The Board of Directors of the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) is pleased to announce the award of a record eight scholarships. The eight candidates awarded the scholarships are Lori Clark (SUNY Stony Brook), Laura Mast (Georgia Institute of Technology), Judd Larson (University of Wyoming), Olga Kachook (Yale University), Nicholas Hotzelt (Clemson University), Kat McCarthy (Green Mountain College), Brent Perdue (University of Texas at Austin) and Arlene Janousek (Simon Fraser University). The EREF scholarship program recognizes students with academic excellence, professional involvement and an interest in solid waste management issues at the doctoral and master’s levels. Doctoral/post-doctoral scholarships are given in memory of Francois Fiessinger, P.E., Ph.D., a graduate of Rutgers University, who was a founding director of the foundation; and by EREF. Master’s scholarships are made possible by the late Robert P. Stearns, P.E., DEE of SCS Engineers and Robert J. Riethmiller of PTR Baler and Compactor Company. Additional scholarships include the Waste Industries Scholarship Honoring Lonnie C. Poole, Jr., an EREF founder and Director Emeritus, and the Carl J. Apicella of American Environmental Group, Inc.
Lori Clark
SUNY Stony Brook, Ph.D.
EREF Scholar 2015
A Novel Treatment to Hydrogen Sulfide Contaminated Landfill Gas
Capturing landfill gas for energy production is widely practiced across the United States, however, a large portion of landfill gas is flared off for various reasons. The primary gases produced at a landfill are carbon dioxide and methane with small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and other gases. H2S is a toxic, corrosive, and odorous gas that can damage engines and at high enough levels must be treated. Landfills collecting construction and demolition (C&D) debris produce H2S levels (thousands of ppm) that can inhibit landfill gas to energy production and be costly to deal with. Presently, many landfills use a gravel-sized silica and metal oxide media to filter C&D landfill gas to remove sulfur. This uses adsorption to effectively draw H2S from the gas stream. With the help of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University, Wehran Energy, and Brookhaven Landfill, Lori is studying a novel approach to removing H2S from landfill gas. The objective is to improve the economics of sulfur removal and increase the potential of landfill gas recovery for energy production.
The team has been studying the effectiveness of the current sulfur treatment system at Brookhaven landfill from the C&D and ash cells using gas chromatography. They’ve simulated a new gas treatment system using small scale reactor vessels in the lab that employ lab created nano sized particles (in place of the larger conventional media) that act as a catalyst separating H2S and biochar. This technique has the potential to reduce the volume capacity required for housing the media used to filter landfill gas. The team is partnering with Brookhaven landfill and Wehran Energy to scale up the project with a pilot study on site. After completing a pilot study, they plan to do feasibility and cost study. This can assist landfills with meeting state and federal environmental regulations at a better cost. This can also potentially boost energy production at landfills by generating a cleaner landfill gas and reduce the environmental impact associated with C&D waste.
Lori Clark is a native of Long Island and Southern California. She has a bachelor’s degree in Resource Conservation (Brigham Young University), a master’s degree in Marine Environmental Science (Stony Brook University) where she worked in a trace metal clean laboratory, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Technology, Policy, and Innovation at Stony Brook University with a focus on energy and the environment. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, she volunteered in South Africa and later began working on wilderness assessment in Utah and advocacy in Washington DC. Following her master’s degree she did research on striped bass migration and contributed as a co-author on the state of NY/NJ harbor estuary reports for the Hudson River Foundation, NYC for three years. She later moved to California where she began a teaching career in earth and ocean sciences and became an associate professor of environmental science and technology at Moorpark College (8 years). While there, Lori developed curriculum and programs related to general environmental science, energy conservation, and solar technologies. Through her studies and work she came to be very interested in the development of local energy from municipal waste. She was able to find a program at Stony Brook University where she could pursue research in this area.
Laura Mast
Georgia Institute of Technology, Ph.D.
EREF Scholar 2015
Chelant-Enhanced Selective Leaching and Capture of Rare Metals from Coal Ash
Rare earth elements (REEs) have played an invaluable role in the development of clean energy technology and high tech manufacturing. High global demand along with global scarcity has sober implications for future development. To address this supply issue, it is crucial that alternative resources and methods are developed for the recovery of REEs. Research has shown that solid wastes such as coal combustion ash and incineration ash may be promising alternative sources of REEs due to their high concentrations in these waste byproducts. However, many obstacles exist before recovery of REEs from the above solid wastes becomes industrially viable and practical. Many knowledge gaps still exist, including a better understanding of the distribution of REEs in the coal and incineration ashes, as well as more efficient and environmentally sustainable methods to extract and recover REEs from these solid wastes.
