, he founded
REACT (Ryckman, Emergency, Action
and Consulting Team) which continues
today on Sixth Street. His son, Stewart
Ryckman of Ladue, is president of the
company. His other son, Mark D.
Ryckman of Atlanta, is the principal
engineer of Remtech Engineers, another
engineering consulting firm in Marietta,
Georgia.
The Environmental Engineering Science Program established the
annual “Distinguished Ryckman Lecture in Environmental Engineer-
ing” in recognition of all the faculty members - Drs. D. W. Ryckman,
E. Edgerley, N. Burbank, H. D. Tomlinson, R. Skrinde and J.
Buzzell who helped start the program at Washington University in St.
Louis in the mid 1950’s. One hundred fifteen graduate degrees
were conferred, and the Seminar is also a testimonial to the
achievements of the students of the original program. An Endowed
Fund has been created to support the expenses associated with the
invitation of a Distinguished Scholar to the University every year.
Please contact Libby Gutberlet (Tel: (314) 935-8730 or
[email protected] if you are interested in
supporting this Endowment.
Mr. Ryckman was a member of the
First Congregational Church of Webster
Groves, St. Louis downtown Rotary
Club, the Engineers Circle Club and the
Washington University Eliot Society. He
served on the board of the Salvation
Army.
In addition to his sons, among the
survivors are his wife of 55 years, Betty
J. Ryckman; a daughter, Jill Ferguson of
Chicago; three brothers, Seymour
Ryckman of Dayton, Ohio, Willard
Ryckman of northern Michigan and
Clesson Ryckman of South Boardman;
two sisters, Gene Woodhams of north-
ern Michigan and Virgil Uitvlugt of Battle
Creek, Mich.; and seven grandchildren.
Excerpted from an eulogy that
appeared in the St. Louis Post Dis-
patch, Sept 18, 2004
D.W. Ryckman
DISTINGUISHED RYCKMAN LECTURE SERIES
10
����� Total Research Awards in 2004 = $ 2.5 million
����� Total number of graduate students = 32
����� Full-time faculty in Environmental Engineering = 10
����� Students pursuing Undergraduate Minor = 5
����� Major Program Endowments are:
Jens, Browne, & McGrath
INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
The Environmental Engineering Science Program has an Industrial Partners Group whose primary objectives are to provide
access to cutting edge, state of the art research and developments in Environmental Engineering and allow interaction of
faculty and students with counterparts in the Industrial sector. Members enjoy several benefits such as,
• Participate in fundamental and applied research projects at Washington University
• Technology transfer of novel developments
• Access to state of the art research facilities
• Pooling of Industrial Funding with Federal Research Funding
• Specialized Training Programs for Industrial Sponsors
• Access to Graduate Student Interns who will participate in Industrial Research and Development as part of the
Degree Program
• Opportunity to collaborate with Faculty in areas of mutual interest
• Participate in an Industrial Advisory Board for the Program
• Discounted use of Instrumentation Facility
• Annual Meeting at Washington University where results of current research will be discussed. Opportunity to have a
Publicity Booth at Open House event in WUStL.
• Annual Newsletter highlighting key research projects, list of publications, list of current and graduated students
The Environmental Engineering Science Program
is now planning to recruit additional partners.
Details on this program and how one can become a
Member are outlined in http://www.env.wustl.edu/
indpartmain.htm For additional details, please
contact Pratim Biswas at 314-935-5548.
AmerenUE
Emissions control from coal fired utilities. Sponsoring
projects related to Hg control and Enriched Oxygen
Combustion for potential CO2 control
American Bottoms Regional Wastewater Facility
Wastewater treatment processes, Field Trips for students,
Possible Internships.
Boeing Corporation
Interests in cabin air cleaning using environmentally benign
photocatalysts. Measurement of ultrafine particles in jet
engine exhausts. Workshop and Seminars in Env discipline.
Cabot Corporation
Interests in nanoparticle synthesis and measurement.
Nanoparticle Health Effects.
DuPont
Synthesis of nanostructured, doped titanium dioxide.
Measurement of nanoparticles in plasma and other high
temperature reactors. Graduate student internships.
Johnson Controls
Humidity controlled rooms for weighing of ambient PM
filters.
The Group currently consists of 6 Industries, and the nature of the partnership is outlined for each.
