GSE829 Pollution Control and Waste Management Unit
About this Unit
Next Offering: Semester 2, 2009
Offered: E2 - Evening; Second Half-Year (Unit is offered in alternate years)
Convenor: Dr Vladimir Strezov
Prerequisite: GSE803 OR Permission of Head of Department (Permission will be granted if the student has a science based degree)
Credit Points: 4
;GSE 829 is an introduction to the science and technology of pollution control and waste management. Pollution control and waste management is now more usually called 'environment protection' to shift focus away from end-of-pipe treatment to whole systems.
GSE 829 is a complementary unit to GSE 805, Air and Water Quality (run in alternate years). The relationship of the two units is generally as follows:
| GSE 829 | GSE 805 |
|---|---|
| The prevention and reduction of pollutant discharges and the minimsation and treatment of wastes generated | The movement, transformation and impact of pollutants and wastes after they are released to the environment |
| Within the premises boundary | Beyond the premises boundary |
| Relates to the environment protection licensing process | Relates to the environmental impact process |
| Mainly the responsibility of the industry | Mainly the responsibility of the regulator |
The presentation of GSE 829 is set in a context of the industrial management of air and water pollution, noise mitigation and waste minimisation, handling and disposal. The advantages of and options for cleaner production are also considered.
There are many scientific and engineering principles which are common to the two units. But the perspective from which they are applied is usually different.
Teaching Staff
Convenors: Dr Vladimir Strezov and Mr John court
Classes
Contact hours: 3 per week
Lectures held in E8A 341
Tutorials
Some tutorial sessions will be provided as required through the semester. These will generally be of one hour duration from 5pm to 6pm on Tuesdays preceding the lectures. The purpose of the tutorials is to assist participants who find the concepts and terminology challenging, possibly through unfamiliarity with the scientific and technical concepts/terminology involved.
Attendance is entirely optional and there is no credit or penalty for attendance or non-attendance. Tutorials are offered purely as an aid to participants and, depending on background, some participants will find their time is better spent in private study. A similar arrangement is followed in the complementary unit GSE 805.
Unit web page
There is no web page for this unit.
Learning Outcomes
On completion participants should be able to:
- Understand the basic scientific and technical principles involved in air, water and noise pollution control and waste management
- Apply this understanding of pollution control techniques and equipment and waste management systems to:
- make preliminary assessments of where such techniques, equipment or systems are likely to be required;
- make preliminary assessments of the likely effectiveness of such techniques, equipment or systems;
- prepare a brief, in terms of desired outcomes, for the expert design of such techniques, equipment or systems;
- prepare an outline management plan for the operation, maintenance and monitoring of such techniques, equipment or systems;
- identify the likely types of risks encountered in the operation, maintenance and monitoring and specify audit requirements for periodic checking of environmental performance
- Appreciate the requirements for corporate capital and operating inputs for effective pollution control and waste management.
- Know of the essential regulatory requirements for pollution control and waste management systems.
- Critically analyse pollution control and waste matters for management, specialist and public audiences and express findings in clear and cogent reports.
These skills should be useful to:
- managers with technical responsibilities for the environment in small to medium enterprises (SMEs),
- officers with environment protection responsibilities in local government and EPAs,
- consultants to industry, and
- TAFE/university teachers in related environmental areas.
The unit is not intended to equip participants to undertake the detailed design and construction of specialised pollution control equipment. That is a skill which requires a detailed knowledge of engineering and science and many years of experience. The unit is intended to equip participants to communicate usefully with such experts.
Teaching and Learning Strategy
A formal listing of the subjects to which participants will be introduced in this unit is shown in the following table. However, the unit will not follow this rather formal, categorised structure. Rather the subjects above will be introduced in the way they are normally encountered in practice, that is, in their application to overcoming pollution and waste problems in industrial processes and plants. A 'learning-by-problem-solving' mode will be followed in this unit.
| Subject | Content |
|---|---|
| Management concepts |
|
| Basic legal concepts |
|
| Scientific concepts |
|
| Engineering concepts |
|
| Combustion |
|
| Particulate air pollution control |
|
| Gas and vapour control |
|
| Odour control |
|
| Noise control |
|
| Physical and chemical control of water pollution |
|
| Biological control of water pollution |
|
| Control of surface & ground water pollution |
|
| Industrial solid waste |
|
| Hazardous waste |
|
A hypothetical industrial process will be progressively explored over the series of lectures and the various principles applied as the pollutant and waste problems are encountered and addressed. Air, water and noise pollution control concepts will be considered as they arise.
The learning order will therefore not be according to the above formal categories, but will follow a typical order in which environmental protection problems are encountered in practice.
