CE 241A –
Sustainable Built
Environment
Dr. Abhishek Chaudhary
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
https://www.iitk.ac.in/new/abhishek-chaudhary
http://chaudhary-lab.weebly.com/
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 1: Course outline
Why are you being taught this particular
course?
• Traditional civil engineering just dealt with building infrastructure
• However in past 50-100 years, the negative effects of human
disturbances on the environment started to become clear
• Currently it is clear that traditional ways will destroy the planet and
jeopardize our existence and hence sustainable ways are needed
• Infact, one of the reason why the classes are online is also
environmental.
Etymology of the course title
• Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The
concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: economic,
environmental, and social—also known informally as profits, planet,
and people
• ‘Built Environment’ – in this course this refers to any type of
modification in nature due to human activities be it agriculture,
forestry, pasture, urban areas, setting up industry etc.
36 BROAD INDUSTRIES/SECTORS IN INDIA
• AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES
• AUTOMOBILES
• AUTO COMPONENTS
• AVIATION
• BANKING
• BIOTECHNOLOGY
• CEMENT
• CONSUMER DURABLES
• ECOMMERCE
• EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• ENGINEERING AND CAPITAL GOODS
• FINANCIAL SERVICES
• FMCG
• GEMS AND JEWELLERY
• HEALTHCARE
• INFRASTRUCTURE
• INSURANCE
• IT & ITES
• MANUFACTURING
• MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
• METALS AND MINING
• OIL AND GAS
• PHARMACEUTICALS
• PORTS
• POWER
• RAILWAYS
• REAL ESTATE
• RENEWABLE ENERGY
• RETAIL
• ROADS
• SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• SERVICE
• STEEL
• TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• TEXTILES
• TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
“Planet Earth – a Giant Self-Regulating System”
•Environmental thinking – Geeta
•The Gaia hypothesis, also known as the Gaia
theory or the Gaia principle (by James
Lovelock - Named after Greek Supreme
Goddess of Earth), proposes that living
organisms interact with their inorganic
surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic
and self-regulating, complex system that
helps to maintain and perpetuate the
conditions for life on the planet.
“Planet Earth – is a Giant Self-Regulating System”
- Gaia Hypothesis
• Fascinating Aspects:
• The existence of Ozone Layer in the upper atmosphere, crucial for sheltering
living organisms from the harmful UV radiations
• Stabilization of the proportion of oxygen at approximately 21%, balanced
through production and decomposition of organic matter
• Presence of small, but essential, quantities of ammonia in the atmosphere
enabling the neutralization of naturally produced sulphur and nitric acid
• The relatively constant air surface temperature inspite of changes in the
gaseous composition of the atmosphere and solar radiation, and
• The constancy of the salt content in the oceans at 3- 4 %, even though
minerals are constantly added via rivers.
• The other important aspect of a Self-Regulating Capacity of our planet is the
ability of living systems on Earth to counteract changes in the external
environment through uptake, metabolism and excretion of substances.”
• However, ignoring environment while focusing on economic development has
disturbed this balance and is now backfiring
Natural Changes v/s Anthropogenic Influences
• “Changes have been taking place” so why are we concerned now? What is the role
of human beings, they appeared very late:
• Human development has caused wide-spread environmental interventions.
The effects of technological endeavors have in some cases been too fast to
control
• Result: Degradation of the world’s natural resources which threatens the welfare of
the whole planet.
• The symptoms have now begun to appear clearly (climate change, 6th mass species
extinction, pollinator loss, ozone layer thinning, rise of extreme events, epidemics)
• Which is why we now need strategies for environmental management
• Moral, economic and survival reasons
Course outline
1. What is environment?
2. Why we need to study the environment?
3. A brief history of anthropogenic environmental degradation
4. Underlying reasons/engines/narratives driving current environmental degradation – root causes
5. Pathways and Implications of environmental degradation
6. Sustainable Development: concept, tools and strategies (SDGs): village life + robots?
• Mathematical modeling of the environment
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and management
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Products, Processes and Services
• Interdisciplinary research
What is environment
• Environmental domains –
• Air (indoor, outdoor)
• Water (scarcity, marine, freshwater surface and groundwater pollution)
• Food (agriculture, nutrition)
• Land (shelter, disaster protection, deforestation, occupation – solid waste),
• Energy (oil, gas, coal, solar, wind, hydro)
• Resources (wood, metals, minerals, medicines)
• Biodiversity (6th mass extinction, Earth’s balance/cycle)
• Human health and well-being
Underlying reasons/engines driving
environmental degradation –
• Population, poverty, life-style (technology); I=PAT
• our current globalized world (agriculture, industry, urbanization, disconnect)
• popular global narratives (e.g. Liberal vs. Socialist Humanism),
• beliefs/religions (e.g. Monotheism vs. Animism),
• businesses & consumers (needs vs. wants)
• human psychology
Course outline/Introduction
History of environmental degradation
Consumerism/root causes of environmental problems
Climate change
Land degradation
Biodiversity
Air pollution and control
Water pollution and wastewater treatment
Groundwater pollution and control
Solid waste management
Sustainable diets
Sustainable agriculture and forestry
Sustainable construction
Sustainable energy production
Sustainable industrial sectors
Indian National Missions
EA, EIA, EMS, law and ethics, PES
Life Cycle Assessment
Career in environment
Grading policy
Weightages (tentative, can change with time):
• Assignments/Quiz
: 20%
• Mid Sem Exam
: 30%
• End Sem Exam
: 50%
• Five hours of homework per week + three hours of lecture (MWF – 5 to 6 PM) +
one live discussion hour (Wednesday 12 – 1 PM)
• Please use Teaching Assistants (TAs):
•
•
•
•
•
Abhiram Shukla (abhirams@iitk.ac.in)
Amita Singh (amitas@iitk.ac.in)
Pratibha Vishwakarma (pratibha@iitk.ac.in)
Supreme Jain (supreme@iitk.ac.in)
Ashish Patel (ashishkp@iitk.ac.in)
Era of Sustainability and Transdisciplinarity
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 2: History of environmental degradation
Recap
• What is sustainability? What is environment?
• Modern human life style heavily influenced by Western thoughts (liberal
humanism/capitalism) is threatening the life on Earth and hence need to
study the environment (modern ≠ intelligent and traditional ≠
foolish/outdated)
• Evidence is emerging that a paradigm shift is needed to move towards
sustainable life styles – blindly copying Western ideas will lead to
devastation
• Need to understand different global narratives and agendas – underlying
reasons for mindless consumption
• Many old local cultures have sustainability in their philosophy – need to
merge such wisdom with modern tech-based development (e.g. Geeta
Gyan)
Era of Sustainability and Transdisciplinarity
Course objective
• Develop environmental/sustainability thinking (link daily activity with nature)
• Break and disrupt the compartmentalized approach of curriculum; from tool users to
designers/thinkers
• highlight the connections between humans, economy and nature (environment);
• to develop a systems approach (lateral) thinking
• History/economics/politics/psychology
• life span, technological, societal changes => topics/education become irrelevant, needs
updating
• Era of interdisciplinary skills: more than one fields/degrees
• Introduction/interaction – two way
• Open and fill up the different rooms in your brain with facts
• Globalization, geopolitics, alternative narratives and agendas of others vs. yours
• broaden the horizons; balancing the views through research approach; forgo prejudices; shield
from propagandas.
• Attempt to identify how all things are connected with each other in this world and get to the root
causes
Global thinking and awareness
Grading policy
Weightages (tentative, can change with time):
• Attendance, participation, discipline : 10%
• Assignments/Quiz
: 20%
• Mid Sem Exam
: 30%
• End Sem Exam
: 40%
• Five hours of homework per week + three hours of lecture (MWF – 5 to 6 PM) +
one live discussion hour (Wednesday 12 – 1 PM)
• Please use Teaching Assistants (TAs):
•
•
•
•
•
Abhiram Shukla (abhirams@iitk.ac.in)
Amita Singh (amitas@iitk.ac.in)
Pratibha Vishwakarma (pratibha@iitk.ac.in)
Supreme Jain (supreme@iitk.ac.in)
Ashish Patel (ashishkp@iitk.ac.in)
Copyright clause
• The instructor of this course owns the copyright of all the course
materials. This lecture material is being distributed only to the
students attending the course “CE241A: Sustainable Built
Environment” of IIT Kanpur, and should not be distributed in print or
through electronic media without the consent of the instructor.
Students can make their own copies of the course materials for their
use.
Humans Appear
At 23:59:52
Birth of planet
Earth
Plants Invade
land
00 1
23 24
Multicellular
Organisms
22
Ancient
Bedrocks
2
21
3
4
20
19
“Modern” cells
5
The Earth
and Life
18
17
6
7
16
8
15
9
14
13 12 11
Atmospheric Oxygen
First Bacterial
Organisms
10
Blue-green Algae;
Photosynthesis
A brief history of humans – in order to
understand our current behaviors
• Invention of fire (3 lakh years ago) => cooked food => less chewing
time and shorter intestines => more time for thinking and larger
brains (1200 – 1400 cm3) that consumes 25% of total calories
• For survival, humans evolved to stand on two legs to scan savannahs,
look farther, freeing up hands meant they could build tools.
• although the negative side to this was backache and premature birth
requiring help => those who evolved good social skills survived –
‘social animal’
• Immature birth + language means child can be educated and
molded/controlled
A brief history
• We were not alone, apart from Homo Sapiens (Wise man), there were
our cousins - Homo Neanderthals, Homo erectus, Homo Soloensis,
etc.
• Same species are those that can produce fertile offspring
• Some 70,000 years ago, the Sapiens that had home in central Africa
took the lead and through some genetic mutation, started to develop
culture and use more sophisticated language than their other cousins
• Interbreeding theory vs. replacement theory
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 3: History of Earth and Human-Environment relation
Recap
• Engineers need transdisciplinary knowledge in order to contribute
meaningfully to the society and also career wise
• Course objectives, global awareness, revised grading scheme
• Touched the history of the Earth and humans
History of Earth
• Check out this page for overview: https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/h/History_of_Earth.htm
• Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago, approximately one-third the age of the universe
• Volcanic outgassing probably created the primordial atmosphere and then the ocean, but the early atmosphere
contained almost no oxygen.
• The earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates at least from 3.5 billion years ago
• Photosynthetic organisms appeared between 3.2 and 2.4 billion years ago and began enriching the atmosphere
with oxygen. Life remained mostly small and microscopic until about 580 million years ago, when complex
multicellular life arose, developed over time, and culminated in the Cambrian Explosion about 541 million years
ago. This sudden diversification of life forms produced most of the major phyla known today, and divided the
Proterozoic Eon from the Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era. It is estimated that 99 percent of all species that
ever lived on Earth, over five billion, have gone extinct.
• Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million
are documented, but over 86 percent have not been described. However, it was recently claimed that 1 trillion
species currently live on Earth, with only one-thousandth of one percent described.
• The Earth's crust has constantly changed since its formation, as has life since its first appearance. Species continue
to evolve, taking on new forms, splitting into daughter species, or going extinct in the face of ever-changing physical
environments. The process of plate tectonics continues to shape the Earth's continents and oceans and the life they
harbor. Human activity is now a dominant force affecting global change, harming the biosphere, the Earth's surface,
hydrosphere, and atmosphere with the loss of wild lands, over-exploitation of the oceans, production of
greenhouse gases, degradation of the ozone layer, and general degradation of soil, air, and water quality.
Humans Appear
At 23:59:52
Birth of planet
Earth
Plants Invade
land
00 1
23 24
Multicellular
Organisms
22
Ancient
Bedrocks
2
21
3
4
20
19
“Modern” cells
5
The Earth
and Life
18
17
6
7
16
8
15
9
14
13 12 11
Atmospheric Oxygen
First Bacterial
Organisms
10
Blue-green Algae;
Photosynthesis
Humans appear on Earth
• A small African ape living around six million years ago (11:58 p.m. on our
clock) was the last animal whose descendants would include both
modern humans and their closest relatives, the chimpanzees.
• Very soon after the split, for reasons that are still debated, apes in one
branch developed the ability to walk upright.
