Textbook: Harold F. Hemond and Elizabeth J. Fechner, 1994,Chemical Fate and Transport in the Environment, Academic Press, 338 pp.

Prerequisites: Genral Chemistry CHEM-10060-10061-10062-10063 and Introductory Hydrogeology GEOL-42067/52067

This is an introductory one-semester survey course covering the basic principles of chemical and physical behavior of contaminants introduced by man into the environment. Concepts are developed at the introductory level, assuming prior familiarity with only basic freshman level chemistry, physics, algebra, and calculus. Certain simplifications are made and the material is intentionally presented in an intuitive fashion rather than in a rigorously mathematical framework. Nevertheless, the goal of this course is to enable students not only to understand concepts, but also to work practical, quantitative problems dealing with chemical fate and transport.

The course consists of lectures and a number of problems to be solved by the student at home or in a computer lab. The course grade will be based on the weighted average grades received for the "take-home" problems (30%), the grades received at two mid-term tests (15% each), and the final exam (40%). Grading is based on a 0 to 100% scale, with the following grade ranges:

The following is a sequence of the course topics and activities:

1. BASIC CONCEPTS (two weeks - 6 class-hours/two take-home problems)

.1 Introduction

.2 Chemistry of Water

.3 Chemical Mass and Concentration

.4 Mass Balance and the Control Volume

.5 Physical Transport

.1 Quantification of Advective Transport

.2 Fickian Transport

.6 The Advection-Dispersion-Reaction Equation

.7 Units, Error, and Uncertainty

.8 Basic Environmental Chemistry

.1 Chemical Equilibrium and Chemical Kinetics

.2 Free Energy

.3 Electroneutrality

.4 Activity

.5 Chemical Kinetics

.9 Chemical Distribution among Phases

.1 Solubility and Vapor Pressure

.2 Henry's Law Constants

.3 Solid-Water Partition Coefficients

.10 Review

2. SURFACE WATERS (four weeks - 12 class-hours/four take-home problems)

.1 Introduction

.1 The Nature of Surface Waters;

.2 Sources of Pollutant Chemicals in Surface Waters;

.2 Physics of the Transport in Surface Waters

.1 Rivers and Streams

.2 Lakes

.3 Estuaries

.4 Wetlands

.5 Particles in Surface Waters

.3 Air-Water Exchange

.1 Thin Film Model

.2 Surface Renewal Model

.3 The Reaeration Coefficient

.4 Volatilization from Pure Phase Liquid

.4 Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Surface Waters

.1 Acid/Base Chemistry

.2 Aquatic Ecosystem

.3 Reduction-Oxidation Chemistry: Power for Ecosystem

.5 Biotic Chemical Transformations

.1 DO and BOD

.2 Biodegradation of Specific Organic Chemicals

.3 Bioaccumulation in Aquatic Organisms

.6 Abiotic Chemical Transformations

.1 Photodegradation

.2 Degradation of Chemicals by Water

.7 Review

• I-st MID-TERM TEST

3. THE SUBSURFACE ENVIRONMENT (four weeks - 12 class-hours/four take-home problems)

.1 Introduction

.1 Physical Framework of the Subsurface Environment

.2 Chemical/Mineralogical Nature of the Subsurface Environment

.3 Chemistry of Subsurface Waters

.4 Pollution/Contamination

.5 Sources of Pollutant Chemicals

.2 Physics of Ground Water Movement

.1 Darcy's Law

.2 Flow Nets

.3 Ground Water and Monitoring Wells

.4 Transient Storage and Flow

.3 Transport Phenomena in Subsurface Waters

.1 Discharge and Seepage Velocities

.2 Advection/Dispersion

.3 Diffusion

.4 Flow in the Unsaturated Zone

.1 Movement of Water in the Vadose Zone

.2 Water Transport in the Vadose Zone

.5 Ground Water Transport of the Nonaqueous Phase Liquids

.6 Retardation

.1 Estimating K_d: Hydrophobic Interactions

.2 Sorption

.3 Redox Reactions

.4 Surface Complexation

.5 Nonideality in Retardation

.7 Biodegradation

.1 Modeling the Rate of Biodegradation

.2 Biofilms

.3 In-Situ Biodegradation

.8 Review

• II-nd MID-TERM TEST

4. THE ATMOSPHERE (four weeks - 12 class-hours/four take-home problems)

.1 Introduction

.1 The Physico-Chemical Nature of the Atmosphere

.2 Sources of Pollutant Chemicals in the Atmosphere

.2 Atmospheric Stability

.1 The Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate

.2 The Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate

.3 Mixing Height

.3 Circulation of the Atmosphere

.1 Global Air Circulation

.2 Synoptic Scale Air Circulation

.3 The Weather Map

.4 Local Effects

.4 Transport of Chemicals in the Atmosphere

.1 Indoor Air Pollution

.2 Local-Scale Outdoor Air Pollution

.3 Urban-Scale Air Pollution

.4 Long-Range Transport Models

.5 Global-Scale Transport of Chemicals

.5 Physical Removal of Chemicals from the Atmosphere

.1 Dry Deposition

.2 Wet Deposition

.6 Atmospheric Chemical Reactions

.1 Oxidants in the Troposphere

.2 Production of Photochemical Smog: The Ozone-NO_x-Hydrocarbon Connection

.3 Acid Deposition

.7 Global Change: The Greenhouse Effect

.1 Carbon Dioxide

.2 Methane

.3 Nitrous Oxide

.4 Chloro-fluorocarbons

.8 Review

• FINAL EXAM