The Environment and Renewable Energy

LEARNING UNITS
1. INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY AND ENVIRONMENT
 Introduction to air, water and soil pollution Prof. Raquel Lebrero
 Hazardous waste management
 Natural resources depletion raquel.lebero@iq.uva.es
 Environmental policies
 Pollution prevention and waste minimization
 Best Available Techniques
Prof. Pedro A. García Encina
 Sustainability pedro@iq.uva.es
 Introduction to sustainability metrics
2. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Dpt. Chemical Engineering and
 Introduction to LCA: History of LCA, objective and structure Environmental Technology
 Goal definition and Scoping Stage Room 6 (Alfonso VIII)
 Inventory Analysis
 Impact analysis
 Improvement analysis
 Design for the environment
 Common guidelines in eco-design
 Biomimicry
 Green Chemistry

3. PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS
 The Environment and Renewable Energy

TIMETABLE
TUESDAY 9:00 – 11:00 (Weeks 3-10 ) (SIM 24)
10:00 – 12:00 (Weeks 11-15)
WEDNESDAY 10:00 – 12:00 (AULA 26 / SIM 26)

GRADING
Attendance 25%
Activities and Works made in Learning Unit 1 25%
Activities and Works made in Learning Unit 2 25%
Activities and Works made in Learning Unit 3 25%
Unit 1. Industrial Activity and
Environment
Contents
1. Air pollution and effects
2. Solid waste disposal and potential for resource recovery
3. Hazardous waste management
4. Water pollution
5. Natural resources depletion
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

Every industrial operation produces waste:

• Atmosphere: exhaust stacks, fugitive emissions
• Water bodies: wastewater effluent pipelines, overland runoff
• Ground: burial, dumping, or leaching into soil
Intermedia processes: precipitation (gravity, rain), chemical reactions, settling
Diseño
in water y
bodies, volatilization, bioconcentration, etc.
simulación
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION
• Transport, physical and chemical processes play an important role
• Effects: local, regional, national or global level
Air pollutants (anthropogenic activity)
• Primary pollutants vs. secondary pollutants
Diseño y
• Conventional pollutants – Clean Air Act (1970)
simulación
1. Carbon monoxide: incomplete burn of organic materials such as gasoline, coal or
wood. Sources: automobile (67%), stationary fuel combustion (20%), industrial
processes (6%)
2. Hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, phenols, etc): evaporation of
petroleum-based fuels. Sources: automobile, refineries and other industries.
3. Sulfur dioxide: combustion of sulfur-containing fuels (coal and oil), industrial
processes.
4. Particulates: solid or liquid material (0.005-100 μm) such as dust, ash, smoke, etc.
Sources: unburned fuels from stationary fuel combustion and transportation,
together with industrial processes.
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Air pollutants (anthropogenic activity)

5. Nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2): oxidation of
nitrogen in air during combustion. Sources:
automobile engine, combustion of coal, oil
or natural gas at high temperature.
Diseño y
6. Photochemical oxidants: ozone, PAN,
simulación
acroleyn. Formed in secondary atmospheric
reactions driven by solar energy
7. Lead and other volatile metals (Hg, Cd):
released as metal fumes or suspended
particulates from fuel combustion, ore
smelting and waste incineration.
8. Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs): includes
200 chemicals. The HAPs emission control
program is technology based.
9. Carbon dioxide
Map of lead emissions of HELCOM Contracting Parties (CP) to air as
totals in tonnes/year for the period 1990-2013. Red sections of the
bars identify the fraction of emission deposited to the Baltic Sea
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Pollutants dispersion
Main parameters:
• Wind
• Turbulences
• Atmospheric
Diseño y stability (natural convection)
• Topography
simulación
LOCAL DISPERSION

1. Sea and terrestrial breeze: due to different

temperature between water and earth
surface
• Sea breeze: during the day (A)
• Terrestrial breeze: during the night (B)
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

LOCAL DISPERSION

2. Thermal gradient (thermal inversion)

Diseño y
simulación

Inversión Térmica
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

GLOBAL DISPERSION

Global circulation of winds

It results from terrestrial
Diseño y
circulation, from the
simulación
different temperature
between earth surface
and the atmosphere, and
from the different
temperature of the
atmosphere at each
latitude.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/atmosphere/global-circulation-patterns
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

GLOBAL DISPERSION

Diseño y
simulación
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

GLOBAL DISPERSION

Diseño y
simulación
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Times for mass transfer in the atmosphere

Diseño y
simulación
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Temporal and spatial scales

Diseño y
simulación
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Impact of atmospheric pollutants – LOCAL

