Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Geological Sciences

This study focused on highlighting the connection between the physical, chemical, sedimentary, and microbial aspects of various acid mine drainage settings of contrasting chemistry. In addition, a comprehensive thesis model was suggested to explain the interconnected relationships of this data set. The first 30 meters were evaluated for Pine Run (Fe), Esco No. 40 (Fe and Al), York Clay No. 4 (Mn), and Sines No. 2 (Al) coal mines. The acidophilic microbial taxa evaluated were Thiothrix sp.(any), Gallionella ferruginea, and Leptothrix discophora. Through principal component analysis (PCA) and a Spearman correlation matrix (n=20) a number of correlations were found to describe our model. The results of this study indicate a strong relationship between distribution of total Fe, and SO4, in the sediment due to physics of flow. Statistical analyses suggest precipitation of Mn into the sediments could occur at the medium-coarse sand (0.5-0.99 mm) grain size fraction and Fe likely precipitates as a larger grain size fraction than this. Both Thiothrix and G. ferruginea taxa shared a positive correlation with velocity, and L. discophora shared a negative correlation to flow velocity. Variable flow conditions within the first 30-meters of the mine opening can alter distribution of precipitates to deposit medium to coarse sand grain size fractions, reoxygenate waters, and alter pH to create supersaturated conditions for the minerals 4 basaluminite, amorphous Fe(OH)3, gibbsite, barite, and goethite. Results from this study also indicate G. ferruginea is likely favored in Fe contaminated systems, L. discophora could be the more abundant in Mn and Al contaminated mines, and SO4 contaminated drainage favors Thiothrix. Geochemical modeling results agree with water quality tests and field observations for each site.

Committee: Dina López (Advisor); Gregory Nadon (Committee Member); Natalie Kruse Daniels (Committee Member); Kieth Milam (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Geology; Geology; Microbiology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2017, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Limited biological recovery in acid mine drainage (AMD) impacted streams may be due in part to a flushing response caused by rainfall events. While there is very little water required to react with sulfide minerals to form AMD, more is required to dissolve and transport the chemical products. Increased discharge allows for the transport of accumulated reaction products from mineral surfaces and mobilization of sediments from streambeds. The objective of this study was to investigate this flushing behavior in the heavily AMD impaired Hewett Fork Watershed by tracking the changes in water chemistry over the course of multiple rain events and seasonal flow regimes. Hewett Fork is located within Athens County, Ohio, and is currently treated by an active remediation system. This study utilized two auto-samplers, at two field sites along the same stream gradient of impairment, to allow for the collection of hourly water samples during selected storm events in spring, summer, and fall. The collected water samples were then analyzed for total concentrations of a large suit of metals, sulfate, acidity, and alkalinity. Results show how the geochemistry is changing within Hewett Fork during precipitation events. Analysis of these changes in water quality revealed response patterns of each monitored constituent allowing them to be grouped by their dominant response pattern. The constituents also displayed seasonal patterns that showed large flushing events in the spring and fall seasons. It remains unclear if these flushing events have limited the biological recovery in Hewett Fork. Further studies should be conducted to better understand the varied and complex responses of the geochemistry in AMD impacted watersheds during precipitation events to properly manage and treat this prolific non-point source pollution.

Committee: Natalie Kruse (Committee Chair); Dina Lopez (Committee Member); Kelly Johnson (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Geology; Environmental Management; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Geochemistry; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology; Water Resource Management

MS, Kent State University, 2018, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

