Corso di laurea magistrale in Chimica dell'Ambiente

Inorganic and general chemistry from basic teaching.
Analytical Chemistry from basic teaching.
Mathematical fundamentals from basic teaching.

The teaching  "Chemical management of wastes" contributes to the realization of the formative objectives of the Corso di Laurea in Chimica dell'Ambiente , by providing to the students competences in the field of treatment and purification of wastewaters, as well as the tools for the prevention, minimization and management of wastes in compliance with legislative EU and national regulations. Inside the whole Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Chimica dell'Ambiente, the teaching will provide the competences required for the management of the best available technologies for the protection of the environment.

At the end of the teaching, it must be demonstrated the acquisition of:

ability to understand the risks deriving from environmental topics and evaluation and assessment of the impact posed in relation to the management of sewage and solid wastes;
awareness of chemical and plant design aspects concerning control, treatment, disposal and recycling inside a context of the evaluation of economical development modeling.

The water cycle. The European and national regulations for waters; analytical techniques for the determination of the main parameters involved in the sewage treatments plants. Source and kinds of water pollution; definition of “population equivalent” and sewage characteristics. Distribution and physico-chemical characteristics of the pollutants. Classical sewage treatment. Primary treatments; secondary treatments (introduction to aerobic and anaerobic processes, kinetics and parameters affecting the biological processes). Alternative techniques for the secondary treatments: biological filters and parameters affecting their performance. The activated sludge: concentration, characteristics, production, hydraulic and organic loading, denitrification, aeration and different approaches. The anaerobic treatment: septic tanks, fermentation, kinetics of the process. Secondary sludge: pretreatments and treatments. Metals and their species: essential and toxic properties. Tertiary treatment: conventional and unconventional method for metal removal. Treatments for industrial sewage: steel plants, Blaw-Knox-Ruthner process, ammonia removal; removal of phosphate, surfactants; decontamination of radioactive sludge. Phytoremediation: basics and limitations. The activated sludge process: mass balance, kinetics, mathematical modeling. Design of a continuous biological reactor: relations to evaluate the mass balance. Theory of sedimentation and parameters characterizing the quality of the activated sludge. Design of an activated sludge plant. Treatments for waters intended for human consumption: potabilization plant and visit to the plant of Turin municipality. Integrated waste management system and consequences on development pattern changes. International and national criteria for waste classification. General criteria for the definition of assimilation and compatibility. General criteria for classification, coding and commodity-related characterization of wastes. Definition of municipal solid waste, assimilated, hazardous, toxic, special waste. Regulations on production, collection, re-use, recycle, storage and treatment of solid wastes. Regulations for environmental sustainability and to support the reduction of waste production. Strategies for municipal solid waste management: prevention, recovery, recycling, treatments, disposal. Materials recovery, separate collection. National Consortia. Treatment strategies for undifferentiated waste: mechanical-biological treatments and heat treatments. Waste to Energy technologies: general characteristics and operating principles. Types of incinerators. Secondary combustion and abatement aof volatile compounds formed during combustion. Heat recovery by heat transfer. Abatment of particulate and cleaning of flue gases. Incinerators for industrial and special purposes. Plants using thermodegradation technologies: gasification, pyrolysis, liquefaction. Biodegradation of municipal solid waste: compostino and biogas production. Long-term storage of wastes. Waste immobilization: temporary containment techniques, cost effective solidification/stabilization techniques, and permanent vitrification. Recovery of plastic materials and aluminum.

The teaching will be provided in the traditional way by oral lectures. Inside the teaching, technical visits to wastewater treatment plants, and/or potabilization plants, and/or solid waste incineration plant are expected.

 

Examination will be performed in presence by a colloquium, with grades expressed in
thirtieth.

Examination is intended to verify the competences acquired by the student on the field of waste and wastewater treatment. The examination will verify the theoretical principles learnt and the capacity to define, in an autonomous way, the best treatment technologies for waste and wastewaters in agreement with the current EU regulations and on the basis of the characteristics of waste and waters to be treated. Examination is also intended to evaluate the acquisition of a proper technical-scientific language.

 

The material suggested for this teaching is represented by the lecture notes provided by the teacher For further in-depth study, the following book is strongly recommended: R. S. Ramalho, Introduction to wastewater treatment processes, Academic Press, N.Y -; P.T. Williams, Waste treatment and Disposal, John Wiley

Attendance to this course is not compulsory, but strongly suggested. The methods of carrying out the teaching activity may vary according to possible limitations imposed by the University.

Students with DSA or disabilities are asked to read the support  (https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-e-studentesse-con-disabilita and reception methods (https://www.unito.it/accoglienza-studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa ) of the University, and in particular the procedures necessary for support during the exam (https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-con-disabilita/supporto-agli-studenti-con-disabilita-sostenere-gli-esami).