Lecture Presentations on

Environmental Engineering
Course EENV101
Part 1a WK 1-2 Introduction
By Engr. Jessica. M. Castillo
3T 2015-2016

Course Description
This course covers
important ecology concepts,
pollutants and pollution environments:
water, air, and solid;
environmental technologies for pollution
control and abatement,
government legislation, rules, and
regulation related to the environment and
waste management
introduction to ISO 14001 or the
Environmental Management System

COURSE OBJECTIVES
1.
2.
3.

4.

Explain the various effects of

environmental pollution
Identify, plan and select appropriate
design treatment schemes.
State the existing laws, rules and
regulations of the government on
environmental issues.
Explain the importance of pollution
control and waste management and its
relevance to the engineering profession.

Course Policies

Make-ups for missed exams will only be

given upon presentation of a valid excuse
slip certified by the Centre for Health
Services & Wellness.

Learning tasks, Projects or Reports not

turned in on the proper due dates will not be
accepted & shall result in an automatic fail
for that assessment.

Excuse for missed exam must be submitted

in writing & must be properly certified no
more than 1 week after the missed date for
exam.

Course Policies
The

penalty for cheating in

an exam is zero in that
exam, the second time
caught, the course grade
shall be FAILED (5.0).

Course Evaluation
Class Standing
Minor quizzes
10%
Seat works/Recitation
10%
Learning Tasks
10%
(Reports, Homeworks)
Case studies/projects
10%
Prelims Examinations
Mid-term Exam
Final Examination
TOTAL

20%
20%
20%

40%

60%

100%

Learning Tasks

Includes individual home works, seat works

etc.

Plant Visits in groups written evaluation

report

Case Study video presentation by pair on a

specific environmental issue, analyzing the
cause and showing engineering solution

Course Evaluation
The student is required to obtain a final grade
of 60% in order to pass the course.
Aside from academic deficiency, other grounds
for failing the course are the following:
Intellectual dishonesty (cheating and plagiarism) during
examinations and other requirements
Per Section 1551 of CHEDs Manual Regulations for Private
Educational Institutions, a student who has incurred more than
20% of the total number of school days (8 unexcused
absences) shall not be given credit to the course regardless of
class standing
Other grounds as stipulated in the MCL Student Catalogue,
and other relevant policies and regulations that may be
promulgated from time to time

Textbook:

Mihelcic, James R & Zimmerman, Julie

Beth. (2014).
Environmental Engineering:
Fundamentals, Sustainability, Design, 2nd
ed. John Wiley & Sons.

3T

Consultation Schedule
Engr. Jessica M. Castillo
Email Address: jmcastillo@mcl.edu.ph
CP # : (0917) 705-7230
Days Available: Tuesdays and Thursdays only

Introduction to the Course

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Definition: (ASCE)
Environmental Engineering
...the proper disposal or recycle of
wastewater and solid wastes; the
adequate drainage of urban and rural
areas for proper sanitation; and the
control of water, soil and atmospheric
pollution,
and
the
social
and
environmental
impact
of
these
solutions. Furthermore... (contd)

Definition: (ASCE)
Environmental Engineering
...

It is concerned with engineering

problems in the field of public health,
such as control of arthropod-born
diseases, the elimination of industrial
health hazards, and the provision of
adequate sanitation in both urban, rural
and recreational areas, and the effect of
technological advancement on the
environment. (1977)

Environmental Engineering
The division of engineering concerned
with: the environmental conservation
and management of natural resources.

The environmental engineer places special

attention on the biological, chemical,
and physical reactions in the air, land,
and water environments and
on improved technology for integrated
management systems, including reuse,
recycling, and recovery measures.

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Week 1-2: Learning Objectives

Analyze some environmental problems (CO1)

Identify environmental problems caused by Engineering activities.

(CO1)

State the purpose of Environmental engineering. (CO1)

Define terms related to Ecology: Biodiversity, Biomes,

Ecosystems, Habitat, Niche, Population,& Community. (CO1)

Discuss the flow of energy in the food chain (CO1)

Differentiate the different levels of biodiversity (CO1)

Give examples of the typical plants and animals that live in the
different biomes. (CO1)

Distinguish the different major ecosystems. (CO1)

Describe the flow of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and

phosphorus through the ecosystems and the impact of human
activities on these flows. (CO1)

Popular Environmental Issues:

Climate Change
Ozone Depletion
Green House Effect
Water Pollution
Air Pollution
Noise Pollution
Solid Wastes
Denuded forests
Landslides
Fish kill
Oil spill
etc

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Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the
relations that living organisms have with
respect to each other and their
natural/physical environment
It includes distributions, abundance, share
effects, and relations of organisms and
their interactions with each other in a
common environment

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Ecosystem
An ecosystem consists of all the organisms living
in a particular area, as well as all the non-living,
physical components of the environment with which
the organisms interact such as air, soil, water and
sunlight (climate).

