Date of Award
Fall 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Program/Concentration
Civil Engineering
Committee Director
Jaewan Yoon
Committee Member
Xixi Wang
Committee Member
Mujde Erten-Unal
Abstract
The depletion of resources has raised interest in reusing or incorporating by-products into alternative materials. In the effort for net zero emissions, waste reduction, and a circular economy, it is crucial to reinvent the alternative utilization strategy for by-products as construction materials sustainably. This research examines the alternative utilization strategy for oyster shell by-products in regular stormwater pollutant removal best management practices (BMPs).
Numerous research has examined the utilization of oyster shell waste as a construction material in Asia and Europe, specifically focusing on the physical properties of crushed oyster shells as alternatives for aggregates. No studies have been identified in the Americas. This study seeks to pioneer research globally on the performance of waste oyster shells as a filtration medium for capturing significant pollutants in stormwater runoff and to take initiative in the United States through studying on oyster shells as a construction material. It will assess the capacity of waste oyster shells to capture key pollutants in stormwater runoff, including Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Nitrogen, and Total Dissolved Phosphorus. The study investigated the pollutant removal efficacy of waste oyster shells in different size distributions and in both calcined and uncalcined forms. This study determined that waste oyster shells are significantly more effective at capturing nearly 100% of Total Suspended Solids (TSS), with the median Total Dissolved Nitrogen (TDN) removal rate for four variations of waste oyster shell filtration media ranging from 50% to 62%, and with the average TDP removal rate across all oyster shell variants ranging from 36.39% to 42.7%. This outcome indicates that waste oyster shells serve as a suitable material to be used in the filtration medium, regardless of whether they are calcined or non-calcined, and crushed or non-crushed. This study highlights innovative approaches that redefine oyster shells from an environmental and economic burden into a resource that mitigates these issues by replacing conventional materials that are costly to both the environment and economy.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
DOI
10.25777/bk3r-sz05
ISBN
9798302863041
Recommended Citation
Omer, Sadiq.
"Feasibility Study of Oyster Shell Filtration Media for Stormwater Pollutants Removal"
(2024). Master of Science (MS), Thesis, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/bk3r-sz05
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cee_etds/216
