Tecnologia Ambiental

Objectives

This curricular unit provides an introduction to the application of basic chemical and biological engineering skills to environmental protection. Following it, students should be able to: 1) understand the importance of attention to natural resource preservation in their professional activities; 2) recognize the methods, and results issuing from them, for identifying and quantifying pollution in natural environments, gaseous, liquid and solid, and for the quantification of pollutant emissions; 3) evaluate, select and combine the main available technologies for the interception of pollutant emissions to the atmosphere and to aqueous receiving media, and for the management, treatment and valorisation of solid wastes; 4) find sources for the continued upgrade of these skills in the framework of the evolution of scientific knowledge.

Syllabus

Resources, human activity, waste – the circular economy. Fundamentals of environmental management and pollution prevention. Water management and quality. Water pollution measurement and impacts. Wastewater origins, characteristics, and treatment strategies. Wastewater treatment. Preliminary and primary treatment. Secondary treatment. Activated sludge systems. Advanced N and P removal. Biofilm processes. Anaerobic processes.Tertiary treatment. Sludge treament. Treatment ponds. Treatment in soils and constructed wetlands. Solid waste. Classification and management. Solid waste treatment. Physical, thermochemical and biological processing. Landfills. Air quality. Emissions, origins, minimisation and monitoring. Air pollution impacts. Local, regional and global scales. Interception of particulate and gaseous atmospheric emissions.

Prerequisites

Knowledge in basic and engineering sciences at 1st cycle level: calculus, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology, thermodynamics, chemical and biological process engineering, transfer phenomena, separation processes, chemical and enzyme reactors.

Cross Competence Component

The autonomous tasks are expected to develop the following skills: team work, self-discipline (limited deadlines and limited support sessions for task delivery), capacity for locating and accessing information (the information required for example resolution will be partly retrieved by the students from open data sources - e.g., databases for the environmental impact of chemicals). The theoretical-practical classes (1h per week) will be dedicated to guidance for task resolution, demanding student self-discipline in the timely preparation of questions to ask.

Laboratorial Component

No laboratory component.

Programming And Computing Component

The autonomous tasks include calculation examples making use of spreadsheets (e.g., Excel).

Ethical Principles

All members of a group are responsible for the group’s work In any assessment every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used. In an oral assessment, every student shall be alble to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.