Potential Research Projects

We have two tracks for this REU:

Track 1: Environmental and Water Resource Impairments and Solution Challenges in Appalachian Communities

Track 2: Sustainable Engineering Solutions and Economic Feasibility for Appalachian Communities

Details and potential research projects for each track can be found below.

Track 1 - Environmental and Water Resource Impairments and Solution Challenges in Appalachian Communities (Mentors: Tiffany Messer, William Ford, Andrea Erhardt; Jian Shi, Michael Sama; Jason Unrine):

Track 1 of the REU will focus on environmental and water resource impairments in Appalachia. In rural regions, such as Appalachia, water and wastewater infrastructure is largely decentralized, and water quality is a significant concern as surface water is the primary source of drinking water. In addition, flooding and past land use practices often impact the ability to treat water. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the fate and transport of contaminants in this region along with developing innovate, resilient management practices. Furthermore, as climate change, particularly the increase of extreme events such as drought and flooding, continues to impact available surface water, new technologies for water and wastewater treatment and storage are needed to ensure water quality and quantity are sufficient to meet regional drinking water needs.

Project: Effectiveness Treatment Wetlands for Personal Care Products (PCPs), E. coli and Sulfate Removal (Messer)Significance: Personal Care Products (PCPs, e.g., antibiotics, caffeine), E. coli, and high concentrations of dissolved sulfate are persistent in Appalachian rivers due to straight pipes and previous mining activities in the region. These contaminants are a major cause for drinking water impairments and water treatment challenges. Wetlands are now used extensively across the United States, particularly in rural regions, as a means for mitigating wastewater treatment due to their cost effectiveness and low energy consumption. While the use of wetlands as a treatment approach for nutrients is well known, nutrients are not the sole constituent entering surface waters from straight piped wastewater and nonpoint runoff. PCPs have become ubiquitous in waterways worldwide resulting in significant effects within food webs and on human health. Further, floods often contaminant drinking water sources with E. coli. Therefore, this study will address 2 primary research questions: 1) How do PCPs and sulfate impact nutrient and E. coli removal efficiencies in treatment wetlands, and 2) Are treatment wetlands suitable for Appalachian communities? Student Participation: The REU students will conduct wetland mesocosm experiments to assess the impact of wetland designs on PCPs, sulfate, E. coli, and nutrient removal. Water quality parameters will be evaluated throughout the experiments using in-situ sensors and water and plant samples. Further, students will gain experience working with Appalachian communities through providing a presentation to community leaders (Letter of Collaboration available upon request). Student Outcomes: Students will gain an understanding of sample techniques for mesocosm wetland studies to determine the impacts contaminants have on biological treatment systems. Findings will provide design recommendations to improve water quality in Appalachian regions. Students will learn analytical chemistry instrumentation including an AQ400, ion chromatograph, and TOC analyzer. Training: Sampling techniques will be taught by graduate students and/or faculty member as needed.

Project: Tracing Sources of Dissolved Orthophosphate in Karst Agroecosystems Using Ambient Oxygen Isotopes(Ford) Significance: Transport of orthophosphate from agricultural watersheds in the foothills of Appalachia is widely recognized to contribute to eutrophication of receiving waterbodies, resulting in drinking water impairments and seasonal hypoxia.  Direct impacts have led to chronic drinking water issues in small rural municipalities receiving their drinking water from these sources, such as what has been observed in Lake Linville in central KY. In karst agroecosystems with phosphatic limestones, reducing dissolved reactive P (DRP) loadings at the watershed-scale has been hampered by poor understanding of flow pathway dynamics, continued fertilization using organic and inorganic fertilizers, and the abundance of legacy geologic and anthropogenic P sources. As a result, water extractable P concentrations in soils may differ by more than an order of magnitude both vertically and spatially within a watershed41. A promising approach to tracing source provenance of orthophosphate is through use of ambient oxygen isotope signatures of DRP. Nevertheless, this methodology has not been applied in karst agroecosystems with phosphatic limestones.  Therefore, the primary research questions will be: 1) Can oxygen isotope signatures of dissolved orthophosphate separate ambient and anthropogenic sources of orthophosphate in karst agroecosystems, and 2) Can isotopes inform source contributions during stormflows in Appalachian regions. Student Participation: REU students will collect samples from storm events using a Teledyne ISCO automated grab sampler and will process and analyze samples for DRP concentrations and oxygen isotope signatures. Students will analyze data by comparing with soil source signatures of water extractable P. Students will also leverage existing in situ sensing equipment to assess volumetric discharge and water source provenance using established methods41. Student Outcomes: Students will gain an understanding of karst hydrology and water quality issues, field sample collection and sensing techniques, develop laboratory analytical skills, and become proficient in fingerprinting techniques to trace contaminant sources. Students will gain an appreciation for the impact of work in rural communities by meeting with a basin coordinator at the Kentucky Division of Water to learn more about water quality issues facing small rural municipalities and discuss how the student’s research will be used to inform watershed planning. Training: Training on experimental protocols and water quality collection and analysis will be conducted by the faculty mentor. 