11
SELECTED COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS
project highlightsPROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
DOD- MURI Project onNanoparticle ToxicologyDrs. Biswas and Chen alongwith their colleagues
Dr. David Pui at the University of Minnesota and
Dr. Gunter Oberdorster at the University of Rochester
have embarked on a five year project to unravel the
toxicological properties of nanoparticles. Researchers
at WUStL will focus on the synthesis and classification
of narrow size nanoparticles (with tight control on size
and composition) and also on establishing the properties
as a function of size. These characterized samples
will be used in biological studies to determine their
effects as a function of size and composition.
NSF Engineering Research CenterCenter for Environmentally Benificial Catalysis
Synthesis and Application of Magnetic Nano-
and Nano-composite Particles. PIs: Drs. D. Chen,
P. Biswas, R. Indeck and R. Axelbaum. Industrial
Collaborator: Stereotaxis. Magnetic nanoparticles/
nano-composites have many promising industrial
and biomedical applications. This project is explor-
ing laboratory scale synthesis methods to obtain
nanoparticles with tailored size, composition and
morphologies; developing systems for online
measurement of high concentrations in high
temperature environments, and demonstrating
applications in data storage, recording,
and biomdedical applications.
NSF-NIRT
Generating technologies that will transform thecatalytic manufacture of chemicals into inher- ently safe and ecologically responsible processes, while retaining their economic viability. Dr. M.Dudukovic is Associate
Director of the Center.
The REU program is now in its fourth year and provides an opport-
unity for students to participate in cutting edge research in environ-
mental disciplines. The Program is directed by Dr. Brian Wrenn and
includes participation of all the faculty members affiliated to the Program.
Drs. Axelbaum, Biswas, Chen and Giammar are members of the Center
for Materials of Innovation at the University (www.cmi.wustl.edu).
These faculty along with their colleagues are establishing a Minor in the
School of Engineering and the University that will introduce under-
graduates to the exciting field of nanotechnology.
Another collaborative project on Education with the University of
Florida has resulted in the development of interactive Aerosol
Education Modules. For a first hand experience, please
access http://www.aerosols.wustl.edu/aaqrl/
Courses/CYCOPCRESP/index.html
NSF – Research Experience for Undergraduates& Educational Programs
Recent research performed by Drs. Stefan Falkeand Rudy Husar includes development of datastructures for the transmission of environmentalknowledge (geographic, animation, hypertext); theuse and refinement of interactive, graphic dataexploration, and analysis techniques; and applicationand demonstration of multimedia data deliverysystems. A sizable research effort focuses on long-term air pollution trends spanning this century in theUnited States. Visibility trends have been compiledfor North America and Europe. The CAPITAvisibility trend analysis work contributed signific-antly to the deliberations for the Clean Air ActAmendment of 1990. Details are availableat www.capita.wustl.edu
NASA - Application of ESE Data andTools to Particulate Air Quality Management
12
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL BIOREACTOR FOR SIMULTANEOUS ORGANIC REMOVAL AND ELECTRICITYGENERATION FROM WASTEWATERBy Lars Angenent
The Angenent Lab: http://users.seas.wustl.edu/angenent
The production of energy from wastewater is a high priority for
society given current trends of population growth and world-
wide resource depletion. Wastewater containing a high content
of organic matter is an ideal commodity to produce alternative
energy carriers, such as methane and bioelectricity, and there-
fore The Angenent Lab works in this area of research as one of
the main thrusts. Bioelectricity is the most promising of the
alternative energy products generated from waste in our elec-
tricity-based economy, because efficiency-losing conver-
sions to a useful energy carrier (i.e., electricity) are not re-
quired. Bioelectricity generation from wastewater is accom-
plished with microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In the anode cham-
ber, bacteria attaching to anode electrodes degrade organic
material in wastewater while releasing electrons directly to
the anode rather than an electron acceptor molecule. Elec-
trons move from the anode electrode to the cathode elec-
trode through an external circuit. Protons are transferred
from the anode to the cathode chamber through a proton-
exchange membrane (PEM) and react with electrons and
oxygen molecules to form water.
Jason He, a D.Sc. student in The Angenent Lab, and Lars
Angenent have invented a novel type of MFC, the upflow
microbial fuel cell (UMFC). A provisional patent application
has been deposited at the US patent office and Washington
University in St. Louis has provided The Angenent Lab with a
Bear Cub Grant to further develop the UMFC technology.
