Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering

The Environmental Engineering Program leads to the B.S. Degree in Environmental Engineering. The program offers basic knowledge in environmental engineering subjects that will allow students to understand and subsequently acquire additional knowledge in their specialized fields of interest, according to personal inclination and available opportunities. Courses are offered, among others, in the fields of water supply engineering, wastewater engineering, groundwater pollution and control, air pollution and control, solid waste and resource recovery engineering, hazardous waste management, occupational safety and health, environmental impact assessment, environmental toxicology, and pollution prevention engineering. Elective courses in the specialization component are offered. The students are encouraged to select their elective courses so that they best fit their interests, abilities and career opportunities.

Modern engineering is one of the great pillars of economic and social development. But development must not occur at the expense of environmental degradation. Therefore, the engineering design of urban, agricultural and industrial facilities must have environmental protection mechanisms or systems built in. The environmental engineer is the professional who is academically prepared to design these environmental protection mechanisms and systems; and to collaborate with other professionals in the creation of environmentally sound engineering works. Graduates from this program will have their place in government agencies with regulatory, construction or maintenance responsibilities; in design and consulting engineering firms; and in the industrial sector, especially in the type of industry that, because of its industrial operations, results in significant environmental impact. On the other hand, Environmental Engineering bachelors will be much better prepared to pursue successfully graduate degrees in this field if they so desire.

Mission

The mission of the Environmental Engineering Program is to prepare and motivate students from diverse backgrounds to achieve excellence through intellectual, humanistic, scientific, and technological advancements on their way to becoming practicing professional environmental engineers with a sense of social responsibility.

Graduation Requirements

PREPARATORY STUDIES: All students who are admitted to the Environmental Engineering Program must show evidence that they have acquired the academic abilities and skills necessary to progress through this major. Those not demonstrating the complete acquisition of these abilities and skills (as reflected by the results of their College Entrance Examination Board tests, results in P.U.P.R.’s placement test, previous university experience, and other tests or criteria) will be required to take preparatory courses. These courses are designed to help the students overcome deficiencies in languages, mathematics and science. These preparatory courses are in addition to the 173 credit-hours of the Environmental Engineering Program. The preparatory courses are the following:

PREPARATORY STUDIES COMPONENT
(MAXIMUM OF 31 CREDIT-HOURS)

(*) To be taken by students who have not taken a Biology course in High School.

LABORATORIES: The Environmental Engineering Curriculum requires the following laboratory courses:

• Two General Chemistry and one Organic Chemistry Laboratories


• Three Physics Laboratories


• Environmental Microbiology Laboratory


• Fluid Mechanics Laboratory


• Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory


• Environmental Engineering Laboratory I and Environmental Engineering Laboratory II


• The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department also has on campus a Civil and Environmental Engineering Simulations Laboratory

Curriculum Sequence

Course Description

ENVE 4110- WATER SUPPLY ENGINEERING: PUMPING, STORAGE, DISTRIBUTION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: CE 3402
Water demand calculations. Availability of water. Reservoirs. Distribution reservoirs and service storage. Wells. Types of aqueducts. Distribution systems. Analysis of flow in pipeline networks. Head loss. Design of piping networks. Selection and analysis of pumps.

ENVE 4120- WATER SUPPLY ENGINEERING: WATER QUALITY AND TREATMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: SCIE 2110, SCIE 2240, and CE 3402
Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. Drinking Water Standards. Water sources. Characteristics and design of the water treatment processes. Rapid mixing, chemical feeding, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, and other operations and processes. Processing and disposal of sludge generated at the water treatment plants.

ENVE 4130- WASTEWATER ENGINEERING: COLLECTION AND PUMPING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 4110
Fundamentals of pipe and open channel flow. Wastewater sources and flow rates. Design of sewers and sewer appurtenances. Prevention and control of infiltration and inflow. Occurrence and control of the biological transformations in sewers. Design of pumping stations. Selection and analysis of pump systems.

ENVE 4140- WASTEWATER ENGINEERING: TREATMENT, DISPOSAL, REUSE
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 4120
Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of wastewater. Sources of wastewater. Design of facilities for physical, chemical and biological treatment of wastewater: pre-treatment units, sedimentation, activated sludge, trickling filters, lagoons, and disinfection. Advanced wastewater treatment. Design of facilities for the treatment and disposal of sludge. Effluent disposal and reuse. Regulatory agencies and their effluent quality standards.

