Newswise — Missouri S&T environmental experts are available to speak to the media on topics ranging from water resources and indoor and outdoor air quality to wastewater recycling and the policing of “space trash.”
To arrange an interview, call the Missouri S&T public relations office at 573-341-4328 or email [email protected]. Available topics include:
Biofuels: Dr. Joel Burken, a Missouri S&T environmental engineer, studies biofuel production’s impact on water supplies and water quality. Burken says ethanol production could become a costly proposition in terms of “gallons per mile” because of the large amount of water required to produce each gallon of ethanol. Problems also arise with water quality, like increased pollution due to soil erosion and the increased use of pesticides to grow enough crops to meet federal mandates for ethanol. Burken is available to discuss both the impact of ethanol production on the nation’s “water footprint” and suggestions for using other crops that would have less impact on water resources.
Indoor air pollution: The problem of indoor pollution has escalated in recent years as homes have been made more energy efficient, reducing the amount of natural ventilation and allowing a buildup of potentially harmful substances in the air. At Missouri S&T, Dr. Glenn Morrison, an environmental engineer, is studying how smog interacts with humans indoors, identifying what people have been exposed to by doing forensics of building materials, finding ways to use drywall and other building surfaces to control indoor air pollution and even researching the interactions between building materials and the chemicals used in methamphetamine labs. Morrison and other researchers believe the air found inside people's homes can be more hazardous to their health than the smog and other environmental pollutants they are exposed to during outdoor activities.
Space pollution: Most environmental engineering students are concerned about conditions on Earth. Nicholas Jarnagin, a senior in environmental engineering at Missouri S&T, is worried about pollution in space. Jarnagin says the military tracks roughly 18,000 pieces of space junk, big and small, that are locked in orbit around the Earth -- everything from pieces of old satellites to frozen rocket fuel and jettisoned human waste. The average velocity of a small piece of debris is about 21,000 mph. Last year, Jarnagin traveled to Jefferson City, Mo., to share his findings with state lawmakers during Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol.
Phytoremediation: In a greenhouse atop the civil engineering building, Dr. Joel Burken, a Missouri S&T environmental engineer, is studying ways to use hybrid and native trees to remove tainted groundwater in a process called phytoremediation. Burken’s plants “eat” the pollutants, such as solvents, or degreasers, paint thinners, engine cleaners and dry-cleaning chemicals, some of the most common groundwater contaminants in the United States. “The big benefit of phytoremediation is that it helps the environment and ecology instead of destroying it, like some other pollution clean-up strategies, such as incineration,” Burken says.
Solar efficiency: Just as one bad bulb in a string of Christmas lights can black out the entire set, so can a single solar panel disrupt the flow of electrical current through the other panels in a series. Dr. Jonathan Kimball, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is out to fix that problem, and make solar arrays more efficient, more reliable and more environmentally friendly. Kimball has funding from the U.S. Army and the National Science Foundation to develop a new approach to connecting solar panels.
Wastewater: A new water reclamation system, developed by Dr. Jianmin Wang, a Missouri S&T environmental engineering professor, could radically change the way the military deals with its wastewater at forward operating bases and has potential for deployment during civil emergencies. The wastewater system, built into a repurposed shipping container, is highly efficient, low power, and low maintenance. Although the system was created with the military in mind, Wang says it could be deployed just about anywhere, including small rural communities with no wastewater facilities, mobile home parks, motels and highway rest areas.
RSS