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Geological Aspects of Waste Management

Code: 53441
ECTS: 4.0
Lecturers in charge: prof. dr. sc. Gordana Medunić
Lecturers: prof. dr. sc. Gordana Medunić - Practicum
Take exam: Studomat
Load:

1. komponenta

Lecture typeTotal
Lectures 30
Practicum 15
* Load is given in academic hour (1 academic hour = 45 minutes)
Description:
1 Introduction to the concept of geological aspects of waste disposal. Introduction to the definition of waste (communal, technological, hazardous, inert) and to the relevant applicable laws in the Republic of Croatia. Briefly about waste management, waste treatment methods, and the situation in the Republic of Croatia.
2 Elaboration of certain concepts related to waste. Definitions of waste, landfill, which is solid non-hazardous waste, types of landfill, etc. More details about municipal solid waste landfill (prerequisites for its location and production). Ways of disposing of hazardous waste. Briefly about e-waste.
3 Environmental protection laws (relevant for waste disposal). Intersection through the most important for the polluted environment relevant laws and regulations in Croatia, the EU and the USA. Discussion of practical aspects - real possibilities (practice) vs requirements towards legal participants. Liability (eng. Liability) and a brief insight into case studies in our country and in the world.
4 Waste management. Intersection through global waste management trends in terms of monitoring the quantities, composition and effects of waste and discussing the efficiency of use of materials and resources and providing services with a view to better understanding the effects of waste on human health and environmental status. Design of modern landfills. Categories of material and waste management: production, recycling, composting, combustion with energy recovery, and waste disposal. Concept reduce-reuse-recycle.
5 Waste management. Waste prevention. Waste minimization and reuse. Biological waste treatments (aerobic, anaerobic, MBT). Waste incineration. Waste disposal.
6 Problems of waste (landfill) gases. Chemistry and emissions of waste gases (LFG). Collection and processing of landfill gases and their use in energy projects. Categories of these projects: electricity generation, direct use of medium Btu gas (British thermal unit), and renewable natural gas.
7 Problems of leachate waters. Chemical composition, toxic effects and purification methods. Leachate sources, their quantities and composition depending on various parameters (waste disposal method, landfill age, climatic conditions) and their toxic
effects on various test systems including human cells. Conventional and advanced purification methods and their advantages and disadvantages.
8 The problem of soil contaminated with improperly disposed waste. Ways of remediation of contaminated soil. Soil stabilization and solidification (S / S). Processes: water (aquatic) stabilization / solidification; stabilization / solidification of polymers and vitrification (S / S at high temperature). Studies of the applicability of these processes and their advantages and disadvantages. Field settings: in-situ and ex-situ treatments.
9 The problem of pollution of the aquatic environment with microplastic particles. Wastewater treatment plants play a key role in removing microplastic particles before
discharges of such water into aquatic environments. Non-selective disposal of treated wastewater and untreated wastewater leads to a) accumulation of microplastics in the marine environment, and b) environmental pollution by various hydrophobic compounds associated with them as a result of their natural degradation.
10 Problem of hazardous waste disposal. Definition of hazardous waste: waste that exhibits one or more of the following characteristic properties: flammability, corrosivity, reactivity or toxicity. Mixed radiological and hazardous waste.
11 Geological aspects of waste disposal. Geology of surface and groundwater and their pollution. Essential factors in planning and searching for the ideal landfill site. Hydrogeological maps. The geological structure of the substrate is important for the movement of pollutants (porosity, permeability).
12 Environmental Forensics. Fundamentals of hydrogeology essential for understanding the movement of pollutants in groundwater.
13 Environmental risk assessment. Definitions and terminology; assessment of the release of unwanted substances into the environment (toxic metals, solvents, pesticides, GMOs, EMG radiation, radioactivity); monitoring - strength vs limitation; pollution exposure assessment - models (atmospheric, surface water, groundwater, catchment water, food chain, exposure routes), strength vs limitation; impact assessment (effects of risks to human health and monitoring methods to assess health consequences).
14 and 15 Disposal of radioactive waste, spent sources and spent nuclear fuel. Definitions of terms. In general about radiation (ionizing and non-ionizing radiation). Radiation exposure. Waste management strategies. Law on Radiological and Nuclear Safety. The concept of storage and disposal (depths, geology, barriers). The situation in the Republic of Croatia and the world and examples.
Literature:
1. semester
Mandatory course - Regular study - Environmental Sciences
Consultations schedule: