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An Evaluation of Common Stressors of Ecological Communities

Emily Sarver

Associate Professor

B.S. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2004
M.S. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2005
Ph.D. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2010

Adjunct Faculty

Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Virginia Tech

Research Interests

  • Responsible development of mineral and energy resources, and education of responsible resource engineers
  • Monitoring, characterization and control of mine-generated environmental contaminants
  • Advancements in hydrometallurgical processing for base metals

Current and Past Research

  • Characterization of respirable dust in underground coal mines and implications for worker health (funded by the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health; collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School for Public Health)
  • Monitoring and control of diesel particulate matter in underground mines (funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH)
  • Environmental fate and transport of coal processing reagents (funded by the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science, ARIES)
  • Sustainable solutions for water resource impairments near mining communities (funded by the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science, ARIES)
  • Control of mine spoil leaching to improve water quality (funded by the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science, ARIES)
  • Water quality influences on non-uniform copper corrosion in potable water systems and mitigation strategies
  • Brass dezincification and lead leaching corrosion issues in premise plumbing systems
  • Alternate anode reaction technology for hydrometallurgical processing of copper

Courses

  • MinE 5114 Sustainable Development of Mineral and Energy Resources
  • MinE 2504 Introduction to Mining and Minerals Engineering
  • MinE 4544 Mine Reclamation and Environmental Management
  • CEE 3104 Introduction to Environmental Engineering

Publications (* denotes student author)

Peer-reviewed Journals

  1. *Cook, N., Sarver, E., Krometis, L., Putting Corporate Social Responsibility to Work in Mining Communities: Exploring Community Needs in Central Appalachian Wastewater Treatment, Resources, Vol. 4, No. 2, pg. 185-202, (available online: http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/4/2/185)
  2. *Scaggs, M., Sarver, E., Rojas Mendoza, L., The Elk River MCHM spill; A case study on managing environmental risks, Mining Engineering, Vol. 67, No. 4, pg. 48-55.
  3. *Sellaro, R., Sarver, E., A preliminary investigation of SEM-EDX as a tool for characterization of coal mine dusts, Mining Engineering, Vol. 66, No. 8., pg. 16-40.
  4. *Sellaro, R., Sarver, E., Characterization of Respirable Dust in an Underground Coal Mine in Central Appalachia, Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Transactions, Vol. 336, pg. 457-466, 2014.
  5. Raval, S., Sarver, E., Shamsoddini, A., Zipper, C., Donovan, P., Evans, D., Chu, H., Satellite Remote Sensing-based Estimates of Biomass Production on Reclaimed Coal Mines, Mining Engineering, Vol. 66, No. 4, 2014.
  6. Sarver, E., *Cox, A., Salt: an emerging concern for the global mining and minerals industries, Mining Technology (Transactions of the Australian Institute for Mining and Metallurgy), 2013, Vol. 122, No. 3, pg. 145-152.
  7. *Craynon, J., Sarver, E., Karmis, M., Incorporating Sustainable Design Principles into Coal Mine Design: Regulatory and Policy Barriers in the United States, International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, Vol 8., No. 3, pg. 57-64.
  8. *Craynon, J., Sarver, E., Robertson, D., Could a Public Ecology Approach Resolve the Mountaintop Mining Controversy? Resources Policy, Vol. 38, No. 1, pg. 44-49, 2013.
  9. Sarver, E., Edwards, M., Inhibition of Copper Pitting in Aggressive Potable Waters. International Journal of Corrosion, Vol. 2012, Article ID 857823, 16 pages, 2012. DOI:10.1155/2012/857823.
  10. Sarver, E., Edwards, M. Controlling Non-uniform Copper and Brass Corrosion in Premise Plumbing, Materials Performance. Vol. 50, No. 8, 2011.
  11. Sarver, E., Dodson, K., Edwards, M., Slabaugh, R., Scardina, R., Nguyen, C., Investigating Copper Pitting Corrosion in High pH, High Chlorine Potable Waters, Journal of the American Water Works Association. Vol. 103, No. 3, 2011.
  12. Sarver, E., Edwards, M., Effects of Flow, Brass Location, Tube Materials and Temperature on Corrosion of Brass Plumbing Devices, Corrosion Science. Vol. 53, No. 3, 2011.
  13. Sarver, E., Zhang, Y., Edwards, M., Revisiting Brass Dezincification Performance Testing: Exposure to Real Potable Water vs. ISO 6509, Materials Performance. Vol. 50, No. 5, 2011.
  14. Sarver, E., Zhang, Y., Edwards, M., Review of Dezincification Corrosion in Potable Water Systems. Corrosion Reviews, Vol. 28, No. 3-4, 2010.
  15. Sarver, E., Fuerstenau, M., Sandoval, S., Adel, G., Reaction kinetics of ferrous regeneration for alternate anode reaction technology, Minerals & Metallurgical Processing. Vol. 24, No. 2, 2007.

