C2003 Environmental chemistry

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
2/0/1. 2 credit(s) (fasci plus compl plus > 4). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Lisa Emily Melymuk, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. RNDr. Jana Klánová, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Jana Klánová, Ph.D.
RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: Lisa Emily Melymuk, Ph.D.
Supplier department: RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Mon 9:00–10:50 D29/252-RCX1
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
After this course, students should be able to:
- understand the global environmental problems
- understand relations between the chemical structure of chemical substances, their physical-chemical properties and their fate in the environment
- understand the impact of environment properties on the fate of chemicals
- interpret the environmental fate of chemical substances, their environmental transport, interphase transport, phase equilibria and environmental biotic and abiotic transformation
- characterize properties of environmental compartments (atmosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, biosphere) and combine this knowledge with the presence and fate of chemical compounds in these compartments
- understand problems related to pollution of environmental compartments from natural and anthropogenic sources
- explain the relationships between the pollution sources and primary and secondary types of pollution of environmental compartments
- characterize and discuss environmental and health impacts of pollution
- characterize the main types of highly problematic and harmful chemicals, mainly those that are non-degradable or persistent, have the ability to cumulate in abiotic and biotic compartments, posses a broad range of toxic effects, and can be transported to long distances
- describe basic properties of these chemicals, their occurrence, sources, long-range transport, toxicological and ecotoxicological properties
- describe and discuss legislation and policy of these compounds and international conventions
- describe purposes and principles of the activities focused on screening and monitoring of presence of anthropogenic chemicals in the environment
- select the best analytical methods for the individual groups of chemicals
- distinguish between specific sampling methods for determination of volatile, non-volatile, polar and non-polar compounds in air, water, sediment, soil and biota
- review the analytical techniques for the sample preparation, clean-up and fractionation
- compare the separation and identification techniques and their applicability for determination of various organic chemicals in the environmental samples
- define fundamentals of chromatographic and mass spectroscopy methods
- introduce the quality assurance/quality control measures - understand the whole concept of chemical analysis of the environmental samples
Syllabus
  • • Global environmental problems. Chemicals in the environment – definitions, basic approaches. Environmental harmful chemicals.
  • • Fate of chemicals in the environment – transport, transformation. Environmental interface and chemical equilibrium. Parameters characterizing the properties of substances and environmental properties. Relationships between chemical structure and reactivity.
  • • Basic characteristics, problems and environmental chemistry of environmental compartments – atmosphere, soil, sediment, water. Air pollution, smog, ozone layer, global warming. Acidification of the environment. Water pollution, waste waters and their treatment. Primary and secondary soil pollution.
  • • Environmental transport of chemicals in air, water, soils and biota. Abiotic environmental equilibria (air-water, air-soil, air-biota, deposition, sorption, water-solid phase, leaching, runoff …).
  • • Biotic environmental equilibria (bioaccumulation, biomagnifications …).
  • • Abiotic transformations of chemicals. Photochemical transformation processes. Biotic transformations of chemicals. Biodegradation. Biotransformation.
  • • Effects of chemical substances - overview, mechanisms.
  • • Models of environmental distribution of chemicals. Multimedia models. Environmental databases and information systems. Integrated register of pollution.
  • • International conventions and activities focused on environmental substances. New approaches in chemistry, green chemistry, sustainable chemistry.
  • • Environmental contamination. Main groups of environmental pollutants (persistent organic pollutants, toxic metals, volatile organic compounds, detergents, phthalates, pesticides) – basic characteristics, sources, reaction and transport, toxicological and ecotoxicological effects.
  • • Environmental monitoring: purpose and principles, international measures and programs. Conceptual approaches in environmental analytical chemistry.
  • • Sampling methods for air, atmospheric deposition, water, sediment, soil and biota.
  • • Analytical techniques for the sample extraction, clean-up and fractionation of the environmental samples.
  • • Separation and identification techniques with the special focus on chromatography and mass spectroscopy.
  • • Application of the above-discussed techniques for determination of the most important groups of environmental pollutants.
  • • Quality assurance/quality control measures. Interpretation of the analytical data
Literature
  • BEARD, James M. Environmental chemistry in society. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis, 2009, xvii, 345. ISBN 9781420080254. info
  • HITES, R. A. Elements of environmental chemistry. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Intersicence, 2007, xiii, 204. ISBN 9780471998150. info
  • IBÁÑEZ, Jorge Guillermo. Environmental chemistry : fundamentals. New York, NY: Springer, 2007, xviii, 334. ISBN 9780387260617. info
  • SCHWARZENBACH, René P., P. M. GSCHWEND and Dieter M. IMBODEN. Environmental organic chemistry. 2nd ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience, 2003, xiii, 1313. ISBN 0471357502. info
Teaching methods
Education is performed as lectures (weekly) with Powerpoint presentation. Understanding of mechanisms and consequences is emphasized. Students are frequently asked questions and they are encouraged to disscuss the topics. An interactive seminar is held in the end of the course where the students are invited to apply knowledge and skills gained in the course on selected case study.
Assessment methods
Attendance of the lectures is not mandatory but strongly recommended to exploit potential of the interactive approach. Final assessment is by written examination.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught each semester.
General note: www.recetox.muni.cz.
Teacher's information
http://www.recetox.muni.cz
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2011 - only for the accreditation, Autumn 2010 - only for the accreditation, Autumn 2010, Spring 2011, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Autumn 2011 - acreditation, spring 2012 - acreditation, Autumn 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2013, Spring 2014, Autumn 2014, Spring 2015, Autumn 2015, Spring 2016, Autumn 2016, Spring 2017, autumn 2017, spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Spring 2019, Autumn 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, autumn 2021, Spring 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2020, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/autumn2020/C2003