Douglas J. Daley, P.E.
Associate Professor

Department of Environmental Resources & Forest Engineering

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

 

Director, SUNY Center for Brownfield Studies

 

420 Baker Lab
1 Forestry Drive
Syracuse, New York 13210

(315) 470-4760 (office)

(315) 470-6958 (fax)
djdaley<at>esf.edu

Quick Links:

TEACHING   

RESEARCH

PROSPECTIVE GRADUATE STUDENTS

ENGINEERING  

 

OFFICE HOURS

For appointment, email: djdaley<at>esf.edu

 

Spring semester 2009:

Monday 10:45-11:45 a.m.

Wednesday 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

 

Fall semester 2008:

Wednesday 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

Graduate Assistants: 

Deborah Ofori (email: dofori<at>syr.edu)

Office Hours TBD, Room 410 Baker

 

TEACHING

Course Number

Course Title

FEG 132

Forest Engineering Orientation (Introduction Presentation)

FEG 300

Introduction to Engineering Design (Course Materials)

FEG 437

Transportation Systems (Course Materials)

FEG 489

Engineering Design (Course Materials)

ERE 225

Engineering Graphics (Course Materials)

ERE 506

Hazardous Waste Management (Course Materials)

ERE 797

Forest Engineering Seminar (Course Materials)

I also provide guest lectures in Urban Ecological Engineering.

All engineering students must be familiar with the Engineering Code of Ethics, so I’ve provided the code on my website (link ). You can learn more about Engineering Ethics at http:\\www.NSPE.org.

For Prospective Undergraduate Students, follow this link to the Forest Engineering Program Requirements.

 

 

Information for Prospective Graduate Students (these depart from my website, so please return here for other information)

Engineering Graduate Program Description (from the College Catalog)

·        ERE Course Descriptions

·        FEG Course Descriptions

MPS, MS and PhD engineering programs that my students participate in:

·        Ecological Engineering

·        Environmental Management

·        Water Resources Engineering

Graduate student research assistantship opportunities

 

My Research Interests

·        Ecological Engineering (Sustainable Engineering Solutions, phytotechnology in an evapotranspiration landfill cover system, sustainability analysis, TEK/SEK)

·        Brownfield Redevelopment (collaborative efforts to re-use abandoned urban property)

·        Stormwater Engineering (green infrastructure such as bioretention, green roof, wetlands,)

·        Residuals Management (solid waste)

Some parts of the site remain under construction – be patient.

Graduate Student Research Project Assistantships

Seeking graduate assistants at the MS or PhD level in the following areas

·        Characterization and modeling of hydrologic and ecological effects of willow-based evapotranspiration landfill cover system, biomass crop management practices, and ecological restoration efforts for wetlands and willow-based energy crop systems on waste disposal sites.

·        Development and characterization of innovative stormwater system designs, including performance monitoring of green infrastructure projects such as bioretention and rooftop gardens and stream restoration/stabilization.

·        Renewable energy systems, specifically with interests in design and development of digestion systems to produce syngas from recognizable food processing wastes or biodiesel production from yellow grease.

·        Assessing sustainability of ecologically engineered systems for water quality improvement and bioremediation, particularly with respect to the role of scientific ecological knowledge (SEK) and traditional ecological knowledge (SEK).

 

Representative Projects

Willow to optimize evapotranspiration, produce biomass and restore habitat on a landfill

Biomass Pilot Study for Solvay Waste Bed 13, Camillus, NY

Sponsor: Honeywell International

2003 - Current

 

The Project is located in the Town of Camillus NY. The study will be sponsored by Honeywell International (Honeywell) and conducted by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse NY. The primary objectives of the pilot study are to:

 

1.                        Evaluate water uptake by poplar and willow shrubs and estimate the effect of the uptake on the production of leachate produced by waste bed 13

2.                        Determine to what extent, if any, the shrubs could be used as a capping mechanism either alone or as part of an alternate to a 6 NYCRR Part 360 cap

3.                        Determine the value of using the trees as an alternate “green” fuel and

4.                        Evaluate using all or parts of wastebeds 9 through 15 for the full-scale production of willow shrubs.

