INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
ENVIRONMENT (BIOPHYSICAL)
The biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism, or population, and includes particularly the factors that have
an influence in their survival, development and evolution.
 Biotic – living component of a community. Plants, animals, fungi, protist and bacteria are all biotic or living
factors
 Abiotic – nonliving factors that affect living organisms.

ENGINEERING
The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or
manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full
cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
The application of science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment (air, water, and/or
land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate
polluted sites. It involves waste water management and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, radiation
protection, industrial hygiene, environmental sustainability, and public health issues as well as knowledge of
environmental engineering law. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

Sanitary engineering emerged as a separate engineering field within civil engineering in the mid 1800's as the
importance of drinking water treatment and wastewater treatment became recognized. Sanitary engineering, which had
an emphasis on water supply, water treatment, and wastewater collection and treatment for many years, is the
precursor of the present day field of environmental engineering. Public concern about environmental quality issues like
air pollution and water pollution emerged in the middle third of the 20th century, leading to development of
environmental engineering as a separate discipline that deals with air pollution control, hazardous waste management
and industrial hygiene as well as the traditional sanitary engineering fields of water supply and waste water treatment.

SOME AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

1. Water treatment
2. Wastewater treatment - prevent negative environmental impacts of the discharged water and handle residuals
generated, such as biosolids that can be used as fertilizer
3. Air quality - design processes to prevent industrial emissions of air pollutants
4. Surface water quality - prevent degradation of the quality of water in rivers and lakes, so that natural
populations of aquatic life and human uses can be maintained
5. Solid waste - landfill design, recycling, destruction processes
6. RCRA (resource conservation and recovery act) hazardous waste - treatment of currently generated hazardous
industrial wastes
7. CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) hazardous waste - clean-
up of past contaminated sites

Engr. MAAbellera
1
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
8. Industrial Waste Minimization/Treatment
9. Health and Safety
10. Permitting

COMPONENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

1. Lithosphere - The earth’s outer layer consisting of the soil and rocks. The soil is ended upon non-living and
natural matter. There are 2 types of lithosphere namely oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere.
2. Hydrosphere - This comprise all water possessions both surface and ground water. Only less than 1% of water
resources are obtainable for human exploitation. Water is considered to be a widespread compound with
unusual property.
3. Atmosphere - It is the state of layer adjoining the earth and extends up to 500 kms above the earth’s shell.
Atmosphere is also called as layer of gases. The atmosphere, which is a gaseous wrap, protects the earth from
cosmic radiations and provides life supporting oxygen. The atmosphere plays a major role in asserting the heat
balance of the earth by gripping the re-emitted radiation from the earth.
4. Biosphere - The biosphere is a shell encompassing the earth’s surface where all the living things subsist. This
segment extends from 10000 m underneath sea level to 6000 m above sea level. Biosphere is the total
computation of all ecosystems

ROLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS

1. Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, and other
specialists, and experts in law and business to address environmental problems.
2. Provide technical-level support for environmental remediation and litigation projects, including remediation
system design and determination of regulatory applicability.
3. Inspect industrial and municipal facilities and programs in order to evaluate operational effectiveness and
ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
4. Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, and land.
5. Develop site-specific health and safety protocols, such as spill contingency plans and methods for loading and
transporting waste.
6. Design systems, processes, and equipment for control, management, and remediation of water, air, and soil
quality
7. Develop and present environmental compliance training or orientation sessions
8. Serve on teams conducting multimedia inspections at complex facilities, providing assistance with planning,
quality assurance, safety inspection protocols, and sampling.
9. Monitor progress of environmental improvement programs.
10. Provide administrative support for projects by collecting data, providing project documentation, training staff,
and performing other general administrative duties.

