ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Student Notes
on
CHE332

‫هندسة البيئة‬
BY

Dr. Samah A.Mustafa

1
 Environmental Engineering
Introduction
Environmental engineering is branch of engineering in which generates
engineering solutions to problems related to the environment such as the pollution of
water, air, and soil, as well as waste management and valorization. It also addresses
global issues, such as unsafe drinking water, climate change, and environmental
sustainability.

The descriptive title of “environmental engineer” was not used until the 1960.
Environmental engineering developed into a separate academic discipline to address
emerging environmental issues such as air and water pollution and hazardous waste
management, which were related to the continued growth of heavy industry all over
the world.
There are more than 10 types of pollution; the major forms of pollution include
air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution.

Table -1 illustrates the main ten types of pollution and its causes
N Types of pollution Causes Units
1 Air pollution Chemicals gases AQI(air quality index)
and particulates normal range(0-100)
matter unhealthy (100-200)
harmful( 300-500)
chemical
2 Water pollution contaminants ,sewage Hardness, mg/L, PH,
,industrial waste, TDS
agricultural runoff
3 Soil pollution chemicals are PLI (Pollution load
released by spill or index)
underground leakage NORMAL(0-20)
4 plastic products Solid Waste
Solid waste , micro plastics and Management Unit

2
 Littering (SWMU)
5 Electromagnetic radio waves W/kg
Safe limits 1.6 watts
per kilogram
6 Light pollution light trespass Cd /m2
candela per meter
square,
normal brightness
of 100 cd/m2
7 Noise pollution encompasses roadway dB
noise, aircraft decibel relative sound
noise, industrial noise normal(0-20)dB
more than 60dBb is
harmful

8 Thermal pollution change in natural C O or K

temperature
9 Visual pollution Landfills .Littering. VPA
 Smog, Fumes, Plastic (visual pollution
,Buildings, Wires, assessment)
Antennas

10 Radioactive contamination activities in atomic Bq/m2

physics Becquerel per square
meter
normal (1bq/m2
(outside))
Notes on:
1- Air quality index
The Air Quality Health Index (AQI) is a scale designed to help understand the
impact of air quality. It runs from 0 to 500
2- PLI (Pollution load index)
Represents the ratio of the metal content in the sediment to the background
concentration and indicates the summative level of heavy metal in the soil.
3- Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU)

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 Means any discernible unit at which solid wastes have been placed at any
time, regardless of whether the unit was intended for the management of solid
or hazardous waste.
4- candela per meter square or (nit unit)
It measures of light emitted per unit area, this unit is frequently used to specify the
brightness of a display device.

5- decibel relative sound dB

dB value expresses as the ratio of a value to a fixed reference value . The reference value
is 1 volt .
6- visual pollution assessment
Methodology. The pollution Assessment program is a pollution prevention and measurement
module, which can be used to assess the environmental impact of chemical and refinery
processes. ... This approach defines pollution indices which can be used to compare the
performance of different chemical processes.
7- Becquerel
In the International System of units (SI), the unit of activity is the becquerel (Bq). A becquerel
is one decay per second (dps)

Pollutant cycle
When a pollutant is introduced into the environment, there is a certain probability
that it can move from the point where it was released. The distribution of some
compounds has been shown Figure 1. First of all, there can be movement within a
compartment; for example, any chemical introduced into an aquatic compartment can
move to the extent that the water moves, whether or not the chemical is in solution or
sorbed on a particle. This movement would be defined by the appropriate hydrological
parameters. A chemical may find its way into the atmosphere where it may be transported
in atmospheric currents: In this situation the appropriate phenomena will determine the
rate and direction of movement..

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 Figure 1 . Illustration of how pollutants are distributed in the environment

Soil particles may carry chemicals in the air or water, however, movement through the
soil compartment is accomplished primarily through diffusion or mass transport in water
that seeps through the soil. In the situation where chemicals move within a compartment,
the transport processes of that compartment are controlling and the effects of the
properties of the chemical are minimal. By contrast, the properties of the chemical
become most significant in determining its tendency to move between compartments.
Thermodynamic and kinetic factors influence distribution and although natural systems
are rarely reversible, such an assumption can provide an indication of the trend for
movement between compartments

Impact of pollution to environment

 Environment Degradation. The environment is the first casualty for the increase in
pollution weather in air , water or soil
 Human Health. ...
 Global Warming. ...
 Ozone Layer Depletion. ...
 Infertile Land