University of Colorado at Boulder
 
Projects : Environmental Engineering Design 
CVEN4/5434

Teams of 3 to 4 students will select one of the following projects:

Wastewater Treatment Plan for Sonora, Mexico

Fall 2006

Determine a sustainable was to treat wastewater from a community in the county of San Miguel in the state of Sonora, Mexico. Reuse of the treated water to irrigate food crops including grapes is desired.

Main design needs:

  • Determine appropriate methods to treat the wastewater from the community
  • Design collection sewers, as needed
  • Determine if safe reuse of the effluent water for irrigation is possible
  • Determine necessary permitting and regulations
  • Determine capital and O&M costs

RFP  | 


Sustainable Operation of Goat Dairy

Fall 2006

A Colorado coop to produce products from their goat herds wants the facility to operate as efficiently as possible, minimize waste and use natural systems for waste management.

Main design needs:

  • Develop a plan that minimizes the use of water and other resources
  • Determine how to minimize waste from the dairy and cheese making operations
  • Design processes that emulate natural systems in managing and mitigating any wastes

RFP  | 


Beneficial Use of Waste Slurry from Biodiesel Production

Fall 2006

Investigate how to reuse and/or treat the glycerol slurry that is produced as a by-product from a community-scale biodiesel production facility, so that it can be sold as a useful commodity.

Main design needs:

  • Determine if the slurry can be burned and used as a fuel source
  • Determine if the slurry can be cost-effectively processed into methanol
  • Compare these two options with other potential avenues of product re-use and reprocessing

RFP


possible: Metcalf&Eddy Design Competition

Fall 2006

Students select one of 5 projects (wastewater or water treatment related), and enter in the nationwide competition

Main design needs:

  • vary based on project selected

RFP


Reuse of Power Plant Residuals

Fall 2004

Determine an environmentally sound way to extract energy from or reuse fly ash and coal dust waste from a power plant in Canon City, CO.

Main design needs:

  • Determine if fly ash, coal dust, and other locally available wood can be combined into briquettes
  • Determine the energy benefits and pollution impacts of burning the briquettes with coal
  • Determine if other ways to divert the wastes to reuse are possible
  • Determine necessary permitting and regulations
  • Determine capital and O&M costs

RFP  | Results


Treatment of Potato Wastewater

Fall 2004

Retrofit an existing wastewater treatment plant in Center, CO, to reliably meet discharge limits for BOD and TSS.

Main design needs:

  • Determine if the existing SBR system can operate efficiently as designed
  • Determine if the sludge processing system should be redesigned to achieve better dewatering

RFP  | Results


Site Remediation in Canada

Fall 2004

Investigate how to remediate a site contaminated with PCB-contaminated LNAPL and prevent the associated groundwater plume from reaching nearby municipal drinking water wells.

Main design needs:

  • Investigate the hydrology at the site to determine likelihood of impacting wells and when
  • Determine how to remediate the LNAPL
  • Determine how best to prevent the groundwater plume from reaching the wells

RFP


Alamosa, Colorado - later changed to Stockton, California

Fall 2004

Drinking Water Treatment

Main design needs:

  • determine a low cost method to reach the new arsenic level

RFP  | Results


Jemez Pueblo, NM

Fall 2003

Wastewater Management

Main design needs:

  • current evaporative ponds are overloaded
  • low-cost, sustainable treatment
  • potential reuse for agricultural irrigation

RFP  | Results


University of Colorado Recycling

Fall 2003

Solid Waste Management

Main design needs:

  • identify an optimal new location for the Intermediate Processing Facility (IPF)
  • select equipment for recyclables separation, upgrading, and densification

RFP  | Results


University of Colorado Food Waste

Fall 2003

Food Waste Management

Main design needs:

  • conduct cost:benefit analyses of food waste management methods
  • evaluate various in vessel composting equipment
  • determine an optimal site at CU for the facility

RFP


Cameron-Cole for ABC Chemicals

Fall 2003

Environmental Remediation

Main design needs:

  • remediate chlorinated solvents (tetrachloroethene, etc) at the site
  • find a low cost solution
  • short term solutions are preferred

RFP


Gunbarrel, CO

Fall 2002

Site Remediation of Soil and Groundwater

Main design needs:

  • off-site chlorinated solvent plume
  • chromium treatment
  • low-cost, rapid clean-up

RFP


Conejos County, CO

Fall 2002

Wastewater Management

Main design needs:

  • replace cesspools
  • low-cost, natural treatment

RFP  | Results


Escuela Mercedes Rodriguez primary school in Jalapa, Nicaragua

Fall 2002

Gray water management

Main design needs:

  • water supply
  • redesign toilet system to prevent backup and leach field adequacy
  • prevent stormwater from flooding classrooms

RFP  | Results


Mayapan, Belize

Fall 2001

Pig waste treatment to useful products

Main design needs:

  • treat pig waste to reduce water pollution, odor
  • provide soil amendments to help local crops
  • incorporate other village organic wastes as possible

RFP  | Results


SanPablo, Belize

Fall 2001

Water Resources

Main design needs:

  • Provide adequate water quantity and quality for village consumption and crop irrigation
  • Treat wastes to prevent contamination of the water supply

RFP  | Results


Eldorado Springs, CO, USA

Fall 2001

Community Wastewater Treatment

General Needs for the Future:

  • Convert residents from individual septic systems to a community treatment plan to prevent contamination of South Boulder Creek
  • Investigate costs to transport wastewater to City of Boulder for treatment
  • Investigate building a wastewater treatment plant in the community

RFP  | Results


Pinery WWTP, Colorado

Fall 2000

Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade

Main design needs:

  • Provide increased municipal wastewater treatment capacity
  • Wastewater treatment complies with stringent nitrogen and phosphorus limits

RFP