CIV 104

Introduction to Civil Engineering

Course Instructor
Zubair Syed, PhD, MIEAust

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
 Environmental Engineering

Environmental engineering is the application

of science and engineering principles to
improve:
natural environment (air, water, and/or land
resources), and
to remediate polluted sites.
 Environmental Engineering
It includes the followings:
waste water management and air pollution control,
recycling,
waste disposal,
radiation protection,
industrial hygiene,
environmental sustainability, and
public health issues as well as a knowledge of
environmental engineering law.
What topics does environmental engineering
cover?

http://www.colorado.edu/engineering/civil/CVEN1317/resources/enviro.pdf
What topics does environmental engineering
cover?

http://www.colorado.edu/engineering/civil/CVEN1317/resources/enviro.pdf
 Environmental Engineering
It also includes studies on environmental impact of
proposed construction projects.

Environment Impact Assessment

This course will introduce the following environmental

engineering topics which are of interest in the Arab Gulf
region.
Part I: Desalination
Part II: Waste water
 Part I: Desalination
Desalination is a process of removing some amount of salt
and other minerals from saline water.

Why is desalination necessary?

Motivation - fresh water scarcity
Dissolved Solids Water
 Major Desalination technologies
Thermal:
Multi-Stage Flash Distillation (MSF)
Multiple Effect Desalination(MED)
Membrane:
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
Electrodialysis (ED)
Others like freezing, humidification dehumidification, forward
osmosis
Thermal: Multi-Stage Flash Distillation (MSF)

MSF produce 64% of all desalinated water in the world.

Most of MSF plants are located in the Arab Gulf region.
Heated water passes through a series of chambers
(called stages)
Freshwater is formed by condensation of the water
vapor
 Thermal: MSF schematic diagram
A - Steam in
B - Seawater in
C - Potable water out
D - Waste out
E - Steam out
F - Heat exchange
G - Condensation
collection
H - Brine heater
Thermal: Multiple Effect Desalination
(MED)
MED is becoming increasingly competitive for small and
medium size applications.
It involves a series of condensation-evaporation processes
taking place (each called an "effect").
Saline water is usually applied to the tubes in the form of
a thin film so that it will evaporate easily.
Thermal: Multiple Effect Desalination (MED)
Thermal: MED
 Advantages of Thermal Desalination
Offers significant savings on operational and maintenance costs compared with
other desalination technologies.

Distillation does not require addition of chemicals or water softening agents to

pretreat feed water.

Many plants are fully automated and require a limited number of personnel to
operate.

Distillation has minimal environmental impacts, although brine disposal must

be considered in the plant design.

The technology produces high-quality water, in some cases having less than 10
mg/1 of total dissolved solids.
 Disadvantages of Thermal Desalination
Some distillation processes are energy-intensive, particularly large-capacity
plants.

Disposal of the brine is a problem in many regions.

The distillation process, particularly MSF distillation, is very costly.

Distillation requires a high level of technical knowledge to design and operate.

The technology requires the use of chemical products, such as acids, that need
special handling.
 Reverse Osmosis System (RO)
RO system consists of four major components /
processes:
Pretreatment
Pressurization
Membrane Separation
Post-Treatment Stabilization
Reverse Osmosis System (RO)
Reverse Osmosis
 Advantages of Reverse Osmosis

The processing system is simple

Installation costs are low.

Low maintenance, non-metallic materials are used in construction.

RO technologies can make use of use an almost unlimited and reliabl

water source, the sea.

RO technologies can be used to remove organic and inorganic

contaminants.

Aside from the need to dispose of the brine, RO has a negligible

environmental impact.
 Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis
Membranes are sensitive to abuse
Feed water usually needs to be pretreated to remove particulates
(prolong membrane life).
Operation of RO plant requires a high quality standard for materials
and equipment.
Extensive spare parts inventory must be maintained, especially if the
plants are of foreign manufacture.
Brine must be carefully disposed of to avoid deleterious environmenta
impacts.
There is a risk of bacterial contamination of the membranes.
RO technologies require a reliable energy source.
 Disadvantages of Desalination
Desalination technologies have a high cost compared to
other methods, such as:
groundwater extraction or
rainwater harvesting
 Part II Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater refers to any water that has been altered or

otherwise affected by human actions or functions.