 Industrial Smog
• The Great Smog, London 1952
• High concentrations of smoke particles or fly ash (mainly from the use of coal) +
Diseñoandywindless conditions
anticyclone
• Thick layer of smog over the city that killed 4,000 people in few days and affected
simulación
health of over 100,000
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Impact of atmospheric pollutants

 Photochemical Smog
• First identified in Los Angeles in 1944
• Results from the interaction between nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons under
Diseño
sunlight, y photochemical oxidants (O3, PAN: peroxyacyl nitrates).
producing
Automobile exhaust: N2 + O2  2NO 2NO + O2  2NO2
simulación
In upper atmosphere: O2 (UV radiation)  2O O2 + O  O3
Lower atmosphere: NO2 + UV  NO + O
If VOCs are present: NO2 + UV + VOC + O2  NO + O3 + PAN + aldehydes
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Photochemical smog

Diseño y
simulación
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Impact of atmospheric pollutants

 Acid rain
• Unpolluted rain: pH = 5.6 due to CO2 dissolution (CO2 + H2O  H2CO3)
• pH < 5 due to H2SO4 or HNO3 (originated from SO2/NOx)
Diseño
• Main y source of rain acids: coal burning and internal combustion engine
anthropogenic
• Detrimental
simulación effects:
‐ Corrosive for many materials (limestone, metals…)
‐ Ecosystem damage, including toxicity to plants, acidification of
lakes, increase in bioavailability of toxic metals in water, etc.
• Control: improve sulfur recovery processes at coal
combustion facilities, reduce the amount of coal in industry
(optimize efficiency of energy-demanding processes),
increase use of recycled materials and reduce reliance on
energy-intensive processes.
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Acid Rain

Diseño y
simulación
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Impact of atmospheric pollutants

 Global warming
Temperature is one of the main factors controlling world’s climate  change in weather
patterns
• Global average variations of the long-term mean temperature <1ºC within 10000 years
Diseño y
• Industrial Revolution: rapid increase in use of fossil fuels for energy and conversion of forest lands
simulación
increase in atmospheric CO of 25% over 200 years.
2

 Current CO2 increase: > 0.5%/year

 Burning fossil fuels and forests: 8.5
billion metric tons of CO2/year
 Estimates of global temperature increase
of 1.5-4.5 ºC by 2075

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/
global-warming/global-warming-overview/
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION
 Global warming (cont.)
• Greenhouse effect

Diseño y
simulación

• Technological options
‒ Long residence time of gases already emitted to the atmosphere  lot of time required before
the results of any solution undertaken are seen. Stabilization of actual CO2 concentration levels
will require to reduce emissions by 8-10%.
‒ Reducing CO2 emissions: reduce total energy consumption, switch to other energy sources,
more energy-efficient products, improved technologies, etc.
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

1. AIR POLLUTION

Impact of atmospheric pollutants

 Ozone depletion
• Ozone in the stratosphere absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun:
O3 + UV radiation  O2 + O· ; O2 + O·  O3
Diseño y
• A loss of 1% of ozone can result in a 2% increase in the amount of UV radiation reaching the Earth
• 6 2
Main “ozone hole” in South Pole (20×10 km ) due to stagnant air, other holes found in Canada
simulación
and Siberia (25% depletion), US or England (12-14% depletion).
• Main responsible: CFCs (ex. CF2Cl2 + UV  CF2Cl + Cl·)

X + O3  XO + O2
XO + O·  X + O2
Net reaction: O3 + O·  2 O2 X = OH•, Cl•, Br•, NO•

• International concern led to legislation to eliminate the

production and use of CFCs by the year 2000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU6pxSNDPhs
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

• In 2012, total waste generated in the EU-28 amounted to 2514×106 tones

• This is equivalent to ~5 tones per inhabitant
• Is solid waste management a local or a
national problem?  solutions more
political than technological, many technical
limitations to be overcome

2.1 SOURCES AND COMPOSITION

Solid waste: any solid material that is
disposed of because it has no further use
to society in its present form
‐ Municipal solid waste: consists of residential wastes, commercial and institutional
wastes, street refuse, dead animals, abandoned vehicles, etc. Composition: paper,
glass, metals, plastics, food wastes and others, depending on socioeconomic status,
climate, degree of urbanization, recycling activities, etc.
Production in Europe: 1.32 kg/person·day
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.1 SOURCES AND COMPOSITION

‐ Industrial wastes. Sources: process wastes remaining after manufacturing a product;
commercial/institutional wastes from office activities, laboratories, etc., and
wastewater sludges from industrial wastewater treatment
‐ Sewage sludges. From water or wastewater treatment.
‐ Agricultural wastes. Agricultural (roots, fruits…), cattle residues (manure, slurry…)
and forest residues (branches, trunks, cutting). They can create serious problems in
rural areas.
‐ Mining wastes. Overburden materials and mine tailings produced either in surface
mining or underground mining. They can also create water pollution problems.
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.2 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Historically, solid waste was dumped in lands or burned in open barrels. When
population increased, land-disposed solid wastes attracted vermin, posed public
health, air pollution and odor problems, and led to the pollution of surface and
groundwaters.
Safer and efficient disposal practices were then developed: sanitary landfills, mass-burn
incineration, composting, resource recovery.

