INTRODUCTION TO

ENVIRONMENTAL
STUDIES
Part II
Part I already covered by
Civil Engg. Faculty
 CE-102 Civil Engineering Department
 Lectures: 3/week ; 21 total ; 3 credits
 Evaluation : 50 marks
MTE : 40 marks
CW : 10 Tutorial, Assignments,
Regularity in class

Soft copy of lectures

 Suggested Books
S. Name of Books/Author(s)/Publisher Year of
No. Publ.

1 Introduction to Environmental 1998

Engineering, M.L. Davis and D.A.
Cornwell, McGraw Hill, New York 3/e

2 Introduction to Environmental 1998

Engineering and Science, G.M. Masters,
Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi. 2/e

3 Environmental Engineering, H.S. Peavy, 1986

D.R. Rowe and G. Tchobanoglous,
McGraw Hill, New York
 Why environmental studies?
 Intergovernmental Penal on Climate Change (IPCC), 1988
– 31st August 2013: 25 years
– UNEP and WMO of United Nations Organization
 Substantial changes are happening to our environment
Air, water and soil being affected
 2007 Nobel Peace Prize: IPCC
R.K. Pachauri and Al Gore
 US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
 Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi
 State Pollution Control Boards
 Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi
 Five elements
1. Water, जल
2. Air, वायु
3. Earth, पथ्ृ वी
4. Space, आकाश
5. Fire, अग्नि
 Water
1. All the living systems need water and contain
water
2. Life on earth is due to water, 70% water cover
3. God of water, इन्द्र (Indra)
4. Ganga water, (Shelf life: long); BOD/COD
5. Water pollution
Coca cola, Pepsi-CSE, New Delhi : Lindane, DDT etc.
Effluents from industries and agrichemicals (Punjab hub of cancer
patients)
Ganga and Yamuna rivers
Ground water, lakes, sea water is contaminated, treatment strategies of
treatment already dealt with in first half of syllabus
 Air
1. Air needed by all the living systems
2. Without air no survival
3. God of air, वायु (Vayu), Prāna
4. Pranayam : oxygen transfer rate
5. 78.08% Nitrogen and 20.95% Oxygen + other gases
6. Combustion: CO2, NOx, SOx, SPM, RSPM, Hg,
arsenic, HCs, VOCs etc.
Paper industry: Dioxins 100 times lethal than cyanide
Carbon dioxide: 400 ppm (May 2, 2013)
280 ppm (1750)
Greenhouse gases: CO2, N2O, H2O, O3, CH4, CFCs
 Earth
1. We eat which is grown on earth
2. Photosynthesis process: biomass
3. Goddess of earth, पथ्ृ वी, Prithvi
4. Soil is getting contaminated
Pollution air/water
Mango trees near Roorkee: no fruits
Micronutrients in herbs: much lower
Sustainability ? Recent Uttarakhand
tragedy-प्रलय (Havoc)
 Space
1. Solar energy
2. Photosynthesis process
3. Solar energy into biomass and other forms of
energy: hydro, coal, petroleum, wind etc.
4. God of space, आकाश, Aakash
5. O3 depletion: CFCs and space shuttles,
rockets etc. , UV radiations: human skin,
cataract, plant kingdom damages, buildings ?
 Fire
1. Combustion
2. Carbon and Hydrogen
3. CI and SI engines, cooking, thermal power
plants: steam and gas turbines, steam engine
4. Goddess of fire, अग्नि , Agni
5. Because of fire air pollution
6. Every thing is getting into CO2 and H2O
which are converted back by photosynthesis
process to complex biomass species and the
process goes on …..goes on…..
 Environment
1.Atmosphere: layer of air that surrounds
our planet
2.Hydrosphere: liquid envelop that
surrounds our planet
3.Lithosphere: solid earth, including earth’s
crust and part of the upper mantle
4.Biosphere: living organisms that inhabit the
above spheres
 Environment
• Atmosphere…air to breathe
Days w/o
• Hydrosphere …water to drink water
• Lithosphere …food to eat
• Biosphere …food to eat

