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Environmental Chemistry and Sustainability

Code: 102497
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Chemistry OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
José Peral Perez
Email :
jose.peral@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

No previous requirements

Objectives

The goal is to get the fundamentals of environmental chemical processes and pollution chemistry. Also, the student will gain skills for the assessment of the behavior and the fate of chemical substances and anthropogenic pollutants in the environment.

Learning outcomes

  1. Communicate orally and in writing in one's own language.
  2. Manage the organisation and planning of tasks.
  3. Resolve problems and make decisions.
  4. Obtain information, including by digital means.
  5. Manage, analyse and synthesise information.
  6. Use IT to treat and present information.
  7. Have numerical calculation skills.
  8. Communicate clearly in English.
  9. Work in a team and show concern for interpersonal relations at work.
  10. Reason in a critical manner
  11. Be ethically committed.
  12. Learn autonomously.
  13. Adapt to new situations.
  14. Propose creative ideas and solutions.
  15. Lead and coordinate work groups.
  16. Show motivation for quality.
  17. Show sensitivity for environmental issues.
  18. Relate basic chemical reactivity with the most common reactions in the environment
  19. Apply basic physical and chemical concepts to explain the behaviour and destination of pollutants.
  20. Describe the basic chemistry techniques for the treatment of contaminated air, water and land.
  21. Describe the principles of green chemistry and its implications.
  22. Use basic models to predict the distribution of pollutants.
  23. Resolve thermodynamic, kinetic and mass equilibrium problems associated with natural substances and pollutants, in the different environmental aspects.
  24. Perform an environmental risk analysis of pollutants in simple situations.
  25. Plan chemical strategies to resolve problems with the decontamination of contaminated air, water or land.
  26. Evaluate the appropriateness of a product or chemical process regarding the principles of green chemistry.
  27. Use risk analysis to determine the environmental impact of chemical pollutants in simple systems.
  28. Define the use of lifecycle analysis in the environmental evaluation of chemical substances and processes.
  29. Evaluate the changes in chemical production processes designed to reduce environmental impact and its economic implications.
  30. Use common English terminology for industrial chemistry, electrochemistry and corrosion, environmental chemistry, green chemistry, quality management, monitoring systems, and financial and business management.
  31. Summarise an article written in English in a reasonable time.

Contents

The hydrosphere


1. Water chemical properties


Water properties. Water cycle. Chemical composition of natural waters. Natural water types. Dissolved gases. Hardness and alkalinity. Main chemical processes in water:  redox processes.


2.  Sea water chemistry


Salinity. Chemical composition. Minority inorganic elements. Organic compounds. Marine pollution.


3. Polluted water treatment


Toxic substances and bioaccumulation. Types of toxic substances. Heavy metals. Classification of polluted waters. Water quality indexes. Drinking water treatment. Municipal wastewater treatment. Industrial wastewater treatment.


 


Soil Chemistry


4. Soil chemistry


Soil formation and weathering. Aluminosilicates. Soil texture and properties. Humus. Soil vertical profile. Soil fluid phase. Phyisisorption and cationic exchange.  Soil pH. Soil acidification. Reclamation of acid soils. Soil salinization. Reclamation of salty soils. Soil remediation techniques.


 


The atmosphere


5. Introduction


Historical precedents. Previous concepts and nomenclature. Measurement units. Earth atmosphere special features. Carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur closed cycles. Halogens and noble gases in the atmosphere. Atmospheric pressure profile. Atmosphere energy balance. Temperature profile and atmospheric layers.


6. Stratosphere chemistry   


The ozone layer. Chapman cycle. Ozone depletion catalytic cycles. Stratosphere study techniques. Anderson’s experiments. Perturbations of the ozone layer. Chlorofluorocarbons. Antarctic ozone hole.


7. Troposphere chemistry


Greenhouse effect: the IPCC data. Urban pollution. Hydroxyl radical and photochemical smog. NO3 radical. Urban pollution consequences. Tropospheric sulfur chemistry: Planetary thermostat hypothesis and Gaia hypothesis. Acid rain. Indoor atmosphere pollution.


8. Atmosphere pollution control


Particle retention. Chemical retention. Car exhaust control. Control of inmission levels (XVPCA).


 


Sustainability an Green Chemistry


9. Risk assessment.


Risk, hazard and the basic risk assessment equation. Green Chemistry. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of chemical reactions. The REACH system.


10. Fugacity models.


Pollutants distribution in the environment. Phase distribution equilibrium constants. Fugacity model level I. Environmental risk characterization.  Fugacity model level II. Examples of application. Quantitative structure-activity relationships.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Theoretical classes 36 1.44 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
Exercise Classes 11 0.44 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30
Study, Exercise Resolution, Reading, and Data Gathering 90 3.6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31
Tutorials 5 0.2 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 25, 26, 29

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Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
2 Individual Homeworks 10% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 29, 30, 31
2 Midterm exam 45% 2 0.08 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30
1 Midterm exam 45% 2 0.08 8, 10, 11, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30
Last Chance Exam 90% 2 0.08 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30

Continuous assessment:

1st Partial: 45% of the final grade

2nd Partial: 45% of the final grade

1st Assignment: 5% of the final grade

2nd Assignment: 5% of the final grade

Second Chance Exam: 90% of the grade. The remaining 10% will be the grade for the assignments. The Second Chance exam will be for each partial.


The midterm exams will consist of multiple-choice questions and questions requiring students to develop reasoning skills.

A minimum final grade of 5.0 is required to pass.


Failure to participate in any of the activities will result in a grade of zero.

If neither of the two written exams is taken, the final grade will be "Not Assessable."


To participate in the resit exams, students must have been previously assessed on a set of activities that account for at least 60% of the total grade for the course (either one of the midterm exams and both individual assignments, or both midterm exams). If a student has not been assessed on at least 60% of the assessments, they will receive a grade of "Not Assessable."


The commission of any irregularity in an assessment act (academic fraud, plagiarism or improper use of AI, unless this use is expressly authorized in the teaching guide), which may lead to a significant variation in the grade, means that this act will be graded with a 0. In the event that the teaching guide provides that in order to pass the subject it is an essential requirement to have obtained a minimum grade in this assessment act or that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject is 0. Apart from this, a disciplinary process may be initiated against the student who incurs any of these irregularities.


Single Assessment

The student who choose the \"Single Assessment\" procedure will have to make a final test containing a theory exam with 25 multiple choice questions an several short questions. Then, he/she will have to solve a number of exercises similar to the ones solved in class.

The final mark of the student will be the weighted average of the above mentioned activities (theory exam 70% and exercises exam 30%).

If the final mark is below 5, the student will have another opportunity to pass the subject through a second chance exam that will take place in a day decided by the Degree Coordination Committee. That second chance exam will allow the student to pass 100% of the total mark (theory and exercises).


Use of AI

Restricted use: For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction or translations,... The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.

Bibliography

Basic Textbooks

X.Domènech, J. Peral, Química Ambiental de Sistemas Terrestres. Reverté. 2006.

 

Complementary Textbooks

C. Orozco y otros, Contaminación Ambiental. Una visión desde la Química. Thomson. 2003.

C. Orozco y otros. Problemas resueltos de Contaminación Ambiental. Thomson. 2003.

C. Baird, Química ambiental. Reverté. Barcelona. 2001.

R.H. Tan, Soil Chemistry. Marcel Dekker. 1993.

R.P Wayne, Chemistry of theAtmospheres. Clarendon Press. 1993.

 

Software

No specific software is used

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English second semester morning-mixed