Waste Hierarchy
• Holistic approach to residues
management
• Eliminate or minimize residues
production in the source
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.2 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

EU Municipal
Solid Waste

SANITARY LANDFILLS
• Waste is deposited in compacted layers and covered with Earth. Modern landfills: impervious
liner (clay or synthetic membrane) + fill material + leachate /gas collection system
• Landfill closing: covered with another impervious barrier
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.2 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.2 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

INCINERATION
• Thermal destruction of wastes by oxidation,
with heat energy release
• Characteristics:
‐ Air excess ≈ 1,5-2,5
‐ Weight reduction ≈ 70%
‐ Volume reduction ≈ 80-90%
‐ Heat energy released  Heating, steam, electricity
‐ Combustion temperature > 850 °C (1100 °C
[organohalogen>1%)
‐ Retention time > 2 s
‐ Unburnable residues and ash: 10-20% volume

• Most common practice by the early 20th century

in urban areas: little land requirements
• Air pollution control laws (odors, soot, and
numerous air pollutants such as dioxins or
furans)  retrofitting existing incinerators IPPC – Best Available Technique for Waste Incineration
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.2 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.2 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT
 COMPOSTING – Aerobic process where microorganisms decompose the fermentable
organic matter, usually at elevated temperatures, into CO2, water and a humuslike
material known as compost. It can be used as a soil conditioner.
 Biological action provides enough heat
 Insulation
 Mixing of the waste material
 Aeration of the compost pile
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.2 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT
 ANAEROBIC DIGESTION – Biological transformation of organic matter under anaerobic
conditions (no oxygen) into CH4 and CO2
Organic matter → CO2 + CH4
SO4-2 is reduced to S-2 , precipitation of heavy metals

 The amount and composition of the biogas produced (CH4 + CO2 + others) depends
on the oxidation state of the compounds and on the origin of the organic matter
Theoretical value: 0.35 m3 CH4/kg DQO

Characteristics Composting Anaerobic digestion

Energy Consumption Production
Final products Humus, CO2, H2O Sludge, CO2, CH4
Volume reduction Up to 50% Up to 50%
Processing time 20-30 days 20-40 days
Main objective Volume reduction Energy production
Secondary objective Compost production Volume reduction, stabilization
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

2. SOLID WASTE

2.3 POTENTIAL FOR RESOURCE RECOVERY

 Energy recovery: incineration
 Material recovery: manual sorting of different materials / complex automated
materials sorting and recovery facilities
‐ Adequate infrastructure is
required for collecting, sorting,
transporting and reusing the
recovered material.
‐ Markets for the recovered
materials
‐ Significant increase in the amount
of materials recycled over the last
decades (paper, glass, metals)
‐ CONSERVATION: emphasis must
be placed on reducing packaging,
substituting old materials and
making products more easily Materials recovery
recyclable facility
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

3. HAZARDOUS WASTE

Hazardous waste: harmful to the environment or public health: “cause or

significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious
irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a substantial present or
potential future hazard to human health or the environment when improperly
treated, stored, transported or disposed of, or otherwise mismanaged”. Although
included in solid wastes, they can be gaseous or liquid.
• Exhibits one of these characteristics:
Ignitability
Reactivity
Corrosivity
Toxicity
• Legislation: Articles 17 to 20 of Directive 2008/98/EC.
‐ Additional labelling, record keeping, monitoring and control obligations from the
"cradle to the grave”.
‐ Mixing of hazardous substances is banned in order to prevent risks for the
environment and human health.
‐ Properties which render waste hazardous are laid down in Annex III of Directive
2008/98/EC
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

3. HAZARDOUS WASTE

REGULATION (EC) No 1272/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE

COUNCIL of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of
substances and mixtures
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

3. HAZARDOUS WASTE

H Code Risk word Letter

H1 Explosives E
H2 Oxidizer O
H3 (Easily) inflammable F (+)
H4 Irritant (skin and eye) Xi
H5 Harmful Xn
H6 Toxic T
H7 Carcinogenic (T)
H8 Corrosive C
H9 Infectious (biohazard)
H10 Reproductive toxicity T
H11 Mutagenic (T)
H12 Emits toxic gases T
H13 Release hazardous substances
H14 Toxic for the environment N
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Water resources: water distribution

