Water and Wastewater Treatment

Physico/chemical processes are central to many Environmental Engineering applications, but also are broadly applied in other engineering disciplines. This course is designed to present fundamental principles of physico/chemical processes that are commonly used in Environmental Engineering (and other disciplines). The course is divided into three modules. Module I addresses transport phenomena and reactor theory. The tools presented in Module I are central to the descriptions of processes that are presented in the remainder of the class. Module II addresses physical separation processes ( i.e. , processes for separation of particles from fluids). Module 3 addresses processes that are used to bring about non-microbially-mediated) transformations. The processes that are described are particularly relevant to water treatment, and many examples presented in the class are from the water treatment domain. But opportunities to apply these principles in other settings are also pursued in this class. Specifically, principles taught in this class are relevant to air pollution dynamics and control, flow through porous media, and transformations of non-aqueous media (food products, air, surfaces).

Nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, are essential for all living organisms. However, excess amounts of nutrients in wastewater often result in eutrophication that may deplete oxygen, promote harmful algal bloom, and even create dead zone for aquatic organisms. Therefore, nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater should be adequately treated before discharge. Additionally, there are growing interests to recover nutrients and energy from wastewater to reduce treatment costs and improve the sustainability of wastewater treatment systems.

This course introduces the fundamental knowledge and practice of biological nutrient removal in wastewater treatment and prepares students for designing biological nutrient removal systems. At the end of the course, students are expected to understand general principles of biological nitrogen removal and biological phosphorus removal, apply the knowledge to select the best unit process to remove nutrients, apply the knowledge to select the best unit process to recovery resources, and analyze and evaluate biofuel systems.

Modern biotechnologies have been widely used in clinical diagnosis, food production, and the pharmaceutical industry. Their applications in wastewater treatment have greatly improved the accuracy and efficiency of characterizing biological systems in biological wastewater treatment plants and the natural environment.

This course is designed for graduate students and working professionals who would like to learn modern biotechnologies in wastewater treatment and how to apply these biotechnologies to understand, characterize, and optimize wastewater treatment systems and plants. At the end of the course, students are expected to understand modern biotechnologies and their applications in wastewater treatment, select appropriate biotechniques to understand, characterize, and optimize wastewater treatment systems, and assess public health risks associated with antibiotic resistant bacteria and viruses in wastewater.