Water Quality and Remediaton Techniques
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course aims to impart the knowledge of water natural quality and influenced by the anthropic activitie, especially the groundwater. The physical laws of the contaminant transport are illustrated and must be understood as they relate to the geological characteristics.
Expected learning outcomes
Applying knowledge and understanding
The student must understand the investigations useful for the aquifer, aquitard and aquiclude parametrization and their application to the resolution of practical cases developed by exercises also with the use of software.
Making judgements
As part of the proposed problems, the student has to move on to faster and more efficient applications, at a first step, with a common work between students and then with personal ideas and single work.
Communicative skills
The presentation of a project, the execution of exercises, the conversation between teacher and student will develop oral and practical skills in dealing with themes on the quality of water resources and their protection and remediation.
Learning skills
At the end of the course, the student must be able to use a specific language and connect the different aspects of the quality of groundwater, including complexity of treatment. Every single natural or man-made situation must be properly interpreted.
The student must understand the investigations useful for the aquifer, aquitard and aquiclude parametrization and their application to the resolution of practical cases developed by exercises also with the use of software.
Making judgements
As part of the proposed problems, the student has to move on to faster and more efficient applications, at a first step, with a common work between students and then with personal ideas and single work.
Communicative skills
The presentation of a project, the execution of exercises, the conversation between teacher and student will develop oral and practical skills in dealing with themes on the quality of water resources and their protection and remediation.
Learning skills
At the end of the course, the student must be able to use a specific language and connect the different aspects of the quality of groundwater, including complexity of treatment. Every single natural or man-made situation must be properly interpreted.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
WATER QUALITY AND SITE REMEDIATION
The course examine the methodologies of the practical problems resolution on the groundwater quality management, protection and improvement at regional and local scale.
Transport model are implemented with software use. Method of soil and groundwater remediation and protection are illustrated: hydraulic, reactive and engineering barrier system, in situ remediation systems
1. Hydrochemistry. Dissolved compounds in the groundwater. Water-soil interaction. Chemical equilibria. Hydrochemical index.
2. Contaminant transport in the groundwater. Fick and dispersion laws. Retrodiffusion. Groundwater contamination. Contaminant attenuation. Contaminant in the solid, aqueous and gaseous phases. Principles of multiphase flow (LNAPL and DNAPL).
3. Hydrodispersive parameters. Effective porosity, dispersivity. Laboratory and in situ tracer tests. Scale effect and dispersivity in relation to aquifer heterogeneity and anisotropy.
4. Interaction between contaminant and soil matrix. Interaction processes (precipitation, oxidation-reduction, hydrolysis, cationic exchange, adsorption, biodegradation). Laboratory tests. Retardation factor. Biodegradation potential of the unsaturated and saturated media (in situ respyrometer test).
5. Transport models. Discretized solution of the transport equation: difference and finite element methods, method of the characteristics, random walk method. Transport model implementation and use: conceptual model, initial and boundary conditions, space-time discretization, model calibration and verification, sensitivity analysis, simulation and previsions. Principles of the transport model in the unsaturated media.
6. Wellhead protection. Wellhead and spring protection methods.
7. Remediation and containment measures. Soil and water quality, background limits. Survey and investigation on the air, soil and water quality. Hydraulic, reactive and engineering physical barrier. Remediation by physical, chemical and biological measures.
8. Risk analysis. Risk evaluation (source, transport and target). Conceptual model development. Contaminant toxicology. Their 1,2 and 3 of the risk evaluation. Forward and backward use of the risk analysis. Risk analysis in Italian rule.
9. Landfills. Waste confinement. Typology of landfills in EU. Geological and hydrogeological investigation. Impermeabilization and drainage systems. Geotechnical properties of waste. Monitoring and remediation.
10. Laws. Water laws of European Union and of Italy
Theoretical and practical knowledge are used for the solution writing and computerized exercises and write a remediation project.
The course examine the methodologies of the practical problems resolution on the groundwater quality management, protection and improvement at regional and local scale.
Transport model are implemented with software use. Method of soil and groundwater remediation and protection are illustrated: hydraulic, reactive and engineering barrier system, in situ remediation systems
1. Hydrochemistry. Dissolved compounds in the groundwater. Water-soil interaction. Chemical equilibria. Hydrochemical index.
2. Contaminant transport in the groundwater. Fick and dispersion laws. Retrodiffusion. Groundwater contamination. Contaminant attenuation. Contaminant in the solid, aqueous and gaseous phases. Principles of multiphase flow (LNAPL and DNAPL).
3. Hydrodispersive parameters. Effective porosity, dispersivity. Laboratory and in situ tracer tests. Scale effect and dispersivity in relation to aquifer heterogeneity and anisotropy.
4. Interaction between contaminant and soil matrix. Interaction processes (precipitation, oxidation-reduction, hydrolysis, cationic exchange, adsorption, biodegradation). Laboratory tests. Retardation factor. Biodegradation potential of the unsaturated and saturated media (in situ respyrometer test).
5. Transport models. Discretized solution of the transport equation: difference and finite element methods, method of the characteristics, random walk method. Transport model implementation and use: conceptual model, initial and boundary conditions, space-time discretization, model calibration and verification, sensitivity analysis, simulation and previsions. Principles of the transport model in the unsaturated media.
6. Wellhead protection. Wellhead and spring protection methods.
7. Remediation and containment measures. Soil and water quality, background limits. Survey and investigation on the air, soil and water quality. Hydraulic, reactive and engineering physical barrier. Remediation by physical, chemical and biological measures.
8. Risk analysis. Risk evaluation (source, transport and target). Conceptual model development. Contaminant toxicology. Their 1,2 and 3 of the risk evaluation. Forward and backward use of the risk analysis. Risk analysis in Italian rule.
9. Landfills. Waste confinement. Typology of landfills in EU. Geological and hydrogeological investigation. Impermeabilization and drainage systems. Geotechnical properties of waste. Monitoring and remediation.
10. Laws. Water laws of European Union and of Italy
Theoretical and practical knowledge are used for the solution writing and computerized exercises and write a remediation project.
Prerequisites for admission
Strongly recommended the course of Evaluation and management of water resources and laboratory
Teaching methods
Theretical and practical knowledge are used for the writing and computerized exercices solution and to produce technical documents.
Teaching Resources
Beretta G.P. (1992) - "Idrogeologia per il disinquinamento delle acque sotterranee". Pitagora Editrice, Bologna
Fetter C.W. (1992) - "Contaminant Hydrogeology". Mac Millan, New York
Chiesa G. (1991) - "Pozzi per acqua". Hoepli, Milano
Domenico P.A. , Schwartz F.W. (1998) - "Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology". J, Wiley & Sons, New York
Spitz K., Moreno J. (1996) - "A practical guide to groundwater and solute transport modelling". J.Wiley & Sons, New York.
Dispense del corso
Fetter C.W. (1992) - "Contaminant Hydrogeology". Mac Millan, New York
Chiesa G. (1991) - "Pozzi per acqua". Hoepli, Milano
Domenico P.A. , Schwartz F.W. (1998) - "Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology". J, Wiley & Sons, New York
Spitz K., Moreno J. (1996) - "A practical guide to groundwater and solute transport modelling". J.Wiley & Sons, New York.
Dispense del corso
Assessment methods and Criteria
The evaluation test is oral and consists in verifying the konwledge acquired and in discussion the documents produced during the course.
GEO/05 - ENGINEERING GEOLOGY - University credits: 6
Practicals: 24 hours
Lessons: 32 hours
Lessons: 32 hours
Professor:
Beretta Giovanni Pietro
Professor(s)