Claire Baxter and Environmental engineering: Difference between pages
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
m →Palmarès: removed OVL |
rmv redundant red and "where to study" spam |
||
Line 1:
'''Environmental engineering'''<ref>{{cite book|author=Danny D. Reible|title=Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering |publisher=CRC Publishers|year=1998|id=ISBN 1-56670-047-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=James R. Mihelcic, Martin T. Auer, and others |title=Fundamentals of environmental engineering |publisher=John Wiley |year=1999|id=ISBN 0-471-24313-2}}</ref>
is the application of [[science]] and [[engineering]] principles to improve the [[natural environment|environment]] (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to [[Remediation|remediate]] [[pollution|polluted]] sites.
Environmental engineering involves [[Water pollution|water]] and [[air pollution]] control, recycling, [[waste disposal]], and [[public health]] issues as well as a knowledge of [[Environmental engineering law|environmental engineering law]]. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects.
Environmental engineers conduct hazardous-[[waste management]] studies to evaluate the significance of the such hazards, advise on treatment and containment, and develop regulations to prevent mishaps. Environmental engineers also design municipal water supply and [[Wastewater treatment|industrial wastewater treatment]] systems<ref>{{cite book | author=Beychok, Milton R. | title=[[Aqueous Wastes from Petroleum and Petrochemical Plants]] | edition=1st Edition | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | year=1967 | id= LCCN 67-19834}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Tchobanoglous, G., Burton, F.L., and Stensel, H.D.|title=Wastewater Engineering (Treatment Disposal Reuse) / Metcalf & Eddy, Inc.|edition=4th Edition|publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company|year=2003|id=ISBN 0-07-041878-0}}</ref> as well as being concerned with local and worldwide environmental issues such as the effects of [[acid rain]], [[ozone depletion]], water pollution and air pollution from [[Automobile emissions control|automobile exhausts]] and [[AP 42 Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors|industrial sources]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Turner, D.B.|title=Workbook of atmospheric dispersion estimates: an introduction to dispersion modeling|edition=2nd Edition|publisher=CRC Press|year=1994|id=ISBN 1-56670-023-X}} [http://www.crcpress.com/shopping_cart/products/product_detail.asp?sku=L1023&parent_id=&pc= www.crcpress.com]</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Beychok, M.R.|title=[[Fundamentals Of Stack Gas Dispersion]]|edition=4th Edition|publisher=author-published|year=2005|id=ISBN 0-9644588-0-2}} [http://www.air-dispersion.com www.air-dispersion.com]</ref>
==Educational licensing requirements==
To become an environmental engineer, at least a [[Bachelor's degree]] in engineering (usually [[Civil engineering|civil]] or [[Chemical engineering|chemical]], and more frequently environmental engineering) is required, usually followed by specialized training at the [[Master's]] or [[Doctoral]] level.
Most jurisdictions also impose licensing and registration requirements.
==Development of environmental engineering==
Ever since people first recognized that their health and well-being were related to the quality of their environment, they have applied thoughtful principles to attempt to improve the quality of their environment. The Romans constructed [[aqueduct]]s to prevent drought and to create a clean, healthful water supply for the [[Metropolitan area|metropolis]] of [[Rome]]. In the 15th century, [[Bavaria]] created laws restricting the development and degradation of alpine country that constituted the region's water supply.
Modern environmental engineering began in [[London]] in the mid-19th century when it was realized that proper [[sewage collection and disposal|sewerage]] could reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases such as [[cholera]]. The introduction of drinking water treatment and sewage treatment in industrialized countries reduced waterborne diseases from leading causes of death to rarities.
In many cases, as societies grew, actions that were intended to achieve benefits for those societies had longer-term impacts which reduced other environmental qualities. One example is the widespread application of [[DDT]] to control agricultural pests in the years following [[World War II]]. While the [[agriculture|agricultural]] benefits were outstanding and crop yields increased dramatically, thus reducing world hunger substantially, and [[malaria]] was controlled better than it ever had been, numerous species were brought to the verge of extinction due to the impact of the DDT on their reproductive cycles. The story of DDT as vividly told in [[Rachel Carson]]'s "[[Silent Spring]]" is considered to be the birth of the modern environmental movement and the development of the modern field of "environmental engineering."
[[Conservation movement]]s and [[law]]s restricting public actions that would harm the environment have been developed by various societies for millennia. Notable examples are the laws decreeing the construction of [[sewer]]s in [[London]] and [[Paris]] in the 19th century and the creation of the U.S. national park system in the early 20th century.
Briefly speaking, the main task of environmental engineering is to protect (from further degradation), preserve (the present condition), and enhance (the environment).
==Scope of environmental engineering==
[[Pollutant]]s may be chemical, biological, thermal, radioactive, or even mechanical. Environmental engineering emphasizes several areas: [[process engineering]], [[environmental chemistry]], water and [[sewage treatment]] ([[sanitary engineering]]), waste reduction/management, and pollution prevention/cleanup. Environmental engineering is a synthesis of various disciplines, incorporating elements from the following:
*[[Civil engineering]]
*[[Chemical engineering]]
*Public health
*[[Mechanical engineering]]
*[[Chemistry]]
*[[Biology]]
*[[Geology]]
*[[Ecology]]
Environmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to the environment. Some consider environmental engineering to include the development of sustainable processes. There are several divisions of the field of environmental engineering.