The surface mining of coal leaves behind an abundance of surface waste material called coal mine spoil. Prior to the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, mine spoils and their associated mines were often left abandoned after production ceased. Active and abandoned mines are primary producers of acidic and sulfur-rich wastewater in the United States and it is estimated that it will cost $32-$72 billion dollars to remediate waters impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD). Once exposed to the surface, pyrite within these mine waste soils will begin to oxidize, releasing metals and acidity which can leach into nearby surface and groundwater systems. This work explores the efficacy of applying lime slurry, a potential low-cost approach, to coal mine spoil in order to determine mineralogical and geochemical factors controlling neutralization of acidity and sequestration of dissolved metals. Joint field and laboratory studies were conducted in order to determine the chemical and physical interactions that take place between a lime-slurry and coal mine spoil- and AMD impacted soils. The field portion of this study consisted of monitoring the changes in near surface water and solid phase composition of two coal spoil-dominated hillslopes which were treated with lime slurry. Parallel laboratory column experiments simulated rainwater passing through treated and untreated mine spoil in a controlled setting. Changes in solid phase composition during treatment were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Porewater composition was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Ion Chromatography (IC), and Total Organic Carbon (TOC). The results from the field pilot project are ambiguous and difficult to separate from natural processes. Porewater composition showed little response of pH or electrical conductivity (EC) to lime treatment, in contrast porewater an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Singer (Advisor); Elizabeth Herndon (Committee Member); Jeremy Williams (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Geology; Geochemistry; Geology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2016, Plant Biology (Arts and Sciences)

Landscape studies of separate aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems have been less prevalent to the detriment of scientific understanding of large-scale ecological questions. Under nutrient limited conditions, microorganisms increase the production of extracellular enzymes to breakdown organically bound resources. Nutrients and carbon can become biologically unavailable in acid stressed environments, such as those in southeastern Ohio, that have been affected by more than a century of acidic deposition. In this leaf litter decomposition study, total fatty acid and extracellular enzyme laboratory analyses were utilized to compare forest and benthic stream microbial structure and enzymatic function in response to chronic acid stress. Based on phosphorus acquiring enzyme activity, forests of southeastern Ohio may be phosphorus limited; however, proximal freshwater streams did not exhibit the same functional response. The dynamic nature of lotic freshwater systems may partially explain the unexpected insensitivity to phosphorus enrichment. Microbial structure was also not found to shift under acid stressed conditions.

Committee: Jared DeForest (Advisor) Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Ecology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Plant Biology (Arts and Sciences)

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a consequence of historical and present day mining activities. Remediation efforts are frequently successful in improving water quality with elevated pH and decreased dissolved metals. In many streams, there has been chemical and biological recovery. The goal of restoration is to improve both biological communities and processes within the stream. I compared biofilm community structure (using fatty acid profiles), function (primary production, extracellular enzyme activity), and food web structure from three stream categories in southeast Ohio: streams impaired by acid mine drainage, streams that have undergone remediation of AMD impairment, and streams that have not been impaired by AMD. I hypothesize that remediated streams will be more reliant on terrestrial sources of energy due to nutrient limitation of benthic biofilms. Fatty acid profiles (PLFA and total fatty acids) identified distinct biofilm communities associated with AMD-impaired streams or AMD-remediated and AMD-unimpaired streams and showed that these biofilm communities were not different throughout the sampling season. I found that the lowest rates of benthic biofilm gross primary productivity and primary producer biomass (chlorophyll a) were in the impaired streams while AMD-unimpaired streams had the highest. Biofilm production and primary producer biomass in streams that were classified as remediated were in between impaired and unimpaired and not statistically different from either. Results of carbon and nutrient acquiring extracellular enzyme activities suggest that phosphorus availability is limiting production and biomass in the impaired and remediated streams, probably as a result of metal precipitates associated with AMD readily binding with biologically available forms of phosphorus. Invertebrate carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis showed that two invertebrate predators (Nigronia sp. and Boyeria sp.) had lower reliance on autochthonous basal resources and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Morgan Vis (Advisor); Kelly Johnson (Committee Member); Jared DeForest (Committee Member); Brian McCarthy (Committee Member) Subjects: Freshwater Ecology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2016, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Closing stream-capturing subsidences over abandoned coal mines prevents surface water from entering mine voids and reacting with sulfide materials (pyrite) and oxygen. The common assumption that closures will improve water quality in discharges and receiving streams was tested at multiple sites by comparing acid and metal loadings, pre- and post-closure, using the Stoertz Water Quality Evaluation Method. Proven an effective tool for comparing loading estimations at mean annual flow, even with small sample size, this method still required complete, accurate, and precise data that spanned all flow regimes for statistically significant results. Where adequate data existed, acid and metal loadings showed reductions after closure, in spite of measured increases in constituent concentrations, due to reduced flows attributable to subsidence closure.

