Environmental Engineering MSc

• Dr Simon Jude

Over the past decade environmental regulators and the public have aimed to improve the quality of environmental management by basing choices on reliable data and assessment. However risk analysts often develop their competencies from their specific profession, for which the requirements can vary across industries, government bodies and geographical boarders. There is therefore little consensus on the competencies risk analysts require to be considered proficient. This module aims to provide an understanding of the theory and practice of effective management of all phases of environmental hazards. The module covers key topics including conceptual model development, probability, risk characterisation, and informatics. In doing so, this module will provide a means of improving the capability and capacity of students to perform European-wide risk assessments.

• Current legislation for environment (water, air and land) protection and pollution control;
• qualitative, quantitative and probabilistic risk analysis tools;
• systemic risks;
• problem definition and conceptual models;
• spatial analysis and informatics;
• risk screening and prioritisation;
• assembling strength and weight of evidence;
• evaluating and communicating sources of uncertainty.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• identify, analyse and evaluate the wide range of environmental risks within the UK (e.g. animal disease, chemical spills, high winds, flooding) and be able to identify and apply appropriate methods of assessing these risks;
• critically evaluate the decision process underpinning the management of such risks and provide justification for the prioritisation and application of different risk management actions;
• examine and interpret the relationship between risk, social, economic, political and technological trends and be able to provide appropriate suggestions for communication of assessment and management of environmental risks related to the influencing factors;
• analyse and explain the possible consequences in a given situation where environmental risks will occur and their likely impacts on a population and the potential secondary impacts; and
• review, critique and suggest improvements for other risk assessment and management methodologies within the given scenarios.

• Professor Frederic Coulon

The aim of this module is to provide specialist understanding of the major processes used for municipal waste management and their role within an integrated – circular - waste management system. In particular the module will focus on the bottom three points of the waste hierarchy: recycle, recover and dispose.

• Integrated waste management: appraisal of national and international legislation and policy.
• Circular economy in the waste context.
• Waste properties and characterisation. Mechanical biological treatment, pre-treatment, biodegradable wastes, coupled technologies, technology performance and managing environmental impacts.
• Landfill: biochemistry, leachate and gas production
• Biowaste technologies: composting, AD and other biorefinery processes
• Thermal treatment: incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, combined heat and power, waste to energy, solid recovered fuel.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Appraise the role of waste treatment technologies under the circular management agenda - drivers, selection, pre-requisites requirements, waste types treated;
• Identify the properties (physical, chemical, and biological) commonly associated with Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and integrate them into waste management calculations;
• Critically assess the performance of treatment processes including how wastes are analysed and data interpreted;
• Apply the concepts and principles of the biological processes for treating organic waste to the waste degradation context and evaluate and calculate energy potential;
• Explain why landfill gas (LFG)is treated and how to control, collect and treat the gas. Appraise the parameters contributing to LFG production and composition, the risks and production controls and calculate their potential impact;
• Evaluate specific process parameters critical to the design of non-landfill treatment processes (e.g. thermal destruction efficiencies; flue gas desulphurisation requirements);
• Critically assess specific waste/feedstock treatment processes involved into a circular economy (e.g. MBT, AD, biorefinery)
• Apply concept and principle of waste management into a circular economy. 

• Professor Frederic Coulon

The module introduces the extent and consequences of pollution in the environment, identifies and evaluates technologies for prevention and remediation and exposes students in using decision support tool and modelling to deal with pollution prevention and remediation.  

• Environmental pollution and prevention technology
• Contaminated land issues and market size
• Soil and groundwater remediation technologies
• Sustainable remediation practices
• Monitoring and modelling contaminants
• Hazard appraisal and risk assessment
• Decision support tools.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Define and discuss the key issues related to environmental pollution prevention and remediation
• Critically appraise the range of remediation technologies for soil and groundwater
• Appraise the key indicators for sustainable remediation approach
• Select and evaluate accepted decision tools to assess remediation performance and end-points.

