UEMX 3613 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE& ENGINEERING

Dr Gulnaziya Issabayeva (Dr Gulnaz), SA 5th floor West wing

• 3 lecture hours a week• 6 tutorials• 2 experiments: 2 group laboratory reports (c/w 10%)• 2 tests (c/w 10% x 2 =20%)• 1 assignment (c/w 10 %)• Coursework - 40 %; Examination – 60 %.• • ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE LABORATORY – SD001• (lab. manual is available on WBLE)

Outcome Based Education (OBE) Unit Learning Outcomes for UEMX 3613:

Upon completion of this course, a student shall be able to:

a) Estimate basic parameters of environmental risk assessment.

b) Evaluate water quality in terms of criteria pollutants and describe applicable treatment processes.

c) Evaluate air quality and compare applicable technologies

d) Prepare laboratory report based on the conducted experiments.

e) Compare and discuss various aspects of sustainable engineering and development.

UEMX 3613 Syllables: Topic 1: Introduction• Global environmental issues. Basic concepts and mechanisms of pollutants

transport in air, water and soil Topic 2: Population growth: logistic and exponential, carrying capacity Topic 3: Environmental Risk Assessment: Chronic Daily Intake, Hazard

Quotient, Reference Dose, etc.Topic 4: Water Quality Management: criteria pollutants, surface water treatment,

sewage / wastewater treatment Topic 5: Air Quality Management: criteria pollutants, point & non-point pollution

sources, Gaussian model, pre-combustion, combustion & post-combustion technologies

Topic 6: Solid Waste Management Topic 7: Hazardous Waste/Industrial ManagementTopic 8: Environmental Management development Textbooks: 1. Mines, R.O. and Lackey, L.W. (2009). Introduction to Environmental Engineering. Prentice

Hall. ISBN 10: 0-13-234747-4. 2. Masters, G.M. (2008). Introduction to environmental engineering & science. (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 10:

0-13-233934-X

INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND

ENGINEERING, definitions THE ENVIRONMENT:

The environment is the entirety of Earth minus the set of human activities. It includes various interacting systems called “spheres”:

The atmosphere (air layer); the hydrosphere (surface water in rivers, lakes, oceans; subsurface water); the lithosphere (land and rocks below); the biosphere (all living matter); the cryosphere (ice in glaciers and on the sea), etc.

Likewise, the set of human activities can be called the anthroposphere.

Environmental Engineering

• A pristine environment is a natural setting that has not been significantly impacted by human activities. Returning the environment to a pristine condition is NOT the goal of environmental engineering, a healthy environment is.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING:

Environmental Engineering is a discipline of engineering devoted to the development and application of scientific knowledge through technology to eliminate or minimize adverse effects associated with human activities.

It operates at four different levels:

1. remediation of contaminated sites,

2. treatment of effluents,

3. pollution prevention, and

4. care for future generations.

Environmental engineering is fundamentally object-focused, rather than tool-based. It therefore draws from all other engineering disciplines that are apt to bear on the desired objectives.

Pursuit of pollution prevention and sustainability further implicate social, cultural and economic considerations, bringing the environmental engineer to collaborate with policy makers and other non-engineers.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER:

The environmental engineer is a professional trained in the art of applying scientific principles and technological means to avoid or reduce forms of pollution by human activities.

This includes possessing knowledge of past and current engineering practice and an ability to innovate.

Environmental science is a group of sciences that attempt to explain how life on our planet is sustained, what leads to environmental problems, and how these problems can be evaluated and solved. Environmental Science is interdisciplinary in nature.

Current trends:

1. Population growth

2. Generation of wastewater, solid wastes, hazardous waste grows

3. Living standards improved (medicine, technology, nutrition, property developments, etc)

4. Demand for various technological devices grows

and yet

5. Poverty and associated with it problems remain; and gap between poor and rich people increases

Sustainable global economy means careful management of the planet’s resources.

