David R. Shonnard
Bioremediation of Environmental Pollution
Naturally occurring microorganisms have been found that degrade a spectrum of environmental pollutants, from crude oil to hazardous wastes, into relatively harmless products. Research in this area is aimed at isolating these microorganisms from environmental samples; growing them in bioreactors; studying their surface properties, enzyme stability, and transport characteristics; and, finally, designing and mathematically modeling bioremediation processes from the fundamental information. This research is being conducted in a new state-of-the-art Subsurface Remediation Laboratory.
Environmental Transport Phenomena
The transport of chemicals in the environment, especially pollutants, is central to many activities of environmental (and chemical) engineers. These activities include determining the fate of agricultural and industrial chemicals in the environment, designing long-term containment of disposed hazardous wastes, estimating human exposure and risk from industrial pollutant releases, and designing environmental remediation processes.
Current research projects include experimental investigations of airborne emission rates from distillation condenser vents using a pilot facility at MTU. Another project involves developing mathematical models of transport in the environment and pollution assessment software to predict the environmental and human health impacts of industrial releases to the air, water, and land.
Publications