The course provides a description (i) of the natural chemical composition of environmental matrices, with particular reference to the atmosphere and soil, (ii) of the most important environmental problems affecting the aforementioned matrices, and of water, (iii) of the Italian and/or European legislation. The course also describes the most important and most recently introduced analytical methodologies for environmental monitoring of organic micropollutants.
1) Educational material supplied by the professor.
2) S.E. Manahan – Environmental Chemistry – CRC Press, 9th Edition or successives
3) C. Baird – Environmental Chemistry – Zanichelli, 3rd Edition or successives
Learning Objectives
Knowledge. The course aims to provide the student with the fundamental knowledge to undertake professional and/or research activities in the field of environmental sciences, including the European and the national environmental legislation. The course also aims to introduce the student to the most important and most recent methods of chemical analysis for the determination of organic micropollutants in environmental matrices.
Competences acquired: To be able to interpret environmental contamination data (both in terms of the reliability of the data and its environmental meaning). To be able to evaluate depurative processes in waste waters.
Skills acquired. To be able to critically evaluate available data in the light of existing laws and technical aspects.
Prerequisites
None.
Teaching Methods
Frontal lessons in the classroom. Seminars on specific topics covered by experts. Technical visits to companies in the Tuscan territory that carry out activities in the environmental sector.
Type of Assessment
Oral examination
Course program
Contamination and pollution. Concept of material cycle and material balance. General information on the carbon cycle. The carbon balance of the planet. The main causes of CO2 emissions. The carbon cycle in the biosphere. The absorption of CO2 in the oceans. The production and use of carbon in the biosphere. Phototrophic aerobic fixation of C in the plant. Phototrophic aerobic fixation of C in bacteria. Phototrophic anaerobic fixation of C in bacteria. The chemoautotrophic fixation of C. The aerobic transformations of C. The anaerobic transformations of C. Fermentation and methanogenesis. Forms of nitrogen and their conversion in the biosphere. Alteration of the natural cycle of N. Storage and flows of N on the Planet. The natural cycle of P in the biosphere. The anthropogenic alterations.
The phenomenon of eutrophication and its containment. The natural sulfur cycle in the biosphere. The anthropogenic alterations. Composition and pollution of the atmosphere. Stratification of the atmosphere and dominant natural chemical components. Chapman cycle in the stratosphere. Pollutants of the stratosphere and the ozone hole. The radiation balance of the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect. Leighton cycle in the troposphere. Los Angeles smog and London smog. Air pollution in Italian urban areas. Atmospheric acidity.
The soil. the importance of the soil matrix and the environmental issues that concern it. The natural composition of the soil. Soil pollution: the situation in Europe. European legislation on soil protection. Italian legislation on soil protection and remediation of contaminated soils. Remediation techniques for contaminated soils.
Water purification. Salient aspects of the legislation on the protection of water from pollution and reuse. Basics of water purification. Priority and priority hazardous substances. Watch lists.
Environmental analytical chemistry. From watch lists to monitoring methods: classes of organic micropollutants of greatest environmental importance and their chemical-physical characteristics. Extraction methods. Instrumental methods: chromatographic techniques coupled to mass spectrometry.