Biodegradability of Organic Compounds Used in Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids and Implications for Compound Fate
Wednesday, April 26, 2017: 8:50 a.m.
Paula Mouser
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Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Biodegradation of organic additives used in fracturing fluids can result in unintended chemical byproducts in shale-produced wastewaters. If accidentally released to the environment, these compounds and their daughter products may have serious implications to human and ecological health. This talk presents biological and chemical information supporting the role of microbial communities in degrading a wide range of organic contaminants both downwell (i.e., high pressure, temperature and salinity conditions) and under surface conditions, highlighting polymers commonly used in Appalachian shale wells.
Paula Mouser, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Growing up in western Wyoming, Paula attended Utah State University and received a B.S. in Environmental Engineering. After graduating, she worked 2 years for the City of Logan in the Permits and Compliance Division on projects related to the county’s 80-acre landfill. Paula attended graduate school at the University of Vermont, receiving both a M.S. and PhD. in Environmental Engineering. Her dissertation research (with Prof. Donna Rizzo) examined the use of groundwater microbial communities to detect leaks from waste disposal sites. Paula completed a post-doc with Prof. Derek Lovley in the Dept of Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, expanding her knowledge of molecular biology tools to assess the metabolic activity of subsurface bacteria. After her post-doc, Paula worked for the engineering firm Sanborn, Head & Associates for 2.5 years, receiving her Maine Professional Engineers license during this time. After a 1-year research position at the University of Maine, Paula began as an Assistant Professor in 2011 at The Ohio State University in the Department of Civil, Environmental & Geodetic Engineering. Among her awards and fellowship, Paula was a Presidental scholar at Utah State and a NSF EPSCoR fellow at the University of Vermont. She was voted Outstanding Graduate Student in 2004 in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and given the Young Research Award by Vermont EPSCoR program in 2006. Paula was also named Instructor of the year by the University of Maine ASCE student chapter in 2011. In addition to her love of teaching and research, Paula also enjoys spending time with her daughter, hiking with her mutt, playing the fiddle, and a good game of cribbage with her husband.