Questions
Why is wastewater a problem?
How is wastewater treatment done?
Wastewater Sources
Human wastes

Household wastes

Storm flows (rainfall runoff)

Groundwater infiltration

Industrial wastes

Other sources
 Types of Wastewater
Municipal wastewater: collected from public sewage
system and treated in municipal wastewater treatment
plant.
Industrial wastewater: collected from manufacturing
industries including dairies, food processing, textile, etc.
and it has different concentration of pollutants compared
to domestic wastewater
 Wastewater Characteristics
Physical:
Total suspended solids, turbidity, color, particle size distribution,
temperature , density, odor, and conductivity

Chemical:
Inorganic: pH, metal ions, total phosphorus, total nitrogen,
gases (CO2, O2, CH4, NH3)
Organics: biological oxygen demands (BOD), chemical oxygen
demand (COD)
Biological: bacteria and viruses
 Wastewater Composition
Composition varies widely:
Water (>95%): added during flushing to carry waste down a drain.
Pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungus, and parasitic worms.
Non-pathogenic bacteria.
Organic particles: feces, hairs, food, vomit, paper fibers, plant
material, humus, etc.
Macro-solids: sanitary napkins/diapers, needles, children's toys,
dead animals or plants, etc.
Gases: hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.
Emulsions: paints, adhesives, hair colorants, emulsified oils, etc.
Toxins: pesticides, poisons, herbicides, etc.
Wastewater Composition Cont.
Soluble organic material: urea, fruit sugars, soluble proteins,
drugs, pharmaceuticals, etc.
Inorganic particles: sand, grit, metal particles, ceramics, etc.
Soluble inorganic material: ammonia, road-salt, sea-salt,
cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, etc.
Animals such as protozoa, insects, small fish, etc.
 Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process of cleaning used water and sewage
so it can be returned safely to our environment.

It include one of the following:

Sewage treatment treatment and disposal of human waste.
Industrial wastewater treatment the treatment of wet wastes from
manufacturing industry and commerce including mining, quarrying
and heavy industries.
Agricultural wastewater treatment treatment and disposal of liquid
animal wastes, pesticide residues, etc. from agriculture
 Water Treatment
1. Remove solids
everything from rags and plastics to sand and smaller particles found
in wastewater.

2. Reduce organic matter and pollutants

naturally occurring helpful bacteria and other microorganisms
consume organic matter in wastewater and are then separated from
the water.
3. Restore oxygen
treatment process ensures that the water put back into our rivers or
lakes has enough oxygen to support life.
 Water Treatment Plants Cont.
Wastewater treatment basically takes place in three
stages:
1. Preliminary & Primary treatment: removes 40-60% of
the solids.
2. Secondary treatment:
removes about 90% of the pollutants and completes
the process for the liquid portion of the separated
wastewater.
3. Sludge (biosolids) treatment and disposal.
 Preliminary Treatment
Sanitary sewers carry wastewater from homes and
businesses to the raw wastewater pumping station at the
treatment plant.

First step is to screen out, grind up, or separate debris such

as sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys, etc.

Treatment equipment such as bar screen and sand grit

chambers are used.
 Primary Treatment
Primary treatment is the second step in wastewater treatment.

It separates suspended solids and greases from wastewater.

Wastewater is held in a setting tank for several hours allowing the

particles to settle to the bottom and the greases to float to the
top.

Solids drawn off the bottom and skimmed off the top receive
further treatment as sludge.

Clarified wastewater flows on to the next stage of wastewater

treatment.

Clarifiers and septic tanks are usually used to provide primary

treatment
 Secondary Treatment
Secondary treatment is a biological treatment process to remove
dissolved organic matter from wastewater.

Sewage microorganisms are cultivated and added to the

wastewater.

The microorganisms absorb organic matter from sewage as their

food supply.
Secondary Treatment
Three approaches are used to accomplish secondary
treatment:
Fixed film systems grow microorganisms on substrates such
as rocks, sand or plastic
Suspended film systems stir and suspend microorganisms in
wastewater
Lagoon systems are shallow basins which hold wastewater
for several months to allow for the natural degradation of
sewage
 Final (Sludge) Treatment
Final treatment focuses on removal of disease-causing organisms
from wastewater.
Treated wastewater can be disinfected by adding chlorine or by using
ultraviolet light.
High levels of chlorine may be harmful to aquatic life in receiving
streams.
Treatment systems often add a chlorine-neutralizing chemical to the
treated wastewater before stream discharge.
Wastewater Treatment process
Wastewater Treatment Plant
 Advanced Treatment

Advanced treatment is necessary in some treatment systems to

remove nutrients from wastewater.
Chemicals are sometimes added during treatment process to help
settle out or strip out phosphorus or nitrogen.
Some examples of nutrient removal systems include coagulant
addition for phosphorus removal and air stripping for ammonia
removal.