• Brain size increased rapidly, and by 2 million years ago the very first
animals classified in the genus Homo had appeared. As brain size
increased, babies were born sooner, before their heads grew too large to
pass through the pelvis.
• Anatomically modern humans—Homo sapiens—are believed to have
originated somewhere around 500,000 years (5 Lakh years) ago or earlier
in Africa
• Around 70,000 years ago, cognitive revolution started in Sapiens in Africa
Stages of anthropogenic driven environmental
degradation
• Cognitive revolution (started 70,000 - 30000 years ago)
• Agricultural – religious revolution (started 10,000 years ago)
• Capitalist - Industrial- Colonization revolution (started 500 years ago)
• Capitalist – Scientific- consumerism/humanism revolution (started about
100 years ago - ongoing)
Recommended book that summarizes it very well:
Sapiens: A brief history of humankind
• By Yuval Noah Harari (Professor at Jerusalem University)
• Human evolution summary: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/human-evolution.html
1 - Cognitive revolution
• Period of 70,000 – 30,000 years ago is called as a period of cognitive
revolution
• 30,000 years ago Neanderthals became extinct and of all cousins, only
Sapiens survived
• The key for their success was a ‘supple’ language that can be used for
communication/gossip/myth creation and thus enabling cooperation in large
groups unlike other cousins/apes who roamed around in smaller groups
• Even monkeys/apes can use simple words such as ‘careful Lion’ or ‘careful
Eagle’ but we can tell stories and create myths
• Cultural evolution bypassed genetic evolution in sapiens => we can change
behaviors/beliefs quickly
• Ideas/information/knowledge could be rapidly exchanged and passed down
the generations (became smarter and smarter).
Cognitive revolution impact on Earth
• With tool making and language skills, sapiens started to spread out of
Africa => big changes in Africa/Europe/Asia ecosystems
• Journey from Asia to Australia is perhaps as big as a journey of
Columbus to Americas: Fire, boat building and hunting skills destroyed
almost all species there (Eucalyptus survived as it is more fire resistant)
=> massive changes in ecosystem there.
• Moved towards North Pole for high protein/juicy meat of
reindeer/mammoths that could be frozen for months => large changes
there
• Around 12,000 years ago, ice melted due to warming => way to
Americas opened => first wave of anthropogenic driven
extinctions/massive changes in ecosystem
2 - Agricultural revolution: crops replacing forests
• Around 9500 B.C, Sapiens started agriculture in 5-6 places around the globe
independently (fascinating)
• Wheat (9000 BC), peas/lentils (8000 BC), olive (5000BC) -> forest clearing ->
extinctions and environmental damage
• Dog (15000 BC), horses (4000 BC) and others domesticated
• Only loyal dogs and submissive sheep survived
• Cow meant a steady supply of protein, no need to move around, domestication
implied emotion -> holy cow?
• Food shortage and worry about future meant loot/war/hoarding -> elites/peasants
• Steady home & food meant the population increased but also the diseases &
mortality => bad for environment & human life quality
• Surplus food allowed a priestly or governing class to arise, followed by increasing
division of labor. This led to Earth’s first civilization at Sumer in the Middle East,
between 4000 and 3000 BCE. Additional civilizations quickly arose in ancient Egypt
and the Indus River valley.
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 4: History of Human-Environment Relation - II
Recap
• History of Earth
• Appearance of humans
• Cognitive revolution and impact on the environment
• Agriculture revolution and impact on the environment
Agriculture revolution: Impact of religion on environment
• Earlier humans believed in ‘Animism’, i.e. belief in superhuman order (don’t kill fox,
snakes of the area or cut down certain trees) that controlled their area and thus more
tolerant and respectful of nature/others
• Ancient cultures were polytheistic (Greek, Romans, Hindus, Egyptians, Aztecs) but a
huge change came after monotheistic and proselytizing religions such as Christianity ->
only humans and one God important, rest are inferior (Noah sacrificing animals after
surviving flood)
• Through monotheism it became easier to make even larger numbers of people to
cooperate, easy to accept suffering
• Agriculture turned plants and animals into property instead of equal members of society
• The invention of writing enabled complex societies to arise: record-keeping and libraries
served as a storehouse of knowledge and increased the cultural transmission of
information. Humans no longer had to spend all their time working for survival—
curiosity and education drove the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom.
• Various disciplines, including science (in a primitive form), arose. New civilizations
sprang up, traded with one another, and engaged in war for territory and resources:
empires began to form. By around 500 BCE, there were empires in the Middle East, Iran,
India, China, and Greece, approximately on equal footing
3 - Scientific (Industrial) revolution: Credit system
• A quick rise from middle to top of food chain means we feel anxiety,
fear, insecurity => aggressive, cruel and violent behavior towards each
other, other animals and environment
• Since 1400-1500, loan/credit system driving inventions
• Before that tax system, lavish lives of kings, local people and religion
despised mercantile thinking (idea of taking/giving loans) -> Jews living
outside cities
• Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain hit jackpot after they agreed to fund
Columbus and other trips
• Acceptance of ignorance, belief that human brain will invent something
big again and again, profit reinvested -> money can solve every human
problem
• Capitalism replacing other religions that assumed everything is known
Scientific revolution: Credit system
• Limited liability companies (joint stock) to reduce risk and fund
discoveries -> VOC of Netherlands, ‘East India’ company of England
replacing Spain, Portugal who lost trust of creditors due to delay in
paying interests and inefficient management
• Managers and shareholders of joint stock companies held strings of
power in London, Paris, Amsterdam
Scientific revolution: Credit system
• Examples include VOC hiring mercenaries for Indonesia, Opium war in
China, killings in India, Egypt invaded for Nile river trade control, Greek
rebellion against Ottoman, Congo killings for rubber plantations by
Belgians -> Army helping business -> Bear hug between capitalists and
politics
• Capitalism and greed meant colonization => expansion of agriculture
and clearing of forest land for valuable commodities => large scale
environmental damage
• See Prof. Vinay Lal’s (Univ. of California, LA) lectures on History of
British India; Indian Civilization:
https://www.youtube.com/user/dillichalo/playlists
Industrial revolution
• First industrial revolution (1760-1840)
• Started in Great Britain
• New manufacturing processes, textile industry, steam engine, coal->water->steam->machine->automation
• Some say that Industrial Revolution is the most important event in the history of humanity since the domestication of animals and
plants
• Second industrial revolution (1870-1914)
• New industries like steel, oil, electricity, light bulb, telephone, internal combustion engine
• Other industries came to full bloom – applied sciences (e.g. metallurgy, engineering), paper making, fountain pen, rail (Isambard
Kingdom Brunel), machine tools, chemicals, fertilizers (Justus von Liebig, Carl Bosch, Fritz Haber), maritime technology (steam
ships), rubber (Charles Goodyear, John Boyd Dunlop-Pneumatic tyres), road building (Macadam and tarmacadam methods),
bicycles, automobile (Karl Benz, Henry Ford), USA and Germany new strong players emerged -> lot of espionage
• Third industrial revolution or digital revolution (1950-1980)
• Semiconductor, personal computer, internet (Tim Berners-Lee), video games, digital cameras etc.
• Fourth industrial revolution (ongoing)
• Technology merging with human lives (Cyborgs), very high speed of technological change, sustainability
• 3D printing, bionic arms, artificial intelligence - risk is rise in inequality and number of useless people, billionares
owned 80% of new patents related to 4th revolution technologies in last 40 years, richest 1% own 50% of world’s
wealth, high-skills get very high pay while rest are left out, privacy concerns
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 5: History of Human-Environment Relation - III
Recap
• Cognitive revolution: language developed and cooperation increased
• Agriculture revolution: steady food supply, religion came up, invention of
writing, more time to think/innovate
• Industrial revolution (I-IV): Credit system (capitalism), loan system ->risk
taking->Colonization->impact on the environment
• Capitalism->funding for science and technology->innovations>acknowledging that “we don’t know” and striving to find answers rather
than just blindly following religion
Industrial revolution - I
• Background: Earlier people lived close to food sources (village system) as slow
transportation, farming was major occupation, production of goods was for ‘use’
rather than for ‘profit’, all commodities local, less trade, life expectancy ~35 years
• Why in England? - Mercantilism (trading for profit, loan system, accumulate wealth)
-> Colonies (free money),
• new agriculture techniques, long coastline means easy to trade, government protected trade by
Navy, less expenditure in Military because of island location, abundance of coal and Iron, semi
skilled workers available, science and inventions encouraged, parliament system rather than
purely monarch,
• Textile industry was first to get mechanized (Flying shuttle, Spinning Jenny, Power
loom) – Slater the traitor
• Hand production to machine, factories, steam power, telegraph, coal ->Iron,
• Positives – factory system (collaboration increased), standardization of processes,
means of communication, transport increase, food availability increased, no longer
dependent on weather, Urbanization meant can earn in factories
• Negatives – Capitalism in full bloom (resources in hands of few), exploitation of
workers (long hours, poor working conditions, boring work, indoor pollution, cholera
outbreak, slums, traditional weavers wiped out (Luddite revolt), child labor, more
demand for colonies, deindustrialization of India, middle class emerged, this led to
socialism/communist ideas (equality of wealth sharing and resource ownership),
4 - Modern scientific revolution and
environment
• Movement of people from village to urban areas meant isolation from
nature -> disregard for nature
• Medical innovations meant the child and mother mortality decreased and
population rose exponentially
• Humanist religions (individual, communist, evolutionary) sprang up after
French revolution -> further glorifying human existence/rights -> new
generations demanding more comfort/leisure
• Credit rating became important to receive foreign investment => rise of
democracy, stability => rise in population & consumerism => bad news for
the environment
• Lithium in Bolivia: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/moralesclaims-orchestrated-coup-tap-bolivia-lithium-191225053622809.html
• The secret of seven sisters documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtYOjMmEMeg
Consumerism/Capitalism
• Consumerism: Rich stakeholders –> invest, poor –> buy through marketing, lobbying
and other interventions (e.g. marriage with politicians who also want to show GDP &
employment growth)
• Capitalism wants to break family & religious system by promising ‘individual’ freedom
which sounds very attractive and alluring to all -> propaganda on human, women
rights
• Having isolated the person from family/religion, capitalism encourages consumption to
replace emotional loss/emptiness/social acceptance
• Money circulation encouraged (baby-sitters instead of parents; Greedy Ghost system:
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/465466-europe-tourism-greed-profit/)
• Psychologists encourage shopping for temporary kick and boost in self-confidence as
one feels empowered
• There are also positive things about it – everybody can show and use their talents; net
global production increases; no useless gossips, leg-pulling, family drama and
everybody works in the week and relaxes on weekends; Individual responsibility –
survival of fittest
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 6: Environment in the modern times
Man made Eco-evolution
• 1800 – 1900 Industrial Revolution (1st phase)
• Few, mainly local negative effects
• Insignificant compared with increase in material growth (human dimension of the environment) &
simultaneous environmental improvements (e.g. sewage treatment)
• 1900 – 1950 (2nd phase)
• Deterioration more extensive (London fog event; pesticides use killing birds)
• Conflict between economic growth and environment
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson published in 1960s against pesticides– led to ban on DDT and establishment
of US EPA
• Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best-selling novel of the 19th century (anti-slavery) and the second best-selling book of
that century, following the Bible
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair led to Food and Drug Act & Meat inspection act
• 1950 – present (3rd phase)
• Negative environmental implications at local, regional and global levels
• Negative Effects >> Benefits of growing material wealth
• Negative Effects  Even when economic Growth Rate 
• New approaches for environmental management required
Global
Environmental Concerns
Lessons from the Past
Ozone layer
Global warming
Water shortages
Genetic defects
Hazardous wastes
Biodiversity extinctions
Regional
Acid rains
Heavy metals
Accidental spills
Wildlife decline
Local
Epidemics
Sewage
Eutrophication
Fish kills
Development
State of the environment
• Thousands of tones of top soil lost every second -> impacting
food production/water quality
• 3000 m square of forests destroyed every second -> climate
change
• 2000 m square of arable land turned into deserts every
second -> impacting food production
• More than 100 species of plants/animals exterminated every
day -> disturbing the ecosystem
State of the environment
• 1000 tones of unwanted gases and perhaps another 1000 tones of wastes released
per second”
• This is for what? - “to disproportionately sustain the material wealth and hedonic
lifestyle of a billion people and barely more than physical survival of the remaining
six billion”
• High income (“but not developed”) countries 10% population consumes 10
times more energy, water, and mineral than the rest 90%.
