Environment Engineering

Feature Point-source pollution Non-point-source pollution

Origin Single, identifiable pipe or Many scattered sources

outlet

Examples Factories, wastewater plants Farms, streets, construction

runoff

?Easy to monitor Yes ✔ No ❌

Can be controlled by Yes ✔ Hard ❌

?permits

Current impact on water Decreasing Increasing / major problem

- :Unusual Properties of Water

 A water molecule (H₂O) has two hydrogens–oxygen bonds forming a 105° angle.

 This shape creates a dipolar molecule, with a slightly positive end and a slightly
negative end.
 The dipolar nature causes attraction between water molecules.
 Because of this attraction, water has a high boiling point and requires a large
amount of energy to vaporize.
 Water has high surface tension, allowing it to support relatively heavy objects (e.g.,
insects walking on water).
 Water molecules adhere to other surfaces due to their dipolar character.
 Surface tension + adhesion = capillary action, which allows water to rise along the
sides of objects.
 Capillary action is essential to life, helping:

 sap rise in trees

 water rise in soil
 food move through organisms.

 Water is a very effective solvent because its molecules surround charged ions and
neutralize them
Density:-

 Water is the only common liquid that expands when it freezes.

 The maximum density of water occurs at 4°C.
 As temperature moves away from 4°C, water becomes lighter and more buoyant.
 Ice floats because frozen water is less dense than liquid water.
 If ice did not float, rivers and lakes could freeze from the bottom up.
 The expansion of water during freezing contributes to weathering of rocks by
breaking them apart when water freezes in cracks.
 When water is warmed beyond 4°C, it becomes buoyant again, so warm water
floats on top of cold water.
 This thermal stratification influences aquatic life and pollutant distribution.

Melting and Boiling Points

 Water has unusually high boiling and freezing temperatures for a compound
with such a low molecular weight.
 If water were similar to other substances with low molecular weight, it would boil
at normal Earth temperatures and therefore exist mostly as a gas rather than
a liquid or solid.
 Water has an unusually large temperature difference between melting point
and boiling point, which allows it to remain a liquid over most of the globe.
 Water is the only substance that exists naturally in all three states — gas,
liquid, and solid (ice) — within the normal temperature range of Earth.
 With only slightly different phase change temperatures, life on Earth would be
very different, if it could exist at all

Specific Heat

 Water has a higher heat capacity than any other known liquid except ammonia.
 Its specific heat is five times higher than that of most common heavy solids, such
as rock and concrete.
 water takes longer to heat up and to cool down than almost anything else.
 This high heat capacity makes the oceans the major moderating factor in
maintaining the temperature of the surface of the Earth.
 It also protects life from rapid thermal fluctuations, which are often lethal.
Heat of Vaporization

 The heat required to vaporize water is one of the highest of all liquids.
 This high heat of vaporization means that water vapor stores an unusually
large amount of energy.
 A large amount of energy is released when the water vapor condenses.
 This property is important in distributing heat from one place on the globe to
another.
 It is also a major factor affecting the Earth’s climate

Water as a Solvent

 Water dissolves more substances than any other common solvent.

 It serves as an effective medium for transporting dissolved nutrients to tissues
and organs in living things.
 It also plays a role in eliminating wastes from living organisms.
 Water transports dissolved substances throughout the biosphere.

Greenhouse Effect

 The 105° bond angle of water is an average value, and the hydrogen atoms vibrate
back and forth, causing the angle to oscillate.
 This bending vibration resonates with certain wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation from the sun, allowing water vapor in the atmosphere to absorb solar energy.
 Other vibrations in water molecules absorb infrared radiation leaving the Earth’s
surface.
 Earth’s temperature depends significantly on the absorption of incoming solar and
outgoing infrared radiation.
 Water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas in our atmosphere.
The Hydrologic Cycle

 Almost all of the world’s water (97%) is located in the oceans.

 High concentration of salts makes ocean water generally unusable for municipal,
agricultural, or most industrial needs.
 Oceans are mainly used for:
1. Thermal cooling of power plants
2. A sink for much of our pollution
 The sun naturally provides desalination by evaporating water and leaving salts
behind.
 Close to one-half of the sun’s absorbed energy on Earth becomes latent heat,
causing:
1. Evaporation from wet surfaces
2. Transpiration from plant leaves
 Combined evaporation and transpiration = evapotranspiration, requiring an
energy
 Water vapor condenses and returns as precipitation.

