ENEN 603: Pr i n c i p l es of of Envir nv iron onme ment nta al Eng Engin ine eering ri ng Sathish Ponnurangam Fall 2017 Lect Lectur ure e - 1: (Reading: Chapter-1 from Introduction to Environmental Engineering by Mines and Lackey)
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What is environmental engineering? •
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Cambridge dictionary: ’the work or study of using science and technology to improve and protect the environment and people's health’
What do Environmental Engineers do? •
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Prevent or mitigate the release of harmful chemicals Detect, and quantify the harmful chemicals in the ecosystems and trace back to its source •
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Fate and transport
First environmental engineer? •
Joseph Joseph Bazalgett Bazalgette e – first large-scal large-scale e munic municipal ipal sanitary sanitary sewer sewer system (mid 19th century London)
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Science
Environmental Technology
Social-cultural and legal constraints
Consider the example of Hurricane Katrina •
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1833 deaths, millions homeless, $108 billions in damages From preventative point of view? •
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Storm surges (10 – 28 ft) caused havocs •
Engineering mistakes in levees and floodwalls;
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Emergency management and communication failures
Global warming
https://www.livescience.com/22522-hurricane-katrina-facts.html http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/us/hurricane-katrina-statistics-fast-facts/
http://levees.org/myth-busters-by-levees-org/
Global warming vs. tropical cyclones
Knutson et. al, Nature Geoscience 3, 157 - 163 (2010)
Consider the example of Katrina •
Post-disaster studies? •
Coastal chemistry and habitat •
Elevated concentrations of lead, arsenic and other chemicals •
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Airborne contaminants •
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sediment deposition or flooded building materials
Demolition projects
Disease control •
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drinking water and food safety Wastewater and solid waste management Vector control
https://archive.epa.gov/katrina/web/html/summary.html
Complexity of environmental engineering •
Consider discharge of a fossil fuel power plant •
CO2 and particulate matter. What else? •
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SOx and NOx
combustion chemistry and physics, Boiler engineering, mass & heat transfer, solubility and reaction engineering
Type of jobs Environmental Engineer do? •
Industry
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Government
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Regulatory agencies
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Consulting firms
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Academia
Nobel prizes in the environmental field •
Environmental chemistry, 1995: Paul J. Crutzen, Mario J. Molina, F. Sherwood Rowland •
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"for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone“
Peace price, 2007: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Learning outcomes •
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Understand the vocabulary of an environmental engineer Understand the principles of air and water pollution control as well as waste management Principles of risk assessment and sustainable development
Tentative Schedule Weeks 1-3: Chemical Principles •
Stoichiometry and Kinetics, Equilibrium, Acid-base chemistry; pH, Solubility of solids, Alkalinity; hardness, Henry’s law; equilibrium partitioning of pollutants
Weeks 4-5: Biological Principles •
Microbial growth kinetics, Ecological systems, Nutrient cycles
Weeks 6: Risk Assessment •
Toxicology, Bioconcentration, Exposure
Weeks 7-9: Water Quality •
Water pollutants, BOD, Other water quality measures: COD, DO TSS, etc., Reaeration; Streeter-Phelps model, Eutrophication, Ground water movement; Darcy’s law; contaminant transport, Wastewater treatment: clarification; activated sludge process, nutrient removal; sludge treatment, Drinking water production: filtration; disinfection; softening
Weeks 10-11: Air quality •
Air pollutants, PM2.5 and PM; particle size distribution, Air pollution meteorology and dispersion, Deposition, Photochemical smog, Global environmental change, Particulate control, Vehicle emission and control
Weeks 12: Waste Management •
Landfill, Composting, Recycling, Combustion
Week 13: Group Presentations
Textbook Title: Introduction to Environmental Engineering Author(s): Mines R.O. and Lackey L.W. Edition, Year: 2010 Publisher: Prentice Hall
Lecture:
Office hours: Wednesdays: 2-3 PM (B-block, ENB 204L)
Final Grade Determination
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Group project: 3 students/group Selection of the topic and group partners by 29th September Mid-term exam: Date to be determined Final Exam: Fixed by the registrar Group project - presentation: Last week of classes
Group project •
3 students/group
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It can on any aspect of environmental engineering •
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Case study (designing a engineering system to rectify an environmental problem) Literature review with critical analysis
One of the key component needed •
link with the fundamentals of environmental engineering •
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(i.e., calculations that reflect your gained knowledge on the fundamentals of environmental engineering that is covered)
15 pages (appendix is additional)
Why do civilizations & societies collapse? •
Conflict (internal and external) – religious, political and ethnic
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Exhaustion of resources
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Degradation of environment
Mayan Civilization
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Classical Mayan civilization: Reached its peak ~700 AD and collapsed ~ 900 AD During its peak, it supported 10 million people – ( several times greater current population in the regions)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization
Collapse of Mayan civilization •
Drought exacerbated by human activities •
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Wholesale felling of forest cover and excessive farming rendered topsoil less fertile In combination with severe droughts, less fertile soil led to collapse of Mayan civilization
https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/achieving-
Easter Island moai statues •
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Moai statues had strong social value for the clans Competition to erect more statues Trees were used to transport statues •
Deforestation led to infertile soil and decline in agricultural output and collapse of the society
Sustainability Problems in Present Societies •
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Western world vs. rest (Africa, Asia, South and Latin America and Eastern Europe) •
Resource exhaustion
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Pollution
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Environmental degradation
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Toxic political/economic ideologies
20% of population consume 80% of all resources extracted and processed.
Basis of sustainability •
Minimize resource consumption
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Close the cycles of consumption
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Chose renewable materials and energy
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Manage and evolve social and cultural traits that support sustainable human activities
Five-step method to solve engineering problems 1.
Identify and define problem clearly and concisely •
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Make a sketch or diagram of the system and label all the parts (with data, known or unknown) Select appropriate theory and equation, check for missing data and ways to find them. If not, think about simplifying assumptions •
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List all the data, known and unknown parameters in appropriate units
Energy and materials balances forms basis of most problems
Solve the problem using exact solutions, numerical solutions, graphical procedures or trial-and-error methods Always check the reasonableness of solutions. If possible to verify with alternative methods, give it a try
Environmental Management and Standards •
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Goal – managing the human impact on abiotic and biotic environments ISO-14000 •
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Helps companies minimize adverse effects on environment
Before getting approval for a company, what environment-related document is needed? •
Environmental impact statement (EIS)