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Habitat
The term habitat refers to the specific kind of place
where an organism normally lives.
It includes the arrangement of food, water, shelter and
space that is suitable to meet an organism's needs.

Niche
A niche refers to the "occupation" of an
organism in an ecosystem in order to survive,
such as a "fish-eating wader" for a heron, or a
"plant-juice-sipping summer buzzer" for a
cicada.
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Energy and Material Flow in

Ecosystems
Organisms in any ecosystem may be divided into
3 main groups:

1 Plants : producers of high energy molecules

2 Animals : consumers of high energy molecules
Plants and animals produce wastes and eventually
die.
detritus (dead matter)
3. Other Organisms : decomposers which utilizes
the detritus
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Photosynthesis
The source of energy for all life on Earth is the
sun. Green plants (and some bacteria) are the
only organisms that can directly capture the
sun's energy and change it into a form that other
organisms can use. Through the process of
photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to change
carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen.
The oxygen is given off into the air, where it is
available to other organisms including humans.
Simple sugar molecules make energy available
to plants and, by forming the basic units of
complex carbohydrates, contribute to plant
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http://www.nmnaturalhistory.org/BEG/EcoConcepts_IV_SBEC.html

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Food Web
is a more ecologically
correct way of depicting
energy transfer in the
ecosystem

Shows the importance

of balance and
biodiversity

Biomagnification
As materials are cycled over and over, toxins
build up. Concentrations of toxins increase
along food chains, since a predator eats many
prey with the toxin.
This process is known as biomagnification.
Pesticides applied to our fields may add toxic
materials to the river, affecting not only the
water itself but also all the organisms that
depend on the water.
Example: Mercury in fish

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Microbial Decomposers:
Bacteria
Aerobic : requires molecular oxygen
in their metabolic activity to produce nutrients
Anaerobic : does not require oxygen
Facultative : use oxygen when available
but uses anaerobic reaction otherwise

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Ecosystems: Concepts of an
ecosystem, structure and functions of
an ecosystem, producers,
consumers and decomposers, energy
flow in ecosystem, food chains,
ecological pyramids,
aquatic ecosystem (ponds, streams,
lakes, rivers, oceans, estuaries).

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Biodiversity
"Biodiversity is the totality of genes,
species, and ecosystems in a region...
Biodiversity can be divided
into three hierarchical categories
genes,
species,
and ecosystems
that describe quite different aspects of living
systems and that scientists measure in
different ways.

Levels of Biological System

Genes
Species
Population
Community

Ecosystem

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Biodiversity - Genetic
Genetic diversity refers to the variation of genes
within species. This covers distinct populations of
the same species (such as the thousands of
traditional rice varieties in India)
Example:

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Issue:
Opportunities and risks of genetically modified crops / GMOs

Biodiversity - Species
Species diversity
refers to the variety of species within a region.
Such diversity can be measured in many
ways, and scientists have not settled on a
single best method

https://u.osu.edu/ellsworth.2/2013/11/25/bee-poster-now-available/

Biodiversity - Ecosystem

Ecosystem diversity is harder to

measure than species or genetic diversity
because the "boundaries" of communities
-- associations of species -- and
ecosystems are elusive.

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Biomes
A biome is a large geographical area
characterized by certain types of plants and
animals. It is defined by the complex
interactions of plants and animals with the
climate, geology (rock formations), soil types,
water resources, and latitude of an area.

