Environmental Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Engineering
L ENGINEERING
EnE 301
Why Environmental Engineering:
The goal of the course is to provide students with the scientific principles,
concepts, and methodologies required to understand the
interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze
environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the
relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative
solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.
Health impact:
• Due to microbiological pollution
• Due to microchemical pollution
Environment:
The human environment encompasses all physical, chemical, biological and social
processes and influences, which individually or in combination exert directly or
indirectly a significant influence on the health and well-being of human race.
Health: Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but a state of physical,
mental, and social well-being. (WHO)
In developing countries:
Microbiological pollution is of more significance.
Environmental factors serve as links in the chain of transmission of diseases
Communicable disease like cholera, typhoid, dysentery, malaria, bilharziasis,
etc.
In industrialized countries:
microphysicochemical pollution is of more significance.
microchemical health hazards more complex than communicable diseases
cancer, leukemia, cardiovascular disorders, etc
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
definition:
Environmental Engineering is manifest by sound engineering
thought and practice in the solution of problems of
environmental sanitation, notably in the provision of safe,
palatable, and ample public water supplies, the proper
disposal of or recycle of waste water and solid wastes; the
adequate drainage of urban and rural areas for proper
sanitation; and the control of water, soil, and atmospheric
pollution, and the social and environmental impact of public
health, such as control of anthropod-borne diseases, the
elimination of industrial health hazards, and the provision of
adequate sanitation in urban, rural, and recreational areas,
and the effect of technological advances on the
environment. (ASCE)
More population - more food - more water - more of
everything - more industrial goods - more wastes -
more pollution!
World population:
1900 - 1.6 billion
1950 - 2.5 billion
1980 - 5.0 billion
2000 - 6.0 billion
2110 - 10.5 billion (estimated)
•collection works
•transmission works
•treatment works
•distribution works
•Extent of sewerage
•Systems pressure
•Water price
•Availability of private wells
•Standard of living
•Per capita water use increases with and increased in
standard of living. Highly developed countries use much
more water than the less developed nations. Likewise,
higher socioeconomic status implies greater per capita
water use hat lower socioeconomic status. Higher average
annual temperature implies higher per capita water use,
whereas areas of high rainfall experience lower water use.
Variations in water demand:
•Average day demand
•Maximum day demand
•Maximum hour demand
Pumping plant:
To meet maximum day demand (if feeding into reservoirs)
Distribution system: to meet maximum hour demand or (maximum fire
demand + fire demand) whichever is greater.
A single family residence uses about 400 Lcpd (liters
per capita per day).
Problem 2. If a faucet is dripping at a rate of one drop per second and each drop
contains 0.150 milliliters, calculate how much water (in liters) will be lost in one
year.
Solution:
(0.150 mL/s)(86,400 s/d)(365 d/y)(1 x 10-3 L/mL) = 4,730 L/y
Solution:
Mass balance equation:
Input = Output 1 + output 2 + output 3 + output 4 + accumulation
One half of food is for biological maintenance = output 1 = (o.5)(25 Kg) = 12.5 Kg
One half of food is lost to sewer system = output 2 = (0.5)(25 kg) = 12.5 kg
The recycled amount is 25 percent of what remains of input after food and
accumulation is removed = Output 3 = 0.25( input –output 1 – output 2 –
accumulation) = 0.25(50 – 12.5 -12.5 – 1) = 6 kg
•Canopy interception is the precipitation that is intercepted by plant foliage and eventually
evaporates back to the atmosphere rather than falling to the ground.
•Runoff includes the variety of ways by which water moves across the land. This includes both
surface runoff and channel runoff. As it flows, the water may infiltrate into the ground,
evaporate into the air, become stored in lakes or reservoirs, or be extracted for agricultural or
other human uses.
•Infiltration is the flow of water from the ground surface into the ground. Once infiltrated, the
water becomes soil moisture or groundwater.
•Subsurface Flow is the flow of water underground, in the vadose zone and aquifers. Subsurface
water may return to the surface (eg. as a spring or by being pumped) or eventually seep into the
oceans. Water returns to the land surface at lower elevation than where it infiltrated, under the
force of gravity or gravity induced pressures. Groundwater tends to move slowly, and is
replenished slowly, so it can remain in aquifers for thousands of years.
•Evaporation is the transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the
ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere. The source of energy for evaporation is
primarily solar radiation. Evaporation often implicitly includes transpiration from plants, though
together they are specifically referred to as evapotranspiration. Approximately 90% of
atmospheric water comes from evaporation, while the remaining 10% is from transpiration. Total
annual evapotranspiration amounts to approximately 505,000 km³ of water, 434,000 km³ of
which evaporates from the oceans.
Sublimation is the state change directly from solid water (snow or ice) to water vapor.
Advection is the movement of water — in solid, liquid, or vapour states — through the
atmosphere. Without advection, water that evaporated over the oceans could not precipitate over
land.
