Environmental engineering

Environmental engineering is a broad science devoted to remediation of all forms of pollution. Much of it deals with preventing pollution by application of chemical engineering and mechanical engineering principles to destroy or remove the pollutants before they get into the environment.

Example applications

A good example is the control of air pollution from combustion sources such as the flue gases from the combustion of fuels in furnaces where special burner designs are used to remove nitrogen oxides and flue gas desulfurization systems are used to remove sulfur dioxide from the combustion flue gases. Currently, a great deal of research and development is being devoted to the removal, capture and disposal of carbon dioxide from flue gases.

Water pollution control relies heavily on chemistry, microbiology, biology, chemical engineering and civil engineering. In some cases, as little as 0.0001% or less of a noxious substance can contaminate a resource such as water. For example, sewage contamination of 10 parts per million (1% = 10,000 ppm) can contaminate a water resource such as a lake. The maintenance of drinking water quality is even more restrictive because the limits of many contaminants are significantly less than one part per billion (one part per billion is the equivalent of one second in 31.688 years, or 31 years, 8.5 months).

Environmental engineering work areas

Environmental engineering involves water and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, and public health issues as well as a knowledge of environmental engineering law. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects.

Environmental engineers perform hazardous-waste management studies to evaluate the impact of such hazards, advise on their treatment and containment, and develop regulations to prevent hazardous waste problems. Environmental engineers also design municipal water supply and industrial wastewater treatment systems as well as being concerned with issues such as the effects of acid rain, ozone depletion, water pollution and air pollution from automobile exhausts and industrial sources.

The working definition of environmental engineering has been broadened over the past few years to encompass drainage and hydrology design work and the development of drainage plans and stream flow and flood zones from developed areas. Part of this expansion also involves the area of property risk assessment evaluation and restoration and remediation of various types of contaminated environments including soils and waterways.