Anthropogenic emissions, especially from industrial sources, contain pollutants that can alter the equilibrium of the recipient environmental systems, and can represent a risk for the health of humans and ecosystems. The pollutants released into the environment are subjected to transport and transformation mechanisms that influence their fate and distribution. Consistently with the objectives of the Degree Course and in the context of environmental protection and industrial sustainability, this course aims to describe the set of phenomena that determine the fate of pollutants released into different environmental systems (atmosphere, water resources, soils), in order to be able to predict their concentrations and, consequently, the quality of such environmental systems. Particular attention is paid to the understanding of the physical foundation of the engineering models that are frequently used in the evaluation of the transport and transformation of pollutants, in order to be able to use such models with awareness. Alongside the theoretical lectures, these models are applied to solve problems on realistic domain and in problem solving activities, similar to those that will be addressed in the context of professional work.

At the end of the course, students will be expected to: - Knowing and understanding the nature of the physical, physico-chemical and chemical mechanisms that determine the fate of a pollutant after it has been emitted from a source, and along its movement in some environmental systems (atmosphere, surface water bodies, soils and aquifer) . - Knowing and understanding the foundations, potentials, and limitations of the main engineering methodologies and models applied to describe and predict the fate of pollutants. - Analyzing and interpreting the results of engineering methodologies and models for the correct evaluation of their appropriateness and correlating the modeling results with the relevant environmental phenomena. Furthermore, with the aim of fostering the autonomy, scientific soundness, and creativity needed in their future professional life, students are expected to: - Evaluating and applying the conceptual and numerical tools to quantify the transport and concentrations of pollutants introduced into some environmental systems, finding a balance between the complexity of the description and the simplicity of manipulation (balance between information and meaning). - Applying the acquired knowledge to select, compare, dismiss, and verify the engineering methodologies and models for forecasting the distribution of pollutants. - Applying the acquired knowledge to solve practical problems related to the behavior of pollutants introduced into realistic environmental systems.

The course is intended for students in the first year of the Master program in Environment Engineering. As a consequence, students are expected to have basic knowledge in: - organic and inorganic chemistry, including kinetics of transformation - geology and geomechanics - mass transport phenomena in the fluid phase - interphase transport and partition between phases - mass balances and modeling of environmental compartments - numerical calculation and mathematical analysis Students are also expected to be experienced users of the Microsoft Office package (in particular, Word, Excel) or alternative text editing and spreadsheet software. Basic knowledge in Matlab programming is also very useful.

The course is divided into 4 modules: - Module 1 (about 12 h, including 1 exercise): Flow in ideal and non-ideal reactors used for modeling environmental systems. Reaction and transformation kinetics of substances in ideal and non-ideal reactors. Use of ideal reactors for modeling non-ideal reactors and environmental systems. Approximation of environmental systems with ideal and non-ideal reactors. - Module 2 (about 30-35 h, including 2 exercises): Elements of atmospheric mechanics and hydraulics at the local scale, dynamics of the earth's boundary layer, plume shape. Diffusion and transport of pollutants in the atmosphere, modeling and representation at different spatial and temporal scales. Atmospheric acidity, aerosol formation, dry and wet fallout phenomena. Examples of chemical phenomena of transformation in the troposphere and stratosphere. - Module 3 (about 20-25 hours, including 2 exercises): Basic notions of aquifer engineering: storage and transport capacity of an aquifer, Darcy's law. Solutions of the differential flow equation: confined, semi-confined and unconfined aquifers. Mechanisms of propagation of pollutants in groundwater: advection, hydrodynamic dispersion, adsorption, radioactive decay, biodegradation, other processes. Analytical solutions of the mass transport differential equation. Behavior of pollutants in the unsaturated (vadose) zone. - Module 4 (about 15 h, including + 1 exercise): Dynamics of pollutants introduced into surface water bodies: physical, hydraulic, chemical and biological phenomena. Dissolved oxygen and Streeter-Phelps model in rivers. Dynamics of mixing in lakes and eutrophication.