The focus of the project will be to develop chelant-assisted methods for extraction, separation and recovery of REEs from coal and incineration ashes, which will achieve higher efficiency and selectivity and be more environmentally sustainable than conventional metallurgical methods. Chelants with different functional binding sites and geometry exhibit different complexation affinity toward different metals. Appropriate selection, design and employment of chelants will be developed to achieve the most effective and selective method. To assess the performance and robustness of the chelant-assisted method and impact of different ash matrices, the method will be applied to a range of representative waste ashes, which will be fully characterized in parallel.
The development of a robust, environmentally sustainable, efficient and selective REE extraction method will expand the role of resource recovery in industry as well as improve the fundamental understanding of the complexation chemistry of REEs and mineral dissolution in ashes. Most importantly, this project will help prepare the solid waste industry with better tools and knowledge to promote resource recovery in the treatment and management of solid wastes.
Laura Mast graduated with Honors in Chemistry in 2014 from Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, she was awarded a Beckman Scholar Award and studied ligand functionalization and nanomaterial synthesis and development with Dr. Janet Macdonald. While minoring in Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Laura extended her training and passion for environmental issues beyond the science, building a comprehensive understanding of sociopolitical and economic contexts as well. She is currently a second year graduate student and President’s Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering. Working with advisor Dr. Ching-Hua Huang, she has developed a research project combining her love of research and passions for environmental chemistry and materials science in resource recovery, namely the development of novel chelant-enhanced selective leaching and extraction methods for rare earth elements and other valuable materials from solid wastes.
Following her Ph.D., Laura hopes to continue her work in resource recovery as an industry researcher and consultant. Improvements in technology for sustainable waste management will become more important in the future as demands for resource recovery continue to increase. Eventually, she hopes to enter into public policy surrounding hazardous and non-hazardous waste management.
Judd Larson
University of Wyoming, Ph.D.
EREF Scholar 2015
Stimulating Autoinduction of Biofilm Growth to Enhance Cellulose Stabilization
Research into bacterial quorum sensing has revealed that self-produced chemical signals, called autoinducers, have been linked to the induction of biofilm growth, among other phenotypes such as virulence, swarming motility, antibiotic resistance, competence, and extracellular polymeric substance production. The solubilization of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is the rate-limiting step in the anaerobic biological stabilization process and is rate-limited by the amount of attached biofilm. Judd Larson’s research focuses on enhancing the anaerobic solubilization rate of the OFMSW by stimulating the autoinduction of more biofilm growth. Since autoinducer-2 (AI-2) is an interspecies quorum sensing molecule linked to inducing biofilm formation and anaerobic solid waste biodegradation is conducted by a multi-species consortium of bacteria and archaea, Judd’s research focuses on measuring and stimulating AI-2 production to enhance biofilm growth and increase biodegradation rates. Furthermore, since cellulose and hemicelluloses make up between 45% to 75% of the dry weight of MSW and are 90% of its methane potential, Judd’s research focuses on enhancing the solubilization of cellulose. The specific objectives of his research are to:
- Identify microbial stressors that can enhance AI-2 production and anaerobic cellulolytic biofilm growth.
- Measure the increased rate of cellulose solubilization due to enhanced biofilm growth from AI-2 stimulation and AI-2 addition.
- Determine the types and amounts of the major cellulose degradation products from enhanced biofilm growth and compare to that of the non-stimulated systems.
- Measure the increased rate of methane production due to enhanced biofilm growth.
- Predict the increased degradation rates of solid waste from enhanced biofilms.
Judd Larson was born in Lenoir, North Carolina and raised in Bradenton, Florida. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Florida in Environmental Engineering Sciences in 2004 and 2006, respectively. For his Master’s thesis, Judd had the unique opportunity to have a 48-acre bioreactor landfill as his laboratory, where he studied the pressure-flow relationships of different horizontal injection line designs. He then moved to Columbus, Ohio, to work at CDM (now CDM-Smith) where he had the good fortune to work with a tremendous group of people on a variety of civil and environmental projects involving solid and hazardous waste design and engineering, storm water quality analysis and hydraulic modeling, sanitary sewer inflow and infiltration, wastewater treatment plant design and engineering, water treatment plant design and engineering, potable water pipeline design and construction, trenchless technologies, air quality analysis, groundwater remediation, and environmental life cycle analyses.