Attributes:• harmony cohabitation of living organisms in the

natural systems• energy consumption/production that does not

pollute/damage the environment • a working plan to sustain natural resources• a working plan for renewable energy resources • social, legal, and political systems dedicated to

such economy

Precautionary principle basically says that if there is a threat of serious, irreversible environmental damage, we should not wait for scientific proof to take steps to prevent potential harm to the environment

Ecosystems and Biodiversity Ecosystem: two parts: living and nonliving.

• Two main processes: a cycling of chemical elements and a flow of energy.

• An ecosystem changes over time and can undergo development through a process called succession.

• Primary succession is the initial establishment and development of an ecosystem where one did not exist. Secondary succession is reestablishment of an ecosystem following disturbances

•

Food chain involves a transfer of energy, chemical elements and some compounds

within an ecosystem.

Usable energy flows from the external environment (sun) to the plants, then to the herbivores, and top carnivores.

Death at each level transfers energy to decomposers.

Energy lost as heat is returned to the external environment.

Does it work?The law of entropy

relates to energy changes in forms. Energy always changes from a more useful, highly organized form to a less useful, disorganized form. Whenever useful work is done, heat is released to the environment, and the energy in that heat can never be recycled. The amount of usable energy gets less and less.

Factors promoting biodiversity:• a physically diverse habitat • moderate amount of disturbance

(fire, storm, flood, etc)• a small variation in

environmental conditions (temp, precipitation, nutrient supply, etc)

• high diversity at one trophic level increase diversity at another trophic level

• an environment highly modified by life

• middle stages of succession• evolution

Factors suppressing biodiversity:

• environmental stress• extreme environments• severe limitations in

supplies• extreme amounts of

disturbance• recent introduction of exotic

species• geographic isolation

Charles Darwin (1820-1882)• Renowned naturalist and thinker

associated with the theory of EVOLUTION by natural selection

• Main work: “On the Origin of Species”, 1859.

“Species did not either appear or disappear suddenly, species will

evolve step by tiny step from earlier forms through natural

selection” :Charles Darwin

Biogeochemical cycles

4.6 billion year ago: Earth is born when a build-up of dust and gas forms a molten sphere that revolves around the Sun

4 billion years ago: Earth’s surface cools enough for its crust to solidify and the atmosphere and oceans cover the planet. Scientists are still unsure where the water came from but one theory suggests that it was brought by moisture from colliding meteors.

3.5 billion years ago: Rising underwater volcanic activity causes proto-continents to form out of granite. The tectonic plates of these super continents continued to shift and break over the millions of years later making the seven continents we know now.

2.5 billion years ago: Lumpish forms of stromaloties – coral-like structures are the earliest evidence of microorganisms and life, and still exist today

700 million years ago: The harshest Ice Age sees the planet completely covered by thick ice and surface temperatures reach -40 Celsius

570-600 million years ago: Simple animals and arthropods (ancestors of insects, arachnids and crustaceans) make their first footsteps on Earth

363 million years ago: Sea levels reduce and mountains begin to form. Marine life including sharks begin to roam the Earth and breed.

65 million years ago: All dinosaurs except for modern birds get wiped out when an estimated 10 km wide meteorite strikes near Mexico ejecting enough dust to block out the sun for close to a year.

2.5 million years ago: Homo-man’s earliest ancestor, makes its first appearance. Chimpanzees and gorillas are also thought to be descendants of Homo genus due to their many similarities with humans.

200,000 years ago: Humans start looking like they do today…

5,000 years ago: The rise of the early civilizations such as Egypt and ancient India with its cities, political, social and cultural systems put mankind on the road to development

220 year ago: Scientists begin to challenge religious doctrines regarding how the Earth and life was made with scientific methods and research.

Present days: The human population on Earth approaches 7 billion causing an impact on its ecosystem such as climate changes, industrialization and the depletion of natural resources. These activities could contribute to the extinction and destruction of half of the Earth’s environment over next 100 years.