Schedule of Lectures
| Date | Topics |
|---|---|
Introduction
|
|
Scientific aspects
|
|
Engineering aspects
|
|
Raw materials handling in hypothetical process
|
|
Mineral processing step in hypothetical process
|
|
Organic processing step in hypothetical process
|
|
Control techniques: Noise and absorption
|
|
Mid-SEMESTER BREAK |
|
Organic processing step in hypothetical process II
|
|
Organo-metallic processing step in hypothetical process
Assignment due 9.00am |
|
Product storage and handling in hypothetical process
|
|
Management aspects of processing and environmental protection
|
|
Cleaner production
|
|
Waste minimisation
|
|
| Examination | |
Relationship between Assessment and Learning Outcomes
There are three components to the assessment. All are compulsory. The marks for each are as follows:
| Assessment | Marks | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment: Comparative assessment of control mechanisms & waste management technologies (2500 words or equivalent) | 30% | |
| Tutorial exercises: 8 | 32% | Weekly |
| Examination (open book) - 3 hours | 38% |
Assignment Submission
Assignment will be submitted through the university's anti-plagiarism detection software, Turnitin (see http://www.copyright.mq.edu.au/plag.html for details). Further details will be given in week 1, but in brief:
Your assessment task will be automatically compared to work of your classmates, previous students from Macquarie and other universities, with material available on the Internet, both freely available and subscription-based electronic journals.
The results of the analysis will be sent only to your lecturer, who will analyse the results in reference to the University's standard Policy on Plagiarism (http://www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/)
More information on the assignment will be provided early in the timetable. The assignment will require a report on a comparative assessment of available technologies for types of control equipment or systems in at least two areas of pollution/waste management. The assessments will address capabilities, suitability, costs, risks, etc. for each technology. This will require some searching of the current literature, web-based information and available commercial data.
Each report will be required to address a topic related to air pollution or noise AND a topic related to water pollution or waste. As examples, assessments might address:
Example A:
Fabric filtration compared to electrostatic precipitation for atmospheric particulate control AND
Disinfection & stabilisation ponds compared to ultra-filtration for liquid effluent control
OR
Example B:
Biofiltration compared to chemical scrubbing for odour control AND
Thermal oxidation compared to chemical stabilisation and containment for hazardous waste.
Tutorial exercises
Tutorial exercises will be distributed weekly based on the lectures. Participants must complete 8. It is important that they be completed promptly following the lectures to reinforce the learning process.
Marks: 3% each exercise; 32% of total.
Due: Weekly, with a one-week lag, ie Exercise 1 (Week 2) due on Week 4.
Examination
The examination will be conducted under ëopen-bookí conditions by the GSE at the normal weekly class time two weeks after the conclusion of lectures. Sample questions will be distributed towards the end of the unit timetable. Some features of the exam will be:
- A mixture of essay and computational-type questions;
- Choice;
- Coverage of most of the unit topics;
- Aids such as text books, lecture notes, calculators permitted (but not portable computers);
Marks: 38% of total
Date:
Required and Recommended Texts/Materials
There is no set text for this unit. Lecture notes and handouts will suggest avenues for further information on specific topics.
Data bases and journals
Macquarie University Library data bases provide an effective tool for locating information from the professional literature on specific topics related to this unit. They can be searched by topic area or journal. Relevant data bases include:
- Proquest
- Advance Academic
- Cambridge Abstracts
- Wiley Interscience
- Science Direct
Many of the relevant journal articles can be read online by Macquarie students, with the usual copyright provisions applying. Any participant not familiar with use of Library database systems should undertake one of the appropriate training sessions organised through the Library.
There are now so many professional journals in this area that naming has real limitations. With that qualification, a few are mentioned here as likely starting sources for scientific and technical information:
- Clean Air and Environmental Quality (the journal of the Clean Air Society of Australia & NZ)
- Water (the journal of the Australian Water Association)
- Chemosphere
- Environmental Pollution
- Environmental Science and Technology
- Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
- Journal of Cleaner Production
- Journal of Environmental Engineering
- Journal of the Water Environment Federation
- Waste Management
- Water Science and Technology
Books
Some standard texts and handbooks are often helpful starting points:
Brüel & Kjaer 1986 Noise control: principles and practice Naerum:Brüel & Kjaer, Denmark. (TD892 .N62)*
Buonicore A & Davis W 1992 Air pollution engineering manual Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. (TD889 .A39/1992)*
Corbitt R 1999 Standard handbook of environmental engineering McGraw Hill, New York. (TD145 .S72/1999)*
Eckenfelder W 1989 Industrial water pollution control McGraw Hill, New York.
Kiely G 1996 Environmental engineering McGraw Hill, New York.
Kroschwitz J & Howe-Grant M (eds.) 1991-1998 Encyclopedia of chemical technology 4th ed. Wiley, New York. TP9.E685/1991, Reference Collection).