 More evaporation than precipitation over oceans

 More precipitation than evapotranspiration over land

Sources of pollution based on use

 Agriculture: Return water from agriculture contains pesticides, fertilizers, and salts.
These come from chemicals applied to crops and soil.
 Municipal (urban) use: Water returned from cities carries human sewage,
pharmaceuticals, and surfactants (chemicals used in detergents and cleaning
products).
 Power plants: Power plants discharge water that has an elevated temperature,
causing thermal pollution.
 Industry: Industrial activities add a wide range of chemical pollutants and organic
wastes to water.
 Water Pollutants Summary

- :Pathogens
 Pathogens: - are disease-causing organisms that grow and multiply within the host.
 Infection: - The resulting growth of microorganisms in a host

 Four Ways Water Is Linked to Infectious Diseases

1. Waterborne diseases → ingesting contaminated water

2. Water-washed diseases → lack of water for hygiene
3. Water-based diseases → infection through water contact
4. Water-related diseases → organisms that depend on water habitats

Source Examples
Mainly from human and animal wastewater  Bacteria
 Viruses
 Protozoan
(domestic activates)  Helminths

- :Oxygen-Demanding Wastes
 Saturation DO in water ranges from 8–15 mg/L
 depending on temperature and salinity.
 Minimum recommended DO for a healthy fish population is often 5 mg/L

 Effect of Oxygen-Demanding Wastes

1. Oxygen-demanding wastes oxidize in the water.

2. Bacteria decompose these wastes → consume dissolved oxygen → DO decreases.
3. Low DO threatens or kills fish and aquatic life.
4. Low DO also causes bad odors, tastes, and discoloration, reducing domestic and
recreational water value

 Measures of Oxygen Demand

 COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) → oxygen required to chemically oxidize

wastes.
 BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) → oxygen required by microorganisms to
biologically degrade wastes.

 BOD is the most important measure of organic pollution strength and is

commonly used to evaluate wastewater treatment efficiency

Source Examples
organic substances from: -

 municipal wastewater
Industrial  Waste from food factories

Nutrients: -

 Nutrients become pollutants when present in high concentrations → cause excessive

growth of aquatic plants, particularly algae
 Nutrient enrichment can lead to blooms of algae
 Eutrophication :- The process of nutrient enrichment

 High nutrients → algae bloom → algae die → decomposition consumes dissolved

oxygen (DO).
 Low DO → fish kill + damage to aquatic life.
 Causes color, turbidity, taste, and odor problems in water.

 Plant growth depends on Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus.

 The nutrient in smallest supply becomes the limiting nutrient.
 Freshwater: usually limited by Phosphorus
 Seawater: usually limited by Nitrogen

 Pollution Sources

 Point Sources: direct discharge to water (easy to treat & monitor)

➤ industries, wastewater treatment plants, mines, feedlots
 Nonpoint Sources: diffuse & intermittent (many points of entry to the receiving
water)
➤ agricultural runoff, urban runoff, small construction sites, abandoned mines
 agriculture is the largest contributor to nonpoint source pollution

Source Examples
 Nitrogen
 Phosphorus
Industrial wastewater outlets  Carbon
 Sulfur
 Calcium
agriculture
 Potassium
 Iron
 Manganese
 Boron
 Cobalt

Salts: -

 Water collects dissolved solids (salts) as it moves through soil and rocks.

 Salinity is measured using Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Water Type TDS (mg/L)

Fresh water < 1,500

Brackish up to 5,000

Saline > 5,000

Seawater 30,000 – 34,000

Drinking water max 500 mg/L

 How salinity increases

 Adding salts (pollution)

 evaporation removes water but leaves salts → concentration increases
 Biggest risk in irrigated agriculture in dry (arid) regions

 the salt concentration progressively increases downstream as the volume of water

available to dilute salts decreases due to evaporation
 Source Examples
 Cations
 Sodium (Na⁺)
 Calcium (Ca²⁺)
agricultural
 Magnesium (Mg²⁺)
 Anions
 Potassium (K⁺)
 Chloride (Cl⁻)
 Sulfate (SO₄²⁻)
 Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻)

Thermal Pollution: -

 Thermal pollution occurs when hot water is discharged into natural water bodies
(rivers, lakes, seas), raising the water temperature and disturbing aquatic life.
 Thermal pollution raises water temperature, making fish and aquatic life struggle
because they need more oxygen at the same time that the water contains less
oxygen (As water temperature rises, oxygen demand increases while dissolved
oxygen decreases, causing stress to aquatic life)

Source Examples
industrial facilities power plants

Heavy Metals: -

 Heavy metals generally = metals with specific gravity > 4–5.

 Some metals (like chromium and iron) are essential nutrients in low doses, but harmful in
excess.

 Effects of high doses: kidney and nervous system damage, mutations, tumors.

 Metals are nondegradable → remain in the environment indefinitely.

Source Examples
 Mercury (Hg)
 Lead (Pb)
  Cadmium (Cd)
industrial  Arsenic (As)
 Chromium (Cr)
 Nickel (Ni)
 Zinc (Zn)

Pesticides: -

 pesticide is a range of chemicals that kill organisms that humans consider undesirable
 Pesticides can be

1. Insecticides
2. Herbicides
3. Rodenticides
4. Fungicides

 Main Types of Synthetic Organic Insecticides

1. Organochlorines (Chlorinated Hydrocarbons)

2. Organophosphates
3. Carbamates

Source Examples
agricultural DDT
DDE

Volatile Organic Chemicals: -

 Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) are organic compounds that evaporate easily into
the air.
 They are widely used in industrial processes, especially as solvents.
 Number of them are either known or suspected carcinogens or mutagens.

 groundwater contamination with VOCs is a major environmental concern.

