Active Surfaces for A More Sustainable Environment
Heavy Metal Uptake by Bio-Diesel fuel Stocks
This summer Amy Landis and I started this a project with two undergraduate students looking at the levels of regulated heavy metals in solids, the uptake of the metals into bio-diesel feedstocks, and the transfer to the fuel derived from it. Students involved:
Brad Harken
and
Emma Wolff
They went out to four abandoned grey or brownfield sites in Pittsburgh that are being re-used as bio-fuel plantations. this work is in collaboration with GTECH Strategies
East Liberty -- Growing canola
Larimer -- getting ready to grow sunflowers
Hazelwood (former site of LTV Steel) -- growing swithgrass and sunflowers
They acquired samples of the soil and plants, and brought them back to the lab for analysis
We are going to track the levels of metals in both the soil and plant matter as a function of time.
Let's see where this goes.
Project not-funded (except through Amy Landis's start-up) although funding is currently under review from PA Growing Greener
Comments or questions?
Email:
jmonnell at pitt dot edu
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