Lewis R 1994 Sax's Dangerous properties of industrial materials: 1993 update 8th ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. (T55.3.H3.L4852/1994, Reference Collection)
Manahan S 1990 Hazardous waste chemistry, toxicology, and treatment Lewis, Chelsea. (TD1030 .M37/1990)*
Manahan S 2000 Environmental chemistry (7th ed.), Lewis, Chelsea. (TD193 .M36/2000)*
Tchobanoglous G & Burton FL 1991 Wastewater engineering: treatment, disposal and reuse / Metcalf & Eddy McGraw Hill, New York. (1985 edition at TD645 .M57)*
Tchobanoglous G, Theisen H & Eliassen R 1977 Solid wastes: engineering principles and practice McGraw Hill, New York.
Some of these texts have more recent editions. Those marked with an asterisk (*) following the Library Call Number have been placed in Reserve.
Books of more general interest
An Australian book which shows how chemistry is involved in modern society is:
Selinger B 2000 Chemistry in the Marketplace (5th ed.) Allen & Unwin.
An environmental chemistry textbook prepared for Australian HSC students is:
Laidler G Environmental Chemistry: an Australian Perspective (a secondary school text).
Students who consider their background in chemistry to be weak may wish to consult basic chemistry texts which emphasise environmental matters. Examples of these may be found in the Library. Two text books which are currently used as first year texts are:
Smith R., Conquering Chemistry.
Zumdahl S., Chemistry.
Other sources
A large amount of information, including technical information, is now available on public web sites - mainly government sites – both in Australian and overseas. Some areas to search include:
- Environment Australia
- National Pollutant Inventory
- Australian state Environment Protection Authorities
- US Environmental Protection Agency
- Environment Canada
Some useful internet addresses
National
National Environment Protection Council http://www.nepc.gov.au/
Commonwealth
Environment Australia (Commonwealth) http://www.erin.gov.au/
National Pollutant Inventory http://www.environment.gov.au/epg/npi/
Natural Heritage Trust (Commonwealth) http://www.nht.gov.au/
State
EPA (NSW) http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/
EPA (Vic) http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/
Dept of Environment and Heritage (Qld) http://www.env.qld.gov.au/
Dept of Environment (Tas) http://www.delm.tas.gov.au/
EPA (SA) http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/
Environment Department (WA) http://www.environ.wa.gov.au/
International
World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/
Environment Canada http://www.ec.gc.ca/
UK Environmental Agency http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk
US Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/
Published Information Sources
NSW Legislation http://www.austlii.edu.au/
ABC Radio National & Television http://www.abc.net.au/
DA Books http://www.dadirect.com.au/
Blackwells Online Bookshop (Oxford) http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/
Barnes and Noble Bookshop (New York) http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Plagiarism
The University defines plagiarism in its rules: "Plagiarism involves using the work of another person and presenting it as one's own." Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University's rules and carries significant penalties. You must read the University's practices and procedures on plagiarism. These can be found in the Handbook of Postgraduate Studies or on the web at: http://www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/
The policies and procedures explain what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, the procedures that will be taken in cases of suspected plagiarism, and the penalties if you are found guilty. Penalties may include a deduction of marks, failure in the unit, and/or referral to the University Discipline Committee.
The GSE recommends that students familiarise themselves with the information contained on the Georgetown University Honor Council website which discusses plagiarism in an easy to understand and comprehensive manner.
University Policy on Grading
Academic Senate has a set of guidelines on the distribution of grades across the range from fail to high distinction. Your final result will include one of these grades plus a standardised numerical grade (SNG).
On occasion your raw mark for a unit (i.e., the total of your marks for each assessment item) may not be the same as the SNG which you receive. Under the Senate guidelines, results may be scaled to ensure that there is a degree of comparability across the university, so that units with the same past performances of their students should achieve similar results.
It is important that you realise that the policy does not require that a minimum number of students are to be failed in any unit. In fact it does something like the opposite, in requiring examiners to explain their actions if more than 20% of students fail in a unit.
The process of scaling does not change the order of marks among students. A student who receives a higher raw mark than another will also receive a higher final scaled mark.
For an explanation of the policy see:
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/Guidelines2003.doc or
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/detailedguidelines.doc
Student Support Services
Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.
Advice for Students with Disabilities/Health Conditions
The Equity Support Unit (ESU) provides support and assistance to students with a disability/health condition in aiming to ensure that they do not experience disadvantage in reaching their academic potential. Service provision is determined on a case-by-case basis following an assessment of a student's needs and the provision of supporting documentation. Service provision is also dependent on the availability of resources.
To register with ESU, download an Advice of Disability/Health Condition form from http://www.reg.mq.edu.au/academic-index.html. This form must be completed annually, irrespective of whether a disability/health condition is temporary, long-term or permanent. Students wishing to request support services from the ESU should make an appointment to see a Disability Advisor immediately after enrolling at Macquarie University.
Phone: (02) 9850 6494/7497
Fax: (02) 9850 6063
TTY: (02) 9850 6493
Email: equity@mq.edu.au
In person: Level 2, Lincoln Building (C8A), Macquarie University
Website: http://www.sss.mq.edu.au/equity