Committee: Natalie Kruse Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Studies

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1975, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1970, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1970, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2024, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Practical considerations for the design of an AMD treatment plant located in the Sunday Creek watershed were investigated. A mixed culture of bacteria originally from and AMD site located at Wolf Run, Noble County, OH, was enriched under various conditions in AMD from the Sunday Creek site. Following the work of Almomani (2023), the effects of inoculum size (1%, 2%, 5%, and 10%), nutrient enrichment conditions (reagent-grade ammonium and phosphate, no nutrient addition, and commercially available fertilizers), and temperature (8 °C, room temperature, and 32 °C) on the iron-oxidation kinetics of this culture were investigated. Inoculum size had no statistically significant effect on oxidation rates, although the oxidation rate at 5% and 10% inoculum (0.175 and 0.171 h^-1 , respectively) were observed to be nearly twice the oxidation rate at 1% inoculum (0.107 h^- 1 ). There was no significant difference between the oxidation rates of samples containing 0.1 M ammonium sulfate and 5 mM potassium phosphate (0.156 h^-1 ) and samples containing only inoculum (0.108 h^-1 ), and commercial fertilizer was observed to decrease iron oxidation rates (0.0547 h^-1 ), although the total time from inoculation to total iron oxidation was similar to that of the samples containing only inoculum. Iron oxidation rates increased with temperature, and the oxidation kinetics were fitted using the Arrhenius model yielding an activation energy of 70.1 kJ mol^-1 °K^-1 and a pre-exponential factor of 2.21 ∙ 10^11 h^-1 . A pilot-scale batch reaction experiment was conducted in field conditions at the Sunday Creek site in a 1250 gal clarifier. Oxidation rates were observed to be 0.012 h^-1 after the second subculturing, which was lower than any rate observed in the laboratory experiments. This was explained by a combination of suboptimal factors, including low temperatures and inclusion of commercial fertilizer as a secondary nutrient source. Finally, a process optimiz (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Guy Riefler (Advisor); Natalie Kruse-Daniels (Committee Member); Lei Wu (Committee Member); Daniel Che (Committee Member) Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Civil Engineering; Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Experiments; Microbiology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2024, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

The goal of this thesis is to compare the current methods to generate pigment from AMD, test the pigments for their chemical and elemental compositions, and determine whether the pigments generated meet ASTM and market standards. The pigments were also evaluated to find their associated color numbers and compared to existing pigments collected from pigment companies. Iron oxide sludge was generated and collected from Truetown, OH by oxidizing and settling AMD. This sludge was tested for quality with the intent of making pigments from dried iron oxide. The sludge was dewatered or washed to represent potential treatment methods, then dried and ground into a fine powder. The powder was tested for iron oxide, sulfates, lead, organic coloring matter, moisture content, and ignition loss using ASTM standard methods. It was tested for its X-ray patterns using X-ray diffraction and for 31 elements using X-ray fluorescence. It was finally tested for its performance as an oil paint and its color spectrophotometry. These experiments were repeated for several examples of pigments from existing industry, including artistry and concrete dyeing. The results of these experiments showed that AMD pigments are generally lower in impurities than artist pigments, but higher than expected in sulfates. They are also amorphous but contain no toxic levels of metals. The experiments consistently showed that pressing was more effective than washing for removing impurities. The AMD pigments were also determined to be a different color than any of the collected pigments on the market, and would need to be identified as its own, separate color. Based on these conclusions and its derivation from AMD, it is suspected to be the iron oxide mineral known as Shwertmannite.