Olga Kachook
Yale University, MS
EREF Scholar 2015
Integrating Zero Waste and Extended Producer Responsibility Practices into Corporate Waste
Olga will focus on the intersection between consumer product waste and the environment; namely, why certain corporations have willingly taken on advanced strategies for managing their product’s life cycles, how other businesses can adopt similar strategies, and what positive effects this may have on a corporation’s bottom line. Zero waste is a business principle that goes beyond traditional attitudes towards materials management, such as recycling or composting materials. Instead, it takes a whole system approach to the immense flow of resources and materials through a product’s life cycle. Zero waste strategies seek to first minimize waste and reduce consumption and then maximize recycling and other processes. The end goal is to ensure that products are designed in order to be eventually reused, repaired, or recycled back into nature or the marketplace. A concept closely integrated with zero waste is extended producer responsibility (EPR). As a strategy, EPR integrates the environmental costs associated with goods throughout their life cycle into the initial market price of products, and involves take-back programs that create an end-of-life destination for products. Olga plans to research what distinguishes companies that have embraced and advanced EPR from those that have struggled to create end-of-life solutions for their products and processes. She would like to identify what accounts for the differences in companies’ attitudes towards product life cycles. Currently, research has shown that a combination of government regulations and policies, cultural and societal norms, consumer demand, and company culture and values are having the strongest influence on the development of EPR within corporations. Ultimately, Olga plans to investigate what it would take for EPR to be adopted more broadly, especially by companies based in the United States.
Olga Kachook graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and a minor in Environmental Studies. After graduating she spent three years working with a Seattle-based environmental consulting firm, primarily implementing resource conservation programs for the public sector. This involved researching and authoring reports on sustainability planning, sustainable consumption, and regional green business programs. Olga also participated in the design and implementation of several cutting-edge pilot programs that tested the effectiveness of community-based social marketing strategies on increasing recycling and composting at multifamily properties. In addition to consulting, Olga also led an internal marketing and communications team of five people, including deliverables, day-to-day organization, and planning of marketing initiatives. Olga is pursuing a Master’s of Environmental Management (MEM) at Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she will focus on whole-system sustainability strategies for businesses. She enjoys hiking, photography, and travel, most recently visiting her native Belarus.
Nicholas Hotzelt
Clemson University, MS
EREF Scholar 2015
Landfill Leachate Valorization for Commodity Methane Generation
Landfill leachate is a regulated waste at every landfill operating in the United States. It is monitored and controlled to prevent environmental impacts, and to date there have been few reasonable markets for this ubiquitous waste. This project seeks to develop a new market for landfill leachate by a two-step conversion process that uses microbial biomass as an intermediate between leachate and methane production. The broad objective of Nick’s project is to demonstrate that landfill leachate can be converted to methane using a two-step microbial process that involves microbial biomass as an intermediate, where the microbial biomass generated from leachate consumption becomes the feedstock for methane production in a controlled anaerobic digester.
This research advances the prospects of converting landfills to a source of renewable energy. At most current landfills, the methane gas that is formed during the break down of organic waste leaks into the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. The process that Nick is working on will turn a significant environmental problem into a renewable energy solution. Nicholas Hotzelt received his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from Clemson University in December 2014. He is currently a second year Master’s candidate at Clemson studying Environmental Engineering with an emphasis area in surface and subsurface transport. Nick has been involved with numerous organizations over his time at Clemson including Engineers without Borders, Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries, and is currently serving on the executive board of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) student chapter. In his free time he enjoys attending sporting events, traveling and spending time with friends and family.
Kat McCarthy
Green Mountain College, MS
Robert P. Stearns/SCS Engineers Scholar 2015
A Strategy for Organics Diversion
Organics diversion is considered by many to be the next frontier of recycling. The US EPA estimates that organic materials, including paper, yard trimmings and food scraps, make up the largest component of municipal solid waste. For commercial businesses in the hospitality sector, it costs money to both acquire and discard these materials. In addition to the financial implications of this problem, there are also environmental and social impacts associated with wasted food, such as resource use, pollution, and food insecurity. This represents an opportunity to develop a comprehensive suite of services for organics diversion that promotes waste prevention, donation, and composting. In communities across the country resources exist to redirect and compost uneaten food. However, there is a lack of technical expertise and a business model to enact such a program.
Through this project, research will be conducted to evaluate the feasibility of developing a business that offers commercial generators a comprehensive suite of services for organics management. Through research and a review of case studies, Kat will seek to understand best practices and parameters for such an entity. Objectives for the project include: (1) investigate business strategies and economic models that may be applied to the development of organics diversion programs; (2) research elements of organics diversion systems that feature prevention, donation, or composting; and (3) identify opportunities to draw on existing resources within the local community to implement cost-effective operational strategies. By researching the basic parameters of effective entities through the lens of the triple bottom line (people, planet, and profit) it is hoped that a framework can be created to evaluate local market viability for the development of such an organization. While this project will focus on a location in upstate New York, it is anticipated that frameworks and lessons learned will be transferrable to other communities across the country. By undertaking this research through the lens of business, reliance on under-funded local municipal programs will be reduced, helping expand organics diversion efforts more rapidly.
