Events Calendar

Astani Civil and Environmental Engineering Seminar

Speaker: Dr. Nancy Love, University of Michigan, Civil & Environnental Engineering

Talk Title: A Balancing Act: Assessing the Fate of Emerging Contaminants in Urine-Derived Fertilizers that Reduce Nutrient Loads and Achieve Nutrient Recovery

Abstract:
Source separation of urine provides benefits over traditional wastewater nutrient management including providing urine-derived fertilizer and reducing nutrient loads to wastewater treatment systems. This talk reviews an evaluation of the largest known community-scale and office-scale urine separation programs in the US. Urine is collected from public events and used to fertilize crops (lettuce and carrots). The urine used for this study was well characterized for nutrient, biological, and pharmaceutical constituents. While the study is underway, this presentation will highlight results to date that focus on the effectiveness of different processing methods (storage, pasteurization, and struvite precipitation) on reducing emerging and traditional contaminants that could have an impact on public health. The potential impacts of separating urine at the source and making it a valuable product are discussed.


Biography: Dr. Nancy Love is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University Michigan. She served as chair of the department from January 2008 -“ August 2011. In September 2011, she became Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Initiatives in the Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan. Prior to 2008, Dr. Love was an Assistant, Associate and Full Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and an Adjunct Professor of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on environmental biotechnology and water quality with an emphasis on engineered treatment systems. Her specific interests focus on the fate of stressor chemicals in these systems, the use of technologies to sense and remove these chemicals, and on resource recovery from wastewater. Dr. Love has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, a Ph.D. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson University, and is a licensed professional engineer (P.E.) in the state of Michigan. After completing her M.S. degree, she worked as a process design engineer for approximately 3 years for CH2M Hill, Inc.


Host: Dr. Adam Smith

Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Evangeline Reyes