37358 - Chemical Analysis of Environmental Quality

Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Moduli: Daniele Fabbri (Modulo 1) Cristian Torri (Modulo 2)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2)
  • Campus: Ravenna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Environmental Assessment and Management (cod. 8418)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students have a knowledge of the chemical determinations adopted in the evaluation of environmental quality. They should be able to understand and apply methodologies in chemical environmental monitoring of pollutants in different compartments, criteria to assess the reliability of chemical data and tools for their interpretation in relation to the composition of environmental matrices (air, water, soil/sediment), to the sources of contamination and their effect on the environment.

Course contents

Evaluation of environmental quality. Environmental quality standards. Contamination and pollution. Chemical substances, molecular identity, natural and artificial, additives, byproducts. Elements and speciation. Priority and emergenging pollutants, principal pollutant classes (VOCs, VHOCs, PAHs, POPs, PPCPs, etc.). Chemical monitoring, primary and secondary constituents. Evaluation of  analytical results, method validation, figures of merit.Chemical characteristics of contaminants and matrices, Vapour pressure, water solubility, distribution coefficients.  Chemical transformations, photodegradation. TEQ.  Background levels. Source analysis, molecular markers, fingerprinting, compound ratios, isotopic ratios. Information literacy in chemical monitoring. Case studies.

Readings/Bibliography

Documents are quoted in the slides of the course available by UniBo Intranet.

Teaching methods

Lecturing, tutorials, utilisation of data base for searching analytical methods, exercises from case study, laboratory.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. Students will be required to discuss a journal article dealing with a case study of chemical monitoring. The following aspects will be examined: bibliography, objectives and conclusion on environmental quality, method validation, presentation of data, pollutant and matrix characteristics.

Teaching tools

Videoprojector. PC. Data base. Laboratory equipment for chemical analysis.

Links to further information

http://www.unibo.it/docenti/dani.fabbri

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Fabbri

See the website of Cristian Torri