Engr. MAAbellera
2
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
ECOSYSTEM
A community of organisms interacting with each other and with their environment such that energy is
exchanged and system-level processes, such as the cycling of elements, emerge. Ecosystems include living organisms,
the dead organic matter produced by them, the abiotic environment within which the organisms live and exchange
elements (soil, water, atmosphere), and the interactions between these components. Ecosystems embody the concept
that living organisms continually interact with each other and with the environment to produce complex systems with
emergent properties, such that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" and "everything is connected“

ECOSYSTEM TERMS
 Habitat - the natural environment in which an organism lives.
 Species - consists of a group of organisms that look alike and have similar characteristics, share the same
ecological niche and are capable of interbreeding.
 Population - consists of organisms living in the same habitat at the same time.
 Community - a natural collection of plant and animal species living within a defined area or habitat in an
ecosystem.
 Ecological niche - the function of an organism or the role it plays in an ecosystem

FUNCTIONS OF ECOSYSTEM
1. Production – creation of new, organic matter. The synthesis and storage of organic molecules during the growth
and reproduction of photosynthetic organisms.
 Photosynthesis reaction:done by phototrophs
CO2 + H2O -------> CH2O + O2 (light and enzymes)
 Chemosynthesis: done by chemotrophs which are specialized bacteria
-inorganic substances are converted to organic substances in the absence of sunlight
2. Respiration – process of unleashing bound energy for utilization
CH2O + O2 -----> CO2 + H2O + released energy
3. Consumption – A process in which a substance is completely destroyed, used up, or incorporated or
transformed into something else. It acts as a regulator for production and decomposition
4. Decomposition – responsible for the breakdown of complex structures
 Abiotic decomposition – degradation of a substance by chemical or physical processes
 Biotic decomposition (biodegradation) - the metabolic breakdown of materials into simpler components
by living organisms

NAMES AND WORD DEFINITIONS

 Producers - organisms, such as plants, that produce their own food are called autotrophs. The autotrophs
convert inorganic compounds into organic compounds. They are called producers because all of the species of
the ecosystem depend on them.
 Consumers - all the organisms that cannot make their own food (and need producers) are called heterotrophs.
In an ecosystem heterotrophs are called consumers because they depend on others. They obtain food by eating
other organisms. There are different levels of consumers. Those that feed directly from producers, i.e. organisms
that eat plant or plant products are called primary consumers. Organisms that feed on primary consumers are
called secondary consumers. Those who feed on secondary consumers are tertiary consumers. Consumers are
also classified depending on what they eat.
Engr. MAAbellera
3
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
Classification of ConsumersL
 Herbivores are those that eat only plants or plant products. Example are grasshoppers, mice, rabbits, deer,
beavers, moose, cows, sheep, goats and groundhogs.
 Carnivores, on the other hand, are those that eat only other animals. Examples of carnivores are foxes, frogs,
snakes, hawks, and spiders.
 Omnivores are the last type and eat both plants (acting a primary consumers) and meat (acting as secondary or
tertiary consumers).
 Trophic level - corresponds to the different levels or steps in the food chain. In other words, the producers, the
consumers, and the decomposers are the main trophic levels

Heat-lowest form of energy,

less useful form of energy

 90% energy is lost in the

transfer of heat
 10% is utilized

ENERGY PYRAMID

FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS
 Food chain – transfer of food energy from the source through a series of organisms in a process of
repeated/sequential eating or being eaten pattern
Classification:
1. Grazing food chain – starts from plants to grazing herbivores to carnivores
2. Detritus food chain – starts from dead organic matter to microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, etc.
 Food Web – refers to the interconnected or interlocking relationships among food chains in an ecosystem
 Food Pyramid – constitute the over – all structure of dependency among the living elements

OTHER BASIC ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

 Diversity - variety of habitats, living communities, and ecological processes in the living world. It also refers to
the extent that an ecosystem possesses different species.
 Distribution - the frequency of occurrence or the natural geographic range or place where species occur
- Immigration - used to describe the process by which a person moves into a country for the purpose of
establishing residency. In such a case, the individual is not a native of the country which he immigrates to
- Emigration - process by which a person leaves his place or country of residency, to relocate elsewhere. In
this case, the individual moving is referred to as an emigrant
(Immigration is movement to a country; emigration is movement from a country)
***Migration – parent term of the aforementioned terms
 Population Density - the number of individuals of a population per unit of living space (say, number of trees per
hectare of land)

Engr. MAAbellera
4
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
 Dominance - the degree to which a specie is more numerous than its competitors in an ecological community,
or makes up more of the biomass. Most ecological communities are defined by their dominant species
- Keystone species - species that have a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its
abundance. Such species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community,
affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various
other species in the community. The most important specie
 Limiting Factors – environmental factors, chemical and physical factors etc.

