Stephanie Bolyard

Where Are They Now? Stephanie currently serves as the Research Engineer at NCDOT.

Project Description (while EREF Scholar):
Conventional landfilling will leave the majority of waste constituents for later release; whereas bioreactor landfilling will leave significantly less, recalcitrant organics and ammonia-nitrogen will still remain problematic. The goal of this research is to provide sustainable landfilling by removing releasable carbon and ammonia-nitrogen at the end of a bioreactor landfill life through a Pump and Treat Aerobic Flushing Bioreactor Landfill (PTAFBL). This completion phase will reduce the potential for pollutant leaching, dramatically shortening the post-closure care (PCC) period while reducing potential long-term environmental impacts.

The primary goal of this project is to determine the technological and economic feasibility of removing recalcitrant organics and ammonia-nitrogen from mature bioreactor landfills and understanding the waste stabilization process. The objective of this study is to provide answers to questions relating to sustainable solid waste management, including (1) what is the fate of specific organic and inorganic waste fractions over time, (2) to what extent do pollutants leach from waste at various points in a landfill life, and (3) what is the appropriate end-point for completion of waste treatment and PCC to minimize environmental impacts and cost.

This technology has application to both operating and closed landfills.  Ideally the end result of operating a landfill in this fashion will be a stable, reusable land area, therefore, it is anticipated that this study will demonstrate that a PTAFBL is an environmentally sustainable approach to manage municipal solid waste.

Biography:

In 2016, Stephanie received her PhD in Environmental Engineering at the University of Central Florida under Debra Reinhart (an EREF grantee and Board member). Her research interests include the fate of nanomaterials in municipal solid waste landfills, waste stabilization, post closure care, organics characterization, photolysis, and the co-treatment of leachate and domestic wastewater. Stephanie received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Florida and master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Central Florida. Her master’s thesis focused on studying the fate of nanomaterials in municipal solid waste landfills.

She has also worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and as a consultant with Brown and Caldwell prior to starting her PhD.  While working in consulting she was involved in integrated solid waste management planning evaluations, residential recycling feasibility and waste characterization studies, landfill closure stabilization evaluations, stormwater pollution prevention plans, and preparing permit applications for solid waste management facilities. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, running, and biking.

Stephanie had the opportunity during the Summer of 2013 to apply her Hinkley funded research in China through a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She worked at the Institute of Waste Treatment and Reclamation at Tongji University in Shanghai, China. During her visit she was also a guest lecturer at Tsinghua University in Beijing China.

Research Publications:

Bolyard, Stephanie, “Application of Landfill Treatment Approaches for the Stabilization of Municipal Solid Waste” (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4878.
http://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/4878

Bolyard, S. C. and D. R. Reinhart (2016). “Application of landfill treatment approaches for stabilization of municipal solid waste.” Waste Management 55: 22-30.

Bolyard, S. C., & Reinhart, D. R. Evaluation of leachate dissolved organic nitrogen discharge effect on wastewater effluent quality. Waste Management. doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.03.025

Part, F., Berge, N., Baran, P., Stringfellow, A., Sun, W., Bartelt-Hunt, S., Mitrano, D., Liang, L., Hennebert, P., Quicker, P., Bolyard, S., Huber-Humer, M. A review of the fate of engineered nanomaterials in municipal solid waste streams. Waste Management. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.02.012

Reinhart, D., et al. (2016). “Grand Challenges – Management of municipal solid waste.” Waste Management 49: 1-2.

Zheng, W., Lü, F., Bolyard, S. C., Shao, L., Reinhart, D. R., & He, P. (2015). Evaluation of monitoring indicators for the post-closure care of a landfill for MSW characterized with low lignin content. Waste Management, 36, 222-229