 The most common treatment is Aeration (air stripping)

 Water is exposed to air → VOCs evaporate into the atmosphere

Source Examples
 Vinyl chloride (most dangerous)
 Tetrachloroethylene
Industrial Activities  Trichloroethylene (TCE)
 1,2-Dichloroethan
 Carbon tetrachloride

Emerging Contaminants: -

 Emerging contaminants: are pollutants that were previously unrecognized or

unregulated but are now known to pose possible environmental or health risks

Source Examples
industrial chemicals antibiotic

Biochemical Oxygen Demand

Type Condition Microorganisms End Products Notes

Aerobic Oxygen Aerobic bacteria CO₂, H₂O, new cells, Desired process; non-
decomposition present stable products objectionable
(NO₃⁻, PO₄³⁻, SO₄²⁻)

Anaerobic Oxygen Anaerobic H₂S, NH₃, CH₄ Undesirable;

decomposition absent bacteria produces foul odors
and methane

 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) = amount of oxygen microorganisms requires

to oxidize organic wastes aerobically.
 Unit: (mg/L).
 BOD includes:

1. CBOD (Carbonaceous BOD)

2. NBOD (Nitrogenous BOD)

Five-Day BOD Test (BOD₅)

 BOD₅ is the oxygen consumed during the first 5 days of biodegradation at 20°C.
  Purpose: provides a practical short-term measure of oxygen demand

When Seeded Dilution Water Is Needed

 Sometimes bacteria must be added (seeded) into the dilution water to ensure
biodegradation.
 Then, two bottles are needed:
1. Blank → seeded dilution water only
2. Mixture → wastewater + seeded dilution water

Nitrification

 Nitrogen is essential for protein synthesis and therefore life.

  When organisms die or release waste, organic nitrogen → converted to ammonia
(NH₃) by bacteria and fungi.
 Nitrification consists of two biological oxidation steps, both requiring oxygen:

Ammonia → Nitrite

 Carried out by Nitrosomonas bacteria

Nitrite → Nitrate

 Carried out by Nitrobacter bacteria

 Final form of nitrogen after nitrification = nitrate (NO₃⁻).

Type of Oxygen Source Timing

Demand
CBOD Oxidation of organic carbon Begins immediately
NBOD Oxidation of ammonia to nitrate Begins after 5–8
(nitrification) days

 Because NBOD usually starts after the 5th day, the BOD₅ test primarily measures
CBOD and not NBOD
 The 5-day period was chosen partly to avoid interference from nitrification.

Nitrogen Cycle Context

 Atmosphere mostly contains N₂, which plants cannot use directly.

 Through nitrogen fixation, N₂ is converted into ammonia or nitrate, making it
usable by plants.
  Under anaerobic conditions, denitrifying bacteria convert nitrate → N₂ / NO2,
completing the nitrogen cycle.

1 Organic Nitrogen (Organic-N)

 At the beginning (day 0), organic nitrogen is very high.

 This comes from sewage, dead plants/animals, fertilizers, etc.
 With time, bacteria break down organic nitrogen, so the curve continuously
decreases.
 Reason: Mineralization → Organic-N converts to Ammonia (NH₃/NH₄⁺).

2 Ammonia Nitrogen (Ammonia-N)

 At first, ammonia is low, because most nitrogen is still in organic form.

 As organic nitrogen decomposes, ammonia increases and reaches a peak.
 After reaching its maximum, ammonia begins to decrease because it is converted to
nitrite through nitrification.

Organic-N → Ammonia-N → Nitrite-N

3️Nitrite Nitrogen (Nitrite-N)

 Nitrite starts very close to zero.

 When ammonia begins to oxidize, nitrite increases, forming a small peak.
 Then it decreases quickly, because bacteria convert nitrite to nitrate.
Ammonia-N → Nitrite-N → Nitrate-N

4️Nitrate Nitrogen (Nitrate-N)

 Nitrate starts very low.

 With time, nitrate keeps increasing as nitrite is oxidized.
 By the end (~50 days), nitrate becomes the dominant form of nitrogen.

Why this sequence happens?

Because in aerobic conditions, nitrifying bacteria convert nitrogen from one form to the
next:

Stag Reaction Bacteria Type

e
1 Organic-N → Ammonia Heterotrophic bacteria
2 Ammonia → Nitrite Nitrosomonas
3 Nitrite → Nitrate Nitrobacter

Air Pollution
The six criteria pollutants

1. Ground-level ozone (O₃)

2. Carbon monoxide (CO)
3. Sulfur dioxide (SO₂)
4. Small particulate matter, originally PM₁₀ and later expanded to include PM₂.₅
5. Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)
6. Lead (Pb)