Jason He and Lars Angenent are currently envisioning the
UMFC as an alternative configuration for continuous waste-
water treatment and electricity generation in relative simple
full-scale bioreactors. Laboratory-scale results have shown
constant electricity production at a power density of 170 mW
per square meter of electrode surface area. This must be
further increased by at least 20 times to make this technology
viable. The scientific approach to improve power densities is
to work simultaneously on the mechanistic understanding of
the molecular and microbial processes in MFCs and on the
optimization of the UMFC reactor configuration.
This work has been accepted for publication: He, Z., Minteer,
S.D. and Angenent, L.T. (2005). Electricity generation from
artificial wastewater using an upflow microbial fuel cell.
Accepted for Environmental Science and Technology.
13
ARSENIC REMOVAL FROM DRINKING WATERBy Dan Giammar
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
High concentrations of arsenic in
drinking water pose a threat to public
health both in the United States and
around the world. Arsenic is present
naturally in certain groundwater sources.
Effects of arsenic in groundwater in
Bangladesh and West Bengal, India
have been considered an international
crisis. In the United States, the drinking
water standard for arsenic was recently
lowered from 50 parts per billion (ppb)
to 10 ppb, and water systems must
comply with the new lower standard by
January 2006. Many of the water
systems that would be out of compliance
with the 10 ppb standard are small
systems that currently have minimal
treatment. These systems require
technologies that can be implemented
easily and with minimal changes to the
water system infrastructure. Adsorption
to inorganic solid materials is an effec-
tive technology for small systems.
In the Aquatic Chemistry Labora-
tory, my doctoral student Hui Zeng and I
are evaluating novel sorbent materials
for arsenic treatment. The materials are
synthesized by Enviroscrub Techologies
Corporation of Minneapolis, and
Enviroscrub is sponsoring the research
project. The sorbents studied are iron
Aquatic Chemistry Laboratory Research Group. First row:
Jessica Mohatt, Liyun Xie, Hui Zeng, Zhiwen Yuan; Second
Row: Dan Giammar, Claire Farnsworth, James Noel.
oxide- and manganese oxide-
based materials with very high
specific surface areas (almost
300 m2/g). The sorbents are
prepared as solid pellets that
can be used in packed columns
for water treatment. The
objectives of our research are
1) to understand the equilib-
rium adsorption of two oxida-
tion states of arsenic (arsenite
and arsenate) as a function of
pH and the presence of other
species (e.g., sulfate) and 2) to
evaluate arsenic removal in
packed beds using the
adsorbents. The research can
provide a scientific basis for a
valuable new technology and
it also advances our funda-
mental understanding of chemical
reactions that occur at the solid-water
interface.
The iron oxide-based sorbent has a
very high capacity for arsenic(V) (i.e.,
arsenate) adsorption (10 mg arsenic per g
of sorbent), which is higher than for other
sorbents being considered for arsenic
treatment (Figure 1). We have examined
adsorption over the pH range of 6-8 and
observed a slight increase with decreas-
ing pH, which is expected for
the adsorption of anionic
solutes such as arsenate (the
dominant species are HAsO4
2-
and H2AsO
4
-). A manganese
oxide-based sorbent also has
a high capacity for arsenate
adsorption. The adsorption
of arsenic onto the sorbent
materials occurs rapidly.
Treatment tests using small-
scale columns filled with the
iron oxide-based sorbent
have evaluated arsenic
removal from water that
initially contained 100 ppb
arsenic(V). After more than 1200 hours,
the arsenic in the column effluent was
still below 1 ppb. Our estimates suggest
that the columns may be able to remove
the arsenic for more than 2000 hours,
which is more than 24,000 bed volumes.
Arsenic treatment also played a role
in the senior design projects of Civil
Engineering students Carley Schaffer and
Lance Moen. They entered their project
in the Environmental Design Contest
organized by WERC: A Consortium for
Environmental Education and Technol-
ogy Development. This year one of the
contest tasks was to design a system for
removal of arsenic and nitrate from
drinking water for isolated, rural commu-
nities. The Washington University
team’s design used nitrate-selective ion
exchange resins and the Enviroscrub iron
oxide-based sorbent. The design contest
involved a written report and a trip to Las
Cruces, New Mexico to present oral and
poster presentations and to demonstrate a
bench-scale system. The team came in
third out of eleven teams and won a
Judge’s Choice award.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0 200 400 600 800 1000
As equilibrium concentration (ppb)
)g/
gm(
ytis
ne
d n
oitpr
os
dA
iron oxide
manganese oxide
14
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
MAPPING NORTH AMERICAN AIRBy Stefan Falke
In an
age of
interna-
tional air
quality
agree-
ments,
integrat-
ing
emissions
data
from
multiple
invento-
ries is needed to support public outreach, emission trends
reporting, control strategy application studies, benefit analy-
ses, and estimation of air quality in large regional areas.
