The Future of Environmental Engineering in the 21st Century

1
The Future of Environmental Engineering in the
21st Century
2
Socio-economic Factors
3
World population trends
4
Pollution load
5
Environmental Consequences
6
Extreme Scenarios

• Invest resources at least as rapidly as excess
  pollution load
• Allow environment to degrade as rapidly as excess
  pollution load

7
Questions

• Has the atmospheric quality in the USA
  deteriorated significantly since 1970?
• What caused these changes in atmospheric quality?

8
Population, Productivity and Energy Trends in the
USA
9
History of Air Pollution in USA
10
History of Air Pollution in USA
11
Air Pollution Trends 1970-Present
12
Products, People and Pollution
13
The Clean Air Act

• Adopted in 1970 in the Nixon Administration
• Protects the atmosphere from contaminants
• Targets both mobile and stationary sources

14
Answers to Questions

• Atmospheric quality has greatly improved in the
  USA since 1970
• It is a result of legislation
• Effective
• Enforced
• Not voluntary

15
Summary of Positive Outcome

• It is possible to maintain and even improve
  environmental quality in spite of growth
• This can only be done by enacting and enforcing
  aggressive environmental legislation

16
Implications of Aggressive Environmental
Legislation

• Costly
• Sources of Revenue
• Taxes
• Higher product costs
• Job security for environmental engineers and
  scientists

17
Engineering and Scientific Factors Required for
Pollution Control
18
Pollution

• Matter or energy
• Negatively affects environment or human well
  being

19
Basic principle

• Matter and energy are indestructible
• Therefore pollution is indestructible!

20
How can pollution be controlled?

• Recovery
• Waste minimization
• Conversion
• Storage

21
Recovery

• Recycle use wastes as source of raw materials
• Reuse use materials more than once

22
Waste minimization

• Change product
• Alter process

23
Conversion

• Transform pollutants to harmless or useful
  materials
• Oxidize CO to CO2
• Convert wastes to compost

24
Storage

• Insure that the pollutants will not migrate out
• Insure that pollutants will not react with each
  other

25
Impact of Human Activities on the Environment

• The Dream and the Reality

26
Human Activities

• Our perception (the dream)
• Environmental impact (the reality) is an
  important part of every dream

27
The Dream
28
The reality
29
2nd Law of Thermodynamics

• Everything goes from order to disorder
• Many lb of raw materials needed to make 1 lb of
  product
• Most of raw materials go to waste not to product
• Everything becomes a waste

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Food

• Dairy Products
• 0.48 gal/lb
• 4.0 L/Kg
• Meatpacking
• 2.1 gal/lb
• 17.6 L/Kg

31
Manufactured Goods

• Textiles
• 12.8 gal/lb
• 100 L/Kg
• Paper
• 1.9 gal/lb
• 15.8 L/Kg

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Metals

• Steel
• 18.4 gal/lb
• 153 L/Kg
• Aluminum
• 11.8 gal/lb
• 98 L/Kg

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Common Consumer Goods

• Fertilizers (K)
• 3.6 gal/lb
• 30 L/Kg
• Cement
• 0.34 gal/lb
• 2.8 L/Kg

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Petrochemicals

• Petroleum Refining
• 6.5 gal/gal
• 6.5 L/L
• Plastics
• 6.1 gal/lb
• 51 L/Kg

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Automotive

• Cars
• 10,814 gal/car
• 41,000 L/car
• Tires
• 139 gal/tire
• 526 L/tire

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Environmental Scientists and Engineers

• The human resources needed to solve pollution
  problems

37
Environmental Scientist

• Evaluate source and nature of pollution problem
• Evaluate environmental impact

38
Environmental Engineer

• Evaluate possible solutions
• Design, build and operate pollution control
  systems

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Summary

• Identify and quantify pollution problem (environ.
  science)
• Solve pollution problem (environ. engineering)

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Conclusions

• Pollution is a result of population growth
• Pollution load increases as a result of
• Growth
• New consumer goods
• Pollution is indestructible
• Can be converted or stored

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Conclusions

• Human activities, including our professional
  practice will generate contaminants
• Society must invest resources to prevent further
  degradation of environment
• Taxes
• Increased cost of consumer goods
• Great opportunities for environmental engineers
  and scientists

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Food for Thought (ASCE Code of Ethics)

• Engineers should seek opportunities to be of
  constructive service in civic affairs and work
  for the advancement of the safety, health and
  well-being of their communities, and the
  protection of the environment through the
  practice of sustainable development.
• Engineers should be committed to improving the
  environment by adherence to the principles of
  sustainable development so as to enhance the
  quality of life of the general public.

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Commercial

• Graduate studies at NMSU
• http//cagesun.nmsu.edu
• Fields
• Structures cwoodwar_at_nmsu.edu
• Environmental fcadena_at_nmsu.edu
• Water Resources zsamani_at_nmsu.edu
• Assistantships available

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