ETE-34306 Energy, Water and Nutrient Cycles in the Built Environment

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

ETE-22806 Principles of Urban Environmental Management; ETE-25306 Basics of Urban Environmental Technology or equivalent knowledge obtained elsewhere.

Continuation courses:

ETE-32806 Managing Urban Environmental Infrastructure; ETE-33806 Planning and Design of Urban Space.

Contents:

Our continuously growing cities and (urban) populations are highly and increasingly dependent on external supply of, often overexploited and limited, resources like water and energy. Our modern cities can be characterized by their linear way of consuming high-quality resources and leaving behind waste streams and thus cannot be considered sustainable. The bio-capacities or ecological footprints of these cities and their hinterlands are largely exceeded as resources are used inefficiently as local supply, reuse and recovery potential is neglected. This course focuses on the positive impact, concepts and methodologies of a circular approach: closing resource (energy, water and nutrient) cycles in accordance with sustainability principles by applying various and suitable technologies and sustainability concepts to achieve this in practice. Based on the concept of Urban Metabolism, students are given the opportunity to critically examine and apply several conceptual frameworks that aim at closing resource cycles, such as e.g. Urban Harvest and New Stepped Strategy. Used streams are not considered as waste but as a source of secondary resources that are returned to either naturally occurring or technological cycles, at the required level of quality. Furthermore, options to locally supply and recover/reuse resource streams are evaluated in regard of possible self-sufficiency. Here, various technologies and their feasibility for closing resources cycles are added above those already discussed in ETE 25306 (Basics Technologies for Urban Environmental Management) or during similar education elsewhere. In addition, assessments and case studies are provided of situations by practitioners from the field and scientists from related academic fields, where the application of individual technologies and their appropriate combinations ensure sustainability under given local conditions regarding scale, climate and rural-urban typology.
The course consists of 2 main parts: a) lectures, in which i) methodological concepts to analyse and evaluate resource flows and technological concepts are introduced, ii) possible technical concepts for closing resource cycles are discussed and iii) example cases for closed resource cycles are highlighted and b) a group assignment that challenges students to i) analyse and assess resources flows in an urban setting and ii) propose, evaluate and compare feasible measures to improve sustainability of the current practices related to energy, water and nutrient management. Furthermore, field visits to cases with (partially-)closed cycles are planned to show the lecture and assignment content in practice.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- demonstrate understanding of the importance of closing urban resource cycles: energy, water and (in)organic waste materials at various urban scales and typologies;
- perform baseline assessment of a given urban setting using mass and energy balances and technology assessment;
- apply conceptual frameworks for a given case that aim at closing urban resource cycles;
- select and evaluate the opportunities and limitations of various technologies in a given context;
- make a conceptual design of a system to close energy, water and waste materials cycles at various scales using pre-defined sustainability criteria and indicators.

Activities:

- lectures: focussing on four thematic blocks: i) methodological frameworks for analysing, evaluating and designing closed resource cycles, ii) the water cycle, iii) the energy cycle and iv) the (in)organic waste (focus nutrients) cycle. Lectures will be provided (next to the main lecturers) by guest lecturers from different WU chairs and universities to show the multi- and transdisciplinarity of this course and representatives of companies and research institutes applying sustainability concepts and implementing sustainable technologies. The lectures will be concentrated mainly in the first half of the course (first 1.5 weeks);
- group assignment: a group assignment focusing on the designing of closed energy, water and nutrient cycles through integration of various technologies and application of methodological framework to realize a viable system, including a critical analysis and evaluation of options in accordance with sustainability criteria as applied to a particular setting;
- study visits: 1 full day excursion: sustainable building or a city district, renewable energy application in a building or a district, water re-use, etc.

Examination:

- written, closed book examination (40%);
- group assignment (60%);
- a pass mark (>5.5) is required for each part.

Literature:

Lecture hand-outs (My Portal / Blackboard).
Selected scientific papers and reports (My Portal / Blackboard) .