Ronald Sims
Utah State University, Biological Engineering, Faculty Member
Production and enhancement of high value phycocyanin pigment from microalgae biofilms cultured on oilfield and natural gas produced wastewater were investigated. Cyanobacteria isolated from Logan City, Utah, wastewater treatment Lagoons... more
Production and enhancement of high value phycocyanin pigment from microalgae biofilms cultured on oilfield and natural gas produced wastewater were investigated. Cyanobacteria isolated from Logan City, Utah, wastewater treatment Lagoons (LLC2) was cultured in produced water using rotating algal biofilm reactors (RABRs). The RABRs were operated under “low” and “high” light conditions and biomass and phycocyanin content were compared. Phycocyanin content was enhanced by growth under low light conditions to a maximum yield of 31.7 mg/g ash-free dry weight (AFDW) biomass for an 87.6% increase in phycocyanin yield. Phycocyanin productivity was equivalent for both the low and high light treatments (327 ± 81 and 305 ± 39 mg/m2/day, respectively), due to the significantly lower AFDW biomass productivity of the low light treatment (2.7 ± 0.4 g/m2-day). An indoor laboratory evaluation of 14 substrata for biofilm growth showed that cotton rope and cotton belt material provided the highest biom...
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... Slow Rate Sand Filtration Using a Zeolite Surface Amendment. by Daniel Rex McNair and Ronald C. Sims pp. 247-253 Purchase Information Permissions for Reuse Document type: Conference Proceeding Paper. Part of: Environmental Engineering... more
... Slow Rate Sand Filtration Using a Zeolite Surface Amendment. by Daniel Rex McNair and Ronald C. Sims pp. 247-253 Purchase Information Permissions for Reuse Document type: Conference Proceeding Paper. Part of: Environmental Engineering (1986). ...
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Research Interests: Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Bioremediation, Evaluation, and 12 moreEnvironmental Chemistry, Biological Engineering, Soil contamination, Manufactured Gas Plants, Contamination, Contaminated soil, Water soluble polymers, Phenanthrene, Coal Tar, Vadose Zone Modeling, Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering, and ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
Abiotic interactions of pentachlorophenol (PCP) on manganese oxide surfaces were investigated to determine the extent of transformation. The optimal pH and ratio of manganese oxide to PCP were determined. Sorption of PCP on manganese... more
Abiotic interactions of pentachlorophenol (PCP) on manganese oxide surfaces were investigated to determine the extent of transformation. The optimal pH and ratio of manganese oxide to PCP were determined. Sorption of PCP on manganese oxide surfaces was quantified at optimal conditions. The effectiveness of utilizing manganese oxide to remediate contaminated subsurface environments was investigated
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Abstract A comprehensive field evaluation was conducted of a full-scale prepared bed bioreactor to assess performance and rate of treatment to achieve target cleanup levels. Three-dimensional sampling was conducted over a two-year period,... more
Abstract A comprehensive field evaluation was conducted of a full-scale prepared bed bioreactor to assess performance and rate of treatment to achieve target cleanup levels. Three-dimensional sampling was conducted over a two-year period, and over 300 ...
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Molecular oxygen is one of the strongest naturally occurring redox species. In subsurface environments, oxygen is quickly consumed by microorganisms and is slow to recharge. When oxygen becomes limiting, microorganisms must utilize... more
Molecular oxygen is one of the strongest naturally occurring redox species. In subsurface environments, oxygen is quickly consumed by microorganisms and is slow to recharge. When oxygen becomes limiting, microorganisms must utilize alternative terminal electron acceptors to mediate growth. Iron and manganese have high redox potentials and are commonly found in the subsurface. Abiotic and microbially mediated reactions are potentially energetically favored by electron transport systems that utilize these metal species. Calculated free energy changes are used to show the potential use of iron and manganese as terminal electron acceptors in the transformation of pentachlorophenol in anaerobic environments. Microbial yields based on free energy liberated from pentachlorophenol transformation are estimated under iron and manganese reducing conditions using a simple bioenergetic growth model. Iron and manganese was extracted from aquifer solids obtained at a Superfund site and mixed with ...
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Research Interests: Biorefinery and Biology
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The Fugacity framework addresses multiple-media and multiple contaminant aspects of environmental site assessment based on a conceptual site model and a Fugacity Level I mathematical model. In an effort to help people use the Fugacity... more
The Fugacity framework addresses multiple-media and multiple contaminant aspects of environmental site assessment based on a conceptual site model and a Fugacity Level I mathematical model. In an effort to help people use the Fugacity framework, a “Fugacity Calculator Tool” was developed and implemented to enable users to visualize the behavior of toxic chemicals at a contaminated site, the effect of site-specific characteristics on contaminant distribution, the behavior of daughter products of degradation, and the associated risks to humans and the environment. The framework has been used in U.S. EPA RCRA/CERCLA workshops for identifying alternatives and decisions, and the Calculator is freely available and can be downloaded from the internet at the following URL: http://www.engineering.usu.edu/uwrl/Fugacity/index.html. The Fugacity model was developed as a local application because extendibility was a major issue. Borland Delphi (object Pascal) was used as the development tool. T...