Months w/o food

Minutes Resources: fossil fuels,
without air ores, uranium, thorium
Environment
 Atmosphere
Age of earth : 4.6 Billion year
Oxygen : 0% 2 Billion years ago
Total mass of atmosphere: 5*1015 Tonne
:1/1,200,000 of earth
Constant components (fix over time and location)
Nitrogen 78.08%
Oxygen 20.95%
Argon 0.93%
Neon, Helium, Krypton 0.0001%
 Atmosphere
Variable components (variable with time and
location)
Carbon dioxide 0.04%
Water vapor 0-4%
Methane traces
Sulfur dioxide traces
Ozone traces
Nitrogen oxides traces

Others: dust, volcanic ash, snow and rain

Layers of the Earth's atmosphere
Atmospheric temperature: vertical structure
Vertical structure of atmospheric pressure
 Atmosphere zones
The zones are not sharply delineated
and their elevation varies with both
time of year and latitude
 Troposphere
1.Thickness from sea level: 18 km; Everest
8848 m
2.Pressure at top is 10% of atmosphere 76
mm of Hg
3.Air movement is vertical as well horizontal
4.Weather/clouds formation/rains
5.Air cools progressively with height
6.Temperature: -6.5 oC/km
next
 Tropopause
1.Thin layer between troposphere and
stratosphere: 4 km
2.Air is completely dry
3.The elevation where the temperature
no longer decreases with altitude
next
 Stratosphere
1.This extends up to 50 km and comprises
of ozone
2.Ozone is 2-8 ppm
3.In the middle and upper stratosphere,
air temperature increases progressively
with height
4.Heated by ozone
next
 Stratopause
The elevation where the temperature no
longer increases with altitude
 Mesosphere
1.Mesosphere is from 50 to 90 km
2.Temperature again decreases here
3.Intermediate zone between stratosphere
and thermosphere
4.Air cools progressively with elevation
 Mesopause

The elevation above the mesosphere where

the temperature no longer cools with altitude
 Ionosphere
1.Next is thermosphere or ionosphere
extending to 350 km
2. Oxygen is in ionic form heat is absorbed
3. Temperate rises again
 Outer limit of atmosphere
1. Difficult to define
2. At 32,000 km, the Earth’s gravitation pull equals
centrifugal force of the Earth’s rotation
 Ozone measurement
Developed by G.M.B. Dobson, 1920s; Professor at Oxford University

All the ozone over a certain

area is compressed to oC
and 1 atm and forms a 3 mm
thick slab corresponding to
300 DU

1 DU = 0.01 mm thickness of ozone at oC and 1 atm (STP)

US sky : 300 DU
Minimum at Antarctica : 200 DU
Dobson Ozone Spectrophotometer
Total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS)
Ozone holes: when concentration of ozone reduces more than 50%
Antarctica: 25 million km2 in 2001
Antarctic ozone

Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer

 Hydrosphere
1. 70.8% earth’s surface is covered by water
2. 60-70% of living world
3. Physiological reactions in aqueous phase
4. Total quantum of water : 1.4 B km3
5. Salty sea water : 97.6%
6. Fresh water : 2.4%
7. Renewable in nature next
8. Important food source
9. Easily polluted
10. Must be treated (already dealt in I part)
11. Major industrial and agriculture input
Rain harvesting
 Distribution of fresh water
Location % of total
Snow, ice, glaciers 86.9
Accessible ground water 12.0
Lakes, reservoirs, ponds 0.37
Saline lakes 0.31
Soil moisture 0.19
Moisture in living organisms 0.19
Atmosphere 0.039
Wetlands 0.011
Rivers, streams, canals 0.0051
 Freshwater as a resource in India
Renewable through evaporation from
the seas and precipitation (solar powered)
Demands for freshwater include:
 Agriculture & livestock (79.6%)
 Power generation (13.6%)
 Domestic(3.5%)
 Industry (3.3%)
Demands increase with increasing population
Unequal distribution of freshwater
Interlinking of rivers: solution of water problem
Lithosphere
 Lithosphere
1.Land area: 26%
2.Supports all the living systems and provides
a wealth of raw materials which has made
the civilization to develop
 Lithosphere: India
 2.4% of world’s land
 15% of world’s population
 Per capita land availability, ha
Russia 8.43
USA 7.39
Australia 6.60
China 0.98
India 0.48
 Lithosphere: India
 Land use categories, Mha
Cultivable land 142 (46%)
Forest land 67 (22%)
Nonagricultural land 20 (6.5%)
Barren and pasture land 55 (17.8%)
Fallow land 25 (8.0%)
 Mineral exploration
Rich in coal, crude, bauxite, copper, gold,
nickel, uranium, thorium etc.
 Lithosphere: India
 Food resource
Self sufficient in agriculture produce
I in world in sugar production I in
milk production, 97 million tonnes
Live stock, 25% of world
 Forest resource
21.68 % forest cover
reduction in global warming
 What is Ecology?
 Study of interactions between organisms
and their environment.

Ernst Haeckel – coined term

Ecology in 1866

Greek word οἶκος, "house"; λογία,

study of
 Levels of Organization
 Ecologists study
organisms ranging from
the various levels of
organization:
– Species/individuals
– Population
– Community
– Ecosystem
– Biome
– Biosphere
 Species

 Group of similar organisms that can breed and

produce fertile offspring
 Population
 group of organisms, all of the same species, which
interbreed and live in the same area.
 Community
 an assemblage of different populations that live
together
 Ecosystem
 Collection of organisms that live in a place with the
nonliving environment
 Biome
 Group of ecosystems with the same climate and
dominant communities

Tropical rain forest Temperate grassland Temperate forest Tundra

Tropical dry forest Desert Northwestern Mountains and

coniferous forest ice caps
Tropical savanna Temperate woodland
and shrubland Boreal forest
(Taiga)
Organization Hierarchy
 Characteristics of ecosystems
• All ecosystems have a constant source of
energy ( sun)
• Cycles to reuse raw materials
Water, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus cycles

An ecosystem comprises of the biotic or living

( viz. plants and animals)
and the abiotic or non-living components
( viz. air, water, minerals, soil)
Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs
 Autotrophs – make  Heterotrophs – get
their own food so their food from
they are called another source so
PRODUCERS they are called
CONSUMERS
Main forms of energy for autotrophs
 Sunlight
– The main source of energy for
life on earth
– Photosynthesis: leaf a chemical
reactor

 Chemical
– Inorganic compounds
– Chemosynthesis : opium,
ginseng, garlic (selenium)
 Types of Consumers
Herbivores- only eat plants Carnivores - only eat meat Omnivores
Eat plants and meat

wildebeest

Detritivores and
Decomposers
Feed on plant and animal
remains
 Decomposers /detritivores

Vultures vanished from India, Pakistan (DDT - cow/buffalos)

Polythene/plastics: no decomposition; banning of PB by States,

Uttarakhand, Choking of sewer lines; agriculture sector: moisture,
nitrogen fixation, Spills of crude in oceans.
 Energy flow through an ecosystem

 Energy flows through

an ecosystem in ONE
direction,
– Sun

– Autotrophs

– Heterotrophs

Synthetic fertilizers: N, P, K
Energy flow in ecosystems
 Energy flow in ecosystems
Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O + energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2

Respiration
Stored energy is released in the reverse reaction

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

Released energy is available to drive other reactions,

e.g. cell metabolism and growth
I. C. engines/combustion processes same reaction
Difference: temperature
 Feeding relationships
 Food Chain – steps of  Food Web –
organisms transferring network of all the
energy by eating & food chains in an
being eaten ecosystem
Food web
 Ecological pyramids
 Trophic Level – each step in a food chain or food web

Biomass Pyramid

Energy Pyramid
Number Pyramid
Trophic levels
Trophic levels
 Why are nutrients important ?

