ESM 214: Bioremediation and Industrial Composting
Instructor: Daniel Brooks, P.E., PMP Office: TBD Phone: (805) 722-1149
email: dbrooks@alum.mit.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Class time & place: Tuesdays, 2:30 – 5:00 P.M., Bren Hall Room #1424
Course Outline
Wk Date Topic
1
Oct 2 Course introduction
Wastewater flow and characteristics
Alternatives in human waste management
Introduction to Wastewater Treatment Plants
2
Oct 9 Treatment systems and operations; microbes
Activated sludge
3
4
5
Oct
16
Oct
23
Oct
26
Oct
30
Nov 2
6
Nov 6
Nov 9
7
Nov
13
8
Nov
20
9
Nov
27
Readings
(M&E Ch 1, 2, 3)
(M&E 4, 5, 6, 8.1-8.4, 8.7-8.10,
9.1-9.4)
(M&E 7.1-7.8)
(M&E 7.9-7.11, 8.5-8.6)
HW #1 Due Oct 16
(M&E: 11,12,13,14)
Biological nutrient removal: N
Biological nutrient removal: P
Disinfection
Solids mgmt
Anaerobic Digestion and Renewable Energy
Generation
FIELD TRIP El Estero WWTP, City of Santa Barbara. Tentative schedule
12:30PM departure from UCSB, return at 4:30PM.
Food waste, livestock waste (digesters,
HW #2 Due Oct 30
lagoons)
Solid waste / composting
FIELD TRIP Gill’s Onions processing plant, including anaerobic digestor and
fuel cell, Oxnard, CA. Tentative schedule 12:15PM departure from UCSB, return
at 5:00PM.
Introduction to hazardous wastes,
(Alvarez & Illman: 1 – 4, 8.1-8.3)
biodegradation / biotransformation
(Alvarez & Illman: 8.4-8.6)
In-situ Treatment and Biostimulation
Read Case Studies 1 and 3 in
Chapter 8
FIELD TRIP Vandenberg Air Force Base bioremediation site and Engel & Gray
composting facility. Tentative schedule 8:00AM departure from UCSB, return at
4:00PM.
Bioaugmentation
(Alvarez & Illman: 8.7)
Ex-situ Treatment
Read Case Studies 2 and 4 in
Chapter 8
(Alvarez & Illman: 8.8)
Read Case Studies 5,6 & 7 in
Chapter 8
Monitored Natural Attenuation
(Alvarez & Illman: 8.9, 8.11, 9)
Treatment Trains
Future
Assessment
Phytoremediation: organics and metals
HW #3 Due 11/27
Landfills and Solid Waste
10
Dec 4 Trends and Opportunities in Environmental
Consulting and Solid Waste Industries
REVIEW
TBA Final Exam (In class) 8 – 11 am BH 1424
Texts (neither required, but both referred to):
M&E: Metcalf & Eddy, Wastewater Engineering: Treatment & Reuse, 4th ed. (2003)
Alvarez & Illman. 2006. Bioremediation & Natural Attenuation. John Wiley & Sons. (on
course website)
ESM 214: Course goals, assignments, and grading
Concepts and approaches to alleviate the effects of pollution using biological processes.
Biological, chemical, physical, and practical aspects of hazardous and nonhazardous waste
remediation, large scale composting, and associated renewable energy generation. Current trends
and opportunities in the environmental and solid waste industries.
Goals:
The course goal is to gain a working understanding of how biological processes
can be used to purify waste streams and to clean up pollution. Biological waste treatment is
often economical and can generate non-toxic, sometimes useful byproducts. It may be used in
combination with physical or chemical treatment processes such as with standard municipal
wastewater treatment.
The course is in two parts to separately address non-hazardous and hazardous wastes. The
principles overlap. This is not a design course. You will learn about the waste, why it is treated,
how it is treated (with an emphasis on biological processes), some fundamentals about the design
principles, and how the systems should function. You will gain a working vocabulary in
bioremediation, composting, and water treatment, you will gain an understanding of treatment
objectives and how objectives are being met. The concepts you will learn include:
 Wastewater characteristics and microbial processes
 Conventional wastewater treatment processes and new technologies
 Hazardous wastes in the environment
 In situ bioremediation of hazardous wastes
 Biological treatment of hazardous and nonhazardous wastes ex situ
 Current trends in the environmental and solid waste industries
Course Format: Combination of in-class lecture, group activities in class, and field trips. There
are homework assignments, and one exam (final).
Grading: 40% HW. 30% field trip. 30% final. The field trips are mandatory. Regular
attendance and class participation will also be considered in assigning final grades.
Homework: 3 assignments. Combination of calculations and writing. Collaboration on
homework is permitted. Please list your collaborators.
Reading:
M&E: Metcalf & Eddy, Wastewater Engineering: Treatment & Reuse, 4th ed. (2003)
Alvarez & Illman. 2006. Bioremediation & Natural Attenuation. John Wiley & Sons. (on
course website)
Brock Biology of Microorganisms, 13th edition. 2010. Madigan, Martinko, Stahl, and Clark.
Chapters 19.14 through 19.18.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Open Courseware
Waste Containment and Remediation (see readings for Lectures 12 and 13)
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/civil-and-environmental-engineering/1-34-waste-containment-andremediation-technology-spring-2004/calendar/
Water and Wastewater Treatment Engineering
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/civil-and-environmental-engineering/1-85-water-and-wastewatertreatment-engineering-spring-2006/calendar/
Water and Sanitation Infrastructure in Developing Countries
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/urban-studies-and-planning/11-479j-water-and-sanitationinfrastructure-in-developing-countries-spring-2007/calendar/
Some potentially useful Websites and Organizations:
US EPA AgSTAR: http://www.epa.gov/agstar/index.html
International Water Association:
http://www.iwahq.org/templates/ld_templates/layout_632897.aspx?ObjectId=632922
Water Environment Federation: http://www.wef.org/
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en/
CA State Water Resources Control Board Water Quality: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/quality.html
US EPA NPDES http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/index.cfm
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/index.html
US EPA Bioremediation Documents: http://www.clu-in.org/remediation/
US EPA Contaminated Site Information: http://www.epareachit.org/index.html
US EPA Remediation Resources: http://www.clu-in.org/remediation/
USGS Bioremediation website: http://water.usgs.gov/wid/html/bioremed.html
Bioremediation Discussion Group: http://www.bioremediationgroup.org/
University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/ Biodegradation Database: http://umbbd.msi.umn.edu/
DOE Environmental Remediation Sciences Group: http://esd.lbl.gov/research/projects/ersp/
American Society for Microbiology: http://www.asm.org/
US EPA Microbiology: http://www.epa.gov/microbes/
Microbes Info: http://www.microbes.info/index.html
Microbe Zoo: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dLc-me/zoo/index.html
Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable: http://www.frtr.gov/default.htm