ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Main Topic 1: Ecological Concepts

MATTER, ENERGY AND LIFE

Introduction
This lesson discusses first the difference between environmental science and environmental
engineering. As a review of previous course, concepts like matter, atoms and molecules will be defined.
Here, we will learn the concepts of ecology relating to energy, living organisms, ecosystems, trophic
levels, and material cycles.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 1 (Syllabus)
 Acquire high level of awareness about the environment and its significance.
Topic Outcomes:
 Recognize the concept of ecology and their interrelation to the environment and life.
 Define species, populations, communities, and ecosystems, and summarize the ecological
significance of trophic levels.
 To compare the ways that water, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus cycle within
ecosystems.

Environmental Science and Engineering

As defined in the book Environmental Science: A Global Concern 12th Edition, environment is from the
French environner which means to encircle or surround. Environment can be defined in two:
 The circumstances or conditions that surround an organism or group of organisms, or
 The complex of social or cultural conditions that affect an individual or community.

What is Environmental Science?

 The systematic study of our environment and our proper place in it.
 A highly interdisciplinary that integrates natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities in a
broad, holistic study of the world around us.
 Mission-oriented because it seeks new, valid, contextual knowledge about the natural world and
our impacts on it.
 With this, we are able to learn about the problems we have created with the environment and
take responsibility of our actions.
 Environmental science make us:
o Aware and appreciate the natural and built environment;
o Knowledgeable of natural systems and ecological concepts;
o Understand the current environmental issues; and
o Able to use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills on environmental issues.

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What is Environmental Engineering?

Environmental engineering is a branch of engineering that aims to improve the quality of
environment and promotes protection of people from adverse environmental effects like pollution.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mission of environmental engineers is to improve
recycling, waste disposal, public health, and water and air pollution control (Lucas, 2014).

History of Environmental Engineering (Vesilind, Morgan, & Heine, 2010)

From the beginning of civilization, environmental engineers provided clean water and managed
wastes as it was necessary whenever people congregated in organized settlements. In the ancient cities,
the availability of a reliable water supply became a defensive necessity. The so called engineers of
antiquity were the builders of wells and aqueducts. They were also the people who built the city walls
and moats, as well as the catapults and other engines of war. During mid-1700s, the term “civil
engineering” was born as engineers who built facilities for the civilian population began to distinguish
themselves from the engineers primarily engaged in matters of warfare. In the formative years of the
United States, engineers were mostly self-educated or were trained at the newly formed United States
Military Academy.
With the arrival of industrialization, unsanitary conditions in the cities were unbelievably great
due to the lack of water and waste management. Though, there was no public outcry until they found
out that water carry diseases. From then on, the civil engineers were also tasked to make sure the water
would not be a vector for disease transmission. In the late 19th century, the major objective was to
eliminate the waterborne disease. Public health became a primary concern of the civil engineers as they
were entrusted with providing water supplies to the population centers. The civil engineers who were
concerned with the drainage of cities and the provision of clean water supplies became public health
engineers (in Britain) and sanitary engineers (in the United States).

Elements of Life
 Ecology is defined as the scientific study of relationships between organisms and their
environment.
 It is essential in ecology to understand the function of nutrients and energy in a system that is
where they come from and where they go.
 We can understand life based on the movement of matter and energy that is from living
organisms to ecosystem.
 The foundations of organisms are the carbon-based (organic) compounds.

Matter
- Everything that takes up space and has mass.
- Four states of matter are: Solid, Liquid, Gas and Plasma
- Water is the best example of matter as it can be in solid (ice), liquid (drinking water), or gas
(water vapour).

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Source: (Bellati, 2018)

- Examples of plasma are sun, lightning and very hot flames. It occurs when matter is intensely
heated that causes electron released and particles are ionized (electrically charged).

Source: (Helmenstine, Learn How to Identify Plasma With These Examples, 2019)

Conservation of Matter
- “Matter is neither created nor destroyed, rather, it is recycled over and over again.”
- It may happen that the molecules making up a body may contain atoms that once were part of
the body of a dinosaur.
- Since chemical elements are used and reused by living organisms it is possible that they contain
atoms that were part of many smaller prehistoric organisms.
- As defined matter does not disappear, it just goes somewhere.

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How does Conservation of Matter apply to Environmental Science?

Conservation of Matter explains that the components of environmental systems are
intricately connected that is all matter comes from somewhere, and all waste goes somewhere. Like
for example, when we throw away our wastes, they don’t really go “away,” they just go somewhere
else, to stay there for a while and then move on.

Elements
- Substances that cannot be broken down into simpler forms by ordinary chemical reactions.
- There are 122 known elements, 92 are natural and 30 are created under special conditions. All
has distinct chemical characteristics.
- Four Elements responsible for more than 96% of the mass of most living organisms: OXYGEN,
CARBON, HYDROGEN & NITROGEN.

Atoms
- Smallest particles that exhibit the characteristics of an element.
- Atoms consists positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and electrically neutral
neutrons.
- Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass and they are clustered in the nucleus
in the center of the atom.
- Electrons are smaller compare to the other particles. They orbit the nucleus at the speed of
light.

Source: (Neo, 2017)

- Atomic number is the characteristic number of protons per atom.

- Atomic mass is the sum of protons and neutrons.
- Isotopes are forms of an element that differ in atomic mass. Example: Oxygen can have one or
two extra neutrons, making them the isotopes 17O or 18O, instead of the normal 16O.
- Compounds are substances composed of different kinds of atoms. Example: Sodium Chloride
(NaCl).
- Molecules are a pair or group of atoms that can exist as a single unit. Example: Molecular oxygen
(O2)

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Ions
- When atoms gain or lose electrons, it acquires a negative or positive electrical charge.
- Charged atoms are called ions.
- 2 types of Ion:
o Anions - Negatively charged ions. Example: Chlorine (Cl) readily gains electrons, forming
chlorine ions (Cl− ).
o Cations - Positively charged. Example: A hydrogen (H) atom can give up its sole electron
to become a hydrogen ion (H +).
- Acids are substances that readily give up hydrogen ions in water.
- Bases are substances that readily bond with H+ ions.
- pH describes the strength of an acid and base.

Source: (Tunesi, 2020)

Organic Compounds
- The chains and rings of carbon atoms form the skeletons of organic compounds. As defined
above, organic compounds are the foundation of living organisms.
- Four major categories of organic compounds in living things:
o Lipids (including fats and oils)
o Carbohydrates (including sugars, starches, and cellulose)
o Proteins (composed of chains of subunits called amino acids)
o Nucleic acids (complex organic substance present in living cells, especially DNA or RNA).

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- Nucleotides carry information between cells, tissues, and organs and the sources of intracellular
energy. Nucleotides form long chains called ribo nucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribo nucleic acid
(DNA) that are essential for storing and expressing genetic information.
- Four kinds of nucleotides that occur in DNA: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thyamine.

Cells
- Minute compartments within which the processes of life are carried out.
- All living organisms are composed of cells.
- Bacteria, some algae, and protozoa are single celled organisms.
- Higher organisms have many cells, usually with many different cell varieties. A human being is
composed of several trillion cells of about two hundred distinct types.

Source: (BD Editors, 2020)

ANIMAL CELL

Source: (BD Editors, 2020)

PLANT CELL

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- Enzymes are a special class of proteins that carry out all the chemical reactions required to
create various structures. They also provide energy and materials to carry out cell functions,
dispose of wastes, and perform other functions of life at the cellular level. Enzymes are
molecular catalyst because they regulate chemical reactions without being used up or
inactivated in the process.
- Metabolism is the multitude of enzymatic reactions performed by an organism.

Energy

 The ability to do work, such as moving matter over a distance or causing a heat transfer
between two objects at different temperatures.
 It is measured in units of heat (calories) or work (joules).
 Types of Energy
o Kinetic Energy - energy contained in moving objects
o Potential Energy - stored energy that is dormant but available for use.
o Chemical Energy - stored in the food that you eat and the gasoline that you put into your car
o Heat - the energy that can be transferred between objects of different temperature.

Source: (Helmenstine, 10 Types of Energy and Examples, 2020)

 Units of Energy
o One joule (J) is the work done when one kg is accelerated at one meter per second per
second.
o One calorie is the amount of energy needed to heat one gram of pure water one degree
Celsius.

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o A calorie can also be measured as 4.184 J.

Thermodynamics
- A study that deals with the transfer of energy in natural processes.
- It deals with the rates of flow and the transformation of energy from one form or quality to
another.
- First law of thermodynamics
o States that energy is conserved. It is neither created nor destroyed under normal
conditions.
o Example: Energy may be transformed from the energy in chemical bond to heat energy,
but the total amount does not change.
- Second law of thermodynamics
o States that, with each successive energy transfer or transformation in a system, less
energy is available to do work. Energy is degraded to lower-quality forms, or it dissipates
and is lost, as it is used.
o Example: When you drive a car the chemical energy of the gas is degraded to kinetic
energy and heat, which dissipates, eventually, to space.
o Application of second law of thermodynamics to organisms and biological systems:
Organisms are organized structurally and metabolically. To maintain these processes,
constant care, maintenance and supply of energy is required to keep up the
organization. When energy is used by a cell to do work, some of that energy is
dissipated or lost as heat. If cellular energy supplies are interrupted or depleted, the
result is death.

Energy for Life

 Organisms such as blind shrimp, giant tubeworms, strange crabs, and bizarre clams
(extremophiles - organisms that have been discovered on Earth that survive in environments
that were once thought not to be able to sustain life) that live in sunless ecosystems (deep ocean
floor) get energy through chemosynthesis.
 Chemosynthesis is the process in which bacteria use chemical bonds between inorganic
elements, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or hydrogen gas (H2), to provide energy for synthesis of
organic molecules.

Solar Energy - essential to life.

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Two reasons why:

1. The sun provides warmth. Most organisms survive within a relatively narrow temperature range.
o Above 40 degree Celsius, most biomolecules begin to break down or become distorted
and nonfunctional.
o At low temperatures (near 0 degree Celsius), some chemical reactions of metabolism
occur too slowly to enable organisms to grow and reproduce.
o The Earth's water and atmosphere help to moderate, maintain, and distribute the sun's
heat.
2. Almost all organisms on the Earth's surface depend on solar radiation for life-sustaining energy.
This is captured by green plants, algae, and some bacteria in a process called photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis converts radiant energy into high-quality chemical energy in the bonds that hold
together organic molecules.

Source: (Cunnigham & Cunningham, 2012)

Energy Exchange in Ecosystems
Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce sugars and other organic molecules.
Consumers use oxygen and break down sugars during cellular respiration. Plants also carry out

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respiration, but during the day, if light, water, and CO 2 are available, they have a net production of O 2
and carbohydrates.

From Species to Ecosystem

• Ecology – the scientific study of relationships between organisms and their environment.
• Species – refers to all organisms of the same kind that are genetically similar enough to breed in
nature and produce live, fertile offspring.
• Population – consists of all the members of a species living in a given area at the same time.
• Biological Community – All of the populations living and interacting in a particular area.
• Ecosystem – (Ecological system) is composed of a biological community and its physical
environment. The environment includes:
o Abiotic factors - nonliving components such as climate, water, minerals, and sunlight
o Biotic factors – examples are organisms and their products (secretions, wastes, and
remains) and effects in a given area.

Productivity
- One of the major properties of an ecosystem.
- The amount of biomass (biological matter) produced in a given area during a given period of
time.
- Two types of productivity:
o Primary Productivity – e.g. photosynthesis, because it is the basis for almost all other
growth in an ecosystem.
o Secondary Productivity - manufacture of biomass by organisms that eat plants
- A given ecosystem may have very high total productivity, but if decomposers decompose
organic material as rapidly as it is formed, the net primary productivity will be low.

Food Chain
- A linked feeding series.

Source: (The K8 School)

Food Web
- Interconnection of individual food chains.

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Trophic Level
- From the Greek trophe which means “food”.
- An organism’s feeding status in an ecosystem.

Source: (The K8 School)

Source: (Cunnigham & Cunningham, 2012)

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Producers
- Organisms that photosynthesize, mainly green plants and algae.
Consumers – organisms that consumes the chemical energy harnessed by the producers.
o Herbivores – plant eaters, e.g. goat, cow, horse, grasshopper, etc.
o Carnivores – flesh eaters, e.g. lion, hyena, caracal, wolf, etc.
o Omnivores – eat both plant and animal matter, e.g. man
Scavengers
- Organisms that clean up dead carcasses of larger animals such as crows, jackals, and vultures.
Detritivores
- Consume litter, debris, and dung such as ants and beetles.
Decomposer
- Organisms that complete the final breakdown and recycling of organic materials such as fungi
and bacteria.
- These microorganisms are second in importance to producers because without their activity
nutrients would remain locked-up in the organic compounds of dead organisms and discarded
body wastes, rather than being made available to successive generations of organisms.

Ecological Pyramids
Source: (BD Editors, 2017)

Definition
- A graphical representation of the relationship between different organisms in an ecosystem.
- The trophic levels are represented by bars that make up the pyramid.
- The flow of energy in the pyramid moves up. It starts with the primary producers at the bottom,
followed by the primary consumers, then secondary consumers, and so on.
- The height of the bars are all be the same, it varies in width of each bar as it is based on the
quantity of the aspect being measured.

Types of Ecological Pyramid

1. Pyramid of numbers
- Presents the number of organisms in each trophic level without any consideration for
their size. Unit: number of organisms.

Source: (Biology Notes for IGCSE 2014, 2014)

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2. Pyramid of biomass
- Presents the total mass of organisms at each trophic level.
- This type of pyramid is largest at the bottom and gets smaller going up, but exceptions
do exist.
- The biomass of one trophic level is calculated by multiplying the number of individuals
in the trophic level by the average mass of one individual in a particular area.
- Unit: g/m2 or Kg/m-2.

Source: (Mondal)
3. Pyramid of productivity
- Presents the total amount of energy present at each trophic level, as well as the loss of
energy between trophic levels.
- The most widely used type of ecological pyramid. Unlike the two other types, this can
never be largest at the apex and smallest at the bottom.
- It’s an important type of ecological pyramid because it examines the flow of energy in
an ecosystem over time. Unit: J/m2.yr1

Source: (Mondal)

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Material Cycles
• The water cycle distributes water among atmosphere, biosphere, surface, and groundwater.
• Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are among the essential elements that also move through
biological, atmospheric, and earth systems (biogeochemical cycles).
• Earth is the only planet in our solar system that provides a suitable environment for life as we
know it.
• Maintenance of these conditions requires a constant recycling of materials between the biotic
(living) and abiotic (nonliving) components of ecosystems.

Hydrologic Cycle
- The path of water through our environment.
- The most familiar material cycle.
- Water is responsible for metabolic processes within cells, for maintaining the flows of key
nutrients through ecosystem and for global-scale distribution of heat and energy.

Source: (Canada.ca, 2013)

Evaporation
- As water is heated by the sun, surface molecules become sufficiently energized to break
free of the attractive force binding them together, and then evaporate and rise as
invisible vapor in the atmosphere.
Transpiration
- Water vapor is also emitted from plant leaves by a process called transpiration. Every
day an actively growing plant transpires 5 to 10 times as much water as it can hold at
once.

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Condensation
- As water vapor rises, it cools and eventually condenses, usually on tiny particles of dust
in the air. When it condenses it becomes a liquid again or turns directly into a solid (ice,
hail or snow). These water particles then collect and form clouds.
Precipitation
- Precipitation in the form of rain, snow and hail comes from clouds. Clouds move around
the world, propelled by air currents. For instance, when they rise over mountain ranges,
they cool, becoming so saturated with water that water begins to fall as rain, snow or
hail, depending on the temperature of the surrounding air.
Runoff
- Excessive rain or snowmelt can produce overland flow to creeks and ditches. Runoff is
visible flow of water in rivers, creeks and lakes as the water stored in the basin drains
out.
Percolation
- Some of the precipitation and snow melt moves
downwards percolates or infiltrates through cracks, joints and pores in soil and rocks
until it reaches the water table where it becomes groundwater.
Groundwater
- Subterranean water is held in cracks and pore spaces. Depending on the geology, the
groundwater can flow to support streams. It can also be tapped by wells. Some
groundwater is very old and may have been there for thousands of years.
Water table
- The water table is the level at which water stands in a shallow well.
Note: The above definitions of terms are from (Canada.ca, 2013)

Carbon Cycles
The carbon cycle begins with the intake of carbon dioxide by photosynthetic organisms. Carbon
(and hydrogen and oxygen) atoms are incorporated into sugar molecules during photosynthesis. Carbon
dioxide is eventually released during respiration, closing the cycle. The carbon cycle is of special interest
because biological accumulation and release of carbon is a major factor in climate regulation.

Carbon Cycle Steps (Roy & Ladefoged)

Step 1: Carbon enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide from respiration (breathing) and combustion
(burning).
Step 2: Carbon dioxide is absorbed by producers (life forms that make their own food e.g. plants) to
make carbohydrates in photosynthesis. These producers then put off oxygen.
Step 3: Animals feed on the plants. Thus, passing the carbon compounds along the food chain. Most of
the carbon these animals consume however is exhaled as carbon dioxide. This is through the process of
respiration. The animals and plants then eventually die.
Step 4: The dead organisms (dead animals and plants) are eaten by decomposers in the ground. The
carbon that was in their bodies is then returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. In some

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circumstances the process of decomposition is prevented. The decomposed plants and animals may
then be available as fossil fuel in the future for combustion.

Source: (NESTA with modifications by UCAR, 2007)

Nitrogen Cycle
- Nitrogen gas molecules (N2) make up 78% of our atmosphere.
- Plants rely on bacteria living in soils, in plant tissues, or in aquatic systems to capture N2. These
nitrogen fixing bacteria have proteins that can break N2 bonds.
- Of the many nitrogen compounds, only nitrate (NO3) and ammonium (NH4) can be used directly
by plants. These are the sources of nitrogen for forming amino acids, the building blocks for
complex organic compounds such as proteins.
- Where oxygen is available, bacteria may combine ammonia (NH3) with oxygen to form nitrous
oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO), nitrite (NO2), or nitrate (NO3).
- In oxygen-poor conditions, such as in streambed sediments, saturated soils, or wetlands,
denitrifying bacteria may remove oxygen from nitrate to form gaseous compounds, especially
nitrous oxide or nitrogen gas. Conversion to these gaseous forms is known as denitrification
(important in removing nitrogen from aquatic systems that suffer from eutrophication).
- Nitrogen moves through the food web as organism die, decompose, or are consumed.
- Decomposers, fungi and bacteria, release ammonia and ammonium ions, which then are
available for nitrite formation.
- Organisms also release proteins when plants shed their leaves, needles, flowers, fruits, and
cones; or when animals shed hair, feathers, skin, exoskeletons, pupal cases, and silk, excrement,
or urine, all of which are rich in nitrogen.

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• Urinary wastes are especially high in nitrogen because they contain the detoxified wastes of
protein metabolism.

Source: (BD Editors, 2019)

Common forms of Nitrogen

Name Characteristics

Makes up 78% of atmosphere; can be fixed by bacteria, cyanobacteria, some

Nitrogen Gas (N2)
marine algae.

Gaseous form; corrosive; common agricultural fertilizer that bonds with H+ to

Ammonia (NH3)
form NH4.

Ammonium (NH4) Directly usable by plants; positive charge helps adhere to clays in soils.

Ion with negative electrical charge; a step in nitrification process (conversion of

Nitrite (NO2)
NH4 to NO3); toxic to plants; usually present temporarily or in low quantities.

Nitrate (NO3) Directly usable by plants; products of nitrification.

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Diverse compounds, such as proteins; must be converted to NH4 for use by

Organic Nitrogen
plants. Organic to inorganic transition is mineralization.

Various combinations such as NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), NO (nitric oxide), and N2O
(nitrous oxide); fuel combustion in vehicles and industry produces most NOx;
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
rainfall washes NOx into soils and waterways. NO2 and N2 also result from
denitrification by bacteria.

Phosphorus Cycle
- Phosphorus is the most important among the many elements released to ecosystem from rock
formations because it is often limited in supply.
- Phosphorus is an essential component of all cells. Compounds containing this element store and
release a great deal of energy, so phosphorus-compounds, such as ATP, are primary participants
in energy-transfer reactions in cells.
- Phosphorus is also a key component of proteins, enzymes, and tissues.
- Low levels of phosphorus limit plant growth. Abundant phosphorus stimulates lush plant and
algal growth, making it a major water pollutant.
- Phosphorus cycle is really a one-way path. This is because phosphorus has no atmospheric form,
in which it can quickly recirculate.
- Phosphorus travels gradually downstream, as it is leached from rocks and minerals, taken up by
the food web, and eventually released into water bodies that deliver it to the ocean.
- Phosphorus cycles repeatedly through the food web, as inorganic phosphorus is taken up by
plants, incorporated into organic molecules, and passed on to consumers.
- Though phosphorus washes down river to the ocean, where it accumulates in ocean sediments.
Over geologic time, these deposits can be uplifted end exposed, so they become available to
terrestrial life again.
- The phosphate use for detergents and fertilizers today are mined from exposed ocean
sediments millions of years old.

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Source: (BD Editors, 2017)

References

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Vesilind, P. A., Morgan, S. M., & Heine, L. G. (2010). Introduction to Environmental Engineering,
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EVOLUTION, BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES, AND SPECIES INTERACTIONS

Introduction
This lesson includes the discussions about how species diversity is produced
through evolution, how the biological communities are shaped through species
interactions and how the species and populations are affected by community
properties. Also, it explains the dynamic and changing communities.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 1 (Syllabus)
 Acquire high level of awareness about the environment and its significance.
Topic Outcome
 Describe how evolution produces species diversity
 Discuss how species interactions shape biological communities.

Evolution Produces Species Diversity

We know that each species adapts the environment where it lives. Examples are
polar bears living in sunless, super-cold arctic winter and saguaro cactus surviving the
blistering temperature and dryness of the desert.
Source: aminoapps.com
Adaptation
- One of the most important concepts in biology.
- The acquisition of traits that allow a species to survive in its environment.
2 ways of using the term “Adapt”
1. Acclimation – When an individual organism can respond immediately to a
changing environment.
Example: Keeping a house plant indoors all winter and then put it out in full
sunlight in the spring. The leaves become damaged or the plant may grow
new leaves with thicker cuticles and denser pigments that block the sun’s
rays. Although the capacity to acclimate is inherited, houseplants in each
generation must develop their own protective leaf epidermis.
2. Genetic traits - passed from generation to generation and allow a species to
live more successfully in its environment. This process of adaptation to
environment is explained by the theory of evolution.
 Evolution – the basic idea is that species change over generations
because individuals compete for scarce resources.
 Natural Selection – the process of better-selected individuals passing their
traits to the next generation.
 Mutations – changes to the DNA coding sequence of individuals that
occurs occasionally, and the changed sequences are inherited by
offspring.

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Limiting Factors of Species

Pressure and influence to fitness of an individual and their offspring are exerted
by factors such as environmental. With this, species have limitations in where they can
live. These limiting factors are:
1. Physiological stress due to inappropriate levels of some critical
environmental factor, such as moisture, light, temperature, pH, or specific
nutrients.
2. Competition with other species
3. Predation, including parasitism and disease
4. Luck.

Critical Factor
- According to the chemist Justus von Liebig (1840), the single factor in shortest
supply relative to demand is the critical factor determining where a species lives.
- Temperature, moisture level, nutrient supply, soil and water chemistry, living
space, and other environmental factors must be at appropriate levels for
organisms to persist.

Tolerance Limits
- Ecologist Victor Shelford (1877-1968) expanded Liebig’s principle.
- He stated that each environmental factor has both minimum and maximum
levels, called tolerance limits, beyond which particular species cannot survive or
is unable to reproduce.
- The single factor closest to these survival limits is the critical factor that limits
where a particular organism can live.
- In some species, tolerance limits affect the distribution of young differently than
they affect adults.

Ecological Niche
 Habitat – the place or set of environmental conditions in which a particular
organism lives.
 Ecological Niche – describes both the role played by a species in a biological
community and the set of environmental factors that determine its distribution.
 Charles Elton (1900-1991) – British Ecologist who defined the concept of niche in
1927. According to him, each species had a role in a community of species, and
the niche defined its way of obtaining food, the relationships it had with other
species, and the services it provided to its community.
 G. E. Hutchinson (1903–1991) – The American limnologist who, thirty years later,
proposed a more biophysical definition of niche. According to him, every
species exists within a range of physical and chemical conditions such as
temperature, light levels, acidity, humidity, or salinity. It also exists within a set of

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biological interactions such as predators and prey present, defenses, or

nutritional resources available.
 Generalists – species that tolerate a wide range of conditions or exploit a wide
range of resources. Example: Species that thrive in broad variety of environments
such as weedy species or pests (rats, cockroaches, or dandelions).
 Specialists – species that have a narrow ecological niche. Examples are Giant
Panda and Giant Saguaro.

Speciation
• Speciation
o The development of a new species.
o As a population becomes more adapted to its ecological niche, it may
develop specialized or distinctive traits that eventually differentiate it
entirely from its biological cousins.
2 kinds of speciation:
o Allopatric Speciation – speciation that occurs when populations are
geographically separated.
*Geographic Isolation – when the habitat are far enough apart that
population were genetically isolated; they couldn’t interbreed with
populations on the other habitat.
o Sympatric Speciation – speciation that occurs within one geographic
area.
*Behavioral Isolation – when two identical species live in similar habitats
but have different mating calls. This difference is enough to prevent
interbreeding.
• Directional Selection – the shift toward one extreme of a trait.

Taxonomy
- The study of types of organisms and their relationships.
- With this, organisms can be traced which common ancestors they have
descended.

Binomials
o also called Scientific or Latin Name
o Identify and describe species using Latin or Latinized nouns and
adjectives, or names of people or places.
o Scientists communicate using scientific names instead of common names
like lion, dandelion, or ant to avoid confusion.

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Species Interactions
- Competition leads to resource allocation.
- Predation is an important type of selective pressure.
- Symbiosis benefits both species involved.

Competition
- A type of antagonistic relationship within a biological community.
- Organisms compete for resources that are in limited supply such as energy and
matter in usable forms, living space, and specific sites to carry out life’s activities.
- Competition shapes a species population and biological community by causing
individuals and species to shift their focus from one segment of a resource type
to another.
Types of competition:
 Intraspecific competition – competition among members of the same
species.
 Interspecific competition – competition between members of different
species.

Predator
- Any organism that feeds directly on another living organism, whether or not this
kills the prey.
- Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, which feed on live prey, are predators.
- Predation is a powerful but complex influence on species populations in
communities.
Predation affects:
1. All stages in the life cycles of predator and prey species.
2. Many specialized food-obtaining mechanisms.
3. The evolutionary adjustments in behavior and body characteristics that
help prey avoid being eaten and help predators more efficiently catch
their prey.

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Source: (McLaughlin, 2020)

Symbiosis
- Two or more species live intimately together, with their fates linked.
- Symbiotic relationships often enhance the survival of one or both partners.

Types of Symbiosis:
 Mutualism – type of symbiosis in which both members’ benefits. (e.g. Dogs
and Humans)
 Commensalism – type of symbiosis in which one member clearly benefits
and the other apparently is neither benefited nor harmed. (e.g. a spider
building a web on a tree)
 Parasitism – a form predation may also be considered symbiosis because
of the dependency of the parasite on its host. (fleas and mosquitoes feed
on blood from other organisms
 Endosymbiosis – one species living inside another one. (e.g. Protozoans
that live inside termites and help them digest wood)
 Ectosymbiosis – one species living on the surface of the other species.
(e.g. Lice that feed on the skin, blood, or oil secretions of the host)

Keystone Species
- Plays a critical role in a biological community that is out of proportion to its
abundance.
- Thought to be the top predators like lions, wolves, and tigers that limited
herbivore abundance and reduced the herbivory of plants.
- Scientists now recognize that less-conspicuous species also play keystone roles.

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Community Properties
- Productivity is a measure of biological activity.
- Abundance and diversity measure the number and variety of organisms.
- Resilience and stability make communities resistant to disturbance.

Primary Productivity
- The rate of biomass production.
- An indication of the rate of solar energy conversion to chemical energy.
- The energy left after respiration is net primary production.

Abundance and Diversity

- Abundance is an expression of the total number of organisms in a biological
community.
- Diversity is a measure of the number of different species, ecological niches, or
genetic variation present.
- The abundance of a particular species often is inversely related to the total
diversity of the community.
- Communities with a very large number of species often have only a few
members of any given species in a particular area.
- Diversity decreases but abundance within species increases as we go from the
equator toward the poles.

Ecological Structure
- Ecological structure refers to patterns of spatial distribution of individuals and
populations within a community, as well as the relation of a particular community
to its surroundings.
- At the local level, even in a relatively homogeneous environment, individuals in a
single population can be distributed randomly, clumped together, or in highly
regular patterns.
- In randomly arranged populations, individuals live wherever resources are
available.
- Ordered patterns may be determined by the physical environment but are more
often the result of biological competition.

Resilience and Stability

- Many biological communities tend to remain relatively stable and constant over
time.
- Robert MacArthur (1955) - a graduate student at Yale, proposed that the more
complex and interconnected a community is, the more stable and resilient it will
be in the face of disturbance.

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Three kinds of stability or resiliency in ecosystems:

1. Constancy – lack of fluctuations in composition or functions
2. Inertia - resistance to perturbations
3. Renewal - ability to repair damage after disturbance

Edges and Boundaries

- The boundary between one habitat and
its neighbors is an important aspect of
community structure. These relationships
are called edge effects.
- The edge of a patch of habitat is
sometime relatively sharp and distinct.
- In moving from a woodland patch into a
grassland or cultivated field, you sense a
dramatic change from the cool, dark,
quiet forest interior to the windy, sunny,
warmer, open space of the meadow.
- In other cases, one habitat type
intergrades very gradually into another, so
Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)
there is no distinct border.
- Ecotones are what the ecologists call the boundaries between adjacent
communities.
- Closed Community - a community that is sharply divided from its neighbors.
- Open Community - a community with gradual or indistinct boundaries over
which many species cross.
*Often this distinction is a matter of degree or perception.

Dynamic and Changing Communities

- Some biological communities are dependent on periodic disturbance.
- Introduced species can cause profound community change.

Ecological Succession
- Climax Community is the community that developed last and lasted the longest.
- Ecological Succession is the history of community development. When a
succession occurs, organisms occupy a site and change the environmental
conditions.
2 kinds of succession:
1. Primary succession - Land that is bare of soil (a sandbar, mudslide, rock face,
and volcanic flow) is colonized by living organisms where none lived before.
2. Secondary succession - When an existing community is disturbed, a new one
develops from the biological legacy of the old.

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- Ecological development or facilitation - In both kinds of succession, when

organisms change the environment by modifying soil, light levels, food supplies,
and microclimate, the change permits new species to colonize and eventually
replace the previous species.
- Pioneer species - In primary succession on land, the first colonists (microbes,
mosses, and lichens) that can withstand a harsh environment with few resources.

Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)

An example of primary succession, shown in five stages (left to right). Bare rocks are colonized by
lichens and mosses, which trap moisture and build soil for grasses, shrubs, and eventually trees.

Disturbance
- Any force that disrupts the established patterns of species diversity and
abundance, community structure, or community properties.
- Disturbances on earth: landslides, mudslides, hailstorms, earthquakes, hurricanes,
tornadoes, tidal waves, wildfires, and volcanoes.
- Animals can cause disturbance too.
- Disturbance-adapted species - species that can survive periodic disturbance
(survive fires underground, or resist the flames, and then reseed quickly after
fires).

Introduced Species
- Continuous introduction of new community members and the disappearance of
previously existing species are requirements of succession.

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- New species move in as conditions become suitable; others die or move out as
the community changes.
- New species can be introduced after a stable community already has become
established. Some of them cannot compete with existing species and fail to
become established. Others are able to fit into and become part of the
community, defining new ecological niches.
- If an introduced species preys upon or competes more successfully with one or
more populations that are native to the community, the entire nature of the
community can be altered.

References:

Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2012). Environmental Science: A Global

Concern, Twelfth Edition. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

McLaughlin, K. (2020, May 16). Predation. Retrieved July 26, 2020, from Biology
Dictionary: https://biologydictionary.net/predation/

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BIOMES

Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn about the characteristics of different biomes. Also, the
marine environment and freshwater ecosystem characteristics will be included in the
discussions. At the end, overall patterns of human disturbance of world biomes are presented.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 1 (Syllabus)
 Acquire high level of awareness about the environment and its significance.
Topic Outcome
 State the characteristics of some major terrestrial biomes as well as the factors that
determine their distribution.

Biomes
- General type of communities with similar climate conditions, growth patterns, and vegetation
types.

Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)

MAJOR WORLD BIOMES

Terrestrial Biomes
- Characteristics of biological communities vary with temperature, precipitation, and latitude.
- Hot, humid regions generally have greater biological productivity than cold or dry regions.

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- Climate graphs are used to describe and compare precipitation and temperature in different
biomes.
- Temperature and precipitation are the most important determinants in biome distribution on
land.
- If the general temperature range and precipitation level is known, the kind of biological
community likely to occur there can be predicted in the absence of human disturbance.
- Vertical zonation occurs as vegetation type change rapidly from warm and dry to cold and wet
as you go up a mountain.

Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)

According to average annual temperature and precipitation, shown in figure the biomes that most likely
to occur in the absence of human disturbance or other disruptions.
Note: This diagram does not consider soil type, topography, wind speed, or other important environmental
factors. Still, it is a useful general guideline for biome location.

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Tropical Moist Forests

Kinds of Moist Tropical Forests

 Cloud Forests – are found high in the mountains where fog and mist keep vegetation wet all
the time.
 Tropical rainforests – occur where rainfall is abundant – more than 200 cm (80 in) per year –
and temperatures are warm to hot year-round.

The soil of these tropical moist forest types tends to be old, thin, acidic, and nutrient-poor, yet an
enormous number of species can be present. For example, it has been estimated that there are millions
of insect species in the canopy of tropical rain-forests. And it is believed that one-half to two-thirds of
all species of terrestrial plants and insects live in tropical forests.

Source: (Giles)
CLOUD FOREST
Tropical montane cloud forest at about 2000 meters elevation near Tandayapa, in Pichincha Province, Ecuador, in
mid-March (Giles).

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Source: (Francis, 2019)

TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Tropical rainforests are located along the equator of continents such as South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Many can also be found in Sumatra and New Guinea. The best-known tropical rainforests are: The Amazon
(Brazil), El Yunque (Puerto Rico), The Congo (Africa). Tropical rainforests are usually located on the eastern
coastline with warmer ocean currents, ranging between 20 and 35 degrees of latitude, but extending only about
15 degrees equatorward and 40 degrees poleward (Francis, 2019).

Tropical Seasonal Forests

- Drought-tolerant forests that look brown and dormant in the dry season but burst into vivid
green during rainy months.
- Often called Dry Tropical Forests because they are dry much of the year; however, there must
be some periodic rain to support tree growth.
- Many of the trees and shrubs in a seasonal forest are drought-deciduous: they lose their leaves
and cease growing when no water is available.
- Seasonal forests are often open woodlands that grade into savannas.

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Source: (cyanophycean314, 2013)

TROPICAL SEASONAL FOREST

Tropical Savannas and Grasslands

- Grasslands - also known as prairies or steppes; receive between 25 and 75 cm of rain per year.
- Savannas - extensive grasslands w/ occasional or patches of trees; typically tropical w/ 50-150
cm of rain per year.
- Like tropical seasonal forests, most tropical savannas and grasslands have a rainy season, but
generally the rains are less abundant or less dependable than in a forest.
- During dry seasons, fires can sweep across grassland, killing off young trees and keeping the
landscape open.
- Savannas and grassland plants have many adaptations to survive drought, heat, and fires.
- Grazing pressure from domestic livestock is an important threat to both the plants and the
animals of tropical grasslands and savannas.

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Source: (Savanna Worldlife)

SAVANNA

Source: (Kerlin, 2018)

GRASSLAND

Desert
- Occur where precipitation is rare and unpredictable, usually with less than 30 cm of rain per
year.

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- Their vegetation is sparse, but it can be surprisingly diverse, and most desert plants and animals
are highly adapted to survive long droughts and extreme heat, and many can survive extreme
cold.
- Desert is more vulnerable, sparse, slow-growing vegetation is quickly damaged by off-road
vehicles.
- Desert soils recover slowly.
- Desert is also vulnerable to overgrazing.
- In Africa’s vast Sahel (southern edge of the Sahara Desert), livestock are destroying much of the
plant cover. Bare, dry soil becomes drifting sand, and restabilization is extremely difficult.

Source: (Rosenberg, 2019)

DESERT

Temperate Grasslands
- As in tropical latitudes, temperate (mid-latitude) grasslands occur where there is enough rain to
support abundant grass but not enough for forests.
- Most grassland is a complex, diverse mix of grasses and flowering herbaceous plants, generally
known as forbs.
- Deep roots help plants in temperate grasslands and savannas survive drought, fire, and extreme
heat and cold. These roots, together with an annual winter accumulation of dead leaves on the
surface, produce thick, organic-rich soils in temperate grasslands.

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Source: (Savedge, 2017)

TEMPERATE GRASSLAND

Temperate Shrublands
- Evergreen shrubs with small, leathery, sclerophyllous (hard, waxy) leaves form dense thickets.
- Scrub oaks, drought-resistant pines, or other small trees often cluster in sheltered valleys.
Periodic fires burn fiercely in this fuel-rich plant assemblage and are a major factor in plant
succession.
- In California, this landscape is called chaparral, Spanish for “thicket”.
- These areas are inhabited by drought-tolerant animals such as jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, mule
deer, chipmunks, lizards, and many bird species.
- Very similar landscapes are found along the Mediterranean coast as well as southwestern
Australia, central Chile, and South Africa.

Source: (Creative Commons Zero (CC0))

CHAPARRAL

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Temperate Forests

Deciduous Forests
- Broadleaf forests occur throughout the world where rainfall is plentiful.
- In mid latitudes, these forests are deciduous and lose their leaves in winter.
- At lower latitudes, broadleaf forests may be evergreen or drought-deciduous.
- Can re-grow quickly because they occupy moist, moderate climates.
-

Source: (Chavasse, 2019)

TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST
Temperate deciduous forests are located primarily in the eastern half of the United States, Canada, Europe, parts
of Russia, Chile and Japan. This biome is in the mild zone of the Northern hemisphere (Mbgnet.net, 2019)

Coniferous Forests
- Grow in a wide range of temperature and moisture conditions.
- Often they occur where moisture is limited: in cold climates, moisture is unavailable (frozen) in
winter; hot climates may have seasonal drought; sandy soils hold little moisture, and they are
often occupied by conifers.
- Provide most wood products in North America.
- Coniferous forests of the Pacific coast grow in extremely wet conditions. The wettest coastal
forests are known as temperate rainforest, a cool, rainy forest often enshrouded in fog.

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Source: (Jordan, 2019)

CONIFEROUS FOREST
The Coniferous Forest is the largest terrestrial biome, found in the northern parts of Europe, North America and
Asia.
Boreal Forest
- Or Northern Forests
- Lie between about 50° and 60° north.
- Mountainous areas at lower latitudes may also have many characteristics and species of the boreal
forest.
- Dominant trees are pines, hemlocks, spruce, cedar, and fir.
- Some deciduous trees are also present, such as maples, birch, aspen, and alder.
- These forests are slow-growing because of the cold temperatures and a short frost-free growing season,
but they are still expansive resources.
- The extreme, ragged edge of the boreal forest, where forest gradually gives way to open tundra, is
known by its Russian name, Taiga.

Source: (Snider, 2019)

BOREAL FOREST

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Tundra
- A treeless landscape that occurs at high latitudes or on mountaintops, has a growing season of
only two or three months, and it may have frost any month of the year.
- A variant of grasslands because it has no trees
- Very cold desert because water is unavailable (frozen) most of the year.

Arctic Tundra
- An expansive biome that has low productivity because it has a short growing season.
During midsummer, 24-hour sunshine supports a burst of plant growth and an
explosion of insect life.

Source: (Bailey, 2018)

ARCTIC TUNDRA

Alpine Tundra
- Occurring on a near mountain top, has environmental conditions and vegetation similar
to arctic tundra. These areas have a short, intense growing season. Many alpine tundra
plants also have deep pigmentation and leathery leaves to protect against the strong
ultraviolet light in the thin mountain atmosphere.

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Source: (Rinkesh)
ALPINE TUNDRA

Marine Ecosystem
- Vary mainly with depth, temperature, and salinity.
- Coral reefs and estuaries are among the world’s most productive and diverse ecosystem.
- Vertical stratification is a key feature of aquatic ecosystems, mainly because light decreases
rapidly with depth, and communities below the photic zone (light zone, often reaching about 20
m deep) must rely on energy sources other than photosynthesis to persist. Temperature also
decreases with depth.
- Deep ocean species often grow slowly in part because metabolism is reduced in cold conditions.
- Temperature also affects the amount of oxygen and other elements that can be absorbed in
water.
- Phytoplankton are microscopic floating algae that carry on photosynthesis in pelagic
ecosystem
- Zooplanktons are small, weakly swimming animals that feed on phytoplankton.