Project: Acid Mine Drainage and Agriculture- A Poor Water Quality Combination (Erhardt). Significance: Across Kentucky and Appalachia, coal mining has resulted in poor water quality through the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD). AMD occurs when pyrite (Fe2S), contained within coal, is oxidized to form dissolved iron and sulfuric acid. The resulting high levels of heavy metals and acidity degrade water quality, destroy ecosystems, and damage water infrastructure. Additionally, agriculture fertilization typically adds significant nitrate contamination. When co-existing, the nitrate may increase the presence of sulfur oxidizing bacteria, generating even more AMD. While theoretically nitrate contamination will greatly increase AMD generation, no studies have verified this effect. This study will address 2 primary research questions: 1) How much does nitrate increase AMD generation, and 2) How prevalent is this for Kentucky?  Student Participation:  The project will involve a mixture of both field and laboratory studies.  First, students will visit sites of AMD generation near agricultural fields, sampling water and recording water conditions. These samples will be brought back to the laboratory where students will measure the nitrate and sulfate concentrations in the water, along with metal concentrations. Student Outcomes:  Students will be exposed to field and laboratory sampling techniques, along with the measurement and importance of water quality parameters. Additionally, students will receive laboratory training on sample analysis for a range of water contaminants. Training: Sampling techniques will be taught by graduate students and/or faculty member as needed.

Project: Detection, Extraction, and Upgrading of Nanoplastics from Wastewater (Shi).  Significance: Long-time human activities have led to the widespread of plastic debris in the aqueous system43–47.  Nanoplastics refer to nanoscale plastic particles (<1000 nm) composed of organic polymers such as polystyrene, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate48,49. Nanoplastics can easily penetrate the natural barriers of plants, animals and human beings and affect the biological functions. Traditional methods such as centrifugation and filtration show limited effectiveness in remediation of nanoplastics from wastewater50,51. Therefore, this project aims to develop a novel nanoplastics extraction method using hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DES) derived from plants, which would be more sustainable and cost effective in Appalachian wastewater treatment systems. The primary research questions are to 1. Identify effective removal processes for nanoplastics from aqueous solutions and 2. Develop a process to repurpose nanoplastics for value-added products. Student Participation: REU students will learn extraction efficiency of common types of nanoplastics using DES. Students will then be trained and analyze the extracted nanoplastics using a micropyrolysis GC-MS unit and convert the nanoplastics into anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Student Outcomes: Students will gain an understanding of the impacts of nanoplastics to the ecosystems and learn how to conduct research to remediate/upcycling the nanoplastics from wastewater for valuable products in rural regions. Training: Training on lab apparatus, data collection and analysis will be conducted by the faculty mentor. 