• Under the political (pressure for democracy; globalization) and economic
conditions (credit by IMF; high exchange rate) of the present, it seems nearly
impossible for ‘low income’ countries not to put pressure on nature in order to
export and keep the flow of resources going to high income nations.
• If the consumption patterns and the rate associated remain unchanged,
reaching the development objectives would mean a roughly five folds increase
in the rates of environmental degradation.
• We need ~1.7 Earths to sustain our current lifestyles – 2014 ecological footprint
• Check out their website and calculate your own personal footprint:
https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint/
Methods of Environmental Protection so far
• Implementing measures to remedy problems
• In Medical Terms:
• Giving Aspirin tablet to a patient with a deadly disease, which
may relieve the pain but?
• ‘Preventative’ methodologies are necessary for long term cure
• Depends on diagnosis
• More insight into the structure and functioning of ecological
systems is vital to safeguard environment.
Realization
• Human utilization of natural resources on Earth, can to some extent, bear resemblance to a sort
of Planetary Cancer
• Rapid growth of metropolitan areas, in fact, is similar to cellular cancer growth in human beings
• When genes become disturbed, no longer control the human body
• Cellular system acts erratically
• Destroy cellular coordination and ultimately death
• Similarly, if human exploitation of natural resources becomes excessive leading to acute
shortages
• People loose the ability of sharing views and problems with others -> conflicts arise (Iraq
war?)
• Thereby negatively influencing national and international cooperation - Ultimately affecting
the Planetary Body
1972 UN conference and Limits to Growth report
• Because the costs of preventing environmental pollution do not necessarily contribute
directly to increase production, it was thought that environmental problems and
economic development are contradictory concerns
• Strong feeling among low income countries in 1972 UN Conference
• These countries contended that poverty is the ultimate environmental problem
• No choice but to go for economic development priority over environmental problems
• However, it has become increasingly obvious that environmental degradation in the
low income countries seem to impose its own constraints, not only on these countries
own economic development but upon growth world wide.
UN Resolutions – 1982
World Charter for Nature
• Humanity is a part of nature
• Civilization has its roots in nature
• Every form of life is unique
• Humans can change nature
• Sustainable yield based on conservation
• Deteriorating natural ecological systems will lead to the collapse of human civilization
• Competition for scarce resources might create conflicts
• Need for measures on
• Individual and collective
• Private and Public
• National and International Levels
• Humans must gain greater insight
Brundtland report 1987 – Our Common
Future
• suggested improving the economic conditions as a first step towards
Sustainable Development -> in contrast to Limits report
• Followed by many regional efforts and setting up working groups,
international conferences, multilateralism, global cooperation
Millennium development goals 2000
• The number of people now living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in
2015.
• The number of people in the working middle class—living on more than $4 a day—nearly tripled between 1991 and 2015.
• The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions dropped by almost half since 1990.
• The number of out-of-school children of primary school age worldwide fell by almost half, to an estimated 57 million in 2015, down
from 100 million in 2000.
• Gender parity in primary school has been achieved in the majority of countries.
• The mortality rate of children under-five was cut by more than half since 1990.
• Since 1990, maternal mortality fell by 45 percent worldwide.
• Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted between 2000 and 2015.
• New HIV infections fell by approximately 40 percent between 2000 and 2013.
• By June 2014, 13.6 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally, an immense increase from just
800,000 in 2003.
• Between 2000 and 2013, tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions saved an estimated 37 million lives.
• Worldwide 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation.
• Globally, 147 countries have met the MDG drinking water target, 95 countries have met the MDG sanitation target and 77 countries
have met both.
• Official development assistance from developed countries increased 66 percent in real terms from 2000 and 2014, reaching $135.2
billion.
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 7: Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United
Nations General Assembly in 2015. The SDGs are part of Resolution 70/1 of the United
Nations General Assembly: "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development."
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are:
1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reducing Inequality
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life On Land
16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
SDGs 2015
• The 17 goals and 169 targets of SDGs replace the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), which started a global effort in 2000 to tackle the indignity of poverty. The
MDGs established measurable, universally-agreed objectives for tackling extreme
poverty and hunger, preventing deadly diseases, and expanding primary education to
all children, among other development priorities.
• For 15 years, the in MDGs drove progress several important areas: reducing income
poverty, providing much needed access to water and sanitation, driving down child
mortality and drastically improving maternal health. They also kick-started a global
movement for free primary education, inspiring countries to invest in their future
generations. Most significantly, the MDGs made huge strides in combatting HIV/AIDS
and other treatable diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.
• http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/mdg/the-millenniumdevelopment-goals-report-2015.html
• https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
• https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld
• Nuclear war (Doomsday clock) and environmental catastrophe are two biggest threat
to planet and life on the Earth (Prof. Noam Chomsky, MIT summarizing current
geopolitics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRbnPA3fd5U
India’s progress towards SDGs
• NITI Aayog undertook the extensive exercise of measuring India and its
States’ progress towards the SDGs for 2030, culminating in the
development of the first SDG India Index - Baseline Report 2018
• It tracks the progress of all the States and Union Territories (UTs) on a set
of 62 National Indicators
• http://niti.gov.in/content/sdg-india-index-baseline-report-2018
• https://niti.gov.in/sdg-india-index-dashboard-2019-20
Inappropriate
Development
That Adversely
Affect
Human
Actions
Development
Further Impacts
Slows
Health
Environment
Undermines
Maintains
Sustainable
Development
Improves
Sustainable Development
Health
Development that meets the needs
of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own Environment
needs calls for a sense of
responsibility with respect to our
actions.
Improves
Development
Encourages
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 8: Man-made sectors and the environment
Environmental concerns in different sectors
• Rural sector
• Agriculture/forestry/grazing (non-point source pollution)
• Urban sector
• Construction, sewage, stormwater, waste handling due to housing, business,
industry, transportation, recreation (both point & non-point pollution)
• Energy sector
• Coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower (high-income nations have huge demands)
• Transportation sector
• Air, road, train, water
• Industrial sector
• Metal ores and minerals, Iron/Steel, textile & leather, pulp & paper, petro-chemicals,
chemicals, micro-electronics, biotechnologies etc.
Rural sector and the environment (50%
population)
Impact of agriculture/forestry/grazing on environment
• Air
• diesel & residue burning pollutes air
• Tree cutting; release of methane from cow belching/burping (due to foods that their digestive
systems cannot fully process, such as corn and soy) causes global warming ->extreme events, sea
level rise, rain redistribution, habitat changes (IPCC scenario building research)
• Water: scarcity and pollution - eroded soil, fertilizer (nitrates), pesticides into rivers
contaminate water->eutrophication, acidification
• Soil: erosion (through overcropping, overgrazing, wind, water); desertification;
acidification/contamination (due to fertilizer/pesticides); waterlogging, salinization due
to bad irrigation practices
• Biodiversity: soil pollution kills microbes, marine fisheries depletion, loss of habitat due
to direct land clearing/selective logging/hunting, fish kills->affecting Nature’s balance,
medical use etc.
• Resources: Oil, gas, coal, metals and mineral exploited from ground
• Humans: contaminated water, diesel & residue burning air emissions directly affects
humans, water scarcity hits people in urban areas, biodiversity loss indirectly affects
humans
Urban sector and the environment
• Air
• Construction, transportation, energy demand and industrial activities pollutes air (London Smog
1952), CO2 causes global warming, CFCs cause Ozone layer depletion
• Sulphur and nitrogen emissions from power plants, car engines -> acidification -> corrodes buildings
•
•
•
•
•
Water: sewage and other runoffs, leaching through solid waste landfills
Soil: indirectly through resource demands
Biodiversity: indirectly through resource demands
Resources: Oil, gas, coal, metals and mineral exploited from ground
Humans
• Early overcrowded industrial cities of Europe suffered frequent outbreaks of Typhoid,
Cholera, influenza but that has now been controlled due to air, water treatment
• Now leading causes of deaths are cardiovascular diseases, cancer (life-style based
factors – stress, noise, congestion, overeating, overweight, lack of exercise, smoking,
alcohol, unbalanced diet etc.).
• In low-income countries sanitation, pollution (air/water/food) are major factors
affecting human life
Energy sector and the environment
• Air: SOx, NOx, particulates, radioactive, CO2 etc.
• Water: Oil spills, acid mine drainage (coal) etc.
• Soil: coal ash disposal, land use for infrastructure
• Biodiversity: secondary effects, fish migration (hydropower),
infrastructure
• Humans: noise, blow-outs, radioactive risks, air pollution
Transportation sector and the environment
• Invention of wheel 5000 years ago – Pyramids built earlier, how??
• Air: SOx, NOx, HC, lead, CO2 etc.
• Water: accidental spills from freight vehicles
• Soil: land use for infrastructure
• Biodiversity: secondary effects, habitat loss due to infrastructure
• Humans: noise, accidents, air pollution
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 9: Remedial/mitigation actions in each sector
36 BROAD INDUSTRIES/SECTORS IN INDIA
• AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES
• AUTOMOBILES
• AUTO COMPONENTS
• AVIATION
• BANKING
• BIOTECHNOLOGY
• CEMENT
• CONSUMER DURABLES
• ECOMMERCE
• EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• ENGINEERING AND CAPITAL GOODS
• FINANCIAL SERVICES
• FMCG
• GEMS AND JEWELLERY
• HEALTHCARE
• INFRASTRUCTURE
• INSURANCE
• IT & ITES
• MANUFACTURING
• MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
• METALS AND MINING
• OIL AND GAS
• PHARMACEUTICALS
• PORTS
• POWER
• RAILWAYS
• REAL ESTATE
• RENEWABLE ENERGY
• RETAIL
• ROADS
• SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• SERVICE
• STEEL
• TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• TEXTILES
• TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
Industrial sector and the environment
•
•
•
•
Air: SOx, NOx, HC, lead, CO2 etc.
Water: BOD, COD, …all kinds of industry-specific waste through sewage
Soil: land use for infrastructure
Biodiversity: secondary effects, habitat loss due to infrastructure (AdaniAustralia)
• Humans: noise, accidents, exposure, air pollution
• Role of trade and globalization affects where the pollution occurs
• Low-income nations produce raw materials/manufacturing while high-income nations control
design, finishing, service related industries
• Low price of raw material internationally, tariffs, barriers, WTO, high cost of imports, small market
for finished products, IPR, patents, lack of technology, cheap unskilled labour, emigration/braindrain.
• Process-internal measures, external treatment, product development,
waste minimization, recovery, recycling
Remedial actions in Rural sector
• Sustainable agriculture
• Improved irrigation practices (drip) – for tackling water scarcity
• Optimizing fertilizer/pesticide/manure applications – for tackling eutrophication
• Low or no till farming – minimum disturbance to soil so no erosion:
https://greentumble.com/pros-and-cons-of-no-tillage-farming/
• Hindering wind & water-induced soil erosion
• Education about crop rotation, demand, prices/subsidies and other incentives (e.g. 2016 year
of pulses)
Remedial measures in forestry
• Reducing wildfires,
• Reduced-impact logging,
• Tropical forest conservation
• Payments for forest conservation
• Demand side measures – encourage public to reduce the
demand of environmentally damaging products
Remedial actions in Urban sector
• Environmental mapping/planning/education (green space in each
block)
• Factories outside city premises
• Public transport/cycling
• Noise abatement; subsidies in solar, electric vehicles
• Sewage treatment and stormwater management
• Integrated waste handling – recycling, reuse, segregation
• Smart city initiative: http://smartcities.gov.in/content/
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: https://www.c40.org/
• Env. Defence fund: https://www.edf.org/how-we-get-results
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/sustainability/
Remedial actions in Energy sector
• Sustainable energy future – phase out fossil fuels
• Energy planning - diversify and move towards renewables (solar,
wind, hydro, biomass)
• Technical development – absorption, adsorption treatment
techniques to minimize impacts during production
Remedial actions in Transportation sector
• Fuel and engine technology, emission norms – Volkswagen scandal
• Electric and hybrid vehicles – cultural change (no trucks in Texas?)
• Social and infrastructural changes –
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
car sharing,
odd-even,
car alternatives,
congestion tax,
tram or bicycle right of way,
public transportation incentives,
air route changes
Remedial actions in Industrial sector
• Environmental auditing
• Safe chemical handling, environmental quality assurance
• Life cycle assessment – cradle to grave
• For comparing the environmental impacts of product alternatives (pea/beef
burger impact)
• http://css.umich.edu/publication/beyond-meats-beyond-burger-life-cycleassessment-detailed-comparison-between-plant-based
• International journal of life cycle assessment, journal of cleaner development,
Sustainability etc.
• Corporate social responsibility
Actions by service sector
• Corporate social responsibility
• Companies funding social (e.g. NGO who works on cancer patients) and
environmental projects (e.g. funding university researchers)
• http://www.bnpparibas-phi.com/ProgrammeMecenat?Id=a0r24000000uCSL
• https://about.hyatt.com/en/hyatt-thrive/reporting.html
• Learn about what companies are doing for the environment here:
https://www.greenbiz.com/
•
https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/06/20/hilton-hyatt-carbon-footprint-standard
• Smart offices, natural light, cycle days, recycling, work from home
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 10: Industrial sectors of India
36 BROAD INDUSTRIES/SECTORS IN INDIA
• AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES
• AUTOMOBILES
• AUTO COMPONENTS
• AVIATION
• BANKING
• BIOTECHNOLOGY
• CEMENT
• CONSUMER DURABLES
• ECOMMERCE
• EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• ENGINEERING AND CAPITAL GOODS
• FINANCIAL SERVICES
• FMCG
• GEMS AND JEWELLERY
• HEALTHCARE
• INFRASTRUCTURE
• INSURANCE
• IT & ITES
• MANUFACTURING
• MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
• METALS AND MINING
• OIL AND GAS
• PHARMACEUTICALS
• PORTS
• POWER
• RAILWAYS
• REAL ESTATE
• RENEWABLE ENERGY
• RETAIL
• ROADS
• SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• SERVICE
• STEEL
• TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• TEXTILES
• TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
Industries in India
• Familiarize yourself with all 36 industrial sectors of India
• https://www.ibef.org/industry.aspx
• Download the IBEF report zip folder from Dropbox and read carefully the
‘Executive Summary’ on the slide-2 of each report from IBEF
• Read rest of the report to get a good idea of the industry status in India
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 11: Industries and environment
20 main industries
1. Overview of the industry: what it does, what is its importance to society,
Indian context, what are main products/technologies it uses etc.
2. Who are the big companies in this industry, their market share, revenues,
business model and what are they doing for the environment?
3. What are impacts of this industry on different domains of the
environment (air, water, biodiversity, human health, land, ocean etc.)
4. What are the new environmental-friendly technologies in this sector that
are good for the environment
• Download the Zip file containing reports of 20 industries from Dropbox link
and read carefully (especially part 3 and 4).
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 12: Global land degradation – Definition & Causes
IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Established in 1988; based in Geneva (R.K. Pachauri was chairman 2002-15)
• The IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, dedicated to providing
the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change, its natural, political and
economic impacts and risks, and possible response options
• The IPCC produces reports that contribute to the work of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main international treaty
on climate change.
• The objective of the UNFCCC is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced)
interference with the climate system". The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report was a
critical scientific input into the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement in 2015
• The IPCC carries out no original research but assesses published literature including
“peer-reviewed” and non-peer-reviewed sources. However, the IPCC can be said to
stimulate research in climate science
• Provides huge data, emission factors and many reports on climate change:
https://www.ipcc.ch/reports/ ; https://www.youtube.com/user/IPCCGeneva
IPBES - Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
• Same role as IPCC but for biodiversity and ecosystem service science
• Recently published its first report: https://www.ipbes.net/globalassessment-report-biodiversity-ecosystem-services
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOiGio7YU-M
Land
• Land provides the principal basis for human livelihoods and wellbeing including the:
•
•
•
•
supply of food, feed, wood
freshwater
multiple other ecosystem services,
biodiversity
• Human use directly affects >70% of the global, ice-free land surface.
Land also plays an important role in the climate system.
• By 2050, it is estimated that less than 10 per cent of the Earth’s land
surface will remain substantially free of direct human impact.
• Preserving life on land is SDG 15
Land degradation
• Land degradation is defined as ‘a negative trend in land condition,
caused by direct or indirect human induced processes, including
anthropogenic climate change, expressed as long-term reduction and
as loss of at least one of the following: biological productivity,
ecological integrity, or value to humans.
• DEGRADED LAND is defined as the state of land which results from
the persistent decline or loss in biodiversity and ecosystem functions
and services that cannot fully recover unaided within decadal time
scales
• Land degradation and restoration report 2017 by IPBES:
https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/ldr
• Newly released IPCC report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/
• Desertification currently affects more than 2.7 billion people and can contribute to migration
• Inhabited drylands cover 24 per cent of the Earth’s surface and are home to 38 per cent of the world’s
population, with especially pastoralists and smallholder farmers tending to be disproportionately
poor and vulnerable to changes in the natural resource base and desertification
• Almost 50% of global ice-free land is devoted to agriculture (cropland + pasture) for producing food, feed or cash crops
• Just 16% of total ice-free land is without significant human disturbance
Drivers of land degradation
• The main direct drivers of land degradation and associated
biodiversity loss are:
• Expansion of crop and grazing lands into native forests and vegetation
for economic growth (deforestation)
• Unsustainable practices on existing agricultural and forestry lands
•
•
•
•
overgrazing of cattle on grasslands (e.g. in Africa or Thar desert)
fertilizer use
soil erosion through ploughing/tilling
Excessive water abstraction for irrigation dries up the area and kills other
vegetation
• Soil salinization due to artificial irrigation – surface or ground water brings salt
with it that remains after the water is used by crops =>salinization of the soil =>
infertile soil after some years => degradation
• Climate change – less or high rains, winds, heat => crop/forests growth
affected or wildfires
• Urban expansion, infrastructure development
• Mining/Extractive industry (metal, minerals, coal, limestone etc.).
Underlying reasons of land degradation
• High consumption lifestyles in rich economies of the West
• Global supply chains and disconnect/distance between those that
drive degradation (consumers in rich countries) and the place where
it occurs (low-income, resource rich countries of Asia, Africa and
South America)
• Land degradation at low-income countries causes negative impacts on human
health and other ecosystem services => vicious cycle
• Widespread lack of awareness about the problem – no
courses/subjects
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 13: Global land degradation – Impacts & Solutions
Impact of human land activities on the Nature
Negative impacts of land degradation – low
food production and more pollution
• Soil erosion, soil infertility, soil salinization, climate change negatively affects crop
production
• Over the past two centuries, soil organic carbon (SOC), an indicator of soil health, has seen
an estimated 8 per cent loss globally (176 gigatons of carbon (Gt C)) from land conversion
and unsustainable land management practices
• By 2050, land degradation and climate change together are predicted to reduce
crop yields by an average of 10 per cent globally and up to 50 per cent in certain
regions
• The capacity of rangelands to support livestock will continue to diminish in the
future, due to both land degradation and loss of rangeland area (negatively
affecting 1.3 billion pastoralists and farmers).
• In response, the increased use of intensive livestock production systems with high
off-site impacts (e.g. soybean in Brazil to feed USA cows, pork, chicken) increases
the risk of degradation and pollutions in other ecosystems (soil, rivers of Brazil)
Negative impacts of land degradation – biodiversity
loss, desertification and flash floods
• One million species are close to extinction
• About 80% of the total Indian desert area has resulted from
manmade desertification process (mostly in Rajasthan & Gujarat;
Ladakh is a cold desert)
• Forests and tree cover act as buffers against floods (water coming out
of melted ice downstream) – Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka in 2019
Negative impacts of land degradation –
Climate change
• Between 2000 and 2009, land degradation was responsible for annual
global emissions of 3.6–4.4 billion tonnes of CO2
• The main processes include deforestation and forest degradation, the
drying and burning of peatlands, and the decline of carbon content in
many cultivated soils and rangelands as a result of excessive
disturbance
• In mountainous and high latitude regions, permafrost melt and
glacier retreat will result in mass land movements such as landslides
Negative impacts of land degradation – high
food prices and violent human conflicts
• High food prices were one of the triggers for Arab Spring 7-10 years ago
• Decreasing land productivity, among other factors, makes societies,
particularly on drylands, vulnerable to socioeconomic instability.
• In dryland areas, years with extreme low rainfall have been associated with
an increase of up to 45 per cent in violent conflict (e.g. religious).
• Every 5 per cent loss of gross domestic product (GDP), itself partly caused
by degradation, is associated with a 12 per cent increase in the likelihood
of violent conflict. Land degradation and climate change are likely to force
50 to 700 million people to migrate by 2050.
• Migrants might come into conflict with natives due to limited resources
Ten measures to reduce/mitigate land degradation
• Near zero population growth
• Low-consumption life-styles (plant-based diets and renewable energy use
in housing, transportation and industry)
• Eco-labelling, certifications and corporate social responsibility
• Sustainable management practices: to avoid and reduce degradation of
existing croplands and grazing lands, such as - sustainable intensification,
conservation agriculture, agroecological practices, grazing pressure
management and silvopastoral management.
• Agroforestry and some integrated animal and crop production systems that promote
soil organic matter accumulation and nutrient cycling
• Measures that enhance soil carbon storage in managed landscapes such as reduced
or no-till farming practices, cover crops, green manures or intercropping
• Avoidance of further agricultural expansion into native habitats can be
achieved through yield increases, shifts towards less land-degrading diets,
such as those with more vegetables, and reductions in food loss and waste
• Close global coordination between different actors (producers, consumers,
policy makers, business, scientists) – collaboration made the pyramids,
enabled moon landing!!
Ten measures to reduce/mitigate land degradation
• Positive incentives to producers (e.g. farmers) such as:
• Remove subsidies with negative impacts (e.g. for electricity and fertilizers in
India)
• Instead - introduce payments for ecosystem services, credit, insurance to
farmers adopting sustainable practices so that their income increases
• This can be compensated by increasing the price of the product and putting the
burden on consumers – i.e. the environmental, social and economic costs of
unsustainable land use and production practices are reflected in product prices
• Education, alternate world views, religions can play key part
• Political will and removing corruption
• The cost of inaction in the face of land degradation is at least three times higher
than the cost of action. On average, the benefits of restoration are 10 times
higher than the costs.
• Restoration of degraded forests, rangelands and wetlands
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 14: Climate change
Recap – land degradation
• Land degradation is reduction in productive capacity of land and
human cultivation of land is its main driver.
• Continuous cultivation causes soil erosion because the protective
vegetation cover is destroyed leading to acceleration in removal of
surface soil by wind and /or water
• 70% of global land is used by humans for food, comfort + economic
purposes; only 16% is almost untouched by humans so far
• Land degradation can lead to decrease in soil fertility and thus food
insecurity, flash floods, biodiversity loss, more pollution, climate
change, desertification and eventually violent conflict
• Through sustainable consumer and producer actions, we can reverse,
mitigate or halt global land degradation
Climate and climate change
• Earth's global mean climate is a function of:
• energy coming from the sun and
• the properties of the earth (land, ocean, humans, atmosphere (i.e. reflection,
absorption and emission of energy within the atmosphere and at the surface)
• Climate is weather averaged over time (months, years, beyond) and
can be regional or global while the weather is regional and at the
temporal scale of hours, days
• Climate change is any long-term significant change in “average
weather” that a region experiences.
• Average weather includes average temperature, precipitation and
wind patterns
• https://nptel.ac.in/courses/nptel_download.php?subjectid=1191060
08
Earth’s climate
• Apart from general curiosity (why Mars is cold and Venus is hot; will ice age
return etc.), we need to study how the climate is changing and how it will be in
‘future’ - existential threat, implications for economics (do we need to stop
burning fossil fuels)
• Why the earth's temperature is just right?
• The Mars has a very thin atmosphere almost all the CO2 is in the ground. So
since the CO2 is not there much in the atmosphere, the average temperature
is -50 degrees centigrade. Venus has a very thick atmosphere containing 96%
carbon dioxide, because of which the average temperature is +420 degrees
centigrade. Both -50 and +420 or not conducive for the sustenance of life,
plant life and animal life. At Earth, 0.03% of carbon dioxide is in the
atmosphere which is like 300 ppm and the average temperature is +15 degree
centigrade which is perfect
• We don’t know - why would the initial conditions of Earth (negligible oxygen and
then increasing due to photosynthesis) be so chosen that currently now we are
having +15 degree centigrade, which is so conducive to human life? Why such
perfect balance - hydrological cycle (water exists in all 3 forms only on Earth); 15
degrees mean oceans are not frozen so they can act as chemical and thermal
buffer; rotation rate just right; moon’s gravitational pull; distance from sun just
right for hydrogen to escape; volcanoes emit aerosols that counter greenhouse
gases and so on….
Climate change
• Radiation budget of Earth and its atmosphere
• Incoming solar radiation is 342 Watts per m2; 77 W is reflected by clouds,
aerosols, atmospheric gases and 30 W is reflected by Earth’s surface so we get
235 W/m2 (168 W absorbed by surface and 67 W absorbed by atmosphere
gases such as CO2)
• Climate change will happen if the global energy budget is changed
• Within the atmosphere, carbon dioxide can change, water vapor can change,
methane can change
• Or at the Earth’s surface, more ice can melt, forests can be cut etc.
• Due to anthropogenic activities (increased emissions and reduced tree
cover/sinks), the CO2, N2O, methane, fluorinated compounds in the
atmosphere is increasing and this is leading to increase in average
temperature of Earth (greenhouse effect – trapping of outgoing reflected
heat)
• Since industrial revolution, the atmospheric concentrations of carbon
dioxide has increased by 30%, methane more than doubled, nitrous oxide
risen by 15%.
• Global mean surface temperature (land-ocean) has increased by 1 degree Celsius above the 1850 levels
• Surface air temperature over land has increased >1.5 degree Celsius above the 1850 levels
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjp3TO_juI
• Paleo-climatologist, archaeologists pull out past sealed air data from frozen
ice and then analyze this air in the lab for concentration of various gases
• Soil erosion from agricultural fields is estimated to be currently
10 to 20 times (no tillage) to more than 100 times (conventional tillage) higher than
the soil formation rate.
Climate change impacts in future - projections
• At around 2°C of global warming the risk from permafrost
degradation and food supply instabilities are projected to be very high
• Asia and Africa are projected to have the highest number of people
vulnerable to increased desertification.
• North America, South America, Mediterranean, southern Africa and
central Asia may be increasingly affected by wildfire.
• The tropics and subtropics are projected to be most vulnerable to
crop yield decline.
• Land degradation resulting from the combination of sea level rise and
more intense cyclones is projected to jeopardise lives and livelihoods
in cyclone prone areas.
• Within populations, women, the very young, elderly and poor are
most at risk.
Human choices can contribute positively!
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 15: Climate change impacts and solutions
Impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems
• Land range shifts: Of 105,000 species studied,9 6% of insects, 8% of plants and 4% of vertebrates
are projected to lose over half of their climatically determined geographic range for global
warming of 1.5°C, compared with 18% of insects, 16% of plants and 8% of vertebrates for global
warming of 2°C. Impacts associated with other biodiversity-related risks such as forest fires and
the spread of invasive species are lower at 1.5°C compared to 2°C of global warming
• Invasive species encroachment: High-latitude tundra and boreal forests are particularly at risk of
climate change-induced degradation and loss, with woody shrubs already encroaching into the
tundra (high confidence) and this will proceed with further warming. Limiting global warming to
1.5°C rather than 2°C is projected to prevent the thawing over centuries of a permafrost area in
the range of 1.5 to 2.5 million km2
• Ocean temperature changes: Limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to 2°C is projected to
reduce increases in ocean temperature as well as associated increases in ocean acidity and
decreases in ocean oxygen levels. Consequently, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is projected to
reduce risks to marine biodiversity, fisheries, and ecosystems, and their functions and services to
humans, as illustrated by recent changes to Arctic sea ice and warm-water coral reef ecosystems
• Ocean acidification: The level of ocean acidification due to increasing CO2 concentrations
associated with global warming of 1.5°C is projected to amplify the adverse effects of warming,
and even further at 2°C, impacting the growth, development, calcification, survival, and thus
abundance of a broad range of species, for example, from algae to fish
• Coral reefs, for example, are projected to decline by a further 70–90% at 1.5°C (high confidence)
with larger losses (>99%) at 2°C (very high confidence). The risk of irreversible loss of many
marine and coastal ecosystems increases with global warming, especially at 2°C or more
Impact on fisheries and aquaculture sector
• Impacts of climate change in the ocean are increasing risks to
fisheries and aquaculture via impacts on the physiology, survivorship,
habitat, reproduction, disease incidence, and risk of invasive species
(medium confidence) but are projected to be less at 1.5°C of global
warming than at 2°C.
• One global fishery model, for example, projected a decrease in global
annual catch for marine fisheries of about 1.5 million tonnes for 1.5°C
of global warming compared to a loss of more than 3 million tonnes
for 2°C of global warming (medium confidence).
Impact on humans
• Sea-level rise: Model-based projections of global mean sea level rise (relative to 1986–2005) suggest an indicative range of 0.26 to
0.77m by 2100 for 1.5°C of global warming, 0.1 m (0.04–0.16 m) less than for a global warming of 2°C. A reduction of 0.1 m in
global sea level rise implies that up to 10 million fewer people would be exposed to related risks, based on population in the year
2010 and assuming no adaptation
• Increasing warming amplifies the exposure of small islands, low-lying coastal areas and deltas to the risks associated with sea level rise for
many human and ecological systems, including increased saltwater intrusion, flooding and damage to infrastructure. Risks associated with sea
level rise are higher at 2°C compared to 1.5°C.
• Risks from droughts and heavy precipitation or cyclones will increase with increasing temperature
• Heat related mortality: Any increase in global warming is projected to affect human health, with primarily negative consequences.
Lower risks are projected at 1.5°C than at 2°C for heat-related morbidity and mortality and for ozone-related mortality if emissions
needed for ozone formation remain high. Urban heat islands often amplify the impacts of heatwaves in cities.
• Risks from some vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, are projected to increase with warming from 1.5°C to
2°C, including potential shifts in their geographic range
• Crop production affected: Limiting warming to 1.5°C compared with 2°C is projected to result in smaller net reductions in yields of
maize, rice, wheat, and potentially other cereal crops, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and South
America, and in the CO2-dependent nutritional quality of rice and wheat
• Livestock are projected to be adversely affected with rising temperatures, depending on the extent of changes in feed quality,
spread of diseases, and water resource availability
• Water stress: Depending on future socio-economic conditions, limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to 2°C may reduce the
proportion of the world population exposed to a climate change-induced increase in water stress by up to 50%, although there is
considerable variability between regions
• Cumulative economic damage: Risks to global aggregated economic growth due to climate change impacts are projected to be
lower at 1.5°C than at 2°C by the end of this century. Countries in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere subtropics are projected to
experience the largest impacts on economic growth due to climate change should global warming increase from 1.5°C to 2°C
Engineering solutions to tackle climate change
• If there are more aerosols, then they can counter the effect of greenhouse
gases by reflecting. Aerosols also released whenever there is a volcanic
eruption. The aerosols can also be in due, can also be put into the
atmosphere, but that is going to be very expensive. That is geoengineering, if you want to do that. If you want to engineer the weather
and climate, so then it is called geo-engineering. So it will be very
expensive.
• We have to go play, take some 100s of airplanes and then fill the whole
atmosphere. So you can Geo-engineer a local weather. Chinese did it for
the Olympics and they removed, they just dispersed the clouds (silver
iodide). They did the opposite of cloud seeding.
• Engineering solutions are possible carbon capture and sequestration
putting the carbon dioxide into the ocean reducing, fossil fuel
consumption, increasing the efficiency of the plant load factors of power
plants, going for LED solutions (Nobel Prize)
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 15b: Climate change and India
Recap – climate change
• Climate change is any long-term significant change in “average weather”
(temperature, wind and precipitation patterns)
• Climate change is happening due to anthropogenic activities disturbing the
Earth’s energy budget (emissions of gases, cutting of tree etc.)
• Efforts are underway to limit the increase in Earth’s mean temperature to
1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100 (it is already 1
degree higher in 2015)
• A warming by 2 degree Celsius will lead to desertification, land
degradation, food insecurity, water scarcity, soil erosion, wildfire damage,
permafrost degradation, crop yield decline and will have substantial
negative impacts on human health, economic and eco systems in general
• Adoption of sustainability practices and reduction in consumption demand
are key in limiting the climate change
India’s Intended Nationally Determined
Contribution
• India’s INDC centre around the country’s policies and programmes for:
• Sustainable Lifestyles - To put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on
traditions and values of conservation and moderation.
• Cleaner Economic Development - To adopt a climate friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed hitherto
by others at corresponding level of economic development.
• Reducing Emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by
33 to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level.
• Increasing the Share of Non Fossil Fuel Based Electricity - To achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power
installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and
low cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• Enhancing Carbon Sink (Forests) - To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent
through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
• Adaptation - To better adapt to climate change by enhancing investments in development programmes in sectors
vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, Himalayan region, coastal regions, health
and disaster management.
• Mobilizing Finance - To mobilize domestic and new & additional funds from developed countries to implement
the above mitigation and adaptation actions in view of the resource required and the resource gap.
• Technology Transfer and Capacity Building - To build capacities, create domestic framework and international
architecture for quick diffusion of cutting edge climate technology in India and for joint collaborative R&D for
such future technologies.
How is it different from other nations?
• India’s INDCs have a strong focus on climate change adaptation. Of
the 8 missions outlined in India’s National Action Plan on Climate
Change, 4 efforts are focused on adaptation efforts – sustainable
agriculture, increasing water use efficiency, sustaining the Himalayan
ecosystem and creating sustainable habitats.
• No other country has been able to dedicate the same level of focus
and effort on adaptation on as large a scale as India. Furthermore,
India has also outlined the financial implications of the climate
change goals, in addition to outlining its plan for developing and
enabling technology transfers to facilitate INDC achievement.
Indian plans
• Adaptation measures feature prominently in India’s framework for climate change
action, and are a part of Indian lifestyles. India’s heritage embraces nature, and
environmental consciousness is deeply rooted in its traditions. People here have learnt to
live in harmony with nature. India has made lifestyle changes an integral part of its
solution to climate change in cognisance with its population and economic growth.
• Furthermore, India is one of the nations to have implemented measures to adapt to
climate change on a large scale. Already, 32 of India’s 29 states and 7 union territories
have submitted respective State Action Plans on Climate Change, which complement
India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). In its NAPCC, the nation has
focused 4 of its 8 missions on adaptation efforts, including: a) sustainable habitats; b)
optimising water use efficiency ; c) creating ecologically sustainable climate resilient
agricultural production systems; and, d) safeguarding the Himalayan glaciers and
mountain ecosystem . India’s adaptation efforts include initiatives in agriculture, water,
health, coastal region & islands, disaster management, biodiversity and ecosystem
protection, and securing rural livelihoods.
• India is implementing national schemes to promote organic farming, efficient irrigation
systems, watershed management, improving soil health and climate resilient agriculture.
India has set up the National Adaptation Fund with a corpus of INR 350 Crores (USD 55.6
million) to enable these efforts.
India’s perspective on climate justice
• With a significant proportion of its population still below the poverty line, India is well positioned to understand and balance this demography’s needs for upliftment with the global
agenda for climate change action. India accounts for 2.4% of the world surface area, but supports
around 17.5% of the world population. It houses the largest proportion of global poor (30% , 363
million people), around 24% of the global population without access to electricity (304 million),
about 30% of the global population relying on solid biomass for cooking and 92 million without
access to safe drinking water. These, geographical and other socio - economic factors make India
highly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
• The average annual energy consumption in India in 2011 was only 0.6 tonnes of oil equivalent
(toe) per capita as compared to global average of 1.88 toe per capita. Additionally, India has been
able to achieve an Human Development Index of 0.586 with this significantly lower average
annual energy consumption . No country in the world has been able to achieve a HDI of 0.9 or
more without an energy availability of 4 toe per capita.
• India has a lot to do to provide a dignified life to its population and to meet their rightful
aspirations. Given the development agenda in a democratic polity, the infrastructure deficit
represented by different indicators, the pressures of urbanisation and industrialisation and the
imperative of sustainable growth, India faces a formidable and complex challenge in working for
economic progress towards a secure future for its citizens.
• Given its experiences in effectively implementing climate change actions, India also knows that
current adaptation efforts are not affordable or practical on a universal scale. Current climate
change resolution efforts put the burden on the economically disadvantaged of society without
accounting for their growth and development aspirations. As a responsible global citizen, India is
willing to lead in adaptations efforts that will make lifting the poor across the world out of
poverty central to climate change action
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 16: Climate change mitigation and adaptation in India
India’s intended nationally determined
contribution (INDC) report to UNFCCC
• Earth has enough resources to meet people’s needs, but will never have enough to satisfy
people's greed
• We must promote sustainable production processes and also sustainable lifestyles across
the globe.
• Habit and attitude (human behavior) are as much a part of the solution as Technology
and Finance.
• Annual per capita emissions of many high-income countries vary between 7 to 15 metric
tonnes, the per capita emissions in India were only about 1.56 metric tonnes in 2010.
• It is estimated that more than half of India of 2030 is yet to be built.
• India is particularly vulnerable to climate change as majority of its population is
dependent on agriculture and vast population lives in coastal areas, the Himalayan region
and islands and drylands
• Mitigation (to reduce emissions or absorb carbon from atmosphere) and Adaptation
(minimize the effect of climate change and be more resilient)
• https://nmhs.org.in/pdf/INDIA%20INDC%20TO%20UNFCCC.pdf
• https://www.nature.com/nclimate/volumes/
India’s INDC
• To put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way
of living based on traditions and values of conservation and
moderation.
• To adopt a climate friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed
hitherto by others at corresponding level of economic development.
• To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 percent by
2030 from 2005 level.
• To achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed
capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with
the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance
including from Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2
equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
India’s efforts to mitigate climate change –
promotion of clean energy
• The energy intensity of the economy has decreased from 18.16 goe (grams of oil
equivalent) per Rupee of GDP in 2005 to 15.02 goe per Rupee GDP in 2012, a decline of
over 2.5% per annum.
• Between 2002 and 2015, the share of renewable grid capacity has increased over 6
times, from 2% (3.9 GW) to around 13% (36 GW).
• Wind energy has been the predominant contributor to the renewable energy growth in India
accounting for 23.76 GW (65.2%) of the renewable installed capacity, making India the 5th largest
wind power producer in the world.
• Solar power installed capacity has increased from only 3.7 MW in 2005 to about 4060 MW in 2015
• It is envisaged to increase biomass installed capacity to 10 GW by 2022 from current capacity of
4.4 GW (cleaner and efficient use rather than current inefficient use in rural areas)
• Hydropower contributes about 46.1 GW to current portfolio of installed capacity, of which 4.1 GW
is small hydro (upto 25 MW) and 41.99 GW is large hydro (more than 25 MW).
• India is promoting Nuclear Power as a safe, environmentally benign and economically viable
source to meet the increasing electricity needs of the country.
• Coal based power as of now accounts for about 60.8% (167.2 GW) of India’s installed capacity. All
new, large coal-based generating stations have been mandated to use the highly efficient
supercritical technology. Besides, stringent emission standards being contemplated for thermal
plants would significantly reduce emissions
• National Smart Grid Mission has been launched to bring efficiency in power supply network and
facilitate reduction in losses and outages.
New climate friendly technologies
• Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) : Pulverized Combustion Ultra Super Critical (PC USC); Pressurised Circulating Fluidised Bed
Combustion, Super Critical, Combine Cycle (PCFBC SC CC) ; Integrated Gasifier Combined Cycle (IGCC) ; Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
(SOFC), Integrated Gasifier Fuel Cell (IGFC) ; Underground Coal gasification (UCG)
• Nuclear Power : Pressurized water reactor, Integral pressurized water reactor, Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) , Fast
breeder reactor (FBR) , Accelerated-driven systems in advanced nuclear fuel cycles
• Renewable Energy :
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Yeast /enzyme based conversion to high quality hydrocarbon fuels
Conversion of pre-treated biomass to fuels and chemicals
Gasification technologies like fluidised bed, plasma induced etc. for power generation
Wind Energy technologies:
Development of smaller and efficient turbines
Wind turbines for low wind regime
Designs of offshore wind power plants
Solar PV technologies:
Based on p-type silicon wafers and n-type silicon wafers
Hetero junction with Thin Interfacial (HIT) Module, Back Contact Back Junction (BCBJ) Modules
Crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells of > 24 % cell efficiency
High efficiency Concentrating PV (CPV)
Non-silicon based solar PV technologies
Composite cylinders for on-board hydrogen storage
Advanced biomass gasification technologies
Low temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) for stationary power generation and for vehicular applications
Energy storage technologies for bulk storage and Renewable Energy integration, frequency regulation, utility Transmission &
Distribution applications and for community scale projects.
India’s efforts to mitigate climate change –
increasing energy efficiency
• Ministry of Power through Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has initiated a
number of energy efficiency initiatives (e.g. the National Mission for
Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE))
• rapid transformation of efficient lighting (CFLs and LEDs)
• Standards and Labeling Programme launched by the Government of India enables
consumers to make informed decision (and save money) by providing information
about the energy consumption of an appliance (e.g. super-efficient fan).
• The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) sets efficient (net-zero or low) energy
standards for new commercial buildings.
• India has developed its own building- energy rating system GRIHA (Green Rating for
Integrated Habitat Assessment), based on 34 criteria like site planning, conservation
and efficient utilization of resources etc. A number of buildings including
Commonwealth Games Village have been rated using GRIHA system. Indira
Paryavaran Bhawan, the headquarters of Central Government’s Ministry of
Environment, Forest & Climate Change is a model building of Government of India
and has received LEED India Platinum and a 5 Star GRIHA rating. It is a ‘Net Zero
Energy’ building with 100% onsite power generation.
India’s efforts to mitigate climate change –
increasing energy efficiency
• ENHANCING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN INDUSTRIES
• DEVELOPING CLIMATE RESILIENT URBAN CENTERS (smart cities)
• PROMOTING WASTE TO WEALTH CONVERSION (solid waste and
wastewater management)
• SAFE, SMART AND SUSTAINABLE GREEN TRANSPORTATION NETWORK
(efficient rail, dedicate freight corridors, developing Coastal Shipping and
Inland Water Transport, Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), planting trees
on highways, promoting hybrid and electric vehicles, national bio-diesel
mission – jatropha tree oil mixed with diesel)
• PLANNED AFFORESTATION (Green India Mission - ~24% of total areas is
forest, target is 33%; carbon stocks in forest increased by 300 million tons
between 2005-13).
• PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVES (CSR; GreenCo rating system; New Ventures
India; SME Cluster Programs for Energy Efficiency
India’s adaptation strategies for climate
change
• Out of the eight National Missions on Climate Change five mission
focus on adaptation in sectors like agriculture, water, Himalayan
ecosystems, forestry, Capacity building and Knowledge management
• Several schemes to strengthen adaptive capacities of the vulnerable
communities. India’s expenditure on programmes with critical
adaptation components has increased from 1.45% of GDP in 2000-01
to 2.82% during 2009-10. Expenditure on human capabilities and
livelihoods viz. poverty alleviation, health improvement and disease
control and risk management, constitutes more than 80% of the total
expenditure on adaptation in India.
India’s adaptation strategies for climate
change - Agriculture sector
• National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) aims at
enhancing food security and protection of resources such as land,
water, biodiversity and genetics. The mission focuses on new
technologies and practices in cultivation, genotypes of crops that
have enhanced CO2 fixation potential, which are less water
consuming and more climate resilient
• National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).
• Soil health card and soil-testing laboratories set up
• National Agroforestry Policy (NAP) of India aims at encouraging and
expanding tree plantation in complementarity and integrated manner
with crops and livestock to minimize risk during extreme events.
India’s adaptation strategies for climate
change - Water sector
• National Water Mission (NWM) - increase water use efficiency by
20%
• Rainwater harvesting, watershed development for groundwater
replenishment
• National Mission for Clean Ganga
• National River Conservation Directorate and flood management
programs
India’s adaptation strategies for climate
change – Human health sector
• Climate change will increase health related stress from extreme
weather-related disasters such as wider spread of vector-borne
diseases as malaria and dengue and increasing frequency of heat and
cold waves
• National Health Mission;
• analysing epidemiological data, identify vulnerable population and regions,
build knowledge base and expertise, increase awareness and community
participation.
• Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP); National Vector
Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) - aims to eliminate
malaria by 2030.
India’s adaptation strategies for climate
change – Coastal regions and islands
• India has a long coastline of 7517 km including island territories, and encompasses total 73 districts in the 9
maritime states and 2 Union Territories. The coastal districts house 14.2% of India’s total population. India
has been identified as one of the countries which are most vulnerable to the impact of accelerated sea level
rise due to global warming
• India has demarcated vulnerable areas on the coasts and declared them as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
with restrictions imposed on setting up and expansion of industries, operations and processes in these areas
• Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
• Island protection Zones: disaster risk reduction through bioshields with local vegetation (mangroves) and
other soft protection measures, and the conservation of beaches and sand dunes
• Similar to Small Island Developing States, the 1,238 Indian islands are vulnerable to loss of coastal wetlands
including mangroves and salt water intrusion in fresh water aquifers. With changing climate, islands are
highly susceptible to frequent and more intense tropical cyclones and associated storm surge, droughts,
tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, which will have adverse impact on economy of these islands and health of
their inhabitants.
• National Disaster Relief Fund: India's annual average flood damage during the period 1996-2005 was INR
47.45 billion (USD 753.2 Million). Strategies to minimize damage include early warnings and
communications, construction and sustainable maintenance of multi-purpose cyclone shelter, improved
access and evacuation, enhanced capacity and capability of local communities to respond to disaster
India’s adaptation strategies for climate change –
Biodiversity and Himalayan ecosystem
• In order to protect the biodiversity from changing climate, India has developed a
biogeographic classification for conservation planning, and has mapped biodiversity rich
areas in the country. The protected area network has increased from 427 (3.34% of total
geographical area) in 1988 to 690 (5.07% of total geographical area) in 2014.
• The Himalayas form the most important concentration of snow covered region outside the
polar region. It is highly sensitive to global warming. The detailed glacier inventory of
Indian Himalayas indicates presence of 9579 glaciers in the Himalayas, some of which form
the perennial source of major rivers.
• The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) addresses
important issues concerning Himalayan Glaciers and the associated hydrological
consequences, biodiversity and wildlife conservation and protection, traditional knowledge
societies and their livelihood and planning for sustaining of the Himalayan Ecosystem.
• Government has also launched National Mission on Himalayan Studies to complement
NMSHE with the objective of building a body of scientific and traditional knowledge along
with demonstrating replicable solutions to the problems in thematic areas including
natural resource management, capacity building, long-term ecological monitoring etc.
India’s adaptation strategies for climate change –
Rural livelihood security and other plans
• The rural areas are highly prone to stress and pressures from natural resource exploitation. The
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India (MGNREGS), with a
budgetary annual allocation of about INR 347 billion (USD 5.5 billion) in 2015-16, aims at enhancing
livelihood in the rural areas.
• A vast majority of works under this programme aim at strengthening natural resource base of the rural
economy and are linked to improve sustainability of land, soil, and water (canal lining, water harvesting etc.).