Ocean Systems based on depth and proximity to shore:

 Benthic – communities occur on the bottom.
 Pelagic zone – (from “sea” in Greek) are the water column.
 Epipelagic zone – (epi = on top) has photosynthetic organisms. Below this are the
mesopelagic (meso = medium), and bathypelagic (bathos = deep) zones.
 Deepest layers: Abyssal Zone (to 4,000 m) and Hadal Zone (deeper than 6,000 m).
 Littoral Zones – shorelines.
 Intertidal Zone – area exposed by low tides.

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Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)

OCEAN SYSTEMS BASED ON DEPTH AND PROXIMITY TO SHORE

Coastal Zones

Coral Reefs – are among the best-known marine ecosystems because of their extraordinary biological
productivity and their diverse and beautiful organisms.

Source: (Madaan)
CORAL REEFS

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Mangroves – are trees that grow in salt water. They occur along calm, shallow, tropical coastlines
around the world. Mangrove forests or swamps help stabilize shorelines, and they are also critical
nurseries for fish, shrimp, and other commercial species.

Source: (Larsen)
MANGROVE

Estuaries – are bays where rivers empty into the sea, mixing fresh water with salt water.

Source: (Wilke, 2020)

ESTUARY

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Salt marshes – shallow wetlands flooded regularly or occasionally with seawater, occur on shallow
coastlines, including estuaries.

Source: (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)

SALT MARSH

Tide Pools – are depressions in a rocky shoreline that are flooded at high tide but retain some water at
low tide. These areas remain rocky where wave action prevents most plant growth or sediment (mud)
accumulation.

Source: (Kennedy, 2020)

TIDE POOLS

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Barrier Islands – are low, narrow, sandy islands that form to parallel to a coastline. They occur where the
continental shelf is shallow and rivers or coastal currents provide a steady source of sediments.

Source: (Peak Aerials, 2014)

BARRIER ISLANDS

Freshwater Ecosystems
- Vary according to depth and light penetration, which control size and types of vegetation.
- Often small but they are disproportionately important in biodiversity

Freshwater Lakes

- Like marine environments, have distinct vertical zones.

Vertical Zones
 Benthos – the bottom, occupied by a variety of snails, burrowing worms, fish and other
organisms.
 Epilimnion – a warmer upper layer that is mixed by wind and warmed by the sun.
 Hypolimnion – below the epilimnion. A colder, deeper layer that is not mixed.
 Thermocline – Sharp temperature boundary.
 Mesolimnion – below thermocline, the water is much colder.

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Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)

Vertical Zones

Source: (Pesterev, 2018)

FRESHWATER LAKE
National Park Banff, Banff, Canada

Wetlands
- Shallow ecosystems in which the land surface is saturated or submerged at least part of the
year.
- Have vegetation that is adapted to grow under saturated conditions.

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Swamps
- Also known as wooded wetlands
- Wetlands with trees.
Marshes
- Wetlands without trees.
Bogs
- Areas of saturated ground, and usually the ground are composed of deep layers of
accumulated, undecayed vegetation known as peat.
Fens
- Similar to bogs except that they are mainly fed by groundwater, so that they have mineral-rich
water and specially adapted plant species.

Human Disturbance

- Humans have become dominant organisms over most of the earth, damaging or disturbing
more than half of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems to some extent.
- By some estimates, humans preempt about 40 percent of the net terrestrial primary
productivity of the biosphere either by consuming it directly, by interfering with its production
or use, or by altering the species composition or physical processes of human-dominated
ecosystems.
- Conversion of natural habitat to human uses is the largest single cause of biodiversity losses.
- Researchers from the environmental group Conservation International have attempted to map
the extent of human disturbance of the natural world. See below figure.

Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)

DOMESTICATED LANDS

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- The greatest impacts have been in Europe, parts of Asia, North and Central America, and
islands such as Madagascar, New Zealand, Java, Sumatra, and those in the Caribbean.

Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2012)

References:

Bailey, R. (2018, December 13). Land Biomes: Tundra. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from ThoughtCo.:
https://www.thoughtco.com/land-biomes-tundra-373498

Chavasse, T. (2019, September 16). Temperate Deciduous Forest. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from ArcGIS
Story Maps: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bb58b3d541fd49fea03b966a09a933ae

Creative Commons Zero (CC0). (n.d.). Chaparral, Vegetation, Shrubland, Ecosystem. Retrieved July 27,
2020, from Dreamstime: https://www.dreamstime.com/chaparral-vegetation-shrubland-ecosystem-
public-domain-image-free-131165140

Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2012). Environmental Science: A Global Concern, Twelfth
Edition. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

cyanophycean314. (2013, October 1). The Tropical Seasonal Forest. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Carlo's
Biome Travel Blog: https://carlosbiometour.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/the-tropical-seasonal-forest/

Francis, A. (2019, Septemeber 17). Tropical Rainfores Biome. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from ArcGIS Story
Maps: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4c9bdb692b284ceebae68fa42fd4a9a7

Giles, V. (n.d.). Cloud Forest in Ecuador. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Science Photo Library:
https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/535398/view/cloud-forest-in-ecuador

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Jordan, G. (2019, September 17). Coniferous Forest. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from ArcGIS Story Maps:
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7c71f3b04ed648c8ab3d7976bde7e6ae

Kennedy, J. (2020, January 11). Tidal Pool. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from ThoughtCo.:
https://www.thoughtco.com/tidal-pool-overview-2291685

Kerlin, K. (2018, July 9). Grasslands More Reliable Carbon Sink Than Trees. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from
Science and Climate: https://climatechange.ucdavis.edu/news/grasslands-more-reliable-carbon-sink-
than-trees/

Larsen, T. (n.d.). Share the Facts about Mangroves. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Conservation
International: https://www.conservation.org/act/share-the-facts-about-mangroves

Madaan, S. (n.d.). Coral Reef Biome. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Earth Eclipse:
https://www.eartheclipse.com/ecosystem/coral-reef-biome.html

Mbgnet.net. (2019). Temperate Deciduous Forest Locations. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Mbgnet.net:
http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/temp/locatns.htm

Peak Aerials. (2014, December 15). Coastal Barrier Islands, Florida. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Peak
Aerials: https://www.stockaerialphotos.com/media/f62bcb65-58da-4115-b93d-ffd5e849c698-coastal-
barrier-islands-florida

Pesterev, S. (2018, November 16). National park Banff, Banff, Canada. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from
Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/Yk6DfYbMDIA

Rinkesh. (n.d.). Alpine Tundra Biome: Location, Climate, Vegetation and Animals. Retrieved July 27, 2020,
from Conserve Energy Future: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/alpine-tundra-biome.php

Rosenberg, M. (2019, January 21). Desert Definition and Characteristics. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from
ThoughCo.: https://www.thoughtco.com/all-about-deserts-1435317

Savanna Worldlife. (n.d.). World Life of the Savanna's. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Savanna Worldlife:
https://savannaworldlife.weebly.com/

Savedge, J. (2017, March 17). Life In A Temperate Grassland. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from ThoughtCo.:
https://www.thoughtco.com/life-in-a-temperate-grassland-3957466

Snider, T. (2019, November 7). Boreal Forest/ Taiga. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from ArcGIS Story Maps:
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d19b5fa0800f4927809f01729b4b35b3

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Salt Marsh. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Encyclopaedia
Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/salt-marsh

Wilke, C. (2020, January 27). Scientists Say: Estuary. Retrieved July 27, 2020, from Science News for
Students: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/scientists-say-estuary

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Geology, Earth Resources, and Climate Change

Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn about the processes that shape the earth and its
resources. It includes discussions pertaining to the formation of rocks and minerals,
environmental effects of resource extraction, conservation of geological resources and
geological hazards. Additionally, you will recognize the effects of climate change in our
society.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 1 (Syllabus)
 Acquire high level of awareness about the environment and its significance.
Topic Outcome
 Recognize the processes that shape the earth and its resources, explain how rocks
and minerals are formed, and recognize the effects of climate change in these
processes.

Earth Processes
 We may face geological hazards of one type or another, but think of it, we also
benefit from the earth’s geological resources.
 All of us share a responsibility for the environmental and social devastation that often
results from mining and drilling.
 Fortunately there are many promising solutions to reduce these costs, including
recycling and alternative materials. However, it is up to us how we will deal with it.
 Geological products that you might be wearing now:
o plastics, including glasses and synthetic fabric, are made from oil;
o iron, copper, and aluminum mines produced snaps and zippers and the
screws in glasses;
o silver, gold, and diamond mines produced jewelry.

Earth
 Earth is a dynamic planet and constantly changing structure.
 The earth is a layered sphere.
 Layers of Earth:
o Core, or interior, is composed of a dense, intensely hot mass of metal, mostly
iron, thousands of kilometers in diameter. Solid in the center but more fluid in
the outer core, this immense mass generates the magnetic field that envelops
the earth.
o Mantle is surrounding the molten outer core. It is a hot, pliable layer of rock.
The mantle is much less dense than the core because it contains a high
concentration of lighter elements, such as oxygen, silicon, and magnesium.
o Crust is the cool, lightweight, brittle rock outermost layer of the earth. The
crust below oceans is relatively thin (8–15 km), is dense, and young (less than
200 million years old) because of constant recycling. Crust under continents is
relatively thick (25–75 km) and light, and as old as 3.8 billion years, with new
material being added continually. It also is predominantly granitic, while
oceanic crust is mainly dense basaltic rock.

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Source: (Cunnigham & Cunningham, 2012)

The Earth’s Layer

 Below is a table showing the composition of the whole earth dominated by the
dense core and the crust.

Source: (Cunnigham & Cunningham, 2012)

Plate Tectonics
 In 1855, Antonio Snider went so far as to publish a sketch showing how the two
continents could fit together, jigsaw-puzzle fashion. Such reconstructions gave rise to

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the bold suggestion that perhaps these continents had once been part of the same
landmass, which had later broken up.
 Climatologist Alfred Wegener was struck not only by the matching coastlines, but by
geologic evidence from the continents.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

 Sedimentary rocks may preserve evidence of the ancient climate of the time and
place in which the sediments were deposited. Such evidence shows that the climate
in many places has varied widely through time.
 There are evidences of extensive glaciation in places now located in the tropics, in
parts of Australia, southern Africa, and South America.
 There are desert sand deposits in the rocks of regions that now have moist,
temperate climates and the remains of jungle plants in now-cool places.
 There are coal deposits in Antarctica, even though coal deposits form from the
remains of a lush growth of land plants.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

 Sedimentary rocks also preserve fossil remains of ancient life. Some plants and
animals, long extinct, seem to have lived only in a few very restricted areas, which
now are widely separated geographically on different continents.
 One example is the fossil plant Glossopteris, remains of which are found in limited
areas of widely separated lands including India, southern Africa, and even
Antarctica. The fossils of a small reptile, Mesosaurus, are similarly dispersed across
two continents. The distribution of these fossils was, in fact, part of the evidence
Wegener cited to support his continental-drift hypothesis.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

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 The idea of continental drift provided a way out of the quandary. The organism may
have lived in a single, geographically restricted area, and the rocks in which its
remains are now found subsequently were separated and moved in several different
directions by drifting continents.
 Wegener began to publish his ideas in 1912 and continued to do so for nearly two
decades. He proposed that all the continental landmasses had once formed a single
supercontinent, Pangaea (Greek for “all lands”), which had then split apart, the
modern continents moving to their present positions via a process called continental
drift.
 However, most people, scientists and nonscientists alike, had difficulty visualizing
how something as massive as a continent could possibly “drift” around on a solid
earth, or why it should do so. In other words, no mechanism for moving continents
was apparent.
 Continental “drift” turned out to be just one consequence of processes encompassed
by a broader theory known as plate tectonics.
 Tectonics is the study of large scale movement and deformation of the earth’s outer
layers.
 Plate tectonics relates such deformation to the existence and movement of rigid
“plates” over a weaker, more plastic layer in the earth’s upper mantle.

Outer Zone of the Earth

Lithosphere
 The earth’s crust and uppermost mantle are somewhat brittle and elastic.
Together they make up the outer solid layer of the earth called the lithosphere,
from the Greek word lithos , meaning “rock.”
 The lithosphere varies in thickness from place to place on the earth.
 It is thinnest underneath the oceans, where it extends to a depth of about 50
kilometers (about 30 miles).
 The lithosphere under the continents is both thicker on average than is oceanic
lithosphere, and more variable in thickness, extending in places to about 250
kilometers (over 150 miles).

Asthenosphere
 The layer below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, which derives its name
from the Greek word asthenes, meaning “without strength.”
 The asthenosphere extends to an average depth of about 300 kilometers (close to
200 miles) in the mantle.
 Its lack of strength or rigidity results from a combination of high temperatures
and moderate confining pressures that allows the rock to flow plastically under
stress.
 Below the asthenosphere, as pressures increase faster than temperatures with
depth, the mantle again becomes more rigid and elastic.
 The asthenosphere was discovered by studying the behavior seismic waves from
earthquakes. Its presence makes the concept of continental drift more plausible.
 The continents need not scrape across or plow through solid rock; instead, they
can be pictured as sliding over a softened, deformable layer underneath the
lithospheric plates.
 Recognition of the existence of the plastic asthenosphere made plate motions
more plausible, but it did not prove that they had occurred.

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 Much additional information had to be accumulated before the rates and

directions of plate movements could be documented and before most scientists
would accept the concept of plate tectonics.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Locating Plate Boundaries

 The distribution of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions indicates that these

phenomena are far from uniformly distributed over the earth.
 They are, for the most part, concentrated in belts or linear chains. This is consistent
with the idea that the rigid shell of lithosphere is cracked in places, broken up into
pieces, or plates.
 The volcanoes and earthquakes are concentrated at the boundaries of these
lithospheric plates, where plates jostle or scrape against each other.
 Fewer than a dozen very large lithospheric plates have been identified; as research
continues, many smaller ones have been recognized in addition.
 Below is a figure showing the plate boundaries:

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Type of Plate Boundaries

Different things happen at the boundaries between two lithospheric plates,
depending in part on the relative motions of the plates, and in part on whether continental or
oceanic lithosphere is at the edge of each plate where they meet.

Divergent Plate Boundaries

 Divergent plate boundary, lithospheric plates MOVE APART.
 The release of pressure facilitates some melting in the asthenosphere, and
magma wells up from the asthenosphere, its passage made easier by deep
fractures formed by the tensional stresses.
 A great deal of volcanic activity thus occurs at divergent plate boundaries.
 In addition, the pulling-apart of the plates of lithosphere results in earthquakes
along these boundaries.
 SEAFLOOR SPREADING RIDGES are the most common type of divergent
boundary worldwide, and it is already noted the formation of new oceanic
lithosphere at these ridges.
 CONTINENTS can be rifted apart, too, and in fact most ocean basins are
believed to have originated through continental rifting. The process may be
initiated either by tensional forces pulling the plates apart, or by rising hot
asthenosphere along the rift zone.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

 If the continental rifting continues, a new ocean basin will form between the
pieces of the continent as shown in above figure. This is happening now in
northeast Africa, where three rift zones meet in what is called a triple junction. See
below figure.

Source: (Garrison, 2016)

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Source: (Geology of the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden)

Afar Depression in Ethiopia

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

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More-limited continental rifting….

RIO GRANDE RIFT

Source: (Offset by Shutterstock)

NEW MADRID FAULT LINE

Source: (Stansberry)

Convergent Plate Boundaries

 Convergent plate boundary plates are MOVING TOWARD EACH OTHER.
 What happens depends on what sort of lithosphere is at the leading edge of each
plate; one may have ocean-ocean, ocean-continent or continent-continent
convergence.
 Continental crust is relatively low in density, so continental lithosphere is
therefore buoyant with respect to the dense, iron rich mantle, and it tends to
“float” on the asthenosphere.
 Oceanic crust is more similar in density to the underlying asthenosphere, so
oceanic lithosphere is less buoyant and more easily forced down into the
asthenosphere as plates move together.
 Most commonly, oceanic lithosphere is at the leading edge of one or both of the
converging plates.
 One plate of oceanic lithosphere may be pushed under the other plate and
descend into the asthenosphere.

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 This type of plate boundary, where one plate is carried down below (subducted
beneath) another, is called a subduction zone.
 The nature of subduction zones can be demonstrated in many ways, a key one of
which involves earthquake depths.

At ocean-continent convergence, sea floor is consumed, and volcanoes form on the overriding continent.
Here the trench is partially filled by sediment.

Volcanic activity at ocean-ocean convergence creates a string of volcanic islands

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

 The subduction zones of the world balance the seafloor equation.

 If new oceanic lithosphere is constantly being created at spreading ridges, an
equal amount must be destroyed somewhere, or the earth would simply keep
getting bigger. This “excess” sea floor is consumed in subduction zones.
 The subducted plate is heated by the hot asthenosphere. Fluids are released from
it into the overlying mantle; some of it may become hot enough to melt; the
dense, cold residue eventually breaks off and sinks deeper into the mantle.

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 At the spreading ridges, other melts rise, cool, and crystallize to make new sea
floor.
 So, in a sense, the oceanic lithosphere is constantly being recycled, which
explains why few very ancient seafloor rocks are known.
 Volcanoes form where molten material rises up through the overlying plate to the
surface.
 At an ocean-ocean convergence, the result is commonly a line of volcanic islands,
an island arc.
 The great stresses involved in convergence and subduction give rise to
numerous earthquakes.
 The bulk of mountain building, and its associated volcanic and earthquake
activity, is related to subduction zones.
 Parts of the world near or above modern subduction zones are therefore prone to
both volcanic and earthquake activity. These include the Andes region of South
America, western Central America, parts of the northwest United States and
Canada, the Aleutian Islands, China, Japan, and much of the rim of the Pacific
Ocean basin.
 Only rarely is a bit of sea floor caught up in a continent during convergence and
preserved.
 Most often, the sea floor in a zone of convergence is subducted and destroyed.
 All continents are part of moving plates, sooner or later they all are inevitably
transported to a convergent boundary, as leading oceanic lithosphere is
consumed.
 If there is also continental lithosphere on the plate being subducted at an ocean-
continent convergent boundary, consumption of the subducting plate will
eventually bring the continental masses together.

Sooner or later, a continental mass on the subducting plate meets a continent on the overriding plate, and
the resulting collision creates a great thickness of continental lithosphere, as in the Himalayas.
Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

 The two landmasses collide, crumple, and deform. One may partially override
the other, but the buoyancy of continental lithosphere ensures that neither sinks
deep into the mantle, and a very large thickness of continent may result.
 Earthquakes are frequent during continent-continent collision as a consequence
of the large stresses involved in the process. The extreme height of the Himalaya
Mountains is attributed to just this sort of collision.

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 India was not always a part of the Asian continent. Paleomagnetic evidence
indicates that it drifted northward over tens of millions of years until it “ran into”
Asia and the Himalayas were built up in the process.
 In fact, many major mountain ranges worldwide represent sites of sustained plate
convergence in the past, and much of the western portion of North America
consists of bits of continental lithosphere “pasted onto” the continent in this way.

The Himalayas, result of colliding continental plate.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Transform Boundaries
 A close look at a mid-ocean spreading ridge reveals that it is not a continuous rift
thousands of kilometers long. Rather, ridges consist of many short segments
slightly OFFSET from one another.
 The offset is a special kind of fault, or break in the lithosphere, known as a
transform fault.
 The opposite sides of a transform fault belong to two different plates, and these
are moving in opposite directions.
 As the plates scrape past each other, earthquakes occur along the transform fault.
Transform faults may also occur between a trench (subduction zone) and a
spreading ridge, or between two trenches, but these are less common.
 The famous San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a transform fault.

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Seafloor spreading-ridge segments are offset by transform faults. Red asterisks show where earthquakes
occur in the ridge system.
Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

ROCKS AND MINERALS

Mineral
 A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic, solid element or compound with a
definite chemical composition and a regular internal crystal structure.
 Naturally occurring, as distinguished from synthetic, means that minerals do not
include the thousands of chemical substances invented by humans.
 Inorganic, means not produced solely by living organisms or by biological
processes.
 Solid means that the ice of a glacier is a mineral, but liquid water is not.
 Chemically, minerals may consist either of one element—like diamonds, which are
pure carbon—or they may be compounds of two or more elements.
 Minerals are crystalline, at least on the microscopic scale.
 Crystalline materials are solids in which the atoms or ions are arranged in regular,
repeating patterns.

Identifying Characteristics of Minerals

 The two fundamental characteristics of a mineral that together distinguish it from all
other minerals are its chemical composition and its crystal structure.
 No two minerals are identical in both respects, though they may be the same in
one. For example, diamond and graphite (the “lead” in a lead pencil) are chemically
the same—both are made up of pure carbon. Their physical properties, however, are
vastly different because of the differences in their internal crystalline structures.
 A mineral’s composition and crystal structure can usually be determined only by
using sophisticated laboratory equipment.
 Many minerals share similar external forms, and the same mineral may show
different external forms, though it will always have the same internal structure

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(Left) Sodium and chloride ions are arranged alternately in the halite structure. Lines show the
cubes that make up the repeating unit of the crystal structure; the resultant cubic crystal form is
shown in right.

Many minerals may share the same external crystal form: (A) galena (PbS) and (B) fluorite (CaF 2 )
form cubes, as do halite and pyrite (C). However, these minerals may show other forms; (D), for
example, is a distinctive form of pyrite called a pyritohedron.
Souce: (Montgomery, 2011)

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Types of Minerals

 SILICATES
 Two most common elements in the
earth’s crust are silicon and oxygen.
 Silicate group is the largest
compositional group of minerals, all of
which are compounds containing silicon
and oxygen, and most of which contain
other elements as well.
 This group of minerals is so large that it
is subdivided on the basis of crystal
structure, by the ways in which the
silicon and oxygen atoms are linked together.
 The basic building block of all silicates is a tetrahedral arrangement of
four oxygen atoms (anions) around the much smaller silicon cation.
 In different silicate minerals, these silica tetrahedral may be linked into
chains, sheets, or three-dimensional frameworks by the sharing of oxygen
atoms.
 Some of the physical properties of silicates and other minerals are closely
related to their crystal structures

Silicate Minerals
 Quartz - probably the best known silicate.
Compositionally, it is the simplest,
containing only silicon and oxygen. It is a
framework silicate, with silica tetrahedra
linked in three dimensions, which helps
make it relatively hard and weathering-
resistant. Quartz is found in a variety of
rocks and soils. Commercially, the most
common use of pure quartz is in the manufacture of glass, which also
consists mostly of silicon and oxygen. Quartz-rich sand and gravel are
used in very large quantities in construction.
 Feldspars - The most abundant group of minerals in
the crust is a set of chemically similar minerals
known collectively as the feldspars. They are
composed of silicon, oxygen, aluminum, and either
sodium, potassium, or calcium, or some
combination of these three. These common minerals
are made from elements abundant in the crust. They
are used extensively in the manufacture of
ceramics.
 Ferromagnesian - The general term used to
describe those silicates—usually dark-colored
(black, brown, or green)— that contain iron
and/or magnesium, with or without additional
elements.
- Olivine is simple ferromagnesian mineral, is a
major constituent of earth’s mantle; gem-quality

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olivines from mantle-derived volcanic rocks are the semiprecious gem peridot.

 Micas are another group of several

silicate minerals with similar physical
properties, compositions, and crystal
structures. Micas are sheet silicates, built
on an atomic scale of stacked-up sheets
of linked silicon and oxygen atoms.
Because the bonds between sheets are
relatively weak, the sheets can easily be
broken apart

 Clays are another family within the sheet

silicates; in clays, the sheets tend to slide
past each other, a characteristic that contributes to the slippery feel of
many clays and related minerals. Clays are somewhat unusual among the
silicates in that their structures can absorb or lose water, depending on
how wet conditions are. Clays also have important uses, especially in
making ceramics and in building materials. Other clays are useful as
lubricants in the muds used to cool the drill bits in oil-drilling rigs.

 NONSILICATES
 Each nonsilicate mineral group is defined by some chemical constituent or
characteristic that all members of the group have in common. Most often,
the common component is the same negatively charged ion or group of
atoms.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

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Rocks

 A rock is a solid, cohesive aggregate of one or more minerals, or mineral materials.

 This means that a rock consists of many individual mineral grains (crystals)—not
necessarily all of the same mineral—or crystals plus glass, which are firmly held
together in a solid mass.
 The properties of rocks are important in determining their suitability for particular
applications, such as for construction materials or for the base of a building
foundation.
 Each rock also contains within it a record of at least a part of its history, in the nature
of its minerals and in the way the mineral grains fit together.
 The three broad categories of rocks— igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic —
are distinguished by the processes of their formation.
 There is no single sample of rock that has remained unchanged since the earth
formed. Therefore, when a rock is described as being of a particular type, or gives it
a specific rock name, it is important to realize that it is described in the form it has
most recently taken, the results of the most recent processes acting on it.

Categories of Rocks

 IGNEOUS ROCK
- An igneous rock is a rock formed by the solidification and crystallization of a
cooling magma.
- Igneous is derived from the Latin term ignis, meaning “fire.”
- Magma is the name given to naturally occurring hot, molten rock material.
Silicates are the most common minerals, so magmas are usually rich in silica.
They also contain some dissolved water and gases and generally have some solid
crystals suspended in the melt.
- Examples of Igneous Rock
 Plutonic Igneous Rock
- The name is derived from Pluto, the Greek god of the lower world.
- Formation: If a magma remains well below the surface during cooling,
it cools relatively slowly, insulated by overlying rock and soil. It may
take hundreds of thousands of years or more to crystallize completely.
Under these conditions, the crystals have ample time to form and to
grow very large, and the rock eventually formed has mineral grains
large enough to be seen individually with the naked eye.
- Granite is probably the most widely
known example of a plutonic rock.
Compositionally, typical granite consists
principally of quartz and feldspars, and it
usually contains some ferromagnesian
minerals or other silicates. The
proportions and compositions of these
constituent minerals may vary, but all
granites show the coarse, interlocking
crystals characteristic of a plutonic rock. Much of the mass of the
continents consists of granite or of rock of granitic composition.

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 Volcanic
- A magma that flows out on the earth’s surface while still wholly or
partly molten is called lava. Lava is a common product of volcanic
eruptions, and the term volcanic is given to an igneous rock formed at
or close to the earth’s surface.
- Magmas that crystallize very near the
surface cool more rapidly. There is less
time during crystallization for large
crystals to form from the magma, so
volcanic rocks are typically fine-grained,
with most crystals too small to be
distinguished with the naked eye.
- In extreme cases, where cooling occurs Obsidian
very fast, even tiny crystals may not form before the magma solidifies,
and its atoms are frozen in a disordered state. The resulting clear,
noncrystalline solid is a natural glass, obsidian.
- The most common volcanic rock is basalt, a dark rock rich in
ferromagnesian minerals and feldspar. The ocean floor consists largely
of basalt.
- Occasionally, a melt begins to crystallize slowly at depth, growing
some large crystals, and then is subjected to rapid cooling (following a
volcanic eruption, for instance). This results in coarse crystals in a fine
grained groundmass, porphyry.

(Left) Basalt and (Right) Porphyry

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

 SEDIMENTS & SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

- Sediments are loose, unconsolidated accumulations of mineral or rock particles

that have been transported by wind, water, or ice, or shifted under the influence
of gravity, and redeposited.
- Beach sand is a kind of sediment; so is the mud on a river bottom. Soil is a mixture
of mineral sediment and organic matter.
- Most sediments originate, directly or indirectly, through the weathering of pre-
existing rocks—either by physical breakup into finer and finer fragments, or by
solution, followed by precipitation of crystals out of solution.

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- The physical properties of sediments and soils bear on a broad range of

environmental problems, from the stability of slopes and building foundations, to
the selection of optimal waste-disposal sites, to how readily water drains away
after a rainstorm and therefore how likely that rain is to produce a flood.
- When sediments are compacted or cemented together into a solid, cohesive
mass, they become sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks formed at low
temperatures.
- The set of processes by which sediments are transformed into rock is collectively
described as lithification (from the Greek word lithos, meaning “stone”). The
resulting rock is generally more compact and denser, as well as more cohesive,
than the original sediment.
- Sedimentary rocks are formed at or near the earth’s surface, at temperatures
close to ordinary surface temperatures. They are subdivided into two groups—
clastic and chemical.

Clastic sedimentary rocks

o From the Greek word klastos, meaning “broken”
o Formed from the products of the mechanical breakup of other rocks.
o Natural processes continually attack rocks exposed at the surface. Rain and
waves pound them, windblown dust scrapes them, frost and tree roots crack
them—these and other processes are all part of the physical weathering of
rocks.
o In consequence, rocks are broken up into smaller and smaller pieces and
ultimately, perhaps, into individual mineral grains. The resultant rock and
mineral fragments may be transported by wind, water, or ice, and accumulate
as sediments in streams, lakes, oceans, deserts, or soils.
o Later geologic processes can cause these sediments to become lithified.
Burial under the weight of more sediments may pack the loose particles so
tightly that they hold firmly together in a cohesive mass.
o Except with very fine-grained sediments, compaction alone is rarely enough
to transform the sediment into rock. Water seeping slowly through rocks and
sediments underground also carries dissolved minerals, which may
precipitate out of solution to bind the sediment particles together with a
natural mineral cement.
o Clastic sedimentary rocks are most often named on the basis of the average
size of the particles that form the rock.
 Sandstone, is a rock composed of sand-sized sediment particles, 16 to 2
millimeters (0.002 to 0.08 inches) in diameter.
 Shale is made up of finer-grained sediments, and the individual grains
cannot be seen in the rock with the naked eye.
 Conglomerate is a relatively coarse-grained rock, with fragments
above 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) in diameter, and sometimes much
larger.
o Regardless of grain size, clastic sedimentary rocks tend to have, relatively,
considerable pore space between grains. This is a logical consequence of the
way in which these rocks form, by the piling up of preexisting rock and
mineral grains. Also, as sediment particles are transported by water or other
agents, they may become more rounded and thus not pack together very
tightly or interlock as do the mineral grains in an igneous rock. Many clastic

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sedimentary rocks are therefore not particularly strong structurally, unless

they have been extensively cemented.

Chemical sedimentary rocks

o Form not from mechanical breakup and transport of fragments, but from
crystals formed by precipitation or growth from solution.
o Examples of chemical sedimentary rocks:
 Limestone, composed mostly of calcite (calcium carbonate). The
chemical sediment that makes limestone may be deposited from fresh
or salt water; under favorable chemical conditions, thick limestone
beds, perhaps hundreds of meters thick, may form.
 Rock salt, made up of the mineral halite, which is the mineral name for
ordinary table salt (sodium chloride). A salt deposit may form when a
body of salt water is isolated from an ocean and dries up.
o Some chemical sediments have a large biological contribution. A sequence of
sedimentary rocks may include layers of organic sediments , carbon-rich
remains of living organisms; coal is an important example, derived from the
remains of land plants that flourished and died in swamps.

(Left) Limestone, (Right) the fossils preserved in this limestone is crinoids, ancient
echinoderms related to modern sea urchins and sea stars.

(Left) Shale, (Right) Sandstone

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(Left) Conglomerate, a coarser-grained rock similar to sandstone; note that many of the fragments here
are rocks, not individual mineral grains. (Right) Coal seams (dark layers) in a sequence of sedimentary
rocks exposed in a sea cliff in southern Alaska.
Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

 METAMORPHIC ROCKS
- The name metamorphic comes from the Greek for “changed form.”
- A metamorphic rock is one that has formed from another, preexisting rock that
was subjected to heat and/or pressure.
- The temperatures required to form metamorphic rocks are not as high as the
temperatures at which the rocks would melt.
- Heat and pressure commonly cause the minerals in the rock to recrystallize. The
original minerals may form larger crystals that perhaps interlock more tightly
than before.
- An important source of pressure is simply burial under many kilometers of
overlying rock.
- One source of elevated temperatures is the fact that temperatures increase with
depth in the earth.
- When hot magma formed at depth rises to shallower levels in the crust, it heats
the adjacent, cooler rocks, and they may be metamorphosed; this is contact
metamorphism.
- Metamorphism can also result from the stresses and heating to which rocks are
subject during mountain building or plate-tectonic movement. Such
metamorphism on a large scale, not localized around a magma body, is regional
metamorphism.
- Any kind of preexisting rock can be metamorphosed. Some names of
metamorphic rocks suggest what the earlier rock may have been.

Some Metamorphic Rocks:

 Metaconglomerate and metavolcanic describe, respectively, a
metamorphosed conglomerate and a metamorphosed volcanic rock.
 Quartzite is a quartz-rich metamorphic rock, often formed from a very quartz-
rich sandstone.
 Marble is metamorphosed limestone in which the individual calcite grains
have recrystallized and become tightly interlocking.

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 Some metamorphic-rock names indicate only the rock’s current composition,

with no particular implication of what it was before. A common example is
amphibolite, which can be used for any metamorphic rock rich in amphibole.
It might have been derived from a sedimentary, metamorphic, or igneous
rock of appropriate chemical composition; the presence of abundant
metamorphic amphibole indicates moderately intense metamorphism, not the
previous rock type.
 In a rock subjected to directed stress, minerals that form elongated or platy
crystals may line up parallel to each other. The resultant texture is described as
foliation, from the Latin for “leaf”. Slate is metamorphosed shale that has
developed foliation under stress. The resulting rock tends to break along the
foliation planes, parallel to the alignment of those minerals, and this
characteristic makes it easy to break up into slabs for flagstones.
 The same characteristic is observed in schist, a coarser-grained, mica-rich
metamorphic rock in which the mica flakes are similarly oriented.
 In other metamorphic rocks, different minerals may be concentrated in
irregular bands, often with darker, ferromagnesian-rich bands alternating
with light bands rich in feldspar and quartz. Such a rock is called gneiss
(pronounced “nice”).

(Left) Metaconglomerate (Right) Quartzite

(Left) Marble, (Right) Amphibolite

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(Left) Slate, (Right) Schist

Gneiss
Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

The Rock cycle

 It should be evident from the descriptions of the major rock types and how they form
those rocks of any type can be transformed into rocks of another type or into another
distinct rock of the same general type through the appropriate geologic processes.
 Sandstone may be weathered until it breaks up; its fragments may then be
transported, redeposited, and lithified to form another sedimentary rock. It might
instead be deeply buried, heated, and compressed, which could transform it into the
metamorphic rock quartzite; or it could be heated until some or all of it melted, and
from that melt, an igneous rock could be formed.
 Most interactions of people with the rock cycle involve the sedimentary and volcanic
components of the cycle.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

The rock cycle—a schematic view. Basically, a variety of geologic processes can
transform any rock into a new rock of the same or a different class. The geologic
environment is not static; it is constantly changing. The full picture, too, is more complex:
any type of rock may be found at the earth’s surface, and weathered; though the melts that
form volcanic rocks are created at depth, the melts crystallize into rock near the surface; and
so on.

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Plate Tectonics and the Rock Cycle

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

An ocean-continent convergence zone illustrates some of the many ways in which plate-
tectonic activity transforms rocks. For example, continents erode, producing sediment to make
sedimentary rocks; asthenosphere melts to make magma to form new igneous rock, as it also does
at spreading ridges. Regional metamorphism can result from heating and increased pressure
associated with deep burial, heat from magmatic activity, and the compressive stress of
convergence; close to shallow magma bodies, contact metamorphism may also occur. No rocks are
preserved indefinitely; all are caught up in this cycle of continuous change.

Economic Geology and Mineralogy

 Mineralogists have identified some 4,400 different mineral species than on any of our
neighboring planets.
 The processes of plate tectonics and the rock cycle on this planet have gradually
concentrated uncommon elements and allowed them to crystallize into new minerals.
 Most of Earth’s minerals are oxides, but there was little free oxygen in the atmosphere until
it was released by photosynthetic organisms, thus triggering evolution of our great variety
of minerals.
 Economic mineralogy is the study of resources that are valuable for manufacturing and are,
therefore, an important part of domestic and international commerce.
 Most economic minerals are metal bearing ores, minerals with unusually high
concentrations of metals.

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 Metals have been so important in human affairs that major epochs of human history are
commonly known by their dominant materials and the technology involved in using those
materials (Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, etc.).
 The mining, processing and distribution of these materials have broad implications for both
our culture and our environment.
 Most economically valuable crustal resources exist everywhere in small amounts; the
important thing is to find them concentrated in economically recoverable levels.
 Below is a table showing the primary uses of some major metals consumed in the United
States.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Metals
 The metals consumed in greatest quantity by world industry include iron (740 million
metric tons annually), aluminum (40 million metric tons), manganese (22.4 million
metric tons), copper and chromium (8 million metric tons each), and nickel (0.7
million metric tons).
 Most of these metals are consumed in the United States, Japan, and Europe, in that
order.
 The largest sources are China, Australia, Russia, Canada, and the United States. To
some extent the abundance of ores in these countries is simply a matter of land area,
but Africa has relatively little metal ore.
 The rapid growth of green technologies, such as renewable energy and electric
vehicles, has made a group of rare earth metals especially important. Worries about
impending shortages of these minerals complicate future developments in this
sector.

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Nonmetals
 Nonmetal minerals are a broad class that covers resources from silicate minerals
(gemstones, mica, talc, and asbestos) to sand, gravel, salts, limestone, and soils.
 Durable, highly valuable, and easily portable, gemstones and precious metals have
long been a way to store and transport wealth. Unfortunately these valuable
materials also have bankrolled despots, criminal gangs, and terrorism in many
countries.
 Civil rights organizations are campaigning to require better documentation of the
origins of gems and precious metals to prevent their use as financing for crimes
against humanity. Who knows that the diamond ring or gold wedding band that we
cherish are from inhumane labor conditions and environmentally destructive mining
and processing methods.
 Sand and gravel production comprise by far the greatest volume and dollar value of
all nonmetal mineral resources and a far greater volume than all metal ores. Sand
and gravel are used mainly in brick and concrete construction and paving, as loose
road filler, and for sandblasting.
 High-purity silica sand is our source of glass. These materials usually are retrieved
from surface pit mines and quarries, where they were deposited by glaciers, winds,
or ancient oceans.

Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction

 Mining and purifying all these resources can have severe environmental and social
consequences.
 The most obvious effect of mining is often the disturbance or removal of the land
surface. Farther-reaching effects, though, include air and water pollution.
 The EPA lists more than 100 toxic air pollutants, from acetone to xylene, released
from U.S. mines every year. Nearly 80,000 metric tons of particulate matter (dust) and
11,000 tons of sulfur dioxide are released from nonmetal mining alone.
 Pollution from chemical and sediment runoff is a major problem in many local
watersheds.
 Gold and other metals are often found in sulfide ores. When these minerals are
exposed to air and water, they produce sulfuric acid, which is highly mobile and
strongly acidic.
 Vast quantities of ore must be crushed and washed to extract metals.
 After using water in ore processing, much of the water contains sulfuric acid, arsenic,
heavy metals, and other contaminants. Mine runoff leaking into lakes and streams
damages or destroys aquatic ecosystems.

Serious Environmental Impacts of Mining

 An ancient method of accumulating gold, diamonds, and coal is placer mining, in
which pure nuggets are washed from stream sediments. Since the California gold
rush of 1849, placer miners have used water cannons to blast away hillsides. This
method, which chokes stream ecosystems with sediment, is still used in Alaska,
Canada, and many other regions.
 Another ancient, and much more dangerous, method is underground mining. Mine
tunnels occasionally collapse, and natural gas in coal mines can explode. Water
seeping into mine shafts also dissolves toxic minerals. Contaminated water seeps
into groundwater; it is also pumped to the surface, where it enters streams and lakes.

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 In underground coal mines, another major environmental risk is fires. Hundreds of

coal mines smolder in the United States, China, Russia, India, South Africa, and
Europe. The inaccessibility and size of these fires make many impossible to
extinguish or control. China, which depends on coal for much of its heating and
electricity, has hundreds of smoldering mine fires; one has been burning for 400
years. According to a recent study from the International Institute for Aerospace
Survey in the Netherlands, these fires consume up to 200 million tons of coal every
year and emit as much carbon dioxide as all the cars in the United States. Toxic
fumes, explosive methane, and other hazardous emissions are also released from
these fires.
 Open-pit mines are used to extract massive beds of metal ores and other minerals.
The size of modern open pits can be hard to comprehend. The Bingham Canyon
mine, near Salt Lake City, Utah, is 800 m (2,640 ft) deep and nearly 4 km (2.5 mi) wide
at the top. More than 5 billion tons of copper ore and waste material have been
removed from the hole since 1906.
 Half the coal used in the United States comes from surface or strip mines. Because
coal is often found in expansive, horizontal beds, the entire land surface can be
stripped away to cheaply and quickly expose the coal. The overburden, or surface
material, is placed back into the mine, but usually in long ridges called spoil banks.
Spoil banks are very susceptible to erosion and chemical weathering. Because the
spoil banks have no topsoil (the complex organic mixture that supports vegetation),
revegetation occurs very slowly.
 Over mountaintop removal, a coal mining method mainly practiced in Appalachia.
Long, sinuous ridge-tops are removed by giant mining machines to expose
horizontal beds of coal (See below figure). Up to 215 m (700 ft) of ridge-top is
pulverized and dumped into adjacent river valleys. The debris can be laden with
selenium, arsenic, coal, and other toxic substances.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

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 The Mineral Policy Center in Washington, D.C., estimates that 19,000 km (12,000 mi)
of rivers and streams in the United States are contaminated by mine drainage. The
EPA estimates that cleaning up impaired streams, along with 550,000 abandoned
mines, in the United States may cost $70 billion. Worldwide, mine closing and
rehabilitation costs are estimated in the trillions of dollars. Because of the volatile
prices of metals and coal, many mining companies have gone bankrupt before
restoring mine sites, leaving the public responsible for cleanup.