 

This project was first proposed to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) at a February 5, 2003 meeting between Honeywell and NYSDEC.  During the meeting, some of the benefits of performing the pilot study were discussed. Briefly, these benefits include:

 

1.                        Job creation.  At a minimum, Honeywell will engage several faculty and students from SUNY-ESF in the performance of the pilot study.  Should the study prove successful, several permanent jobs may be created if the pilot study goes to full-scale.

2.                        Green fuel.  A green fuel (one that replaces conventional fuel) would be created.  A green fuel is renewable unlike other fuels.

3.                        Waste bed stabilization.  The plantings are anticipated to stabilize the waste beds and have value as wildlife habitat

4.                        Waste minimization.  The plantings should decrease the leachate via the uptake of water.

5.                        Beneficial re-use of urban organic residuals, including yard waste and wastewater sludge (a.k.a. biosolids)

 

Principal tasks include:

1.                        Greenhouse Screening of  Potential Willow Clones

2.                        Growth and Function Field Study

The objective of this task is to plant and maintain trials of willow as a short-rotation woody crops (15,000 stems/ha) on Solvay wastebed 13 to evaluate their growth and evapotranspiration rates.  Trials were planted in Solvay waste that was previously amended with biosolids c.1992 (Field 1) and in unamended Solvay waste (Field 2) in the spring of 2004.

3.                        Water Budget Modeling

Field and historical climate data are used to calibrate the Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model, which will aid in determining design parameters for full-scale implementation. We have focused primarily on calibration using sap flow data to simulate transpiration, with enhanced efforts at obtaining reliable percolation and soil moisture data for different treatment regimens that can be used within the SHAW model.

4.                        Assessment of Organic Amendments.

The objective of this task is to determine the effect of different organic amendments, rates of application and incorporation methods on the soil water holding capacity and on the growth, production and evapotranspiration of the willow biomass crops. Emphasis will be given to those amendments that might improve the availability of soil water, promote long-term water storage and inhibit the infiltration of water into the waste bed. One component of this assessment is to characterize the mixture of Solvay waste with organic materials in the various proportions to achieve the desired hydraulic, structural and vegetative growth properties. Physical testing (e.g. determining the moisture release curve) and chemical testing (e.g. nutrients and heavy metals) are important metrics. A Greenhouse trial was completed in 2003, while three different organic amendments – Anheuser Busch biosolids, Onondaga County Metro WWTP biosolids and Town of Camillus Yard Waste – were incorporated at different rates and ratios in a pilot scale demonstration in 2005 using a randomized block design (4 replications) to test the effect of two willow varieties and eight soil treatments (including control) on the water balance.

5.                        Assessment of Full-scale Economics and Production Requirements

This task resulted in the design and implementation of a 10-acre demonstration project. Construction commenced in April 2008 on WB14 in an area known as the “white spot”, an area that has been unvegetated since operations ceased in 1986. The area is visible on aerial photos

 

Return to Research Projects

Public Communications Related to the Solvay Wastebeds Willow Demonstration Projects

Claire Dunn. 2008. Not Settling for Less. Inside ESF (Spring 2008). Produced by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse NY. pp. 8-9. http://www.esf.edu/communications/insideesf/2008.spring.pdf

 

Environmental Applications of poplars and willows. FAO Working Party Meeting June 2007 Montreal Canada with site visit to Syracuse, NY (contains some photos of the Solvay Wastebed demonstration project) http://www.fao.org/forestry/44635/en/page.jsp

 

SUNY-ESF Harvests Shrub Willows for Sustainable, Green Energy Project aids restoration of Onondaga Lake. February 2007. http://www.esf.edu/communications/news/2007/02.01.shrubs.htm

 

Claire Dunn. 2007.Harvest Time. Inside ESF (spring 2007). Produced by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse NY. pp. 8-9. http://www.esf.edu/communications/insideesf/2007spring.pdf

 

Newswise. 2007. Once a Brownfield, Now a Productive Site. http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/535217/

 

Papers and Presentations Related to the Solvay Wastebeds Willow Demonstration Projects

 

Dan Brown, Douglas Daley and Timothy Volk. 2007. Calibration of the Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) Model using Sap Flow Measurements of a Salix-based Evapotranspiration Landfill Cover System. 2007. Abstract.

