Engineering lab provides environmental expertise

A recently established laboratory is offering environmental expertise to industry and government.

The Environmental Technology Research and Applications Laboratory, housed in the Chemical Engineering Department, draws on expertise from around the university, said director Mark Zappi.

"Our department has done environmental engineering work for many years, but the lab allows us to focus talent from chemical engineering and other campus departments," he noted.

The laboratory also provides real-world experiences for students in the department, he said. The E-Tech Laboratory works to help industries and government agencies come into compliance with environmental regulations.

"Most environmental clean-up is accomplished using consulting firms that don't have their own labs," he said. "We're able to provide the research to support their efforts, drawing on the skills of very experienced professors and graduate students.

In the five months since the lab was established, researchers have worked on projects that include developing an oxidation process for treating chlorinated phenols in water and using biological techniques to treat contaminated soils. They continue to work with a commercial laundry on environmental compliance and soon will initiate work to use ultrasound for enhancing oxidation processes.

Participating researchers also have expertise with various treatment processes that include chemical oxidation, biotreatment, adsorption processes, solidification, and microwave destruction, to name a few.

Researchers in the lab either work to develop new techniques for solving an environmental problem or determine the best existing technology that can be applied, Zappi said.

"Every graduate student is required to work on one treatability study designed to bring an industry into compliance with environmental regulations, or assist with remediation of a contaminated site," he explained.

Among chemical engineering faculty members participating are Chiang Hai Kuo, an expert in the mechanisms of contaminant oxidation; Clifford George, an expert in thermal processes for waste treatment; Donald Hill, department head, and an expert in treatment of industrial wastewaters; and Zappi, an expert in the biological, phytological and chemical treatment of contaminated soils and waters.

The laboratory works closely with the Mississippi Technical Assistance Program (MISSTAP), also in the department, which specializes in technology implementation and providing information to technology users.