POPULATION PRINCIPLES AND ISSUES

Characteristics:
1. Natality - the birthrate, which is the ratio of total live births to total population in a particular area over a
specified period of time; expressed as childbirths per 1000 people (or population) per year. It may also refer to
the inherent ability of a population to increase
2. Mortality - the ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 per year
- Morbidity - an incidence of ill health. It is measured in various ways, often by the probability that a randomly
selected individual in a population at some date and location would become seriously ill in some period of
time
3. Sex ratio - the ratio of males to females in a population. The sex ratio varies according to the age profile of the
population. It is generally divided into four:
• primary sex ratio — ratio at fertilization
• secondary sex ratio — ratio at birth
• tertiary sex ratio — ratio in sexually active organisms
• quaternary sex ratio — ratio in post-reproductive organisms
(Measuring these is a problem since there are no clear boundaries between them.)
4. Age Distribution - the proportionate numbers of persons in successive age categories in a given population

POPULATION ISSUES
New characteristics because of immigration Environmental stress
Spread of diseases Security issues
Poverty Health and Nutrition

KINDS OF ORGANISM INTERACTIONS

1. Competition - two species share a requirement for a limited resource  reduces fitness of one or both species
2. Predation - one species feeds on another  enhances fitness of predator but reduces fitness of prey
3. Symbiosis – close long lasting relationship of 2 different species
Categories of Symbiosis:
a) Parasitism - one species feeds on another  enhances fitness of parasite but reduces fitness of host
Kinds of Parasites
a.1) Ectoparasites – live on the bodies of the host (ex. molds, flies, lice)
a.2) Endoparasites – live inside the bodies of the host (ex. Tapeworms, bacteria, fungi)
b) Commensalism – one species receives a benefit from another species  enhances fitness of one
species; no effect on fitness of the other species
c) Mutualism – two species provide resources or services to each other  enhances fitness of both species

SUCCESSION
- The orderly process of community development that involves changes in species, structure, and community
- It results from the modification of the physical environment by the community
Engr. MAAbellera
5
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
1. Primary succession occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions in which the soil is incapable of sustaining life as
a result of such factors as lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from a retreating glacier
 Lichens – pioneering specie in primary succession, aids in pedogenesis (the formation of soil)

2. Secondary succession occurs in areas where a community that previously existed has been removed; it is
typified by smaller-scale disturbances that do not eliminate all life and nutrients from the environment
 Climax community – a community in a final stage of succession. Self – perpetuating and in equilibrium
with the physical habitat

MATERIAL CYCLES
Sometimes called nutrient cycles, material cycles describe the flow of matter from the nonliving to the living
world and back again. As this happens, matter can be stored, transformed into different molecules, transferred from
organism to organism, and returned to its initial configuration. The implications of material cycles are profound. There is
essentially a finite amount of matter on Earth (with some input from meteors and other astronomical objects). Examples
include the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, oxygen cycle, phosphorus cycle, sulfur cycle etc.

Engr. MAAbellera
6
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
CARBON CYCLE
a) Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants.
In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to oxygen in a gas
called carbon dioxide (CO2). With the help of the Sun, through the
process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is pulled from the air to
make plant food from carbon.
b) Carbon moves from the plants and animals.
Through food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to the
animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon
from their food too.
c) Carbon moves from plants and animals to the ground.
When plants and animals die, their bodies, wood and leaves decay bringing the carbon into the ground. Some
becomes buried miles underground and will become fossil fuels in millions and millions of years.
d) Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere.
Each time you exhale, you are releasing carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere. Animals and plants get
rid of carbon dioxide gas through a process called respiration.
e) Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned.
When humans burn fossil fuels to power factories, power plants, cars and trucks, most of the carbon quickly
enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil
fuels. That’s the weight of 100 million adult African elephants! Of the huge amount of carbon that is released from fuels,
3.3 billion tons enters the atmosphere and most of the rest becomes dissolved in seawater.
f) Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans.
The oceans, and other bodies of water, soak up some carbon from the atmosphere.

