Search: Course, Waste Management

This seminar will focus on one or several related issues in society that have a significant bearing on chemistry. Particular topics will differ from course section to course section and from year to year. Representative examples: atmospheric ozone, nuclear waste, solar energy, water, agrichemicals. Students will search information sources, invite expert specialists to speak, prepare oral and written reports.

The scope of modern environmental engineering requires a fundamental knowledge of microbial processes with specific application to water, wastewater and the environmental fate of pollutants. This course will cover basic microbial physiology, biochemistry, metabolism, growth energetics and kinetics, ecology, pathogenicity, and genetics for application to both engineered and natural environmental systems

Waste generation and disposal; types and characterization of wastes, fate, and transportation of contaminants in soil; soil-water-contaminant interactions; engineering soil properties; use of earth and geosynthetic materials in waste containment applications; principles, design, and construction of linear and leachate collection systems; application to landfill design

This course is intended for graduate students interested in acquiring a foundation in nuclear fuel cycle with topics ranging from nuclear-fuel reprocessing to waste treatment and final disposal. The emphasis is on the relationship between nuclear-power utilization and its environmental impacts. The goal is for graduate engineering students to gain sufficient understanding in how nuclear-power utilization affects the environment, so that they are better prepared to design an advanced system that would result in minimized environmental impact. The lectures will consist of two parts. The first half includes mathematical models for individual processes in a fuel cycle, such as nuclear fuel reprocessing, waste solidification, repository performance, and nuclear transmutation in a nuclear reactor. In the second half, these individual models are integrated, which enables students to evaluate environmental impact of a fuel cycle.

Geotechnical practice in environmental protection and restoration. Methods of soil and site characterization for siting of waste repositories and site restoration. Influence of physical and chemical processes on the evaluation of contaminant distribution. Design of waste containment systems including landfills, slurry walls, and soil stabilization; the applicability and use of geosynthetics. Review of technologies for site restoration and cleanup.

Sources and characteristics of hazardous and industrial wastes in the context of current regulations. Theory and design of commonly used and highly innovative treatment technologies applicable to a range of specific hazardous and industrial wastes. State-of-the-art approaches to remediation of hazardous waste sites and groundwater contamination.

Survey of basic knowledge and technology of physical infrastructure systems: transportation, water supply, wastewater, storm water, solid waste management, community energy facilities, and urban public facilities. Environmental and energy impacts of infrastructure development; centralized vs. decentralized systems; case studies