THT271 Introduction to Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology

Credits (ECTS):10

Course responsible:Zakhar Maletskyi

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Engelsk

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:

For the 10 ECTS course, around 250 hours of work is typically expected. That means that in addition to structured teaching, group and individual work is expected every week. Individual work also includes readings suggested in the course outline.

Expected workload:

Individual work on capstone project (writing) and group work on capstone project (discussions) - 60%
Classes - 15%
Field trips and reports - 3%
Other work: individual studies (reading), project presentation, exam - 22%

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in the spring parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in the spring parallel.

About this course

The focus of this course is on water and wastewater treatment technologies.

Students will learn about processes and technologies for designing and upgrading water and wastewater treatment plants. The capstone assignment is to design water and wastewater treatment plants upgrades based on two respective case studies.

The goal of this course is to enable students

to justify the selection of processes and
to propose technologies of water and wastewater treatment for design and upgrade of treatment plants.

Knowledge of processes used for water and wastewater treatment and the ability to propose respective technologies will be the basis for evaluating student performance in the course.

Topics covered in the course:

Introduction to water and wastewater treatment technology
From water crisis to a water-wise world
Water supply and wastewater management in Norway and Europe
Physical and chemical quality of water and wastewater characteristics
Microbiological quality of water
Micropollutants and emerging water quality challenges
Coagulation-flocculation and chemical precipitation
Gravity separation
Depth filtration
Micro- and ultrafiltration
Flotation
Adsorption
Ion exchange
Reverse osmosis and nanofiltration
Disinfection
Conventional and advanced oxidation
Biological treatment
Aeration and stripping
Emerging processes
Principles of control and automation
Correction of aggressivity and remineralisation
Residuals management and sludge treatment
Future challenges and opportunities

Learning outcome

At the end of this course, students will know:

global context and status of the water sector
essential water quality indicators and wastewater characteristics
common physical, chemical, physical-chemical, and biological processes applied in the water sector
examples of water and wastewater treatment technologies

and will be able to

characterise the source water quality and wastewater characteristics and define treated water quality goals and standards
perform predesign studies, including process selection and development of design criteria
propose design alternatives for the selected processes

Learning activities
This course is offered as synchronous: it runs in real-time with students and instructors attending together.
The course contains technical lectures, readings, technical excursions, keynotes and workshops involving serious games and digital collaboration tools.
Teaching support
All instructors offer individual or group consultations in-person or online by appointment via email.
Students with special needs are entitled to special arrangements for their exams.
Please contact the special needs office for more information.
Prerequisites
A basic course in chemistry or water chemistry, for example KJM100 (Chemistry) or KJM220 (Water Chemistry).
Recommended prerequisites
A basic course in microbiology is recommended, for example equivalent to BIO130 Microbiology
Assessment method
Combined assessment, based on:
- Capstone project (term paper), which counts for 60 %
- Digital campus-based written exam (3 hours) during the exam period, which counts for 40 %. The exam can include both multiple-choice questions and other questions. Aids code B1 (distributed calculator, no other aids).
Grading rule: A - F

Written exam Grading: Letter grades Permitted aids: B1 Calculator handed out, no other aids Term paper Grading: Letter grades
Examiner scheme
The external and internal examiner jointly prepare the exam questions and the grading guide. The external examiner reviews the internal examiner's assessment of a random sample of candidates as a calibration at certain intervals according to the faculty's guidelines for exam grading.
Mandatory activity
Two field trips (technical excursions) and the capstone project (term paper) are mandatory. The capstone project counts towards the final grade.
Notes
The course is designed for master's students in the Water and environmental engineering program as well as other water-related programs (environmental science, food sciences, etc).
Teaching hours
The organized teaching time includes:
- Lectures: Four hours per week
- Exercise and supervision sessions: Two hours per week
- Field trips: Two half days
Admission requirements
REALFAG (special requirements in science)