Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

Environmental chemistry involves the study of the effects that chemicals have on the air, water and soil and how they impact the environment and human health. The aim of this course is to provide the basic skills to understand the chemistry of the environment, to give the student the tools that allow him to understand the environmental compartments, their interactions and the chemical and physical characteristics of the three matrices, water, air and soil. During the course attention will be paid to the main pollutants and contaminants, to environmental transport processes, their behavior and their distribution. The course helps to train professionals with multidisciplinary skills capable of intervene in the prevention, diagnosis and operational solution of environmental problems. During the laboratory exercises, some analytical techniques useful for monitoring pollutants will be illustrated. At the end of the laboratory, laboratory reports must be prepared by the students.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

This course aims to provide knowledge and practical skills useful for a sustainable and safe development of agri-food productions. Students will learn strategies and technologies to optimize the resource use, as well as to minimize and/or valorize agricultural waste. The course will provide theory and practice to evaluate the environmental issues connected with production systems, in the context of a more circular economy. In addition, the course will analyze the main risks related to agricultural works, with the aim of planning safer activities.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

At the end of the course, students will be able to identify, analyze and evaluate the characteristics of the main environmental compartments, the processes that regulate them and their interactions. The student will be able to recognize the main classes of pollutants, the processes that generate them and their distribution in the environment. Furthermore, the student will have acquired the skills necessary to recognize natural environmental conditions distinguishing them from those altered by pollution phenomena. The student will have acquired knowledge that will allow him to formulate hypotheses suitable for the control, management and remediation of the environment. Furthermore The student will acquire the ability to communicate orally and in writing, with linguistic properties, the fundamental aspects relating to processes in environmental matrices.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

At the end of the course the student is expected to have acquired knowledge on: • sustainable development and circular economy; • available strategies and technologies for optimizing the use of resources; • available strategies and technologies for the waste minimization and/or its material and energy valorization; • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to quantify potential environmental impacts of products and processes; • the main causes of accidents or damage to the health of workers in agricultural works and strategies to reduce their risk. In addition, the student is expected to be able to apply this knowledge and develop skills to: • identify, evaluate and compare technologies and solutions for optimizing the use of resources; • identify, evaluate and compare technologies and solutions for the waste minimization and/or valorization; • perform a life cycle assessment and interpret the results in the context of a more circular and resource efficient economy; • plan operations and activities in a correct and safe way. This course contributes to the development of a professional figure having competences and skills to make informed decisions for a sustainable and safe development of agri-food productions.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

Attendance of the course requires basic knowledge of general chemistry and physics. In particular: the units of measure, the nomenclature, the periodic table and its properties, the intra and intermolecular forces, phase transitions, the solutions and the properties of the solutions, the gas laws, the heterogeneous equilibria, the pH and acid-base equilibria, solubility, and precipitation equilibria, kinetics, thermodynamics, redox reactions and electrochemistry.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

No pre-requirements.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

The course is organized in 4 modules (45h lectures and 15 laboratory and practical activity): 1) Introduction to organic chemistry, hydrocarbons, functional groups and classes of organic compounds (1 ECTS ING-IND/25). 2) Introduction to environmental chemistry, environmental compartments, pollution and toxicology. Distribution and fate of pollutants, transport, accumulation and degradation processes (1,5 ECTS ING-IND/25). 3) Atmosphere. Atmospheric pollution. Hydrosphere. Water pollution. Geosphere. Soil pollution. Interface interactions (1,5 ECTS ING-IND/25). 4) Main pollutant monitoring techniques, sampling, analysis, identification and quantification (2 ECTS, ICAR03 ).