ENVE 4150- GROUNDWATER POLLUTION AND CONTROL
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: ENVE 4120 and CE 4202
Overview of groundwater hydrology. Groundwater pollution sources. Pollutant transport and fate considerations. Flow and solute transport modeling. Pollutant source prioritization. Groundwater monitoring. Planning and analysis. Groundwater pollution control: chemical, biological and innovative treatment technologies. Groundwater quality management.

ENVE 4160- UNIT OPERATIONS AND PROCESSES IN INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 4140
Sources and characteristics of industrial wastewater. Equalization, neutralization, sedimentation, oil separation, flotation, coagulation and precipitation, air stripping, biological treatment processes, adsorption, ion exchange, chemical oxidation, and miscellaneous treatment processes. Sludge handling and disposal.

ENVE 4210- AIR POLLUTION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: SCIE 2240 and ENGI 3430
Definition and general listing of air pollutants. Sources and effects of air pollutants. Federal legislation and regulatory trends. Meteorology. Dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. General control methods for particulate matter, gases and vapors, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and trace metals. Atmospheric photochemical reactions: ozone formation and smog. Emission standards for mobile sources. General odor control methods.

ENVE 4220- AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DESIGN
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 4210
Engineering principles applied to the solution of air pollution problems. Characteristics and design considerations: a) incinerators for control of VOC emissions, b) fixed bed adsorbers, c) flue gas desulfurization systems, d) systems for the control of nitrogen oxides, e) cyclonic devices, f) electrostatic precipitators, and g) fabric filters. Cost estimation methodology in air pollution control.

ENVE 4310- SOLID WASTE AND RESOURCE RECOVERY ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: SCIE 2240 and ENGI 3430
Sources, types, composition and properties of municipal solid waste. Solid waste generation and collection. Disposal of solid wastes: the landfill method. Design, operation, and closure of landfills. Control of gases and leachate in landfills. Materials separation and processing technologies. Thermal, biological, and chemical conversion technologies. Recycling of materials found in municipal solid waste. Solid waste management and planning issues.

ENVE 4410- ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 4140
Nature, sources, pathways of toxic substances in the environment and their impact on humans and other life forms. Cellular mechanisms of environmental causes of disease. Xenobiotic metabolism. Quantitative toxicology.

ENVE 5310- HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: ENVE 4310 and ENVE 4410
Definitions and characterization of hazardous wastes. Environmental legislation: TSCA, RCRA and CERCLA. Site assessment. Partitioning, sorption, and exchange at surfaces. Dynamics of transport away from the source. Waste minimization and resource recovery. Approaches to hazardous waste minimization, remediation, treatment and disposal.

ENVE 5410- OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 5310
System safety. Safety management and regulations. Psychology. Industrial hygiene. Ergonomics. Workers’ compensation. Accident causation and investigation. Fire science. Hazardous materials. Workplace violence. Training.

ENVE 5420- ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: ENVE 4140, ENVE 4210, and ENVE 4310
Analysis, evaluation, coordination, and preparation of environmental impact studies. Identification and description of the environmental setting, applicable environmental regulations, impact prediction, evaluation of the impacts, mitigation measures and environmental monitoring. Decision methods for the evaluation of alternatives. Public participation in environmental decision making processes and environmental justice principles.

ENVE 5430- POLLUTION PREVENTION ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: ENVE 4160, ENVE 4220, and ENVE 5310
An introduction to the theory, principles and practices related to pollution prevention, environmental legislation, resources usage and conservation, and environmentally benign design for products, processes and manufacturing systems. Environmental impacts of waste from manufacturing operations, and life-cycle assessment that include post-use product disposal, environmental cycles of materials, sustainability, and principles of environmental economics will be thoroughly covered. Principles of process design and economic analysis are integrated in the solution of improved manufacturing processes, and technologies that can be used to minimize pollution. Environmental Accounting and Financial Analysis of pollution prevention projects are presented to assess the effectiveness of proposed process modifications for capital budgeting considerations and managerial decision-making. Several computer projects involving numerical solutions for modification of process design, waste accountability, resource recovery, and financial accounting models are required.

ENVE 5511- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY I
One credit-hour. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 4140
Laboratory techniques to determine the properties of water and wastewater. Sampling: collection, storage and preservation. Tests for physical characteristics: color, turbidity, temperature and solids content (total, settleable, suspended, volatile and fixed). Tests for chemical characteristics: pH, alkalinity, hardness, chlorine, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, BOD and COD. Tests for biological characteristics: fecal and total coliform. Other tests such as meteorological factors measurements and jar test. Experiments focused on process monitoring and control as part of the water resources and environmental engineering design processes.

