Environmental Processes
Overall Course Objectives
The overall aim of the course is to:
Get a quantitative understanding of important physical,chemical and microbiological processes that control:
– Concentrations of compounds in the environment
– Concentrations of compounds in environmental engineering reactors/technical installations
Create the foundation for more advanced courses within water technology and water pollution
Illustrate how the engineer works with practical issues.
See course description in Danish
Learning Objectives
- Calculate concentrations in chemical equilibrium systems with acids and bases, chemical precipitation and complex formation reactions
- Carry out equilibrium calculations in two-phase gas/liquid systems
- Calculate concentrations in systems with sorption and ion exchange
- Explain the content of specifications of water quality and be able to describe the concentrations of important components in water
- Set up mass balances for natural and technical systems and be able to calculate characteristic times
- Conduct calculations – based on mass balances – of transport of water components controlled by advection, diffusion and dispersion, including the transport in porous media
- Carry out tracer experiments and interpret the data in relation to basic reactor parameters
- Carry out calculations of reaction kinetics in simple batch reactors
- Calculate concentrations in reactors combining reaction kinetics and mass transport (reactor hydraulics)
- Conduct experiments in the laboratory
- Communicate aims, theory, methods, results, discissions and conclusions in a technical report
- Carry out an engineering analysis of the concentrations of compounds in a relatively complex system consisting of processes in nature (surface water and groundwater) and in a waterworks
Course Content
Mass balances,chemical equilibria,acids and bases, carbonate chemistry, chemical precipitation, complex formation,phase distributions in two- and three-phase systems (water, solid gas),redox systems,ion exchange,sorption. Flow in porous systems. Soil properties. Emphasis is put on learning the theoretical principles through practice-oriented activities: project work and lab. exercises. In addition, emphasis is put on communication of results in the form of well-structured reports.
Recommended prerequisites
12000, A basic course in chemistry (1st year chemistry course) and basic knowledge on Excel
Teaching Method
Lectures, exercises, 2 laboratory exercises and project work in groups.
Faculty
Remarks
The course is a prerequisite for the majority of the courses in the BSc and MSc Environmental Engineering. As a consequence, it should be taken early during the studies.