Environmental Engineering - Charge particles → trap them in metal layers

What is Environmental Engineering? Noise Pollution

Combines natural sciences (chemistry, biology) + engineering principles • Not just annoying — it’s harmful
Aims to solve environmental problems by: • Cars, construction, and factories are major sources
• Protecting people from the environment • Solutions:
• Protecting the environment from people - Sound barriers
• Improving quality of life - Better urban planning
Water Quality - Soundproof buildings
Key Factors: Waste Management
• Dissolved Oxygen (DO): • Recycling: Conserves energy/resources (not just soda cans – think cars,
- Needed by aquatic life (min. ~4–5 ppm) computers, even buildings!)
- Thriving community: ~9 ppm • Hazardous Waste:
- Dead zone: <3 ppm - Must be treated or securely stored
• pH Levels: - Must not react with storage containers
- Neutral: 7 Key Takeaways
- Supports life: 6–8 • Everything is connected in environmental systems
- Acidic water (<5): harms fish, leaches metals (e.g. lead, copper) • Be proactive, not reactive
• Salinity: • Environmental engineering means balancing human needs with nature’s limits
- Too much salt → reduces oxygen
- Measured by conductivity Renewable Energy Summary
• Estrogen & Other Hormones:  Engineering has transformed work, improved sanitation, and created
- Hard to filter infrastructure, but has relied heavily on non-renewable fossil fuels like coal, oil,
- Can change the sex of fish in high enough concentrations and natural gas.
Case Study: Flint, Michigan  Fossil fuels are finite and contribute significantly (87%) to carbon dioxide
• Switched to Flint River (2014) emissions, impacting climate change.
• Untreated water → corrosion of pipes → lead contamination  As of 2017, 80% of U.S. energy came from fossil fuels; nuclear fission
• Resulted in: contributed 9%, and renewables only 11%.
- Cardiovascular & neurological issues  Hydropower uses flowing water to generate electricity; while effective, it's hard
- 12 deaths (Legionnaires’ disease) to control output and may disrupt ecosystems.
- Fertility ↓12%, Fetal death ↑>50%  Hydroelectric dams allow better energy control but can flood large areas and
• Lesson: Always treat water to avoid system damage pose safety risks.
Water Treatment  Wind power uses turbine blades to capture wind energy, but efficiency and
• Coagulation: Add chemicals (e.g., aluminum sulfate) → particles stick together → consistent output depend on wind availability and location.
easier to filter  Geothermal energy uses underground heat near tectonic plates; efficient but
• Greenery & cooling can improve oxygen levels geographically limited and costly to establish.
Air Quality  Solar power, abundant and accessible, relies on photovoltaic cells to convert
Common Air Pollutants: sunlight to electricity. Panels are about 17% efficient on average.
• Carbon monoxide (CO): flu-like symptoms, fatal at high levels  Solar panel challenges include efficiency, high production costs, environmental
• Sulfur dioxide, insecticides, etc. impact of materials, and need for energy storage systems.
• Pollution travels farther with wind/storms  Engineering advances aim to improve solar efficiency using nanocrystals, new
Filtering Techniques materials, and better energy storage (e.g., hydrogen fuel).
• Filters: Work for many particles but can clog or miss small ones  Future engineers are vital in tackling the challenges of making renewable
• Absorption Towers: Water & air flow to trap particles energy more efficient, scalable, and environmentally sustainable.
• Electrostatic Filters:
Alternative Energy Sources Summary • Requires extreme heat & pressure (15 million °C).
Why Alternative Energy? • Engineers use powerful magnets to contain plasma.
• Climate change is happening — switching to cleaner energy is essential. Potential
• Fossil fuels will eventually run out. • No radioactive waste.
• Engineers are scaling existing non-fossil fuel energy sources and exploring new • Could be self-sustaining and more powerful than fission.
ones. Current Status
Biomass Energy • Not yet energy-efficient (magnets use more energy than produced).
• Plants use photosynthesis to store chemical energy in glucose. • Experimental: Projects like ITER (France) aim to change that.
• Biomass energy involves burning biological matter like plants: Engineers and the Energy Future
- Releases heat → produces steam → spins turbine → drives generator. Engineers are:
• About 50%: Direct burning (e.g., wood, food waste, scrap wood). - Improving hybrid engines.
• Remaining 50%: Processed biofuels: - Exploring new biomass sources (e.g., algae).
- Example: Ethanol from corn/wheat. - Designing fuel cells, reactors, and magnets.
- Biogas (e.g., methane) from decaying manure or human waste. - Working toward scalable fusion power.
Pros A new power infrastructure is needed to support a clean energy future.
• Carbon neutral: CO₂ absorbed during plant growth ≈ CO₂ released during burning.
• Renewable if managed properly. Alternative Energy Sources Summary
Challenges What Is Carbon Dioxide?
• Land, water, and chemicals: trade-offs between food vs. fuel  CO₂ is a key greenhouse gas that traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere.
• Could harm ecosystems if overused.  Without CO₂, Earth would be too cold for life (around -18°C or 0°F).
 It makes up about 400 parts per million of the atmosphere (pre-industrial
• Processing biomass uses energy and emits CO₂.
levels were ~270 ppm).
Hydrogen Fuel Cells Natural Sources of CO₂
• Hydrogen is abundant but rarely found pure on Earth.  Volcanic outgassing
• Fuel cells: Hydrogen + Oxygen → electricity + water.  Wildfires
Pros  Respiration (breathing out CO₂)
• Zero CO₂ byproduct.  Combustion (burning of fossil fuels)
• Lightweight fuel: ideal for transport (e.g., spacecraft, forklifts).  Slash-and-burn agriculture
The Role of CO₂ in Earth’s Systems
• No need to recharge like batteries.
 Vital part of the carbon cycle: the movement of carbon through air, land, and
Challenges ocean.
• Requires electrolysis: uses more energy to produce hydrogen than it gives back.  Photosynthesis uses CO₂ + water + sunlight to create food (carbohydrates) and
• Efficiency is still an issue. releases oxygen.
• Potential for carbon neutral storage if solar power is used for electrolysis.  Forests and oceans act as natural carbon sinks.
Nuclear Fission CO₂ and Global Warming
• Provides ~10% of US energy.  Human activity has increased CO₂ levels by about 40%
 Greenhouse gases, especially CO₂, absorb infrared radiation (heat) and re-emit
• Splits uranium-235 atoms → releases energy as heat & radiation → drives turbine.
it, warming the Earth.
Pros  Excess greenhouse gases could lead Earth to become as hot as Venus (~400°C /
• Very low CO₂ emissions. 750°F).
• Reliable, large-scale power source. What If CO₂ Disappeared?
Challenges  Photosynthesis would stop.
• Non-renewable: Uranium must be mined and processed.  Plants couldn’t survive → No oxygen production → All aerobic life would die.
• Produces nuclear waste: dangerous, radioactive, hard to dispose of.  Climate would drastically cool → Earth becomes uninhabitable.
Final Thoughts
• Risks: meltdowns (e.g., Chernobyl, Fukushima).
 Plants depend on CO₂ for growth and oxygen production.
Nuclear Fusion (The Future)  CO₂ must be balanced—not too much, not too little.
• Same process as in the sun: fusing atoms to release energy.  Take action: “Think properly. Do wisely. Make our home great again.”