In the 1770s, the first _______ was created and it resulted in rapid development of ________ & _______ _______.

Pathways for cycling of chemicals in an ecosystem

Geological cycle, tectonic cycle

Hydrologic cycle

The rock (minerals) cycle

Living things require 24 chemical elements

6 elements are essential: • Carbon

• Hydrogen • Nitrogen • Oxygen

• Phosphorus • Sulphur

CARBON CYCLE

NITROGEN CYCLE

PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

EUTROPHICATION

China (2011_: Non-point source pollution from rural communities and agriculture account for 40-50% of pollutants that cause eutrophication.

CATASTROPHE:• A large scale

disaster.• An unmanageable

from the magnitude of destruction and the depth of rupture.

• Natural or Man-Made.

An event that brings terrible loss, lasting distress, or severe affliction; a disaster: A hurricane would be a calamity

CALAMITY:

HOW DOES IT AFFECTS THE ECOSYSTEM?

1. Critical Habitats:Support sensitive species and ecological

process that cannot be sustained in others.

i.e. China is the only country which pandas live in the wild.

Impact, 80% of panda habitat was damaged.

2. Pattern and Connectivity of Habitat Patches:

Cause habitat fragmentation.

Process of natural landscape is broken up into small patches of natural ecosystem.

Affect the soil fertility on the quality plant parts.

3. Nutrient Cycling:

• Affect the resiliency of the ecosystem • Earthquake causes the loss of

nutrients, disrupt the natural cycling of nutrients, and limit ecosystem productivity.

4. Hydrologic Patterns

• Tends to fragment or isolate populations species living up and downstream.

• Potentially, endangering lives of million of people and causes flooding.

5. Treatment and Purification Services:

Changes of the magnitude, frequency, duration, timing and rate of change of water flow.

Affect the hydrological cycle which provides water for organisms and habitats.

6. Epidemics of infectious diseases

• Cholera spread • AIDS/HIV increases

• Water quality related diseases (examples:

World’s major crops

The Aral Sea is drying up and dying as a result of diversion of water for

agriculture

This is E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Steel mill in Beijing, China (major point source pollution)

Blanket of smoke covering ______________ (which city?)

Fresh Kills landfill (US) was closed in 2001. It used to be the largest landfill in the world.

Mining activities result in drastic changes of environment and bio-

habitats

SERIOUS ENVIROMENTAL ISSUE:Eradication of Poverty in the World

• Nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.

• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.

• 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world).

• 640 million live without adequate shelter, almost a billion of people have no access to safe water, a half million have no access to health services.

• About 10 million died in 2008 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).

Causes of poverty:• Overpopulation• Global distribution of

resources• High standards of living

and costs of living• Inadequate education

and employment• Environmental

degradation• Economic and

demographic trends• Individual responsibility

and welfare dependency

Effects of poverty:• Shorter life expectancy• Malnutrition• Slower physical and

mental development • Number of homeless

people increase• Spread of infectious

diseases • Violence, criminal

cases increase• Unemployment• Social isolation, etc

Is eradication of poverty possible?

• Poverty eradication is not feasible (matter of opinion)

• Few factors:1. Corruption2. War, weapon trade3. Natural disasters: drought, flood, volcanic

eruptions, earthquake, tsunami, etc.

Corruption

• Direct consequences on economic and governance factors, intermediately result in poverty.

• The corruption impedes the economic and social growths of a country.

• Uneven distribution of the budget, funds result in the inadequate infrastructure, education and employment systems

War

• People lose their home, families, jobs• Destruction of infrastructures such as

road, energy resources and water resources

• Destruction of crop fields:1. Decrease the agriculture output2. Decrease the income or lost their jobs3. Affects the income of a country

Natural disasters• The consequences:

– reduced crop yields– shortage of water– war over natural resources, including water

and food– reduced electricity production– death of livestock– crime rate– access to education