SFKKA9101U Aquatic Environmental Chemistry

Volume 2013/2014
Education
MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences - elective, MSc in Medicinal Chemistry - elective, MSc in Health and Environment - compulsory, Cand.Scient.Pharm. - elective, Cand.Pharm. - elective
MSc Programme in Agriculture - core course
MSc Programme in Environmental Chemistry and Health - compulsory
Content

The course covers the following topics:

Aquatic environmental issues:

  • The geochemical processes underlying the formation of lakes, seas and running water and chemical composition of these waters.
  • The carbonate chemistry and how it governs pH in natural waters.
  • Overview of typical pollutants in water and sediment matrices.
  • Metal solubility, complexation and speciation of in aquatic environments.
  • Partitioning of pollutants from water to living media (bioconcentration and biomagnification).
  • Redox chemistry in aqueous systems.
  • Abiotic and biotic transformation processes of organic chemicals in aquatic systems such as hydrolysis, photolysis and biotransformation including kinetics, transformation pathways and formation of transformation products
  • Mass balance modelling of pollutants in aquatic systems such as lakes.

Health science aspects:
Human health and water pollution

  • Consumption via contaminated food
  • Water borne diseases caused by microbes

Human health and drinking water quality

  • Pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other xenobiotic residues in drinking water in industrialised and developing countries and health consequences hereof
  • Arsenic in drinking waters

This course is running in parallel to the course in Terrestrial Environmental Chemistry (LIFE-KU) in module C. Therefore, the lecture on general water and soil pollution is given as a common lecture between the two courses. Lectures on biodegradation kinetics/pathways, metal speciation and redox processes are given in both courses but focussing on water (PHARMA) and soil (LIFE) compartment, respectively.

Teaching and Learning Methods
The course will in 2013/14 be based on lectures, kollokvier and a theoretical student project. Lectures and kollokvier are based on a textbook, lecture notes and scientific papers. The project work focuses on selected pollutants and draws on the general principles in chemical and biological processes (such as hydrolysis, photolysis and bio-transformation) that are fundamentally important in aquatic environmental chemistry.

Learning Outcome

Formål / Objective

To give students:

  1. Basic understanding of the formation and chemical composition of the main types of aquatic systems
  2. Insight into the inorganic and organic chemical processes of aquatic systems
  3. Detailed knowledge about methods available for predicting the fate of chemical substances in aquatic environments
  4. Knowledge about how environmental problems related to aquatic systems can be quantified (calculated)

Målbeskrivelse / Course outcome

To obtain in-depth understanding of the chemical, geochemical and biochemical processes occurring in aquatic environments and to be able to quantify the importance of the different processes.

Knowledge:

  • Classify and give an overview of the main inorganic and organic pollutants in aquatic ecosystems.
  • Summarise the processes and factors governing the chemical composition of clean water versus polluted water
  • Demonstrate a solid knowledge about the processes significant for environmental problems in aquatic systems, including the kinetics of such processes.
  • Acquire knowledge on the methods available for predicting the fate of chemical substances in an aquatic environment.
  • Summarise pollutants and microbes present in drinking water and/or surface water which are important for human health
  • Identify human health problems related to polluted water and drinking water in industrialised and developing countries.

Skills

  • Apply and demonstrate the use of general principles from chemistry, physics and microbiology in environmental chemistry.
  • Quantify partitioning of pollutants into living media
  • Apply kinetic modelling to quantify the transformation of pollutants
  • Work in a laboratory with selected experimental techniques and procedures in transformation studies of pollutants.
  • Communicate aquatic environmental issues in an oral presentation and in writing.

Competences

  • Judge the relative importance of various partitioning and transformation processes on the overall distribution and fate of chemical substances in the aquatic environment.
  • Compute simple mass balances of different aquatic compartments.
  • Quantify the distribution of chemical substances in aquatic environments by including exchange of the chemical substance to sediment and air as well as transformation processes.
  • Discuss the impact of chemical substances in aquatic systems on non-target organism and humans.
  • Corporate with fellow students about carrying out and reporting laboratory experiments.

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Literature
  • Schwarzenbach, Gschwend & Imboden: Environmental Organic Chemistry. 2rd edition, 2003, Wiley-Interscience (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) Hoboken, New Jersey, USA (Hardback: ISBN 0-471-35053-2 paperback: ISBN 0-471-35750-2)
  • Other course materials include scientific articles. These materials are available from the course home page.
The course presumes basic knowledge at university bachelor level in chemistry including both inorganic and organic chemistry, biology, mathematics and physics. In addition, introduction to physical chemistry will be helpful.
Lectures and kollokvier: 40 hours
Project work: 56 hours
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Colloquia
  • 36
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Lectures
  • 16
  • Preparation
  • 60
  • Project work
  • 74
  • Seminar
  • 24
  • Total
  • 211
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination under invigilation
Written assignment
Prøveform / Examination type:
Written report (50%) and an oral examination (50%)
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Criteria for exam assesment

Beskrivelse af prøven og bedømmelse / Description of examination and assessment criteria

Beståkrav / Pass criteria

The final grade is based on the average of the two partial grades for the written project report and oral exam. Both the written project report and the oral exam must be assessed by at least 02.
A partial grade is valid for up to two years, after which the entire course must be repeated.
The Department of Pharmacy and Analytical Chemistry is responsible for storing all partial grades for two years.

Karakterbeskrivelse / Description of grades

12 - Excellent performance
The student must reach an extraordinary degree of meeting the course objectives by demonstrating:
  • All skills and competences listed for grade 07.
  • The use of clearly understandable and cohesive language as well as relevant use of numbers to communicate knowledge about the aquatic environment, biological and chemical processes herein, with convincing use of correct terminology for the field.
  • Extensive knowledge of the literature about the project study compounds fate in the environment as well as the ability to analyse, take a critical position on and summarize the literature.
  • An in-depth understanding of the importance of transformation of pollutants for their environmental fate and toxicology.
7 - Good performance
The student must reach a good degree of meeting the course objectives by demonstrating:
  • Solid knowledge about the aquatic environment, biological and chemical processes herein, with the use of understandable and cohesive language, including specialist terminology
  • Substantial knowledge of the literature about the fate of the project study compounds in the environment as well as the ability to summarizing the literature in an understandable manner.
  • Skills in quantifying partitioning and transformation kinetics of pollutants in the aquatic environment.
  • Ability to perform simple mass balance calculation of pollutant in aquatic compartments.
  • A good understanding of the importance of transformation of pollutants for their environmental fate and toxicology.
  • Ability to discuss and communicate general aquatic environmental issues orally and in written text.

02 - Acceptable performance
The student must reach an acceptable degree of meeting the course objectives by demonstrating:
  • Basic knowledge about the aquatic environment, biological and chemical processes herein, although with uncertain use of specialist terminology.
  • Partial knowledge of the literature concerning the fate of the project study compounds in the environment.
  • Basic skills in quantifying partitioning and transformation kinetics of pollutants in the aquatic environment.
  • Ability to discuss and communicate simple aquatic environmental issues orally and in written text.