Emissions inventories represent a substantial source of uncer-
tainty in air quality analysis and modeling. Being able to view
and analyze emissions inventories from multiple countries is a
first step in addressing this uncertainty at regional and conti-
nental scales. However, integration of North American emis-
sions databases faces numerous challenges due to differences
in the way agencies collect and store the data. A key solution
in addressing these data management issues is the application
of new web services technologies that help automate the
access, analysis, and visualization of emissions data that are
distributed among multiple sources.
The North American Commision for Environmental
Cooperation sponsored an initial study by Washington Univer-
sity and Alpine Geophysics, LLC. to examine and demon-
strate the application of new information technology for
emission inventories. The pilot project accessed sources of
emissions inventory data for electricity generating power
plants and developed a prototype system for working with the
data through the web. An example map of North American
nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from power plants is shown
above. The map was generated using data from the 2002 US
National Emissions Inventory (preliminary), 2002 Canada’s
National Pollutant Release Inventory, and 1999 BRAVO
study of Mexico emissions (more recent Mexico emissions
data are not yet available to the public).
A new cooperative agreement between Washington
University and the US EPA Office of Air and Radiation will
extend the results of the pilot project with the goal of establish-
ing operational connections to the key emissions databases in
North America. The ultimate goal is to provide applications
accessible through standard web browsers that allow users to
dynamically work with and combine the latest air emissions
data in supporting air quality management.
The overarching challenge in developing an integrated
emissions inventory is how to integrate data without requiring
strict data format standards or introducing a new data reposi-
tory to centrally store and maintain the data. The guiding
principles of an integrated emissions inventory are to create a
network of data characterized by the following attributes.
• Distributed. The data sources remain distributed and
in the control of their original ‘owners.’ The data are dynami-
cally accessed through the internet rather than through a central
repositroy.
• Non-intrusive. Data providers are more likely to
participate if joining an integrated network does not impose
new or additional burden on them.
• Transparent. The distributed data should appear to the
user to originate from a single database. One stop shopping
and one interface to multiple data sets are desired without
requireing special software to be downloaded on the user’s
computer.
• Flexible/Extendable. An emissions network should be
designed with the ability to easily incorporate new data and
tools from new sources joining the network so that they can be
easily integrated with existing data.
The emissions integration project use an existing web
services infrastructure, called DataFed, developed by Rudolf
Husar and the Center for Air Pollution Impact and Trend
Analysis (CAPITA). DataFed (www.datafed.net) supports
data sharing and processing for collaborative air quality
management and atmospheric science research. DataFed.net
provides mediator software for creating “views” of data,
including maps, time series, and tables, that are distributed
among multiple web servers. The views are created using web
services thereby allowing them to be used and reused in
custom applications with standard web programming lan-
guages.
15
DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIPLE-STAGE DMA
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
By Da-Ren Chen
Differential mobility analyzers (DMAs) have been widelyapplied in a variety of aerosol fundamental studies and appli-cations, especially for particles in the submicron and nanom-eter diameter ranges. Two primary functions of DMAs are forthe particle sizing and classification. The devices perform thefunctions based on particle electrical mobility. The DMAtechnique has been continuously improved and extended sinceits introduction by Liu and Pui in 1974. In general the perfor-mance of DMAs deteriorates as the particle size reducesbecause of the particle diffusivity. To improve the DMAresolution in small particle size range researchers has beenoperated DMAs with shorter column length or at high sheathflowrate. The upper sizing limit of DMAs is controlled by themaximal voltage applicable to DMAs once their configurationand operational flow rates are defined. To extend the uppersize limit DMAs of longer column length or operated at lowsheath flowrate are often used. To be able to cover a widerparticle size range with one single column a DMA of adjust-able-column length (ACLDMA) capable of measuring par-ticles with the diameters ranging from a few nanometer tosubmicron has been developed. In the direction of reducingthe instrument response, scanning mobility particle sizers(SMPS) having the cycle time of 135 seconds have beencommercially available. The time has further been reduced to 1second with the development of nanometer Aerosol SizeAnalyzer. For the sub-second response time, electric aerosolspectrometer (EAS) has been developed and two versions ofthis instrument are currently commercially available. All thesenew developments however focus on the use of DMAs as theaerosol sizing instrument and neglect the function of particle
classification. Further,the EAS sizing resolu-tion is limited by thenumber of electrodesinstalled.