The teacher will carry out the theoretical lessons using the board (if available) or digital support (if online) and showing some slides: the contents discussed during the theoretical lessons will be examined at the end of the course. There are no handouts or other teaching materials. In order to understand the teaching material, it is very useful to be present in class, to view any recordings, and/or to study lecture notes. IMPORTANT: the slides shown during the theoretical lessons and shared on the portal will not be sufficient for the study but are only intended as a support for the teacher for the lessons and as a support for the students for the annotation of notes.

The teaching includes lessons and problem solving activities related to the topics covered in the lessons. During these problem solving activities, numerical examples of application of the calculation models previously developed from a theoretical point of view by the teacher will be presented and solved: these problems will be solved using Excel and Matlab software. The problems and their results must be discussed in a technical report to be carried out in groups of two/three students and to be submitted by each student individually by the day on which the exam is held. The teaching is structured in: - 50 hours of theoretical lessons aimed at developing knowledge relating to the phenomena that determine the fate of pollutants released into different environmental systems and to the engineering methodologies and models that allow the prediction and quantification of their concentrations. - 30 hours of problem solving activities, aimed at stimulating the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in solving practical and realistic problems. It will be necessary or useful to use personal computers.

The notions and calculation methodologies covered in class, as well as their application examples, are also discussed in many texts that can be used as a support and complement to the lessons. The use of these texts is not compulsory. Among these texts: - Chemical fate and transport in the environment, 2nd Edition, by Hemond H.F. and Fechner-Levy E.J., Academic Press - Environmental modeling (Fate and transport of pollutants in water, air, and soil), 1996, by Schnoor J.L., Wiley Transportation and processing in reactors: - Water quality engineering: physical/chemical treatment processes, (2013), by Benjamin M.:, Lawler, D., Wiley - Chemical reaction engineering, 3rd Edition (1999), Levenspiel O., Wiley Transport in the atmosphere: - Atmospheric chemistry and physics, 2nd Edition (2006), by Seinfeld J.H. and Pandis S.N., Wiley - Applied contaminant transport modeling, 2nd Edition (2002), by Zheng C. and Bennett G.D., Wiley Underground transport: - R.Sethi, A. Di Molfetta. Groundwater Engineering, Springer 2019 (https://tinyurl.com/yyvw67h7) - PA Dominic, F.W. Schwartz, Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, Second Edition, 1998. - V. Bathu, Aquifer Hydraulics, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York 1998. - Modeling groundwater flow and contaminant transport, (2010), by Bear J. and Cheng A.H.-D., Springer - Contaminant geochemistry: interactions and transport in the subsurface environment, 2nd Edition (2014), by Berkowitz B., Dror I. and Yaron B., Springer

Slides; Esercizi; Materiale multimediale ;

E' possibile sostenere l’esame in anticipo rispetto all’acquisizione della frequenza

Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula); Elaborato scritto individuale;

Exam: Written test; Individual essay;

... The final exam is conducted through a written examination lasting 110 minutes, which aims to verify the skills related to all the topics of the lessons and problem solving activities (see Expected learning outcomes). The exam includes both simple calculation exercises that require the need to choose and apply the most appropriate methods and modeling tools for their resolution, and theoretical questions, which require the student's ability to process and use the theoretical results discussed during class. The exam also covers the theoretical foundations underlying the resolution of the problem sets that students have submitted in the technical report. The exam consists of a written test of 5 open-ended questions, each with a value of 6/30 for a total of 30/30. Each of the 5 questions is divided into several theoretical questions or questions involving the resolution of quantitative problems. For the calculation of the final grade, a further 2 points will be taken into account, deriving from the evaluation of the technical report that summarizes the results of the problem sets performed during the semester as well as their discussion. To be admitted to the exam, each student must upload this report through the teaching portal by the day of the exam. The exam is passed if the final grade obtained by combining the written exam and the technical report relating to the problem sets is at least 18/30. If the evaluation exceeds 30/30, honors (laude) will be obtained. During the exam, the following is not allowed: keeping or consulting notebooks, books, exercise sheets, forms, calculators or other electronic instruments. It will not be possible to consult didactic material. Only pen/pencil and ruler may be used. The outcome of the exam will be communicated to students via email, typically within two/three days of taking the written test. Students will be able to view the exam and its evaluation during a general meeting. The date of the meeting will be communicated to the students via notice on the teaching portal or via email in conjunction with the communication of the results of the written test.

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.