Conference Proceedings and Other Publications

  1. *Morris, J., Sarver, E., Luttrell, G., Diesel Range Organics in Coal Preparation, Proceedings of Environmental Considerations in Energy Production, Charleston, WV, April 14-18, 2013, pg. 51-57.
  2. *Cook, N., Krometis, L. and Sarver, E., Inventory of Bacterial and Biological Impairments in Central Appalachia, Proceedings of Environmental Considerations in Energy Production, Charleston, WV, April 14-18, 2013, pg. 214-227.
  3. *Morris, J., Sarver, E., Luttrell, G., Novak, J., Reagents in coal processing: where do they go? Proceedings of the 51st Annual Conference of Metallurgists (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum), Niagara Falls, Ontario, October 1-3, 2012, paper no. 7391.
  4. *Scaggs, M., Sarver, E., *Rojas Mendoza, L., The Elk River, West Virginia MCHM Spill: A Case Study on Risk Management for Nonhazardous Chemicals, Proceedings of the 144th Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Denver, CO February 15-18, 2015, preprints no. 15-142 (Winner, Outstanding Paper, SME Environmental Division.)
  5. Keles, C., *Scaggs, M., Sarver, E., Preliminary Development of a TGA Method for Determining Coal to Mineral Ratios in Respirable Dust Samples, Proceedings of the 144th Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Denver, CO February 15-18, 2015, preprints no. 15-137.
  6. *Sellaro, R., Sarver, E., Characterization of Dust in Underground Coal Mines and Implications for Occupational Health, Proceedings of the 143rd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Salt Lake City, UT February 23-27, 2014, preprints no. 14-058. (Winner, Outstanding Paper, SME Environmental Division.)
  7. *Smith-Hamm, S., Sarver, E., *Cox, A., Accelerated leaching of mine spoils as means of reducing specific conductivity, Proceedings of the 143rd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Salt Lake City, UT February 23-27, 2014, preprints no. 14-039.
  8. *Morris, J., *Sellaro, R., Sarver, E., Residual Diesel-Range Organics in Process Waters from Laboratory Fine Coal Flotation Tests, Proceedings of the 143rd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Salt Lake City, UT February 23-27, 2014, preprints no. 14-057.
  9. Craynon, J., Sarver, E., Karmis, M., The role of science in public ecology and sustainable development in mining, 6th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry, Milos, June 30-July 7, 2013.
  10. Van Zyl, D., Iannachione, A., Craynon, J., Sarver, E., Karmis, M., SD and Mining: Implementation of Undergraduate and Graduate Courses at Four Universities, 6th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry, Milos, June 30-July 7, 2013.
  11. Raval, S., Sarver, E., Evans, D., Zipper, C., Donovan, P., Satellite Remote Sensing-based Estimates of Biomass Production on Reclaimed Coal Mines, Proceedings of the 142nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Denver, CO, February 24-27, 2013, preprints no. 13-141.
  12. *Cox, A., Sarver, E., Salt: an emerging concern for the global mining and minerals industries, Annual Meeting of the Society of Mining Professors, Wroclaw, Poland, July 12-15, 2012, pg. 151-167.
  13. Sarver, E., Zhang, Y., Edwards, M., Copper Pitting and Brass Dezincification: Chemical and Physical Effects, Water Research Foundation, Denver, CO, ISBN: 978-1-60573-146-6, 160 pages, 2011.
  14. Edwards, M., Scardina, P., Sarver, E., Non-uniform Corrosion in Copper Piping – Monitoring Techniques, Water Research Foundation, Denver, CO, ISBN: 978-1-60573-054-7, 226 pages, 2009.

Manuscripts accepted but not yet published

  1. *Craynon, J., Sarver, E., Ripepi, N., Karmis, M., Case Study of using GIS to identify potential sustainability conflicts at the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, WV, International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment (accepted 2015).
  2. *Underwood, S., Jong, E., Luxbacher, K., Sarver, E., Ripepi, N., McNair, H., Solid Phase Microextraction Sampling Under Turbulent Conditions and for the Simultaneous Sampling of Multiple Trace Analytes, International Journal of Mining Science and Technology (accepted 2014).
  3. *Smith-Hamm, S., Sarver, E., Cox, A.S., Accelerated Leaching of Mine Spoils as a Means of Reducing Specific Conductivity, Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Transactions (accepted 2014).
  4. Morris, J., Sellaro, R., Sarver, E., Residual Diesel-Range Organics in Process Waters from Laboratory Fine Coal Flotation Tests, Mining Engineering (accepted 2014).

 

To learn more about Dr. Sarver, visit http://www.mining.vt.edu/facultystaff/sarver.htm