• Dr Jeroen Meersmans

An introduction to the full suite of environmental models and modelling methods that are currently used to describe and predict environmental processes and outcomes. The objective of this module is to give an overview of the different types of models currently being used to describe environmental processes and how they are being applied in practice. The module will offer the students the opportunity to strengthen their analytical abilities with a specific mathematical emphasis, including programming and modelling, which are key skills to launch future careers in science, engineering and technology. In addition, throughout various interactive learning events as well as the group-work based assignment, the student’s social skills will be intensively trained.

Introduction to the wide range of applications of numerical models in environmental sciences. Lectures will cover examples of models applied in climate, soil, water, natural ecosystems and atmosphere and others
Overview of the types of models applied; mechanistic, semi-empirical and empirical models. Why these different forms exist, their strengths and weaknesses. How they are applied?
Introduction to systems analysis. Overview of the basic concepts and how this relates to model design
Introduction to numerical solutions and empirical solutions to model parameterization and calibration
Identifying what makes models powerful. Predictions, Scenario and Sensitivity testing
Recognizing limits and uncertainties; validating the model. Recognizing the importance of good data
Practical applications of environmental models. How this is done, in what programming language?
Illustrating the impact of models and model outputs on current policy and scientific discourse from global climate change to local flooding risk.

• Dr Lynda Deeks

Environmental engineers and land managers need sound understanding of the environmental properties that determine land capability for any given desired end use, as well as the interrelationships between soil, water, vegetation and built structures. This understanding is grounded in basic soil physics, hydrology, hydraulics, geotechnics and agronomy. With this background, appropriate interventions such as drainage, soil erosion control, slope stabilisation and irrigation can be designed and implemented to improve inherent land quality. The required skills set also informs the management of environmental projects involving land forming, reclamation, restoration and protection, which require selection, design, engineering and maintenance of appropriate structures.

Site Assessment: Concept of land capability and land quality
Land forming, earth moving and landscape modification.
Geotechnics: Slope stability
Surface erosion of slope forming materials
Top and sub soil management.

• Dr Iq Mead

The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the major air pollutants emitted by key industrial processes, the associated regulatory frameworks and monitoring and control techniques.  A further element of this module is for students to gain an in-depth knowledge of emission control strategies currently applied by industry, e.g. processes modification and implementation of appropriate control mechanisms. 

• Air Quality Parameters indoor and outdoor, pollution sources, their impact and regulation (UK and EU)
• Air sampling and sampling strategies
• Advanced data analysis and dispersion modelling
• Specific pollutants: dust and particulates, odour, bioaerosols and biogas.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Explain the extent, impact and implications of emissions from industrial processes.
• Describe the linkage between major emissions that contribute to air pollution to their related industrial processes
• Discuss emission abatement strategies currently applied in industry and design principles for each of the strategy
• Analyse a specific emission control scenario and apply the design principles to design an appropriate emission control systems.
• Critically evaluate the efficiency of emission control systems based on operational and design parameters through case examples.

• Professor Frederic Coulon

The aim of the module is to introduce the international priorities under the umbrella of the Water-Energy-Food nexus across sectors and scales. The module is premised on the understanding that environmental resources are inextricably intertwined and therefore there is a need of advancing a nexus approach to enable integrated and sustainable management of water, energy and food systems. Students will learn and evaluate a range of innovative technologies that provide significant gains in terms of provision and management of energy, water and food and resources.

• Water-energy-food nexus approaches
• Solar energy technologies, concentrated solar power
• Water and wastewater treatment technologies
• Bioenergy including anaerobic digestion and biogas upgrade/cleanup
• Nutrient and resource recovery
• Renewable energy
• Water and sustainable Agrifood systems
• Decision support technology

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Critically appraise the key issues related to water-energy-food nexus challenges
• Critically evaluate the opportunities in the development and management of the water-energy-resource nexus, tailored to specific sectoral needs.
• Appraise the key indicators for clean technologies

• Dr Robert Simmons

The aim of this module is to improve understanding of the drivers of catchment hydrological processes with regard to water quantity and quality, and how these can be managed through engineering practices including drainage, irrigation and soil erosion control.

Principles of catchment hydrology and hydraulics
Water quantity control.