Project: Mapping Local Water Systems Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (Sama): Significance: UAS and photogrammetry provide a low-cost method for collecting spatial and spectral data over remote terrains, such as Appalachian regions. These data are useful for tracking spatiotemporal variability and are frequently used in automated feature classification through machine learning. For example, UAS-based aerial surveys of streams can be used to identify aquatic and riparian vegetation as part of management decisions. This technique is also useful in assessing reclaimed surface mines or tracking harmful algal blooms that are dispersed in Appalachia. Therefore, the primary research questions for this study includes 1) How can UAS be most time and cost efficiently utilized in Appalachian regions to assess harmful algal blooms in water supplies? 2) Is UAS a proficient technique to assessing overall ecosystem health in reclaimed mining sites? 3) Can UAS be used to assess damage from extreme flood events in remote locations? Student Participation: REU students will operate a small UAS to collect aerial imagery over surface waters and surrounding areas. Students will process imagery into 2D maps and 3D models using photogrammetry software, and extract features from the datasets through supervised machine learning in QGIS or MATLAB. Student Outcomes: Students will gain experience in automated flight planning, photogrammetry, and modeling. Students will gain experience in the use of geographical information systems for spatial data processing and presentation. Students will obtain their FAA Remote Pilot certification as part of the training experience. Training: Automated flying, photogrammetry, and modeling training will be conducted by the faculty and graduate student mentor.

Project: Disinfection Byproducts in Rural Drinking Water Systems (Unrine). Significance: Drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are the most frequent source of Safe Drinking Water Act violations for chemical contaminants in the United States. DBPs are formed when natural and anthropogenic organic matter and inorganic constituents of source water are disinfected, commonly with chlorine-based disinfectants. While hundreds of potentially toxic DBPs exist, there are 11 compounds regulated by the U.S. EPA. DBPs (e.g. chloramine) have been consistently associated with adverse health effects including urinary tract cancers and birth defects. DBP violations are common in rural areas where there is less investment in drinking water infrastructure and a limited workforce of highly trained plant operators. There is also a lack of information on non-regulated DBPs, formation of DBPs by alternative disinfection methods, and the impacts of climate change on DBP formation. The primary research questions will be: 1) what simple, cost-effective management solutions are available to rural drinking water plant operators to reduce DBP occurrence in drinking water and 2) how does climate change influence the balance between elimination of opportunistic pathogens and formation of regulated and non-regulated DBPs.  Student Participation: The REU student will conduct experiments that simulate drinking water treatment in the laboratory under a variety of physiochemical conditions to observe changes in DBP formation. Conditions to be varied include organic matter content and properties, bromide concentrations, pH, alkalinity, dissolved ion composition, temperature, and disinfectant type and dosing. The student will learn to analyze DBPs using GC-ECD and LC-MS/MS and to characterize the kinetics of chemical reactions leading to DBP formation.  Student Outcomes: The REU student will gain exposure to the chemistry of drinking water disinfection, chemical kinetics, GC and LC-MS analysis and associated laboratory techniques (pH measurement, titrations, ion chromatography, carbon analysis, chlorine residual analysis, etc). The student will also meet with community groups dealing with DBP issues in rural Kentucky to learn more about rural drinking water infrastructure issues and to present their findings to the community. Prerequisite Knowledge and Training: No formal course prerequisites; however, at least one year of general college chemistry and at least one organic chemistry lecture and one organic chemistry lab course are preferred. The student will be trained in the appropriate laboratory techniques and statistical analysis procedures as well as science communication skills.

Track 2 - Sustainable Engineering Solutions and Economic Feasibility for Appalachian Communities (Mentors: Tyler Barzee, Akinbode Adedeji, Joe Dvorak, Morgan Hayes, Joshua Jackson)

Track 2 of the REU will focus on sustainable engineering solutions and their economic feasibility in Appalachia. With its long history of coal mining, Appalachia demands cost-effective sustainable engineering solutions that consider its mountainous terrain as well as its unique history and culture. Regions historically dependent on coal have been facing increasing pressure as energy production transitions towards alternatives. During this transition, substantial opportunity exists to harness the region’s existing intellectual capital (e.g., worker skills, logistics in infrastructure development) towards the development of more sustainable industries that take advantage of Appalachia’s unique attributes. Therefore, it is imperative to 1) understand the current challenges to and opportunities for sustainable utilization of water and other natural resources in Appalachian regions and 2) develop new tools/technologies to support Appalachia’s unique cultural products while paving the way for new industries with potential to create high-paying and skilled job opportunities.