Processing Ores’ Negative Impact

 Smelting or roasting ore to release metals—is a major source of air pollution. One of
the most notorious examples of ecological devastation from smelting is a wasteland
near Ducktown, Tennessee.
 Heap-leach extraction, which is often used to get metals from low-grade ore, has a
high potential for environmental contamination. A cyanide solution sprayed on a
large pile of ore to dissolve gold can leak into surface or ground water.

Every other year the Blacksmith Institute compiles a list of the world’s worst pollution
problems. For 2010 they analyzed the top six toxic threats to human health. Five of the six
are metals or metaloids (lead, mercury, chromium, radionuclide, and arsenic), and the
largest pollution problems are generally associated with mining and processing. Altogether
they estimate about 60 million people are jeopardized by these pollution sources. These
problems are especially disastrous in the developing world and in the former Soviet Union,
where funds and political will aren’t available to deal with pollution or help people suffering
from terrible health effects of pollution.

Conservation of Geological Resources

 Conservation offers great potential for extending our supplies of economic minerals
and reducing the effects of mining and processing.
 The advantages of conservation are also significant:
- Less waste to dispose of
- Less land lost to mining
- Less consumption of money, energy, and water resources.

Recycling
 Recycling is slowly increasing as raw materials become more scarce and wastes
become more plentiful.
 Recycling waste aluminum, such as beverage cans, on the other hand, consumes
one-twentieth of the energy of extracting new aluminum. Today nearly two-thirds
of all aluminum beverage cans in the United States are recycled, up from only 15
percent 20 years ago. The high value of aluminum scrap ($650 a ton versus $60
for steel, $200 for plastic, $50 for glass, and $30 for paperboard) gives consumers
plenty of incentive to deliver their cans for collection. Recycling is so rapid and
effective that half of all the aluminum cans now on a grocer’s shelf will be made
into another can within two months.
 Platinum, the catalyst in automobile catalytic exhaust converters, is valuable
enough to be regularly retrieved and recycled from used cars.
 Other metals commonly recycled are gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and
steel. The latter four are readily available in a pure and massive form, including

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copper pipes, lead batteries, and steel and iron auto parts. Gold and silver are
valuable enough to warrant recovery, even through more difficult means.
 A new type of mill subsisting entirely on a readily available supply of scrap/waste
steel and iron is a growing industry. Minimills, which remelt and reshape scrap
iron and steel, are smaller and cheaper to operate than traditional integrated
mills that perform every process from preparing raw ore to finishing iron and
steel products. Minimills produce steel at $225 to $480 per metric ton, whereas
steel from integrated mills averages $1,425 to $2,250 per metric ton. The energy
cost is likewise lower in minimills: 5.3 million BTU/ton of steel compared to 16.08
million BTU/ton in integrated mill furnaces.
 Below is a table showing the energy cost of extracting materials.

New Materials
 Mineral and metal consumption can be reduced by new materials or new
technologies developed to replace traditional uses.
 Bronze replaced stone technology and iron replaced bronze.
 The introduction of plastic pipe has decreased our consumption of copper, lead,
and steel pipes.
 The development of fiber-optic technology and satellite communication
reduces the need for copper telephone wires.
 In automobile production, steel is being replaced by polymers, aluminum,
ceramics, and new, high technology alloys. All of these reduce vehicle weight
and cost while increasing fuel efficiency.
 Electronics and communications (telephone) technology, once major consumers
of copper and aluminum, now use ultrahigh-purity glass cables to transmit
pulses of light, instead of metal wires carrying electron pulses.

Geological Hazards

 Earthquakes are sudden movements in the earth’s crust that occur along faults
(planes of weakness) where one rock mass slides past another one, as was the case
along the Enriquillo– Plantain Garden Fault in Haiti.

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 Tsunamis are giant sea waves triggered by earthquakes or landslides. The name is
derived from the Japanese for “harbor wave,” because the waves often are noticed
only when they approach shore. Tsunamis can be more damaging than the
earthquakes that create them. The tsunami that struck the coast of Japan on March 11,
2011, for example, was triggered by a magnitude 9.0 underwater earthquake about
72 km (45 mi) out to sea.
 Volcanoes and undersea magma vents produce much of the earth’s crust. Volcanoes
have also been an ever-present threat to human populations. One of the most famous
historic volcanic eruptions was that of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy, which buried
the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii in A.D. 79.
 Gravity constantly pulls downward on every material everywhere on earth, causing a
variety of phenomena collectively termed mass wasting or mass movement, in
which geological materials are moved downslope from one place to another. The
resulting movement is often slow and subtle, but some slope processes such as
rockslides, avalanches, and land slumping can be swift, dangerous, and very
obvious. Landslide is a general term for rapid downslope movement of soil or rock.
In the United States alone, over $1 billion in property damage is done every year by
landslides and related mass wasting.
 Floods are normal events that cause damage when people get in the way. As rivers
carve and shape the landscape, they build broad floodplains, level expanses that are
periodically inundated. Many cities have been built on these flat, fertile plains, which
are both good for agriculture and convenient to the river. When floods occur
irregularly, people develop a false sense of security. But eventually most floodplains
do flood.
 Beach erosion occurs on all sandy shorelines because the motion of the waves is
constantly redistributing sand and other sediments. One of the world’s longest and
most spectacular sand beaches runs down the Atlantic Coast of North America from
New England to Florida and around the Gulf of Mexico. Much of this beach lies on
some 350 long, thin barrier islands that stand between the mainland and the open
sea.

Climate Change

Weather and Climate

Weather - refers to atmospheric conditions that occur locally over short periods of time—
from minutes to hours or days. Familiar examples include rain, snow, clouds, winds, floods
or thunderstorms.

Climate - refers to the long-term regional or even global average of temperature, humidity
and rainfall patterns over seasons, years or decades.

Greenhouse Effect
- Warming that result when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward
space.
- Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
 Water vapour
 Carbon Dioxide
 Methane
 Nitrous Oxide

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 Chlorofluorocarbons
- The consequences of changing the natural atmospheric greenhouse are difficult
to predict, but certain effects are:
 On average, Earth will become warmer. Some regions may welcome
warmer temperatures, but others may not.
 Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation and
precipitation overall, but individual regions will vary, some becoming
wetter and others dryer.
 A stronger greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and partially melt
glaciers and other ice, increasing sea level. Ocean water also will expand
if it warms, contributing further to sea level rise.
 Some crops and other plants may respond favorably to increase
atmospheric CO2, growing more vigorously and using water more
efficiently. At the same time, higher temperatures and shifting climate
patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the
makeup of natural plant communities.

Global Warming
- The long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial
period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel
burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s
atmosphere.
- Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased
Earth’s global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees
Fahrenheit), a number that is currently increasing by 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36
degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. Most of the current warming trend is extremely
likely (greater than 95 percent probability) the result of human activity since the
1950s and is proceeding at an unprecedented rate over decades to millennia.

Climate Change
- A long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s
local, regional and global climates.
- Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the early 20th century are primarily
driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-
trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, raising Earth’s average
surface temperature. These human-produced temperature increases are commonly
referred to as global warming.
- Natural processes can also contribute to climate change, including internal
variability (e.g., cyclical ocean patterns like El Niño, La Niña and the Pacific Decadal
Oscillation) and external forcing (e.g., volcanic activity, changes in the Sun’s energy
output, and variations in Earth’s orbit).
- Evidence of climate change key indicators:
 global land and ocean temperature increases
 rising sea levels
 ice loss at Earth’s poles and in mountain glaciers
 frequency and severity changes in extreme weather such as hurricanes, heat
waves, wildfires, droughts, floods and precipitation
 cloud and vegetation cover changes

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- Future Effects of Climate Change

 Change Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond
 Frost-free Season (and Growing Season) will Lengthen
 Changes in Precipitation Patterns
 More Droughts and Heat Waves
 Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense
 Sea Level Will Rise 1-8 feet by 2100
 Arctic Likely to Become Ice-Free

References:

Earth Science Communications Team. (2020, July 27). The Effects of Climate Change.
Retrieved July 30, 2020, from NASA Global Climate Change:
https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/

Cunnigham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2012). Environmental Science: A Global Concern,

Twelfth Edition. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

Earth Science Communications Team. (2020, July 27). Overview: Weather, Global Warming
and Climate Change. Retrieved July 30, 2020, from NASA Global Climate Change:
https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming-vs-climate-change/

Earth Science Communications Team. (2020, July 27). The Causes of Climate Change.
Retrieved July 30, 2020, from NASA Global Climate Change:
https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
Garrison, C. (2016). East African Rift A triple junction joins the East African Rift System to the
Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea Oceanic crust began forming in the Gulf. Retrieved July 29, 2020,
from SlidePlayer: https://slideplayer.com/slide/8027131/
Geology of the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2020, from Afar
Rift Consortium: http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/afar/new-afar/geology-afar/structure-tech-
pages/red-sea-aden-tech.html
Montgomery, C. W. (2011). Environmental Geology, Ninth Edition. 1221 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, NY 10020: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Offset by Shutterstock. (n.d.). Rio grande rift. Retrieved July 29, 2020, from Offset by
Shutterstock: https://www.offset.com/search/rio+grande+rift

Stansberry, B. (n.d.). New Madrid Fault Sign. Retrieved July 29, 2020, from Wikimedia:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/New-Madrid-Fault-sign-mo.jpg

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Main Topic 2: Natural Resources and Pollution in the Environment

RESOURCES: WATER, SOIL, MINERAL & ROCK, AND ENERGY

Introduction
In this lesson you will learn about the different resources necessary to our
society such as water, soil, mineral & rock and energy resources. Properties, types,
processes, problems faced and conservation of these resources are included in the
below discussions.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 2 (Syllabus)
 Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the
engineer's role in the manipulation of materials and resources.
Topic Outcomes:
 Explain the different resources necessary to human life and civilization

Water as a Resource
It is evident that water availability for domestic use, agriculture, and industry is
important to everyone. But, most of us take for granted the availability of it. Lack of
water may control the extent of development of other resources such as fossil fuels.
Below table shows the distribution of water in the hydrosphere. From the data, there
is little fresh liquid water on the earth. Most of the fresh water is locked up as ice,
mainly in the large polar ice caps. Even the ground water beneath continental surfaces
is not all fresh. With these, the need for restraint in our use of fresh water is a must.
Geologically, water is a renewable resource, but local supplies may be inadequate in
the short term.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Porosity and Permeability of Rocks and Mineral Materials

- Porosity and permeability involve the ability of rocks or other mineral materials
(sediments, soils) to contain fluids and to allow fluids to pass through them.
- Porosity is the proportion of void space in the material (holes or cracks),
unfilled by solid material, within or between individual mineral grains and is a
measure of how much fluid the material can store. Porosity may be expressed

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either as a percentage or as an equivalent decimal fraction. The pore spaces

may be occupied by gas, liquid, or a combination of the two.
- Permeability is a measure of how readily fluids pass through the material. It is
related to the extent to which pores or cracks are interconnected, and to their
size—larger pores have a lower surface-to-volume ratio so there is less frictional
drag to slow the fluids down.
- Porosity and permeability of geologic materials are both influenced by the
shapes of mineral grains or rock fragments in the material, the range of grain
sizes present, and the way in which the grains fit together.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Typical Ranges of Porosities (Blue Bars) and Permeabilities (Brown) Of Various
Geological Materials

Subsurface Waters
- Saturated zone or phreatic zone is a volume of rock or soil above the
impermeable material that is water-saturated, in which water fills all the
accessible pore space. Groundwater is the water in the saturated zone.
- Unsaturated zone or vadose zone is rock or soil above the saturated zone in
which the pore spaces are filled partly with water, partly with air. The water in

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unsaturated soil is soil moisture, and is often an important factor in

agricultural productivity.
- Subsurface water is all of the water occupying pore space below the ground
surface this includes ground water, soil moisture, and water in unsaturated
rocks.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Nomenclature of Surface and Subsurface Waters

- The water table is the top surface of the saturated zone, where the saturated
zone is not confined by overlying impermeable rocks. The water table is not
always below the ground surface. Where the water table locally intersects the
ground surface, the result may be a lake, stream, spring, or wetland; the
water’s surface is the water table. The water table below ground is not flat like
a tabletop. It may rise and fall with the surface topography and with the
changing distribution of permeable and impermeable rocks underground. The
height of the water table varies as well. It is highest when the ratio of input
water to water removed is greatest, typically in the spring, when rain is heavy or
snow and ice accumulations melt. In dry seasons, or when local human use of
ground water is intensive, the water table drops, and the amount of available
ground water remaining decreases.
- Recharge is the processes of infiltration and migration or percolation by which
ground water is replaced.
- Groundwater discharge occurs where ground water flows into a stream,
escapes at the surface in a spring, or otherwise exits the aquifer.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

A. the stream represents a site of groundwater discharge,
B. water from the stream channel percolates downward to add to the
groundwater supply.

- Aquifer is a rock that holds enough water and transmits it rapidly enough to be
useful as a source of water. Many of the best aquifers are sandstones or other
coarse clastic sedimentary rocks, but any other type of rock may serve if it is
sufficiently porous and permeable like a porous or fractured limestone,
fractured basalt, or weathered granite.
- An aquitard is a rock that may store a considerable quantity of water, but in
which water flow is slowed, or retarded; that is, its permeability is low,
regardless of its porosity. Shales are common aquitards.
- Aquiclude was used to describe an extreme aquitard, a rock that is essentially
impermeable on a human timescale; but virtually no rock would be
impermeable indefinitely, and the term aquiclude has fallen into disuse.

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Confined and Unconfined Aquifers

- Unconfined aquifer is when the aquifer is directly overlain only by permeable
rocks and soil. An unconfined aquifer may be recharged by infiltration over the
whole area underlain by that aquifer, if no impermeable layers above to stop the
downward flow of water from surface to aquifer. If a well is drilled into an
unconfined aquifer, the water will rise in the well to the same height as the
water table in the aquifer. The water must be actively pumped up to the ground
surface.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Unconfined aquifer
- A confined aquifer is bounded above and below by low permeability rocks
(aquitards). Water in a confined aquifer may be under considerable pressure
from the adjacent rocks, or as a consequence of lateral differences in elevation
within the aquifer. The confining layers prevent the free flow of water to relieve
this pressure. If a well is drilled into a confined aquifer, the water can rise
above its level in the aquifer because of this extra hydrostatic (fluid) pressure.
This is called an artesian system. The water in an artesian system may or may
not rise all the way to the ground surface; some pumping may still be necessary
to bring it to the surface for use. In such a system, rather than describing the
height of the water table, geologists refer to the height of the potentiometric
surface , which represents the height to which the water’s pressure would raise
the water if the water were unconfined. This level will be somewhat higher than
the top of the confined aquifer where its rocks are saturated, and it may be
above the ground surface.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Natural internal pressure in a confined aquifer system creates artesian
conditions, in which water may rise above the apparent (confined) local water
table. The aquifer here is sandstone; the confining layers, shale.

Consequences of Groundwater Withdrawal

Lowering the Water Table

- When ground water is pumped out from an aquifer, the rate at which water
flows in from surrounding rock to replace the extracted water is generally
slower than the rate at which water is taken out.
- Cone of depression is a circular lowering of the water table immediately
around the well in an unconfined aquifer.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Lowering of the Water Table in a Cone of Depression around a Pumped Well in an
Unconfined Aquifer

- When there are many closely spaced wells, the cones of depression of adjacent
wells may overlap, further lowering the water table between wells.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Overlapping Cones of Depression Lead to Net Lowering of the Water Table;
Shallower Wells may Run Dry

- If over a period of time, groundwater withdrawal rates consistently exceed

recharge rates, the regional water table may drop. A clue that this is happening
is the need for wells throughout a region to be drilled deeper periodically to
keep the water fl owing.
- Cones of depression can likewise develop in potentiometric surfaces. When
artesian ground water is withdrawn at a rate exceeding the recharge rate, the
potentiometric surface can be lowered.
- Groundwater flow rates are highly variable, but in many aquifers, they are of
the order of only meters or tens of meters per year.
- Recharge of significant amounts of ground water, especially to confined aquifers
with limited recharge areas, can thus require decades or centuries.
- Where ground water is being depleted by too much withdrawal too fast, one can
speak of “mining” ground water. The idea is not necessarily that the water will
never be recharged but that the rate is so slow on the human timescale as to be
insignificant.
- Human activities may themselves reduce natural recharge, so ground water
consumed may not be replaced, even slowly.

Compaction and Surface Subsidence

- If the aquifer rocks are no longer saturated with water, they may become
compacted from the weight of overlying rocks. This decreases their porosity,
permanently reducing their water-holding capacity, and may also decrease their
permeability.

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- As the rocks below compact and settle, the ground surface itself may subside
(collapse). Where water depletion is extreme, the surface subsidence may be
several meters.
- Lowering of the water table/potentiometric surface also may contribute to
sinkhole formation.
- At high elevations or in inland areas, the subsidence causes only structural
problems as building foundations are disrupted.
- In low-elevation coastal regions, the subsidence may lead to extensive flooding,
as well as to increased rates of coastal erosion.
- The city of Venice, Italy, is in one such slowly drowning coastal area.

Source: (WESTEND61)
Venice Grand Canal
- Metro Manila is an example of surface subsidence due to over-pumping of
groundwater by the increasing population (Dinglasan, 2013).

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Source: (Dinglasan, 2013)

Sinking and Flooding Metro Manila

- In areas were surface had subsided , simple solutions such as pumping water
back underground are unlikely to work. The rocks may have been permanently
compacted. This is the case in Venice, where subsidence may have been halted
but rebound is not expected because clayey rocks in the aquifer system are
irreversibly compacted.

Saltwater Intrusion
- Salt water intrusion is another problem arising from groundwater use in
coastal regions.
- Fresh water falling on land does not mix so readily with saline ground water at
depth because water in the pore spaces in rock or soil is not vigorously churned
by currents or wave action.
- Fresh water is less dense than salt water, so, the fresh water accumulates in a
lens which floats above the denser salt water.
- If water use approximately equals the rate of recharge, the freshwater lens stays
about the same thickness.
- If consumption of fresh ground water is more rapid, the freshwater lens thins
and the denser saline ground water laden with dissolved sodium chloride moves
up to fill in pores emptied by removal of fresh water. Upconing of salt water
below cones of depression in the freshwater lens may also occur. Wells that
had been tapping the freshwater lens may begin pumping unwanted salt water
instead, as the limited freshwater supply gradually decreases.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Saltwater Intrusion in a Coastal Zone

- Once a section of an aquifer becomes tainted with salt, it cannot readily be “made
fresh” again.

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Impacts of Urbanization on Groundwater Recharge

- An increasing concentration of people means an increased demand for water.
- Urbanization may involve extensive modification of surface-water runoff patterns
and stream channels. As it modifies surface runoff and the ratio of runoff to
infiltration, urbanization also influences groundwater hydrology.
- Impermeable cover such as buildings, asphalt and concrete roads, sidewalks,
parking lots, and airport runways over one part of a broad area underlain by an
unconfined aquifer has relatively little impact on that aquifer’s recharge.
- In a confined aquifer, the available recharge area may be very limited, since
the overlying confining layer prevents direct downward infiltration in most
places. If impermeable cover is built over the recharge area of a confined
aquifer, then, recharge can be considerably reduced, thus aggravating the
water-supply situation.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

(Left) The recharge area of this confined aquifer is limited to the area where
permeable rocks intersect the surface.
(Right) Recharge to the confined aquifer may be reduced by placement of
impermeable cover over the limited recharge area.

- Filling in wetlands is a common way to provide more land for construction.

This practice can interfere with recharge, especially if surface runoff is rapid
elsewhere in the area.
- A marsh or swamp in a recharge area that is holding water for long periods can
be a major source of infiltration and recharge. Filling it in so water no longer
accumulates there and topping the fill with impermeable cover may greatly
reduce local groundwater recharge.
- In steeply sloping areas or those with low-permeability soils, well-planned
construction that includes artificial recharge basins can aid in increasing
groundwater recharge.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Artificial Recharge Basins Can Aid Recharge by Slowing Surface Runoff

- The basin acts similarly to a food-control retention pond in that it is designed to

catch some of the surface runoff during high-runoff event.
- Recharge basins are a partial solution to the problem of areas where
groundwater use exceeds natural recharge rate, but they are effective only
where there is surface runoff to catch, and they rely on precipitation. Artificial
recharge also involves diverting streams such as in below figure.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

USGS Artificial-Recharge Demonstration Project near Wichita, Kansas, is
designed to Stockpile Water to Meet Future Needs

Karst and Sinkholes

- Rock types such as carbonate rocks or beds of rock salt or gypsum, chemical
sediments deposited in shallow seas, are extremely soluble in water.
Dissolution of these rocks by subsurface water, and occasional collapse or

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subsidence of the ground surface into the resultant cavities, creates a

distinctive terrain known as karst.
- The solution process forms extensive channels, voids, and even large caverns
underground. This creates large volumes of space for water storage and, where
the voids are well interconnected, makes rapid groundwater movement possible.
- Karst aquifers can be sources of plentiful water. But, the irregular distribution
of large voids and channels makes it more difficult to estimate available water
volume or to determine groundwater flow rates and paths. Since the water flow
is typically much more rapid than in non-karst aquifers, recharge and
discharge occur on shorter timescales and water supply may be less
predictable. Contaminants can spread rapidly to pollute the water in karst
aquifer systems, and the natural filtering that occurs in many non-karst
aquifers with finer pores and passages may not occur in karst systems.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Dissolution of soluble rocks underground creates large voids below the surface
and, often, leads to surface subsidence above

- The underground water dissolving large volumes of soluble rocks over long
periods of time that slowly enlarging underground caverns can also erode
support for the land above. There may be no obvious evidence at the surface
level of what is happening until the ground collapses abruptly into the void,
producing a sinkhole.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Sinkhole at Winter Park, Florida - Collapse on May 8–9, 1981 was caused in part
by drought. Photograph courtesy USGS Water Resources Division
- The collapse of a sinkhole may be triggered by a drop in the water table as a
result of drought or water use that leaves rocks and soil that were previously
buoyed up by water pressure unsupported.
- Failure may also be caused by the rapid input of large quantities of water from
heavy rains that wash overlying soil down into the cavern or by an increase in
subsurface water flow rates.
- Sinkholes come in many sizes. The larger ones are quite capable of swallowing
many houses at a time. If one occurs in a developed area, a single sinkhole can
cause millions of dollars in property damage. Sudden sinkhole collapses
beneath bridges, roads, and railways have occasionally caused accidents and
even deaths.
- Where there is one sinkhole in a region underlain by such soluble rocks, there are
likely to be others. An abundance of sinkholes in an area is a strong hint that
more can be expected.

Water Quality
- The water on and in the continents is not all fresh. Rainwater is not considered
as pure water because it contains dissolved chemicals of various kinds,
especially in industrialized areas with substantial air pollution.
- Water quality is important to evaluate when looking for a potential water supply
source.
- Water quality may be described in a variety of ways, like to express the amount
of a dissolved chemical substance present as a concentration in parts per
million (ppm) or, for very dilute substances, parts per billion (ppb).
- Total dissolved solids (TDS) is one of the parameters used in describing water
quality, the sum of the concentrations of all dissolved solid chemicals in the
water. The level of TDS required or acceptable varies with the application.

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- Hard water simply contains substantial amounts of dissolved calcium and

magnesium. When calcium and magnesium concentrations reach or exceed the
range of 80 to 100 ppm, the hardness may become objectionable. You know the
water is hard when it prevents the soap from lathering properly, causes
bathtubs to develop rings and laundered clothes to retain a gray soap scum.
- Here in the Philippines, you may refer to DENR A.O. 2016-08 also known as
the Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards for the
significant parameters need to monitor per industry and the allowable value of
these parameters. Also, stated there is the classification of water in the
Philippines.

Extending the Water Supply

Conservation
- Water is wasted in home use every day by long showers, inefficient plumbing,
insistence on lush, green lawns even in the heat of summer, and in dozens of
other ways.
- Irrigation use must be moderated if the depletion rate of water supplies is to be
reduced appreciably. For example, the raising of crops that require a great deal
of water could be shifted to areas where natural rainfall is adequate to support
them. Irrigation methods can also be made more efficient so that far less water
is lost by evaporation. Instead of running irrigation water in open ditches from
which evaporation loss is high, the water can be distributed via pipes with tiny
holes from which water seeps slowly into the ground at a rate more closely
approaching that at which plants use it. However, the more efficient methods
are often considerably more expensive too.
- Domestic use can be reduced in a variety of ways. For example, lawns can be
watered morning or evening when evaporation is less rapid than at midday or
one can forgo traditional lawns altogether in favor of ground covers that don’t
need watering. Stormwater can be directed into recharge basins rather than
dumped into sewer systems. Municipalities in dry areas are looking to recycle
their wastewater

Interbasin Water Transfer

- People persist in settling and farming in areas that may not be especially well
supplied with fresh water, while other areas with abundant water go
undeveloped.
- If the people cannot be persuaded to be more practical, perhaps the water can
be redirected. This is the idea behind interbasin transfers, moving surface
waters from one stream system’s drainage basin to another’s where demand is
higher.
- California pioneered the idea with the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The aqueduct was
completed in 1913 and carried nearly 150 million gallons of water per day from
the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada to Los Angeles. In 1958, the system was
expanded to bring water from northern California to the southern part of the
state.

Desalination
- Desalination of seawater would allow parched coastal regions to tap the vast
ocean reservoirs.

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- Some ground waters are not presently used for water supplies because they
contain excessive concentrations of dissolved materials.
- There are two basic methods used to purify water of dissolved minerals:
filtration and distillation.
- In a filtration system, the water is passed through fine filters or membranes to
screen out dissolved impurities. An advantage of this method is that it can
rapidly filter great quantities of water. A disadvantage is that the method works
best on water not containing very high levels of dissolved minerals.
- Distillation involves heating or boiling water full of dissolved minerals. The
water vapor driven off is pure water, while the minerals stay behind in what
remains of the liquid. This is true regardless of how concentrated the dissolved
minerals are, the method works fine on seawater as well as on less saline
waters. The disadvantage is the nature of the necessary heat source. Furnaces
fired by coal, gas, or other fuels can be used, but any fuel may be costly in large
quantity, and many conventional fuels are becoming scarce.
- Desalinated water may be five to ten times more costly to deliver than water
pumped straight from a stream or aquifer.
- In areas such as the arid Middle East, the more-acute need for irrigation water
has made desalinated seawater a viable agricultural option economically.
- A massive Israeli desalination plant began providing desalinated water from the
Mediterranean Sea for domestic and agricultural use in late 2005. The water’s
reduced sulfate concentrations were fine for people, but inadequate for some
crops. Calcium had been added back to this desalinated water for human
health, but irrigated plants began to show magnesium-deficiency symptoms.
Boron had not been removed which was fine for people, but toxic for some of
the crops. These and other observations demonstrate that using desalinated
water may require more than just getting the salt out.

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Soil as a Resource
Soil is an essential resource especially for the production of the major portion of
our food. Soils vary in their suitability not only for agriculture but also for
construction and other purposes. However, problems such as loss of soil fertility and
sediment pollution of surface waters are less obvious to the eyes and may be too
subtle to be noticed readily. Sadly, soil erosion is a significant and expensive problem
in an increasing number of places as human activities disturb more and more land.

Soil Formation

- Soil is defined in different ways for different purposes.

- Engineering geologists define soil very broadly to include all unconsolidated
material overlying bedrock.
- Soil scientists use the term soil to those materials capable of supporting plant
growth. It also implies little transportation away from the site at which the soil
formed.
- Regolith is the loose material on the lunar surface, it encompasses all
unconsolidated material at the surface, fertile or not.
- Sediment indicates matter that has been transported and redeposited by wind,
water, or ice.
- Soil is produced by weathering. Weathering encompasses a variety of chemical,
physical, and biological processes acting to break down rocks and minerals.
- Soils may be formed directly from bedrock, or from further breakdown of
transported sediment such as glacial till.
- Climate, topography, the composition of the material from which the soil is
formed, the activity of organisms, and time govern a soil’s final composition.

Weathering
- Mechanical weathering, also called physical weathering, is the physical
breakup of rocks without changes in the rocks’ composition. The principal effect
of mechanical weathering is the breakup of large chunks of rock into smaller
ones.
- Chemical weathering involves the breakdown of minerals by chemical reaction
with water, with other chemicals dissolved in water, or with gases in the air. A
rock’s tendency to weather chemically is determined by its mineral composition.
For example, a gabbro, the coarsely crystalline equivalent of basalt, formed at
high temperatures and rich in ferromagnesian minerals weathers more readily
than a granite rich in quartz and low temperature feldspars.
- Climate plays a major role in the intensity of chemical weathering. Most of the
relevant chemical reactions involve water, the more water, the more chemical
weathering. Also, most chemical reactions proceed more rapidly at high
temperatures than at low ones. Warm climates are more conducive to chemical
weathering than cold ones.
- The rates of chemical and mechanical weathering are interrelated. Chemical
weathering may speed up the mechanical breakup of rocks if the minerals being
dissolved are holding the rock together by cementing the mineral grains, as in
some sedimentary rocks. Increased mechanical weathering may accelerate
chemical weathering through the increase in exposed surface area, because it is
only at grain surfaces that minerals, air, and water interact. The higher the

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ratio of surface area to volume and the smaller the particles, the chemical
weathering is more rapid.
- Biological weathering effects can be either mechanical or chemical. Among the
mechanical effects is the action of tree roots in working into cracks to split
rocks apart. Chemically, many organisms produce compounds that may react
with and dissolve or break down minerals. Plants, animals, and
microorganisms develop more abundantly and in greater variety in warm, wet
climates. Mechanical weathering is generally the dominant process only in
areas where climatic conditions have limited the impact of chemical weathering
and biological effects that is in cold or dry areas.
- Airborne chemicals and sediments may add components to soil. For example,
sulfate from acid rain, salts from sea spray in coastal areas, clay minerals and
other fine-grained minerals blown on the wind.

Soil Profile

- Blanket of soil between bedrock and atmosphere is the formation resulted

from mechanical, chemical, and biological weathering, together with the
accumulation of decaying remains from organisms living on the land and any
input from the atmosphere.
- The cross section of this soil blanket reveals a series of zones of different colors,
compositions, and physical properties. The number of recognizable zones and
the thickness of each vary.

Soil Horizons
 O horizon - consisting wholly of organic matter, whether living or
decomposed—growing. plants, decaying leaves, and so on.
 A horizon – below O horizon, consists of the most intensively weathered
rock material, being the zone most exposed to surface processes, mixed with
organic debris from above.
 E horizon - below the A horizon, is also known as the zone of leaching.
Fine grained minerals, such as clays, may also be washed downward
through this zone.
 B horizon - is also known as the zone of accumulation. Many of the
minerals leached or extracted from the E horizon accumulate in this layer.
Soil in the B horizon has been somewhat protected from surface processes.
Organic matter from the surface is largely absent from the B horizon. It may
contain relatively high concentrations of iron and aluminum oxides, clay
minerals, and, in drier climates, even soluble minerals such as calcite. B
 C horizon - below the B horizon, is a zone consisting principally of very
coarsely broken-up bedrock and little else. This horizon does not resemble
our usual idea of soil at all.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Generalized Soil Profile

Chemical and Physical Properties of Soils

Color, Texture, and Structure of Soils

- Soil color tends to reflect compositional characteristics. Soils rich in organic
matter tend to be black or brown, while those poor in organic matter are paler
in color, often white or gray.
- Soil texture is related to the sizes of fragments in the soil. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture recognizes three size components: sand (grain
diameters 2−0.05 mm), silt (0.05−0.002 mm), and clay (less than .002 mm).
Loam, describes a soil that is a mixture of all three particle sizes in similar
proportions (10 to 30% clay, the balance nearly equal amounts of sand and
silt). Soils are named on the basis of the dominant grain size(s) present.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Soil-texture terminology reflecting particle size.
Diagram simplified from U.S. Department of Agriculture classification scheme.

- Soil structure relates to the soil’s tendency to form lumps or clods of soil
particles. Peds, from the Latin root pedo- meaning “soil”, is the term use for
clumps. A soil that clumps readily may be more resistant to erosion. Some of
the fine-grained soils developed on fine loess in the United States and in China
may erode very readily. Soil consisting of very large peds with large cracks
between them may be a poor growing medium for small plants with fine roots.
However, abundant organic matter may promote the aggregation of soil
particles into crumb like peds especially conducive to good plant growth.
Mechanical weathering can break up larger clumps into smaller, just as it
breaks up rock fragments.

Soil Classification
- Soil classifications can indicate something of a soil’s composition and
perhaps its origins, which in turn may have implications for its suitability for
agriculture or construction, or its vulnerability to degradation.
- Early soil classification schemes emphasized compositional differences among
soils and thus principally reflected the effects of chemical weathering. The
pedalfer soils were seen as characteristic of more humid regions. The term
pedalfer comes from the prefix pedo - and the Latin words for aluminum
(alumium) and iron (ferrum). The term pedocal is for the soil of a dry climate.
The presence of calcium carbonate makes pedocal soils more alkaline. One
problem with this simple classification scheme is that the soils it describes
must have formed over suitable bedrock. However, the terms pedalfer and
pedocal can be used generally to indicate, respectively, more and less
extensively leached soils.

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- The U.S. comprehensive soil classification, known as the Seventh

Approximation, has twelve major categories (orders), which are subdivided
through five more levels of classification into a total of some 12,000 soil series.
Some of the orders are characterized by a particular environment of formation
and the distinctive soil properties resulting from it. Others are characterized
principally by physical properties. Below table presents the Twelve Soil Orders.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Distribution of major soil types worldwide.
Map from World Soil Resources Office of USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service

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Soils and Human Activities

Lateritic Soil
- Lateritic soil is common to many less-developed nations and poses special
agricultural challenges. A laterite may be regarded as an extreme kind of
pedalfer.
- Lateritic soils develop in tropical climates with high temperatures and heavy
rainfall is severely leached.
- Lateritic soil may contain very little besides the insoluble aluminum and iron
compounds.
- Soils of the lush tropical rain forests are commonly lateritic, which seems to
suggest that lateritic soils have great farmland potential. However, the opposite
is true.

Two disadvantages of lateritic soil in lush tropical rainforests:

1. The highly leached characteristic of lateritic soils is a disadvantage.
Even where the vegetation is dense, the soil itself has few soluble nutrients
left in it. The forest holds a huge reserve of nutrients, but there is no
corresponding reserve in the soil. If the forest is cleared to plant crops, most
of the nutrients are cleared away with it, leaving little in the soil to nourish
the crops. Many natives of tropical climates practice a slash-and-burn
agriculture, cutting and burning the jungle to clear the land. Some of the
nutrients in the burned vegetation settle into the topsoil temporarily, but
relentless leaching by the warm rains makes the soil nutrient-poor and
infertile within a few growing seasons. Nutrients could be added through
synthetic chemical fertilizers.
2. The second problem is associated with the term laterite itself, which
is derived from the Latin for “brick.” A lush rain forest shields lateritic
soil from the drying and baking effects of the sun, while vigorous root action
helps to keep the soil well broken up. When its vegetative cover is cleared
and it is exposed to the baking tropical sun, lateritic soil can quickly harden
to a solid, bricklike consistency that resists infiltration by water or
penetration by crops’ roots.

Wetland Soils
- The soils of wetlands tend to be rich in accumulated organic matter, reduced
because the decaying organic matter consumes dissolved oxygen, and soft.
- Wetlands provide vital habitat for water birds and distinctive ecological niches
for other organisms and can act as natural retention ponds for floodwaters.
- Wetlands have not always been properly appreciated for many of these swampy
areas have been drained for farmland or for development, or simply to provide
water wanted elsewhere for irrigation.
- In drier climates, reduced precipitation can exacerbate wetland loss.

Soil Erosion
- Erosion involves physical removal of material from one place to another.
- Soil erosion is caused by the action of water and wind. Rain striking the ground
helps to break soil particles loose. Surface runoff and wind together carry away

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loosened soil. The faster the wind and water travel, the larger the particles and
the greater the load they move.
- High winds cause more erosion than calmer ones, and fast flowing surface runoff
moves more soil than slow runoff.
- Flat, exposed land is correspondingly more vulnerable to wind erosion, as
surface runoff is slower and obstacles to deflect the wind are lacking.
- The physical properties of the soil also influence its vulnerability to erosion.

Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl area proper, although never exactly defined, comprised close to 100
million acres of southeastern Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, western Kansas,
and the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. The farming crisis there during the
1930s resulted from an unfortunate combination of factors: clearing or close grazing
of natural vegetation, which had been better adapted to the local climate than were
many of the crops; drought that then destroyed those crops; sustained winds; and
poor farming practices. Once the crops had died, there was nothing to hold down
the soil. The action of the wind was most dramatically illustrated during the fierce
dust storms that began in 1932. The storms were described as “black blizzards”
that blotted out the sun. Black rain fell in New York, black snow in Vermont, as
windblown dust moved eastward. People choked on the dust, some dying of
suffocation or of a “dust pneumonia” similar to the silicosis miners develop from
breathing rock dust.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

(A) A 1930s dust storm in the Dust Bowl.
(B) Barren fields buried under windblown soil.
Photographs courtesy of USDA Soil Conservation Service

Soil Erosion Problems

 Soil erosion from cropland leads to reduced crop quality and reduced
agricultural income. Six inches of topsoil loss in western Tennessee has
reduced corn yields by over 40%, and such relationships are not
uncommon. Even when the nutrients required for adequate crop growth are
added through fertilizers, other chemicals that contribute to the nutritional

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quality of the food grown may be lacking; in other words, the food itself may
be less healthful. Also, the soil eroded from one place is deposited, sooner or
later, somewhere else.
 Soil erosion problem in some places has been increased persistence of
toxic residues of herbicides and pesticides in the soil. The loss of
nutrients and organic matter through topsoil erosion may decrease the
activity of soil microorganisms that normally speed the breakdown of many
toxic agricultural chemicals. Many of these chemicals, which contribute
significantly to water pollution, also pollute soils.
 Another major soil-erosion problem is sediment pollution. In the United
States, about 750 million tons per year of eroded sediment end up in lakes
and streams. This decreases the water quality and may harm wildlife. The
problem is still more acute when those sediments contain toxic chemical
residues, as from agricultural herbicides and pesticides. The sediment is
then both a physical and a potential chemical pollutant.
 A secondary consequence of this sediment load is the infilling of stream
channels and reservoirs, restricting navigation and decreasing the volume of
reservoirs and thus their usefulness for their intended purposes, whether for
water supply, hydropower, or flood control.

Strategies for Reducing Erosion

The wide variety of approaches for reducing erosion on farmland basically
involves either reducing the velocity of an eroding agent or protecting the soil from its
effects.

 Leaving stubble in the fields after a crop has been harvested and planting
cover crops in the off-season between cash crops. In either case, the plants’
roots help to hold the soil in place, and the plants themselves, to some extent,
shield the soil from wind and rain
 Surface runoff may be slowed on moderate slopes by contour plowing. Plowing
rows parallel to the contours of the hill, perpendicular to the direction of water
flow, creates a ridged land surface so that water does not rush downhill as
readily.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Contour-plowed field in northern Iowa.
Courtesy of Tim McCabe/NRCS/USDA

 Other slopes may require terracing, whereby a single slope is terraced into a
series of shallower slopes, or even steps that slant backward into the hill.
Terracing has been practiced since ancient times. Both terracing and contour
plowing, by slowing surface runoff, increase infiltration and enhance water
conservation as well as soil conservation. Often, terracing and contouring are
used in conjunction.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Terraces become essential on very steep slopes, as with these terraces carved
out of jungle.
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. /Barry Barker, photographer

 Wind can be slowed down by planting hedges or rows of trees as windbreaks

along field borders or in rows perpendicular to the dominant wind direction or
by erecting low fences, like snow fences, similarly arrayed. This does not
altogether stop soil movement, as shown by the ridges of soil that sometimes
pile up along the windbreaks. However, it does reduce the distance over which
soil is transported, and some of the soil caught along the windbreaks can be
redistributed over the fields.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Windbreaks retard wind erosion by disrupting sweeping winds.
Photograph © John D. Cunningham/Visuals Unlimited

 Strip cropping, alternating crops of different heights, slows near-ground wind

by making the land surface more irregular. Combining strip cropping and
contouring may help reduce both wind and water erosion.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

(Left) Strip cropping also breaks up the surface topography, decreasing wind
velocity. Allamakee County, Iowa.
(Right) Contour strip cropping of corn and alfalfa on the Iowa/Minnesota border.
Courtesy of Tim McCabe/USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Strategies to Minimize Erosion in Non-farm Areas

 In areas where vegetation is sparse, rainfall limited, and erosion a potential

problem, Off-Road Vehicles should be restricted to prescribed trails.
 In the case of urban construction projects, one reason for the severity of the
resulting erosion is that it is common practice to clear a whole area, such as an
entire housing-project site, at the beginning of the work, even though only a
small portion of the site is actively worked at any given time. Clearing the land
in stages, as needed, minimizes the length of time the soil is exposed and
reduces urban erosion.
 Mulch or temporary ground covers can protect soil that must be left exposed for
longer periods.
 Stricter mining regulations requiring reclamation of strip mined land are
already significantly reducing soil erosion and related problems in these areas.
 “Soil fences” that act somewhat like snow fences, and hay-lined soil traps
through which runoff water must flow, may reduce soil runoff from
construction sites.
 On either construction sites or farmland, surface runoff water may be trapped
and held in ponds to allow suspended sediment to settle out in the still ponds
before the clarified water is released.