 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Urban wastewater cycle

1. Collection
2. Purification
3. Supply and use
4. Sewer system
5. Treatment
6. Reuse and
discharge

http://www.bioygeo.info/Animaciones/ciclo_u
rbano_agua.swf
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Water cycle: use

Domestic use of water

 Food, cleaning, hygiene
 Public use: hospitals, schools, street cleaning, irrigation…
 In Spain: 160 L/(inhabitant·d)

POLLUTION
Organic matter, phosphorous, nitrogen, solids…
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Water cycle: use

Industrial use of water

 Vapor production
 Heat transfer: heating, cooling
 Solvent
 Raw material POLLUTION
 Transport of raw materials or undone Heat, chemical products,
 Cleaning hydrocarbons…
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Water cycle: use

Agricultural use of water

 Diffuse contamination
 Difficult to collect prior treatment
POLLUTION
Fertilizers, pesticides
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution
Acumulation
Pollutant discharge (contamiantion)
(inlet)

Pollutant balance
[inlet] = [acumulation] + [removal]

removal
(autopurification)

rinlet<rautopurification  no contamination
rinlet>rautopurification  contamination!!
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution
• It is a modification, usually anthropogenic, of the quality of water,
which is then inappropriate or even dangerous for human
consumption, for its use in the industry, agriculture, fishing and leisure
activities or for domestic animals and natural life.
• The action and the effect of introducing materials or forms of energy,
or inducing water conditions that, either directly or indirectly, result in
a detrimental modification of water quality which affects its
subsequent uses or its ecological function
• Any discharge of wastewater to a water body is completely prohibited
unless previously authorized
• The administrative authorization enforce the compliance of the
discharge with specific emission limits.
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Volumetric flow  size of wastewater treatment plants

Characteristics  type of treatment (physical, chemical, biological)

Solids Odour, color, flavor

Physical
Turbidity Conductivity
parameters
Temperature
Organic: COD, BOD, TOC
Inorganic:
Nutrients: N, P, S
Chemical Heavy metals: Cd, Hg, Pb, As, Cr,…
parameters Salts: chlorine, sulfate, sodium, calcium, magnesium…
pH
Alkalinity
Gases: O2, CO2, NH3, H2S
Biological
Bacteria, Virus, Algae
parameters
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Nutrients discharge:
eutrophication
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

Example of wastewater composition

URBAN WASTEWATER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

Component Concentration, mg/L Component Concentration, mg/L

TSS 120-400 TSS 1000-2000

BOD 110-350 BOD 50000-60000

COD 250-800 COD 100000-150000

TOC 80-260 pH 4-5

Total nitrogen 20-70 Total nitrogen 5000-7000

Phosphorous 4-12 Phosphorous 2000-2500

Fats 50-100 Phenolic compounds 8000-10000

 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION

• Industries disposals: process wastewaters, cooling waters, spent process chemicals,

etc. either by direct piping to a water body or by adding them to the municipal sewer.
• The composition of the polluted wastewater depends on the type of industry

• New legislations: industries must minimize / pretreat their wastes prior discharge
• Specific treatments required for industrial pollutants
Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

4. WATER POLLUTION
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

5. RESOURCE DEPLETION

• Critical long-term environmental, economic and political problem. The way we’re
living, we are already using 2 to 3 times more of the Earth’s natural resources than
what is sustainable
• Proven resources: those that have been thoroughly mapped and are economical
o recover at current prices with available technology
• Known resources: located but not completely mapped. Their recovery now may
or may not be economical, but they should be recoverable in the future.
• Undiscovered resources: only speculative or inferred
• Recoverable resources: accessible with current technology but not likely to be
economically feasible in the foreseeable future
• Nonrecoverable resources: so diffuse or remote that they are not ever likely to
be technologically accessible.
 Unit 1. Industrial Activity and Environment

5. RESOURCE DEPLETION

• Nonrenewable resources
• Water: only 2.5% of the world’s total water volume is fresh water, and 70% of
that is frozen.
Consequences: Drinking water shortage. Food Shortage. Famine.
• Oil: liquid fuels are nowadays indispensable. According to the EIA's International
Energy Outlook 2013 we have enough oil to last for 25 years.
Consequences: higher prices, political tensions
• Forests: an estimated 18 million acres of forests are destroyed each year, and
deforestation contributes 12 to 17% of global GHG emissions annually. Besides,
forests are the habitats of millions of species.
Consequences: Soil erosion, Global Warming, Extinction of species and loss of
biodiversity, Flooding and drought.
• Mineral resources: less than 0.01% of minerals in the upper 1 km of Earht’s crust
are economically recoverable.