Zoe Maisel's Individual Contribution Page

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Spring 2016 Contributions

I have helped design semester goals for the UASB team which aim to improve function to more effectively remove organic material, and explore ways to create an low energy or neutral energy system by coordinating with the GSBR team. This past semester was spent testing old UASBs for gas tightness, inoculating the reactors, conducting COD tests, and GC analysis. Future semester work will continue testing of influent and effluent for COD, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and biogas will be analyzed for methane concentration. As a team, UASB has spent a lot of time troubleshooting inoculation and reactor problems throughout the semester. Throughout the semester, I have been working as technical writing coordinator to ensure that documentation and reports are complete and thoroughwill be working on the new High Rate UASB wastewater subteam this semester, building on my work with the old UASB designs from last semester, to help design new reactors that create a fluidized bed to increase granular sludge contact with wastewater. The goal of the subteam is to lower HRT while raising SRT, so our semester will involve designing new reactors, constructing them, inoculating them, and then conducting experimental tests to measure COD, methane production, and sludge bed concentration. As the Materials Coordinator, I will be in charge of the ordering process to get all the materials we need to successfully build and run our reactors.