Global View of Soil Resource

- Soil degradation is a concern worldwide.

- Desertification, erosion, deterioration of lateritic soil, contamination from
pollution, and other chemical modification by human activity all contribute to
reduced soil quality, fertility, and productivity.

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- Differences in population density as well as soil quality create great disparities

in per-capita arable land by region of the globe, and the numbers decline as
population grows and as arable land is covered up by development.
- Soil degradation simply further diminishes the availability of the farmland
needed to feed the world.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Six continents are significantly affected by soil degradation; on four (Africa, Australia,
Europe, and South America), little land is considered stably vegetated.
Data from Global Resource Information Database of U.N. Environment Programme

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

The causes of soil degradation vary around the world. From World Resources Institute.

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Mineral and Rock as a Resource

- Everything we build or create or use in modern life involves rock, mineral, or
fuel resources.
- The bulk of the earth’s crust is composed of fewer than a dozen elements.
- Many of the elements not found in abundance in the earth’s crust, including
industrial and precious metals, essential components of chemical fertilizers,
and elements like uranium that serve as energy sources, are vitally important to
society. Some of these are found in very minute amounts in the average rock of
the continental crust.

Ore Deposits
- An ore is a rock in which a valuable or useful metal occurs at a concentration
sufficiently high, relative to average rocks, to make it economically worth
mining.
- A given ore deposit may be described in terms of the enrichment or
concentration factor of a metal of interest:

- The higher the concentration factor, the richer the ore and the less of it need to be
mined to extract a given amount of the metal.
- The minimum concentration factor required for profitable mining is inversely
proportional to the average crustal concentration: If ordinary rocks are already
fairly rich in the metal, it need not be concentrated much further to make
mining it economic, and vice versa.
- Metals like iron or aluminum, which make up about 6% and 8% of average
continental crust, respectively, need only be concentrated by a factor of 4 to 5
times for mining to be profitable.
- Copper must be enriched about 100 times relative to average rock, while
mercury (average concentration 80 ppb) must be enriched to about 25,000
times its average concentration before the ore is rich enough to mine profitably.
- The value of the mineral or metal extracted and its concentration in a
particular deposit are major factors determining the profitability of mining a
specific deposit.
- The economics are naturally sensitive to world demand. If demand climbs and
prices rise in response, additional, not-so-rich ore deposits may be opened up; a
fall in price causes economically marginal mines to close.
- The practicality of mining a specific ore body may also depend on the mineral(s)
in which a metal of interest is found, because this affects the cost to extract the
pure metal.
- Ores are somewhat unusual rocks. Therefore, it is not surprising that the
known economic mineral deposits are very unevenly distributed around the
world.
- The United States controls about 50% of the world’s known molybdenum
deposits and about 15% of the lead. But although the United States is the
major world consumer of aluminum, using over 10% of the total produced, it
has virtually no domestic aluminum ore deposits; Australia, Guinea, and

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Jamaica together control one-half of the world’s aluminum ore. Congo accounts
for nearly half the known economic cobalt deposits, Chile for almost 30% of the
copper, and China, Malaysia, and Brazil for, respectively, 27%, 16%, and 16%
of the tin. South Africa controls nearly half the world’s known gold ore, over
75% of the chromium, and almost 90% of the platinum-group metals.

Types of Mineral Deposits

Igneous Rocks and Magmatic Deposits
- Magmatic activity gives rise to several different kinds of deposits.
- Certain igneous rocks, just by virtue of their compositions, contain high
concentrations of useful silicate or other minerals. The deposits may be
especially valuable if the rocks are coarse-grained, so that the mineral(s) of
interest occur as large, easily separated crystals.
- Pegmatite is the term given to unusually coarse-grained igneous intrusions. In
some pegmatites, single crystals may be over 10 meters (30 feet) long.
Feldspars, which provide raw materials for the ceramics industry, are common
in pegmatites. Many pegmatites also are
- enriched in uncommon elements.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Pegmatite, a very coarse-grained plutonic rock, may yield large, valuable
crystals. This sample contains tourmaline crystals (green) up to about 15 cm (6")
long.

- The dense precious metals, such as gold and platinum, may also be
concentrated during magmatic crystallization.
- Even where disseminated throughout an igneous rock body, a very valuable
mineral commodity may be worth mining. This is true of diamonds. One reason
for the rarity of diamonds is that they must be formed at extremely high
pressures, such as those found within the mantle, and then brought rapidly up
into the crust. They are mined primarily from igneous rocks called kimberlites,
which occur as pipe like intrusive bodies that must have originated in the
mantle. Even where only a few gem-quality diamonds are scattered within many
tons of kimberlite, their high unit value makes the mining profitable.

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Hydrothermal Ores
- During the later stages of crystallization, the fluids may escape from the cooling
magma, seeping through cracks and pores in the surrounding rocks, carrying
with them dissolved salts, gases, and metals. These warm fluids can leach
additional metals from the rocks through which they pass. In time, the fluids
cool and deposit their dissolved minerals, creating a hydrothermal (hot water)
ore deposit.
- The particular minerals deposited vary with the composition of the
hydrothermal fluids, but worldwide, a great variety of metals occur in
hydrothermal deposits: copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, platinum, uranium, and
others.
- Since sulfur is a common constituent of magmatic gases and fluids, the ore
minerals are frequently sulfides like the lead in lead ore deposits is found in
galena (PbS); zinc, in sphalerite (ZnS); and copper, in a variety of copper and
copper-iron sulfides (CuFeS2, CuS, Cu2S, and others).
- Sometimes, circulating subsurface waters are heated sufficiently by a nearby
cooling magma to dissolve, concentrate, and redeposit valuable metals in a
hydrothermal ore deposit or the fluid involved may be a mix of magmatic and
nonmagmatic fluids.
- Some hydrothermal deposits are found far from any obvious magma source,
and those fluids might have been of metamorphic origin.
- The relationship between magmatic activity and the formation of many ore
deposits suggests that hydrothermal and igneous-rock deposits should be
especially common in regions of extensive magmatic activity (plate boundaries).

Sedimentary Deposits
- Sedimentary processes can also produce economic mineral deposits. Some such
ores have been deposited directly as chemical sedimentary rocks. Example:
Banded iron formation, layered sedimentary iron ores.
- Iron-rich layers, predominantly hematite or magnetite, alternate with silicate or
carbonate rich layers. These large deposits, which may extend for tens of
kilometers, are very ancient. Their formation is believed to be related to the
development of the earth’s atmosphere.
- Other sedimentary mineral deposits can form from seawater, which contains a
variety of dissolved salts and other chemicals. When a body of seawater trapped
in a shallow sea dries up, it deposits these minerals in evaporite deposits.
Some evaporites may be hundreds of meters thick.
- Ordinary table salt, known mineralogically as halite, is one mineral commonly
mined from evaporite deposits. Others include gypsum and salts of the metals
potassium and magnesium.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Rock Salt from an Evaporite Deposit

Other Low-Temperature Ore-Forming Processes

- Streams also play a role in the formation of mineral deposits. They are rarely
the sites of primary formation of ore minerals.
- Streams often deposit sediments well sorted by size and density. The sorting
action can effectively concentrate certain weathering-resistant, dense minerals
in places along the stream channel.
- The currents of a coastal environment can also cause sediment sorting and
selective concentration of minerals.
- The deposits mechanically concentrated by water are called placers. The
minerals of interest are typically weathered out of local rocks, then transported,
sorted, and concentrated while other minerals are dissolved or swept away.
- Gold, diamonds, and tin oxide are examples of minerals that have been mined
from the sands and gravels of placer deposits.
- Even weathering alone can produce useful ores by leaching away unwanted
minerals, leaving a residue enriched in some valuable metal.
- The extreme leaching of tropical climates gives rise to lateritic soils from which
nearly everything has been leached except for aluminum and iron compounds

Metamorphic Deposits
- The mineralogical changes caused by the heat or pressure of metamorphism
also can produce economic mineral deposits.
- Graphite, used in “lead” pencils, in batteries, as a lubricant, and for many
applications where it’s very high melting point is vital, is usually mined from
metamorphic deposits.
- Asbestos is not a single mineral but a general term applied to a group of fibrous
silicates that are formed by the metamorphism of igneous rocks rich in
ferromagnesian minerals, with the addition of water.
- Garnet is a common mineral in many metamorphic rocks, such as the
amphibolites. It may be used as a semiprecious gemstone.

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Mineral and Rock Resources

Metals
- Iron is the most heavily used metal and it is also one of the most common
metals. Nearly all iron ore is used for the manufacture of iron and especially
steel products.
- Aluminum is another relatively common metal, and it is the second most
widely used. Its light weight, coupled with its strength, makes it particularly
useful in the transportation and construction industries; it is also widely used
in packaging, especially for beverage cans.
- Copper is primarily used for electrical applications because it is an excellent
conductor of electricity. It is also used in the construction and transportation
industries.
- Lead is used in batteries; among its many other applications, it is a component
of many solders and is used in paints and ceramics.
- Zinc coating on steel cans keeps the cans from rusting, and zinc is also used in
the manufacture of brass and other alloys.
- Gold is used not only for jewelry, in the arts, and in commerce, but also in the
electronics industry and in dentistry. It is particularly valued for its resistance
to tarnishing.
- Silver’s principal single use is for photographic materials (for example, film),
and the next broadest applications are in electronics. With the expansion of
digital imaging, photographic use of silver is declining, but industrial
applications are expanding.
- Platinum is an excellent catalyst, a substance that promotes chemical
reactions. Currently, close to half the platinum used in the United States goes
into automobile emissions-control systems, with the rest finding important
applications in the petroleum and chemical industries, in electronics, and in
medicine, among other areas.

Nonmetallic Minerals
- Sulfur may be recovered from petroleum during refining, from volcanic deposits
and from evaporites. The primary use of sulfur is for the manufacture of
sulfuric acid for industrial purposes.
- Halite, or rock salt, is used principally as a source of the sodium and chlorine
of which it is composed, and secondarily for road salt, either directly or through
the production of other salts from it. Halite has many lower volume
applications, including seasoning food as table salt.
- Gypsum is essential to the manufacture of plaster, Portland cement, and
wallboard for construction.
- Phosphate rock and potassium-rich potash are key ingredients of the
synthetic fertilizers.
- Clay is not a single mineral, but a group of layered hydrous silicates that are
formed at low temperature, commonly by weathering, and that are abundant in
sedimentary deposits in the United States. The diversity of clay minerals leads
to a variety of applications, from fine ceramics to the making of clay piping and
other construction materials, the processing of iron ore, and drilling for oil.

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Rock Resources
- In the United States in 2008, over one billion tons of sand and gravel were
used in construction, especially in making cement and concrete; another 1.3
billion tons of crushed rock were consumed for fill and other applications (such
as limestone for making cement).
- Over 30 million tons of quartz-rich sand was used in industry, particularly for
glassmaking (pure quartz sand is nearly all silica, SiO 2, the main ingredient in
glass).
- Also, nearly 1½ million tons of dimension and facing stone were used—slate
for flagstones, and various attractive and/or durable rocks, such as marble,
granite, sandstone, and limestone, for monuments and building facings and
interior surfaces.

World Mineral Supply and Demand

- Making the assumption that world production annually approximates demand,
at least for “new” mine production, it is found that just over one recent decade,
annual demand for iron ore remained approximately constant; for copper and
zinc, it increased by 10% and 20%, respectively; for lead, it declined by 7%.
- Below table shows projections of the lifetimes of selected world mineral
reserves, assuming that constant demand. Note that, for most of the metals, the
present reserves are projected to last only a few decades, even at this constant
consumption levels.
- Such projections also presume unrestricted distribution of minerals so that the
minerals can be used as needed and where needed, regardless of political
boundaries or such economic factors as nations’ purchasing power.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

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Conservation of Mineral Resources

- Substitutions. One might replace a very rare metal with a more abundant one.
The extent to which this is likely to succeed is limited, since reserves of most
metals are quite limited
- The most effective way to extend mineral reserves, for some metals, may be
through recycling. Overall use of the metals may increase, but if ways can be
found to reuse a significant fraction of these metals repeatedly, proportionately
less new metal will need to be extracted from mines, Unfortunately, not all
materials lend themselves equally well to recycling.
o Among those that work out best are metals that are used in pure form in
sizeable pieces—copper in pipes and wiring, lead in batteries, and
aluminum in beverage cans.
o Where different materials are intermingled in complex manufactured
objects, it is more difficult and costly to extract individual metals.
Consider trying to separate the various metals from a refrigerator, a lawn
mower, or a computer. The effort required to do that, even if it were
technically possible, would make most of the materials recovered far too
costly and thus noncompetitive with new production.

Impacts of Mining-Related Activities

- Underground mines are generally much less apparent than surface mines.
They disturb a relatively small area of the land’s surface close to the principal
shaft(s). Surface-mining activities consist of either open-pit mining (including
quarrying) or strip-mining.
- Open-pit mining is practical when a large, three dimensional ore body is
located near the surface. Most of the material in the pit contains the valuable
commodity and is extracted for processing.
- Both procedures permanently change the topography, leaving a large hole. The
exposed rock may begin to weather and, depending on the nature of the ore
body, may release pollutants into surface runoff water
- Strip-mining, more often used to extract coal than mineral resources, is
practiced most commonly when the material of interest occurs in a layer near
and approximately parallel to the surface. Overlying vegetation, soil, and rock
are stripped off, the coal or other material is removed, and the waste rock and
soil are dumped back as a series of spoil banks. The broken-up material of the
spoil banks, with its high surface area, is very susceptible to both erosion and
chemical weathering.
- Reclamation usually involves regarding the area to level the spoil banks and to
provide a more gently sloping land surface; restoring the soil; replanting grass,
shrubs, or other vegetation; and, where necessary, Fertilizing and/or watering
the area to help establish vegetation. Reclamation is much more costly to the
mining company than just leaving spoil banks behind.
- The chemicals used in processing are often hazardous also. For example,
cyanide is commonly used to extract gold from its ore. Water pollution from
poorly controlled runoff of cyanide solutions can be a significant problem.
- Smelting to extract metals from ores may, depending on the ores involved and
on emission controls, release arsenic, lead, mercury, and other potentially toxic
elements along with exhaust gases and ash.

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- Sulfide-ore processing also re leases the sulfur oxide gases that are implicated
in the production of acid rain. These same gases, at high concentrations, can
destroy nearby vegetation.

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Energy as a Resource – Fossil Fuel

 Fossil refers to any remains or evidence of ancient life.

 Fossil fuels are those energy sources that formed from the remains of once
living organisms. These include oil, natural gas, coal, and fuels derived from oil
shale and tar sand. When fossil fuels are burned, stored energy can be used.
 The differences in the physical properties among the various fossil fuels arise
from differences in the starting materials from which the fuels formed and in
what happened to those materials after the organisms died and were buried
within the earth.

How are Oil and Natural Gas Deposits formed?

- When ocean microscopic organisms die, their remains can settle to the sea
floor.
- There are underwater areas near shore, such as on many continental shelves,
where sediments derived from continental erosion accumulate rapidly. In such
a setting, the starting requirements for the formation of oil are satisfied. There
is an abundance of organic matter rapidly buried by sediment. Oil and much
natural gas are believed to form from such accumulated marine
microorganisms.
- As burial continues, the organic matter begins to change. Pressures increase
with the weight of the overlying sediment or rock; temperatures increase with
depth in the earth; and slowly, over long periods of time, chemical reactions
take place. These reactions break down the large, complex organic molecules
into simpler, smaller hydrocarbon molecules.
- In the early stages of petroleum formation in a marine deposit, the deposit may
consist mainly of larger hydrocarbon molecules (“heavy” hydrocarbons), which
have the thick, nearly solid consistency of asphalt. As the petroleum matures,
and as the breakdown of large molecules continues, successively “lighter”
hydrocarbons are produced.
- Thick liquids give way to thinner ones, from which are derived lubricating oils,
heating oils, and gasoline.
- In the final stages, most or all of the petroleum is further broken down into very
simple, light, gaseous molecules-that is the natural gas.
- Most of the maturation process occurs in the temperature range of 50° to
100°C. Above these temperatures, the remaining hydrocarbon is almost wholly
methane; with further temperature increases, methane can be broken down
and destroyed in turn.
- A given oil field yields crude oil containing a distinctive mix of hydrocarbon
compounds, depending on the history of the material. The refining process
separates the different types of hydrocarbons for different uses. See below table.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

- Some of the heavier hydrocarbons may also be broken up during refining into
smaller, lighter molecules through a process called cracking, which allows
some of the lighter compounds such as gasoline to be produced as needed from
heavier components of crude oil.
- Commercially, the most valuable deposits are those in which a large quantity of
oil and/or gas has been concentrated and confined (trapped) by impermeable
rocks in geologic structures.
- The reservoir rocks in which the oil or gas has accumulated should be relatively
porous if a large quantity of petroleum is to be found in a small volume of rock
and should also be relatively permeable so that the oil or gas flows out readily
once a well is drilled into the reservoir. If the reservoir rocks are not naturally
very permeable, it may be possible to fracture them artificially with explosives
or with water or gas under high pressure to increase the rate at which oil or gas
flows through them.
- The amount of time required for oil and gas to form is not known precisely.
Since virtually no petroleum is found in rocks younger than 1 to 2 million years
old, geologists infer that the process is comparatively slow. Even if it took only a
few tens of thousands of years (a geologically short period), the world’s oil and
gas is being used up far faster than significant new supplies could be produced.
Therefore, oil and natural gas are among the non-renewable energy sources.

Supply and Demand for Oil and Natural Gas

- The most conservative estimate of the supply of an energy source is the amount
of known reserves, “proven” accumulations that can be produced economically
with existing technology.
- A more optimistic estimate is total resources, which include reserves, plus
known accumulations that are technologically impractical or too expensive to
tap at present, plus some quantity of the substance that is expected to be found
and extractable.
- As with minerals, estimates of energy reserves are thus sensitive both to price
fluctuations and to technological advances.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Estimated proven world reserves of crude oil and natural gas, January 2006.
Source: Averages of estimates of BP Statistical Review, Oil and Gas Journal and World Oil, as
summarized in International Energy Annual 2006, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Oil
- Oil is commonly discussed in units of barrels (1 barrel = 42 gallons).
- Worldwide, over one trillion barrels of oil have been consumed, according to
estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey. The estimated remaining reserves
are about 1.2 trillion barrels.
- Globally, demand continues to increase as more countries advance
technologically.
- Oil supply and demand are very unevenly distributed around the world.
Some low-population, low-technology, oil-rich countries (Libya, for example)
may be producing fifty or a hundred times as much oil as they themselves
consume. At the other extreme are countries like Japan, highly
industrialized and energy-hungry, with no petroleum reserves at all.
- The United States alone consumes about 25% of the oil used worldwide,
more than all of Europe together, and about three times as much as China
or Japan, the next-highest individual-country consumers.
- As with mineral resources, the size of petroleum resources of a given nation
is not correlated with geographic size.
- Many have speculated that much of the international interest in the Middle
- East is motivated as much by concern for its estimated 60% share of world
oil reserves as by humanitarian or other motives.

Natural Gas
- Natural gas presently supplies close to 25% of the energy used in the United
States.
- The United States has proven natural gas reserves of just over 200 trillion
cubic feet. However, roughly 20 trillion cubic feet of these reserves are
consumed per year, and most years, less is found in new domestic reserves
than the quantity consumed. The net result is generally declining reserves.

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- It is noteworthy that until the mid-1980s, U.S. natural-gas production

roughly equaled consumption. Since then, they have been importing
increasing amounts of natural gas; imports now account for about 20% of
consumption. The U.S. supply of conventional natural gas could be used up
in a matter of decades.

Enhanced Oil Recovery

- Recovery using no techniques beyond pumping is primary recovery.
- Secondary recovery is when flow falls off, water may be pumped into the
reservoir, filling empty pores and buoying up more oil to the well.
- Primary and secondary recovery together extracts an average of one-third of
the oil in a given trap, though the figure varies greatly with the physical
properties of the oil and host rocks in a given oil field.
- On average, two-thirds of the oil in each deposit has historically been left
in the ground. So, additional enhanced recovery methods have attracted
much interest.
- Enhanced recovery comprises a variety of methods beyond conventional
secondary recovery.
 Permeability of rocks may be increased by deliberate fracturing, using
explosives or even water under very high pressure.
 Carbon dioxide gas under pressure can be used to force out more oil.
 Hot water or steam may be pumped underground to warm thick,
viscous oils so that they flow more easily and can be extracted more
completely.
 There have also been experiments using detergents or other
substances to break up the oil.
- All of these methods add to the cost of oil extraction. Since they are now
being used at all is largely a consequence of higher oil prices in the last two
decades and increased difficulty of locating new deposits.
- Researchers in the petroleum industry believe that, from a technological
standpoint, up to an additional 40% of the oil initially in a reservoir
might be extractable by enhanced recovery methods. This would
substantially increase oil reserves.
- Additional positive feature of enhanced recovery methods is that they can
be applied to old oil fields that have already been discovered, developed
by conventional methods, and abandoned, as well as to new
discoveries.
- It should be kept in mind that enhanced recovery may involve increases in
problems such as ground subsidence or groundwater pollution that
arise also with conventional recovery methods. Conventional drilling
uses large volumes of drilling mud to cool and lubricate the drill bits. The
drilling mud may become contaminated with oil and must be handled
carefully to avoid polluting surface or ground water. When water is more
extensively used in fracturing rock or warming the oil, the potential for
pollution is correspondingly greater.

Alternate Natural Gas Sources

- Coal-bed methane is contained in most coal deposits. This methane has
been treated as a hazardous nuisance, potentially explosive, and its

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incidental release during coal mining has contributed to rising methane

concentrations in the atmosphere. An estimated 100 trillion cubic feet of
methane that would be economically recoverable with current technology
exists in-place in U.S. coal beds. If it could be extracted for use rather than
wasted, it could contribute significantly to U.S. gas reserves.
- The natural gas reserves that exist at very great depths in the earth under
the tremendous pressures exerted by the overlying rock may be dissolved in
the water filling the pore spaces in the rock like carbon dioxide is dissolved
in a bottle of soda. Pumping this water to the surface is like taking off the
bottle cap - the pressure is released, and the gas bubbles out. Enormous
quantities of natural gas might exist in such geopressurized zones. Recent
estimates of the amount of potentially recoverable gas in this form range
from 150 to 2000 trillion cubic feet.
- Gas (methane) hydrates are crystalline solids of gas and water molecules.
These hydrates have been found to be abundant in arctic regions and in
marine sediments. The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that the
amount of carbon found in gas hydrates may be twice that in all known
fossil fuels on earth and a 2008 study suggested a probable 85 trillion cubic
feet of methane in gas hydrates of Alaska’s North Slope alone. Methane in
methane hydrate thus represents a huge potential natural gas resource.
But, tapping these methane hydrates safely for their energy is not yet clear.

Conservation
- Conservation of oil and gas is a very important way to stretch remaining
supplies.
- Many individuals, businesses, and governments in industrialized societies
are practicing energy conservation out of personal concern for the
environment, from fear of running out of nonrenewable fuels, or simply for
basic economic reasons when energy costs have soared.
- Conservation can buy some much-needed time to develop alternative energy
sources. However, world energy consumption will probably not decrease
significantly in the near future.
- Even if industrialized countries consistently adopt more energy-efficient
practices, demand in the many non-industrialized countries is expected to
continue to rise.
- Many technologically less-developed countries view industry and technology
as keys to better, more prosperous lives for their people.
- Assuming that world demand for energy stays at least as high as it is now, a
global crisis of dwindling petroleum and natural-gas supplies over the next
few decades are expected.
- At the moment, heavy reliance on oil and gas continues to have some
serious environmental consequences, particularly oil spills.

Oil Spills
- Tankers that flush out their holds at sea continually add to the oil pollution of
the oceans and, collectively, are a significant source of such pollution.
- The oil spills are the large, sudden, catastrophic spills that occur in two
principal ways: from accidents during drilling of offshore oil wells and from
wrecks of oil tankers at sea. Oil spills represent the largest negative impacts

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from the extraction and transportation of petroleum. Though a source of water

pollution, they are less significant volumetrically than petroleum pollution from
careless disposal of used oil,
- The largest single marine spill ever resulted from the wreck of the Amoco Cadiz
near Portsall, France, in 1978. The bill for cleaning up what could be recovered
of the 1.6 million barrels spilled was more than $50 million, and the negative
environmental impacts were still detectable seven years later.
- In calm seas, if a spill is small, it may be contained by floating barriers and
picked up by specially designed “skimmer ships” that can skim up to fifty
barrels of oil per hour off the water surface.
- Some attempts have been made to soak up oil spills with peat moss, wood
shavings, and chicken feathers.
- Large spills or spills in rough seas are a greater problem. When the tanker
Torrey Canyon broke up off Land’s End, England, in 1967, several strategies
were tried, none very successfully.

Coal
- As the industrial age began in earnest in the nineteenth century, coal was used
as fossil fuel. Since coal was bulky, cumbersome, and dirty to handle and to
burn, it fell somewhat out of favor particularly for home use and when the
liquid and gaseous fossil fuels became available.
- Coal is formed from the remains of land plants. A swampy setting, in which
plant growth is lush and where there is water to cover fallen trees, dead leaves,
and other debris, is especially favorable to the initial stages of coal formation.
- The process requires anaerobic conditions, in which oxygen is absent or nearly
so, since reaction with oxygen destroys the organic matter.
- In coal formation process, the first combustible product formed under suitable
conditions is peat. Peat can form at the earth’s surface, and there are places on
earth where peat can be seen forming today.
- Further burial, with more heat, pressure, and time, gradually dehydrates the
organic matter and transforms the spongy peat into soft brown coal called
lignite and then to the harder coals bituminous and anthracite.
- As the coals become harder, their carbon content increases, and so does the
amount of heat released by burning a given weight of coal. The hardest, high-
carbon coals (especially anthracite) are the most desirable as fuels because of
their potential energy yield.
- The heat to which coals can be subjected is limited, overly high temperatures
lead to metamorphism of coal into graphite.

Coal Reserves and Resources

- The estimated world reserve of coal is about one trillion tons.
- The total resources are estimated at over 10 trillion tons.
- The United States is particularly well supplied with coal, possessing about 25%
of the world’s reserves, over 270 billion tons of recoverable coal.

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World coal reserves, in millions of tons (Sum of anthracite

and bituminous for each country in parentheses)
Source: Data from International Energy Annual 2006 and
Annual Energy Review 2007, U.S. Energy Information
Administration, Department of Energy.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Limitations on Coal Use

- Solid coal is simply not as versatile a substance as petroleum or natural gas.
- It cannot be used directly in most forms of modern transportation, such as
automobiles and airplanes.
- Coal is also a dirty and inconvenient fuel for home heating, which is why it was
abandoned in favor of oil or natural gas.
- Coal can be converted to liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon fuels, gasoline or
natural gas, by causing the coal to react with steam or with hydrogen gas at
high temperatures. The conversion processes are called gasification (when the
product is gaseous) and liquefaction (when the product is liquid fuel). Both
processes are intended to transform coal into a cleaner burning, more versatile
fuel, thus expanding its range of possible applications.
- Because of the low heat value makes it uneconomic to transport this gas over
long distances, it is typically burned only where produced. Technology exists to
produce high-quality gas from coal, equivalent in heat content to natural gas,
but it is presently uneconomical when compared to natural gas.
- Pilot projects are also underway to study in situ underground coal gasification,
through which coal would be gasified in place and the gas extracted directly.
Underground gasification may provide a means of using coals that are too thin
to mine economically or that would require excessive land disruption to extract.
- The expected environmental benefits of not actually mining the coal include
reduced land disturbance, water use, air pollution, and solid waste produced at
the surface.
- Potential drawbacks include possible groundwater pollution and surface
subsidence over gasified coal beds.

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Environmental Impacts of Coal Use

Gases
- A major problem posed by coal is the pollution associated with its mining and
use. Coal produces carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned. It produces significantly
more carbon dioxide per unit energy released than oil or natural gas.
- The sulfur content of coal can be more than 3%, some in the form of the iron
sulfide mineral pyrite (FeS2), some bound in the organic matter of the coal itself.
- When the sulfur is burned along with the coal, sulfur gases, sulfur dioxide
(SO2) are produced. These gases are poisonous and are extremely irritating to
eyes and lungs. The gases also react with water in the atmosphere to produce
sulfuric acid, a very strong acid. This acid then falls to earth as acid rainfall.
- Another toxic substance of growing concern with increasing coal use is
mercury. A common trace element in coal, mercury is also a very volatile
(easily-vaporized) metal, so it can be released with the waste gases.

Ash
- The ash residue left after coal is burned typically ranges from 5 to 20% of the
original volume.
- The ash, which consists mostly of noncombustible silicate minerals, also
contains toxic metals.
- If released with waste gases, the ash fouls the air. If captured by scrubbers or
otherwise confined within the combustion chamber, this ash still must be
disposed of. If exposed at the surface, the fine ash, with its proportionately high
surface area, may weather very rapidly, and the toxic metals such as selenium
and uranium can be leached from it, thus posing a water-pollution threat.
- Uncontrolled erosion of the ash could likewise cause sediment pollution.
- The magnitude of this waste-disposal problem should not be underestimated.

Coal-Mining Hazards and Environmental Impacts

- Underground mining of coal is notoriously dangerous, as well as expensive.
Mines can collapse; miners may contract black lung disease from breathing the
dust; there is always danger of explosion from pockets of natural gas that occur
in many coal seams.
- The rising costs of providing a safer working environment for underground coal
miners, together with the greater technical difficulty of underground mines, are
largely responsible for a steady shift in coal-mining methods in the United
States, from about 20% surface mining around 1950 to over 65% surface
mining by 2000.
- Because plants grow poorly in very acid conditions, this acid slows revegetation
of the area by stunting plant growth or even preventing it altogether.
- The acid runoff can also pollute area ground and surface waters, killing aquatic
plants and animals in lakes and streams and contaminating the water supply.
- When coal surface mines are reclaimed, efforts are commonly made to restore
original topography. Although if a thick coal seam has been extracted, this may
not be easy.
- In dry areas, thought must be given to how the reclamation will modify drainage
patterns (surface and subsurface). In wetter areas, the runoff may itself be a
problem, gullying slopes and contributing to sediment pollution of surface

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waters until new vegetation is established. In short, reclamation can be a

multifaceted challenge.

Oil Shale
- The potential fuel in oil shale is a sometimes-waxy solid called kerogen , which
is formed from the remains of plants, algae, and bacteria. K
- erogen is not a single compound; the term is a general one describing organic
matter that is not readily dissolved either in water or in organic solvents, and
the term can also be applied to solid precursor organic compounds of oil and
natural gas in other types of rocks.
- The physical properties of kerogen dictate that the oil shale must be crushed
and heated to distill out the hydrocarbon as “shale oil,” which then is refined
somewhat as crude oil is to produce various liquid petroleum products.
- The kerogen is so widely dispersed through the oil shale that huge volumes of
rock must be processed to obtain moderate amounts of shale oil.
- Even the richest oil shale yields only about three barrels of shale oil per ton of
rock processed.
- The cost is not presently competitive with that of conventional petroleum,
except when oil prices are extremely high, and to date they have not remained
high enough long enough.
- Another problem is that a large part of the oil shale is located at or near the
surface. At present, the economical way to mine it, therefore, appears to be
surface- or strip-mining with its attendant land disturbance.
- Scientists and economists differ widely in the extent to which they see oil shale
as a promising alternative to conventional oil and gas. Certainly, the water-
shortage, waste-disposal, and land-reclamation problems will have to be solved
before shale oil can be used on a large scale.
- It is unlikely that those problems can be solved within the next few decades,
although over the longer term, oil shale may become an important resource,
and the higher conventional oil prices rise, the more competitive “shale oil”
becomes, at least in that respect.

Tar sands
- Tar sands, also known as oil sands, are sedimentary rocks containing a very
thick, semisolid, tarlike petroleum called bitumen.
- The heavy petroleum in tar sands is believed to be formed in the same way and
from the same materials as lighter oils.
- Tar-sand deposits may represent very immature petroleum deposits, in which
the breakdown of large molecules has not progressed to the production of the
lighter liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
- Because the tar is disseminated through the rock, large volumes of rock must
be mined and processed to extract significant amounts of petroleum.
- Many tar sands are near-surface deposits, so the mining method used is
commonly strip-mining. The processing requires a great deal of water, and the
amount of waste rock after processing may be larger than the original volume of
tar sand.
- The negative impact of tar-sand production will naturally increase as
production increases.

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Alternative Energy Resources – Renewable Energy

Nuclear Power
- Nuclear power actually comprises two different types of processes with
different advantages and limitations.
o Fission is the splitting apart of atomic nuclei into smaller ones, with the
release of energy. This is the commercially feasible nuclear power
process.
o Fusion is the combining of smaller nuclei into larger ones, also releasing
energy.

Source: (Bukoski, 2015)

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Fission
- The fissionable nucleus of most interest in modern nuclear power reactors is
the isotope of uranium with 92 protons and 143 neutrons, uranium-235.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Schematic Diagram of Conventional Nuclear Fission Reactor
Heat is generated by chain reaction; withdrawing or inserting control rods between
fuel elements varies rate of reaction, and thus rate of release of heat energy. Cooling water

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also serves to extract heat for use. Heat is transferred to power loop via heat exchanger, so
the cooling water, which may contain radioactive contaminants, is isolated from the power-
generating equipment.

- Worldwide, 95% of known uranium reserves are found in sedimentary or

metasedimentary rocks.
- In the United States, the great majority of deposits are found in sandstone.
They were formed by weathering of uranium source rocks, followed by
uranium migration in and deposition by ground water.
- World estimates of available uranium are somewhat difficult to obtain,
partly because the strategic importance of uranium leads to some secrecy.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy.

Concerns Related to Nuclear Power – Fission

- A major concern regarding the use of fission power is reactor safety. In
normal operation, nuclear power plants release very minor amounts of
radiation, which are believed to be harmless. The small but finite risk of
damage to nuclear reactors through accident or deliberate sabotage is more
worrisome.
- One of the most serious possibilities is a so-called loss of coolant event, in
which the flow of cooling water to the reactor core would be interrupted.
Resultant overheating of the core might lead to core meltdown, in which
the fuel and core materials would deteriorate into a molten mass that might
or might not melt its way out of the containment building and thus release

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high levels of radiation into the environment, depending upon the design of
the reactor and containment building.
- An ordinary explosion originating within the reactor (or by saboteurs’
use of conventional explosives) could rupture both the containment building
and reactor core, and thus release large amounts of radioactive material.
- Putting nuclear plants close to urban areas puts more people potentially
at risk in case of accident; placing the plants far from population centers
where energy is needed means more transmission loss of electricity.
- Proximity to water is often important for cooling purposes but makes water
pollution in case of mishap more likely.
- There are also concerns about the structural integrity of nuclear plants
located close to fault zones. Several proposed reactor sites have been
rejected when investigation revealed nearby faults.
- Miners exposed to the higher radiation levels in uranium mines have
experienced higher occurrence rates of some types of cancer. Carelessly
handled tailings from processing plants have exposed others to radiation
hazards.
- The use of reprocessing or breeder reactors to produce and recover
plutonium to extend the supply of fissionable fuel poses special problems.
Plutonium itself is both radioactive and chemically toxic.
- A readily fissionable material can also be used to make nuclear weapons.
Extensive handling, transport, and use of plutonium would pose a
significant security problem and would therefore require very tight inventory
control to prevent the material from falling into hostile hands.
- The radioactive wastes from the production of fission power are another
concern. Radioactive materials cannot be treated by chemical reaction,
heating, and so on to make them nonradioactive. Also, there has been
sufficient indecision about the best method of radioactive-waste disposal
and the appropriate site(s) for it that none of the radioactive wastes
generated anywhere in the world have been disposed of permanently to date.
Currently, the wastes are in temporary storage while various disposal
methods are being explored, and many of the temporary waste-holding sites
are filled almost to capacity.
- Nuclear plants have another unique waste problem. The bombardment of
the reactor core and structure by neutrons and other atomic debris from the
fission process converts some of the structural materials to radioactive ones
and changes the physical properties of others, weakening the structure. At
some point, then, the plant must be decommissioned —taken out of
operation, broken down, and the most radioactive parts delivered to
radioactive-waste disposal sites.

Fusion
- Fusion is the process by which two or smaller atomic nuclei combine to form
a larger one, with an accompanying release of energy.
- It is the process by which the sun generates its vast amounts of energy. In
the sun, simple hydrogen nuclei containing one proton are fused to produce
helium. For technical reasons, fusion of the heavier hydrogen isotopes
deuterium (nucleus containing one proton and one neutron) and tritium
(one proton and two neutrons) would be easier to achieve on earth.

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- Hydrogen is plentiful because it is a component of water; the oceans

contain, in effect, a huge reserve of hydrogen, an essentially inexhaustible
supply of the necessary fuel for fusion.
- The principal product of the projected fusion reactions—helium—is a
nontoxic, chemically inert, harmless gas. There could be some mildly
radioactive light-isotope byproducts of fusion reactors, but they would be
much less hazardous than many of the products of fission reactors.
- The principal reason why fission is not used is technology, or lack of it. To
bring about a fusion reaction, the reacting nuclei must be brought very close
together at extremely high temperatures (millions of degrees at least). The
natural tendency of hot gases is to expand, not come together, and no
known physical material could withstand such temperatures to contain the
reacting nuclei.
- The techniques being tested in laboratory fusion experiments are elaborate
and complex, either involving containment of the fusing materials with
strong magnetic fields or using lasers to heat frozen pellets of the reactants
very rapidly.
- The experimenters have been able to achieve the necessary conditions for
fractions of a second, and the energy required to bring about the fusion
reactions has exceeded the energy released thereby.
- The present technology does not permit the construction of commercial
fusion reactors in which controlled, sustained fusion could be used as a
source of energy. Scientists in the field estimate that several decades of
intensive, expensive research will be needed before fusion can become a
commercial reality.
- The abundance of the fuel supply and the relative cleanness of fusion make
it an attractive prospect, at least for later in the twenty-first century.
- Fusion is a means of generating electricity in stationary power plants only.
This fact limits its potential contribution toward satisfying total energy
needs.

Solar Energy
- The total solar energy reaching the earth’s surface exceeds the energy needs of
the world at present and future.
- The sun can be expected to go on shining for approximately 5 billion years, so it
is expected that the resource is inexhaustible, which contrasts sharply with
other nonrenewable sources like uranium or fossil fuels.
- The use of solar energy is essentially pollution-free in the sense that the
absorption of sunlight for heat or the operation of a solar cell for electricity is
very “clean” processes.
- It produces no hazardous solid wastes, air or water pollution, or noise.
- At present, solar energy is used where it falls, thereby avoiding transmission
losses.
- These features make solar energy an attractive option for the future. Though,
several practical limitations on its use also exist, particularly in the short term.

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Solar Heating
- Solar space heating typically combines direct use of sunlight for warmth
with some provision for collecting and storing additional heat to draw on
when the sun is not shining.
- It is typically employed on the scale of an individual building.

 Passive-solar heating
- The simplest approach that does not require mechanical assistance.
- The building design should allow the maximum amount of light to
stream in through south and west windows during the cooler months.
- This heats the materials inside the house, including the structure
itself, and the radiating heat warms indoor air.
- Media used specifically for storing heat include water—in barrels,
tanks, even indoor swimming pools—and the rock, brick,
concrete, or other dense solids used in the building’s
construction.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Basics of Passive-Solar Heating With Water or Structural Materials as Thermal
Reservoir

- These supply a thermal mass that radiates heat back when needed,
in times of less or no sunshine.
- Additional features of passive solar design include broad eaves to
block sunshine during hotter months and drapes or shutters to help
insulate window areas during long winter nights.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Design Features of Home and Landscaping Optimize the Use of Sun in Colder
Weather and Provide Protection From it in Summer

 Active-solar heating
- The system usually involves the mechanical circulation of solar-
heated water.
- The flat solar collectors are water-filled, shallow boxes with a glass
surface to admit sunlight and a dark lining to absorb sunlight and
help heat the water. The warmed water is circulated either directly
into a storage tank or into a heat exchanger through which a tank of
water is heated.
- The solar-heated water can provide both space heat and a hot-water
supply.
- If a building already uses conventional hot-water heat, incorporating
solar collectors is not necessarily extremely expensive.
- An active-solar system does not require any additional land to the
heating system because solar collectors are mounted on the roof. The
method can be as practical for urban row houses or office buildings
as for widely spaced country homes.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

A Common Type of Active-Solar Heating System with a Pump to Circulate the
Water between the Collector and the Heat Exchanger/Storage Tank

Solar Electricity
- Direct production of electricity using sunlight is accomplished through
photovoltaic cells, also called simply “solar cells”.
- These cells consist of two layers of semiconductor material sandwiched
together, with a barrier between that allows electrons to flow predominantly in
one direction only.
- Sunlight striking the exposed side can dislodge some electrons, which flow as
electric current through a circuit, to return to the cell and continue the cycle.
- Solar cells have no moving parts and, like solar heating systems, do not emit
pollutants during operation.
- They have been the principal power source for satellites and for remote
areas difficult to reach with power lines.
- A major limitation on solar-cell use has historically been cost, which is
several times higher per unit of power-generating capacity than for either fossil-
fuel or nuclear-powered generating plants. This has restricted the appeal of
home-generated solar electricity.
- Currently, low solar-cell efficiency and the diffuse character of sunlight
continue to make photovoltaic conversion an inadequate option for energy-
intensive applications, such as many industrial and manufacturing operations.
- To keep one 100-watt light bulb burning would require at least 2 square meters of
collectors (with the sun always shining). A 100- megawatt power plant would
require 2 square kilometers of collectors and many nuclear or coal-fired
generating plants have more than ten times that capacity. Using solar cells at
that scale represents a large commitment of both land and the mineral resources
from which the collectors are made.
- Collector array alone, 100-megawatt solar electric plant operating with basic
solar cells would use at least an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 tons of steel, 5000

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tons of glass, and 200,000 tons of concrete. While, a nuclear plant would
require about 5000 tons of steel and 50,000 tons of concrete; a coal-fired plant
is much less.

