Day Four: Bigger Pots

Today was different than the rest of the conference in many regards.  First of all, about 50% of the scheduled sessions were cancelled because the presenters failed to actually show up to the conference in the first place!  This was especially unnerving, as I wanted to listen to quite a few about biofuel and constructed wetlands, but they were all cancelled.  So me, being my usual studious self, found a seat outside to study up for my entomology test.  I didn't feel like subjecting myself to more of the micro-discussions, because it is just too far out of my element.  I don't even feel like I can be a part of the conversation because doing so would require me actually understanding the basic concepts.  Graphs can get complicated, let me tell you.  I went to one session yesterday where the researcher spent five of his fifteen allotted minutes explaining the various features of his graph.  It made sense by the end, but geez.

The field trip was also what made today special.  Oh yeah.  And breakfast.  Maybe I should have started with that.  I couldn't take the conference food anymore, so I decided to splurge on a bowl of oatmeal with berries at a neat coffee shop on 4th street, and a cup of hot chocolate.  Never underestimate the power of milk, people.  

Briefly, a summary of the presentations I listened to today:

• Doing experiments related to phytotechnology requires that the pot size in which one grows the plants be at least big enough for the roots to not be forced to change direction.  In doing so, the chemical signals happening within the plant can actually change composition and affect the experiment results.
• Trying to use the argument that we should just do these experiments in the field is too costly
• The presenter gave the suggestion that pot size doesn't have to be huge if you are only collecting data from the first two weeks of growth.  Anything after that, and you've most likely compromised your data.
• Concentrations of mercury (Hg) in Mexico are a serious problem, especially in areas of ex-mines.  Not only do they have to deal with Hg being released into the air from the soil, there is the additional concern of old light bulb breakage when replacing them with compact fluorescents or LEDs.
• PPCPs stand for pharmaceuticals and personal care products
• PPE stands for personal protection equipment (more on that later)
• When measuring the concentrations of harmful substances from PPCPs in Jacksonville, researchers found unusually high levels of DEET which they could not really account for.  A fellow audience member commented about dealing with the same issue in her own research, and said that her team hypothesized its presence as the result of land application.
• There is indeed research being conducted about using the plants from phytotechnology applications as part of a series of uses.  Some of these include biofuel, floriculture, and silk!

At lunch, we had a speaker from Europe talk to us about the development that she's working with to create an online tool for scientists to determine the risk level of their soils.  Not only that, but in going through the initial questionairre, users would be led to a list of plants they could use to remediate the issues.  I love this idea!  It makes a lot of sense to bring the power of our online systems to develop a tool like this.  The last speaker introduced the location of next year's conference:  Hangzhou, China.  His video he showed us to give us an idea of the attractions of the city was pretty entertaining.  You could tell it was not made by Americans, and the narrator's English was so strange!  I can only imagine who told him that his English was good...

After the conclusion of the conference sessions, ten of us left by van to St. Marys, KS to see the Westar Energy Center (or Jeffrey Energy Center, as the sign said).  Having already visited the power plant in Lawrence, I was excited to see a different perspective of the same operation.  We learned all about how the plant treats its waste water through a series of wetland "cells".  They were basically different square plots strategically placed to form a filter/cascade of wetlands.  One of the women from the Phillipines kept making me laugh by her comment that they were "dry wetlands".  Indeed she was correct.  The system was designed to avoid any standing water; instead, it was kept about eighteen inches below the surface.  My drawings would not be able to do the system justice, so I have scanned in a couple below from the packet they gave us:

The first step in the process of cleaning the water started with the equalizer pools (top of first image).  They were just giant concrete pools from which the employees could decide how much to release down into the pump house, and then into the wetlands.  There were three rows of cells and at the end two large lakes.  The second lake is only used in case of emergencies (what emergencies exactly, I am not sure), but the first I was able to see, and it was truly gorgeous!

Before I get too far into my description, though, I just want to give a little bit of background on this plant.  The one I was at was the largest coal-fired power plant in the state of Kansas, and the 16th largest in the nation.  They own approximately 10,500 acres, 600 of which are used for plant operations, and another 6,600 of which are dedicated to public recreation.  The plant consumes approximately 23 million gallons a day!  Before the engineers decided to go forward with the wetland treatment idea, they conducted a two-year pilot on site to determine the best plants, the best design for the sells, and the system's efficacy.  From this, they decided that in one of the cell designs, the residence time (the time the water stayed in the cell before moving on to the next one) was too short to actually be able to pull out the salts from the water.  They used that information to see if they built a bigger system it would be more effective, which it would, but unfortunately the size needed to undertake such a project was not economically feasible. On the more positive side, they saw that the vertical flow bed (pictured above) was the most effective at removing selenium (Se), which was of biggest concern.  Other contaminants, such as salts, sulfates, and forms of nitrogen came second to selenium.  I never heard anyone say why, though.

Other notes:

• Each of the cells has a clay and synthetic lining, just like any sanitary landfill would.  In fact, if something were to happen where the regulations suddenly prohibited the use of these cells, Westar could just fill in the area and designate it as a landfill, or they could remove the dirt as non-hazardous waste.  
• Due to the rock that they found during excavation, they plans had to change from being 8' deep originally to 6' deep because it was too expensive to go down farther.
• There are designs now for beds that are designed to bring water in from both the surface and the deeper soil to a center point of gravel where the water can flow and be directed to some point.  This design is supposed to be better than what they're working with now, because Se has a tendency to concentrate on the bottom, and doesn't make its way up to the plants very well.  Researchers at K-State worked on designing a system in which a pump helped with this issue, but I'm not sure if it's actually being used anywhere.
• The Plant has two landfills on site, one that is active and has approximately ten years left until it's done, and another which has a 20-25 year "life expectancy".
• Regular measurements of all kinds of substances are made not only to monitor how well the system is working, but to prepare for new regulations.  As of yesterday, new guidelines were released which the environmental staff will be working from to determine if their system needs improvements or if it meets the criteria already.
• I wanted to know more about what the responsibilities/duties are of the environmental staff do for Westar, and this is what I know:
• Monthly meetings are required between the head of the environmental compliance department and the other heads of the plant
• Dealing with permits is a large part of their job (especially for things like on-site pilot projects)
• They constantly keep their radar on what is going to come out from the EPA to make sure that they're in line with what's happening
• Interestingly, as a result of the reduction in sulfur emissions from the plant, farmers on the surrounding land have had to start adding amendments to their soil in order to get it back to the balance it was at.
• For those of you interested in air pollution regulations, keep your eye out for the Coal Commission Residual Rule, which will be revealed on October 19th.

I had one revelation today.  I am not sure if it will solve all of my problems, but it might get me in the right direction.  What if I were to be the designer of super sustainable senior living communities?  I'm not sure if I put that on my bubble list before, but working with senior citizens is something that comes naturally to me and something that I have a love for.  Yes, one of the many.

I will probably take a break for a long time from this blog (but hopefully not too long, as traveling is a critical part of learning), but I must thank all of you readers for your positive feedback and support!  

In short:  It's been real.