Under the financialsupport from DOEOak Ridge NationalLaboratory a newDMA column withmultiple extractions(multiple-stage DMA:MDMA) has thus beendeveloped inNanoparticle Technol-ogy and ResearchLaboratory at Wash-
ington University in St. Louis. The objectives of this develop-ment are (1) to cover a wide aerosol size range; (2) to classifymonodisperse particles of different sizes simultaneously; (3) toretain theDMAvoltagescanningoperationfor highsizingresolutionmeasure-ment; (4)to reducethemeasuringcycle toless than 1second.Figure 1shows thepicture ofprototypeMDMAdeveloped. It has one polydisperse aerosol inlet and threesampling outlets, capable of classifying particles of threedifferent sizes simultaneously. The length of each stage isspecially designed to cover a sub-section of an entire particlesize range covered by MDMA. The stage design is modularand stackable. Individual users could also make their ownstages based on specific aerosol applications. By scanning asmaller range of voltage (thus reducing the scanning time) theentire MDMA size range is thus covered. The design allowsthe operation of sheath flow up to 80 lpm for either a highsizing resolution or extending its lower sizing limit. For measur-ing the particle size distribution the MDMA can couple witheither UCPCs or electrometers as concentration sensors. Theperformance of MDMA was experimentally calibrated usingthe tandem DMA technique. The transfer function is used tocharacterize the DMA performance. The width at the half-height of the transfer function represents the sizing resolution ofDMAs. Figure 2 shows the increasing sizing resolution (in theelectrical mobility term) of the 1st stage of MDMA as thesheath flowrate increases. Silver particles of 20 nm in diameterwere used in this example. Polydisperse aerosol flowrate ofMDMA was kept at 4.5 lpm and sampling flowrate 1.5 lpmfor each MDMA stage. The result demonstrates the promisedperformance of MDMA.
Figure 1: Prototype multi-stage
differential mobility analyzer
Figure 2 shows the sizing resolution (half-width in
particle electrical mobility) on 1st stage of MDMA
increases as the sheath flowrate increases. In this
test polydisperse aerosol flowrate was 4.5 lpm and 1.5
lpm was extracted from each stage.
20nm particles
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
ST. LOUIS - MIDWEST SUPERSITEBy Jay Turner
The St. Louis – Midwest Supersite was established in 2001 tocharacterize the physical and chemical properties of ambientfine particulate matter. Sustained monitoring in East St. Louis(IL) is nearing completion of a fourth year. The first two yearsfeatured a sophisticated platform of measurements to supportthree objectives: provide air quality data to three health effectsstudies; evaluate measurement technologies; and quantifysource-receptor relationships. The subsequent two years haveincluded selected measurements from the original monitoringplatform, with added emphasis on beta testing prototype, pre-production and newly-commercialized instruments. More thantwenty conference presentations were delivered over the periodApril 2004 through March 2005, and several manuscripts arecurrently being prepared.
In December 2004 the St. Louis area was designated asnonattainment for fine particulate matter under the NationalAmbient Air QualityStandards (NAAQS).The base year foranalysis in support ofthe ozone and fineparticulate matterattainment demonstra-tions (includingcontrol strategydevelopment) is 2002and thus we arecurrently focusing ona detailed character-ization of our datafrom this time period. Figure 1 shows the St. Louis (MO-IL)fine particulate matter nonattainment area including compli-ance monitors in operation during calendar year 2002. We are
conducting analyseswhich compare thefine particulatematter concentra-tions within thenonattainment areaand also between thenonattainment areaand nearby ruralareas to understandthe relative contri-butions of local andregional sources tothe observed ambi-ent particulate matterburden.
Figure 2 shows the annual-average distribution of majorchemical components to the ambient fine particulate matter(PM
2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 mm aerodynamic
diameter) at our site in East St. Louis. The largest contributor iscarbonaceous material (OC = organic carbon, OC ∞ 1.8 ac-counts for oxygen and hydrogen associated the OC and is likelyan upper bound for the multiplier; EC = elemental carbon suchas soot). Sulfate and nitrate – and its associated ammonium –together account for nearly half of the PM
2.5 burden; these
species are largely formed in the atmosphere from emissions ofgaseous precursors (SO
2, NO
x, NH
3). This presents interesting
challenges for control strategy development as not only thedirect particle emissions but also gaseous precursors must beaddressed.