OXYGEN CYCLE
- Photosynthesis: The process by which light energy is converted to chemical energy

NITROGEN CYCLE
The nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms. Important
processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification.
1) Nitrogen Fixation: Atmospheric nitrogen must be processed, or "fixed" to be used by plants

Engr. MAAbellera
7
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
There are four ways to convert
N2 (atmospheric nitrogen gas) into more chemically
reactive forms:
a) Biological fixation: some symbiotic bacteria
and some free-living bacteria are able to fix
nitrogen as organic nitrogen.
b) Industrial N-fixation: Under great pressure,
at a temperature of 600 C, and with the
use of an iron catalyst, hydrogen and
atmospheric nitrogen can be combined to
form ammonia
c) Combustion of fossil fuels: automobile
engines and thermal power plants, which
release various nitrogen oxides (NOx)
d) Other processes: In addition, the formation
of NO from N2 and O2 due to photons and
especially lightning, can fix nitrogen
2) Ammonification
When a plant or animal dies, or an animal expels waste, the initial form of nitrogen is organic. Bacteria, or
fungi in some cases, convert the organic nitrogen within the remains back into ammonium, a process called
ammonification or mineralization.
3) Nitrification
This is the biological oxidation of ammonium. This is done in two steps, first from the nitrite form then to the
nitrate form. Two specific chemoautotrophic bacterial genera are involved, using inorganic carbon as their source
for cellular carbon.

4) Denitrification
This is the biological reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas. This can proceed through several steps in the
biochemical pathway, with the ultimate production of nitrogen gas. A fairly broad range of heterotrophic bacteria
are involved in the process, requiring an organic carbon source for energy.
NO3- + organic carbon  NO2- + organic carbon  N2 + CO2 + H2O

PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
Most of the world’s phosphorus is “locked up” in rocks–it can only be released by weathering. Weathering refers
to a group of processes by which surface rock disintegrates into smaller particles or dissolve into water due to the
impact of the atmosphere and hydrosphere. The weathering processes often are slow (hundred to thousands of years).
Weathering processes are divided into three categories:
a) physical weathering – abrasion, thermal expansion and contraction, wetting and drying, etc.
b) chemical weathering – hydrolysis, oxidation – reduction
Engr. MAAbellera
8
 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENG’G ENGG500
c) biological weathering - lichen
A lot of the phosphorus that runs off into
the ocean also gets “buried” into the ocean floor
because it precipitates into solid form and settles to
the bottom as sediment. Only the occasional
upwellings in the ocean can recycle phosphorus
back to the top of the ocean. **Note that birds are
one of the few manners of carrying phosphorus
back to land because they eat fish (that eat
phosphorus-rich phytoplankton) and then excrete
the phosphorus back onto land
The top 4 reservoirs for Phosphorus are:
1. sediment (lithosphere)
2. soil (lithosphere)
3. oceans
4. mineable rock (lithosphere)

SULFUR CYCLE
Sulfur is produced naturally as a result of
volcanic eruptions and through emissions from hot
springs. It enters the atmosphere primarily in the
form of sulfur dioxide, then remains in the
atmosphere in that form or, after reacting with
water, in the form of sulfuric acid.
Sulfur is carried back to Earth's surface as
acid deposition when it rains or snows.
On Earth's surface, sulfur dioxide and
sulfuric acid react with metals to form sulfates and
sulfides. The element is also incorporated by plants
in a form known as organic sulfur. Certain amino
acids, the compounds from which proteins are
made, contain sulfur. Organic sulfur from plants is
eventually passed on to animals that eat those
plants. It is, in turn, converted from plant proteins
to animal proteins.
When plants and animals die, sulfur is returned to the soil where it is converted by microorganisms into
hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide gas is then returned to the atmosphere, where it is oxidized to sulfuric acid

Engr. MAAbellera
9