55002 - Chemistry of Organic Pollutants

Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences (cod. 8518)

Learning outcomes

After this class, the student will know about the basic concepts on the principal classes of organic pollutants, their sources and effects, the chemical reactions interesting them or generating them.

Course contents

The ozone layer: chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and related compounds

Greenhouse gas emissions and global warming 

Fossil fuels - Biofuels

Photochemical smog and tropospheric chemistry 

Atmospheric particulate matter. The great smog of London. Acid rain.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): indoor and outdoor pollution.

Organic pollutants: physical and chemical properties, environmental distribution. 

Polycyclic aromati hydrocarbons (PAHs) 

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs): long range transport and bioaccumulation

Dioxins (PCDDs) - Benzofurane derivatives - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 

Pesticides- Fertilizers - Endocrine disruptors - Surfactants 

Organic polymers.

Waste management.

Biodegradation - Bioremediation - 

The green chemistry

Readings/Bibliography

C. Baird, "Chimica Ambientale", Zanichelli

S. E. Manahan, "Chimica dell'ambiente", Piccin

Teaching methods

Lectures with slide presentations.

Assessment methods

Oral examination of about 30 minutes, during which the student will expose his acquirements on the main organic pollutants. The student is expected to know the chemical structure, the physical and chemical  properties and the environmental behaviour (partitioning between phases, reactivity, persistence, transport, bioaccumulation), the main antropic sources and the main effects on the biotic and abiotic world.    

Teaching tools

Videobeamer

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Pieraccini