Jim F. Chamberlain

Water-supply options in arsenic-affected regions in Cambodia: targeting the bottom income quintiles.

In arsenic-affected regions of Cambodia, rural water committees and planners can choose to promote various arsenic-avoidance and/or arsenic-removal water supply systems. Each of these has different costs of providing water, subsequently born by the consumer in order to be sustainable. On a volumetric basis (

Using a High-Capacity Chemically Activated Cow Bone to Remove Fluoride: Field-Scale Column Tests and Laboratory Regeneration Studies

/m3-yr) and of the arsenic-avoidance options considered, small-scale public water supply - e.g., treated water provided to a central tap stand - is the most expensive option on a life-cycle cost basis. Rainwater harvesting, protected hand dug wells, and vendor-supplied water are the cheapest with a normalized present worth value, ranging from

Work in progress - first year engineering student responses on exit surveys as indicators of program effectiveness

2 to

Using DAYCENT to quantify on-farm GHG emissions and N dynamics of land use conversion to N-managed switchgrass in the Southern U.S.

10 per cubic meter per year of water delivered. Subsidization of capital costs is needed to make even these options affordable to the lowest (Q5) quintile. The range of arsenic-removal systems considered here, using adsorptive media, is competitive with large-scale public water supply and deep tube well systems. Both community level and household-scale systems are in a range that is affordable to the Q4 quintile, though more research and field trials are needed. At a target cost of

Modeling nitrogen loss from switchgrass agricultural systems

5.00/m3, arsenic removal systems will compete with the OpEx costs for most of the arsenic-safe water systems that are currently available. The life-cycle cost approach is a valuable method for comparing alternatives and for assessing current water supply practices as these relate to equity and the ability to pay.

Policy incentives for switchgrass production using valuation of non-market ecosystem services

AbstractIn this study, a novel material, chemically activated cow bone (CAB), was further evaluated for fluoride removal via laboratory batch and field column studies using fluoride-impacted groundwaters in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Regeneration of the exhausted CAB was evaluated using 0.05 M NaOH and 0.01 M Ca(OH)2 solutions. Water-quality parameters were analyzed to ensure that the CAB-treated water is safe for human consumption. The study indicated that the CAB produced in the laboratory and field showed fourfold improvement in fluoride removal capacity as compared to thermally activated cow bone (commonly known as bone char). The study also showed that more than 92% adsorption capacity of the exhausted CAB media can be regained using 0.05 M NaOH and 0.01 M Ca(OH)2 solutions. The water-quality analysis conducted on the highly fluoride-impacted drinking waters treated using CAB media were found to be safe for public consumption. Therefore, these results further reinforce that CAB media can be used to...

A Comparison of Two Methods to Conduct Material Flow Analysis on Waste Tires in a Small Island Developing State

Improving student retention rates in first year engineering courses is of critical importance, especially considering the one-way migration pattern out of engineering. Our program retains approximately 70% of new students in engineering disciplines. Students who choose to leave engineering by the end of their first year at our institution voluntarily complete a survey with questions regarding their certainty upon entry, motivating factors to enter and to leave engineering, and what appeals to them about their new majors. We have analyzed nearly 400 surveys over a five-year period to examine correlations between reasons for leaving and how students come to that decision, with changes in program resources, specifically refining career information, personality profile assessment, and mastery assessment. Open-ended survey responses were categorized based on concerns about the profession, the curriculum, self-awareness and institutional (or programmatic) issues. Using career theory as a framework, the survey responses were evaluated in light of programmatic changes that have been implemented.