Measurements were alsoconducted for three monthsin 2001 at Park Hills (MO), arural site approximately 100km south of St. Louis.Figure 3 shows a scatter plotof sulfate at Park Hills (rural)against sulfate at East St.Louis (urban). Sulfateburdens are nearly identicalon a daily basis between thetwo sites (September 5-6 is an anomaly as the two sites werebathed in distinctly separate air masses) which provides evi-dence that the sulfate is regional in nature and thus requires
regional (i.e., multi-state)control strategies. In contrast,Figure 4 shows organic carbon(OC) between the two sites forthe same time period. UrbanOC concentrations are typicallygreater than or equal to OC atthe rural site, suggesting the OCin St. Louis is significantlyimpacted by both regional andlocal emission sources. Indeed,for the three-month period of
these measurements the OC at East St. Louis was typically 40%greater than the OC at Park Hills.
Work is currently underway to provide a quantitative descriptionof the relationships between emission sources (and/or sourceregions) and PM
2.5 burdens in St. Louis. For example, a
detailed accounting of the specific organic compounds compris-ing the OC provides insights into the emission source typescontributing to the observed OC levels.
16
Figure 3. Daily 24-hour integrated sulfateat Park Hills (rural) and East St. Louis(urban), August-November 2001.
Figure 4. Daily 24-hour integrated organic
carbon at Park Hills (rural) and East St.
Louis (urban), August-November 2001.
Figure 1. St. Louis (MO-IL) fine
particulate matter nonattainment area.
Figure 2. Annual average fine particulate matter
mass composition at East St. Louis (calendar
year 2002).
17
project highlightsPROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Metallic species are encountered in many high temperature
processes – both as a natural, trace constituent in fuels and as
an industrially processed commodity. Sources include coal
combustors, waste incinerators, oil combustors, jet engines,
smelters, steel production processes, welding, deactivation
furnaces for demilitarization operations, and many others. When
introduced into a combustion system, the volatile heavy metals
vaporize at high temperatures, and nucleate and grow in the
cooler downstream regions. This results in the formation of a
submicrometer aerosol. Conventional particle control devices
are not effective in capturing particles in these size ranges;
resulting in an enrichment of these heavy metals in the exhaust
gases; and combustion systems are a major contributor of heavy
metals to the atmosphere.
There are several methods that have been proposed for
control of toxic metal emissions from combustors. Bulk sor-
bents have been have been shown to be effective for capture of
heavy metal species in combustion systems, however, they are
plagued with several physico-chemical limitations. Once the
metallic species has chemisorped to the outer surface, the inner
volume is rendered ineffective. Thus a large volume of bulk
sorbent is required to capture trace concentrations of metal
secies. Furthermore, they have been ineffective in certain
environments, for example when chlorine is present. In addition
bulk sorbents do not effectively suppress the nucleation of the
heavy metal species. An alternate approach is the use of novel
nanostructured sorbent agglomerate processes for the capture
of heavy metals in combustion environments that has been
developed in the Aerosol and Air Quality Research Laboratory
(see US Patents 5, 888, 926 and 6,248,217). The nanostructured
sorbent consists of an agglomerate of nanometer sized primary
particles which has a very high surface area to allow for chemi-
sorption of
the heavy
metal
species.
The
agglomer-
ate is large
enough
that it is
readily
captured in
conven-
tional
NOVEL NANOSTRUCTURED SORBENT AGGLOMERATES FOR TOXIC SPECIES CAPTURE IN COMBUSTION ENVIRONMENTS
particle control devices. As the nanostructured sorbent is
synthesized in situ in the combustor, its characteristics (surface
activity, crystallinity) could be readily tailored for optimal
performance for system specific metals capture.
Laboratory scale research has focused on capture of
cadmium species encountered in ammunition deactivation
furnaces. Figure 1 outlines the pathways of cadmium species in
the combustion system. When no sorbents are injected, the
cadmium vapors nucleate to form submicrometer sized par-
ticles that are difficult to capture. When a sorbent is present,
the vapors are scavenged, and the nucleation is suppressed and
no fine particles of cadmium are formed, and the cadmium is
associated with the sorbent.