Source: (The Mail Man, 2016)

The 63.3-megawatt Calatagan Solar Farm at the convergence of Calatagan, Lian
and Balayan towns, the largest solar facility completed in the Philippines to date

Geothermal Energy
- The earth contains a great deal of heat, some of it left over from its early
history, some continually generated by decay of radioactive elements in the
earth.

Source: (BusinessMirror, 2019)

Mount Apo Geothermal Power Plant

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Geothermal heat pumps

 Temperatures tend to remain nearly constant only a few tens of feet
underground. This is the key fact that makes possible a type of geothermal
technology that can address both heating and cooling needs at the scale of
individual buildings.
 Pipes laid in the deep soil can circulate water between the zone of fairly
constant temperature and a heat exchanger at the surface, drawing on
earth’s heat to warm the building in winter when the air is colder, and/or
carrying away heat from the building into the soil when surface air is hotter.
 No emissions are generated in the process.
 Supplementary heating or cooling may also be required, but the EPA reports
that typically, homeowners save 30 to 70% on heating and 20 to 50% on
cooling using such “geoexchange” systems.

Traditional Geothermal Energy Uses

- Magma rising into the crust from the mantle brings unusually hot material
nearer the surface. Heat from the cooling magma heats any ground water
circulating nearby. This is the basis for extracting geothermal energy on a
commercial scale.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Geothermal Energy is utilized by tapping Circulating Warmed Ground Water

- The magma-warmed waters may escape at the surface in geysers and hot
springs, signaling the existence of the shallow heat source below.
- More subtle evidence of the presence of hot rock at depth comes from sensitive
measurements of heat flow at the surface, the rate at which heat is being
conducted out of the ever-cooling earth.
- High heat flow signals unusually high temperatures at shallow depths. High
heat flow and recent/current magmatic activity go together and, in turn, are
most often associated with plate boundaries.

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- Most areas in which geothermal energy is being tapped extensively are along or
near plate boundaries.

Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Geothermal Power Plants Worldwide
Figure prepared by L. J. Patrick Muffler and Ellen Lougee, U.S. Geological Survey; plate
boundaries supplied by Charles DeMets, University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Limitations of Geothermal Power

- Each geothermal field can only be used for a period of time before the rate
of heat extraction is seriously reduced. This is a negative consequence of the
fact that rocks conduct heat very poorly. As hot water or steam is withdrawn
from a geothermal field, it is replaced by cooler water that must be heated
before use. At first, the heating can be rapid, but in time, the permeable rocks
become chilled to such an extent that water circulating through them heats too
slowly or too little to be useful. The heat of the magma has not been exhausted,
but its transmittal into the permeable rocks is slow.
- Geothermal power plants are stationary so is the resource itself.
Geothermal power plants must be put where the hot rocks are, and long-
distance transmission of the power they generate is not technically practical, or,
at best, is inefficient. Most large cities are far removed from major geothermal
resources. Also, geothermal power cannot contribute to such energy uses as
transportation.
- The total number of sites suitable for geothermal power generation is
limited. Plate boundaries cover only a small part of the earth’s surface, and

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many of them are inaccessible (examples are the seafloor spreading ridges). Not
all have abundant circulating subsurface water in the area, either. Even
accessible regions that do have adequate subsurface water may not be
exploited. Yellowstone National Park has the highest concentration of thermal
features of any single geothermal area in the world, but because of its scenic
value and uniqueness, the decision was made years ago not to build geothermal
power plants there.

Hydropower
- The energy of falling or flowing water which has been used for centuries.
- It is now used primarily to generate electricity.
- The principal requirements for the generation of substantial amounts of
hydroelectric power are a large volume of water and the rapid movement of that
water.
- Commercial generation of hydropower typically involves damming up a high-
discharge stream, impounding a large volume of water, and releasing it as
desired, rather than operating subject to great seasonal variations in discharge.
- Hydropower is a very clean energy source in that the water is not polluted as it
flows through the generating equipment.
- No chemicals are added to it, nor are any dissolved or airborne pollutants
produced.
- The water itself is not consumed during power generation; it merely passes
through the generating equipment.
- Hydropower is renewable as long as the streams continue to flow.
- Nearly one-third of U.S. electricity-generating plants are hydropower plants;
worldwide, about 6% of all energy consumed is hydropower.

Source: (Roque, 2016)

According to the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the country’s
first Pico hydro power generation system was put up by the Southern Leyte
Electric Cooperative (SOLECO)

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Limitations on Hydropower Development

- Aside from age and poor design or construction, the reasons for the failures
may include geology itself. Fault zones often occur as topographic lows, and
streams thus frequently flow along fault zones. It follows that a dam built
across such a stream is built across a fault zone, which may be active or may
be reactivated by filling the reservoir.
- Food control and power generation are somewhat conflicting aims: the former
requires considerable reserve storage capacity, while the latter is enhanced by
impounding the maximum volume of water.
- Conventional hydropower is also limited by the stationary nature of the
resource.
- Also, hydropower is more susceptible to natural disruptions than other sources
considered so far.
- This clean, cheap, renewable energy source can continue indefinitely to make a
modest contribution to energy use, but it cannot be expected to supply much
more energy in the future than it does now.
- Worldwide, future hydropower development is expected to be most rapid in
Asia, but opposition exists there. The largest such project ever, the Three
Gorges Dam project in China went forward despite international protests from
environmental groups.

Energy from the Oceans

Three different approaches to extract energy from Earth’s oceans:

 Harnessing the energy of waves or tides, or making use of temperature

differences between deep and shallow waters.
All large bodies of standing water on the earth, including the oceans and large
lakes like the Great Lakes, show tides. Unfortunately, the energy represented by
tides is too dispersed in most places to be useful. Average beach tides reflect a
difference between high-tide and low-tide water levels of about 1 meter. A
commercial tidal-power electricity-generating plant requires at least 5 meters
difference between high and low tides for efficient generation of electricity and a
bay or inlet with a narrow opening that could be dammed to regulate the water flow
in and out.

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Source: (Montgomery, 2011)

Tidal-power generation uses flowing water to generate electricity like the
conventional hydropower

 Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is another clean, renewable

technology that is currently in the developmental stages.
It exploits the temperature difference between warm surface water and the cold
water at depth. The warm water is vaporized and used directly to run a turbine, or
its heat is used to vaporize a “working fluid” to do so; the vapor is recondensed by
chilling with the cold water. No fuel is burned, no emissions released, and the vast
scale of the oceans assures a long life for such facilities. Where the water is
vaporized, the vapor is pure water, which, when recondensed, can be used for
water supply. This is essentially a distillation process. The cold seawater can be
used for other purposes, such as air conditioning or aquaculture. However,
specialized conditions are needed for OTEC to be a productive energy source. The
deep cold water must be accessible near shore; coastlines with broad shelves are
unsuitable. The temperature difference between warm and cold seawater must be
at least 40°F (22°C) year-round, which is true only near the equator. Thus, this
technology is most suitable for select tropical islands.

 The up-and-down motion of the water can be harnessed in various ways to

generate electricity.
The bobbing water can drive a pump to push water through a turbine, for example,
in an enclosed chamber that is partially submerged, the rise and fall of the water
surface can produce pulses of compression in the air above, which can drive an
air-powered turbine. These systems too are clean and renewable. However,
appropriate sites are limited by concerns over the visual impact of the equipment
in coastal areas, and over possible disruption of natural sediment-transport

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patterns. These issues, together with relatively high costs, have so far prevented
widespread development of wave energy.

Source: (Inhabitat, 2007)

World’s first commercial wave farm in Portugal

Wind Energy
- The winds are ultimately powered by the sun, wind energy can be regarded as a
variant of solar energy.
- It is clean and, like sunshine, renewable indefinitely (at least for 5 billion years
or so).
- Wind power has been utilized to some extent for more than two thousand years;
the windmills of the Netherlands are probably the best-known historic example.

Source: (Rathi, 2017)

Netherlands’ Old Windmills

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- Wind energy is dispersed, not only in two dimensions but in three: It is spread
out through the atmosphere. Wind is also erratic, highly variable in speed both
regionally and locally. The regional variations in potential power supply are
even more significant than they may appear from average wind velocities
because windmill power generation increases as the cube of wind speed.
- As with other physically localized power sources, the technological difficulty of
long-distance transmission of electricity will limit wind power’s near-term
contribution in areas of high electricity consumption until transmission
efficiencies improve.
- Even where average wind velocities are great, strong winds do not always blow.
This presents the same storage problem as solar electricity, and it has likewise
not yet been solved satisfactorily.
- At present, wind-generated electricity is used most commonly to supplement
conventionally generated power when wind conditions are favorable, with
conventional plants bearing most or all of the demand load at other times.
- The ultimate potential of wind energy is unclear. Certainly, blowing wind
represents far more total energy than we can use, but most of it cannot be
harnessed.
- Most schemes for commercial wind-power generation of electric power involve
“wind farms,” concentrations of many wind generators in a few especially
favorable windy sites.
- The limits to wind-power use then include the area that can be committed to
wind-generator arrays, as well as the distance the electricity can be transmitted
without excessive loss in the power grid.
- About 1000 1-megawatt wind generators are required to generate as much
power as a sizable conventional coal- or nuclear powered electric generating
plant.
- The units have to be spread out, or they block each other’s wind flow. Spacing
them at four windmills per square kilometer requires about 250 square
kilometers (100 square miles) of land to produce energy equivalent to a 1000-
megawatt power plant.
- Other concerns relating to wind farms include the aesthetic impact (the
generator arrays must naturally be very exposed); interference with and deaths
of migrating birds and bats; the noise associated with a large number of
windmills operating; and disruption of communications—TV, radio, cellular
telephones, perhaps even aircraft communications.

Biofuels
- Biofuels has become a catchall for various ways of deriving energy from
biomass, from organisms or from their remains.
- Biomass-derived energy is ultimately solar energy, since most biofuels come
from plant materials, and plants need sunlight to grow.
- Biofuels could also be thought of as “unfossilized fuels” because they represent
fuels derived from living or recent organisms rather than ancient ones and
hence have not been modified extensively by geologic processes acting over long
periods of time.
- The possibilities for biofuels are many. Most of these fuels fall into three broad
categories: wood, waste, and alcohol fuels.

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- Some are used alone, others “cofired” (burned in combination with conventional
fuels).
- All biofuels are burned to release their energy, so they share the carbon-
dioxide-pollution problems of fossil fuels.
- Some, like wood, also contribute particulate air pollutants. However, unlike the
fossil fuels, biofuels are renewable.
- In principle, biofuels can be produce and replenish on the same time scale as
they are consumed. This is their appeal, together with the fact that we can
produce themmdomestically, thus reducing dependence on energy imports.
- To the extent that more forests and grasslands are cleared to provide additional
cropland for biofuel production, that land-use change will increase net
greenhouse-gas emissions by decreasing carbon “sinks”

Waste-Derived Fuels
- Most of the truly waste-related biomass fuels involve agricultural or other
wastes that would historically have been burned in a field or dumped in
a landfi ll.
- For example, there is increasing interest in burning waste plant
materials after a crop is harvested. The combustible portion of urban
refuse can be burned to provide heat for electric generating plants.
- More-extensive use of incineration as a means of solid-waste disposal,
both in the United States and abroad, would further increase the use of
biomass for energy worldwide.
- Some waste-derived fuels are liquids. Research is ongoing on ways to
derive inoffensive liquid fuels from animal manures, which are rich in
organic matter.
- Some diesel-powered vehicles can run on biodiesel, a general term for
fuels derived from vegetable oil or animal fats (including wastes), or a
blend of such oil with petroleum diesel fuel.
- Another waste-derived biomass fuel growing in use, biogas, could be
called “gas from garbage.” When broken down in the absence of oxygen,
organic wastes yield a variety of gaseous products. Some of these are
useless, or smelly, or toxic, but among them is methane (CH4), the same
compound that predominates in natural gas.
- Sanitary-landfi ll operations are suitable sites for methane production as
organic wastes in the refuse decay. Straight landfill gas is too full of
impurities to use alone, but landfill-derived gas can be blended with
purer, pipelined natural gas to extend the gas supply.

Alcohol Fuels
- One biofuel that has received special attention is alcohol.
- It was extensively developed mainly for incorporation into gasohol.
- Gasohol as originally created was a blend of 90% gasoline and 10%
alcohol, the proportions reflecting a mix on which conventional gasoline
engines could run.
- Its popularity waned when oil prices subsequently declined, though most
gasoline still contains some ethanol (the most common type of fuel
alcohol).

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- Substantial concerns about ethanol fuels are also being raised as world
production rises sharply.
- One important consideration is that to grow, harvest, and derive
ethanol from corn or other starting plant material takes energy.
Depending on the process, indeed, it can take more energy than is
released burning the ethanol. Thus the alcohol fuels as currently
developed are not a major new source of energy as a way to reduce
dependence on imported liquid petroleum.

References:

Bukoski, J. (2015, March 23). Post-Fukushima: The impacts on Japanese public opinion of nuclear power.
Retrieved August 10, 2020, from Yale Environment Review: https://environment-review.yale.edu/post-
fukushima-impacts-japanese-public-opinion-nuclear-power-0
BusinessMirror. (2019, November 15). EDC’s Kidapawan geothermal power plants back online. Retrieved
August 10, 2020, from Business Mirror: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/11/15/edcs-kidapawan-
geothermal-power-plants-back-online/
Dinglasan, R. R. (2013, March 12). Overpopulated, Metro Manila is sinking —and flooding— fast. Retrieved
August 2, 2020, from GMA News Online:
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/science/298939/overpopulated-metro-manila-is-sinking-and-
flooding-fast/story/
Inhabitat. (2007). Portugal builds world’s first commercial wave farm! Retrieved August 10, 2020, from
Inhabitat: https://inhabitat.com/portugal-builds-worlds-first-commerical-wave-farm/
Montgomery, C. W. (2011). Environmental Geology, Ninth Edition. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New
York, NY 10020: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Rathi, A. (2017, May 16). The land known for its windmills produces barely any wind power. Retrieved August
10, 2020, from Quartz: https://qz.com/984521/the-netherlands-is-known-for-windmills-but-it-produces-
very-little-wind-power/
Roque, V. (2016, October 10). SOLECO raises first pico hydro power plant in the Philippines. Retrieved
August 10, 2020, from Power Philippines: https://powerphilippines.com/soleco-first-picohydro-
powerplant-ph/
The Mail Man. (2016, March 1). PH Largest Solar farm up in Batangas. Retrieved August 10, 2020, from
Tech Blade: http://www.techblade.ph/2016/03/ph-largest-solar-farm-up-in-batangas.html
WESTEND61. (n.d.). A gondola on the Canal Grande passes under the Rialto Bridge. Retrieved from GETTY
IMAGES: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/europe/italy/venice/top-activities-
things-to-do/

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AIR POLLUTION

Introduction
In this lesson you will learn about the various types of air pollution; its impacts,
treatment, prevention and protection.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 2 (Syllabus)
 Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the
engineer's role in the manipulation of materials and resources.
Topic Outcomes:
 Identify the sources of pollution and discuss how to control them

Air Pollution
(Discussion is heavily based on Environmental Science (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2015).)

Air Pollution means any alteration of the physical, chemical and biological
properties of the atmospheric air, or any discharge thereto of any liquid, gaseous or
solid substances that will or is likely to create or to render the air resources of the
country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety or welfare or which
will adversely affect their utilization for domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural,
recreational, or other legitimate purposes (RA 8749, 1999).
Smoke, haze, dust, odors, corrosive gases, noise, and toxic compounds are
among our most widespread pollutants.

Source: NASA/Public Domain, 2009

Shown above is a photo of the atmosphere and the setting sun. In this thin line
is where the air pollutants are trapped. Almost all of what we release in the
atmosphere will go back to any point in this line, thus the adage “Tapat ko linis ko” is
not applicable especially in air pollution.
Globally, air pollution is estimated to contribute to over 3 million deaths per
year. Because these deaths are usually widespread, and in developing areas where

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government regulation can be weak in the first place, it is more difficult to translate
these risks into new policies.

Air Pollutant

- any matter found in the atmosphere other than oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor,
carbon dioxide, and the inert gases in their natural or normal concentrations,
that is detrimental to health or the environment, which includes but not limited
to smoke, dust, soot, cinders, fly ash, solid particles of any kind, gases, fumes,
chemical mists, steam and radio-active substances.

Ambient air quality

- the general amount of pollution present in a broad area; and refers to the
atmosphere's average purity as distinguished from discharge measurements
taken at the source of pollution

Ambient Air
- The air around us

Primary Pollutants
- released directly from the source into the air in a harmful form.

Secondary Pollutants
- converted to a hazardous form after they enter the air or are formed by
chemical reactions as components of the air mix and interact.

Fugitive Emissions
- those that do not go through a smoke stack.
- By far the most massive example of this category is dust from soil erosion, strip
mining, rock crushing, and building construction (and destruction).
- Fugitive industrial emissions are hard to monitor, but they are extremely
important sources of air pollution.
- Leaks around valves and pipe joints, and evaporation of volatile compounds
from oil-processing facilities, contribute as much as 90% of the hydrocarbons
and volatile organic chemicals emitted from oil refineries and chemical plants.
-
Six Conventional or Criteria Pollutants

1. Sulfur dioxide
2. Nitrogen oxides
3. Carbon monoxide
4. Ozone
5. Lead
6. Particulate Matter
- These six conventional or criteria pollutants were addressed first because they
contributed the largest volume of air quality degradation and also are
considered the most serious threats to human health and welfare

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Sulfur Dioxide
- Natural sources of sulfur in the atmosphere include evaporation of sea spray,
erosion of sulfate-containing dust from arid soils, fumes from volcanoes and hot
springs, and biogenic emissions of hydrogen sulfide (H 2S) and organic sulfur-
containing compounds.
- Total yearly emissions of sulfur from all sources amount to some 114 million
metric tons.
- Worldwide, anthropogenic sources represent about 2/3 of the all airborne
sulfur, but in most urban areas they contribute as much as 90% of the sulfur
in the air.
- The predominant form of anthropogenic sulfur is sulfur dioxide (SO 2) from
combustion of sulfur-containing fuel (coal and oil), purification of sour (sulfur-
containing) natural gas or oil, and industrial processes, such as smelting of
sulfide ores.
- China and the United States are the largest sources of anthropogenic sulfur,
primarily from coal burning and smelting.
- Colorless corrosive gas, directly damaging to both plants and animals.
- Once in the atmosphere, it can be further oxidized to sulfur trioxide (SO3), which
reacts with water vapor or dissolves in water droplets to form sulfuric acid
(H2SO4), a major component of acid rain.
- Some of the smelliest and most obnoxious air pollutants are sulfur compounds,
such as hydrogen sulfide from pig manure lagoons or mercaptans (organo-
sulfur thiols) from paper mills.

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

- Highly reactive gases formed when nitrogen in fuel or in air is heated (during
combustion) to temperatures above 650°C in the presence of oxygen.
- Bacteria can also form NO as they oxidize nitrogen-containing compounds in
soil or water.
- The initial product, nitric oxide (NO), oxidizes further in the atmosphere to
nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a reddish-brown gas that gives photochemical smog its
distinctive color.
- In addition, nitrous oxide (N2O) is an intermediate form that results from soil
denitrification. Nitrous oxide absorbs ultraviolet light and is an important
greenhouse gas.
- Because nitrogen readily changes from one of these forms to another by gaining
or losing O atoms, the general term NOx is used to describe these gases.
- Nitrogen oxides combine with water to make nitric acid (HNO3), a major
component of acid rain.
- Anthropogenic sources account for 60% of the global emissions of about 230
million metric tons of reactive nitrogen compounds each year.
- Because we continue to drive more miles every year, and to consume abundant
electricity, we have had less success in controlling NOx than other pollutants.

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Carbon Monoxide (CO)

- Colorless, odorless, nonirritating, but highly toxic gas.
- Produced mainly by incomplete combustion of fuel (coal, oil, charcoal, or gas),
as in furnaces, incinerators, engines, or fires, as well as in decomposition of
organic matter.
- CO blocks oxygen uptake in blood by binding irreversibly to hemoglobin (the
protein that carries oxygen in our blood), making hemoglobin unable to hold
oxygen and deliver it to cells.
- Human activities produce about half of the 1 billion metric tons of CO released
to the atmosphere each year.
- About 90% of the CO in the air is converted to CO2 in photochemical reactions
that produce ozone.
- Catalytic converters on vehicles are one of the important methods to reduce CO
production by ensuring complete oxidation of carbon to carbon dioxide (CO 2).
- Carbon dioxide is the predominant form of carbon in the air.

Ozone (O3) and Photochemical Oxidants

- Ground level O3 is a product of photochemical reactions (reactions initiated by
sunlight) between other pollutants, such as NOx or volatile organic compounds.
A general term for products of these reactions is photochemical oxidants.
- One of the most important of these reactions involves splitting nitrogen dioxide
(NO2) into nitrous oxide (NO) and Oxygen (O). This single O atom is then
available to combine with a molecule of O2 to make ozone (O3).
- Hydrocarbons in the air contribute to the accumulation of ozone by combining
with NO to form new compounds, leaving single O atoms free to form O 3.
- A general term for organic chemicals that evaporate easily or exist as gases in
the air is Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
- Plants are the largest source of VOCs, releasing an estimated 350 million tons
of isoprene (C5H8) and 450 million tons of terpenes (C10H15) each year. Isoprene
is emitted by trees like oaks and eucalyptus and is used as raw material for
polymeric products (Britannica, 2020) while terpene is released by trees in
warm weather (Adam, 2008).
- About 400 million tons of methane (CH4) are produced by natural wetlands and
rice paddies and by bacteria in the guts of termites and ruminant animals.
These volatile hydrocarbons are generally oxidized to CO and CO 2 in the
atmosphere.
- In addition to natural VOCs, a large number of other synthetic organic
chemicals, such as benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, phenols,
chloroform, and trichloroethylene, are released into the air by human activities.
These chemicals play an important role in the formation of photochemical
oxidants.

Lead
- Most abundantly produced metal air pollutant.

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- Lead is toxic to our nervous systems and other critical functions. Lead binds to
enzymes and to components of our cell, such as brain cells, which then cannot
function normally.
- Airborne lead is produced by a wide range of industrial and mining processes.
- The main sources are smelting of metal ores, mining, and burning of coal and
municipal waste, in which lead is a trace element and burning of gasoline to
which lead has been added.
- Leaded gasoline was the main source of lead in the United States, but leaded
gas was phased out in the 1980s. Banning leaded gasoline in the US was one of
the most successful pollution-control measures in American history.
- Worldwide atmospheric lead emissions amount to about 2 million metric tons
per year, or 2/3 of all metallic air pollution. Globally, most of this lead is still
from leaded gasoline, as well as metal ore smelting and coal burning.

Particulate Matter
- Includes solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gaseous medium.
- Very fine solid or liquid particulates suspended in the atmosphere are aerosols.
These include dust, ash, soot, lint, smoke, pollen, spores, algal cells, and many
other suspended materials.
- Particulates are often the most obvious form of air pollution, because they
reduce visibility and leave dirty deposits on windows, painted surfaces and
textiles.
- Particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, such as those found in
smoke and haze, and produced by fires, power plants, or vehicle exhaust, are
among the most dangerous particulates because they can be drawn into the
lungs , where they damage respiratory tissues. Asbestos fibers and cigarette
smoke are among these dangerous fine particles. This fine particulate matter is
referred to as PM2.5, in reference to its size. Reducing sulfur in coal and diesel
fuel, which produces aerosol droplets of sulfuric acid, is one important strategy
for controlling PM2.5 particulates.
- Coarse inhalable particles are larger than 2.5 micrometers but less than 10
micrometers in diameter. These are known as PM10, and they are typically
found near roads or other visible dust sources. The “dust bowl” of the 1930s
involved mainly this kind of particulates. At that time, farmland soils were often
left bare, especially during severe drought, and billions of tons of topsoil blew
away from farmlands. Soil conservation on farmlands is one strategy for
reducing PM10; another strategy is better management of dust at construction
sites.
- Epidemiological studies have shown that cities with chronically high levels of
particulates have higher death rates, mostly from heart and lung disease.
- The dust also carries pollen, bacteria, viruses, fungi, herbicides, acids,
radioactive isotopes, and heavy metals between continents.
- Airborne dust is considered the primary source of allergies worldwide. Saharan
dust storms are suspected of raising asthma rates in Trinidad and Barbados,
where cases have increased 17-fold in 30 years.
- Aspergillus sydowii, a soil fungus from Africa, has been shown to be causing
death of corals and sea fans in remote reefs in the Caribbean.

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- Europe also receives airborne pathogens via dust storms. Outbreaks of foot-
and-mouth disease in Britain have been traced to dust storms from North
Africa.
- In the Philippines, a study of Simpas, et al. (2014) showed that traffic is the
main contributor to PM2.5 at all sites in Metro Manila while biomass burning
appeared to be the highest contributor in the areas outside NCR.

Other Pollutants
- Mercury
- Carbon dioxide
- Halogens
- Hazardous air pollutants(HAPs)

Mercury (Hg)
- Many toxic metals are released into the air by burning coal and oil,
mining, smelting of metal ores, or manufacturing. Lead, mercury, cadmium,
nickel, arsenic (highly toxic metalloid), and others are released in the form of
metal fumes or suspended particulates by fuel combustion, ore smelting, and
disposal of wastes. Among these, lead and mercury are the most abundantly
produced toxic metals.
- Mercury has become regulated relatively recently (in Philippines, DAO 1997-38)
- Like Lead, toxic in minute doses, causing nerve damage and other impairments,
especially in young children and developing fetuses.
- Volcanoes and rock weathering can produce mercury, but 70% of airborne
mercury derives from coal-burning power plants, metal processing (smelting),
waste incineration, and other industrial combustion.
- About 75% of human exposure to mercury comes from eating fish. This is
because aquatic bacteria are mainly responsible for converting airborne
mercury into methyl mercury, a form that accumulates in living animal tissues.
- Swordfish, shrimp, and other seafood are also significant sources of mercury in
our diet.
- Global air circulation also deposits airborne mercury on land. Half or more of
the mercury that falls on North America may come from abroad, much of it
from Asian coal-burning power plants.
- Increased burning coal burning in China, which for years built new coal-
burning power plants at the rate of one or two per week, is understood to be the
main cause of growing mercury emissions in the Pacific.
- Much of our understanding of mercury poisoning comes from a
disastrous case in Minamata, Japan, in the 1950s, where a chemical factory
regularly discharged mercury-laden waste into Minamata Bay. Babies whose
mothers ate mercury-contaminated fish suffered profound neurological
disabilities, including deafness, blindness, mental retardation, and cerebral
palsy. In adults, mercury poisoning caused numbness, loss of muscle control,
and dementia. The connection between “Minamata disease” and mercury was
established in the 1950s, but waste dumping didn’t end for another ten years.
-
Carbon Dioxide

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- Some 370 billion tons of CO2 are emitted each year from respiration
(oxidation of organic compounds by plant and animal cells). These releases
are usually balanced by an equal uptake by photosynthesis in green plants.
- At normal concentrations, CO2 is nontoxic and innocuous, but
atmospheric levels are steadily increasing (about 0.5 percent per year) due
to human activities and are now causing global climate change, with
serious implications for both human and natural communities.

Carbon Dioxide
- Some 370 billion tons of CO2 are emitted each year from respiration (oxidation
of organic compounds by plant and animal cells). These releases are usually
balanced by an equal uptake by photosynthesis in green plants.
- At normal concentrations, CO2 is nontoxic and innocuous, but atmospheric
levels are steadily increasing (about 0.5 percent per year) due to human
activities and are now causing global climate change, with serious implications
for both human and natural communities.

Halogens
- The EPA is charged with regulating six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur
hexafluoride. These are gases whose emissions have grown dramatically in
recent decades.
- Three of these six greenhouse gases contain halogens, a group of lightweight,
highly reactive elements (fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine). Because they
are generally toxic in their elemental form, they are commonly used as
fumigants and disinfectants, but they also have hundreds of uses in industrial
and commercial products.
- Halogen compounds are also powerful greenhouse gases: They trap more energy
per molecule than does CO2, and they persist in the atmosphere for decades to
centuries.
- Perfluorocarbons will persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
- The global warming potential (per molecule, over time) of some CFCs is
thousands of times greater than that of CO2.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been banned for most uses in
industrialized countries, but about 600 million tons of these compounds are
used annually worldwide in spray propellants and refrigeration compressors
and for foam blowing. They diffuse into the stratosphere, where they release
chlorine and fluorine atoms that destroy ozone molecules that protect the earth
from ultraviolet radiation.
-
-
-
-
-

Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)

- A special category of toxins monitored by the U.S. EPA because they are
particularly dangerous.

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- These chemicals include carcinogens, neurotoxins, mutagens, teratogens,

endocrine system disrupters, and other highly toxic compounds.
- The most persistent compounds require special reporting and management
because they remain in ecosystem for long periods of time and accumulate in
animal and human tissues.
- The tendency to bioaccumulate makes many of these hazardous air pollutants
especially dangerous.
- Most of these chemicals are either metal compounds, chlorinated hydrocarbons,
or volatile organic compounds.
- Gasoline vapors, solvents, and components of plastics are all HAPs that you
may encounter on a daily basis.

Aesthetic Degradation
- Any undesirable change in the physical characteristics or chemistry of the
atmosphere, such as noise, odors, and light pollution.
- These factors rarely threaten life or health directly, but they can strongly impact
our quality of life.
- They also increase stress, which affects health.
- Factories that emit noxious chemicals sometimes spray “odor maskants” or
perfumes into smokestacks to cover up objectionable odors.
- Light pollution also is a concern in most urban areas, where ambient light
confuses birds and hides the stars.

Indoor Air sometimes worse than Outdoor Air

- The EPA has found that concentrations of toxic air pollutants are often higher
indoors than outdoors.
- People generally spend more time inside than out, so they are exposed to higher
doses of pollutants.
- Indoor air in homes has concentrations of chemicals that would be illegal
outside or in the workplace. The EPA has found that concentrations of such
compounds as chloroform, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, formaldehyde, and
styrene can be 70 times higher in indoor air than in outdoor air, as plastics,
carpets, paints, and other common materials off-gas these materials.
- Finding less-toxic paints and fabrics can make indoor spaces both healthier
and more pleasant.
-

Temperature Inversions
- Can greatly concentrate air pollutants.
- Inversions occur when a stable layer of warmer air lies above cooler air.
- The normal conditions, where temperatures decline with increasing height, are
inverted, and these stable conditions prevent convection currents from
dispersing pollutants.
- Inversions might last from a few hours to a few days.
- The most stable inversion conditions are usually created by rapid nighttime
cooling in a valley or basin where air movement is restricted.
-

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Stratospheric Ozone

- In 1985 the British Antarctic Atmospheric Survey announced a startling

and disturbing discovery: Stratospheric ozone concentrations over the South
Pole were dropping precipitously during September and October every year as
the sun reappeared at the end of the long polar winter. This ozone depletion has
been occurring at least since the 1960s but was not recognized because earlier
researchers programmed their instruments to ignore changes in ozone levels
that were presumed to be erroneous.
- Chlorine-based aerosols, especially CFCs and other halon gases, are the
principal agents of ozone depletion.
- In 1985 the British Antarctic Atmospheric Survey announced a startling
and disturbing discovery: Stratospheric ozone concentrations over the South
Pole were dropping precipitously during September and October every year as
the sun reappeared at the end of the long polar winter. This ozone depletion has
been occurring at least since the 1960s but was not recognized because earlier
researchers programmed their instruments to ignore changes in ozone levels
that were presumed to be erroneous.
- Chlorine-based aerosols, especially CFCs and other halon gases, are the
principal agents of ozone depletion.
-
-

Important Chronic Health Effects of Air Pollutants

- Bronchitis – a persistent inflammation of bronchi and bronchioles (large and
small airways in the lung) that causes mucus buildup, a painful cough, and
involuntary muscle spasms that constrict airways.
- Emphysema – severe bronchitis, an irreversible chronic obstructive lung
disease in which airways become permanently constricted and alveoli are
damaged or even destroyed.

Acid Precipitation

- The deposition of wet acidic solutions or dry acidic particles from the air.
- English Scientist Robert Angus Smith coined the term “acid rain” in his studies
of air chemistry in Manchester, England, in the 1850s.
- By the 1940s it was known that pollutants, including atmospheric acids, could
be transported long distances by wind currents. This was thought to be only an
academic curiosity until it was shown that precipitation of these acids can have
far reaching ecological effects.
- Unpolluted rain generally has a pH of about 5.6 due to carbonic acid created by
CO2 in air. Sulfur, chlorine, and other elements also form acidic compounds as
they are released in sea spray, volcanic emissions, and biological
decomposition. These sources can lower the pH of rain well below 5.6. Other
factors, such as alkaline dust can raise it above 7.

Pollutant Removal and Reduction

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Air Pollution Control Facilities (APCF)

- General term for structure or installation controlling the quality of emissions of
air pollution source equipment (APSE).
- Examples are filters, scrubbers and dust collectors

Particulate Removal
- Involves filtering air emissions. Filters trap particulates in a mesh of cotton
cloth, spun glass fibers, or asbestos-cellulose. Industrial air filters are generally
giant bags 10 to 15 m long and 2 to 3 m wide. Effluent gas is blown through the
bag, much like the bag on a vacuum cleaner. Every few days or weeks the bags
are opened to remove the dust cake. Electrostatic precipitators are the most
common particulate controls in power plants.

Air filter Source: https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-oftgh

Sulfur Removal
- Important because sulfur oxides are among the most damaging of all air
pollutants in terms of human health and ecosystem viability.
- Switching from soft coal with a high sulfur content to low sulfur coal is the
surest way to reduce sulfur emissions.
- Switching to cleaner oil or gas would eliminate metal effluents as well as sulfur.
- Cleaning fuels is an alternative to switching. Coal can be crushed, washed, and
gasified to remove sulfur and metals before combustion. This improves heat
content and firing properties, but may replace air pollution with solid-waste and
water pollution problems; furthermore, these steps are expensive.

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

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- Can be reduced in both internal combustion engines and industrial boilers by

as much as 50 percent by carefully controlling the flow of air and fuel.
- Staged burners, for example, control burning temperatures and oxygen flow to
prevent formation of NOx.
- The catalytic converter on your car uses platinum-palladium and rhodium
catalysts to remove up to 90% of NOx, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide at
the same time.

Hydrocarbon Controls

- Mainly involve complete combustion or controlling evaporation.

- Hydrocarbons and VOCs are produced by incomplete combustion of fuels or by
solvent evaporation from chemical factories, paints, dry cleaning, plastic
manufacturing, printing, and other industrial processed. Closed systems that
prevent escape of fugitive gases can reduce many of these emissions.
- In automobiles, for instance, positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) systems
collect oil that escapes from around the pistons and unburned fuel and
channels them back to the engine for combustion.
- Controls on fugitive losses from industrial valves, pipes, and storage tanks can
have a significant impact on air quality.
- Afterburners are often the best method for destroying VOCs in industrial
exhaust stacks.
-
Saving Energy and Reducing Pollution
- Conserve energy: carpool, bike, walk, use public transport, and buy compact
fluorescent bulbs and energy efficient appliances. Fortunately, Batangas City
has wide pathways so it’s easier to choose to walk from one place to another.
- Don’t use polluting two-cycle gasoline engines if cleaner four-cycle models are
available for lawn mowers, boat motors, etc.
- Buy refrigerators and air conditioners designed for CFC alternatives and with
high energy efficiency rating (EER). If you have old appliances or other CFC
sources, replace them ASAP and dispose them responsibly. In the long run, old
appliances are more expensive due to higher consumption in electricity.
- Plant trees and air purifying plants, and care for them. Not only can trees take
CO2 from the air, but they can also make a place cooler by shading (Where do
you want to park in an open area? Near a tree), so if they are near a building,
AC usage can be lessened.
- Write to your congressional representatives or initiate a petition in change.org
and support a transition to an energy-efficient economy.
- If green pricing options are available in your area, buy renewable energy.
- Have your car tuned every 16,000 km and make sure that its anti-smog
equipment is working properly. Turn-off your engine when waiting longer than
one minute. Start trips a little earlier and drive slower - it not only saves fuel
but it’s safer too.
- Use latex-based, low VOC paint rather than oil-based (alkyd) paint.
- Avoid spray-can products. Light charcoal fires with electric starters rather than
petroleum products.

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- Don’t top off your fuel tank when you buy gasoline; stop when the automatic
mechanism turns off the pump. Don’t dump gasoline or used oil on the ground
or down the drain.

Source: WHO, 2018

Reference:

Adam, David (October 31, 2008). Scientists discover cloud-thickening chemicals in trees
that could offer a new weapon in the fight against global warming, The Guardian.

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Britannica. (2020). Isoprene, Retrieved from Encyclopeadia Britannica, Inc. on August

8, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/science/isoprene

Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. (2015). Environmental Science, 13th Edition.

McGraw-Hill Education.

NASA (2009). Thin Line of Earth's Atmosphere and the Setting Sun. Retrieved from
Wikimedia Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thin_Line_of_Earth%27s_Atmosphere_and_
the_Setting_Sun.jpg#file
Pxfuel (n.d.) Retrieved August 8, 2020 from: https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-
oftgh
Simpas, J. G. Lorenzo and M.T. Cruz. 2014. Monitoring Particulate Matter Levels and
Composition for Source Apportionment Study in Metro Manila, Philippines. Book Chapter
in Kim Oanh, N.T. (Editor) Improving Air Quality in Asian Developing Countries:
Compilation of Research Findings. NARENCA. Retrieved August 8, 2020 from:
http://www.observatory.ph/publications/monitoring-particulate-matter-levels-and-
composition-for-source-apportionment-study-in-metro-manila-philippines/.

World Health Organization. (2018). Air Pollution – The Silent Killer, Retrieved August 8,
2020 from: https://www.who.int/airpollution/infographics/Air-pollution-
INFOGRAPHICS-English-1.1200px.jpg

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WATER POLLUTION

Introduction
In this lesson you will learn about water pollution, its causes and effects,

categories, and ways to manage waste water sources.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 2 (Syllabus)

 Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the

engineer's role in the manipulation of materials and resources.

Topic Outcomes:

 Identify the sources of pollution and discuss how to control them

Water Pollution
(Discussion is heavily based on Environmental Science (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2015).)

Any physical, biological, or chemical change in water quality that adversely

affects living organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses.

Sources of Water Pollution

- All industries that generate wastewater e.g. from factories due to use of
water in manufacturing, power plants from their cooling and washing
activities, and sewage treatment plants. They discharge pollution from
specific locations, such as drain pipes, ditches, or sewer outfalls. These
sources are discrete and identifiable, so they are relatively easy to monitor
and regulate. It is generally possible to divert effluent from the waste
streams of these sources and treat it before it enters the environment.
- Scattered or diffuse, having no specific location where they discharge into a
particular body of water. Include runoff from farm fields and livestock, golf
courses, lawns gardens, construction sites, logging areas, roads, streets, and

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parking lots. Perhaps the ultimate in diffuse, nonpoint pollution is

atmospheric deposition of contaminants carried by air currents and
precipitated into watersheds or directly onto surface waters as rain, snow,
or dry particles.

Major Categories of Water Pollutants

Category Examples Sources

A. Causes Health Problems
1. Infectious Agents Bacteria, viruses, parasi Human and animal excreta
tes
2. Organic Chemicals Pesticides, plastics, Industrial, household, and farm
detergents, oil and use
gasoline
3. Inorganic Chemicals Acids, caustics, salts, Industrial effluents, household
metals cleansers, surface runoff
4. Radioactive materials prod Uranium, thorium, cesi Mining and processing of ores,
uction, natural sources um, iodine, radon power plants, weapons
B. Causes Ecosystem Disruption
1. Sediment Soil, silt Land erosion

2. Plant Nutrients Nitrates, phosphates, Agricultural and urban fertilizers

ammonium , sewage manure
3. Oxygen-demanding wastes Animal manure and Sewage, agricultural runoff, pap
plant residues er mills, food processing
4. Thermal Heat Power plants, industrial cooling
Source: (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2015)

Pathogenic Organisms
- The most serious water pollutants in terms of human health worldwide
- Among the most important waterborne diseases are typhoid, cholera,
bacterial and amoebic dysentery, enteritis, polio, infectious hepatitis, and
schistosomiasis. Malaria, yellow fever, and dengue are transmitted by insects
that have aquatic larvae.