• National Rural Livelihoods Mission: through self-managed self help groups and federated institutions to
support the rural communities in strengthening their livelihood
• A network of 127 institutions called “INCCA” (Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment) has
been set up to share knowledge and work in a collaborative manner on climate change issues.
• National Training Policy, through which each Ministry and Department earmarks about 2.5% of its
salary budget for training. A part of this budget is used for training in climate change and
sustainable development issues as well
• The Department of Science & Technology has also initiated creation of Climate Change Centers at
the state level especially in the Himalayan region.
• Government has recently launched “Skill India” with the target to provide skill training in various
sectors including sustainable development to about 400 million people by 2022.
India’s adaptation strategies for climate change –
Financial instruments (National funds)
• Maximum share of India's current climate finance comes from budgetary
sources (tax money) but it is experimenting with a careful mix of market
mechanisms together with fiscal instruments and regulatory interventions to
mobilize finance for climate change
• Government of India has set up two dedicated funds at the national level for
mobilizing financing for mitigation and adaptation respectively.
• Cess on Coal: India imposed a cess on coal in 2010 @ INR 50 (USD 0.8) per tonne of
coal. Recently it has been quadrupled to INR 200 (USD 3.2) per tonne of coal. This
forms the corpus for the National Clean Environment Fund, used for financing clean
energy, technologies, and projects related to it. The total collection of INR 170.84
billion (USD 2.7 billion) till 2014-15 is being used for 46 clean energy projects worth INR
165.11 billion (USD 2.6 billion).
• India has set up a National Adaptation Fund with an initial allocation of INR 3,500
million (USD 55.6 million) to combat the adaptation needs in sectors like agriculture,
water, forestry etc. in addition to sectoral spending by the respective ministries.
India’s adaptation strategies for climate change –
Financial instruments (Other fiscal instruments)
• India has cut subsidies and increased taxes on fossil fuels (petrol and diesel)
• India has launched ‘Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme’ for cooking gas
• Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds of INR 50 billion (USD 794 million) are being
introduced for funding of renewable energy projects.
• Finance Commission (FC) Incentive for creation of carbon sink: devolution of
funds to states from the federal pool would be based on a formula that
attaches 7.5 % weight to the area under forest in that state
• External cooperation: for development and transfer of technologies to reduce
carbon intensity
Finance requirements to deal with climate
change in India
• Approximate adaptation cost for India in energy sector alone would
roughly be about USD 7.7 billion in 2030s.
• The economic damage and losses in India from climate change is projected
to be around 1.8% of its GDP annually by 2050.
• Mitigation requirements are even more enormous. Estimates by NITI
Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) indicate that the
mitigation activities for moderate low carbon development would cost
around USD 834 billion till 2030 at 2011 prices.
• at least USD 2.5 trillion (at 2014-15 prices) will be required for meeting
India's climate change actions between now and 2030.
• India has advocated global collaboration in Research & Development
(R&D), particularly in clean technologies and enabling their transfer, free of
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) costs, to low income countries
Dimensions of the institutions and actors involved in climate change decision making
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 17: Biodiversity
What is biodiversity
• Sum total of all the variety of living organisms
on earth constitute biodiversity. Biological
diversity is usually considered at three
different levels –
a) genetic diversity i.e. at genetic level,
b) species diversity i.e. at the level of
species, and
c) ecosystem diversity i.e. at the level of
ecosystem.
Genetic diversity
• Each species, varying from bacteria to higher plants and animals, stores an
immense amount of genetic information. For example, the number of genes is
about 450-700 in mycoplasma, 4000 in bacteria (eg. Escherichia coli) , 13,000 in
Fruit-fly (Drosophila melanogaster); 32,000 – 50,000 in rice (Oryza sativa); and
35,000 to 45,000 in human beings (Homo sapiens).
• This variation of genes, not only of numbers but of structure also, is of great value
as it enables a population to adapt to its environment and to respond to the
process of natural selection. If a species has more genetic variation, it can adapt
better to the changed environmental conditions.
• E.g. Some varieties of Rice can tolerate more heat or grow with less water;
• or with humans – more diverse set of skills/genes means more robust army/team (in cricket
or other sports)
• Cheetahs experienced a genetic bottleneck around 10,000 years ago (due to some random
environmental event), a point where their population was reduced to very low numbers and
the remaining animals became inbred. Most species vary in about 20 percent of their genes,
but cheetahs only vary by 1 percent. The low genetic variability makes debilitating and even
lethal genetic disorders more common and leads to low reproductive success. If cheetahs
survive as a species, it may be millennia before they fully recover their genetic diversity
Causes of genetic diversity
• Major causes of genetic variation include mutations, gene flow, and sexual reproduction.
Examples of genetic variation include eye color, blood type, camouflage in animals, and leaf
modification in plants.
• Mutation: Random mutations consistently generate genetic variation. A mutation will increase
genetic diversity in the short term, as a new gene is introduced to the gene pool.
• Most new mutations either have a neutral or negative effect on fitness, while some have a positive effect. A
beneficial mutation is more likely to persist and thus have a long-term positive effect on genetic diversity.
Mutation rates differ across the genome, and larger populations have greater mutation rates. In smaller
populations a mutation is less likely to persist because it is more likely to be eliminated by drift.
• Gene Flow: movement of genes from one population to another - often by migration, is the
movement of genetic material (for example by pollen in the wind, or the migration of a bird).
Gene flow can introduce novel genes to a population. These genes can be integrated into the
population, thus increasing genetic diversity.
• For example, an insecticide-resistant mutation arose in Anopheles gambiae African mosquitoes. Migration of
some A. gambiae mosquitoes to a population of Anopheles coluzziin mosquitoes resulted in a transfer of the
beneficial resistance gene from one species to the other. The genetic diversity was increased in A. gambiae by
mutation and in A. coluzziin by gene flow.
• Sexual reproduction promotes variable gene combinations in a population leading to genetic
variation.
• Generalists are very adaptable species that can adapt their behavior and diet to a changing
environment. Coyotes are an example of a generalist species. Specialist species, by comparison,
have developed very specific traits that let them take advantage of one particular resource.
Hummingbirds are an example of a specialist species. Environments with more variability tend to
favor generalist species and also more genetic diversity within species.
Genetic diversity
• A person's skin color, hair color, dimples, freckles, and blood type are all examples of genetic
variations that can occur in a human population.
• Examples of genetic variation in plants include the modified leaves of carnivorous plants and the
development of flowers that resemble insects to lure plant pollinators. Gene variation in plants
often occurs as the result of gene flow. Pollen is dispersed from one area to another by the wind or
by pollinators over great distances.
• Examples of genetic variation in animals include albinism, cheetahs with stripes, snakes that fly,
animals that play dead, and animals that mimic leaves. These variations enable the animals to better
adapt to conditions in their environments
• https://www.thoughtco.com/genetic-variation-373457
Tricks to reproduce/maximize genetic diversity
• Plants utilize a number of methods to entice pollinators. These
methods include producing sweet smelling fragrances and sugary
nectar. While some plants deliver on the promise of sweet success,
others employ trickery and bait and switch tactics to achieve
pollination. The plant gets pollinated, but the insect is not rewarded
with the promise of food, or in some cases romance.
Bucket Orchids Catch Bees
Giant Water Lily Traps Beetles
Ghost Mantis
Katydids
These flowers release aromas that attract male bees.
Bees use these flowers to harvest fragrances that
they use to create a scent that will attract female
bees. In their rush to collect fragrances from the
flowers, the bees may slip on the slick surface of the
flower's petal and fall into bucket lips. Inside the
bucket is a thick, sticky liquid that adheres to the
wings of the bee. Unable to fly, the bee crawls
through a narrow opening, collecting pollen on its
body as it heads toward an exit. Once its wings are
dry, the bee can fly away. This bee may fall into the
bucket of another bucket orchid plant leaving behind
pollen from the previous orchid.
Genetic diversity importance & Genetic rescue
• The nineteenth-century Potato Famine in Ireland was in part caused by lack
of biodiversity. Since new potato plants do not come as a result of
reproduction, but rather from pieces of the parent plant, no genetic
diversity is developed, and the entire crop is essentially a clone of one
potato, it is especially susceptible to an epidemic.
• In the 1840s, much of Ireland's population depended on potatoes for food.
They planted namely the "lumper" variety of potato, which was susceptible
to a rot-causing oomycete called Phytophthora infestans. The fungus
destroyed the vast majority of the potato crop, and left one million people
to starve to death.
• Eight panthers from Texas were introduced to the Florida panther
population, which was declining and suffering from inbreeding depression.
Genetic variation was thus increased and resulted in a significant increase
in population growth of the Florida Panther. Creating or maintaining high
genetic diversity is an important consideration in species rescue efforts, in
order to ensure the longevity of a population.
Species diversity
• Species diversity refers to the variety of species within a geographical
area:
(a) Species richness – refers to the number of various species in a
defined area.
(b) Species abundance – number of individual of a species in an area
(c) Taxonomic or phylogenetic diversity – refers to the genetic
relationships between different groups of species.
• Kinds of species that are present in an area is also important. When
taxonomically unrelated species are present in an area, the area
represents greater species diversity as compared to an area represented
by taxonomically related species.
• At the global level, an estimated 1.7 million species of living organisms
have been described to date and many more are yet to be discovered. It
has been currently estimated that the total number of species may vary
from 5 - 50 millions.
• Species diversity is not evenly distributed across the globe. The overall
richness of species is concentrated in equatorial regions and tends to
decrease as one moves from equatorial to polar regions. In addition,
biodiversity in land ecosystems generally decreases with increasing
altitude. The other factors that influence biodiversity are amount of
rainfall and nutrient level in soil.
Ecosystem diversity
• It refers to the presence of different types of ecosystems. For instance, the tropical south
India with rich species diversity will have altogether different structure compared to the
desert ecosystem which has far less number of plant and animal species.
• Likewise, the marine ecosystem although has many types of fishes, yet it differs from the
freshwater ecosystem of rivers and lakes in terms of its characteristics. So such variations
at ecosystem level are termed as ecosystem diversity
• India has very diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems ranging from ice-capped
Himalayas to deserts, from arid scrub to grassland to wetlands and tropical rainforests,
from coral reefs to the deep sea. Each of these comprises a great variety of habitats and
interactions between and within biotic and abiotic components.
• The most diversity-rich are western-ghats and the north-eastern region. A very large
number of species found in these ecosystems are endemic or found in these areas only
in India i.e. they are found no where else except in India. The endemics are concentrated
mainly in north-east, western-ghats, north-west Himalaya, and Andaman and Nicobar
Islands. About 33% of the flowering plants recorded in India are endemic to our country.
Indian region is also notable for endemic fauna. For example, out of recorded
vertebrates, 53% freshwater fish, 60% amphibians, 36% reptiles and 10% mammalian
fauna are endemic.
i) The area should support >1500 endemic species,
ii) It must have lost over 70 % of the original habitat
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 18: Biodiversity benefits and causes of biodiversity loss
Recap
• Three levels of biodiversity – genetic, species and ecosystem
• Genetic diversity is variation of genes, not only of numbers but of
structure also, and is of great value as it enables a population to
adapt to its environment and to respond to the process of natural
selection.
• Mutation, gene flow and reproduction are three main causes of
genetic variation
• Higher genetic diversity => low chances of extinction
• Species use several tricks to reproduce and propagate their genes to
next generation (including cannibalism in case of black widow spider)
• Hotspots of biodiversity
Why worry about
biodiversity?
• Because they perform important
ecosystem services such as nutrient
cycling, pest removal, decomposition,
seed dispersal etc.
• Biodiversity decline therefore will
cascade onto ecosystem functioning and
human well-being and can have
economic consequences as well.
• In the United States alone, the value of
pest control by native predators is
estimated at $4.5 billion annually.
Benefits provided by biodiversity – a). Ecosystem services
• Living organisms provide many ecological services free of cost that are responsible for maintaining ecosystem health. Thus
biodiversity is essential for the maintenance and sustainable utilization of goods and services from ecological system as well as
from individual species:
• i) Protection of water resources: Natural vegetation cover helps in maintaining hydrological cycles, regulating and stabilizing water
run-off and acting as a buffer against extreme events such as floods and droughts. Vegetation removal results in siltation of dams
and waterways. Wetlands and forests act as water purifying systems, while mangroves trap silt thereby reducing impacts on
marine ecosystems.