===Environmental impact assessment and mitigation===
It is a decision making tool. In this division, engineers and scientists assess the impacts of a proposed project on environmental conditions. They apply scientific and engineering principles to evaluate if there are likely to be any adverse impacts to water quality, air quality, [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]] quality, [[flora (plants)|flora]] and [[fauna (animals)|fauna]], agricultural capacity, [[traffic]] impacts, social impacts, ecological impacts, noise impacts, visual(landscape) impacts, etc. If impacts are expected, they then develop mitigation measures to limit or prevent such impacts. An example of a mitigation measure would be the creation of [[wetland]]s in a nearby ___location to mitigate the filling in of wetlands necessary for a road development if it is not possible to reroute the road.
===Water supply and treatment===
Engineers and scientists work to secure water supplies for potable and agricultural use. They evaluate the water balance within a [[drainage basin|watershed]] and determine the available water supply, the water needed for various needs in that watershed, the seasonal cycles of water movement through the watershed and they develop systems to store, treat, and convey water for various uses. Water is treated to achieve water quality objectives for the end uses. In the case of potable water supply, water is treated to minimize risk of [[infectious disease]] transmittal, risk of non-infectious illness, and create a palatable water flavor. Water distribution systems are designed and built to provide adequate water pressure and flow rates to meet various end-user needs such as domestic use, fire suppression, and [[irrigation]].
===Wastewater conveyance and treatment===
[[Image:Water pollution.jpg|right|thumbnail|200px|Water pollution]]
Most urban and many rural areas no longer discharge human waste directly to the land through [[outhouse]], [[septic tank|septic]], and/or [[honey bucket]] systems, but rather deposit such waste into water and convey it from households via [[sewer]] systems. Engineers and scientists develop collection and treatment systems to carry this waste material away from where people live and produce the waste and discharge it into the environment. In [[developed countries]], substantial resources are applied to the treatment and [[detoxification]] of this waste before it is discharged into a river, lake, or ocean system. Developing nations are striving to obtain the resources to develop such systems so that they can improve water quality in their surface waters and reduce the risk of water-borne infectious disease.
[[Image:Wonga wetlands sewage plant.jpg|thumb|220px|left|[[Sewage treatment]] plant, [[Australia]].]]
There are numerous wastewater treatment technologies. A wastewater treatment train can consist of a primary clarifier system to remove solid and floating materials, a secondary treatment system consisting of an [[aeration]] basin followed by [[flocculation]] and [[settling|sedimentation]] or an [[activated sludge]] system and a secondary clarifier, a tertiary biological [[nitrogen]] removal system, and a final [[disinfection]] process. The aeration basin/activated sludge system removes organic material by growing bacteria (activated sludge). The secondary clarifier removes the activated sludge from the water. The tertiary system, although not always included due to costs, is becoming more prevalent to remove nitrogen and [[phosphorus]] and to disinfect the water before discharge to a surface water stream or ocean outfall.
===Air quality management===
[[Image:AirPollutionSource.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Industrial air pollution source]]
Engineers apply scientific and engineering principles to the design of manufacturing and [[combustion]] processes to reduce air [[pollutant]] [[emission]]s to acceptable levels. [[Scrubber]]s, [[electrostatic precipitator]]s, [[catalytic converter]]s, and various processes are utilized to remove [[particulate matter]], [[nitrogen oxide]]s, [[sulfur]] oxides, [[volatile organic compounds]] (VOC}, reactive organic gases (ROG) and other air pollutants from [[flue gas]]es and other [[Air pollution dispersion terminology#air pollutant emission sources|sources]] prior to allowing their emission to the atmosphere.
Scientists have developed [[Atmospheric dispersion modeling|air pollution dispersion models]] to evaluate the concentration of a pollutant at a receptor or the impact on overall air quality from vehicle [[Exhaust system|exhausts]] and industrial [[flue gas stack]] emissions.
To some extent, this field overlaps the desire to decrease [[carbon dioxide]] and other [[greenhouse gas]] emissions from combustion processes.
===Other applications===
* [[Brownfield|Contaminated land]] [[management]] and site remediation
* [[Risk assessment]]
* [[Environmental policy]] and [[Environmental law|regulation]] development
* Solid waste management
* [[Hazardous waste]] management
* [[Environmental health]] and [[safety]]
* [[Natural resource]] management
* [[Noise (environmental)|Noise]] pollution
== See also ==
*[[Association of Environmental Professionals]]
*[[Atmospheric dispersion modeling]]
*[[Biofiltration]]
*[[Ecological sanitation]]
*[[Engineering geology]]
*[[Environmental design]]
*[[Environmental management]]
*[[Environmental restoration]]
*[[Environmental studies]]
*[[Hydraulic engineering]]
*[[Hydrology]]
*[[Wastewater]]
*[[Water purification]]
*[[Water quality modeling]]
==External links==
{{WVD}}
* [http://www.aaee.net/ American Academy of Environmental Engineers]
* [http://www.ceees.org Confederation of European Environmental Engineering Societies]
* [http://aeesp.org/ Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors]
* [http://www.efaep.org/ European Federation of Association of Environmental Professionals]
==References==
<references/>
<br>{{Technology}}
[[Category:Chemical engineering]]
[[Category:Civil engineering]]
[[Category:Environmental engineering]]
[[Category:Environmental science]]
[[ar:هندسة بيئية]]
[[ca:Enginyeria ambiental]]
[[de:Umwelttechnik]]
[[es:Ingeniería ambiental]]
[[ko:환경 공학]]
[[id:Teknik lingkungan]]
[[pt:Engenharia do ambiente]]
[[ru:Энвайронменталистика]]
[[zh:环境工程]]
| |||