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

Sustainability module – Part A (2 credits, ING-IND/25) • The road map of sustainability from Rio Conference to Next Generation EU. • Concept of Sustainable Development and linkage of agro-industrial ecology to sustainability. Use of resources, choice of raw materials. Energy strategies and perspectives. • Products and processes of food value chains. Macroscopic mass and energy balances in the most common production scenarios. • Fossil fuels: overview of production, costs, and development prospects. Alternative fuels and renewable sources. • The ecological transition: concept, definition, and application of the meaning of sustainable agriculture and circular economy, based on PNRR vision. • Sinergy between sustainable agriculture and digitalization: concept and application. Sustainability module – Part B (2 credits, ICAR03) • Role of natural resources in the economy and man’s efforts to modify the earth to his needs. From the birth of the “Environmental debate” to Net-Zero by 2050 pledges. • Circular economy. Core CE concepts and strategies to achieve a higher resource efficiency. The EU action plan(s) for the Circular Economy. The EU Circular Economy monitoring framework. Circular economy indicators. • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA methodology to evaluate the environmental profile of production and consumption systems. Origin and basic principles of LCA according to ISO 14040 standards. • Challenges for the calculation of local and global environmental impacts related to agricultural systems. Modelling yield, carbon sequestration and biogenic emissions. Challenges for the calculation of impacts due to land use changes. Use of LCA to compare intensive and extensive agricultural systems. Environmental impacts related to the valorization of agricultural by-products and waste. • Basics of green communication and green labelling schemes, with focus on EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF). • Use of an LCA software application with practical examples on agricultural processes. Safety module (2 credits, ING-IND/28) • General information on safety issues. • The organization of activities; main sources of risk for workers and typical accidents occurring in workplaces. • Analysis of occupational risks; causes of accidents and strategies for the containment of accidents in agricultural works. • Risk of accidents and damage to the health of workers resulting from dust, handling of loads, storage of materials and vibrations. • Risks linked to particular conditions of confined spaces. • Risks related to water, electricity and fires. • Risks related to noise produced by machines and plants. • Risk related to accident with machineries and vehicles used in agriculture. • Risks due to the working at heights.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

The course is structured in: - 45 hours of lectures, aimed at developing knowledge relating to the main chemical species of environmental importance, their properties, their role in the natural and anthropic context, as well as the main pollutant monitoring techniques (as described in detail in the plan). - 15 hours of laboratory and pratical activities aimed at stimulating the ability to apply the acquired

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

The course is structured in (A) theoretical lessons, (B) Life Cycle Assessment laboratories, (C) a team project and (D) exercises on the safety module. The IT laboratory will be used to carry out the Life Cycle Assessment practice exercises which require the use of a software. Team projects must be carried out by teams of 4 to 5 students and is finalized to produce a report on the LCA of a product or process. Detailed guidelines will be distributed. The exercises on the safety module will cover environments typical of agricultural activities. For each of them the risks will be analyzed and the procedures for their minimization defined. These exercises are carried out by the students in groups and are assisted by the teachers.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

Classroom lesson slides and video material will be provided online at the Polito website. Textbook: Stanley Manahan ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY CRC press, 11th edition (per consultazione) Colin Baird, Michael Cann CHIMICA AMBIENTALE Curatore: E. Lanciotti, M. Stefani Editore: Zanichelli Edizione: 3 Anno edizione: 2013 Stanley Manahan Fundamentals of ENVIRONMENTAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY CRC press, fourth edition (for consultation)

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

• Powerpoint Slides available at the Politecnico web site. • Weidema, et al., Assessing the environmental impact of agriculture, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2019 • Analysis of the Waste Report for the current year (downloadable from the website of Regione Piemonte, or from other international portals). • Consultation of institutional websites (Ispra, enea, cobat, coeu, conai, coreve, cial) • Suggested books available in the Department library • Internet links to free docs and papers on sustainability and safety in agriculture • Additional supplementary materials (uploaded in the Politecnico web site).

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

Slides;

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato scritto individuale;

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula); Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual essay;

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

Exam: Written test; Group project;

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Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Organic and Environmental Chemistry)

The exam is aimed at ascertaining the knowledge of the topics listed in the official program of the course, the student's ability to re-elaborate the notions acquired by also making connections between the different topics through the use of an appropriate language and the ability to express judgments in a autonomous. The exam will be oral and will take into account the laboratory report provided by the student at the end of the same. The final mark consists of 75% oral exam, and 25% laboratory report.

Organic and environmental chemistry and Sustainability and safety (Sustainability and Safety)

The final examination consists of a written test (1,5 hours) made of open (essay) questions on the topics of the course and short exercises. The final mark is given 70% according to the mark obtained in the written examination (passmark 16/30) and 30% according to the mark obtained in the Team Project report. In order to attend the final exam it is necessary: -to register via web site of the Politecnico within the deadline; -to submit the Team Project report any time, but not later than 5 days before the written examination. The written examination must be in legible English. The use of teaching material during the exam is not allowed.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.