Committee: Guy Riefler (Advisor); John Sabraw (Committee Member); Lei Wu (Committee Member); Daniel Che (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education; Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2024, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

This study delves into the unique properties and applications of hydrochar, a distinct product of hydrothermal carbonization differing from conventional biochar and activated carbon. Hydrochar's potential as an efficient adsorbent is examined alongside the challenges posed by its utilization and production, particularly concerning residual alkalinity's influence on solution pH and the formation of insoluble metal hydroxides. The research primarily aims to optimize hydrochar's adsorptive capacity for removing Cu, Zn, and Cd from SMW by investigating the effects of processing parameters such as temperature, pH, and hydrochar dosage. Findings indicate that lower processing temperatures yield hydrochar with higher solubility and enhanced surface properties, with 260°C processing temperature demonstrating optimal metal removal, especially for Cu. However, the removal percentage for Zn and Cd remains relatively unaffected by processing temperature variations. Moreover, the study highlights the influence of pH on metal adsorption; the sorption of Zn and Cd were not significanty different, while Cu precipitated at pH 7. Subsequent analysis explores the impact of initial metal adsorption and subsequent desorption processes on hydrochar's structure and metal sorption in multiple treatment cycles, revealing structural degradation post-desorption and a continuous decrease in desorption efficiency across cycles. EDTA and HNO3 emerge as effective solvents for Cu and Zn desorption, respectively, despite inducing structural changes in the sorbent. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between hydrochar properties, processing parameters, and metal adsorption-desorption dynamics, crucial for optimizing hydrochar-based water treatment strategies.

Committee: Natalie Daniels Kruse (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Studies

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

The effects of pH, nutrients, and organic carbon on iron oxidation rates by mixed cultures of iron-oxidizing bacteria collected from three different extremely acidic AMD sites were investigated for the possibility of remediating the Truetown AMD at the Sunday creek, OH. Four values of pH (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 4.0), four concentrations of ammonium (0.01 M, 0.05 M, 0.1 M, and 0.5 M), five concentrations of phosphate (0.1 mM, 0.5 mM, 1.0 mM, 5.0 mM, and 10.0 mM), and three concentrations of glucose (0.05 M, 0.1 M, and 0.2 M) were tested. The best pH, ammonium concentration, and phosphate concentration were found to be 2.5, 0.1 M, and 5.0 mM, respectively, resulting in an iron oxidation rate of 0.570 hr-1, while the organic carbon resulted in approximately 52% inhibition after only one subculture. The iron oxidation rates achieved in this study surpassed the maximum iron oxidation rate achieved in most studies reported in the literature except for two studies where they adopted significantly different operation conditions. The best culture was found to be the one collected from Wolf Run site of predominantly A. ferrooxidans. Applying these results to Truetown AMD achieved a 12-fold increase in biotic iron oxidation rates, and a 1327-fold increase compared to the abiotic iron oxidation rates at Truetown site. In conclusion, iron-oxidizing bacteria, and nutrient addition significantly enhanced iron oxidation rates at very low pH. With further economical and operational optimization, AMD remediation by microorganisms can become a fast, sustainable, and low-cost treatment method exceeding other available AMD remediation techniques.

Committee: Guy Riefler (Advisor); Peter Coschigano (Committee Member); Deborah McAvoy (Committee Member); Issam Khoury (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering

MS, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is an environmental issue commonly associated with abandoned coal mines and is caused by the weathering of sulfide minerals. Pyrite oxidation is a common contributor to AMD that consumes oxygen and releases Fe and sulfate into surrounding ground and surface water. The temporal and environmental controls on soil gas processes at abandoned mine spoils, where pyrite oxidation and soil respiration occur simultaneously, are not well understood. Studying soil O2 in pore spaces is a potential way to better understand and disentangle these two processes. I collected paired soil O2 and CO2 measurements from an abandoned coal mine site and conducted laboratory incubations to investigate how signals of soil respiration and pyrite oxidation become entangled and whether it is possible to isolate a pyrite oxidation signal. While gas data from laboratory incubations are not directly analogous to field data, there are consistent oxygen consumption signals from pyrite oxidation, but the size of these signals are relatively small. Therefore, it is difficult to detect strong pyrite oxidation signals in the field due to the overpowering influence of soil respiration. Most of the field data was consistent with typical soil respiration. However, I measured a clear pyrite oxidation signal during December 2021, which was characterized by low ARQ values that could not be accounted for by theoretical shifts in substrate consumption. The main finding from this research is that the oxidation of pyrite and sulfide minerals in the Huff Run mine spoils is detectable via gas signals only under certain environmental conditions. This work highlights that many environmental factors can influence the complex soil system of abandoned mine spoils and that soil gasses can provide an important perspective.

Committee: Timothy Gallagher (Advisor); David Singer (Committee Member); Allyson Tessin (Committee Member) Subjects: Earth; Environmental Geology; Environmental Science; Geochemistry; Geology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Remediation of acid mine drainage (AMD) is an expensive process. Iron sediment from AMD treatment can be industrially significant and sold as pigment which can mitigate the remediation cost. An AMD treatment plant in Millfield, Ohio is being constructed for this purpose with the goal of selling commercial grade iron pigment while restoring an impaired stream. The ferrous iron in the AMD is oxidized, and then the hydrolyzed ferric iron is settled. However, to produce high-quality pigment, the pH must be kept at 4.5 or lower, posing a challenge for adequate settling. In this research, ten different commercial polymers were evaluated to increase the settling rates of the iron particles at low pH. The jar test was implemented to select the best polymer and optimize the dose to reduce the turbidity of the sample. The polymers NS-6650 and 6050 from Neo-Solutions, Inc. (Beaver, PA) removed more than 99% turbidity at 0.2 mg/L dosage, making them the best flocculants tested. In terms of calculated flocculent contamination, this flocculant dose yielded 99.95% pigment purity. The flocculants and dose were further tested for sedimentation, which resulted in iron settling rate of 0.15-0.25 ft/min. A clarifier design rise rate of 0.5-0.9 gpm/ft2 (700-1250 gpd/ft2) and diameter of 35-50 ft was recommended for the approximate Truetown seep flowrate of 2 cfs expecting 3-3.5% clarifier underflow solids content. For dewatering this sludge produced at low pH, vacuum filtration and filter press were evaluated in this research. The vacuum filtration did not appear as a suitable option because of longer cake formation time and high suspended solids content in the filtrate. However, the filter press showed feasible performance producing filter cakes with 20-25% solids content and indicating further improvement up to 30% cake solids with water effluent TSS <1 mg/L. As a viable dewatering process option, a single filter press equipment with 250-350 ft3 capacity was recommended to meet the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: R. Guy Riefler (Advisor) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Engineering; Environmental Engineering

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Anthropogenetic activities such as mining pose threats to water bodies from metal and metalloid discharges such as copper, zinc, and cadmium. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a process that can be used to thermally convert biomass into a solid product called hydrochar that can sorb metals from mine polluted water bodies. The objective of this research aims to determine the applicability of hydrochar made from anaerobic digestate to remove target metals (Cu, Zn, and Cd), test the effect of contact ratio and agitation time, and its reusability in land reclamation with three hydrochar samples produced via HTC with the same reaction time of 30 minutes and different pyrolytic temperatures of 180 ℃, 220 ℃ and 260 ℃. A synthetic mine water solution was developed at pH 4 and pH 7 to test for the different experimental parameters. Hydrochar samples were tested for metal sorption rate with different masses of hydrochar in both the neutral and acidic synthetic mine water, in addition to the effect of agitation times. Hydrochar that had been used for sorption was then leached in nitric acid and deionized water to determine reversibility. The removal rate of metals was high for the 220°C and 260°C hydrochars in pH 4 solution, particularly at higher contact ratio, while the sorption capacity (mg/g) was greatest for the smallest, 0.5 g, mass of sorbent material. Acid and DI leaching both removed large proportions of the sorbed metals suggesting that pre-treatment would be required prior to land application. The research results suggest that hydrochar is a promising sorbent for water reclamation and has the potential to close the loop on food-energy-water by diverting food and agricultural waste to water treatment and potentially back to the land for agriculture.

