Author ORCID Identifier
0009-0006-8775-3364
Date Available
8-13-2027
Year of Publication
2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Chemistry
Faculty
Dr. Marcelo Guzman
Abstract
The health of communities depends on the effective treatment of waste eradicating hazardous pollutants before they can interact with living organisms or contaminate the environment. Daily, society generates solid waste (commonly disposed of in landfills) and liquid waste (commonly disposed of in wastewater systems) that without would release hazardous primary and secondary pollutants. Industries producing high concentrations wastewater, such utilizing lignin-based biomass, face challenges as each facility requires tailored treatment. In response, this work investigates the ozonolysis transformation of lignin monomers into smaller less hazardous components. Furthermore, wastewater treatment can inadvertently allow complex compounds (ex: hospital effluent) to pass into source waters. Under simulated treatment conditions incorporating sunlight and chlorination, iohexol released from hospitals is degraded, forming carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs) posing direct toxicological risk to nearby communities. Treatment extends to solid waste management as phenomena, such as poorly understood elevated temperature landfills (ETLFs), can compromise treatment methods increasing pollution production. By monitoring hazardous components like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) over time, the impact of ETLF reactions can be further understood. Ultimately, this research underscores the need for fundamental, innovative approaches to pollution transformations for solid and liquid waste treatment, critical to safeguarding environmental and public health.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.332b
Funding Information
National Science Foundation and the National Research Traineeship under grant numbers 1922694, 2403875, and 1903744 and from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Grant P30 ES026529 to University of Kentucky- Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Science.
Recommended Citation
Witt, Reagan, "ADVANCING WASTE MANAGEMENT: BIOMASS OZONOLYSIS, WASTEWATER CHLORINATION, AND COAL ASH IN LANDFILLS" (2025). Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry. 212.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/chemistry_etds/212
