Course syllabus

Course memorandum Advanced Wastewater Engineering (ACE040)

2023

Examiner & Responsible teacher: Britt-Marie Wilén

 

Introduction Human activities generate urban and industrial wastewater. If the wastewater is discharged un-treated, it causes deterioration of aquatic environments due to the release of pollutants, such as organic matter and nutrients. Moreover, an important proportion of wastewater has a faecal origin, being a potential risk due to the presence of pathogenic microorganisms and viruses. Therefore, wastewater needs to be collected and treated before it is discharged back to the environment. Wastewater is collected in a sewer system that leads it to a wastewater treatment plant. Additional water such as groundwater and storm water can enter, hence leading to dilution of the wastewater. Storm water is generated when rainwater is entering streets and other surfaces in the urban environment. In some cases, the stormwater is collected and led to the sewer system, in other cases it is treated separately. Wastewater is treated in the wastewater treatment plants where the pollutants are reduced to the limits set by national regulations and guidelines which vary depending on the location of the treatment plant and sensitivity of the receiving water. Wastewater treatment plants are very dynamic systems where the environmental conditions can change fast due to differences in flow entering the sewer system. Different treatment processes exist that treats the wastewater in various unit processes. The degree of treatment can vary depending on plant design and operation.

 

Aim The aim of this course is to give the students a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the wastewater system and skills to design and analyse wastewater treatment plants.

 

General information

7,5 Credits

Grading: TH – Five, Four, Three, Not passed

Education cycle: Second-cycle

Major Subject: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Department: 20 – ARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING

Teaching language: English

The course is open for exchange students

Credit distribution:

• Written examination: 4 credits
• Laboratory exercise & group assignment: 3.5 credits

 

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

• Define the most important concepts of the entire wastewater system from collection of sewage and stormwater to treatment systems and understand the consequences of discharge to recipient.
• Describe different types of collection systems, including the sewer system and stormwater collection system.
• Understand how the wastewater collection system influences the treatment system.
• Apply existing theories to design different types of treatment systems and to identify critical parameters and make appropriate assumptions and judgements.
• Understand the microbial, chemical and physical processes involved in advanced wastewater treatment systems.
• Explain the performance of treatment systems by analysing either monitored data or results from computer simulations.
• Understand the main concepts of sustainability related to the wastewater system.
• Obtain the skills to present the project assignment in a professional manner, both orally and in written text as well as in a critical manner assess and discuss the project performed by another group.

 

Content

The course is dealing with the wastewater system from collection to treatment of wastewater. More specifically the course is dealing with:

• Introduction to the entire wastewater system.
• Analysis and design of different types of wastewater and wastewater treatment systems.
• Computer models for wastewater treatment systems.
• Microbiology/biotechnology, physical and chemical processes related to treatment systems.

 

Organisation

The course consists of approximately 70 hours including lectures, calculation exercises, one group assignment, one individual assignment, one study visit, one laboratory exercise and one computer simulation exercise.

 

Attendance is compulsory for:

• The computer simulation exercise (JASS).
• The study visit (Gryaab).
• Parts of the scheduled time for the group assignment.
• Laboratory exercise.

 

Literature

The literature for the course consists of:

• Course book (may change): Wastewater Treatment – biological and chemical processes, Henze et al. Polyteknisk Forlag. Some copies of the book is available to borrow at WET but can also be purchased from (ca 499 DKR): https://www.polyteknisk.dk/home/

 

• Lecture notes, hand-outs and print out material. This will be accessible at the course homepage

 

Examination

To pass the course the students must:

• Pass the written exam (graded 3,4,5).
• Have presented and reported the group assignment (G/U).
• Have reported the individual assignment (graded 3,4,5).
• Have attended and reported the results from the computer simulation exercise.
• Have participated in the study visit.
• Have participated and reported the laboratory exercise.

 

 

The final grade on the course is calculated as

70% Examination

30% Individual assignment