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- At least 25 million deaths each year are blamed on these water-related

diseases. Nearly two-thirds of the mortalities of children under 5 years old
are associated with waterborne diseases.
- The main source of these pathogens is untreated or improperly treated
human wastes.
- Animal wastes from feedlots or fields near waterways and food-processing
factories with inadequate waste treatment facilities also are sources of
disease-causing organisms.
- The United Nations estimates that at least 2.5 billion people in poor
countries lack adequate sanitation, and 780 million lack access to clean
drinking water. Conditions are especially bad in remote rural areas where
sewage treatment is usually primitive or nonexistent and purified water is
either unavailable or too expensive. The WHO estimates that 80% of all
sickness and disease in less-developed countries can be attributed to
waterborne infectious agents and inadequate sanitation.
- Detecting specific pathogens in water is difficult, time-consuming, and costly;
thus, water quality control personnel usually analyze water for the presence
of coliform bacteria, any of the many types that live in the colon or
intestines of humans and other animals.
- The most common of these is Escherichia coli (E. coli). Many strains of
bacteria are normal symbionts in mammals, but some, such as Shigella,
Salmonella, or Lysteria, can cause fatal diseases. It is usually assumed that if
any coliform bacteria are present in a water sample, infectious pathogens
are present also.

Oxygen Levels
- The amount of oxygen dissolved in water is a good indicator of water quality
and of the kinds of life it will support.
- Water with an oxygen content of 6 ppm will support game
-
- and other desirable forms of aquatic life.
- Water with less than 2 ppm oxygen will support mainly worms, bacteria,
fungi, and other detritus feeders and decomposers.

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- Oxygen is added to water by diffusion from the air, especially when

turbulence and mixing rates are high, and by photosynthesis of green plants,
algae, and cyanobacteria.
- Oxygen is removed from water by respiration and chemical processes that
consume oxygen
- Organic waste, such as sewage, paper pulp, or food waste, is rich in
nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients stimulate the
growth of oxygen-demanding decomposing bacteria.
- Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen that
must be present in water in order for microorganisms to decompose the
organic matter in the water, thus a useful test for the presence of organic
waste in water. Most BOD tests involve incubating a water sample for five
days, then comparing oxygen levels in the water before and after incubation.
- Chemical oxygen demand (COD) uses a strong oxidizing agent (dichromate
ion in 50% sulfuric acid) to completely breakdown all organic matter in a
water sample. This method is much faster than the BOD test, but it records
inactive organic matter as well as bacteria, so it is less useful.
- A third method of assaying pollution levels is to measure dissolved oxygen
(DO) content directly, using an oxygen electrode. The DO content of water
depends on factors other than pollution (e.g. temperature and aeration), so
it is best for indicating the health of the aquatic system.
- Oxygen sag is the oxygen decline downstream. Upstream from the pollution
source, oxygen levels support normal populations of clean-water organisms.
Immediately below the source of pollution, oxygen levels begin to fall as
decomposers metabolize waste materials. Rough fish, such as carp, bull heads,
and gar, are able to survive in this oxygen-poor environment where they eat
both decomposer organisms and the waste itself.
- Further downstream, the water may become so oxygen-depleted that only
the most resistant microorganisms and invertebrates can survive. This is
called the “dead zone”.

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- Eutrophication
- Oligotrophic (oligo = little + trophic = nutrition) – rivers and lakes that have
clear water and low biological productivity.
- Eutrophic (eu + trophic = truly nourished) – waters that are rich in
organisms and organic materials. Eutrophication is an increase in nutrient
levels and biological productivity.
- As with BOD, nutrient enrichment sewage, fertilizer run-off, even
decomposing leaves in street gutters can produce human-caused increase in
biological productivity called cultural eutrophication. This can also result
from higher temperatures, more sunlight reaching the water surface, or a
number of other changes.

Source: Batangas News, 2015

Calumpang River with eutrophication

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Source: Andal, 2019

Calumpang River with eutrophication

- Eutrophication has undesirable results. Elevated phosphorus and nitrogen

levels stimulate “blooms” of algae or thick growths of aquatic plants.
Bacterial populations also increase, fed by larger amounts of organic matter.
The water often becomes cloudy or turbid and has unpleasant tastes and
odors. In extreme cases, plants and algae die and decomposers deplete
oxygen in the water. Collapse of the aquatic ecosystem can result.
- The largest algal bloom ever recorded in China has turned the Yellow Sea
green and may be related to pollution from agriculture and industry.
- Eutrophication in marine ecosystems occurs in nearshore waters and
partially enclosed bays and estuaries.
- Extensive dead zones often form where rivers dump oxygen depleting
nutrients into estuaries and shallow seas. One of the largest hypoxic
(oxygen-depleted) zones in the world occurs during summer months in the
Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Studies indicate that as
human populations, cities, and agriculture expand, these hypoxic zones will
become increasingly common.
- It appears that fish and other marine species die in these polluted zones not
only because oxygen is depleted but also because high concentrations of
harmful organisms including toxic algae, pathogenic fungi, parasitic protists,
and other predators

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Inorganic Pollutants
- Some toxic inorganic chemicals are released from rocks by weathering, are
carried by runoff into lakes or rivers, or percolate into groundwater aquifers.
This pattern is part of natural mineral cycles. Humans often accelerate the
transfer rates in these cycles thousands of times above natural background
levels through the mining, processing, using, and discarding of minerals.
- Toxic inorganic chemicals introduced into water as a result of human
activities have become the most serious form of water pollution.
- Among the chemicals of greatest concern are heavy metals, such as mercury,
lead, tin, and cadmium.
- Super toxic elements, such as acids, salts, nitrates, and chlorine, that
normally are not toxic at low concentrations may become concentrated
enough to lower water quality or adversely affect biological communities.
- Many metals, such as mercury, lead, cadmium, tin, and nickel, are highly
toxic in minute concentrations.
- Metals are highly persistent, therefore, they can accumulate in food webs
and have a cumulative effect in top predators – including humans.
- Currently the most widespread toxic metal contamination problem in North
America is mercury released from coal-burning power plants.
- Mine drainage and leaching of mining wastes are serious sources of metal
pollution in water.
- Nonmetallic Salts - Some soils contain naturally high concentrations of
soluble salts, including toxic selenium and arsenic.
- Salts, such as sodium chloride, that are non-toxic at low concentrations also
can be mobilized by irrigation and concentrated by evaporation, reaching
levels that are toxic for many plants and animals.
- Globally, 20% of the world’s irrigated farmland is estimated to be affected
by salinization, and half that land has enough salt buildup to decrease yields
significantly.
- The largest human population threatened by naturally occurring arsenic in
groundwater is in West Bengal, India, and eastern Bangladesh. Arsenic
occurs naturally in the sediments that make up the Ganges River delta.

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Rapid population growth, industrialization, and intensification of irrigated

agriculture have depleted or polluted limited surface water supplies. In an
effort to provide clean drinking water for local residents, thousands of tube
wells were sunk in the 1960s throughout the area. Much of this
humanitarian effort was financed by loans from the World Bank.
- By the 1980s health workers became aware of widespread signs of chronic
arsenic poisoning among Bengali villagers. Symptoms include watery and
inflamed eyes, gastrointestinal cramps, gradual loss of strength, dry skin
and skin tumors, anemia, confusion, and eventually death. Health workers
estimate that the total number of potential victims in India and Bangladesh
may exceed 100 million people. Fortunately, arsenic can be removed from
water supplies relatively easily and cheaply.
- Acids and Bases - Acids are released as by-products of industrial processes,
such as leather tanning, metal smelting and plating, petroleum distillation,
and organic chemical synthesis.
- Coal mining is an especially important source of acid water pollution.
- Where soils are rich in such alkaline material as limestones, atmospheric
acids have little effect because they are neutralized.
- Aquatic damage due to acid precipitation has been reported in about 200
lakes in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State and in several
thousand lakes in eastern Quebec, Canada.
- Game fish, amphibians, and sensitive aquatic insects are generally the first to
be killed by increased acid levels in the water.
- If acidification is severe enough, aquatic life is limited to a few resistant
species of mosses and fungi.
- Increased acidity may result in leaching of toxic metals, especially aluminum,
from soil and rocks, making water unfit for drinking or irrigation, as well.
- Human activities may themselves reduce natural recharge, so ground water
consumed may not be replaced, even slowly.

Organic Pollutants
- Include drugs, pesticides, and other industrial substances

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- Thousands of different natural and synthetic organic chemicals are used in

the chemical industry to make pesticides, plastics, pharmaceuticals,
pigments, and other products that we use in everyday life.
- Exposure to very low concentrations can cause birth defects, genetic
disorders, and cancer.
- Some can persist in the environment because they are resistant to
degradation and toxic to organisms that ingest them.
- Contamination of surface waters and groundwater by these chemicals is a
serious threat to human health.
- The two most important sources of toxic organic chemicals in water are
improper disposal of industrial and household wastes and runoff of pesticides
from farm fields, forests, roadsides, golf courses, and other places where
they are used in large quantities.
- The U.S. EPA estimates that 500,000 metric tons of pesticides are used in
the United States each year. Much of this material washes into the nearest
waterway, where it passes through ecosystems and may accumulate in high
levels in non target organisms.
- Countless other organic compounds also enter our water. People simply
dump unwanted food, medicines, and health supplements down the toilet or
sink. More often we consume more than our bodies can absorb, and we
excrete the excess, which passes through sewage treatment facilities
relatively unchanged.

Oil Spills
- Oil spills from shipwrecks and well blowouts, such as the 2010 explosion of
the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, can be disastrous for
ecosystems and local economies.
- According to the Smithsonian Institution, by far the greatest amount of oil
leaked into the ocean every year comes from routine, intentional oil
dumping. By their estimates, vehicle maintenance, urban runoff, bilge
pumping, and other human activities release about 2.4 billion liters (644
million gal) of oil annually, most of which eventually ends up in the sea. This

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is ten times as much as from natural oil seeps and about 2o times as much
as shipwrecks and well spills.
- On July 3, 2020, an oil spill from a power barge in Iloilo City due to an
explosion and the oil reached Guimaras.

Source: Yap, 2020

Iloilo oil spill

Sediments
- Erosion and runoff from croplands contribute about 25 billion metric tons
of soil, sediment, and suspended solids to world surface waters each year.
- Forests, grazing lands, urban construction sites, and other sources of erosion
and runoff add at least 50 billion additional tons.
- This sediment fill lakes and reservoirs, obstructs shipping channels, clogs
hydroelectric turbines, and makes purification of drinking water more costly.
- Sediments smother gravel beds in which insects take refuge and fish lay
their eggs. Sunlight is blocked so that plants cannot carry out photosynthesis,
and oxygen levels decline.
- Murky, cloudy water also is less attractive for swimming, boating, fishing,
and other recreational uses.

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Source: Slavikova, 2018

Sediment erosion in coastal area

Thermal Pollution
- Raising or lowering water temperatures from normal levels can adversely
affect water quality and aquatic life.
- Water temperatures are usually much more stable than air temperatures, so
aquatic organisms tend to be poorly adapted to rapid temperature changes.
- Lowering the temperature of tropical oceans by even one degree can be
lethal to some corals and other reef species.
- Raising water temperatures can have similar devastating effects on sensitive
organisms.
- Oxygen solubility in water decreases as temperatures increase, so species
requiring high oxygen levels are adversely affected by warming water.
- Humans cause thermal pollution by altering vegetation cover and runoff
patterns, as well as by discharging heated water directly into rivers and
lakes.
The cheapest way to remove heat from an industrial facility is to draw cool
water from an ocean, river, lake or aquifer, run it through heat exchanger
to extract excess heat, and then dump the heated water back into the
original source.

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A thermal plume of heated water is often discharged into rivers and lakes,
where raised temperatures can disrupt many processes in natural
ecosystems and drive out sensitive organisms.
Electrical power plants, metal smelters, petroleum refineries, paper mills,
food-processing factories, and chemical manufacturing plants all use and
release large amounts of cooling water.
To minimize thermal pollution, power plants frequently are required to
contract artificial cooling ponds or cooling towers in which heat is released
into the atmosphere and water is cooled before being released into natural
water bodies.

Water Quality Today

- Japan, Australia, and most of western Europe also have improved surface-
water quality in recent years.
- Sewage treatment in the wealthier countries of Europe generally equals or
surpasses that in the United States.
- Sweden serves 98% of its population with at least secondary sewage
treatment and the other 2 percent have primary treatment.
- Poorer countries have much less to spend on sanitation.
- More than 100 million Chinese live in areas without sufficient fresh water.
It’s estimated that 70% of China’s surface water is unsafe for human
consumption, and that the water in half the country’s major rivers is so
contaminated that it’s unsuited for any use, even agriculture.
- According to the Chinese Environmental Protection Agency, the country’s
ten worst polluted cities are all in Shanxi Province. Factories have been
allowed to exceed pollution discharges with impurity. 3 million tons of
wastewater are produced every day in the province, with 2/3s of it
discharged directly into local rivers without any treatment. Locals complain
that the rivers, which once were clean and fresh, are now visibly polluted
with industrial waste.

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- Similarly, 2/3s of India’s surface water is so contaminated that even coming

into contact with it is considered dangerous to human health. Yet millions of
people drink and bathe in this water. Consider Yamuna River, which flows
through New Delhi and past the magnificent Taj Mahal in Agra. About 57
million people depend on the Yamuna for agriculture, domestic and
industrial use. Much of the runoff from these activities goes back into the
river either untreated or only partially cleaned. Coliform bacterial counts
can be millions of times the level considered safe for drinking or bathing.
Although the Indian government has spent more than 500 million dollars in
recent years to upgrade the sewage system, the Yarmuna and Ganges, into
which it flows, remain badly polluted.
- Overall, about 96% of all urban areas in the world enjoy improved water.
The greatest remaining problems are in rural areas, especially in sub-
Saharan Africa. Although we’ve made progress in supplying this vital
resource, about 780 million people still lack access to improved water. 2/3s
of that number are in just 10 countries.
-
- "Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004" - Republic Act No. 9275

Water Quality

Source Reduction

- The cheapest and most effective way to reduce pollution is usually to avoid
producing it or releasing it to the environment in the first place.
- Elimination of lead from gasoline has resulted in a widespread and
significant decrease in the amount of lead in surface waters in the United
States.
- Careful handling of oil and petroleum products can greatly reduce the
amount of water pollution caused by these materials.
- The banning of DDT and PCBs in the 1970s has resulted in significant
reductions in levels in wildlife.
- Industry can reduce pollution by recycling or reclaiming materials that
otherwise might be discarded in the waste stream.

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- Both of these approaches usually have economic as well as environmental

benefits. It turns out that a variety of valuable metals can be recovered from
industrial wastes and reused or sold for other purposes.
- The company benefits by having a product to sell, and the municipal sewage
treatment plant benefits by not having to deal with highly toxic materials
mixed in with millions of gallons of other types of wastes.
- Here in the Philippines, you may refer to DENR A.O. 2016-08 also known
as the Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards for the
significant parameters need to monitor per industry and the allowable value
of these parameters. Also, stated there is the classification of water in the
Philippines.

Controlling Nonpoint Sources

- Among the greatest remaining challenges in water pollution control are

diffuse, nonpoint pollution sources.
- Unlike point sources, nonpoint sources have many origins and numerous
routes by which contaminants enter ground and surface waters.
- It is difficult to identify all these sources and routes.
- Some main causes of nonpoint pollution:
- Agriculture: The EPA estimates that 60% of all impaired or threatened
surface waters are affected by sediment from eroded fields and overgrazed
pastures; fertilizers, pesticides, and nutrients from croplands; and animal
wastes from feedlots.
- Urban runoff: Pollutants carried by runoff from streets, parking lots, and
industrial sites contain salts, oily residues, rubber, metals, and many
industrial toxins. Yards, golf courses, parklands, and urban gardens often are
treated with far more fertilizers and pesticides per unit area than farmlands.
Excess chemicals are carried by storm runoff into waterways.
- Construction sites: New buildings and land development projects such as
highway construction affect relatively small areas but produce vast amounts
of sediment, typically 10 to 20 times as much per unit area as farming.

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- Land Disposal: when done carefully, land disposal of certain kinds of

industrial waste, sewage sludge, and biodegradable garbage can be a good
way to dispose of unwanted material. Some poorly run land disposal sites,
abandoned dumps, and leaking septic systems, however, contaminate local
waters.
- Generally soil conservation methods also help protect water quality. Applying
precisely determined amounts of fertilizers, irrigation water, and pesticides
saves money and reduces contaminants entering the water.
- Preserving wetlands that act as natural processing facilities for removing
sediment and contaminants helps protect surface water and groundwater.
- In urban areas, reducing materials carried away by storm runoff is helpful.
Citizens can be encouraged to recycle waste oil and to minimize use of
fertilizers and pesticides. Regular street sweeping greatly reduces
contaminants. Runoff can be diverted away from streams and lakes. Many
cities are separating storm sewers and municipal sewage lines to avoid
overflow during storms.
- A good example of watershed management is seen in Chesapeake Bay, the
United States’ largest estuary. Once fabled for its abundant oysters, crabs,
shad, striped bass, and other valuable fisheries, the Bay had deteriorated
seriously by the early 1970s. Citizens’ groups, local communities, state
legislatures, and the federal government together established an innovative
pollution control program that made the bay the first estuary in America
targeted for protection and restoration.

Municipal Sewage Treatment

- Over the past 100 years, sanitary engineers have developed ingenious and
effective municipal wastewater treatment systems to protect human health,
ecosystem stability, and water quality.

Primary Treatment
- The first step in municipal waste treatment. It physically separates large
solids from the waste stream. As raw sewage enters the treatment plant, it

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passes through a metal grating that removes large debris. A moving screen
then filters out smaller items. Brief residence in a grit tank allows sand and
gravel to settle. The waste stream then moves to the primary sedimentation
tank, where about half the suspended organic solids settle to the bottom as
sludge. Many pathogens remain in the effluent, which is not yet safe to
discharge into waterways or onto the ground.

Secondary Treatment
- Consists of biological degradation of dissolved organic compounds. The
effluent from primary treatment flows into a trickling filter bed, an
aeration tank, or a sewage lagoon.
- The trickling filter is simply a bed of stones or corrugated plastic sheets
through which water drips from a system of perforated pipes or a sweeping
overhead sprayer. Bacteria and other microorganisms in the bed catch
organic material as it trickles past and aerobically decompose it.
- Aeration tank digestion tanks is also called the activated sludge process.
Effluent from primary treatment is pumped into the tank and mixed with a
bacteria-rich slurry. Air pumped through the mixture encourages bacterial
growth and decomposition of the organic material. Water flows from the
top of the tank, and sludge is removed from the bottom. Some of the sludge
is used as an inoculum for incoming primary effluent. The remainder would
be valuable fertilizer if it were not contaminated by metals, toxic chemicals,
and pathogenic organisms. The toxic content of most sewer sludge
necessitates disposal by burial in a landfill or incineration.
- Where space is available for sewage lagoons, the exposure to sunlight, algae
aquatic organisms, and air does the same job more slowly but with less
energy cost. Effluent from secondary treatment processes is usually
disinfected with chlorine, UV light, or ozone to kill harmful bacteria before it
is released to a nearby waterway.

Low-Cost Waste Treatment

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- Effluent Sewerage – a hybrid between a traditional septic tank and a full

sewer system. A tank near each dwelling collects and digests solid waste just
like a septic system. Rather that using a drainfield, however, dispose of
liquids effluents are pumped to a central treatment plant.
- Constructed wetlands – can cut secondary treatment cost to one-third of
mechanical treatment costs, or less. Effluent from these operations can be
used to irrigate crops or even raise fish for human consumption if care is
taken to first destroy pathogens. Usually 20-30 days of exposure to
sun, air, and aquatic plants is enough to make the water safe. These
systems also can make an important contribution to human food
supplies.

- There are two basic methods used to purify water of dissolved minerals:
filtration and distillation.
- In a filtration system, the water is passed through fine filters or membranes
to screen out dissolved impurities. An advantage of this method is that it
can rapidly filter great quantities of water. A disadvantage is that the
method works best on water not containing very high levels of dissolved
minerals.
- Distillation involves heating or boiling water full of dissolved minerals. The
water vapor driven off is pure water, while the minerals stay behind in
what remains of the liquid. This is true regardless of how concentrated the
dissolved minerals are, the method works fine on seawater as well as on less
saline waters. The disadvantage is the nature of the necessary heat source.
Furnaces fired by coal, gas, or other fuels can be used, but any fuel may be
costly in large quantity, and many conventional fuels are becoming scarce.
- Desalinated water may be five to ten times more costly to deliver than
water pumped straight from a stream or aquifer.
- In areas such as the arid Middle East, the more-acute need for irrigation
water has made desalinated seawater a viable agricultural option
economically.

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- A massive Israeli desalination plant began providing desalinated water from

the Mediterranean Sea for domestic and agricultural use in late 2005. The
water’s reduced sulfate concentrations were fine for people, but inadequate
for some crops. Calcium had been added back to this desalinated water for
human health, but irrigated plants began to show magnesium-deficiency
symptoms. Boron had not been removed which was fine for people, but toxic
for some of the crops. These and other observations demonstrate that using
desalinated water may require more than just getting the salt out.

Water Remediation

- Remediation means finding remedies for problems. New developments in

environmental engineering are providing promising solutions to many water
pollution problems.
- Containment methods – confine or restrain dirty water or liquid in situ or
cap the surface with an impermeable layer to divert surface water or
groundwater away from the site and to prevent further pollution.
- Extraction techniques – pump out polluted water so it can be treated. Many
pollutants can be destroyed or detoxified by chemical reactions that oxidize,
reduce, neutralize, hydrolyze, precipitate, or otherwise change their chemical
composition. Where chemical techniques are ineffective, physical methods
may work.
- Bioremediation – living organisms used effectively and inexpensively to clean
contaminated water. This can be carried out in tanks or troughs. This has
the advantage of controlling conditions more precisely and doesn’t release
organisms into the environment.
-

Reference:
Andal, E. (2019). Retrieved from Scoopnest:
https://www.scoopnest.com/user/ABSCBNNews/1118341419855491074-ayon-sa-denremb-

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at-cenrohindi-lumot-kundi-mga-water-hyacinth-ang-naglutangan-sa-calumpang-
river-sa-b

Source: Batangas News, Calumpang River Clean Up (2015, October 6)

http://batangascity.gov.ph/bats2/?p=3605

Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. (2015). Environmental Science, 13th

Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.

Slavikova, S. P. (2018). Major Causes and Effects of Soil Erosion on People and the
Environment, Retrieved from Greentumble on August 8, 2020:
https://greentumble.com/causes-and-effects-of-soil-erosion/

Yap, T. (2020).Governor raises alarm over spread of oil spill to Guimaras, Retrieve
August 8, 2020 from Manila Bulletin:
https://mb.com.ph/2020/07/08/governor-raises-alarm-over-spread-of-oil-spill-
to-guimaras/

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Introduction
Solid waste management refers to the method of collecting and treating solid waste. In this
module, the sources of solid waste will be identified as well as the impacts, treatment and
prevention of solid waste will be discussed.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcomes
 Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the engineer's role in
the manipulation of materials and resources.
 Select appropriate design treatment schemes and efficient safety measures for waste
disposal and explain their effect if implemented in the community and in the workplace.

Topic Outcomes
 Define solid waste and determine its impacts and treatment, prevention and protection
related to solid waste pollution.
 Recommend treatment, prevention, and protection ways related to solid waste based on
existing rules and standards."
 Identify the sources of solid waste and discuss how to control them

SOLID WASTE
• these are the discarded solid substances generated from human activities and having no
more value with respect to its economic, physiological or technological process
• solid waste in a broader sense corresponds to any domestic, industrial and agricultural
resources that are considered already useless.

Source: http://mizenvis.nic.in/KidsCentre/SolidWastes_2971.aspx?format=Print

Fig. 1. Pile of solid wastes

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Classifications of Solid Waste

Solid wastes can be classified as follows:

 Organic waste- These are the wastes generated during the preparation of food like
vegetables, flowers, leaves, fruits, and other wastes from market places.

 Biodegradable wastes –Wastes that come from plants or animals that can be degraded by
other living organisms, often used for composting, If processed, this can be a source of
heat, electricity and fuel. These include human waste, manure, sewage, slaughterhouse
waste.

 Non-biodegradable wastes - Waste that cannot be broken down by other living organisms

 Combustibles – These are usually organic waste having low moisture content. Examples
are paper, wood, dried leaves, etc.

 Non-combustibles – These includes metals, tins, cans, bottles, stones, etc.

 Toxic wastes – Examples are old medicines, paints, chemicals, bulbs, spray cans,
fertilizer and pesticide containers, batteries, shoe polish.

 Recyclables – These wastes can be recycled or used again for the same or different
purpose. These includes paper, glass, metals, plastics, etc.

 Construction wastes - These wastes consist of unwanted materials that are produced
directly or indirectly from the manufacturing, assembly and other construction processes.
Examples of these are rubble, roofing, broken concrete, nails, electrical wiring, etc.

 Hazardous wastes - These waste are considered harmful and dangerous and can consist
of medical waste, industrial waste and hospital waste.

 Bulky wastes - Examples of these are tree branches, tires etc.

Sources of Solid Waste

Several tons of solid wastes are generated every day. These wastes are disposed of at
various landfill sites that creates foul odor and if not treated properly can become harmful to the
environment as well as to the human beings. The major sources of solid wastes are the following:

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A. Residential

One of the main sources of solid waste come from households. These places generate huge
amount of solid waste that includes food wastes, plastics, paper, glass, leather, cardboard, metals,
yard wastes, ashes and special wastes such as electronics, tires, batteries, old mattresses and used
oil.
B. Industrial
One of the leading contributors to solid waste are the manufacturing industries,
construction sites, fabrication and power plants. The solid waste are generated from housekeeping,
food and packaging, construction and demolition materials, medical and hazardous wastes.
C. Commercial
Existence of many commercial facilities and buildings are significant factors considered in
the generation of solid waste particularly the hotels, restaurants, stores and office buildings. These
facilities produce lots of solid wastes ranging from plastics, food wastes, metals, paper, glass,
wood, cardboard materials, and other hazardous wastes.
D. Institutional

Institutions such as schools, prisons, military barracks and other government centers can
also generate solid wastes. Example of wastes produced in these places consist of glass, plastics,
food wastes, wood, paper, metals, cardboard materials, electronics as well as various hazardous
wastes.
E. Construction and Demolition Areas
Many solid wastes generated can also be attributed to the construction and demolition sites.
The solid wastes produced in these sites usually consist of steel materials, concrete, wood, plastics,
rubber, copper wires, dirt and glass.
F. Municipal Services

Urban centers also greatly contribute to the generation of solid waste. Among the solid
waste brought about by the municipal services are those from street cleaning, wastes from parks
and beaches, wastewater treatment plants, landscaping wastes and wastes from recreational areas,
including sludge.
G. Agriculture
Agricultural wastes like pesticides, spoiled foods and some hazardous materials are
produced from farms, orchards, dairies and vineyards.

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H. Biomedical

Biomedical wastes refer to the wastes generated by hospitals and biomedical equipment
and chemical manufacturing firms. These include syringes, bandages, used gloves, drugs, paper,
plastics, food wastes and chemicals. Biomedical wastes should be disposed of properly to avoid
environmental and human problems as well

Effects of Solid Waste Pollution

 Leachates from garbage dumps seep into the soil can pollute underground water.
 Scavengers, stray animals and insects can invade the garbage and clutter the waste that
can damage the atmosphere and can spread various diseases
 Food and water supply, if gets contaminated with pathogens present in solid wastes, may
result in cholera, jaundice, hepatitis, gastro enteric diseases etc.
 Waste plastics and rubber pollute the atmosphere with toxic fumes while organic solid
wastes emit obnoxious odor upon decomposition that make the environment polluted.
 Hospital and clinic wastes if not properly handled can cause transmission of diseases.
 Solid wastes can result in water logging that facilitates breeding of mosquitoes resulting
to the spread of diseases like malaria and plague.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Solid waste management can be attributed to the collection and treatment of solid wastes.
This is imperative because waste that are collected but are not treated can result to some
environmental and human problems. It is also related to the control of generation, collection,
handling and dumping of solid waste in the best way to address some environmental considerations
like public health, conservation, etc. To solve the problems in solid waste management, there must
be careful planning with the help of the administrative, financial and engineering department.
Legal aspects should also be taken into considerations knowing that there are differences when it
comes to the waste generated by the residential, industrial, urban and rural areas.

The main goal, therefore, of solid waste management is to reduce and eradicate the adverse
effect of solid waste to individual’s health and to the environment as well so that economy will be
developed and the quality of life will be improved. It also aims to convert solid waste into
something valuable and as a beneficial resource.

The 5 R's of Waste Management

As good citizens, it is our responsibility to manage our waste sustainably. In doing so, we
have to follow the five R’s of waste management, that is, refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and
recycle. If these methodologies will be incorporated in one’s business, wastes can be reduced,

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landfill problems can be minimized and the negative impacts on the environment will be lessened.
Below is the hierarchy of 5R’s. It can be seen that recycling is the last recourse after trying to
refuse, reduce, reuse, or repurpose.

REFUSE

REDUCE

REUSE

REPURPOSE
E

RECYCLE

Fig.2. Hierarchy of 5R’s

1. Refuse

The first in the hierarchy of 5R’s is refuse and this is the best way to minimize waste.
Every business should learn how to refuse waste; they should not buy non- recyclable products
and should be clever in their purchasing decisions and setting standards as early as possible so
that in the process, the organization will become used to refuse waste. When buying products,
refusing unnecessary product packaging is also advised.

2. Reduce
Reducing the amount of waste is one of the best things that all of us can do. Avoiding too
much use of resources can help reduce the waste and therefore, there is less waste to manage.
Listed below are some tips on how to reduce the waste.

 To reduce packaging, buy in bulk

 Always bring a reusable shopping bag instead of paper or plastic bag every time
you go to a grocery store
 Buy products that use less packaging

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 Instead of buying/using disposable items, buy/use reusable items instead

 In your letter box, put signage like "no junk mail"

3. Reuse

One important thing that an individual can do is to reuse waste materials. Start by
focusing in one area of your business or home. You can replace all of the single-used items
with reusable materials and in so doing, the waste material will not end up in landfill but can
be used up again. As a consequence, you will not be prompt to buy a new product. This can
also save money, energy and resources. Listed below are some tips on how to reuse waste.
 Unwanted toys, books and clothes can be given to hospitals, schools or care centers
 Plastic containers, wrapping papers and boxes can be saved and can be used again
 Old jars can be reused for storage
 Buy second hand items in stores or online trading websites
 Bring used household stuffs to a resource recovery center

Source: LEARNZ
Fig. 3. Reuse shopping bags to reduce waste. Fig. 4. Be creative and find ways to reuse waste
material.

4. Repurpose

If an item cannot be refused, reduced or reused, the option will be to repurpose. This
method is also referred to as upcycling. Repurposing requires creativity because you have to
think of all possibilities on how each product will serve more than one purpose. Example of
this is the binder clip, you have to think of different ways on how the binder clip can be used
aside from its own purpose like for holding power cords and charger in place; tin cans can be
used for keeping pencil, ball pens and other office supplies in place and can also be used as
decorative vase, etc. Everyone should be encouraged to repurpose items which they think they

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no longer need and once you have done this, a brighter tomorrow is coming on our way. So let
us start to repurpose!

5. Recycle

Another form of reprocessing waste materials is through recycling. In this way, new
product is formed. Common example of this is the recycling of plastic bottles to make plastic
chairs, plastic buckets, etc. Most commonly, paper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, tin and
plastics are example of wastes that can be recycled. Organic wastes can also undergo recycling
like composting and worm plants.

Source: LEARNZ
Fig. 5. Wastes that can be recycled.

Challenge: What reusable products can be used to replace the following items in order to
reduce wastes? plastic containers, paper towels, disposable diapers, disposable batteries, plastic
cups

Essential Components of the Waste Management System

The essential components of the waste management system are defined.:

1. Waste generation
This pertains to some actions that focused on distinguishing materials that are not
functioning anymore or valueless to the owner and are subjected for disposal
2. Onsite handling, storage, and processing
Storage corresponds to a system for keeping the waste generated that has been
discarded prior to collection and disposal. For easier collection, disposal or storage

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facilities like waste bins can be located at places that generate plenty of waste. To determine
the size and quantity of storage facilities, several factors like the number of users, type and
quantity of waste as well as the frequency of emptying must be considered and should
make sure that the facilities are safe.

3. Waste collection, transfer and transport

This concerns collecting waste from garbage bins by the collection vehicles and
bringing the garbage in the collection site where the waste conveyance trucks unload the
waste. Planning with respect to the collection of wastes should be overseen to avoid
overloading of the collection site.
.
4. Waste processing and recovery
This pertains to the services, tools, and methods used to make materials become
ecofriendly to be used again and to efficiently develop other essential features of waste
management.

5. Disposal
This is the final phase of waste management that involves activities with the
purpose of disposing waste materials in locations such as landfills or in places that converts
waste-to-usable materials facilities.
recognize

Steps for Effective Solid Waste Management System

To have effective solid waste management system, the following processes should be followed.

Categorize the solid waste

Determine the source of waste

Define the probable health risks from

waste

Determine the bulk of waste

Identify safe collection method

Introduce safe transportation

Establish safe disposal

Fig.6. Steps for effective solid waste management

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Solid Waste Management Techniques

Growing population and climate change problems are potentially threatening many areas
around the world because these are associated with the levels of consumption and pollution that
damage the environment. One of the significant factors as regards to these issues is the technique
or methods on how the wastes can be disposed. Several approaches on solid waste management
are listed and discussed below.

I. Thermal Processes
A. Solid Waste Incineration
B. Pyrolysis
C. Pyrolysis / Gasification
D. Conventional Gasification
E. Plasma Arc Gasification
II. Biological Processes
A. Composting/ Aerobic Digestion
B. Anaerobic Digestion
III. Other Processes
A. Recycling
B. Landfill

Discussion of the Different Solid Waste Management Processes

I. Thermal Processes
A. Solid Waste Incineration
 Process that converts waste material into gas, ash and heat
 The amount of the waste is reduced by 75% by weight and up to 90% by volume
 Poisonous gases are released into the atmosphere.
 Noxious particles is accumulated in the ash being disposed
 An expensive alternative because several resources are needed to incinerate
waste.

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Fig. 7. A Typical Solid Waste Incinerator

 Volume Reduction
 The volume of solid wastes is reduced by an average of 90% depending on
its composition, likewise, the weight of the solid is lessened by 70- 75%.

 Stabilization of wastes
 The organic components of the waste stream undergo oxidation that
makes the output(ash) more inert than the input(solid waste)

 Recovery of Energy from Waste

 Burning of waste produces energy that can be used to generate stream that
can provide on site electricity generation.

 Sterilization of waste
 Incineration of solid wastes can destroy the pathogens before it is disposed
particularly the clinical or biomedical waste.

B. Pyrolysis

 Thermal decomposition of carbon-based materials that produce syngas.

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 Direct burning does not take place so no air or oxygen is present.

 Thermal decomposition takes place at 400-900 °C.

Source: https://www.slideshare.net/tanviralam31337/municipal-solid-waste-msw-to-energy
Fig. 8. Schematic Diagram for MSW to Energy via Pyrolysis

C. Pyrolysis / Gasification

 Pyrolysis/gasification is a variation of the pyrolysis process.

 In this process, there is an additional reactor added to promote gasification of the
carbon char or pyrolysis liquids that is formed from the initial pyrolysis step
 For gasification reaction, air, oxygen or steam is used
 For pyrolysis zone, the temperature ranges from 400-900 °C while in the
gasification zone it ranges from 700-1500 °C

D. Conventional Gasification
 A thermal method where carbonaceous materials are converted into syngas using a
limited amount of air or oxygen.
 The gasification condition ranges from 800-1600 °C
 In this process, the conventional gasification reactor is injected with steam to
produce CO and H2

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Source:https://www.slideshare.net/tanviralam31337/municipal-solid-waste-msw-to-energy
Fig. 9. Schematic Diagram for MSW to Energy via Pyrolysis/Gasification

E. Plasma Arc Gasification

 A high temperature pyrolysis process that coverts carbon-based materials into
syngas
 Vitrified slag is produced as by product from inorganic materials and minerals of
the waste
 An electric arc in a torch generates high temperature that converts gas into plasma
 The operating temperature ranges from 4000-7000 °C

Source:https://www.slideshare.net/tanviralam31337/municipal-solid-waste-msw-to-energy
Fig. 10. Schematic Diagram for MSW to Energy via Plasma Arc Gasifiation

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II. Biological Processes

A. Aerobic Digestion/Composting
 Involves the conversion of organic materials such as yard trimmings, food scraps,
coffee grounds and filters, tea leaves, herbs, spices, nuts and egg shells as well as
cut flowers or plant trimmings, as long as they aren't diseased to prevent the
emission of harmful greenhouse gasses.
 Meat, fish, butter, yogurt, cheese, milk, or animal fat is not allowed for
composting because these will keep the compost oily or greasy
 An alternative process to lessen methane emissions
 When used as a fertilizer, the need for chemical options which are not good to the
environment is minimized
 Compost can eliminate 99.6 percent of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from
the air that are unsafe for humans.
 This can benefit the farmers and gardeners because compost increases the
retention of water in soil, so there is no need for irrigation
 It enables bigger crop yields, that gives farmers a better harvest and of course
more income.

Important Factors to be Considered During Composting

 Feedstock and Nutrient Balance
 There must be proper balance of “green” organic materials and “brown” organic
materials.
 “Green” organic materials are those that contain large amounts of nitrogen like
grass clippings, food scraps, and manure.
 “Brown” organic materials are those having large amounts of carbon but little
nitrogen such as includes dry leaves, wood chips, and branches.

 Particle Size
 Materials should undergo either grinding, chipping, and shredding to increase the
surface area on which microorganisms can feed.
 A compost mixture that is more homogeneous increases pile insulation that helps
sustain optimum temperatures
 Mixtures having very small particles is not also advisable because they might
prevent the air from flowing freely through the pile.

 Moisture Content
 Compost pile must have sufficient moistness for microorganisms to survive

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 Water carries the substances within the compost pile so that the nutrients in organic
material can be accessible to the microbes

 Oxygen Flow
 Decomposition can occur faster by aerating the pile
 Aerating the pile can be done by using series of pipes, or bulking agents like wood
chips or shredded newspaper
 Too much oxygen is not recommended because it can lessen the moisture content
the pile that can delay the composting process

 Temperature
 For microorganisms to have optimal activity, a temperature of at least 140° F is
needed
 To promote a speedy composting and to destroy pathogens and weed seeds,
accurate temperatures must be used, if not, rooting might occur.

Source: ISTOCK Source: ISTOCK

Fig. 11. Food Waste for Composting Fig. 12. Compost from Food Waste

B. Anaerobic digestion of Organic Waste

 An alternative way of composting food waste
 Produces renewable energy that avoids carbon emissions
 A process that is dependent on the micro-organisms that digest organic waste
and takes place in the absence of oxygen in a sealed tank
 Food waste is pre-treated to remove the contaminants before heating to 70°C
for one hour to kill all pathogens in the food
 After heating, the mixture is fed to the anaerobic digester where the bacteria
break down the waste that converts it into biogas and a residue called digestate
 The gas produced in anaerobic digestion can generate electricity and heat

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 Another product produced is the nutrient rich bio-fertilizer that undergoes

pasteurization to kill any pathogens before farmers can use it on farmlands.

Source: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/fabe-6611
Fig. 13. Anaerobic digestion of Organic Waste

III. Other Processes

A. Recycling
Recycling is a simple way in which everyone can contribute to make the world a better
place to live. The benefit of recycling is not just reducing the amount of trash but also in terms
of the time and effort to collect, separate and send away the trash. There are still several
benefits that recycling can offer for a brighter future for our environment.

Source:https://www.metropolitantransferstation.com.au/blog/modern
-waste-management-techniques
Fig. 14. Examples of waste segregation for recycling process

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Benefits of Recycling

 Lesser amount of waste is accumulated in landfills and incinerators

 Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials
 Saves energy
 Prevents depletion of natural resources
 Creation of more employment opportunities
 Encourage the use of greener technologies
 Maintains ground water quality

Recycling Symbols and Materials

More cities are employing recycling programs but many people have no idea as to what
type of plastic can be recycled and which of them cannot be recycled. Each type of plastic has a
symbol that indicates if it can be recycled or not. These symbols can help to determine what can
and can’t be recycle in the future.

 Recycling Symbol #1
 One of the most common recyclable plastics is PET or PETE (polyethylene
terephthalate)
 Examples of these are the plastic bottles like soft drinks, beer bottles, mouthwash
bottles, salad dressing, and vegetable oil bottles but their caps cannot be recycled

 Recycling Symbol #2
 High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is another highly recyclable material.
 This in the form of milk jugs, household cleaners, detergent, shampoo, conditioner,
and cereal box liners. Just empty and clean them but caps cannot be recycled.

 Recycling Symbol #3
 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or vinyl (V) is slightly more toxic than PET and HDPE
 When recycling them, you need to be extra careful
 Examples of these can be found in blister packaging, wire jacketing, and siding
windows.

 Recycling Symbol #4
 Plastics like the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) has many applications but
unfortunately, is not accepted in most recycling programs
 Examples of these plastic come in squeezable bottles, frozen food, dry cleaning,
shopping bags, and some furniture.