Project: Bio-Transformation of Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Byproducts to Value-Added Applications (Barzee and Adedeji) Significance: Over 95% of global bourbon is produced in Kentucky, and the Appalachian region of the state has it fair share of the industry. Kentucky and Appalachian bourbon distilleries filled over 2.4 million barrels of bourbon last year, generating over $9 billion for the state economy. The major byproduct of bourbon production is stillage, which consists of the spent grains and liquids leftover from distillation. For every gallon of bourbon produced, approximately 10 gallons of stillage is generated, resulting in the production of over 1.25 billion gallons of whole stillage last year. The management of this stillage is an important environmental problem and development of new strategies to handle it will support new industries (e.g., ag-tech, renewable energy, biomanufacturing) and jobs in Kentucky and Appalachia. Microbes (e.g., microalgae, fungi, bacteria) can be harnessed in bioprocesses to sustainably transform stillage to biofuels, biomaterials, food ingredients and other value-added products. One example of valuable products are extruded food products, which is used for making several different types of foods that are major staples in many American homes – e.g., breakfast cereals, puff snacks, and pasta. The serving size of many of these foods does not contain enough fiber, and dried spent grain (DGS-B) from stillage can be used to increase the dietary fiber of extruded foods in a way that not only increases their fiber content, but also their prebiotic and antioxidant content through the shearing process in the extruder. Therefore, the primary research questions to be addressed in this project are: 1) How can stillage be utilized as a media component in bioreactors to produce microbial products and biomass? 2) How does spent grain drying method, particle size after milling, and extrusion conditions impact the quality (physical, chemical, and nutritional) attributes of extruded products made from a combination of DGS-B and corn meal? 3) Is the developed bioprocess economical and environmentally preferred in Appalachian regions? Student Participation: REU students will prepare and monitor lab-based fermentations to explore the impacts of biochemical pretreatments and stillage medium components to the growth of microorganisms. Students will be trained in sample preparation that includes dewatering and drying of wet spent grains, grinding, particle size analysis, extrusion process, and measurement of the quality attributes of the extrudates. Students will also construct preliminary economic and environmental models to assess the impact of their laboratory results using Excel and/or specialized modeling software. Student Outcomes: Students will 1) gain an understanding of environmental challenges and opportunities arising from byproducts of the agricultural and food processing industries and 2) develop microbiological and modeling skills to create knowledge that guides designs of sustainable food systems. REU students will gain practical laboratory experience such as lab safety, measurement of food properties with instruments such as a moisture analyzer, texture analyzer, colorimeter, and operation of lab scale twin screw extruder. This experience will help students transition into research positions in R&D in the food industry or as graduate students. Training: Training on experimental protocols, laboratory analyses, and laboratory instruments such as mixer, dryer, extruder, differential scanning calorimeter, and texture analyzer will be conducted by the graduate student and faculty mentors.

Project: Production of 3D Printed Cell-Cultivated Foods (Barzee) Significance: The increase of the global population has coincided with the depletion of natural resources needed for growing animals and plants and challenges related to changing climates have necessitated the development of novel sources of proteins and other food constituents. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, food requirements in 2050 will be 70% more than that produced in 2009. Production of cell-cultivated foods is one opportunity to sustainably increase food supply especially in Appalachia, a region of rapidly expanding ag- and bio-tech industries where traditional farming is limited by the mountainous terrain. Scientific and technological advances in cellular agriculture and additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies have allowed for the development of new techniques to utilize in vitro animal cells, plant cells, and microorganisms to mimic the organoleptic and nutritional properties of traditional foods. The primary research questions for this project are: 1) How can microbial-based food products be developed and characterized and 2) Is the resource use efficiency comparable to a conventional agricultural product? Student Participation: REU students will cultivate one or several microorganisms and utilize the cells in a 3D bioprinter to create a prototype of a new food product. Students will also characterize the product for various quality parameters such as nutritional content and textural properties as well as estimate the resources (nutrients, water) and energy required for production. Student Outcomes: Students will 1) gain an understanding of the environmental rationales and technological challenges for cell-cultivated foods (including alternative proteins) and 2) develop microbiological and food science/engineering skills for prototyping and assessing novel food products. Training: Training on microbiology techniques and 3D bioprinting protocols will be conducted by the graduate student and faculty mentor.

