Projects Selected for Funding in 2016
Algal Remediation of Waste Water Produced during Hydraulic Fracturing
Nurhan Dunford
Microalgae are ubiquitous photosynthetic microorganisms that are found both in marine
and freshwater environments with a great potential to produce not only biomass as
feedstock for renewable fuels, high-value natural products, food, and feed applications
but also to provide a valid solution to the problem of environmental pollution. In
particular, they are able to grow using different nutrients (mainly N and P), heavy
metals and other contaminants from different wastewaters such as agricultural and
animal, municipal, as well as industrial. In addition, they can thrive using the CO2
emitted for instance by coal fired power plants thereby reducing greenhouse gas level
in the atmosphere.
Western Oklahoma Irrigation Water and Energy Audits: Findings, Recommendations and Educational Materials
Scott Frazier, Saleh Taghvaeian, Jason Warren, Don Sternitzke, Cameron Murley
Western Oklahoma is a semi-arid region that is very susceptible to drought and utilizes
considerable amounts of irrigation water. Most of this irrigation is pumped ground
water. Some of the irrigation is also shallow well or surface water. With water resources
being consumed at higher rates for agricultural irrigation, farmers need to be as
efficient as possible with the extraction and application of this resource. With increasing
competition between rural and urban water needs, it will be necessary to document
how well agricultural systems are utilizing water resources in order to maintain access.
Evaluating the Reuse of Swine Lagoon Effluent and Recycled Municipal Water for Agricultural Production
Hailin Zhang, Doug Hamilton, Saleh Taghvaeian, Scott Carter
Significant amount of water in Oklahoma is used for crop irrigation. Water shortage
in Oklahoma and the Southern Great Plains has become a major limitation for crop production
and other uses, which will have a major impact on local economy. Therefore, alternative
sources of irrigation water need to be explored. Treated municipal wastewater (TWW)
is one of the most readily available alternative water sources, although infrastructures
to use TWW for crop irrigation are lacking in most places and public acceptance is
probably low because of the lack of field evaluations in the state. Currently, most
TWW in the state is directly discharged to streams and rivers rather than recycled
for crop production.