 Every living
organism needs
nutrients to build
tissues and carry out
95% of our body is made of…
essential life
1)functions
OXYGEN.
2) CARBON
3) HYDROGEN
4) NITROGEN
 Availability of nutrients
 If a nutrient is in short supply, it will limit
organisms growth. It is called a limiting
nutrient and is in accordance of Leibig’s Law
 When a limiting nutrient is dumped into a lake
or pond, an algal bloom occurs and this can
disrupt the ecosystem
Matter movement through an ecosystem

 Unlike the one way flow of 1. WATER CYCLE

energy, matter is recycled
within & between ecosystems
2. NUTRIENT
 Nutrients are passed between CYCLES
organisms & the environment a) CARBON CYCLE
through biogeochemical cycles
b) NITROGEN CYCLE
 Biogeochemical Cycles c) PHOSPHORUS
– Bio –life
– Geo – Earth CYCLE
– Chemi – chemical
WATER CYCLE
 CARBON CYCLE
CO2
4 PROCESSES MOVE
CARBON THROUGH
ITS CYCLE:
1) Biological
2) Geochemical
3) Mixed biochemical
4) Human Activity CO2
CO2

CO2

Carbonate rocks
GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE
(All values are in Billion Metric Tons Carbon)
 NITROGEN CYCLE
N2
in Atmosphere

Nitrogen-containing nutrients in
the biosphere include:
1) Ammonia (NH3)

2) Nitrate (NO3-)

3) Nitrite (NO2-)
ORGANISMS NEED N03- &
NITROGEN TO MAKE NH3
N02-
AMINO ACIDS FOR
BUILDING PROTEINS!!!
 N2
in Atmosphere

N03- &

N02-
NH3

Haber process: 1918

Nobel Prize
 PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
PHOSPHORUS FORMS PART OF IMPORTANT LIFE-SUSTAINING
MOLECULES (ex. DNA & RNA)

Cold drinks; pH: 3 Phosphatic

phosphoric acid fertilizers
 Natural succession
 Well Balanced Ecosystem changes over time
 Lake Shallow Lake (deposition of Silt)
Marsh Meadow Hardwood Forest
 Takes place long period of time and not
visible in human lifespan
 Can be affected by human activities such as
pollution
 ACCUMULATION OF POLLUTANTS IN
ENVIRONMENT

1.Conservative Pollutants:
Pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),
cynide, selenium etc.
heavy metals (mercury, copper, cadmium,
chromium, lead, nickel, zinc, tin etc. )
2. Nonconservative pollutants:
biodegradable organics, human waste,
animal waste
 ACCUMULATION OF POLLUTANTS
Bioaccumulation/Bioconcentration
increase in concentration of a pollutant
from the environment to the first
organism in a food chain: a pesticide in a crop

Biomagnification
increase in concentration of a
pollutant from one link in a
food chain to another: a pesticide in a crop chicken
Conditions:
 long life
 soluble in fats: animal life/human life human
 biologically active
 Biomagnification
Case study: Long Island Estuary, New York, USA
Levels of DDT, 1967 study, EPA
water to zooplankton 800x
 

zooplankton to fish #1
31x  

fish #1 to fish #2
1.7x  

fish #2 to gull
4.8x  

Overall
  202,368x
 Biomagnification
The level at which a given substance is
bioaccumulated depends on :
 The rate of uptake
 The mode of uptake (through the gills of a fish, ingested
along with food, contact with epidermis (skin) etc. …)
 How quickly the substance is eliminated from the organism,
transformation of the substance by metabolic processes, the
lipid (fat) content of the organism, the hydrophobicity of the
substance, environmental factors etc.
Conservative pollutants:
Biomagnification
 Biomagnification is the
bioaccumulation of a substance up
the food chain by transfer of
residues of the substance in
smaller organisms that are food
for larger organisms in the chain.
 Sequence of processes that results
in higher concentrations in
organisms at higher levels in the
food chain (at higher trophic
levels).
 These processes result in an
organism having higher
concentrations of a substance than
is present in the organism’s food.
 Biomagnification
 When partitioning concentrates a chemical in one
phase that is the food for a higher phase, the chemical
can further concentrate as we move up the food chain
 Bioconcentration / Bioaccumulation
Bioconcentration of a substance is correlated to the octanol-
water partitioning coefficient (or Haunsch partitioning
Coefficient) KOW of the substance.