Project: Assessing Water Quality Impacts from Local Fish Production by Small Farm using In-Pond Raceways (IPR) (Dvorak) Significance: Floating IPRs represent a new aquaculture technology that enables small farms to efficiently manage and locally produce fish crops using existing small bodies of water. While IPR technologies can enable small farm aquaculture, it is still an intense aquaculture production system, and results in significant nutrient loading in the body of water and algal blooms. These blooms provide services like oxygen production and waste processing but can also result in low oxygen levels as the bloom itself dies and decays. While aeration and oxygen management strategies have been studied in large-scale, custom-built, multiple-pond aquaculture systems, in-depth investigations of the bloom dynamics and water quality for small farm IPR have not yet been studied. Additionally, it is unclear how the IPR system and the algal bloom will impact runoff during heavy rain events. The IPR system could act as a highly active biological waste treatment system and improve runoff water quality or instead result in runoff with heavy nutrient loads and toxic algal bloom byproducts. Therefore, this study will address two research questions: 1) How does the operation of the IPR impact water quality in the pond? 2) How does this system impact the water quality of runoff from this pond. Student Participation: This study will be conducted in collaboration with Kentucky State University (an HBCU) using the IPR installation on their research farm. REU students will collect weekly water samples in-pond, at the pond outlet, and the primary inlet to the pond. These will be immediately analyzed at the UK water quality laboratory for turbidity, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and algae species. REU students will collaborate with Kentucky State researchers, which includes two faculty and two graduate students, to identify how the observed water quality changes align with seasonal changes and IPR management strategies. Student Outcomes: Students will gain a better understanding of the challenges in enabling local food production, learn techniques in water quality sampling, and form collaborations at two universities.  Training: Training on experimental protocols and water quality collection and analyses will be conducted by the faculty mentor.

Project: Understanding the water and energy requirements for small farms in Eastern Kentucky (Hayes) Significance: Due to the geography in eastern KY, it can be challenging and costly to provide public utility electricity and water over mountainous and remote terrain. While there are published studies on energy and water requirements for larger livestock, poultry, and horticultural operations, smaller operations typical of the Appalachian region are not well represented. This data is important in creating proper design recommendations for off grid electrical systems and water harvesting. Therefore, the primary research questions are: 1) What are the energy and water requirements of small livestock farms or those with high tunnels for plant production in this region? 2) What are the most economically efficient methods for providing water and energy requirements for these operations? Student Participation: REU students will assess the energy and water used on at least 3 operations in eastern KY by visiting field site and installing wireless sensors and dataloggers for monitoring water and energy usage. Students will gain experience processing data in Microsoft Excel or similar software and completing a cost-benefit analysis to make recommendations for the most cost-efficient water and energy plan.  Student Outcomes: Students will gain an understanding of the importance of limited resources on smaller farming operations, as well as understand the challenges with gaining access to these resources in more remote locations. At the end of the project students will be able to forecast the water and electricity demand for the farms monitored, which the information will be used to size equipment for sites without public utility access. Training: Training on instrumentation installation, data collection and analysis will be conducted by the faculty mentor. 

Project: Effectiveness of Different Hemp Cultivars on Phytoremediation of Reclaimed Mine Sites (Jackson)Significance: Heavy metal contamination of soil and groundwater occurs as a result of mining activities and other industrial processes and is a nationwide challenge, particularly in Appalachia52. Phytoremediation is cost-effective in removing these pollutants from soil and associated water resources53. Various plant species have exhibited the ability to hyperaccumulate metals and hyper tolerance for these toxins. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) was once a prominent crop within the state of Kentucky, and phytoremediation could be another viable avenue of production for the crop54,55. Hemp manifests the ideal characteristics for phytoremediation: tolerance to heavy metals, proliferate root systems, and immense biomass production56. Cultivars of hemp associated with fiber production is ideal as the final product would not enter the food supply. The primary research objective would be to evaluate the heavy metal uptake of hemp cultivars under various soil conditions on impacted sites. Student Participation: REU students will conduct the planting of three different plots for each of the three different hemp cultivars. Students will conduct soil sampling, plant tissue sampling (every 2 weeks), and estimating biomass yield. Students will provide recommendations to stakeholders that will be determined suitable for mine reclamation based on findings (Letters of Collaboration available upon request). Training: Training on experimental and sampling protocols and use of sampling equipment will be performed by the faculty mentor.