ENVE 5513- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY II
One credit-hour. Two two-hour laboratory periods per week. Pre-requisites: ENVE 4210, ENVE 4310, and ENVE 5511
Laboratory and field techniques used in the determination of the physical and chemical characteristics of wastewater, air, soils, and solid wastes:
1) Characterization of ions in wastewater.
2) Analysis of metals in wastewater by atomic absorption.
3) Monitoring of air quality: particulate matter, metals, humidity, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, methane and VOCs.
4) Characterization of solid wastes: apparent specific gravity and bulk density, gravimetric determination of total solvent extractable content, flammability potential, oxidizers, pH, and sulfides. Tests for leachates.
5) Chemical characterization of soils.
6) Adsorption.
7) Chromatography.

ENVE 5600- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING PRACTICE
Three credit-hours. By agreement Pre-requisite: Approval of Department Head
Environmental engineering design procedures are applied to the solution of problems under the supervision of a non-faculty member. The problem may deal with any of the fields of civil engineering, as determined by the instructor.

ENVE 5610- INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: Approval of Department Head
Definition of industrial ecology. History of industry-environment interaction. Societal interactions that influence industrial technology. Budgets used to introduce life-cycle tools in industrial ecology. Environmentally responsible design of products and processes. Techniques for incorporating industrial ecology into manufacturing activities. 56

ENVE 5620- ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: Approval of Department Head.
Elements of a successful audit program. Legal issues. Managing an audit program. Conducting the environmental audit and the opening and closing conferences. Preparing quality audit reports. Audit and regulatory inspections protocol.

ENVE 5630- ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: Approval of Department Head
Introduction to the technical, economic, political, administrative and social forces that influence the environmental quality regulations and the use of natural resources. Review of federal and state laws, regulations and programs enacted to minimize air, land and water pollution. Review of public participation mechanisms.

ENVE 5640- CHEMICAL FATE AND TRANSPORT IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: Approval of Department Head
Fundamental principles of mass transport. Chemical partitioning and chemical transformation in surface waters, groundwater or subsurface environments and in the atmosphere. Controlling physical, chemical, and biological process. Presentation of mathematical models for chemical transport and transformations within these three environmental media.

ENVE 5650- STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENGI 3110
Basic concepts of structural analysis and structural design. Concrete and steel structures design. Design of rectangular and circular tanks. Design of tank roofs. Design of culverts and conduits.

ENVE 5660- BIOREMEDIATION
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: Approval of Department Head
Basic concepts of biological processes involved in the environmental pollutants degradation by microorganisms. Microbial metabolism, biotransformation of aromatic hydrocarbons (aerobic/anaerobic), halogenated organics (aerobic/anaerobic) transformations, heavy metals interactions, biokinetics. Bioremediation technologies: biosparging, bioslurry, composting, biofiltration, bioventing, and phytoremediation.

ENVE 5670- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH I
Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture and laboratory period per week. Pre-requisite: Approval of Department Head
Introduction to research methodologies including: title and objectives development, literature review, research justification, experiment or analytical design, research cost estimate. and proposal preparation. Selection of instrumentation and tests. Open-ended research project in a specific area of Environmental Engineering.

ENVE 5680- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH II
Three credit-hours. One four-hour lecture and laboratory period per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 5670
Continuation and conclusion of the research project started in ENVE 5670. Detailed literature review. Application of probability and statistics. Experimentation or analytical development. Results manipulation and evaluation. Development of scientific publication and report, requiring an oral presentation in English.

ENVE 5910- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CAPSTONE DESIGN I
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisites: ENVE 4160, ENVE 4220, ENVE 5310, and ENVE 5420
Open ended design project to correlate all areas of environmental engineering to apply, at a high level, the principles of engineering design and science studied in previous courses and to develop awareness of social and economic effects of engineering projects. Projects are equivalent to those normally experienced by a beginning professional. Oral presentation and written reports will cover alternates to be considered at the initial stage of preliminary designs.

ENVE 5920- ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CAPSTONE DESIGN II
Three credit-hours. Two two-hour lecture periods per week. Pre-requisite: ENVE 5910
A continuation of ENVE 5910, with special attention to cover alternates considered, design assumptions, costs, safety and feasibility. Oral presentation and written reports will be used to develop the objectives.