SYLLABUS

 

CE 531 – Physical-Chemical Treatment Processes

 

Fall Semester, 2010

 

 

General Information

Time and location:

3:30-4:45 pm TR,   CENT 1030

 

 

Instructor:

Dr. Kerry J. Howe, P.E.

 

Office:  3050 CENT

 

Office phone:  277-2702

 

Home phone:  821-9787

 

Email address:  howe@unm.edu

 

Office hours:  I am frequently in my office or the Environmental Engineering Laboratories on the second floor.  Call or email to make an appointment, or stop by anytime my door is open.  If my door is closed, please do not disturb me.

 

 

Textbook:

Water Treatment Principles and Design, 2nd ed.

by Montgomery Watson Harza

         (errata  for the textbook are available on the course website)

 

 

Course Objectives

This course provides an understanding of the theory and mechanisms governing physical and chemical processes used in water and wastewater treatment.  Basic design features of the processes are presented, but the emphasis is on the underlying principles, including why a process works, what the significant variables are, how a process can be described mathematically, and what the limitations of the models are.  In addition, the course develops skills expected of all environmental engineering graduate students:  the ability to solve problems using mass balance principles, the ability to critically evaluate technical literature, critical thinking skills, and technical writing skills.

 

The topics covered are:

1.   Water quality and regulations

2.   Conservation of matter (mass balances)

3.   Ideal and non-ideal reactor analysis

4.   Coagulation

5.   Flocculation

6.   Sedimentation

7.   Granular filtration

8.   Membrane filtration

9.   Disinfection

 

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

 

1.   Understand and apply the theory underlying each process listed above.

 

2.   Understand how the governing equations for each process were developed from the underlying theory.

 

3.   Evaluate the design or operation of common physical-chemical treatment processes and assess how performance will be affected by changes in design or operating parameters due to the effect these parameters have on the underlying mechanisms.

 

 

Grading

Homework

15%

 

Journal reviews

15%

 

Midterm #1

20%

 

Midterm #2

20%

 

Final exam

30%

(Thursday, December 16, 3:00 – 5:00 pm)

 

 

Course Website

Course materials, including the syllabus, handouts, and supplementary material will be posted on a course website.  Students can access the website https://vista.unm.edu/ and entering your UNM Net ID and password.

 

 

Prerequisites

Students are expected to be proficient with the following:

 

1.   Math – Students should be comfortable with algebraic manipulations and be able to identify the dependent and independent variables in equations.  Students should be comfortable with calculus, including integration (know common forms and be able to look up more complicated forms in a table of integrals), differentiation (know common forms, be able to look up more complicated forms, and be able to apply the chain rule and the product rule), and differential equations (be able to solve first and second order linear differential equations and apply boundary conditions).  Students who are “rusty” at math are urged to review appropriate material early in the course so that math does not become a hindrance to learning the material.

 

2.   Freshman level chemistry (reaction kinetics) and physics (vectors, Newton’s laws, momentum, etc.).

 

3.   Students will be expected to have access to and use the internet and a UNM email account.  Access to the internet may be necessary for obtaining some of the assigned reading materials. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF files posted on the course website.

 

4.   Use of a spreadsheet (i.e., Excel) or other computational software will be necessary for some homework assignments.

 

 

Academic Integrity

The University expects all students to maintain the highest level of integrity, and academic dishonesty is a violation of UNM's Student Code of Conduct. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to “dishonesty in quizzes, tests or assignments; claiming credit for work not done or done by others; hindering the academic work of other students; misrepresenting academic or professional qualifications within or without the University; and nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications or other University records.” University policies regarding academic dishonesty are available in the UNM Student Handbook (Pathfinder) and online at http://pathfinder.unm.edu/policies.htm#academicdishonesty.  Violations will be dealt with severely.

 

 

Homework Policy

The homework is intended to help you learn the material.  All students should make an effort to solve every problem on their own and should not work together in groups, splitting the homework problems between the students.  If you have put forth a sincere effort but cannot solve a problem on your own, it is acceptable for another student to teach you how to solve the problem, but it is not acceptable for you to just use another student’s paper as a guide.

 

All homework must be done in pencil using the standard format for the Civil Engineering department.  A spreadsheet or other computational software should be used where appropriate.  When software is used, the homework assignment must include the input and output, and must include a section or separate sheet showing the equation for each column or row in the spreadsheet.  All graphs drawn by hand must be done with a straight edge on graph paper and be properly scaled and labeled.  A word processor should be used for all writing assignments.  All homework must be neat and legible or it will not be graded.

 

Homework must be turned in on time, with no exceptions.  No credit will be given for any homework once a solution has been distributed or discussed in class.  The lowest homework assignment grade will be dropped when your grade is calculated.

 

 

Journal review assignments

One component of the grade for this class is to complete a 4 to 6 page (typed, double-spaced) critical review of each of three journal articles.  The critical review should include (1) a summary of the article to show that you understood it, and (2) your own critical comments, including what was particularly insightful about the article, what was bad about it, how the equations were derived, whether the analysis in the article was done correctly or whether there were any serious omissions or shortcomings, how important the results presented in the article are to the field of environmental engineering, etc.  Grading will be based on the clarity of your writing as well as the content; i.e., not only what you write, but also how you write it.  The critical review is the most important part of the assignment.  An excellent summary with no critical analysis of your own will result in a “C” grade.  The summary part can be omitted entirely if you have sufficient critical remarks to make it obvious that you understood what the authors said.

 

Additional detail about the expectations for the journal review assignments will be handed out in class.

 

 

FIELD TRIP

We plan to take a field trip to either the Santa Fe or the Albuquerque Water Treatment Plant about midway through the semester.  This trip provides context and is a required part of the class.  The time will be arranged after the semester begins.

 

 

News List

Students should subscribe to the email news service lists “Water Tech e-News Daily.”  By providing information on topics of current interest in water treatment, this free service gives context to the issues presented in class, and inform students of the important water treatment issues of today.  The subscription link is:   http://www.informz.net/ntp_wt/profile.asp

 

 

Exam policy

The exams will be closed book.  A one-page “cheat sheet” will be allowed on each exam (i.e., 1 page for the first midterm, that plus a second sheet on the second midterm, and those 2 plus a third for the final).  The cheat sheets may have writing on front and back but all material on the sheets must be hand written.

 

Five minutes before the end of an exam, the time remaining will be announced.  You should be prepared to submit your exam paper at the end of that time.  At the end of the exam period, the instructor or proctor will leave the room with all submitted exam material.  No exam material of any kind will be accepted by the instructor or proctor after leaving the exam room.  Medical illness or other exceptional circumstances will be the only excuse for missing an exam, and you will be expected to provide evidence of the circumstances or illness.  You must inform the instructor in advance if you must miss an exam, unless there are compelling reasons why you cannot do so.  If you miss an exam for a medical reason or other exceptional circumstance, either a make-up exam will be given or the other exams will be weighted heavier, at the instructor’s discretion.  If you miss an exam for other reasons, you will be assigned a grade of zero.