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 Recycling Symbol #5
 Yogurt containers, syrup and medicine bottles, caps, and straws belong this kind of
material
 These are polypropylene (PP) which are more accepted by recycling programs
although not yet widely accepted
 To dispose, check if your curbside pick will take it, and if not, take it to a
community center or throw them in the designated trash bin

 Recycling Symbol #6
 This is the typical Styrofoam or the polystyrene (PS)
 This is classified as a probable carcinogen and therefore not accepted for recycling
by most state programs.
 Most materials that contain PS are egg cartons, meat trays, carry-out containers and
compact disc cases

Fig. 15. Recycling symbols

B. Sanitary Landfill
The most common solid waste disposal method is the sanitary landfill. The refuse collected
is basically spread out in thin layers and compressed. In the design of modern landfills, the
lowermost part of the landfill is enclosed with several water resistant liner like thick plastic and
sand. This is done to safeguard the groundwater from contamination due to leaching and
percolation. To prevent seepage of water, it is shielded with sand, clay, topsoil and gravel. In
addition, sanitary landfill should be well managed to ensure that it will not damage the environment

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Source: Geosciences 2019, 9(10), 431; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9100431

Fig. 16. Design of modern landfill

On the contrary, dumps are open hole in the ground where wastes are thrown and
buried and rats and insects thrive and is not environmentally regulated so it becomes health
hazard.

Source: https://wasteaid.org/closing-worlds-dumpsites/
Fig, 17. Picture of dumpsite

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Essential Requirements for Solid Waste Disposal Site

The following are the essential requirements to be considered for a sanitary landfill disposal
site:

 Technical requirements:
 Better planning
 Proper design and construction
 Continuous maintenance during and after waste filling.

 Environmental requirements:
 Environmental aspects are the most important aspects in any appropriate
Solid Waste Management system.
 Environmental protection must be considered for all phases of SWM.

 Social requirements:
 This is the most challenging of all requirements considering that it is very
difficult to motivate the communities and other stakeholders, especially
people living in the vicinity at shorter distances from disposal sites

 Economic requirements:
 The minimum possible overall cost should be ensured and the benefits
through proper solid waste management should be maximized.
 Institutional requirements:
 There must be a responsible institution capable of managing the overall
planning, operation, and maintenance of solid waste landfill sites

Factors to be Considered in the Selection of Landfills Site

 It should be above the water table to prevent its interaction with groundwater.
 It should preferably be located in clay or silt.
 It should not be placed in a rock quarry because water can pass through the
cracks into the water fracture system
 It should not be put up in sand or gravel pits due to high leeching.
 It should not be located in flood plains because most of the trash is less dense
than water so during rainy days, garbage might float on top and wash away
downstream.

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Adverse Impacts from Landfill Operations

According to an article shared by Puja Mondal entitled “Solid Waste Management:
Types, Sources, Effects and Methods of Solid Waste Management”, adverse effects can
take place from the operations of landfill but these effects may differ. These include:
 Fatal accidents
 Examples are scavengers buried under waste piles

 Infrastructure damage
 Example of this is the damage to access roads by heavy vehicles

 Pollution of the local environment

 Landfill can contaminate ground water or aquifers by leakage and residual
soil contamination during landfill usage and even after landfill closure.

 Production of methane gas generated by decaying organic wastes

 Methane is more potent than carbon dioxide so it poses danger to residents
of the area.

 Harboring of disease vectors

 Landfills if not properly maintained can become a hiding place for vectors
like rats and flies that can cause diseases

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REFERENCES (Online Resources)

A Step-by-Step Guide to Recycling Symbols and Materials. Available:
https://helpsavenature.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-recycling-symbols-and-materials (Accessed:
July 20, 2020)

15+ Awesome Reasons Why We Should Recycle More. Available: https://www.conserve-energy-

future.com/why_should_we_recycle.php (Accessed: July 20, 2020)

Are Benefits of Recycling Worth All The Effort? Available: https://www.conserve-energy-

future.com/benefits-of-recycling.php ((Accessed: July 20, 2020)

Bell, Shelby (2020, Jan 21), The 5R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. Available:
https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/the-5-rs-of-waste-recycling. ((Accessed: July 18, 2020)

Composting. Available:https://www.suez.co.uk/en-gb/our-offering/communities-and-
individuals/what-happens-to-waste/food-and-garden-waste/composting (Accessed: July 20,
2020)

Difference Between Sanitary Landfills and Open Dumps You Must Know. Available:
https://helpsavenature.com/about. ((Accessed: July 27, 2020)

Hunt, Kristin (2019) What Is Composting? Available:

https://www.greenmatters.com/food/2018/12/07/ZboPlt/what-is-composting (Accessed: July 27,
2020)

Jamal, Haseeb. (2020, March 01), Requirements of Solid Waste Disposal Sites.
Available:https://www.aboutcivil.org/Requirements-Solid-Waste-Disposal-Sites ((Accessed: July
27, 2020)
Jamal, Haseeb. (2020, March 01), Sanitary Landfills Vs. Dump Sites. Available:
https://www.aboutcivil.org/Sanitary-Landfills-vs-Dump-Sites((Accessed: July 27, 2020)

Leblanc. Rick (2019, Oct. 11). An Introduction to Solid Waste Management. Available:
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/reduce-reuse-and-recycle-the-waste-management-hierarchy-
2878202 (Accessed: July 17, 2020)
Leblanc. Rick (2019, Nov. 20) The Waste Management Hierarchy. Available:
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/an-introduction-to-solid-waste-management-
2878102(Accessed: July 17, 2020)

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Recycling Basics. Available: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics. ( Accessed: July 18,

2020)

Solid Wastes (2020, Aug. 5) Available:

http://mizenvis.nic.in/KidsCentre/SolidWastes_2971.aspx?format=Print (Accessed: 18, 2020)

Solid Waste Management: Types, Sources, Effects and Methods of Solid Waste Management.
Available:
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/waste-management/solid-waste-management-types-sources-
effects-and-methods-of-solid-waste-management/9949. (Accessed: July 17, 2020)

Solid Waste Management Manual

Available:https://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/evaluation/watsan2005/annex_files/WEDC/es/ES07CD.
pdf (Accessed: July 17, 2020)

The 5 R's of Waste Management. Available: http://www.learnz.org.nz/redvale181/bg-standard-

f/the-5-r%27s-of-waste-
management#:~:text=As%20citizens%20of%20a%20society,recycle%2C%20recover%20and%2
0residual%20management. (Accessed: July 18, 2020)

Types of Composting and Understanding the Process. Available:

https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/types-composting-and-understanding-
process (Accessed: July 18, 2020)

Waste Management Waste Disposal(2018, Oct. 17) Modern Waste Management Techniques:
Available:
https://www.metropolitantransferstation.com.au/blog/modern-waste-management-techniques

What is Anaerobic Digestion? Available: http://www.biogen.co.uk/Anaerobic-Digestion/What-

is-Anaerobic-Digestion (Accessed: July 18, 2020)

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Introduction
Toxic and hazardous waste is defined as the waste that are considered dangerous or
potentially harmful to human health and to the environment because of its quantity, concentration,
physical, chemical or infectious characteristics. These wastes can be in the form of liquid, solid,
contained gases, or sludges. In this module, the types of toxic and hazardous waste will be
discussed, their characteristics, sources, effects to human and environment and the proper waste
management regarding toxic and hazardous wastes.
Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcomes
• Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the engineer's role in
the manipulation of materials and resources.
• Select appropriate design treatment schemes and efficient safety measures for waste
disposal and explain their effect if implemented in the community and in the workplace.

Topic Outcomes
• Define toxic and hazardous waste and determine its impacts and treatment, prevention
and protection related to solid waste pollution.
• Recommend treatment, prevention, and protection ways related to toxic and hazardous
wastes based on existing rules and standards."
• Identify the sources of toxic and hazardous waste and discuss how to control them

TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

 Waste that may contain toxic materials usually generated from industrial, hospital, some
types of household wastes
 Waste that is the potentially unsafe and presents unreasonable risk or injury to health and
safety as well as to the environment.
 Waste that can be in the form of liquid, solid, or sludge and contain chemicals, heavy
metals, radiation, pathogens, or other materials.
 Households can also generate hazardous waste, from items like batteries, used computer
equipment, and leftover paints or pesticides.

TYPES OF TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

 Listed Hazardous Waste
These are the wastes materials specifically listed by regulatory authorities as hazardous
wastes. These includes those that are from non-specific sources, specific sources and
discarded chemical products.

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 F-Type Waste (Non- Specific Wastes)

This list consists of waste coming from common manufacturing and industrial
processes. Examples of these are solvents that have been used in cleaning or degreasing
operations. These produces wastes occurring in different sectors of industry.
 K-Type Waste (Source—Specific Wastes)
This list comprises wastes coming from specific industries like in petroleum
refining or pesticide manufacturing that produce sludges and wastewaters from treatment
and production processes.
 P-Type Waste (Acute Hazardous Waste)
This type of wastes can cause serious illness but if the dose increased it becomes fatal
to humans.
 U-Type Waste (Miscellaneous Hazardous Wastes)

This list includes specific commercial chemical products in unused form. Examples
of these are the pesticides and some pharmaceutical products that become hazardous waste
when discarded.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HAZARDOUS WASTES

 Ignitability
 Wastes that are hazardous due to its ignitability
 Characteristic include liquids with flash points below 60 °C
 Non-liquids that can cause fire through specific conditions, ignitable compressed
gases and oxidizers.

 Corrosivity
 Wastes that are hazardous due to the corrosivity characteristic
 It includes aqueous wastes with a pH of less than or equal to 2, a pH greater than
or equal to 12.5 or based on the liquids ability to corrode steel.

 Reactivity
 Wastes that are hazardous due to the reactivity characteristic
 It can be unstable under normal conditions, may react with water, may give off
toxic gases and may be capable of detonation or explosion under normal
conditions or when heated.

 Toxicity
 Wastes that are hazardous due to the toxicity characteristic
 These are harmful when ingested or absorbed

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 Toxic wastes present a concern as they may be able to leach from waste and
pollute groundwater.

SOURCES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE

 Hazardous Materials Used in the Home
 Examples of these are pesticides, cleaning products, automotive products,
painting supplies, and other flammable and nonflammable products

 Medical Waste
 These are the chemicals, infectious agents, and radioactive materials

 Industrial Hazardous Waste

 These include heavy metals from plating operations, toxic chemicals, solvents,
and residues from the manufacture of pesticides

 Radioactive Waste
 Included are the spent nuclear fuel and tailings from uranium processing

 Mining Wastes and Extraction Wastes

 These are toxic chemicals left over from mining operations including acids and
heavy metals.

EFFECTS OF TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

 Effect on Human Health
 Hazardous materials can irritate the skin and eyes, make it difficult to breathe, cause
headaches and nausea, or result in other types of illness.
 Some hazardous substances can cause far more severe health effects, including:
behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions
(e.g., reproductive impairment, kidney failure, etc.), physical deformations, and
birth defects.

 Effect on the Environment

 Short Term Effect
 The main threat in the short term is water pollution. The chemicals that pour into
our waterways make streams, rivers, lakes and aquifers unsafe to use for drinking
or agricultural purposes.
 Animals and plants can die when they drink from these waters, and human health
in areas downstream may be affected.

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 Long Term Effect

 Long-term effects include signs of mutation in animals, cancer and other diseases
in humans, trash in our waterways and green spaces, and the destruction of many
natural resources.

 Populations of insects such as bees, that are vital in preserving the fertility of plant
life, are dying off faster than they can repopulate due to human pollution.

 Toxic elements like mercury and lead persist in the environment for many years
and accumulate over time that in turn can be absorbed by humans or wildlife when
they eat fish or other prey.

 Global Warming
 Emissions especially chemicals coming from primary industries and the secondary
waste treatment plants destroy the ozone, which then warms the Earth and causes
hazardous wastes to impact the Earth in new ways, wrecking now more-fragile
ecosystems.
 Climate change may even expose hazardous wastes once thought locked away, such
as in abandoned Soviet strongholds

Techniques to Reduce Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste are those wastes that has the characteristics of being corrosive,
inflammable, chemically unstable, or has excessive amount of toxins. These waste materials are
not recommended to be disposed of together with other trash because it ca result to a long term
damage both to human, animal and the environment. Below are some of the techniques that all of
us can do to reduce hazardous waste and can help save the environment,
 Avoid Using Commercial Household Cleaners
The cleaners and laundry detergents are the major contributors in the generation of
hazardous waste. These materials contain chemicals that are not safe to human health when used
in excessive amounts. You can use alternative household ingredients such as vinegar, pure soap,
lemon juice, cornstarch, borax and baking soda to clean your home and do the laundry safely and
effectively.
 Use Natural Compost as Fertilizer
Waste that comes from the preparations of foods, vegetable and fruit peels, coffee and tea
grounds, cut grass and clippings from plants can be used to make your own compost. Oftentimes,
homemade compost is better than commercial fertilizers and is also safe for the environment.
Avoid using pesticides and fertilizers because they form hazardous waste if left in landfills.

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 Refrain from using Pesticides

Use alternative pesticides like garlic, onion and soap to control pests. Pest-repellent spray
with these ingredients can also be made and applied in plants. This can minimize the use of
commercial pesticides in our backyard.
 Refrain from Using Oil-based Paints
If possible do not use oil-based paints, instead, use water based paints. Oil-based
Paints contain solvents and require the use of thinners, both of which constitute hazardous
waste.
 Avoid Using Toxic Drain Cleaners
Drain cleaners that are used to remove clogs inside drains are usually highly toxic.
Alternatives such as a sewer snake or a plunger can be used to unclog drains. To prevent
clogging a strainer can be used or by pouring boiling water down the drain 3 to 4 times a
month can be of help.
 Use Natural Alternatives for Floor and Metal Polish
Furniture, metal and floor polishes and varnishes are also toxic chemicals. Alternatives
like lemon oil or olive oil in combination with vinegar or lemon juice to polish furniture can
be used instead. Baking soda or vinegar and salt an be used to polish metals.
 Safely dispose of any Hazardous Waste
Dispose of hazardous waste in accordance with the regulations in your locality. Drop
off points for special hazardous waste such as unused household cleaners, fluorescent bulbs,
batteries, pesticides, herbicides, sealants, polish, paint thinner, solvents, varnish and oil-based
paints are open and can be used to dispose your waste
 Keep Insects under Control with Natural Means
Insect repellent sprays and lotions are not good to human health and not environment
friendly. Better use citronella oil as an alternative and when you are outdoors, avoid attracting
insects with scented lotions or perfumes.

THE HAZARDOUS WASTE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

Hazardous waste can be easily identified. The first technique is to find out if the material
is solid. The next step is to examine whether or not the waste is specifically excluded from
regulation as a solid or hazardous waste. If the waste meets the definition of a solid waste, the next
process is to scrutinize whether or not the waste is a listed or characteristic hazardous waste. Below
is the schematic process on the identification of solid waste.

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Source: https://www.epa.gov/hw/learn-basics-hazardous-waste

HAZARDOUS WASTE SYMBOLS

 Explosive –
 Substance or materials which is intended to function
by explosion.
 Even if not aimed to function by explosion but can function
in similar manner once it undergoes chemical reaction.

 Flammable Liquid-
 Any liquid having a flash point of not more than 60degC,
closed-cup test, or 65.6degC, open-cup test.

 Flammable Solid
 Wetted explosives that when dry are explosives; self-reactive
materials that are liable to undergo, at normal or elevated
temperatures,
 A strongly exothermal decomposition caused by excessively
high transport temperatures or contamination;

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 Readily combustible solids that may cause a fire through

friction, show a burning rate faster than 2.2 mm per second,
or be ignited and react over the whole length of a sample
in 10 minutes or less.

 Reactive or Oxidizing
 A material that may, generally by yielding oxygen, cause
or enhance the combustion of other materials.

 Toxic
 A substance which, if it is inhaled or ingested or if it penetrates
the skin, may involve serious acute or chronic health risks
including carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and mutagenicity on
human and other life forms.

 Corrosive
 A liquid or solid that causes visible destruction or irreversible
alterations in human skin tissue at the site of contact, or a liquid
that has a severe corrosion rate on steel or aluminum.

 Infectious or pathogenic –
 Containing a viable microorganism (or its toxin) which is
known or suspected to cause disease in humans or animals.

PROPER HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

Toxic and hazardous waste can harm the people, animals, and plants, whether it ends up in
the ground, in streams, or even in the air. Listed below are the list of things to do to avoid
accumulation of such wastes.
 Reducing the amount of hazardous wastes generated.
 Recovering wastes generated by others and utilizing them as another’s feedstock.
 Recycling metals, the energy content, and other useful resources contained in hazardous
wastes.
 Detoxifying and neutralizing liquid hazardous waste streams using chemical and
biological treatment.

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 Reducing the volume of waste sludge generated by dewatering.

 Destroying combustible hazardous wastes using special high-temperature incinerators
equipped with proper pollution-control and monitoring systems.
 Stabilizing and solidifying sludge and ash to reduce leachability of metals.
 Disposing of remaining treated residues in specially designed landfills.

HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Hazardous Waste Generators
 Must identify if their waste is hazardous and must oversee the ultimate fate of the waste.
 Should guarantee and fully document that the hazardous waste produced is correctly
identified, managed, and treated before recycling or disposed.
Hazardous Waste Transporters
 Can transport the waste to a facility that can recycle, treat, store or dispose of the waste.
 Regulations on public roads, highways, rails and waterways should be strictly followed
during the transport of hazardous waste

Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities(TSDFS)

 Provide temporary storage and final treatment or disposal for hazardous wastes
 TSDFs are rigidly regulated considering that they deal with large volumes of waste and
are in charge of activities that are at high risk
 Institute facility management standards and provisions governing hazardous waste
management units
 Establish precautionary measures to safeguard soil, ground water and air resources.

Cradle-to-Grave Hazardous Waste Management Program

This is a framework for the proper management of hazardous waste. From this authority,
EPA established a comprehensive regulatory program to make sure that hazardous waste is
managed safely from "cradle to grave" meaning from the time it is created, while it is transported,
treated, and stored, and until it is disposed:

Hazardous Waste Generation

According to Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), hazardous waste generators
are the first link in the hazardous waste management system. All generators should identify if their
waste is hazardous and must supervise the ultimate fate of the waste. Moreover, generators should
make sure that they have a fully document that the hazardous waste that they produce is properly
identified, managed, and treated prior to recycling or disposal. The degree of regulation that applies
to each generator depends on the amount of waste that a generator produces.

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Hazardous Waste Transportation

The hazardous waste produced by the generators can then be moved by the transporters to
a facility that can recycle, treat, store or dispose of the waste. During the conveyance of the waste,
transporters should follow regulations on public roads, highways, rails and waterways as regard to
the transport of hazardous wastes.

Hazardous Waste Recycling, Treatment, Storage and Disposal

Hazardous waste regulations must balance the conservation of resources, while ensuring
the protection of human health and environment. Many hazardous wastes can be recycled safely
and effectively, on the other hand, other wastes can be treated and disposed of in landfills or
incinerators.

Recycling hazardous waste offers lots of benefits like reducing the consumption of raw
materials and the volume of waste materials that should be treated and disposed. On the contrary,
improper storage of waste can cause spills, leaks, fires, and contamination of soil and drinking
water. To encourage hazardous waste recycling while protecting health and the environment,
regulations on recycling should be performed in a safe manner.

Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) offers temporary storage and final
treatment or disposal for hazardous wastes. Since they manage large volumes of waste and conduct
activities that may present a higher degree of risk, TSDFs are strictly regulated and their
requirements institute general facility management standards, specific provisions governing
hazardous waste management units and additional provisions intended to protect soil, ground water
and air resources. Below is the diagram of the Cradle-to-Grave Hazardous Waste Management
Program.

Source: RCRA's Cradle-to-Grave Hazardous Waste Management System

Requirements for Proper Hazardous Waste Management

 Pollution Control Officer should be designated
 Storage requirements should be strictly followed

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 The packaging and labeling requirements should conform with the provisions stated
in RA 6969.
 Pre-transport requirements should be observed
 Hazardous wastes that are transported outside the generator’s premises shall
comply with the packaging and labeling requirements as provided for in the
Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 6969
 In case of accident, the spill response plan should include the following guidelines
to the waste transporter.
 immediate reporting to the EMB-DENR
 securing or containing the affected area
 cleaning up spilled or leaked hazardous waste
 Use of authorized transporters
 The following criteria should be met by a waste generator if they want to avail
of the services of waste transporters.:
 Should be registered with by the DENR; and
 Should have an approved Manifest Form to transport the hazardous
waste from the waste generator’s premises to the designated TSD facility.
 Compliance with Waste Transport or Manifest System
If the hazardous wastes are to be transported by a waste generator outside the waste
generator’s premises they are required to conform with the Manifest system.
 Use of recognized treaters
Only those with a valid Facility Permit from the EMB Central Office to recycle,
reprocess, treat, or dispose of the hazardous waste produced at the generator’s premises
can avail of the services of a waste treater.
 Confirmation of completion of treatment/disposal
 A Certificate of Treatment should be issued by the waste generator to the waste
treater that recycle, reprocess, treat, or dispose of his hazardous wastes;
 A photocopy of the last page of the waste transport record signed by all the
parties involved should be attached in the certification.

HAZARDOUS WASTE STORAGE AND LABELING

STORAGE FACILITIES
Waste generators, transporters, and TSD facilities storing hazardous wastes shall comply
with the requirements listed below.
Requirements for Storage Facilities
At a minimum, storage facilities shall meet the following requirements:
 In case of emergency, it should be accessible in cases of emergency for the
purposes of inspection and monitoring
 Should be enclosed but adequately ventilated
 Floors should be resistant to liquids and attack of chemicals, not slippery, and
built to retain spillages.

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 Should be well secured and not easily accessed by unauthorized persons;
 Should have provision for proper waste segregation in accordance with the
following:
 Chemical properties –
 Separate containers should be used for chemicals with incompatible
chemical properties like strong acids and strong base to avoid chemical
reactions and should be kept in separate spill containment areas.
 . Waste type –
 Hazardous wastes shall be segregated from low-level radioactive, mixed,
healthcare, and non-hazardous wastes.
 Solids, liquids, and gases (aerosols or gas cylinders] shall be placed in
separate containers and kept in separate spill containment areas.
 Should have provision for proper drum handling and storage as stated in the
following:
 Store drums should be in upright position on pallets and should not exceed
two (2) drums high
 Passage of water and circulation of air should be allowed so drums should
be raised on pallets or similar structures .
 Drums should be regularly checked for leaks.
 Drums should not be stored side by side and should not be stacked because
of possible environmental stress such as crack failure of the closures.
 Provide support for the entire length of the drum if drums are to be stored
horizontally in racks,
 When handling drums filled with hazardous materials, safety precautions
should be observed all the times
 Full emergency response equipment should always be available corresponding to
the class of wastes being stored and potential emergencies associated with it.
 All categories of waste that are stored within a prescribed period should be treated
or sent to an suitable TSD facilities, otherwise, it is the responsibility of the owner
or manager to clean up the area and dispose the waste to avoid environmental
problems.

Types of Vessels, Containers, Tanks, and Containment Buildings

The following are the allowed vessels, containers, tanks, or containment building for
wastes storage:
 Metal drum (with lid or cap)
 Plastic container (with lid or cap)
 Metal container (with lid or cap)
 Cloth container or jumbo bag
 Container van
 Tanker truck
 Built tank

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 Containment building or warehouse that re completely closed structure with

walls, roof, and floor used to store non-containerized waste, such as bulky and
high volume non-liquid waste)
Waste generators, transporters, and TSD facilities must use appropriate containers for
each class of wastes.
 For acids and bases, use polyethylene drums
 For flammable, solvents and paints, metal drums are appropriate
 For granular materials, fiber drums are recommended

LABELLING REQUIREMENTS
A. Form of Labels Attached to Vessels, Containers, Tanks, and Containment Buildings
All waste: generators, transporters, and TSD facilities that store hazardous wastes shall ensure that
wastes are labeled as enumerated below:
 The maximum size of the label is 20cm x 30cm and should be readable five (5)
meters away
 The color of the label is yellow for background and black for letters conspicuously
marked in paint or other permanent form of marking;
 The material of the label should be scratch-proof and resistant to tampering and
weathering;
 The label should be accompanied by a placard corresponding to characteristics of
the wastes contained in the vessel, container, tank, or containment building
 Proper labeling should be done at the waste generator’s facility and should be
retained up to the TSD facility. In case of export, additional label as required by
international standard should be attached

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Source: Procedural Manual, DENR AO 36, Series of 2004

Basic form of the label attached to the vessel, containers and trucks containing hazardous waste.

B. Position of the label /symbol attached to vessels, containers, and tanks

The label should be placed on the side of the vessel, container, and tank. If the vessel,
container, or tank is used repeatedly, the label can be a plate and hung on the side of the vessel,
container or tank that stores hazardous wastes. In case of a containment building, all the types of
hazardous wastes contained in the building should be included in the plate.
For conveyances transporting hazardous waste, corresponding symbols should be placed t
on its side and back.

PLACARDS ACCOMPANYING THE LABEL

The following placards should accompany the label representing the hazard classification of
wastes:
Class 1: Explosives
The explosives category comprises all items or materials that can detonate or conflagrate
rapidly due to chemical reaction. This classification is divided into six sub-divisions and includes
things like ammunition, airbag inflators and fireworks.

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Class 2: Gases
These comprise the substances with a vapor pressure of 300 kPa or greater at 50 degrees
Celsius and those that are completely gaseous at standard atomic pressure at 20 degrees Celsius.
Items containing these substances are also categorized as class 2 hazardous materials.

Class 3: Flammable Liquids and Combustible Liquids

These are the flammable liquids having flashpoints of 60 to 65 degrees Celsius or lower.
Liquids transported at temperatures at or above their flashpoints are also classified as flammable
liquids.

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Class 4: Flammable Solids; Spontaneously Combustible Materials; Dangerous when Wet

Materials
These are self-reactive substances that can undergo strong exothermic reactions or solid
desensitized explosions. They easily ignite under common conditions during the transport process.

Class 5: Oxidizers and Organic Peroxides

Oxidizers are substances that yields oxygen upon combustion while organic peroxides
are substances that may qualify as hydrogen peroxide once the organic radicals are replaced by
one or both of the hydrogen atoms in the chemical structure

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Class 6: Toxic Substances and Infectious Substances

Toxic substances comprise those substances that cause serious injury, harm or death to a
human if inhaled, swallowed or allowed to come in contact with the skin. Infectious substances
are those that contain pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and other
microorganisms that can cause disease in humans and animals.

Class 7: Radioactive Materials

Radioactive materials are those that contain radionuclides that are subject to radioactive
decay due to an unstable nucleus .

Class 8: Corrosive Materials

Corrosives substances are those that disintegrate or degrade other materials on contact
during chemical action. These materials can damage surrounding materials once they leak during
transit, and they can cause severe damage to living tissue

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Class 9: Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods

These include environmentally hazardous substances, genetically modified organisms and
other substances that are conveyed at high temperatures and magnetized materials.

Specifications of the Placard

All waste generators, transporters, and TSD facilities that store hazardous wastes shall ensure that
wastes have placards as specified below:
 Minimum size of the placard is 10cm x 10cm for vessels, containers, and tanks or readable
from five (5) meters afar
 For waste transporting vehicles, readable from ten ( 10) meters afar and a minimum size
of 30cm x 30cm
 Basic shape of the placard is a square rotated 45 degrees to form a diamond
 At each of the four sides, a parallel line shall be drawn to form an inner diamond
95 % of the outer diamond.

MANAGEMENT METHODS FOR COMMON TOXIC & HAZARDOUS WASTES

There are several methods available for toxic and hazardous waste management but it is
better if the amount of waste is reduced at its source or just to recycle them. Although recycling
is not guaranteed as the right remedy to the problem because there is always a need to treat the
waste prior to storage or disposal of the toxic and hazardous wastes.

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Treatment of Toxic and Hazardous Waste

The treatment of hazardous waste can be through chemical, thermal, biological, and
physical methods. Most of the treatment measures have both physical and chemical aspects. The
appropriate treatment technology for the hazardous wastes depends on the nature of the wastes.
Chemical Treatment
 Chemical Precipitation
This is a direct application of the solubility product principle. In this process, the
soluble substance is converted to an insoluble form either by a chemical reaction or by
change in the composition of the solvent and the precipitated solid is removed eother by
settling or by filtration. This process is applicable for the removal of toxic metal from
aqueous wastes by converting them to an insoluble form.

 Neutralization.
Solutions are neutralized by a simple application of the law of mass balance to bring
about an acceptable pH. For basic solutions, sulfuric or hydrochloric acid is added to basic
solutions, while caustic (NaOH) or slaked lime [Ca(OH) 2] is added to acidic solutions.
Waste is hazardous at pH values less than 2 or greater than 12.5, so it shows that by bringing
the pH into the range 2 to 12.5 would be adequate, but a good treatment practice requires
that final pH values would be in the range 6 to 8 to protect natural biota.

 Oxidation.
This process destroy the cyanide molecule and chlorine is the most frequently used
oxidizing agent. It should be noted that oxidation must be conducted under alkaline
conditions so that the generation of hydrogen cyanide gas will be prevented. This process
is often referred to as alkaline chlorination.

 Reduction.
Most heavy metals readily precipitate as hydroxides, hexavalent chromium and is
used in plating solutions. Hexavalent chromium must be reduced to trivalent chromium
before it will precipitate. Reduction is usually done with sulfur dioxide or sodium bisulfite.
Waste with reducing properties can be used as reducing agent.

 Ozonation
Ozone and UV radiations have been used to detoxify industrial organic wastes,
containing aromatic and aliphatic polychlorinated compounds, ketones and alcohols.

 Stabilization
Stabilization involves mixing of the waste with additives like cement, lime, fly

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ash, sodium silicate, and other minor additives to form inorganic "polymer" that prevents
leaching of toxic constituents. In this process, the waste is converted to a more chemically
stable form and transform the toxic component to a new, non-toxic compound or substance

 Ion Exchange
Ion exchange is used for the recovery of metals and ionized organic chemicals. In
ion exchange, the waste stream containing the ion to be removed is passed through a bed
of resin. The resin is capable of removing either cations or anions. During the exchange
process, ions of like charge are removed from the resin surface in exchange for ions in
solution. If the bed is already saturated with the exchanged ion, it will shut down and the
resin will be regenerated by passing a concentrated solution containing the original ion
back through the bed. In this manner, the exchanged pollutant will be forced off the bed in
a concentrated form that may be recycled.

 Coagulation:
To greatly improve precipitation coagulants are added. The most common
coagulant being used is alum. Many poly electrolytes are used as coagulants. The purpose
of coagulants is to neutralize the charge of colloids in suspended condition that allows them
to settle rapidly.

Physical Treatment
Several treatment processes are used to separate hazardous waste from aqueous solution.
The waste is not detoxified but only concentrated for further treatment or recovery.

 Filtration and Separation

Filtration is used for separating solid particles from a liquid with the aid of a porous
medium. The driving force in filtration is a pressure gradient, caused by gravity,
centrifugal force, vacuum, or pressure greater than atmospheric pressure.

 Carbon Adsorption.
Adsorption is a mass transfer process in which gas vapors or chemicals in solution
are held to a solid by intermolecular forces like in hydrogen bonding and van der Waals’
interactions. It is a surface phenomenon. Pressure vessels having a fixed bed are used to
hold the adsorbent. Usually, the adsorbents used are activated carbon, molecular sieves,
silica gel, and activated alumina.

 Distillation.
This refers to the separation of more volatile materials from less volatile materials
by a process of vaporization and condensation. Different types of distillation may be used:
batch distillation, fractionation, steam stripping, and thin film evaporation. Distillation is
expensive and use intensive energy and can probably be justified only in cases where

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valuable product recovery is feasible (e.g., solvent recovery). This technique has only
limited application in the treatment of dilute aqueous hazardous wastes.

 Evaporation
Evaporation is used in the treatment of hazardous waste. This is commonly used as a
pre-treatment method to decrease quantities of material for final treatment. Likewise, this
process is used if there is no other treatment method found to be practical, like in the
concentration of trinitrotoluene (TNT) for subsequent incineration and the process equipment
is quite flexible and can handle waste in various forms – aqueous, slurries, sludges and tars.
One of the disadvantages of evaporation are high capital and operating costs as well
as high energy requirements. This process is usually used for waste waters with high
concentrations of pollutants.

 Electro- dialysis
According to Puja Mondal(n.d.), the electro-dialysis involves the separation of an
aqueous stream (more concentrated in electrolyte than the original) and a depleted stream.
Success of the process depends on special synthetic membranes, usually based on ion-
exchange resins, which are permeable only to a single type of ion. Cation exchange
membranes permit passage only of positive ions, under the influence of electric field, while
anion exchange membranes permit passage only of negatively charged ions.
He also stated that the feed water is passed through compartments formed by the
spaces between alternating cation-permeable and anion permeable membranes held in a
stack. At each end of the stack is an electrode having the same area as the membranes. A dc
potential applied across the stack causes the positive and negative ions to migrate in opposite
directions.
This technique has been used for desalination to produce potable water from brackish
well water while in the food industry, it is used for desalting whey. The chemical industry
also used this technique for enriching or depleting solutions, and for removing mineral
constituents from product streams.

 Reverse Osmosis
Mondal (n.d.) stated that reverse osmosis which is most widely used consists of a
membrane permeable to solvent but impermeable to most dissolved species, both organic
and inorganic. Pressure is used to force the contaminated water against the semipermeable
membrane and this membrane acts as a filter, allowing the water to be pushed through the
pores, but restricting the passage of larger molecules that are to be removed. It is common to
preprocess the feed water to remove oxidizing materials. Also, the reverse osmosis technique
has been widely used for desalination of sea or brackish water; for the treatment of
electroplating rinse waters, not only to meet effluent discharge standards, but also to recover
concentrated metal salt solutions for reuse and for the treatment of waste stream from paper
and food processing industries.

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 Solvent Extraction
Solvent extraction is also called liquid extraction and liquid-liquid extraction. In
this process, the contaminants can be removed from a waste stream using liquid-liquid
extraction. This is possible if the wastewater is contacted with a solvent having a greater
solubility for the target contaminants than the wastewater. Through this process,
contaminants will tend to migrate from the wastewater into the solvent. Although
predominately a method for separating organic materials, it may also be applied to remove
metals if the solvent contains a material that will react with the metal.

 Solidification
Solidification is done by encapsulating the waste in concrete, asphalt, or plastic. A
solid mass of material that is resistant to leaching is produced during encapsulation. Waste
can also be mixed with lime, fly ash, and water to form a solid, cement-like product.

Thermal Treatment
 Incineration
Incineration can be regarded as a pre-treatment of hazardous waste, prior to final
disposal or as a way of valorizing waste by recovering energy. In this process, chemicals
are decomposed by oxidation at temperatures of about 800C and greater. For the waste to
be destroyed, its hazardous components must be combustible. The primary products from
combustion of organic wastes are carbon dioxide, water vapor, and inert ash. But other
products can also be formed.

 Pyrolysis
This is defined as the chemical decomposition or change brought about by heating
in the absence of oxygen. In this process, the solid and liquid carbonaceous materials are
transformed into gaseous components and the solid residue containing fixed carbon and
ash. The application of pyrolysis to hazardous waste treatment leads to a two-step process
for disposal.

Biological Treatment
 Land Treatment
This term encompasses both as a waste treatment and disposal process. In this
process, a waste is mixed with or incorporated into the surface soil and is degraded,
transformed or immobilized through proper management. The other terminologies used
commonly include land cultivation, land farming, land application and sludge spreading.
In land farming, the waste is carefully mixed with surface soil on a suitable tract of
land. To metabolize the waste, microbes can be added, along with nutrients although in
some cases, a genetically engineered species of bacteria is used. To stabilize hazardous
wastes, microbes can be used on previously contaminated sites and this process is called
bioremediation.

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 Enzymatic systems
Hazardous waste chemicals can be transformed into non-toxic products using
enzymes harvested from microorganisms grown in mass culture. Crude enzyme extracts
derived from microorganisms have been proven to convert pesticides into less toxic and
persistent products. Moisture, temperature, aeration, soil structure, organic natter content,
seasonal variation and the availability of soil nutrients affect the presence and abundance
of enzymes.

 Composting
As stated by Pandey(n.d.), the microbiology of hazardous wastes differs from that
of composting in the use of inoculums. The reaction is that certain types of hazardous
waste molecules can be degraded by only one or a very few microbial species, which may
not be widely distributed or abundant in nature.

 Aerobic and Anaerobic Treatment

The concentration of hazardous materials in wastewaters, leachate and soil are
present in low to high concentration. These wastes are characterized by high organic
content, low and high pH (2 to 12), elevated salt levels and presence of heavy metals and
hazardous organics. However, these can be treated using either aerobic or anaerobic
treatment methods.
In aerobic treatment, microorganisms can grow under proper conditions and they
need carbon and energy source, which many hazardous wastes satisfy, as well as nutrients
such as nitrogen, phosphorus and trace metals and a source of oxygen. The process is
facilitated through enzyme catalysis and depends on maintaining a balance of population
within a specific set of environmental conditions.

Common Methods of Hazardous Waste Disposal

Hazardous waste is regarded as any type of waste that is toxic, flammable, corrosive, and
reactive while flammable types of waste are those liquids with flash points, solids that can combust
spontaneously, compressed gases, and oxidizers. On the other hand, corrosive substances react
with the containers that are used for their storage, while reactive wastes are unstable and can have
toxic byproducts when mixed with water.

Taking into consideration the types of hazardous waste, the disposal, management,
collection, and storage therefore becomes crucial in its management to ensure that it cannot have
adverse effects on human and animal health, as well as the environment. Listed below are the most
common methods used for the disposal of hazardous wastes.

 Landfill Disposal
This method of storing toxic solid waste into the ground is not the same as the ordinary
landfills. Landfills intended for hazardous wastes are lined with a double layered non-porous

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material, such as HDPE or clay, to prevent the leaching of waste into the ground. Hazardous
wastes are dumped into this landfill and then covered to prevent rodents and insects from entering.
One disadvantage of this method is the requirement for a large space.

Source: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Schematic diagram of a secure hazardous-waste landfill with a double
leachate collection system.

 Incineration
Incineration is the burning of hazardous waste into an incombustible residue. This process
is usually used in areas where there is minimal space for landfills. The waste undergoes
detoxification in order to lessen the toxic gases to be released into the atmosphere. Incineration
is an ideal option for waste minimization and detoxification, but its operating expenses are high.
Incineration of hazardous waste can also produce steam that can drive turbines to generate
electric power. The heat produced is then recycled for use in incinerators, thus reducing the cost
of waste disposal and energy production. Wastes that have nitrogen, phosphorous, chlorine,
polychlorinated biphenyl, carcinogenic substances, and heavy metals are burnt in incinerators but
with pollution control devices.

 Dumping at Sea

Source:https://www.southerncouncil.org/common-methods-of-hazardous-waste-disposal/
Hazard waste dump at sea

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In this method, hazardous waste is deposited in the deep sea to minimize its impact on
groundwater sources. To minimize danger to marine life, hazardous waste is first treated using
different methods before dumping it at sea. However, this method is currently regulated or even
banned by environmental protection agencies around the world to preserve water resources.

 Underground Disposal
For radioactive waste, underground disposal is the ideal and economical choice,
Radioactive wastes consist of the waste generated from lab experiments, some medical treatments,
mining of radioactive ore, and the production of nuclear fuel. Underground hazardous waste
disposal is only done in partially active and inactive mines that meet particular technical and
geological criteria.
Improper handling of hazardous waste is detrimental to human health as well as for animals
and plants. The above methods of waste disposal can be used as options to avoid risk. It is
important that companies should train their employees on the proper handling of wastes before its
collection and disposal.

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Phil. Economic Zone Authority(PEZA) Memorandum Circular No. 2014-017, Available:

http://www.peza.gov.ph/issuances/mc/PEZA_DENR.pdf (Accessed: July 24, 2020)

Procedural Manual, Title III of DAO 92-29, Hazardous Waste Management, DENR AO 36, Series
of 2004, Available: http://119.92.161.2/portal/Portals/6/Documents/Laws/HW_DAO%2004-
36.pdf (Accessed: July 24, 2020)

Southern Council, Common Methods of Hazardous Waste Disposal, Available:

https://www.southerncouncil.org/common-methods-of-hazardous-waste-disposal/. (Accessed:
July 24, 2020)

The Study on Mater Plan for Hazardous Waste Management in Romania Final Report Japan
International Cooperation Agency Volume 1 Main Report: Strategy and Action Plan
Management Methods for Common Hazardous Wastes. Available:
https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/11737699_08.pdf . (Accessed: July 27, 2020)

What is a Hazardous Waste? Available: https://www.epa.gov/hw/learn-basics-hazardous-waste.

(Accessed: July 27, 2020)

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ENGG 413 – Environmental Science and Engineering
Main Topic 2: Natural Resources and Pollution in the Environment

Wolters, Claire, Toxic waste, explained. Available:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/toxic-waste/ .(Accessed: July
27, 2020)

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ENGG 413- Environmental Science and Engineering
Main Topic 3- Philippine Major Environmental Laws

Introduction
Environmental laws are rules and strategies that serve as guide in taking care of our
environment. If it is done and followed in the most effective ways, we can expect for a place that
is safe to the human health, well-beings of humans as well as the ecosystem. In this chapter,
several environmental laws will be discussed for the students to become aware and be responsible
citizens to make our world a healthy place to live with.

Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcomes
 Acquire high level of awareness about the environment and its significance.

Topic Outcomes
 Explain the existing regulations under the Philippine Law that is related to waste
management and control
 Apply such knowledge on careful decisions for environment mitigation, treatment,
prevention, and protection relative to impact assessments.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

 Republic Act 9003 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000
 Republic Act 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
 Republic Act 8749 Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
 Republic Act 6969 Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of
1990
 Presidential Decree 1586 Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System of 1978
and its IRR (DENR Administrative Order No. 2003-30)

MECHANICS
A student will be assigned to discuss one of the topics mentioned above. He/She must be
able to discuss the regulation under the Philippine Law. In addition, he/she must be able to cite
examples showing the application of the said law in terms of mitigation, treatment, prevention and
protection relative to impact assessment. A student will be graded based on the rubric below.

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ENGG 413- Environmental Science and Engineering
Main Topic 3- Philippine Major Environmental Laws

Scoring Rubric for Oral Presentation

ORGANIZATION Percentage

 Introduction includes the objectives of the presentation and the significance of

the topic 15%
 The material is well prepared, and if applicable, technical terms are well-
defined in language suitable for the target audience
 Cites references and the sources used are credible and accurate

CONTENT

 Introduction is attention-getting, establishes a framework for the rest of the

presentation
 Material included is relevant to the over-all purpose/message 45%
 Appropriate amount of material is prepared, and points made reflect well
their relative importance
 Summarizes and gives conclusions about the main points at the end of the
presentation

PRESENTATION

 Speaker connects with the audience while describing concepts; seldom

looks at the notes 40%
 Delivery is poised, controlled and information was well communicated
 Speaker makes strategic use of digital media to enhance understanding of
the topic
 Visual aids are well prepared and informative.
 Length of presentation is within the assigned time limits

TOTAL 100%

70-75: Needs Improvement 87-92: Satisfactory

76-80: Poor 93-98: Very Good
81-86; Good 99-100: Exceeds expectation

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

Sustainable Development

Introduction
This lesson discusses the definition of sustainable development, how the Sustainable
Development Goals were formulated, and the Philippines’ contribution to SDGs.

Learning Outcomes

Intended Learning Outcomes 2 and 3 (Syllabus)

ILO 2 - Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the engineer's role in the
manipulation of materials and resources.
ILO 3 - Select appropriate design treatment schemes and efficient safety measures for waste disposal and
explain their effect if implemented in the community and in the workplace.

Topic Outcomes:
• ​Describe sustainable development and its goals, and apply appropriate actions to each
problem specified by SDGs

Sustainable Development

We as humans are accustomed to have and care for our own territories. Contrary to this, all
our activities are tightly connected and interwoven. Environmental problems, e.g. forest fires
and ocean acidification, are not isolated occurrences, rather they are interconnected to one
another.

As an example, let’s look at the Mekong River.

1|Page
Source: "Map of the Mekong river basin"​ by ​Shannon1​ is licensed under CC
BY-SA 4.0

The river runs through China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. They all
depend on the river as one of their main sources of water. Now, there are 11 dams in China

2|Page
 built on the upper Mekong, controlling the flow of water to the other countries. With no
proper agreement or treaties between the countries, no sustainable management to follow,
dams are built left and right, affecting everyone in the long run.

Meanwhile, in the ​Philippines,​ though there is a Solid Waste Management law, a recent
study entitled "Plastic Wastes Survey in River Mouths Discharging to Manila Bay"
(Tanchuling, Osorio, 2020) shows that plastic wastes in different river mouths are composed
of film plastics e.g. single-use plastics mostly used in household product packaging, and
hard plastics e.g. shampoo bottles. These types of plastics mostly come from households
near the rivers and they are not directly affected by this. However, during the storms, a
flood of garbage is almost always seen washed ashore in Manila Bay.

In a more global example, the intensification of climate change is driven by excessive

material consumption in affluent countries and an inadequate access to scientific and
technological resources in poor countries. Europe and USA (Burberry, H&M, Amazon) are
burning unsold products (clothes, televisions, books) as a practice to preserve prestige;
some of the Philippines’ rural areas have no cell phone towers and few paved roads.

It is therefore dangerous to think that we can place boxes around individual spheres and
address them independently. The approach that has developed for thinking and planning
comprehensively about the interlinked problems of economy, society and environment is
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT​.

Sustainable - balance, continual, maintained

Development - growth, progress

Using the most known definition by World Commision on Environment and Development
(1987), ​sustainable development​ is “​development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs​.

Sustainable Development Goals?

Who formulated this?

United Nations (UN), which started in 1945, was founded with the objectives to
maintain international peace and achieve international cooperation among its 193

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 member states, to protect human rights, and promote sustainable development. To
achieve this, international agenda were being adopted, tackling the biggest
problems that the world is facing. One of these agenda is the SDGs.

What’s the history behind this?

In 2000, eight (8) Millennium Development Goals were created to reduce global
poverty by 2015. However, as then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “Yet
for all the remarkable gains, I am keenly aware that inequalities persist and that
progress has been uneven.” With this, in September 2015, the organization
developed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the 17 SDGs as its
backbone.

What exactly are the SDGs?

The 17 SDGs are the following:

​ nited Nations
Source: U

How do you achieve these goals?

Just like how a company operates, the SDGs are to be achieved by giving targets and
indicators.
To see the in depth explanation of the targets and indicators, see

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https://sdgs.un.org/goals and click on every goal. Moreover, as a summary, below are the
infographics, also shown in the website.For the Philippines, being among the 51 original
member state of UN since 1945, 151 indicators are being monitored, which you can read here:
https://www.coa.gov.ph/sdg/.

GOAL 1: End poverty in all forms everywhere

Source: ​“Goal 1: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,

5|Page
 https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal1​.
GOAL 2: ZERO HUNGER

Source: ​“Goal 2: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2​.

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GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Source: ​“Goal 3: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3​.

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GOAL 4: QUALITY EDUCATION

Source: ​“Goal 4: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4​.

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GOAL 5: GENDER EQUALITY

Source: ​“Goal 5: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5​.

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GOAL 6: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION

Source: “​ Goal 6: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6​.

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GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY

Source: “​ Goal 7: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7​.

11 | P a g e
GOAL 8: DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Source: “​ Goal 8: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8​.

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GOAL 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Source: “​ Goal 9: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9​.

13 | P a g e
GOAL 10: REDUCED INEQUALITIES

Source: “​ Goal 10: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal10​.

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GOAL 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

Source: ​“Goal 11: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11​.

15 | P a g e
GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

Source: “​ Goal 12: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12​.

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GOAL 13: CLIMATE ACTION

Source: “​ Goal 13: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal13​.

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GOAL 14: LIFE BELOW WATER

Source: “​ Goal 14: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal14​.

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GOAL 15: LIFE ON LAND

Source: “​ Goal 15: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal15​.

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GOAL 16: PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS

Source: “​ Goal 16: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16​.

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GOAL 17: PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS

Source: “​ Goal 17: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal17​.

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How is the Philippines faring in achieving SDGs?

As mentioned earlier, the Philippines is monitoring 151 indicators. Here are some notable
achievements and needs for improvement of the country per goal (Philippine Statistics
Authority, 2020):

SDG Achievements Rooms for Improvement

(Concrete Project Examples)

From 44.8% in 2016, the proportion of Proportion of families with

owned or owner-like
LGUs that adopt and implement local
possession of housing unit,
disaster risk reduction strategies in and access to secure tenure
Region 1 went from 44.8% in 2016 to decreased.
100% in 2018. Net enrolment rate in
(Community Empowerment through elementary also went down
from 96.2% to 94.1%. It is
Science and Technology of DOST)[1]
also alarming that we still do
not reach 100%, while
Malaysia, Singapore, Iran
and Gibraltar do. [2]

From 7.1% in 2015, the prevalence of Prevalence of anemia in

pregnant women and 6
malnutrition for children under 5 years
month to 5 years old
old is down to 5.6% in 2018 children increased.
(Rise Against Hunger Philippines -
non-profit organization)

Prevalence of tobacco use of 10-19.9 Percentage of public health

years old decreased from 5.5% facilities properly stocked
(2015) 4.0% (2018) with selected essential
(Sin Tax Reform Law - restructured medicines decreased from
taxes imposed on alcohol and 65.4% ((2016) to 55%
tobacco goods) (2019)

Secondary completion rate increased Faculty with MS/MA

degree/s decreased from
by 10.3% from 2015 to 2017
40.4% in 2016 to 37.6% in
(Teach for the Philippines - ) 2018. This may be because
most positions given to
government teachers, with
or without MS/MA degree

22 | P a g e
 are entry-level.

In terms of legal frameworks, the Proportion of seats held by

Philippines has the following relevant women in the city
legislations: Republic Act 7192. Women decreased from 78.8% in
in Development & National Building Act; 2016 to 23.2% in 2019.
Executive Order No. 273. Approving and
Adopting the Philippine Plan for
Gender-Responsive Development,
1995-2025; Republic Act 9710. An Act
Providing for the Magna Carta of Women

There are 20 local Water, Sanitation and The implementation of

Hygiene ordinances in 2018, which programs and projects
increased from 12 in 2017. identified in the Integrated
River Basin Master Plans
(IRBMP) went down from
26.1% in 2016 to 21.2% in
2019.

As of 2018, 95.3% of the population In 2011, 28% of

have access to electricity, compared electricity was generated
to 90.7% in 2016. by coal. In 2030, the
(Zero Carbon Resorts for Sustainable goal is to have 30.1% of
Tourism with DOT and DOE as the energy demand to
project associates) be supplied by coal.

Unemployment rate went down from Incidence rate of

5.4% in 2016 to 5.1% in 2019 Occupational injuries,
(Green Jobs Act) fatalities per 100,000
employed persons
increased from 3.8% in
2015 to 9.6% in 2017.
(Also see the rate of
Safety Officer in any
recruitment site to grasp
this fully.)

Passenger volume in rail section There is a lack of

increased from 371M in 2016 to results-oriented
378.8M in 2017. indicators for “fostering
(Build Build Build program, apparent innovation.”
addition of walkways in Batangas
City)

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Household income per capita among Philippines’ Gini
the bottom 40% of the population and percentage (a measure
the total population increased in of wealth inequality, the
growth rates from 5.3% in 2015 to higher the %, the more
10.8% in 2018. unequal the distribution
(Expanded Maternity Leave Law of wealth is) increased
(from 60 to 105 days)) from 44% in 2015 to
47.9% in 2018.

The number of directly affected The number of deaths

persons attributed to disasters per attributed to disasters
100,000 population went down from per 100,000 population
8853 in 2016 to 5218 in 2018. went up from 0.08 in
(The Development of New Clark City, 2016 to 0.24 in 2018.
Philippines’ first smart city)

The proportion of reported hazardous There is a lack of

waste treated by industries increased results-oriented
from 40.62 in 2016 to 112.6 in 2017. indicators for
(WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Diner “environmentally sound
project to lessen food wastage) management of … all
wastes throughout their
life cycle.”

The number of missing persons The proportion of local

attributed to disasters per 100,000 governments that adopt
population decreased from 0.03 in and implement local
2016 to 0.0 in 2018. disaster risk reduction
(Project NOAH - for better disaster strategies in line with
prevention using R&D) national disaster risk
reduction strategies in
Regions VI, VII, VIII, IX
and X decreased.

Increase in the proportion of coverage Drastic decrease of total

of protected areas in relation to coverage of protected
marine areas, NIPAS and Locally areas in relation to
managed MPAs from 0647 in 2016 to marine areas from 220M
1.4 in 2019. ha in 2016 to 3.08M ha
(Manila Bay Rehabilitation of DENR) in 2019.

The official development assistance Forest areas with tenure

and public expenditure on or management
conservation and sustainable use of arrangements
biodiversity and ecosystems decreased from 2.6M ha
increased from $15.97M in 2016 to in 2017 to 2.5M ha in

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 $32.72M in 2018. 2018.
(Enhanced National Greening
Program by DENR)

Monthly average index crime rate From 0.9% in 2016, the

decreased from 11.6% in 2016 to percentage of families
6.2% in 2018. that were asked to give
(Bangsamoro Organic Law) bribe or grease money
by a government official
with whom they
transacted, by type of
service for the access to
justice increased to
2.0% in 2017.

The total government revenue as a The proportion of

proportion of GDP increased from domestic budget funded
15.2 in 2016 to 16.4 in 2018. by domestic taxes
(Asian Development Bank (ADB) decreased from 74.1 in
Country Partnership Strategy - 2016 to 68.9 in 2018.
supporting policy reforms, institutional
capacity development, and financing
investments)
[1] Caparas, 2019
[2] The World Bank Group, 2020
[3] Evangelista, 2018

1 | Page

References:
Caparas, R.M.Z. (2019, July 10). DOST Showcases Solutions to UN Sustainable Development
Goals in Science Fair. ​DOST-NCR,​ Retrieved July 25, 2020 from:
https://ncr.dost.gov.ph/view-article.php?view_id=dost-showcases-solutions-to-un-sustainable-de
velopment-goals-in-science-fair

Evangelista, A. (2018, July 26). The long wait to 'Zero Hunger'. ​Rappler,​ Retrieved July 25, 2020
from: ​https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/zero-hunger-bill-4-years-in-the-making

Philippine Statistics Authority (2020, March 4). ​SDG Watch,​ Retrieved July 27, 2020 from:

25 | P a g e
https://psa.gov.ph/sdg

Tanchuling, M.A., Osorio, E. (2020). ​Plastic Wastes Survey in River Mouths Discharging to
Manila Bay​. Retrieved July 25, 2020, from:
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020EGUGA..2211731T/abstract​/

The World Bank Group. (2020). School enrollment, primary (% net). ​The World Bank Data,
Retrieved July 25, 2020 from: ​https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.NENR

United Nations. (n.d.). ​About the Sustainable Development Goals.​ Retrieved July 25,
2020, from:
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/.​

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 1: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal1​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 2: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 3: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 4: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 5: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 6: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 7: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 8: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 9: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9​.

UNDP (n.d.). Goal 10: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal10​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 11: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27,
2020, ​https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11​.

26 | P a g e
UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 12: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 13: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal13​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 14: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27,
2020, ​https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal14​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 15: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27,
2020, ​https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal15​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 16: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, UNDP, Retrieved: July 27,
2020, ​https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16​.

UNDP (n.d.). “Goal 17: Department of Economic and Social Affairs”, Retrieved: July 27, 2020,
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal17​.

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

Sustainable Energy Management

Introduction
Renewable energy will be discussed, along with their examples in the Philippines.
Moreover, concerns regarding and the factors affecting energy management of a country will
also be tackled.

Learning Outcomes

Intended Learning Outcomes 2 and 3 (Syllabus)

ILO 2 - Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the engineer's role in the
manipulation of materials and resources.
ILO 3 - Select appropriate design treatment schemes and efficient safety measures for waste disposal and
explain their effect if implemented in the community and in the workplace.

Topic Outcomes:
• ​Describe renewable energy resources and determine the advantages and
disadvantages of each type

Solar Energy

- conversion of sunlight into usable energy forms. Solar photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal
electricity are well estaSun radiation arrives outside the Earth with a specific spectral
distribution, which is modified throughout the atmosphere until reaching the Earth’s surface.

- The amount of solar energy available on a given location of the earth differs depending on the
Geographic latitude
Time of day
Year

Solar radiation components

Direct radiation​ - radiation from the sun that reaches the Earth without scattering. As it is the
only one with a known vector (solar vector), it can be concentrated using technological devices

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

Diffuse radiation​ - radiation that is scattered by the atmosphere and clouds

Established Solar Technologies

Solar PV Solar Thermal

Directly converts solar energy to electricity Harnessing solar energy for thermal
applications – domestics, industries,
hotels, hostpitals, leisure, etc.,

Absorbs 80% incident solar radiation but Use thermal energy for space heating, fluid
convert only small portion to electricity and generate electricity

Release excess heat during the operation Has been accepted worldwide as solar
thermal power

Different Solar Thermal Technologies

- A solar thermal collector converts solar radiation into useful heat and its performance depends
both on optical and thermal features.

1. Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal System​ - The troughs concentrate sunlight onto a
receiver tube that is positioned along the focal line of the trough. Example: SEGS in
California, with 936,384 mirrors

2. Central Tower Solar Thermal System​ - system takes advantage of numerous

heliostats to reflect sunlight onto the surface of the high-temperature heat absorber
on the top of the center tower.

The fluid medium (water, fused salt or air) is heated, thus directly or indirectly generating
overheated steam or high-temperature air to propel the generating set.

Example: Ivanpah 440 MW Power Facility, California, 214,000 heliostats

3. Linear Fresnel Solar Thermal System​ ​– one-axis solar tracking device, with the
parola divided into many small nearly flat mirrors with independent movement,
simultaneously focusing the linear absorber located in optical focus. E :Murcia,
Spain with 100MW/km2 land use

4. Parabolic Dish Solar Thermal System​ ​– heliostats with sunlight focused on the
engine with a cavity receiver on the focal point. One of the most efficient solar

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

electric technologies. Example: Arizona, US

5. Flat plate solar collectors​ –​ mostly used in heating water for showers. Example:
small-scale than other examples, used in heating water in swimming pools and
showers

*Heliostats – two-axis tracking mirrors which concentrate solar radiation maintaining the
reflected image at fixed position over the course of the day.

Solar Collector
Source: Wimmer et al. (2015)

Solar photovoltaics
- advantage: Module manufacturing is being done in large plants, which allows for
economies of scale, and it can be deployed in very small quantities at a time

- disadvantage: As PV generates power from sunlight, power output is limited to times

when the sun is shining. However, a number of options (demand response, flexible generation,
grid infrastructure, storage) exist to cost-effectively deal with this challenge.

Biomass Energy

- burning of wood, bark, branches, starchy roots, manure and other plant and animal materials
to produce energy

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

- An example of this is ​San Carlos Biopower Inc. in Negros Occidental,​ which uses agricultural
wastes such as sugarcane trash, coconut husks and shells, woods, grasses and other energy
crops from nearby dedicated plantations as feedstock.

- Denmark, the energy-independent islands of Samsø and Ærø get some of their space heating
from biomass, both from agricultural wastes (such as straw) and biomass crops

Biomass Energy Conversion Process

Source: Energy Company Numbers, 2020

- Heat generated by burning biomass in a boiler is used to produce steam. This steam is
used by a steam turbine which drivers a generator to produce electricity
- Other methods for turning biomass into fuel are shown below:

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

Source: Cunningham and Cunningham, 2012

Hydropower

- falling water produces energy which is harnessed as a valuable contribution to total energy
supply.

- To produce energy to power a country, dams are built. However, they can have unwanted
social and environmental effects, such as drought to the other side of the dam, endangering
freshwater biodiversity thus having impact in the fishing industry, and displacement of
communities.

- Example in the Philippines: Maria Cristina Falls and Agus VI Hydroelectric Plant, supplying
200 MW of electricity

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

Source: Project Lupad, 2016

- Less destructive alternatives to dams are low-head hydropower technologies,

and using high-efficiency turbines that can operate on run-of-the-river flow

Wind

- Wind energy comes from capturing kinetic energy using turbines to generate electricity, and
can be onshore or offshore.

- In earlier times, windmills were used to pump water in farms and ranches.

- Example in the Philippines: Pililla Win Farm in Rizal, supplying 54 MW to Meralco

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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 4: Sustainable Development and Energy

Source: “Pililia Wind Farm.png” ​by ​Rmnsantiago​ is licensed under ​CC BY-SA 4.0

- Potential for wind energy in the Philippines can be found on the redder parts of the map
below

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Source: World Bank Group, 2019

Sustainable Energy
Energy is the main driver of every nation’s economy, and what one chooses as their
sources has global environmental and financial effects. This is why “most important questions in
environmental science have some link to energy resources—from air pollution, climate change,
and mining impacts, to technological innovations in alternative energy sources (Cunningham
and Cunningham, 2012).”
Renewable and non-renewable are our options as energy sources. Non-renewable
sources, coal, oil and natural gas, cannot be relied on fully because of their effects on global
temperature. However, it is also not possible to be powered by 100% renewable energy (RE)
without relying on non-renewables (NRE) in the first decades of the plan. For example,
Denmark targets to use 100% RE in energy and transport sectors by 2050. In 2015, they are
producing 43% RE; in 2017 28.6% of their energy was still produced by NRE, and they
projected to eliminate coal from power production by 2030 (Ortis and Spigonardo, 2015). Thus,
to have a sustainable energy management system, one must have a good balance of RE and
NRE in their energy mix.

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Energy Mix
● refers to how final energy consumption in a given geographical region breaks down by
primary energy source.
● To meet its energy needs, each country uses the energy available to it, in different
proportions.
● While it varies significantly from one country to another, globally fossil fuels account for
over 80% of the energy mix.

WHY A MIX?
For each region or country, the composition of the energy mix depends on:
• The availability of usable resources on its territory or the possibility of importing them
• The extent and type of energy needs to be met
• Policy choices determined by historical, economic, social, demographic, environmental
and geopolitical factors

Data Source: Bunye, Cruz, Marcelo and Tenefrancia, 2020

Renewable Energy (RE) in the Philippines

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• Hydropower
• Geothermal
• Biomass
• Solar, wind, ocean
• Biofuels – alcohol in diesel; jathropa

In comparison, here is the energy mix of South Korea and Germany in 2018:

(Maennel, Kim, 2018)

The Philippines has higher energy production using coal than the 2 countries mentioned
above. Moreover, they both use nuclear power in their mix.

Major constraints need to be addressed in pursuing RE in the Philippines:

(i) insufficient fiscal and financial incentives; feed-in tariffs
(ii) absence of commercially viable market for
RE systems; and,
(iii) relatively high cost of technology

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Sustainable Energy Management

Life Cycle of Energy Systems

- help determine environmental burdens from cradle to grave

Taking a look at PV, Wind and Coal, different stages of the life of the systems release different
percentages of carbon dioxide equivalents.

LIFE CYCLE UPSTREAM OPERATIONAL DOWNSTREAM

STAGES PROCESSES PROCESSES PROCESSES
Photovoltaics (PV) System Plant Power Generation System/Plant
Component System/Plant Decommissioning
Manufacture Operation and Disposal
Installation/Plant Maintenance
Construction

~40 g CO​2​e/kWh 60%-70% 21%-26% 5%-20%

Wind Raw Materials Power Generation Power Plant
Extraction System/Plant Decommissioning
Construction Operation and Waste Disposal
Materials Maintenance
Manufacture
Transmission Lines
~35 g CO​2​e/kWh 95% 5% <1%
Coal Raw Materials Coal Preparation Power Plant
Extraction Coal Transport Decommissioning
Construction Coal Combustion Waste Disposal
Materials Power Plant Coal Mine Land
Manufacture Operation and Rehabilitation
Power Plant Maintenance
Construction

~100 g CO​2​e/kWh <1% >98% <1%

Source: Spellman (2014), Lenzen and Munksgaard (2002)

Fuel combustion during operations of coal-fired power plant emits vast majority of GHGs.
Moreover, for PV power plants, the majority of GHG emissions are upstream of operation in

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materials and module manufacturing.

Meanwhile, REs are not without environmental effects. Shown below are some of the
disadvantages of RE compared to coal energy.

System UPSTREAM OPERATIONAL DOWNSTREAM

PROCESSES PROCESSES PROCESSES

Solar Mining of quartz, Avian mortality – mirrors PVs recycling is not

silicon carbide, glass are mistaken by birds as yet feasible and
and aluminum among lakes environmental friendly
others

Wind Minimal during site Wind turbines disturb the Decommissioning has
monitoring and visual area of other minimal impact
testing, and unlikely people by creating
to trigger geological negative changes in the
hazards. natural environment

Vegetation clearing,

Temporary presence Wildlife mortality due to

of l​ arge cranes or other collisions & electrocution
large machines to due to transmission lines
assemble towers, or the blades
nacelles, and rotors
​Declines in the densities of
woodland and grassland
bird species have been
shown to occur at noise
thresholds from the blades
between 45 and 48 dB,
respectively​.

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Coal Mining - large Water is used for Coal combustion

quantities of cooling the machines residuals to be
groundwater are and towers, and should disposed of in onsite
pumped out to access not be discharged in landfills or surface
the coal nearby water bodies if impoundments
the temperature is still
Acid mine drainage - higher than the normal
acidification of water
due to washing of Burning coal produces
coal stocks over 14 billion tonnes of
carbon dioxide each year

In terms of economic sustainability, however, shown below are the jobs and land
required for alternative energy sources.
Technology Land Use (m​3​ per GW-hr for Jobs (per TW-hr/yr)
30 years)

Coal 3,642 116

PV 3,237 175

Solar thermal 3,561 248

Wind 1,335 542

Source: Cunningham and Cunningham, 2012

References

Bunye, Cruz, Marcelo and Tenefrancia. (2020). ​Energy 2020 Eighth Edition
. Retrieved July 25, 2020, from Biology Dictionary:
https://biologydictionary.net/plant-cell/

Cunnigham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2012). ​Environmental Science: A Global Concern,

Twelfth Edition. ​1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

E&C Consultants. (n.d.). ​Making the right choices in sustainable energy management.​
Retrieved July 25, 2020, from E&C Consultants:
https://www.eecc.eu/sustainable-energy-management
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Lenzen and Munksgaard (2002). Energy and CO2 life-cycle analyses of wind turbines—review
​ 6 339–362.
and applications. ​Renewable Energy, 2

Maennel, A.; Kim, H.-G. (2018). Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential
through Renewable Energy Transition in South Korea and Germany. Energies 2018, 11,
206.

Ortis, E. and Spigonardo, J. (2015, April 22). ​Making the Transition to a Low-carbon
Economy.​ Retrieved August 5, 2020, from Wharton School:
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/can-the-world-run-on-renewable-energy/

La fondation d’entreprise Total Editors. (2015, January 7). ​What is the Energy Mix​.
Retrieved July 25, 2020, from Planete Energies:
http://www.planete-energies.com/en/medias/close/about-energy-mix

Statistics Explained. (2020, June 17). ​Glossary:Carbon dioxide equivalent​. Eurostat, Retrieved
July 25, 2020,
from:​https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Carbon_dioxide_eq
uivalent

Energy Company Numbers (2020). ​The Forms of Water.​ Retrieved July 25, 2020,
from: ​https://www.energycompanynumbers.co.uk/renewable-energy-explained/

Project Lupad (2016). ​PHOTOS: Maria Cristina Falls and Agus VI Hydroelectric Plant Aerial
View​. Retrieved July 25, 2020, from Biology Notes for IGCSE 2014:
http://igbiologyy.blogspot.com/2014/03/109-food-pyramids-of-numbers-biomass.html

Spellman, F. R. (2014). ​Environmental Impacts of Renewble Energy​. CRC Press.

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Green Engineering

Introduction
This lesson discusses the definition of green engineering, and its principles. Green
engineering in building design will be focused, and energy audit will be discussed.

Learning Outcomes

Intended Learning Outcomes 2 and 3 (Syllabus)

ILO 2 - Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the engineer's role in the
manipulation of materials and resources.
ILO 3 - Select appropriate design treatment schemes and efficient safety measures for waste disposal
and explain their effect if implemented in the community and in the workplace.

Topic Outcomes:
• Solve the electricity and water consumption reduction using different green engineering
practices

Green Engineering

On a typical day, what are the activities that you do that use energy and water? How about
resources? Can you have a day without using any of the three?

These are essentials and we cannot avoid using them. However, due to depleting resources,
we, as engineers, scientists and professionals must learn to design systems, operations and
structures in which people can reduce their resource usage even without them knowing.

So, what is green engineering?

According to EPA (2017), green engineering is the “design, commercialization, and use of
processes and products that minimize pollution, promote sustainability, and protect human
health without sacrificing economic viability and efficiency.”

In this module, we will focus on green engineering applied to buildings.

Energy Flows

In order to understand one of the concepts in green engineering used in designing buildings
and products, it is important to understand energy flows.

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Principles of heat transfer

Heat can be transferred into or out of a system and work can be done on or by a system, but a
system cannot contain or store heat or work,

The transfer of energy as heat is always from the higher-temperature medium to the lower-
temperature one. Moreover, heat transfer stops when the 2 mediums reach the same
temperature.

Three types of heat transfer:

1. Conduction - energy transfer from the more energetic particles to the adjacent less energetic
ones, by direct contact

2. Convection - transfer between a solid surface and the adjacent liquid or gas that is in motion

3. Radiation - energy emitted in the form of magnetic waves

"Radiation Conduction Convection" by Stephen Lower is licensed under CC BY 3.0

This knowledge wherein heat is transferred is the basis of many technologies in

conserving energy in a building.

Thermal insulation

Thermal insulation is one application of the reduction of heat transfer from one surface to
another. Here, the heat or coldness of an object is being trapped using an insulating
material.

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Radiant insulation uses materials with low emissivity

values (aluminum) to reduce radiant heat transfer. Like
used in the gyms, radiant barriers are combined with
convective (thermal) insulation for increased energy
efficiency.

Source: Fairconditioning, 2017

Standard insulation materials are not as effective in reducing radiant heat transfer, which is the
primary mode of heat transfer in buildings in the tropics. However, there are other ways to feel
cooler inside a building. Aluminum foil under the roof prevents up to 97% of the radiant heat.
Radiant barrier is a highly reflective, low emitting material installed at the underside surface of
the roof deck. Other insulating materials are: rockwool, foam, laminated aluminum foil.

Thermal comfort

- A subjective measure of comfortability of a person in terms of the thermal properties of

the surroundings (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55).
- Parameters:
a. Humidity
b. Air Velocity
c. Clothing insulation
d. Metabolic Heat (activity)
e. Air temperature
f. Radiant temperature (surfaces around)
- The easiest way to achieve thermal comfort is to appropriate one's clothing to the
surroundings. However, this will not always be achievable, especially in functions with
dress codes. One tip is to loosen them up. In Japan, for example, “casual look” for
working clothes replaced black suits and was backed up by their Environment Ministry to
deal with the heat instead of using air conditioning(AC) (Lim, 2011). It was projected to
save 10% of the electricity bill.
- However putting ACs in every corner is not sustainable. To minimize this, parameters b,
e and f can be controlled by the design of the building.
- In the Philippine setting, Zero Carbon Resorts Director Dr. Wimmer pointed out that
we’ve been designing our houses to our maximum thermal comfort all along.

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- In our typical bahay kubo, we have long eaves to shade us from the sun; we use large
windows in every wall to give way for air to pass through. Thatched roofing and shade
from trees are used to reduce radiation from the sun. The house is on stilts for flood
protection and for ventilation.

Source: Zimmer, et al., 2015

With these techniques, they made a modern version of our bahay kubo in Palawan.

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Made with bamboo for the walls and anahaw for the roofing, cured to have longer lifespan, this
installation is open for all guests and is made to be off-the-grid. It has solar panels for the
electricity; solar tubes for illuminating the living room during daytime, low hp ceiling fan, and
solar thermal heater for peanut oil used as cooking fuel. Water comes from rainwater collector
with filtering system.

In general, the graph below can be used to modify the air temperature depending on the
humidity of the surroundings (Zimmer, et al., 2015):

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So, in designing house/building:

- Minimizing solar heating of the buildings

- Maximizing the rate of natural (passive) cooling
- *note: Do not forget this in your Project 2 designs

To prevent heat, we can use any or all of the following:

● Shading
● Reflection
● Insulation

To mitigate or reduce heat, we can use the following::

● Ventilation
● Evaporation
● Heat sinks

Design possibilities:

Building layout

•Orientation of the main rooms and the openings - e.g. you do not want your room to be
facing west because this direction receives most of the sunlight, thus the heat. Windows should
also face north and south. If this is unavoidable, make sure to use awnings or shading to your
windows.

•Size and details of openings and walls - Windows facing east and west should be smaller
than those facing north and south. They should also be placed to maximize the airflow at body
level. Louvers are effective for directing airflow as well as keeping out direct sunlight. Window to
wall ratio must be 10-30% in bedrooms and 20-30% in living rooms. Also, tint used in car
windows can also be used in window buildings.

•Provision of verandas and balconies - These, with plants placed in the structure, can divert
heat, thus lessening what will enter the room or building.

•Roof type and details - The trend now in roofing is covering parts of it with vegetation,
reducing the urban heat island effect (Sunlight hitting concrete surfaces produces hotter
surroundings than when it hits vegetation, making one increase their AC electric consumption.

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ACs release heat outside the building, making the outside surroundings hotter, thus creating a
vicious cycle). If that’s not possible, reflective insulation, 30-45 degrees roof pitch, and/or
thatched or clay roofs can be used.

•Zoning and space planning - Wind direction and positioning of structures are important
considerations in green engineering. For example, because it is not considered in Manila, thus
the air coming from exhausts of vehicles is circulating in one area because the buildings are
preventing it from escaping. Moreover, fresh air cannot easily pass through these structures,
making the air more polluted.

Air flows

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Source: https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/6431909_f1024.jpg

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/21/14/bf/2114bf1719d66295fe5a09a754ee340f.jpg

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Shading and Ventilation

Utilize wind from east, with openings facing north and south (sun protection)

•Minimize wall surface and windows on east and west side

•Extend balcony and trees, climbing plants on east and west side
• Hot air between roof and radiant barrier has to be removed
• Below shows the percentage of sunlight entering a room with or without protection:
Without protection 100%
Foils 40 – 70%
Sunblind 50%
Shutter 30%
Roof 30%
Awning 40% – 50%

Source: Wimmer et al., 2015

Source: Wimmer et al., 2015

Evaporation

- Traditional passive cooling method:

- Cooling by evaporation
- Fountains

Roof color

- About 10% AC electricity savings can be achieved with proper roof color, i.e. use lighter
colors such as white and cream.

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Source: Wimmer et al., 2015

Conclusion

•Lighter colours can prevent up to 50% of radiant energy

•Insulation of the roof

•Radiant barriers can help to reduce radiant heat gain

•Shading of walls and windows

•Natural ventilation (breezeways)

Day lighting techniques

1. Windows
○ Most common way
○ combination with a light colored wall increases the amount of light available from
a window.
○ Clerestory windows and Vertical windows

2. Light shelves
○ Placing a white or reflective metal light shelf placed to reflect light to upper
surfaces
○ Effective way to enhance the lighting from windows
○ Combine with a projecting eave to protect windows from direct sun.

3. Solar tubes
○ Placing a white or reflective metal light shelf placed to reflect light to upper

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surfaces
○ Effective way to enhance the lighting from windows
○ Combine with a projecting eave to protect windows from direct sun.

Carbon Footprint
● Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted that one is responsible for,
expressed in units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
● Why CO2? Methane is 21 times better at absorbing the sun’s energy than CO 2 and N2O
is about 300 times more effective than CO2.
But CO2 is more abundant.
● From Kyoto Protocol Computations:
Carbon Dioxide = 1 CO2e
Methane, CH4 = 21 CO2e
Nitrous Oxide, N2O = 310 CO2e
Other Gases – HFCs, PFCs, and SF6 = range 600 – 23900x CO2e
Recommendation: Measure emissions from the six GHGs covered by the Kyoto Protocol
where relevant for you
● In our scale, these are the kg CO2 (University of Exeter, 2015):
○ Electricity: 0.5 kg CO2 per kWh
○ Diesel: 2.68 kg CO2 per L
○ Gasoline: 2.31 kg CO2 per :
○ LPG: 1.51 kg CO2 per L
■ Current and avoided Emissions may be computed using this
● Guidelines for computation:
○ Location-dependent, e.g. electricity cost may be different in Luzon vs Visayas
○ Size-dependent, e.g. different rooms may have different consumption
○ Assumption of values must be realistic, e.g. research may be needed
○ May contain margin of error
○ There is no constant equation
● Energy savings may be computed in this manner (unit=kWh/yr):

Energy savings = power * % savings * time of use * rate of usage/year *

(number of rooms/units)

Energy Audit
- systematic approach for decision-making in the area of energy management.
- attempts to balance the total energy inputs with its use, and serves to identify all
the energy streams in a facility.

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- Verification, monitoring, and analysis of use of energy accompanied by

recommendations for improving energy efficiency with a cost benefit analysis and
an action plan to reduce energy consumption.
- Three phases: pre-audit, audit, and post-audit

Steps for a Detailed Energy Audit (Zimmer, et al., 2015)

Step Action Purpose

1 Phase 1 - Pre-Audit Resource planning; establish an energy audit

- Plan and organize team
- Walk-through audit Organize time frame
- Informal interviews with Familiarization of the subject activities
technical staff and First-hand observation & assessment of current
supervisor level operation and practices
Calculation of kWh consumption/m2/yr
Calculation of individual facility occupancy:
m2/person
Calculate lighting: watts/m2
Building, doors and windows orientation
(windows facing west and east most likely to get
hotter due to sunlight)
Check roof and wall finish, color and insulation
Check shades, overhangs, fins

2 Conduct briefing/awareness Building up cooperation

session with all concerned Awareness creation
(1-2 hrs) Document acquisition - building layout,
electricity and water distribution, permits,
among others

3 Phase 2 - Audit Historic data analysis; baseline data collection

Primary data gathering Potential for fuel substitution, process
modifications, use of combined heat and power
generation
Energy Management procedures currently done

4 Conduct survey and monitoring Measurements: motor survey, insulation and

lighting survey
Confirm and compare actual operating data with
design data

5 Conduct detailed trials and Trials:

experiments - 24-hr power monitoring (maximum
demand, peak factor, kWh)

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- Load variation trends in pumps, fans,

compressors, etc.)
- Equipment performance

6 Analysis of energy use Energy balance & energy loss

Waste analysis

7 Set up a sustainability strategy Identification and consolidation of energy

8 Cost-benefit analysis Identify the most appropriate sustainable energy

technologies
Review ideas suggested by personnel and
preliminary energy audit
Use brainstorming and value analysis
techniques
Canvass for more efficient technology

9 Reporting and presenting to top Report presentation to top management mainly

management for administrative and financial support

10 Phase 3 - Post-Audit Assist and implement energy conservation

Implementation and follow-up measures and monitor performance
Action plan, schedule for implementation
Follow-up and periodic review

Energy audit and Reporting

For an organized presentation of the report of findings and recommendations, here is
an example layout (Zimmer, et al., 2015):

Type of Resource- Cost and Potenti Addition Ease of Stat

Saving Options Benefit al al implementati us
Analysis Benefits on
Annual
(Computatio Saving
n of s
Savings)

A No investment to low investment (immediate)

1
(Example) The amount of Assuming Easy
electricity 10 PHP
Provide proper savings by per kWh:
labelling of all sealing of gaps Monetary
switches to avoid can be up to savings =
confusion when 10%. Assuming 10 PHP *

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lighting up specific 1HP A/C is 35,942.28

areas. This is a used: Electricity kWh/yr =
simple but savings = (1.0 PHP
effective way to hp * 0.746 359,422.8
increase the kW/hp) * 10% 0/yr
lifespan of the savings * (12
lighting bulbs and h/day * 365
save energy. (A) days/yr) * 70%
occupancy rate *
110 AC units =
35,942.28
kWh/yr

Avoided
emissions =
17,971.14 kg
CO2

B Medium investment (short to medium term)

(Example) Low
1
Consider to install The amount of Assuming wattage Easy
a ceiling/wall fan electricity 10 PHP per ceiling fans
in all rooms to savings by kWh: are
circulate cool air providing ceiling Monetary available
inside and to fans to circulate savings = which
reduce the cool air is at 10 PHP * consumes
working load of least 10%. 25,159.60 5-18 watts
the AC units. (B) Assuming 1 HP kWh/yr = only.
A/C is used: PHP 251,
595.96/yr
Electricity
savings = (1 hp
*0.746 kW/hp) *
10% savings *
(12 h/day * 365
days/yr) * 70%
occupancy rate *
58 rooms =
13,265.97
kWh/yr

Avoided
emissions =
12,579.80 kg
CO2

C High investment (long term)

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1
(Example) Higher Easy to
efficiencies moderate
In the future, mean
replace damaged moderate
or destroyed consumption
pumps with high and with
efficiency motors sufficient
(HEMs). Highly quality output.
efficient motors
are usually
labelled with IEC
marks. (C)

References

Anastas, P.T., and Zimmerman, J.B., (2003)"Design through the Twelve Principles of Green
Engineering", Env. Sci. and Tech., 37, 5, 94A-101A.

Fairconditioning. (n.d.). Radiant Barriers. Retrieved July 25, 2020, from Fair
Conditioning: http://fairconditioning.org/knowledge/passive-design/radiant-barriers/

Lim, L. (2011, June 9). Japanese Told To Beat The Heat With Hawaiian Shirts. Retrieved
July 25, 2020, from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2011/06/09/137009383/japanese-told-to-
beat-the-heat-with-hawaiian-shirts
Lower, S. (2018). "Radiation Conduction Convection" by Stephen Lower is licensed under
CC BY 3.0 http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtext/pre/pre-3.html

University of Exeter. (2015, January 22). Calculation of CO2 emissions, Retrieved from:
https://people.exeter.ac.uk/TWDavies/energy_conversion/Calculation%20of%20CO2%20emissi
ons%20from%20fuels.htm

US EPA. (2017). Green Engineering Retrieved August 3, 2020, from EPA:

https://www.epa.gov/green-engineering.

Zimmer et al. (2015) Zero Carbon Resorts for Sustainable Tourism Training Manual (Reduce),
Manila.

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