Kat McCarthy holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Ithaca College. During her time as an undergraduate, she developed a passion for materials management through her work as the student recycling coordinator. Since 2006 she has been employed by the Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Division where she is currently the Waste Reduction and Recycling Specialist. Through this position, Kat coordinates 4R efforts (reduce, reuse, recycle, and rebuy), including the ReBusiness Partnership, green purchasing initiatives, food scrap recycling and curbside recycling programs. Her most recent work has focused on a curbside food scraps recycling pilot and residential drop spot program. Kat has been trained as a Master Composter and has a strong interest in organics diversion. In 2006, she helped found Ithaca CRT, which supports local event coordinators in organizing and staffing educational Compost, Recycling, and Trash stations for attendees. Since 2010, she has served on the board of NYSAR3, the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling. During her years of service as a regional representative with the organization she has acted as board secretary and currently chairs the organization’s Organics Council. Kat is also a co-owner of EcoJarz, a company that specializes in drink tops and accessories to support glass jar reuse. Kat is currently pursuing an MBA in Sustainability at Green Mountain College.
Brent Perdue
University of Texas at Austin, MS
EREF Scholar 2015
Analysis of Municipal Landfill Diversion Ordinances
Brent’s research will analyze municipal landfill diversion ordinances utilizing case studies of large urban areas. The research aims to explain and explore existing landfill diversion ordinance development and examine successes and failures of landfill diversion ordinance case studies. The world’s population is growing and society is increasingly urbanizing. As society urbanizes, waste can become an increasing burden – straining land resources, governmental budgets, and ecological systems. Yet, waste can be transformed into a resource – conserving land, creating economic development opportunities, and preserving ecological resources. Waste is not inevitable. It is a mindset – and through innovative approaches this mindset can be shifted towards viewing waste as a resource. Discarded rubbish linearly destined for a landfill is potential material with alternate life cycles.
Many municipalities are grappling with issues of solid waste management out of budgetary, economic development, and/or environmental concern. Governmental regulatory environments and market conditions varies across metropolitan areas. No “one-size-fits-all” solid waste management solution exists. The research will focus on attempting to answer this question: What effect do municipal recycling ordinances have on landfill diversion of recyclable and compostable materials? Brent’s research will survey and compare several U.S. municipal landfill diversion ordinances. In addition, Brent will investigate international political and economic structures and policies that influence solid waste management in the context of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Brent Perdue grew up in Austin, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin. After receiving a double major Bachelor of Arts in History and Government, Brent worked for seven years as co-director of the nonprofit Ecology Action of Texas, a recycling service provider and environmental education organization. During his time at Ecology Action, Brent also served for four years on the City of Austin Zero Waste Advisory Commission – the City of Austin Resource Recovery Department’s citizen oversight board. Brent is pursuing two master degrees at the University of Texas at Austin in the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the School of Architecture’s Community and Regional Planning program. Brent is interested in the relationship between cities, businesses, consumption, and zero waste planning and policy.
Arlene Janousek
Simon Fraser University, MS
EREF Scholar 2015
Comparing Waste Management Impacts on Conventional vs. Organic Food Supply Chains
The agriculture industry is responsible for a variety of economic, social, and environmental impacts. Furthermore, the global food system is one of the world’s most resource intensive practices, using large portions of available water, and land. While some aspects of the sustainability of conventional agriculture, organic agriculture, and food waste have been researched, there are few studies that examine producer food waste or that compare conventional and organic agricultural waste patterns. Multiple researchers have acknowledged a lack of data and information about food waste at different levels of the food supply chain. Food waste is a major concern as it is estimated that at least 30% of the food that is grown globally is never consumed by humans.
To address this knowledge gap, Arlene is working with farmers in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia to assess their food waste practices. Arlene is conducting interviews and case studies to gain an in-depth understanding of farmer’s perceptions of food waste as a sustainability issue, and to better understand if and how farmers are attempting to reduce or sustainably manage food waste. Additionally, Arlene will be comparing findings from organic and conventional food producers to assess how food waste volume and management differs between agricultural methods. The aim of this research project is to establish baseline information regarding on-farm food waste and best practices for reducing and managing on-farm food waste.
Arlene Janousek considers herself lucky to have grown up in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. In 2013, Arlene received an undergraduate degree from UBC Okanagan in Geography. During her undergraduate degree, Arlene worked in Ottawa for the Government of Canada and participated in numerous campus activities. After working for a hydroelectricity company for two years, Arlene decided to pursue a masters degree in Resource and Environmental Management (Planning) at Simon Fraser University. Arlene’s research interests include sustainable development, environmental planning, and sustainable food systems. Arlene hopes that her research will contribute to the establishment of a more sustainable and efficient food system. In addition to school, Arlene enjoys photography, travel and exploring Vancouver and the surrounding areas.
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