Figure 2 outlines the effectiveness of two different
sorbents, MMT(Test 9) and silica precursor(Test 11), on
capture of cadmium species. The size distributions of the co-
feed tests (Test 9) are between the MMT only(Test 5) and
cadmium only(Test 2) experiments. This might be attributed to
the fact that some of the cadmium oxide vapors are physically
adsorbed on the MMT surfaces and the remaining nucleate to
form cadmium oxide particles.
Results
of the in situ
generated
silica
sorbent
capture
experiments
(Test 11)
are also
shown in
Figure 2.
Cadmium
oxide
particles
that were
formed by nucleation(with a mean size of 62.9 nm at 700 (Test
2) are completely suppressed in presence of the silica sorbent.
The mechanistic pathway is shown in Figure 1(c), and the
presence of a highly reactive surface results in scavenging of
the cadmium species vapors before they can nucleate. As the
silica particles are formed and present in the high temperature
environment, condensation is the dominant pathway(prior to
any possibility of nucleation of cadmium species). The XRD
analysis for the silica sorbent and cadmium feed test indicates
no cadmium oxide peaks, further confirming the effectiveness
of the silica sorbent.
By Pratim Biswas
Figure 1. Mechanistic description of pathways of Cd in reactor
Figure 2. Size distributions of Cd only and Cd+ sorbent tests.
18
NSF CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY BENEFICIAL CATALYSIS (CEBC)
By Milord Dudukovic
This NSF Engineering Research Center(ERC) is headquartered at the Universityof Kansas at Lawrence and involves ascore partners the University of Iowa,Washington University in St. Louis andPrairie View University in Texas. Thefocus, after this full year of research,remains on developing catalysts andprocesses for manufacture of fuels,chemicals and materials by more environ-mentally benign routes. Considerableattention at the Center is paid to possibili-ties of replacing hazardous solvents byalternative means and/or by usingsupercritical carbon dioxide mixture withmore benign solvents.
The activities in our Chemical ReactionEngineering Laboratory (CREL) relatedto the CEBC include: 1.) Studies of hydrocarbon oxidationin mini-reactors to assess the conditionsneeded for best rates and selectivity. Weare investigating whether a safe reactordesign is possible at conditions that leadto much higher productivity and selectiv-ity. Success would revolutionize theproduction of commodity chemicals likeadipic acid (precursor for nylon),therephthalic acid (needed for polyes-
ters), etc. Professors M. Al-Dahhan andM.P. Dudukovic are involved in thisresearch with graduate student RadmilaJevtic. 2.) Quantification of flow fields andmodeling of stirred tank reactors isneeded since stirred tanks are used inso many organic syntheses and ofteninvolve more than a liquid phase. Usingour unique Computer Aided RadioactiveParticle Tracking facility (CARPT) andgamma ray Computer Tomography (CT)we strive to provide a complete databaseon mixing and phase distributions instirred tanks. This can be used tovalidate computational fluid dynamic(CFD) codes in order to be able to scaleup the results. Professor P.A.Ramachandran and M.P. Dudukovic areinvolved in this project with graduatestudent Debangshu Guha. 3.) Adsorption and reaction studies inpacked beds of solid acid catalysts pavethe way for the use of solid acids, whichare environmentally acceptable comparedto hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid thatare traditionally used in alkylations, forproduction of high octane gasoline orlinear alkyl benzenes for detergents. Theadsorption-desorption studies on a single
pellet, in a stirred auto-clave, and in packed bedswill provide the cluesneeded for optimal reactorselection and operation.Professors M.P.Dudukovic, M. Al-Dahhan, and.ARamachandranare involved inthis project withgraduate studentsR.C. Ramawamyand SubramanyaNayak.
4.) Sensor development is under wayto identify in-situ the presence of one ormore phases close to supercriticalconditions. This is important in dealingwith carbon dioxide expanded solvents.Professors M. Al-Dahhan and M.P.Duukovic are in charge of this projectwith graduate student to be, SeanMueller. 5.) A new project on catalytic hydro-gen production from water using solarenergy has been initiated by Prof. PratimBiswas with graduate student RafaelMcDonald. 6.) A large effort is under way topresent to chemists, biochemists, andbiologists the key concepts of chemicalreaction engineering in development ofnew clean processes. Professors Al-Dahhan, Dudukovic, Ramachandran andTurner are involved in this effort with thehelp of postdoctoral associate CananTunca. 7.)A K-12 effort is under way toeducate younger generations on thescience and art of environmentally benignprocessing and sustainability. ProfessorTurner and Dr. Tunca lead this effort.