Major classifications

Freshwaters ecosystem
Terrestrial ecosystems
Oceanic (Marine) ecosystem
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Terrestrial Ecosystem

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Tundra : Dry Cold and Windy

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http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats

TAIGA

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Rainforest

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Source : http://www.islands.com/wallpaper/rainforest-waterfall

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Chaparral

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Polar Ice

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Source http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/cold-weather-

Tangible benefits of diversity:

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Food
Tourism
Livelihood
Medical Research

Relationships between species

Parasitism
Commensalism
Mutualism
Saprophytism
Predation
Competition
Commensalism : one organism benefits without affecting the other.
Mutualism : both organisms benefit,
Amensalism : where one is harmed while the other is unaffected,
Parasitism : where one benefits while the other is harmed.
Source Wikipedia

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Mutualism

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The Coral Triangle

76% of all the worlds coral species

Home to 6 of the worlds 7 species

of sea turtle

3000 species of fish or 37% of the

worlds reef fish species

Articles on biodiversity:

The center of the center of marine shore fish

biodiversity: the Philippine Islands

Author: Carpenter, K.E. & Springer, V.G.

Date: 21 September 2009

Multiple datasets show global maxima of marine

biodiversity in the Indo-Malay-Philippines archipelago
(IMPA). Analysis of distribution data for 2983 species
reveals a pattern of richness on a finer scale and
identifies a peak of marine biodiversity in the
Central Philippine Islands and a secondary peak
between Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra.

Our study indicates, however, that there is a

higher concentration of species per unit area
in the Philippines than anywhere in Indonesia,
including Wallacea .

Special attention to marine conservation

efforts in the Philippines is justified because
of the identification of it as an epicenter of
biodiversity and evolution.

An offshoot of biodiversity:
Baldomero
Distinguished

Olivera

professor of Biology at the University

of Utah received the Harvard Foundation Scientist
of the Year award in 2007 for his more than three
decades of research on cone snail venom.

Baldomero Olivera
and the

conus gloriamaris

His research:

Resulted in the drug:

Ziconotide

A pain killer 1000 times

more powerful than
morphine and was nonaddictive

Purchased at USD 741

million in 1998

Positive impacts to society

Benefitted the scientist (s)
Alleviated pain especially for
cancer sufferers
Generated jobs
Opened a new frontier in pain
management drugs

Benefits of strongly diverse systems

productivity
biodiversity

stability
sustainability

Tangible benefits of biodiversity:

tourism

biodiversity

livelihood
Food
Medical research

Verde Island Passage

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18 Vietnamese crew held as ship hits Philippine reef

Tuesday, June 13, 2013

The Unicorn Logger, a Panama-flagged freighter, ran aground at a protected

marine sanctuary off the tiny island of Sambawan on Friday, coastguard
spokesman Armand Balilo said.
"The crew are detained aboard their vessel as the damage to the reef is
assessed," he told AFP.
The ship was carrying logs from Malaysia to Japan when it hit the reef, Balilo
added.
A central Philippines coastguard spokesman, Ensign Jamaal Aceron, told AFP the
ship will be towed for repairs to a shipyard in the central port of Cebu once the
extent of the damage on the vessel is determined.
It was the latest in a series of maritime incidents at protected Philippine reefs this
year.
A US Navy minesweeper ran aground at Tubbataha Reef, a World Heritage-listed
marine sanctuary in the southern Philippines in January, leading to fines for reef
damage and the dismantling of the ship.
A Chinese fishing vessel also ran aground at Tubbataha in April, causing even
more damage. The crew were arrested and charged for damaging the reef as well
as for carrying endangered mammals.
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Nutrient/Biogeochemical
Cycles
While energy flow is in one direction only,
nutrient material flow in a cyclical manner through
respiration and decomposition process

Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
Phosphorus Cycle
Sulfur Cycle
Water Cycle (Oxygen and Hydrogen)
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http://www.idigorganicgardening.com/2011/01/understanding-the-nitrogen-cycle-of-apond/

Nitrogen Fixing
Plants
Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation
include the legume family Fabaceae with
taxa such as clover, soybeans, alfalfa,
peanuts etc. They contain
symbiotic bacteria called
Rhizobia within nodules in their root system
producing nitrogen compounds that help the
plant to grow and compete with other
plants. When the plant dies, the fixed
nitrogen is released, making it available to
other plants and this helps to fertilize
the soil.
In many traditional and organic farming
practices, fields are rotated through various
types of crops, which which were often
referred to as "green manure."

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Clotalarias are nitrogen fixers that can be

mixed with compost, but cannot be used
as feeds to animals because they are
poisonous.

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By understanding the
ecological systems in
which we live, and how
we interact with them, we
can begin to lessen our
impact on Earth.
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