Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 143 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-97).

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2002. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (M.Sc. Physics)--University of Waikato, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-102)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Environmental policy makers are required to make decisions under uncertainty regarding the benefits and costs of specific regulatory action. Uncertainty is a phenomenon that cannot be avoided in the assessment of environmental impacts, due to the inherent stochasticity of environmental systems, as well as a lack of adequate empirical data related to specific cause and effect relationships. A primary constraint associated with generation of adequate data from experiments is that environmental research is expensive, and conclusive results may take several years to obtain. In the meantime, significant impacts could be occurring, virtually undetected. A high degree of uncertainty exists in the assessment of the potential effects of ozone (O₃) pollution on agricultural crop yield. Thus, the purpose of this research was to provide information related to the potential impacts of O₃ pollution on crops in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Two alternate methods were utilized: (i) biomonitoring with Bel W-3 tobacco, a plant variety that is very sensitive to O₃, and (ii) expert judgments of the risks of crop losses from O₃. The biomonitor survey was conducted over three growing seasons (1985 - 1987), in which ambient O₃ pollution conditions were atypically low, limiting the injury response data obtained. However, a correlation was established between biomonitor injury response and ambient O₃ levels, demonstrating that phytotoxic pollution conditions occurred during these years. Calibration of biomonitor injury response with crop yield losses revealed the following: (i) yield losses due to O₃ exposure are likely in the event that biomonitor plants exhibit O₃-induced injury symptoms, and (ii) the absence of biomonitor injury does not preclude the possibility of crop loss, since the O₃ exposure threshold for biomonitor injury may exceed that for loss of certain crops. Although experts are commonly used to provide judgments of potential impacts under uncertainty, there is a paucity of information regarding the desirable attributes of expertise. Selection of experts is largely an ambiguous task, and choices of experts by different persons are likely to be inconsistent. Prior to selection of experts for this project, a comprehensive survey was conducted of over 200 environmental professionals to determine the characteristics of an expert in O₃ effects on crops. It was shown that expertise in this area involves a considerable number of attributes. These were grouped, using factor analysis, into seven independent dimensions: education, type of career experience, length of career experience, cognitive skills, personal qualities related to credibility, scientific recognition and involvement in the scientific community. In general, there was agreement between different groups (e.g., research scientists and members of conservation groups) regarding the relative importance of the various dimensions of expertise. Nine crop loss experts were selected, based on nomination by a large group (166) of their scientific peers. It was demonstrated with regression analysis that nominated experts exhibited the attributes identified in the survey. Logit models were estimated that predict an individual's degree of expertise in O₃ effects on crops, based on specific attributes possessed by that individual. Independent judgments were then obtained from the nine experts regarding probable crop losses under typical O₃ pollution conditions in the Fraser Valley. Probabilistic judgments of crop losses were generally similar among experts and approximated the level of crop losses predicted from the biomonitor survey. Limited empirical exposure-response information for Fraser Valley crops indicated that some cultivars may be more sensitive than assumed by the experts. Additional exposure-response experiments will be required to determine the source of this inconsistency. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate

This study reviews catalytic ozonation AOPs and traditional ozone-based AOPs to compare their efficiency for degradation of ozone-recalcitrant compounds. With the world’s population increasing and water becoming a scarce resource, it is important to improve current water recycling methods. Recycling water will play a large role in accommodating the increasing demand, but it will also be necessary to be improve the level of treatment in order to account for emerging contaminants (ECs) such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been developed to degrade ECs that are not effectively removed by conventional wastewater treatment. The goal of implementing AOPs is to promote the formation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH), which are stronger oxidants than ozone, to degrade recalcitrant compounds. Current AOPs under investigation include ozonation of metal and carbon-based catalysts, known as catalytic ozonation. Traditional ozone-based AOPs currently in use include UV combined with ozone (UV/O3) and hydrogen peroxide combined with ozone (H2O2/O3). Seventeen studies were reviewed to analyze the effectiveness of multiple carbon- and metal oxide-catalytic ozonation AOPs, compared to traditional AOPs. These studies varied in reactor type, water source, pH, catalyst pretreatment, inclusion of competitor species, and flow regime. The variety of testing conditions made comparison difficult, so all studies were compared based on contaminant removal efficiency and degradation rate, as well as general EC degradation and removal of TOC. The addition of metal oxides during ozonation consistently increased rate of removal and in some cases, even doubled the reaction rate. Catalytic ozonation consistently decreased total organic carbon (TOC) levels amongst multiple studies, even in the presence of competitor species. Future work should study the formation and subsequent breakdown of reaction intermediates, role of competitor species, and impact of sorption to the ozonation catalyst.

This master’s thesis is focused on a study of temperature influence on ozone generation and decomposition by chosen solid surfaces. Ozone is unstable gas that is decomposed spontaneously. This decomposition can be accelerated by various factors such as increase in temperature or reaction with other substances. The aim of this study is to determinate how fast the ozone decomposition proceeds at different temperatures and how the homogenous decomposition of ozone is accelerated by heterogeneous processes on the walls of solid materials. Currently in practise ozone is used in many areas and the finding of the rate of its decomposition can help to increase efficiency of its production and subsequent specific applications. In the theoretical part of the thesis, these points are described: important properties of ozone, possibilities of its utilization, the ozone generation, some methods of determination of the ozone concentration, ozone relationship to various solid surfaces and present theoretical knowledge about the effect of temperature on the ozone generation and decomposition. In the experimental part, the rate of the ozone decomposition in reaction tubes made of copper and iron of two different surface to volume ratios was investigated at temperatures of 10, 25, 40, 55, 70 and 85 °C. Ozone generated from oxygen was closed in the reaction tube and the decrease of its concentration during the time was observed by absorption spectroscopy. From obtained exponential dependencies, the rate constants at different conditions of this experiment were evaluated. The rate of ozone decomposition significantly increased with higher temperature. The fastest ozone decomposition took place in the iron tube of larger inner diameter (8 mm).

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