ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2020/2021
- Teacher
- ELENA SARTI
- Credits
- 6
- Curriculum
- BIOTECNOLOGIE PER L'AMBIENTE
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- CHIM/01
Training objectives
- The course aims to present the essential aspects for understanding the physical-chemical processes which characterize the different environmental spheres (hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, biosphere), their mutual interconnection and the effect of technology on other environmental spheres. The course objective is therefore to provide students the following understandings:
- the main chemical species which characterize each environmental sphere and what are the reactions in which they are involved
- the natural cycles of the main chemical species within the various environmental spheres and among them
- the main categories of pollutants and, in particular, their origin, transport phenomena, their impact on the environment and their possible degradation
At the end of the course, the students will be able to:
- be aware of the main environmental parameters and interpret them
- understand the main environmental phenomena (e. g. eutrophication, the greenhouse effect, ...), evaluating the impact of human activities and the possible actions of remediation
- to evaluate distribution and fate of pollutants species, on the basis of their chemical-physical characteristics Prerequisites
- It is necessary to have the basic knowledge of general, inorganic and organic chemistry, in particular:
- fundamentals of nomenclature in inorganic chemistry (e.g. salts, oxides, ...) and organic chemistry (e.g. alkanes, benzene, ...)
- principles, species and parameters involved in the reactions acid/base (e.g. pH), oxidation-reduction (e.g. the cell potential) and complexation (e.g. coordinate bond, ligands)
- basic understanding of the structural formula of the organic molecules (e.g. the benzene ring) and the main functional groups (e.g. carboxylic acid, amine, ...).
It is also necessary to have basic mathematical notions.
There aren't propaedeutic exams to this course. Course programme
- The course forecasts 48 hours of frontal lectures, approximately divided as follows.
Introduction (2 hours)
Introductive principles of environmental chemistry. Interactions between environmental spheres and technology. Definitions. Main forms of pollution: causes and possible actions. International conferences and summits related to environment protection.
Hydrosphere (14 hours)
The hydrological cycle. Types, properties and chemical components of water reservoirs(i. e. freshwaters, oceans, groundwaters). The role of water in the environment. Interaction between dissolved components and bottom sediments or suspended particulate matter: calculation of the concentrations of dissolved species, such as gases (O2 and CO2) and solids (CaCO3). Some phenomena of pollution: eutrophication and microplastics. Reactions of precipitation, complexation and oxidation-reduction: theoretical aspects, reactions between species involved and calculation of their concentrations.
Geosphere (4 hours)
Physical and structural features of the soil (structure, porosity, permeability, ...). Chemical composition and role of the main components (minerals, clays, humic substances) in determining the properties of a soil (i.e. cation exchange capacity, water retention, fertility, ...).
Water Treatment processes (4 hours)
Classification of wastewaters, wastewater treatments (pre-treatments, primary, secondary and tertiary treatments, disinfection), potabilization, other water treatments for specific applications (e. g. softening, ...).
Atmosphere (12 hours)
Chemical-physical features of the atmosphere. Electromagnetic radiation: solar radiation and energy balance on Earth. Greenhouse effect: description of the phenomenon and characteristics of chemical species involved (natural and anthropic). Stratospheric ozone: the natural cycle of formation and destruction of ozone, impact of anthropogenic species. Photochemical smog: causes, reactions between involved species, effects. Acid rains: causes and effects. The atmospheric particulate matter: formation mechanisms, stability in atmosphere, the main chemical components, effects on environment and health
Biogeochemical cycles (2 hours)
Interchange of the main chemical species, natural and anthropogenic, between all the environmental spheres, including anthroposphere. In particular: the cycle of carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, sulfur.
Pollutants (9 hours)
Main classes of pollutants, such as metals, detergents, emerging contaminants, hydrocarbons, pesticides, dioxins and furans, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: chemical-physical properties, emission sources, environmental dynamics
Remediation of soils and groundwater (1 hour)
principal technologies for soil and groundwater remediation Didactic methods
- - presentation of the subjects using Powerpoint slides and multimedia resources
- carrying out of some application examples, which require several mathematical steps Learning assessment procedures
- The aim of the exam is to verify at which level the learning objectives previously described have been acquired.
If the exams are allowed live, the exam will consist of a written test usually containing:
- 2 long open questions, with a maximum value of 7 points each one
- 19 points are assigned by several multiple choice questions (approximately: 10-13 questions with value of 1-2 points each one)and short open questions (approximately: 2-4 questions with value of 2-2.5 points each one).
The total score 33 points.
The final mark is the sum of the scores of all the questions which were correctly answered. In case of wrong answer, no penalization will be applied. To pass the exam, it is necessary to get at least 18 points. The maximum mark of 30/30 cum laude will be given if the student will achieve a score between 31 and 33 points.
The time for the test is 2.5 hours. It is not allowed to consult books, computers, mobile phones, etc ....
If the exams are not allowed live, the exam will consist of a remote oral test (for example, through Google Meet): the candidate must answer to 3-5 questions about the whole program. Reference texts
- - The reference text is:
CHIMICA AMBIENTALE; C. Baird, M. Cann; Zanichelli, 2013.
- Another suggested textbooks could be:
CHIMICA DELL’AMBIENTE; S. E. Manahan; Piccin, 2000.
- The slides showed during lectures will be given to the students