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The ethical crisis in business and information technology is very real. Countering this crisis by creating organizational cultures grounded in moral character is the challenge people face as leaders if they are to regain the respect and... more
The ethical crisis in business and information technology is very real. Countering this crisis by creating organizational cultures grounded in moral character is the challenge people face as leaders if they are to regain the respect and confidence of the public. As educators of future business and information technology leaders, how can educators prepare their students to understand, appreciate, and contribute to the establishment of cultures of character in the organizations which employ them—and which they may ultimately lead? In this article the authors distinguish among four corporate cultures with respect to ethics —cultures of defiance, compliance, neglect, and character—and present a blueprint for constructing an organizational culture grounded in moral character. With respect to showing students how to contribute to such a culture, the authors then (a) describe how to establish an effective learning context for teaching about ethics, (b) proffer a number of practical suggest...
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The role of manganese (Mn) oxides in catalyzing the abiotic oxidation of polynuclear aromatic compounds (PNAs) has been investigated by monitoring the oxidation of dihydrodiol and dione PNAs and corresponding reduction of Mn in an aqueous... more
The role of manganese (Mn) oxides in catalyzing the abiotic oxidation of polynuclear aromatic compounds (PNAs) has been investigated by monitoring the oxidation of dihydrodiol and dione PNAs and corresponding reduction of Mn in an aqueous environment. 1,4-, 1,3-, and 2,3naphthalenediol, 1,4-naphthoquinone, and l,4-dihydroxy-9,10-anthracenedione (Quinizarin) were oxidized in an oxic, aqueous environment, where each of these organic compounds is soluble in water, except Quinizarin. A mathematical model is presented, which describes the redox reactions, and suggests that electron transfer/organic release from the oxide surface is rate limiting with the reaction apparently proceeding through a free-radical formation. Results indicate significant oxidation of the organics, that the oxidation of the diols is kinetically more favorable than that of the dione, and that lower molecular weight PNAs containing diol and dione functional groups are susceptible to abiotic-catalyzed oxidation, the...
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The estimation of biomethane or biohydrogen yield is used to evaluate energy recovery during the process of the anaerobic treatment of waste and wastewater. Mathematically calculated theoretical values can also be used in biomethane or... more
The estimation of biomethane or biohydrogen yield is used to evaluate energy recovery during the process of the anaerobic treatment of waste and wastewater. Mathematically calculated theoretical values can also be used in biomethane or biohydrogen potential tests as reference points to calculate which fraction of substrate is decomposed, when the substrate degradation stopped and when the sample’s self-digestion begins. This study suggests expanded forms of equations for anaerobic processes leading to either biomethane or biohydrogen. The traditional equations describing the conversion of a substrate with known carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen composition were expanded to account for the composition of sulfur (for biohydrogen yields) and phosphorus (both biohydrogen and biomethane yields). As an optional part, one metal cation was also incorporated into the chemical formula of the evaluated wastewater composition in case the compound of biodegradable interest exists as a salt. ...
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Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the effect of soil gas oxygen concentration on the degradation and mineralization of spiked C-pentachlorophenol and nonlabeled pentachlorophenol (PCP) present in soil taken from a prepared-bed... more
Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the effect of soil gas oxygen concentration on the degradation and mineralization of spiked C-pentachlorophenol and nonlabeled pentachlorophenol (PCP) present in soil taken from a prepared-bed land treatment unit at the Champion ...
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Research Interests: Engineering, Soil, Archives, Risk assessment, Hazardous Waste, and 15 moreMultidisciplinary, Biological Engineering, Montana, Humic Substances, Humic acid, Fulvic acid, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Contaminated soil, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Risk Assessment, Conservation of Natural Resources, Contaminated, Biological activity, Aliivibrio fischeri, and PENTACHLOROPHENOL
Research Interests: Engineering, Kinetics, Biological Engineering, Soil Pollution, Biodegradation, and 11 moreStatistical Significance, Soil Remediation, Hazardous Materials, Function, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Mineralization, Contaminated soil, Hazardous, Laboratory Tests, Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering, and PENTACHLOROPHENOL
L'invention porte sur un procede d'extraction de lipides a partir d'algues humides, le procede comprenant l'hydrolyse d'une suspension epaisse comprenant des algues et de l'eau par ajout d'un agent... more
L'invention porte sur un procede d'extraction de lipides a partir d'algues humides, le procede comprenant l'hydrolyse d'une suspension epaisse comprenant des algues et de l'eau par ajout d'un agent d'hydrolyse acide pour produire une suspension epaisse acide, l'hydrolyse de la suspension epaisse acide par ajout d'un agent d'hydrolyse basique pour produire une suspension epaisse basique, la separation d'une phase liquide de la biomasse presente dans la suspension epaisse basique, la formation d'un precipite dans la phase liquide et la separation d'acides gras libres de la phase solide precipitee, avec l'avantage de la contamination des lipides d'algue par la chlorophylle supprimee ou reduite.
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ABSTRACT In addition to biodiesel production from algae, the production of other valuable bioproducts facilitates the development of an algae-based biorefinery platform. The goal of this study was to utilize the aqueous fraction from a... more
ABSTRACT In addition to biodiesel production from algae, the production of other valuable bioproducts facilitates the development of an algae-based biorefinery platform. The goal of this study was to utilize the aqueous fraction from a novel algal wet lipid extraction procedure as the medium for the production of a bio product, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), via the growth of recombinant Escherichia coli. PHB yield was measured at 34 % of the E. coli dry cell mass, and was increased to 51 % when the algae aqueous medium was supplemented with glucose. While the addition of inorganic nutrients to the aqueous phase did not increase PHB production or growth of E. coli, growth of E. coli was observed to increase with the supplementation of carbon substrate (glucose). The addition of carbon rich waste to the aqueous fraction of wastewater-derived algae may in the future provide a sustainable alternative. Future research will be directed at evaluating this concept to develop a sustainable process for the production of bioplastics through an algae-based biorefinery platform.