If you have additional questions pleasecontact Canan Tunca([email protected]) or Professor M.P.Dudukovic ([email protected]) or visit thecebc (http://www.cebc.ku.edu) or CRELweb site (http://crelonweb.che.wustl.edu).
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
19
project highlightsPROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
THE JENS ENVIRONMENTAL MOLECULAR & NANOSCALE ANALYSIS LABORATORY
The Jens Environmental Molecular and
Nanoscale Analysis Laboratory, estab-
lished in 2001, is located in Urbauer Hall,
Environmental Engineering Science
Program, Washington University in St.
Louis. The Laboratory is a shared
Instrumentation facility supported by the
core faculty in Environmental Engineer-
ing Science. The instruments in the
Laboratory are also made available to all
university researchers and the scientific
community for performing analysis at the
molecular and nanometer scales.
The following is a list of Instruments that
are currently available in the Laboratory:
BET Surface Area and Pore Volume
Measurement Instrument, Gemini 2375,
Micrometrics|
HPLC-High Performance Liquid Chro-
matography, HP 1100 with diode array
detector
Humidity Controlled Microbalance
Facility (Precision weighing of samples,
conditioned to a specific humidity level)
ICP-Inductively Coupled Plasma Spec-
trometer-Routine elemental analysis,
Varian with SP-5 Autosampler
TOC-Total Organic Carbon Analyzer,
Shimadzu TOC-500
GC-Gas Chromatography with TCD,
FID-HP5890 Series
SEM-Scanning Electron Microscope,
Hitachi model s-4500 Field Emission
Scanning Electron Microscope, (EDX)
microanalysis system.
96 Well Plate Reader, BIO-TEK SYN-
ERGY HT
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrom-
eter (FTIR), Nicolet Nexus 470 instru-
ment with mid-IR source and DTGS
detector.
The Environmental Engineering Science
Faculty has several other specialized
laboratories with state of the art instru-
mentation for aerosol measurements,
biological and molecular biological
studies and other chemical reactor
studies.
Scanning Electron Microscopy
Researchers in the Aerosol and Air
Quality Research Laboratory (AAQRL)
routinely use the SEM for analysis of
nanoparticles synthesized for environ-
mental nanotechnology applications. An
active area of research is in the synthesis
of wide gap semiconductors, such as
titanium dioxide in pristine and doped
forms for the remediation of environmen-
tal contaminants. Dr. Biswas and his
students are exploring the use of dopants
for tailoring the properties of the
nanoparticles so that they are readily
activated by light of visible frequencies.
The addition of the dopant results in an
increase in the primary particle size as
illustrated in the Figure below.
30nm Aerosol reactor synthesized titanium dioxide
particle.
Dr. Giammar and his research group
evaluate chemical tracers for source
apportionment of phosphorous in Table
Rock Lake on the Missouri-Arkansas
border. In this project, they also rely on
the ICP-OES to analyze other elements
like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and
calcium. Finally, they use the HPLC to
determine concentrations of synthetic
organic compounds such as caffeine and
acetaminophen in the lake.
The Center for Implant Retrieval and
Analysis, utilizes the SEM to analyze
failure mechanisms of silicone breast
implants. The SEM has permitted highly
detailed microscopic examination of
surface contours, textures, and structural
changes that have developed in the shell
due to abrasion mechanism, elucidating
failure sites.
The photomicrograph shows the failure site of an
implant due to shell abrasion.
The facility is partially sup-
ported by the Center for
Materials Innovation. For
details, see:
www.env.wustl.edu/faciliti.htm
Laboratory Manager:
Dr. Lawrence P. Norcio
Environmental Engineering Science Program
One Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1180
St. Louis, MO 63130
Published by:
Environmental Engineering
Science Program
One Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1180
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO 63130
(314) 935-5548
Fax: (314) 935-5464
www.env.wustl.eduv
If you are an Alumnus of the Environ-
mental Engineering Science Program,
please make a copy of this page, fill
out the appropriate information and
fax to (314) 935-5464 or mail to:
Washington University in St. Louis
One Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1180
St. Louis, MO 63130
Name:________________________________________
Address:______________________________________
City:____________________ State:______ Zip:_______
Phone:________________________________________
Fax:__________________________________________
E-mail:_______________________________________
Year of Graduation:___________ Degree:_____________
This form is also available on-line at www.env.wustl.edu.