The octanol/water partition coefficient (KOW) is defined as

the ratio of a chemical's concentration in the octanol phase
to its concentration in the aqueous phase of a two-phase
octanol/water system.
KOW = Concentration in octanol phase / Concentration in
aqueous phase.
Values of KOW can be considered to have some meaning in
themselves, since they represent the tendency of the
chemical to partition itself between an organic phase (e.g., a
fish) and an aqueous phase.
Bioconcentration / Bioaccumulation
Chemicals with low KOW values (e.g., less than 10) may
be considered relatively hydrophilic; they tend to have
high water solubilities, small soil/sediment adsorption
coefficients, and small bioconcentration factors for
aquatic life.

Conversely, chemicals with high KOW values (e.g., greater

than 104) are very hydrophobic.
Bioconcentration / Bioaccumulation
 Bioconcentration factor (BCF) is the concentration of a
particular chemical in a tissue per concentration of
chemical in water (reported as l/kg). This physical
property characterizes the accumulation of pollutants
through chemical partitioning from the aqueous phase
into an organic phase, such as fish.
 BCF = [Concentration of X in Organism, mg/kg ] /
[Concentration of X in Environment, mg/l]
 High potential BCF>1000; Moderate Potential
1000>BCF>250; Low potential 250>BCF.

BCF is also related to the Haunsch Partition Coefficient

by
log BCF = 0.79 x log KOW - 0.4
 Example
 Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has a water to
plankton BCF (partition coefficient) of 200,000
L/kg; a plankton to smelt (fish) magnification
factor of 7.5; and a smelt to lake trout
magification factor of 3.5. If the concentration
of HCB in the water is 1.0 ppt, will either fish
exceed the fish consumption standards:
5 ppm for general consumption
1 ppm for pregnant and nursing women
 Solution
Cplankton
K p/w 
Cwater
 5 L  ng   5 ng  mg
Cplankton   2 x 10 1    2 x 10   0.2
 kg  L   kg  kg

 mg 
C smelt  7 . 5  C plankton  mg
 7 . 5  0 . 2   1 . 5
 kg  kg

 mg  mg
C trout  3 . 5  C smelt   3 .5  1 . 5   5 . 25
 kg  kg
 Interpretation
 The lake trout exceed the general
consumption standard and both species
exceed the standard for pregnant and
nursing women
 Both could easily argued on the basis of
uncertainty
 PCB
 PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyls): Insulating materials
in transformers: impair thyroid functions and
neurotoxins.
 General Electric Released during 1947-1977 in Hudson
River, 300 km of Hudson River polluted
 Concentrated in bottom sediments—Consumed
by riverbed microorganisms-eaten by fish 2 ppm
conc.
 Contaminated sediments are removed, extensive
dredging & proper disposed off
Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethne (DDT)
Half life 15 years
Year Amount Remaining
0 100 kg
15 50 kg
30 25 kg
45 12.5 kg
60 6.25 kg
75 3.13 kg
90 1.56 kg
105 0.78 kg
120 0.39 kg
 DDT Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethne
 Used for malaria control and to protect crops from insects
 Biomagnification, not very toxic to human but adverse
impact of egg hatching by birds.
 Banned in 1972 and many bird population have recovered.
 In India thousands of tons of DDT was used to control
malarial mosquitoes between 1995 and 1996.
 Large numbers of vultures dying and have high levels of
DDT in their carcasses.
 Vultures are at the same level of the food chain as humans
and serve as sentinels warning of greater pesticide hazards
through indirect effects unless there is a change in the
Indian government's pesticide policy.
 Birds provide a valuable service to growers and to
the public through controlling insects.
 In 1950 Chinese officials grew concerned that
flocks of birds were allegedly devouring large
amounts of grain.
 Citizens killed over 800,000 sparrow birds. As a
consequence there were major outbreaks of insect
pests.
 Realizing their mistake the leaders changed course
and removed small birds from the list of scourges.
 It is difficult to know precisely how the killing of
birds by pesticides relates to pest insect
populations. However, the estimated bird losses due
to pesticides 67 million per year, far exceeds the
800,000 bird deaths in China that resulted in
greater insect numbers.
 OBJECTIVE: HOW CAN WE PREVENT THE DISTURBANCE OF
Environment ECOSYSTEM
OR HOW WE CAN RESTORE OUR ECOSYSTEM
If gases concentration Increase
by our activities , What happens
to our Ecosystem ???
If we cut lot of trees, What
happens to our Ecosystem ???

