Environmental Engineering

GIUSEPPE CAPOBIANCO
GIUSEPPE CAPOBIANCO

The course provides the students with the ability to plan an environmental characterization and a remediation of a polluted site with particular reference to the soil compartment. That is carried out with the application of inferential statistical techniques and of remediation methods aimed to the separation between the contaminant and the natural soil. That approach is harmonized with the environmental legislation on remediation of polluted sites.

A)Knowledge and understanding: Students learn to think according to a statistical, non-
deterministic mode in the evaluation of the contamination level of a site. This assumes both the comprehension of the most applied statistical inferential techniques and consideration of the variability of the environmental factors taken into account during the analysis of a potentially polluted site. The culture of planning and designing is acquired before and after sampling that is the first, fundamental step for evaluation of the cleanliness of a site and for the choice of the suitable
physical decontamination techniques that are preliminary to any final remediation of a polluted site
B)Applying knowledge and understanding: Skill in organizing an environmental sampling of
polluted sites after determination of the conceptual model of the site. Skill in elaborating
experimental data with a probabilistic non-deterministic approach according to statistical inference techniques taking into account the variability of concentrations on the entire polluted site.
Knowledge of the program Visualplan for organization, management and elaboration of
experimental data coming from an environmental characterization. Representative sampling of large samples into smaller samples. Knowledge and use of physical separation methods (soil washing) for preliminary decontamination of polluted soils. Knowledge of the analytical techniques used in environmental field to analyze samples coming from a polluted site.
C)Making judgements: with conducting applicable examples during and at the end of the course, the student will become skill in the choice of the best approach to evaluate the state of contamination of a polluted site and to plan the best environmental characterization both in terms of economic and environmental point of view to obtain the separation between the contaminant and the natural soil.
D)Communication skills: the chronology of subjects treated in class, has been designed to allow the student to acquire gradually and consequently such subjects and with a technical language that will permit them to relate in an effective way to a staff established to carry out an environmental characterization and a preliminary physical remediation. This will also permit the student to transfer his knowledge to other people.
E)Learning skills: the theoretical and practical knowledge of the statistical sampling and of the physical remediation of a polluted soil, will allow the student to carried out technical insights on the learned subjects to propose innovative techniques based on the statistical non-detrministic approach aimed to the sampling of a polluted site and of innovative separation techniques between the contaminnat and the natural soil aimed to the remediation of a contaminated soil.

The course is aimed at providing knowledge and developing skills relating to the application of technologies in the sampling and physical treatment of contaminated soils.
In more detail, the analytical techniques used for the characterization of contaminated soils and innovative methodologies for in situ analysis will be covered.

In order to develop their practical and analytical skills, students will practice on case studies, acquiring with sensors present in the laboratory and using specific analysis software.
Students will learn the fundamental principles for:
apply classification and predictive models using chemometric techniques (spectral preprocessing, PCA, PLS-DA, etc.) for the selection of materials from waste streams to be recycled, with high quality and maximum efficiency;
• identify, measure and map the physical and chemical properties of contaminated soils in a rapid, non-invasive and non-destructive way using artificial intelligence systems;
• develop logic to be applied to the sampling and treatment of contaminated soils

no prerequisites

The program includes an introduction to soil sampling methods and the main analytical techniques for their characterization. Depending on the number of students, the course includes laboratory or classroom exercises on the characterization of contaminated soils and the related data processing

Students can be divided into groups and each group will be assigned to study a real problem relating to the process of characterization and remediation of contaminated soil.
The preparation of a presentation describing the work carried out in the laboratory is expected, which will be an integral part of the final evaluation.

Material provided by the teacher

The teaching activity will be organized by combining different models: lectures, in-depth seminars, laboratory experiences, group work with classroom presentation and writing a written research paper.

suggested but not mandatory

During the course the students will be divided into groups and each group will be assigned to study a real problem relating to the sampling and/or physical treatment of contaminated soil.
The work will be carried forward during the course with periodic checks through oral presentations.
The evaluation will be carried out through the presentation of the final project

simulations and exercises will be scheduled during the course if necessary