Committee: Natalie Kruse Daniels Dr. (Advisor); Lei Wu Dr. (Committee Member); Sarah Davis Dr. (Committee Member); Natalie Kruse Daniels Dr. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Agriculture; Environmental Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a rapidly emerging method for the assessment of ecosystems with the potential to change the way broad-scale biomonitoring is conducted. eDNA can be applied in an ever-expanding variety of scenarios and represents a valuable new tool in recording and managing global declines in biodiversity and documenting the impacts of anthropogenic stressors like land-use change or pollution. The over-arching goal of this dissertation was to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on eDNA and how it can be effectively applied in both aquatic and terrestrial biomonitoring or biosurveillance scenarios. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on aquatic eDNA assessments while chapters 4 and 5 investigate the potential for public health biosurveillance using terrestrial eDNA. The ability to rapidly assess ecosystems on a broad scale is essential to meeting the challenge of managing ecosystems in the Anthropocene. The results of this dissertation detail how eDNA biomonitoring can be used to fill this critical need. In Chapter 2, I investigated the applicability of eDNA metabarcoding to assess the impacts of acid-mine drainage (AMD) on stream communities. A novel aspect of this study was the use of leaf pack eDNA to characterize the aquatic communities responsible for leaf litter decomposition while simultaneously being used to quantify leaf litter decomposition rates at each site. I found that eDNA sampling detected similar numbers of fish species when compared to traditional sampling via electrofishing. Of note, leaf pack eDNA also provided usable fish detections suggesting its potential as a passive sampling substrate. Both water and leaf eDNA samples contributed additional bycatch data on mammals, birds, and amphibians in the sampling area. Analysis from the leaf packs showed impaired leaf litter decomposition at the High AMD site. Leaf pack eDNA outperformed water eDNA in the detection of macroinvertebrate taxa across the sampling sites. However, both eDNA method (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Roman Lanno (Advisor); Reed Johnson (Committee Member); Jim Hood (Committee Member); Bryan Carstens (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Environmental Science; Freshwater Ecology; Mining; Molecular Biology; Public Health

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Civil Engineering

Acid mine drainage (AMD) and the associated mine land sediments are a valuable source of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals with concentrations of REEs in AMD often orders of magnitude higher than those in river water and seawater. Recovering REEs while cleaning up AMD provides the potential to offset the cost of reclamation. In this study, we are evaluating the REE content and distribution in the sediments associated with two AMD locations in SE Ohio that exhibit high REE content. The study sites, ‘Flint Run' and ‘Howard-Williams Lake', are complex sites with multiple past remediations and reclamation attempts that continue to produce AMD with REE concentrations up to 0.9 mg/L and 1.9 mg/L, respectively. Soil cores were collected from the two sites using an auger and split-spoon sampler. Samples were collected at approximately five-foot increments and trace element and REE concentrations were analyzed on digested samples using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The mineralogy of the sediments was analyzed with a high-resolution X-Ray diffractometer. Our results show the layers of fill used to reclaim the sites were not uniform spatially or with depth and were comprised of a mixture of silty clay, underclay, coal refuse, shale, and sandstone. Samples identified as being associated with coal (i.e., clay with coal fines and coal refuse), regardless of the depth measured, had higher REE concentrations (up to 437.9 ppm total REE) in comparison to the other compositional layers studies (~36 ppm total REE). Samples associated with coal had concentrations ranging from 4.2-126 ppm for Ce to 4.5-52.6 ppm for Nd. These layers also exhibited elevated concentrations of Fe and Al. At water pH values of 5.1-6.6, REEs were expected to precipitate with Fe and Al minerals into the sediment, which was consistent with the pH value of water collected during sample collection at Howard-Williams Lake. Statistical analysis and XRD results indicate that (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: John Lenhart (Advisor); Chin-Min Cheng (Committee Member); Tarunjit Butalia (Committee Member); Allison MacKay (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Geological

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Polluted water is a pressing burden for civilization. Management and treatment of polluted water is a costly but necessary process for the health of the environment and the humans that live in it. Demand for novel, inexpensive, and effective treatment options is constant, and further insight on their use and impacts are as important as ever for our changing world. Two such sources of polluted water are analyzed in this document: acid mine drainage and urban stormwater runoff. Acid mine drainage (AMD), a negative consequence of the mining industry resulting from interaction between water, oxygen, and exposed bedrock, is prevalent worldwide and requires expensive and perpetual treatment. The Wilds, an animal reserve in southeastern Ohio situated on a retired strip mine site, has partnered with OSU to address AMD discharging into streams and ponds on its property. Pervious concrete has shown potential in neutralizing AMD, and this study was developed to determine the effectiveness of pervious concrete at removing heavy metals and neutralizing acid from an AMD source. Using various mix designs of pervious concrete, the individual removal behavior of aluminum, manganese, iron, and copper from natural and synthetic AMD sources was tracked. Pervious concrete cylinders were also used to model the length of a permeable reactive barrier to treat field-scale AMD. Furthermore, acid neutralization ability and durability of six concrete mixes were tested when exposed to a year of acidic conditions. Experimentation revealed the concrete removes >95% of aluminum, iron and copper, and ~30% of manganese in natural AMD over 24 hours. Column testing indicated permeable reactive barriers of 4-8 meters in length are recommended to treat Al, Fe, and Cu. Pervious concrete compressive strength withstood a year of acid attack without significant decline, and results show a promising argument for the use of porous concrete in acid mine drainage treatment at field scale. Lakes and river (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jay Martin (Committee Member); Lisa Burris (Advisor); Ryan Winston (Advisor) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Environmental Education; Management; Water Resource Management

MS, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is one of the most serious environmental threats to water resources in the world. Mining operations create conditions that expose pyrite where it is susceptible to weathering by oxidative dissolution. Over time, soils develop from the mine spoil containing sulfide minerals and trace metals such as Fe, Mn, Zn, Al, Cu, and As. Adding alkalinity to the soil slows the oxidation rate of pyrite and promotes the precipitation of secondary minerals, particularly iron oxides, that may sorb metal ions and decrease porosity within the soil preventing further sulfide oxidation. This work is part of a recently completed pilot project which examined the efficacy of lime slurry as a non-point source treatment of pyrite-rich ~40-year-old mine spoil in the Huff Run Watershed (Mineral City, Ohio). In the current work, 12 thin sections prepared from two field sites (BP, an embankment located near a tributary to the Huff Run (subwatershed HR-25) with heavy understory vegetation and trees; and BY, a conical hill of mine spoil located northwest and upslope of the BP site with large trees, many dead or dying, but virtually no understory vegetation) collected along a depth profile and two laboratory columns of composite soils, which were either untreated or treated with a lime slurry. The impact of treatment on the formation and texture of secondary mineral coatings and trace metal sequestration was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) element mapping. The image analysis software ImageJ was used to perform a quantitative analysis to determine the particle characteristics, surface area, coverage, and thickness of secondary mineral coatings and aggregates in the soils. Element correlation scatterplots created with the ScatterJn plugin were used to examine the association between trace metals and mineral surfaces. Results of this work show that lime addition significantly increased secondary coating coverage compar (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Singer (Advisor); Jeremy Williams (Committee Member); Kuldeep Singh (Committee Member) Subjects: Geochemistry; Geology