ETE-25306 Basic Technologies for Urban Environmental Management

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

ETE 22806 Principles of Urban Environmental Management 2 (continuing)

Continuation courses:

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

Contents:

This course introduces the qualitative and quantitative aspects of resource (energy, water, waste) flows in an urban system, emphasising their origin, transport, use and return to the environment. The student learns to use tools like energy and mass balances for the analysis and design of urban resources flows.
The course discusses various technologies that have been developed to cover urban resource demand and supply and related processes like treatment or recovery the environmental problems of urban systems. The focus is on state-of-the-art technologies for drinking water supply, wastewater treatment, energy supply and solid waste management. Furthermore, latest technological developments are presented, which can lead to more sustainable resources cycles. The course combines lectures with tutorials, individual assignments and field visits. Tutorial material is provided for students to understand, exercise and apply basic knowledge on physical, chemical and biological processes relevant for the understanding of urban environmental technologies. In the lectures, the basic principles and sustainability features of different environmental technologies are introduced. In the individual assignments, the student will perform a technology assessment for the solution of a specific urban environmental problem by performing basic calculations on urban flows. During the field visits students will experience various environmental technologies working in practice (e.g. drinking water purification plant, wastewater treatment, solid waste management facilities, power plants, etc.).

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- understand the qualitative and quantitative aspects of resource flows ( i.e. energy, water, materials) in an urban system and are able to evaluate them in a given context;
- understand the operating principles, performance, applicability and sustainability implications of various environmental technologies available for the production, treatment and/or recovery of energy, water and solid waste in the urban environment;
- select and use basic terminology regarding the physical, chemical and biological processes to demonstrate the understanding of urban environmental technologies;
- perform basic calculations (e.g. mass and energy balances, reactors size, etc.) in order to describe and evaluate resource flows and technologies or combination thereof (e.g. in a water treatment plant).

Activities:

- lectures: quality and quantity of urban environmental flows, urban environmental technologies for energy, water and solid waste;
- tutorial: in the tutorial students actively study, practise and apply basic knowledge of physical, chemical and biological processes relevant to the understanding of urban environmental technologies;
- assignments: students will perform individually a technology assessment of potential solutions to a specific urban environmental problem through basic calculations of urban flows and their transformations to demanded quality considering different technologies;
- study visits: e.g. power plant, drinking water purification plant, wastewater treatment, solid waste management facilities, etc.).

Examination:

- written, closed book examination (60%);
- tutorial (10%);
- individual assignment (30%).
It is not possible to pass the course without a pass mark (>5.5) for each of the respective elements.

Literature:

Reader and lecture hand-outs (MyPortal / Blackboard); Selected articles and books (as PDF) (MyPortal / Blackboard); For the energy part handbook: Godfrey Boyle, 'Renewable Energy - Power for a Sustainable Future', 3rd Edition.