If we add DDT or other

pesticides, What happens to
If we add large biodegradable food chain/food web of our
pollutants & Nutrients, What Ecosystem ???
happens to our Ecosystem ???

If we add heavy metals, What If we add large amount of

happens to our Ecosystem ??? garbage, What happens to
our Ecosystem ???
 Numerical Problem

Compound X has an ether/water partition coefficient,

Ksoluble, of 4. If 11 g of compound X is dissolved in 100
mL of water,
(a) how many grams of Compound X will be in the organic
layer after one extraction with 100 mL of ether?
(b) How many grams of Compound X will be in the
organic layer after two sequential extractions using 50
mL portions of ether each time?
(c) Which of the two extractions is more effective?
 Solution
 Given that: K=Cether/Cwater=4; total mass of X
in water=11 g; volume of water=100 mL
(a) Case A: Single stage extraction with 100
mL ether.
Let x g of X gets extracted into ether layer.
K=[(x)/100]/[(11-x)/(100)]=4
x=8.8 g gets extracted into the ether layer.
This leaves 11-8.8=2.2 g remaining in H2O.
(b) Case B: Two parts with 50 mL ether each.
[(x)/50]/[(11-x)/(100)]=4
Solving , x=7.33 g in ether.
Mass of X remaining in water=11-7.33=3.67 g
 
[(x)/(50)]/[(3.67-x)/(100)]=4
Solving, x=2.45 g in ether.
Mass of X remaining in water=3.67-2.45=1.22 g
Total X extracted into ether=7.33+2.45=9.78 g
This leaves 11- 9.78=1.22 g in the water phase.
 
(c) Two 50 mL extractions is superior to 1 single 100 mL
extraction.
 Numerical Problem 2

If a compound X has an ocatnol-water

(Haunsch) partitioning coefficient of
130 and the concentration of X in lake
water is 0.5 mg/L, find approximate
concentration of X in the animal at the
bottom of all food chains in the lake.
 Solution
We know: log BCF  0.79 log  K OW   0.4  0.79 log  130   0.4
Therefore, by solving, BCF=18.62 L/kg
Now, we know
Concentration of X in Organism  mg/kg 
BCF=  18.62 L kg
0.5 mg/L
Concentration of X in Organism  mg/kg  =9.31 mg/kg
 Numerical Problem 3

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has a water to

plankton BCF of 150,000 L/kg; a plankton
to smelt (fish) magnification factor of 7.0;
and a smelt to lake trout magnification
factor of 3.0. If the concentration of HCB in
the water is 1.0 ppt, will either fish (smelt or
lake-trout) exceed the fish general
consumption standard of 5 ppm?
 Solution
Cplankton
K p/w 
Cwater
 L   ng   5 ng  mg
Cplankton  1.5 x 105  1 
  1.5 x 10   0.15
 kg   L   kg  kg
 mg  mg
Csmelt  7.0  Cplankton   7.0  0.15   1.05
 kg  kg
 mg  mg
Ctrout  3.0  Csmelt   3.0 1.05   3.15
 kg  kg
Therefore, neither of the fishes exceed the fish general consumption standard.