Water Quality and Principles of Environmental Engineering

To define interventions for any future water resources challenge in a systematic manner, water technology students need to be able to apply the mass balance concept and calculate the time-based performance of a system unit in terms of biological and chemical reaction rates. By starting with physicochemical processes and then expanding to biochemical processes the complexity is gradually increased while using the same methodological framework.

Additionally, these calculations can be combined with knowledge on pollutant removal and degradation processes/factors to analyse and adapt the operational conditions of a lab experiment with the aim to optimise process performance for both efficient conversions and/or pollutant removal. The ethical aspects of working as an engineer in the field of human health will be discussed in a workshop.

Principles of physicochemical and biological processes

Link to learning objectives of the module:

A1: LO1, LO2 and LO3.

Central topic of the module sub-theme is learning to apply the principles of physicochemical and biochemical processes, reactor technologies and pollutant removal/degradation processes with the aim of using this know-how for designing and evaluating a treatment unit in module B1. It provides an environmental process engineering perspective and addresses the fundamentals on:

• Calculating equilibria of (bio-)chemical conversion processes in natural or engineered treatment units.

• Assessing biological and chemical reaction kinetics in dependence to applied reactor conditions and operational process characteristics using mathematical models.

• Assessing removal efficiency of pollutants by physicochemical and biochemical processes, by exploring, understanding and applying underlying concepts like mass balances, (bio-)chemical thermodynamics, mass transfer phenomena, dissolution, precipitation, degradation kinetics.

• Biological growth models (Monod kinetics), redox processes and reaction stoichiometry.

• Reactor technologies.

• Factors that impact removal, degradation or conversion of pollutants (e.g. chemicals of concern) that pose a risk to human health.

Biological or chemical reactor performance analysis

Link to learning objectives of the module:

A1: LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 and LO5.

Central topic of the module sub-theme is the execution of a biochemical lab experiment and mathematical modelling and performance analysis of this system. Through the lab experiment students can use know-how from module sub theme I to describe the chemical and/or biological conversion processes and biological growth rates and evaluate the removal efficiencies of contaminants (chemicals and pathogens that pose a risk to human health) in a single process unit. The following topics will be addressed:

• Using mathematical modelling in different software environments (e.g., phreeqC, matlab, python, aquasim) the experimental results can be described with chemical and biological conversion/growth models and evaluated for their potential to protect human health.

• Presenting, proposing and reporting about improved operational conditions for performance enhancement.