Condensation is the transformation of water vapour to liquid water droplets in the air, producing
clouds and fog.
TRANSPIRATION
Loss of water from a plant, mainly through the stomata of leaves. Darkness,
internal water deficit, and extremes of temperature tend to close stomata and
decrease transpiration; illumination, ample water supply, and optimum
temperature cause stomata to open and increase transpiration. Its exact
significance is disputed; its roles in providing the energy to transport water in the
plant and in aiding dissipation of the sun's heat (by cooling through evaporation of
water) have been challenged. Since stomatal openings are necessary for the
exchange of gases, transpiration has been considered by some to be merely an
unavoidable phenomenon that accompanies the real functions of the stomata.
•EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
(ET) is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from
the earth's land surface to atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of
water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and water
bodies. Transpiration accounts for the movement of water within a plant and the
subsequent loss of water as vapour through stomata in its leaves.
Evapotranspiration is an important part of the water cycle.
•Potential evapotranspiration (PET)
AQUIFER
In hydrology, a rock layer or sequence that contains water and releases it in
appreciable amounts. The rocks contain water-filled pores that, when
connected, allow water to flow through their matrix. A confined aquifer is
overlain by a rock layer that does not transmit water in any appreciable
amount or that is impermeable. There probably are few truly confined
aquifers. In an unconfined aquifer the upper surface (water table) is open to
the atmosphere through permeable overlying material. An aquifer also may be
called a water-bearing stratum, lens, or zone.
Reservoirs
In the context of the water cycle, a reservoir represents the water contained in different
steps within the cycle. The largest reservoir is the collection of oceans, accounting for
97% of the Earth's water. The next largest quantity (2%) is stored in solid form in the
ice caps and glaciers. The water contained within all living organisms represents the
smallest reservoir.
The volumes of water in the fresh water reservoirs, particularly those that are available
for human use, are important water resources.
Where:
V = volume
P = precipitation
S = storage
R = runoff
G = groundwater infiltration
E = evaporation
T = transpiration
ρ = density
Infiltration: (Horton’s equation)
Where:
f = infiltration rate, mm/h
fC = equilibrium or final infiltration rate, mm/h
fO = initial infiltration rate, mm/h
k = empirical constant, h-1
t = time, h
Where:
E = evaporation rate, mm/h
es = saturation vapor pressure, kPa
ea = vapor pressure in overlying air, kPa
a , b = empirical constants
u = wind speed, m/s
3. Some of the individual mineral salts that make up TDS pose a variety of health hazards.
The most problematic are Nitrates, Sodium, Sulfates, Barium, Copper, and Fluoride.
4. The EPA Secondary Regulations advise a maximum level of 500mg/liter (500 parts per
million-ppm) for TDS. Numerous water supplies exceed this level. When TDS levels
exceed 1000mg/L it is generally considered unfit for human consumption.
5. High TDS interferes with the taste of foods and beverages, and makes them less
desirable to consume.
6. High TDS make ice cubes cloudy, softer, and faster melting.
7. Minerals exist in water mostly as INORGANIC salts. In contrast, minerals having passed
through a living system are known as ORGANIC minerals. They are combined with
proteins and sugars. According to many nutritionists minerals are much easier to
assimilate when they come from foods. Can you imagine going out to your garden for a
cup of dirt to eat rather than a nice carrot; or drinking a whole bathtub of water for LESS
calcium than that in an 8 ounce glass of milk?
8. Water with higher TDS is considered by some health advocates to have a poorer
cleansing effect in the body than water with a low level of TDS. This is because water
with low dissolved solids has a greater capacity of absorption than water with higher
solids.
Toxic Metals or Heavy Metals -- Among the greatest threats to
health are the presence of high levels of toxic metals in drinking
water - Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, and Silver. Maximum
limits for each are established by the EPA Primary Drinking Water
Regulations. Other metals such as Chromium and Selenium, while
essential trace elements in our diets, have limits imposed upon them
when in water because the form in which they exist may pose a
health hazard. Toxic metals are associated with nerve damage, birth
defects, mental retardation, certain cancers, and increased
susceptibility to disease.
ORGANIC IMPURITIES:
Tastes and Odors -- If your water has a disagreeable taste
or odor, chances are it is due to one or more of many organic
substances ranging from decaying vegetation to algae;
hydrocarbons to phenols. It could also be TDS and a host of
other items.
Toxic Organic Chemicals -- The most pressing
and widespread water contamination problem is a
result of the organic chemicals created by industry.
The amount and type of treatment applied by a PWS varies with the source
type and quality. Many ground water systems can satisfy local as well as
national government requirements without applying any treatment, while
others need to add chlorine or additional treatment. Because surface water
systems are exposed to direct wet weather runoff and to the atmosphere
and are therefore more easily contaminated, regulations require that these
systems treat their water.