 

Industrial Waste Contamination: Past, Present and Future. Sandra Lislovs. Summer 2005. Clearwaters. Published by New York Water Environment Federation. (an overview of the Solvay Wastebeds Context, with reference to the willow biomass demonstration project.) http://www.nywea.org/clearwaters/05-2-summer/indwaste.pdf

 

Douglas Daley. 2005. Initial Success (ppt file) in Design and Modeling of a Landfill Cover using Salix on the Solvay Wastebeds in Syracuse, NY (USEPA Phytotechnology Conference April 2005). See PDF file at http://www.clu-in.org/phytoconf/proceedings/2005/6B_Daley.pdf

 

Timothy A. Volk1, Jaconette Mirck1, Jason J. Purdy2, Kimberly D. Cameron2, Lawrence B. Smart2, Douglas Daley3, and Lawrence P. Abrahamson1,2 Screening and selection of willow clones for growth on Solvay process waste.   1Forest and Natural Resources Management, 2Environmental and Forest Biology, 3Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210 USA. Environmental Applications of Poplar and Willow Working Party, 18-20 May 2006, Northern Ireland http://www.fao.org/forestry/media/10718/1/0/

 

Douglas Daley. 2005. Design and Modeling of a Landfill Cover using Salix for Hydrologic Control, Biomass Production and Land Reclamation: Solvay Wastebeds, Syracuse, NY (Powerpoint presentation to American Society of Agricultural Engineers International Conference, July 2005)

 

Douglas Daley. 2004. Using Willow for Hydrologic Control, Biomass Production and Land Reclamation (Powerpoint presentation to Central New York Air & Waste Management Association Meeting. Syracuse, NY. November 2004

 

T. A. Volk, J. Mirck, M. Farber, L. P. Abrahamson, D. Daley. 2004. Initial success establishing willow on solvay wastebeds in Syracuse, NY Biomass and Bioenergy Production for Economic and Environmental Benefits. conference hosted by Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group and IEA Bioenergy (Task 30), Short Rotation Crops for Bioenergy Systems and IUFRO Working Unit 1.09.01, Integrated research in temperate short-rotation energy plantations. 7 to 10 November 2004. Charleston, South Carolina, USA PDF - See page 66 for Summary. http://www.woodycrops.org/reports/2004%20Abstracts.pdf

 

Forested Bioretention Basin for Urban Stormwater Management

 

(Under construction)

 

 

Public Communications Related to the SUNY Center for Brownfield Studies

Preston Gilbert. 2006.Urban Optimism. Inside ESF (Fall 2006). Produced by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse NY. pp. 18-21. http://www.esf.edu/communications/insideesf/2006fall.pdf

Development of a Sustainable Industrial Landscape, Syracuse, NY

Phytoremediation as an Element of Landscape Design, Utica, NY

Return to Research Projects

Completed Research Projects:

Demonstration of Small-scale Biodiesel Production for Agricultural Use

Product Quality and Market Analysis for MSW Compost Products

Conceptual Design of a Composting and Biomass Production Facility at a Former Industrial Facility

Assessment of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to Control Phosphorous in Highway Runoff

Evaluation of Scrap Automobile Tire Chips to Remove Phosphorous from Highway Runoff

Economic Evaluation of Value-Added Processes for Composting Source-separated Organic Waste

Determining Infiltration Rate through an Industrial Landfill Cover

Determination of Operating Parameters for a Vermistabilization System using Liquid Sewage Sludge

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