CE1400

ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY ENGINEERING

Lecture-5

Dr. Prateek Khatri

Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
National Institute of Technology Rourkela
Environmental Challenges

The current environmental challenges remain in maintaining

the quality and quantity of different environmental factors
that can affect every thing on earth directly or indirectly.
Currently these challenges occur at three levels.

1. Local

2. Regional

3. Global
Local Environmental Challenges
• Waste disposal
• Water scarcity
• Desertification
• Pollution
• Endangered species
Regional and Global Environmental Challenges
• Global Warming
• Ocean Acidification
• Pollution
• Acid rain
• Ozone depletion
• Polar Melting
Waste disposal
• Most recyclable waste ends up in a dump yard due to the lack of
efficient waste management.
• With rapid urbanisation, the country is facing massive waste
management challenge.
• In India, 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per annum is
generated in urban areas.
• Only 43 million tonnes (MT) (~70% of generated is collected) of
the waste is collected, 11.9 MT is treated and 31 MT is dumped
in landfill sites. (~72% of collected is dumped)
• However, almost all municipal authorities deposit solid waste at a
dumpyard within or outside the city.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/waste/india-s-challenges-in-waste-management-56753
Waste management

• The key to efficient waste management is to ensure proper

segregation of waste at source and to ensure that the waste goes
through different streams of recycling and resource recovery.
• Then reduced final residue is then deposited scientifically in
sanitary landfills.
• Sanitary landfills are the ultimate means of disposal for
unutilized municipal solid waste from waste processing facilities
and other types of inorganic waste that cannot be reused or
recycled.
• Major limitation of this method is the costly transportation of
municipal solid waste to far away landfill sites.
USGBC (US Green building council) West Michigan Chapter (usgbcwm.org)
Water scarcity
How is the water scarcity measured?

• Minimum water requirement for domestic usage is 50 L per person

per day, though 100-200 L is often recommended.

• Considering the needs of agriculture, industry and energy sectors,

the recommended minimum annual per capita requirement is
about 1700 cubic meters. (17,00,000 L)

Types of Water Scarcity Water per person per year

Occasional or local water distress = 1700 m3

Periodic or regular water stress 1700 m3
Chronic water scarcity 1000 m3
Absolute scarcity 500 m3
What is the status of water availability in
India?

 India receives 4000 bcm (billion cubic metres) rainfall each year.
Out of this, 1869 bcm remains after evaporation. The actual
availability is only 1137 bcm.
 Even in that 1137 bcm of water, there is a lot of temporal as well
as regional variations in the availability.
 For instance, on the one side, there are water surplus states such as
Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and on the other side, there are
water scarce states such as Maharashtra (Vidarbha, Beed),
Karnataka (Kalaburagi/Gulbarga), Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and
parts of Gujarat.
Water scarcity
https://www.iasexpress.net/water-crisis-in-india-upsc-essay/
What are the reasons for this crisis?
 Monsoon Dependence
 Uneven distribution of water and Rainfall pattern
 Increasing demand
 Urbanisation & Water scarcity
 Overexploitation
 Shift to cash-crops
 Inefficient cultivation practices
 Water Pollution
What are the impacts of the water crisis?

 Economic growth
 Power supply
 Agricultural crisis
 Drinking water scarcity
 Conflicts over water
What are the solutions to the water crisis in India?

• Good water management practices

• Interlinking of rivers
• Coordination in aquifer usage (sustainable management
of groundwater resources)
• Coordinated efforts among states
• Community-level management
• Charging money for efficient use of water
• Good Cultivation practices
Desertification
Desertification results in persistent degradation of dryland
and fragile ecosystems due to man-made activities and
variations in climate.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/437156/Iran-becoming-more-vulnerable-to-desertification
Reasons for desertification

 Overgrazing
 Urbanization
 Climate change
 Overuse of groundwater
 Deforestation
 Natural disasters
 Farming Practices
 Overpopulation and excessive consumption
 Mining
Solutions to Desertification

 Policy Changes Related to How People can Farm

 Policy Changes to Other Types of Land Use
 Education
 Technology Advances
 Restricting Mining Practices
 Putting Together Rehabilitation Efforts
 Reforestation
Environmental Challenges: Ocean Acidification

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7933589.stm
Environmental Challenges: Ocean Acidification

https://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/ocean-acidification-process
 Environmental Challenges: Acid rain

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-41552-5_5
Environmental Challenges: Ozone depletion

https://eschooltoday.com/ozone-depletion/what-is-ozone-depletion.html
Environmental Challenges: Ozone depletion

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2019/05/northeast-china-made-a-lot-more-ozone-destroying-
gas.html
Environmental Challenges: Polar melting
Thank you