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Environment Engineering & Management System

Environmental Systems Engineering and Management

Environmental engineering has become an increasingly important discipline due to the complexity and multi-disciplinary nature of the environmental issues dealing with human health and ecosystem protection. To find cost-effective engineering solutions to these complex issues, it is important to acquire broad-based education and professional training in interdisciplinary fields of physical, chemical, and biological principles, resource management, and mitigation measures besides in-depth knowledge in environmental engineering. This course-based program will cover a wide range of related topics, such as environmental law and management; human health and ecological risk assessment; remediation technology; treatment processes of drinking water and wastewater; contaminant transport and environmental modeling; environmental sampling; and pollution-control engineering. To apply the concepts learned in the classroom and laboratory environments, students will work in teams on an engineering project for two terms. In order to acquire broad-based knowledge in the field, students will be encouraged to take courses from other disciplines in the university.

The program can be completed on a full- or part-time basis. The duration of the full-time program is normally 1 to 2 years.

Course Requirements

The total credit required to complete this course-based program is 30 credit hours. It will take from the following three groups.

  1. Environmental Engineering Project (six credit hours)
  2. Environmental Engineering Project A (zero credit hours)
  3. Environmental Engineering Project B (six credit hours)
Five core courses (three credit hours each)
  1. Environmental pollution and mitigation
  2. Environmental risk assessment
  3. Environmental management system
  4. Environmental systems engineering
  5. Environmental laboratory
Three elective courses from the following list (three credit hours each)
  1. Environmental sampling and pollutant analysis
  2. Water and wastewater treatment
  3. Soil remediation engineering
  4. Environmental statistics
  5. Air pollution
  6. Environmental impacts of offshore oil and gas operations
  7. Environmental policy and regulations
  8. Pollution prevention
  9. Special studies topics
  10. Earth and ocean sciences
  11. Environmental chemistry & toxicology
  12. Applied ecology
  13. Conservation of natural resources

Cleaner Production

What is Cleaner Production?

Cleaner Production

Cleaner Production directed at the processes that generate waste. Innovative thinking can often lead to minor process changes, which prevent waste being roduced in the first place. This can be a very profitable exercise for any company.

Defined by UNEP

Cleaner Production iefined by the United Nations Environment Program as “The introduction of revised processes, management and housekeeping practices from the beginning to the end of the business process, including a redesign of products, with the emphasis on reducing waste and pollution at source”.

Put simply, Cleaner Production means that production without waste is possible. Many case studies show that waste, and the cost of waste, can be eliminated. End-of-pipe treatment of industrial waste is not viable in the long term and money spent developing such treatments would be better spent eliminating the production of waste at the source.

For production processes: Cleaner Production includes conserving raw materials and energy, eliminating toxic raw materials, and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes;

For products: Cleaner production includes the reduction of negative impacts along the life cycle of a product, from raw material extraction to its ultimate disposal; and For services: Cleaner production is to incorporate environmental concerns into designing and delivering services.

Traditional environmental thinking focuses on what to do with wastes and emissions after they have been created while cleaner production avoids or minimizes waste and pollution even before it is generated!

The key difference between pollution control and cleaner production is one of timing.

Pollution control is an after-the-event, “react and treat” approach; cleaner production is a proactive, “anticipate and prevent philosophy”. Prevention is, as is well known, always better than cure.
When minimizing waste and pollution through cleaner production a reduction in consumption of raw materials and energy is also achieved.

Cleaner production strives to get as close to 100% resource efficiency as possible – within the barriers of what is economically viable.

 It is important to stress that cleaner production is not simply a question of changing equipment: cleaner production is a matter of changing attitudes, applying know-how, and improving production processes as well as the product.

The concepts of cleaner production are:
  • Waste minimization; 
  • Pollution prevention; and
  • Green productivity. 

These are fundamentally the same as cleaner production; with the basic idea to make companies more efficient and less polluting.  

What are Cleaner Production Options?

All enterprises can be defined in terms of:  

  • Operations 
  • Equipment 
  • Processes 

By starting with a company’s operations, we introduce awareness training and good housekeeping practices to the production workforce. Process optimization and simple containment or recycling concepts are explored. These are generally low-cost activities, which bring a high return.

Next, the equipment used in production is examined in detail to establish whether the introduction of process control (monitoring equipment) or physical modifications would be effective. Sometimes, waste segregation at the source allows for new profitable uses of the waste. 

Finally, the process itself is studied to determine whether more complex technology is required, or changes to process, raw materials, or use of catalysts are appropriate. Even reformulation of the product may be required.

A New Paradigm 

Cleaner Production turns the traditional pollution control paradigm upside down. Cleaner Production concepts have consequences for the whole life cycle of a product and can foster improvements in product design, selection of raw materials, efficiency in production and/or energy usage, safety during manufacture and consumer use, reparability, and recyclability.

So what is cleaner production in practice?

What kind of changes is required to transform the production to a cleaner and more efficient production?
As already mentioned, the changes concern not only the equipment but also the operation and management of the company. The changes, so-called “Cleaner Production Options” can be grouped into: 

  • Waste reduction at source; 
  • Recycling; and 
  • Product modifications.  
Benefits of cleaner production

Cleaner production is relevant to all industries, whether they are small or big, or whether they have low or high consumption of raw materials, energy, and water.
For far the most companies, there is a potential of reducing the resource consumption by 10-15% without any big investments! 

Overview of benefits:
  • Improved production efficiency; 
  • More efficient utilization of raw materials, 
  • water and energy; 
  • Recovery of valuable by-products; 
  • Less pollution; 
  • Lower costs for waste disposal and waste-
  • water treatment; 
  • Improved image; and 
  • Improved occupational health and safety. 
Less use of raw materials and energy

The most convincing benefit of cleaner production is its ability to reduce the consumption of resources and materials. 

Savings in energy and materials bring direct reductions in production costs, which again makes the company more competitive. 

With the increasing cost of raw materials, energy, and water, no company can afford to lose these resources in the form of waste.

New and improved market opportunities

Increasing consumer awareness of environmental issues has led to a spurt in demand of green products in the international market. Consequently, if you put in conscious efforts towards cleaner production, you open up new market opportunities and produce better quality products, saleable at a higher price. 

Better access to finances

Investment proposals based on cleaner production contain detailed information on the economic, technical, and environmental feasibility of the planned investment. This gives a very solid basis for achieving financial support from banks or environmental funds. 
On the international market, financial institutions are awakening to the problems of environmental degradation and are now scrutinizing applications for loans from an environmental angle. 

ISO 14000

Cleaner production will make it much easier to implement an environmental management system such as ISO 14000. This is because most of the initial work already has been carried out through the cleaner production assessment. An ISO 14000 certificate can be a market opener, giving better access to export markets.

Better working environment

Apart from improving economical and environmental performance, cleaner production can also improve the occupational health and safety conditions for the employees.
Favorable working conditions can boost the morale of staff and at the same time foster a concern for controlling waste. Such actions will help your company gain a competitive edge. 

Better compliance with environmental regulations

Meeting the regulatory standards for discharge of wastes (liquid, solid or gaseous) requires often the installation of expensive and complex pollution control systems like wastewater treatment plants.
With cleaner production, the treatment of residual effluents normally becomes easier and cheaper. This is because cleaner production leads to an all-round reduction in wastes: volume-wise; load-wise; and even toxicity-wise! 

read more about Cleaner Production Assessment