@article{yousefelahiyeh_dominic_ducoste_2017, title={Modeling fats, oil and grease deposit formation and accumulation in sewer collection systems}, volume={19}, ISSN={["1465-1734"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85018765260&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.2166/hydro.2017.016}, abstractNote={Fats, oil and grease (FOG) deposits in sewer systems are responsible for approximately 25% of all annual line blockages in the United States and lead to the release of 3–10 million gallons of untreated wastewater to the surrounding environment. Considerable effort has been made to maintain the conveyance of wastewater by cleaning pipes that have a significant FOG deposit accumulation. Changes in the urban landscape from the addition or deletion of food service establishments (FSEs), however, may pose challenges in determining the location of these high accumulation zones. This research focuses on the development of a sewer collection system model that predicts high FOG deposit accumulation zones. Two collection systems were simulated to test the prediction capabilities of the tool and to assess how changes in the urban landscape affect the location of these accumulation zones. The numerical tool incorporates a mechanistic-based FOG deposit formation kinetic model. Results showed that the model predicts about 65% of the reported high FOG deposit accumulating zones. Simulations also showed significant changes in the location of these high FOG deposit accumulating zones from changes in the number and locations of FSEs and from FSE discharge and background wastewater flow variations.}, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF HYDROINFORMATICS}, author={Yousefelahiyeh, Roya and Dominic, Christopher Cyril Sandeep and Ducoste, Joel}, year={2017}, month={May}, pages={443–455} }
 @article{dominic_szakasits_dean_ducoste_2013, title={Understanding the spatial formation and accumulation of fats, oils and grease deposits in the sewer collection system}, volume={68}, ISSN={["1996-9732"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84888247504&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.2166/wst.2013.428}, abstractNote={Sanitary sewer overflows are caused by the accumulation of insoluble calcium salts of fatty acids, which are formed by the reaction between fats, oils and grease (FOG) and calcium found in wastewaters. Different sewer structural configurations (i.e., manholes, pipes, wet wells), which vary spatially, along with other obstructions (roots intrusion) and pipe deformations (pipe sags), may influence the detrimental buildup of FOG deposits. The purpose of this study was to quantify the spatial variation in FOG deposit formation and accumulation in a pilot-scale sewer collection system. The pilot system contained straight pipes, manholes, roots intrusion, and a pipe sag. Calcium and oil were injected into the system and operated at alkaline (pH = 10) and neutral (pH = 7) pH conditions. Results showed that solid accumulations were slightly higher at neutral pH. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis on the solids samples confirmed that the solids were indeed calcium-based fatty acid salts. However, the fatty acid profiles of the solids deviated from the profile found from FOG deposits in sewer systems, which were primarily saturated fatty acids. These results confirm the work done previously by researchers and suggest an alternative fate of unsaturated fatty acids that does not lead to their incorporation in FOG deposits in full-scale sewer systems.}, number={8}, journal={WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY}, author={Dominic, Christopher Cyril Sandeep and Szakasits, Megan and Dean, Lisa O. and Ducoste, Joel J.}, year={2013}, pages={1830–1836} }