Environmental Chemistry for Chemical Engineers

Practical exercises take the form of excursions and laboratory sessions in which students learn sampling procedures and measurement methods in environmental studies. Ethical dilemmas are analysed using methods such as cost/benefit, the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle.

Course content:
- Environmental chemistry as a practical tool. Correlations between different environmental problems. Using reaction rates and equilibrium constants in calculations in order to assess the significance of different reaction pathways and to calculate substance concentrations. Equilibrium between gases and liquids (Henry's law).
- Stratospheric ozone: formation and degradation, natural and created catalysts, how ozone holes are formed.
- Tropospheric ozone: photochemical smog, the interaction of nitrogen oxides, ozone, hydrocarbons and light, primary and secondary pollutants.
- Acidification: how nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides react into acidifying substances, alkalinity, buffer systems.
- Climate change: greenhouse gases; absorption of heat radiation, the carbonate system, aerosols, GWP.
- Eutrophication: phosphate chemistry, microbiological processes regarding phosphorous and nitrogen, BOD, COD.
Environmental toxins: organic toxins and toxic equivalence, heavy metals, dispersion and effects.
Experiment design: different methods to design investigations to yield useful information.
- Measurement analysis: error propagation, confidence interval, measurement data analysis, uncertainty measurement.

Progressive specialisation: G1F (has less than 60 credits in first‐cycle course/s as entry requirements)

Education level: Undergraduate level

Selection:

Selection is usually based on your grade point average from upper secondary school or the number of credit points from previous university studies, or both.