• ii) Soil protection: Biological diversity helps in the conservation of soil and retention of moisture and nutrients. Clearing large areas
of vegetation cover has been often seen to accelerate soil erosion, reduce its productivity and often result in flash floods. Root
systems allows penetration of water to the sub soil layer. Root system also brings mineral nutrients to the surface by nutrient
uptake.
• iii) Nutrient storage and cycling: Ecosystem perform the vital function of recycling nutrients found in the atmosphere as well as in
the soil. Plants are able to take up nutrients, and these nutrients then can form the basis of food chains, to be used by a wide
range of life forms. Nutrients in the soil, in turn, is replenished by dead or waste matter which is transformed by micro-organisms;
this may then feed others such as earthworms which also mix and aerate the soil and make nutrients more readily available.
• iv) Pollution reduction: Ecosystems and ecological processes play an important role in maintenance of gaseous composition of the
atmosphere, breakdown of wastes and removal of pollutants. Some ecosystems, especially wetlands have the ability to breaking
down and absorb pollutants. Natural and artificial wetlands are being used to filter effluents to remove nutrients, heavy metals,
suspended solids; reduce the BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and destroy harmful micro-organisms. Excessive quantities of
pollutants, however, can be detrimental to the integrity of ecosystems and their biota.
• v) Climate stability: Vegetation influences climate at macro as well as micro levels. Growing evidence suggests that undisturbed
forests help to maintain the rainfall in the vicinity by recycling water vapor at a steady rate back into the atmosphere. Vegetation
also exerts moderating influence on microclimate. Cooling effect of vegetation is a common experience which makes living
comfortable. Some organisms are dependent on such microclimates for their existence.
• vi) Maintenance of ecological processes: Different species of birds and predators help to control insect pests, thus reduce the
need and cost of artificial control measures. Birds and nectar–loving insects which roost and breed in natural habitats are
important pollinating agents of crop and wild plants. Some habitats protect crucial life stages of wildlife populations such as
spawning areas in mangroves and wetlands. Environmental impacts of the plastic sector and recent technological advances to
reduce these impacts
Benefits provided by biodiversity – b). Biological resources
• Food, fibre, medicines, fuel wood and ornamental plants:
• Five thousand plant species are known to have been used as food by humans. Presently about 20 species feed the
majority of the world’s population and just 3 or 4 only are the major staple crops to majority of population in the world
(wheat, rice, maize).
• A large number of plants and animals materials are used for the treatment of various ailments. A huge part of the
world’s population rely on herbal medicines and over 7000 species of plants are used for medicinal purposes.
• Wood is a basic commodity used worldwide for making furniture and for building purposes. Fire wood is the primary
source of fuel widely used in low-income countries. Wood and bamboo are used for making paper. Plants are the
traditional source of fibre such as coir, hemp, flax, cotton, jute.
• Breeding material for crop improvement: Wild relatives of cultivated crop plants contain valuable genes that
are of immense genetic value in crop improvement programmes. Genetic material or genes of wild crop plants
are used to develop new varieties of cultivated crop plants for restructuring of the existing ones for improving
yield or resistance of crops plants. For example: rice grown in Asia is protected from four main diseases by
genes contributed by a single wild rice variety.
• Future resources: There is a clear relationship between the conservation of biological diversity and the
discovery of new biological resources. The relatively few developed plant species currently cultivated have had
a large amount of research and selective breeding applied to them. Many presently under-utilised food crops
have the potential to become important crops in the future. Knowledge of the uses of wild plants by the local
people is often a source for ideas on developing new plant products.
Biodiversity and medicine
• The usage of medicinal plants in India has an ancient history, dating back to the pre-vedic
culture, at least 4000 years B.C. The therapeutic values of herbal medicines led to evolution of
Ayurveda which means “science of life”.
• About 119 pure chemicals are extracted from less than 90 species of higher plants and used as
medicines throughout the world, for example – caffeine (from coffee), methyl salicylate (from
wintergreen plants, for joint and muscular pain) and quinine (from Cinchona tree)
• Antibiotics such as - Streptomycin, neomycin, and erythromycin are derived from tropical soil
fungi. Many more applications are yet to be discovered!
• Aspirin and many of the pain killers, anti-cancer, and diabetes drugs are derived from plants
and animals
•
•
•
•
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/12/22/aspirin.history/index.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709175815.htm
https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-11-18/scientist-who-finds-pharmaceutical-promise-venom-cone-snails
https://dtp.cancer.gov/timeline/flash/success_stories/S2_Taxol.htm
• In the valleys of central China, a fernlike endangered weed called sweet wormwood grows,
that is the only source of artemisinin, a drug that is nearly 100 percent effective against
malaria. If this plant were lost to extinction, then the ability to control malaria, even today a
potent killer, would diminish.
• Apes have been observed selecting a particular part of a medicinal plant by taking off leaves,
then breaking the stem to suck out the juice
Benefits provided by biodiversity – c). Social values
• Recreation: Forests, wildlife, national parks and sanctuaries, garden and aquaria have high
entertainment and recreation value. Ecotourism, photography, painting, film making and
literary activities are closely related.
• Cultural values: Plants and animals are important part of the cultural life of humans. Human
cultures have co-evolved with their environment and biological diversity can be impart a
distinct cultural identity to different communities.
• The natural environment serves the inspirational, aesthetic, spiritual and educational needs of the people,
of all cultures.
• In a majority of Indian villages and towns, plants like Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), Peepal (Ficus religiosa),
Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) are planted and considered sacred and worshipped.
• There is still much to learn on how to get better use from biological resources, how to
maintain the genetic base of harvested biological resources, and how to rehabilitate
degraded ecosystems. Natural areas provide excellent living laboratories for such studies, for
comparison with other areas under systems of use and for valuable research in ecology and
evolution.
Causes of biodiversity loss
• The main cause of biodiversity loss is humans and their needs, wants, greed, lifestyle
• IUCN describes 11 types of threats to the biodiversity:
https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/threat-classification-scheme
1. Residential & commercial development (construction)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture: Annual & perennial non-timber crops; Wood & pulp plantations; Livestock farming & ranching; Marine &
freshwater aquaculture
3. Energy production & mining: Oil & gas drilling; Mining & quarrying; Renewable energy
4. Transportation & service corridors: Roads & railroads; Utility & service lines; Shipping lanes; Flight paths
5. Biological resource use: Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals; Gathering terrestrial plants; Logging & wood harvesting; Fishing &
harvesting aquatic resources
6. Human intrusions & disturbance: Recreational activities; War, civil unrest & military exercises; Work & other activities
7. Natural system modifications: Fire & fire suppression; Dams & water management/use
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases: Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases
9. Pollution: Domestic & urban waste water; Industrial & military effluents; Oil spills; Seepage from mining
10. Geological events: Volcanoes, Earthquakes/tsunamis, Avalanches/landslides
11. Climate change & severe weather: Habitat shifting & alteration; Droughts; Temperature extremes; Storms & flooding
Habitat loss is the main driver of species loss
• Habitat (natural home) loss may result from clearing and burning forests, draining
and filling of wetlands, converting natural areas for agricultural or industrial uses,
human settlements, mines, building of roads and other developmental projects. This
way the natural habitats of organisms are changed or destroyed.
• These change either kill or force out many species from the area causing disruption of
interactions among the species. Resources decrease => competition increase => population
decrease
• Fragmentation of large forest tracts (e.g. the corridors) affects the species occupying the deeper
part of the forest - disconnected populations =>inbreeding.
• Apart from the direct loss of species during the development activities, the new environment is
unsuitable for the species to survive (e.g. some insect species can only survive under shade of
trees and are not adapted for sunlight but if forest is cut, they disappear).
Causes of biodiversity loss – invasive species
• Introduction of exotic (invasive) species: Seeds catch on people’s clothes. Mice,
rats and birds hitch-hike on ships. When such species land in new places, they
breed extra fast due to absence of any enemy and often wipe out the native
species already present there. Exotic species (new species entering geographical
region) may wipe out the native ones. A few examples are(i) Parthenium hysterophorus (Congress grass- a tropical American weed) has
invaded many of the vacant areas in cities, towns and villages in India leading to
removal of the local plants and the dependent animals.
(ii) Nile perch, an exotic predatory fish introduced into Lake Victoria (South Africa)
threatened the entire ecosystem of the lake by eliminating several native species of
the small Cichlid fish that were endemic to this freshwater aquatic system.
(iii) Water hyacinth clogs lakes and riversides and threatens the survival of many
aquatic species. This is common in Indian plains.
(iv) Lantana camara (an American weed) has invaded many forest lands in various
parts of India and wiped out the native grass species.
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 19: Biodiversity: Current state and IUCN threat categories
Case study – Indian vulture crises
• Problem: In 1990s, the three Gyps vulture species, experienced a 97% population decline in total.
• Causes: due to veterinary use of the drug diclofenac (given to cows/buffaloes for anti-inflammation/fever and eaten by vultures during
‘scavenging’ on their dead bodies at carcass depositories such as near Delhi or in village fields– since no human consumption of beef)
• Cascading effect: The sudden collapse of the natural animal disposal system in India has had multiple consequences. The carcasses formerly eaten
by vultures rot in village fields leading to contaminated drinking water. The disappearance of vultures has allowed other species such as rat and
wild (feral) dog populations to grow. These newly abundant scavengers are not as efficient as vultures. A vulture’s metabolism is a true “deadend” for pathogens, but dogs and rats become carriers of the pathogens. India has an estimated 18 million wild dogs, the largest population of
carnivores in the world. This has which has led to increase in leopards invading inhabited areas preying on feral dogs leading to conflicts with
humans and many human deaths.
• Human health and economic impact on country: The rat and dogs and other mammals also carry diseases from rotting carcasses such as rabies,
anthrax, plague etc. and are indirectly responsible for thousands of human deaths. In India, 30,000 people die from rabies each year, more than
half the world's total. Around half a million Indians are treated for rabies each year, at a cost of ₹1,500 (US$22) per person (imported vaccines;
government hospital costs), while the average wage in India is ₹120 (US$1.70) per day. According to a study in 2007, the expenses for medical
care to treat animal bites cost India ₹750 million (US$11 million) per year. In addition to the cost of care, the government faces the problem of
managing the population of disease carriers. Vaccination and sterilization of animals cost money. It is estimated that the decline of vultures costs
India ₹1.7 trillion (US$25 billion) per year: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/82d6/2781f86d962b294c5f524fd4f65936db28f4.pdf
• Religious and cultural impacts: According to Parsi beliefs, Earth, Fire, and Water are sacred elements, and both cremation and burial are
sacrilegious. For the deceased Parsi to reach heaven, vultures serve as intermediaries between earth and sky. The dead body is placed on a Tower
of Silence where vultures, by consuming the body, liberate the soul. Due to the decline in vulture population, Parsis have been obliged to drop
these ancient customs for reasons of hygiene, since now bodies take six months to disappear.For birds, protected areas provide major refuges for
many species in low numbers. Vultures are now largely found inside or near National Parks:
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/world/asia/cultivating-vultures-to-restore-a-mumbai-ritual.html
• Reaction: Following the findings on diclofenac, the drug was banned for veterinary use in India on March 11, 2006; Nepal followed suit in August,
2006, and Pakistan shortly thereafter. A replacement drug was quickly developed and proposed after tests on vultures in captivity: meloxicam.
Meloxicam affects cattle the same way as diclofenac, but is harmless for vultures. Diclofenac for human use was still being diverted into
veterinary uses through black markets in certain parts of India as of 2009. Vultures have a slow breeding time. They start breeding by the age of
five or six, but can give only one egg per year. Worse, 50% of the newborns die once they leave the nest. Ramadevara Betta is the only Vulture
Sanctuary in India, located 70 km away from the Bangalore in Kyatsandra, Karnataka: http://www.walkthroughindia.com/wildlife/top-5-places-tosee-vanishing-vultures-of-india/
Status of global biodiversity
• Among terrestrial vertebrates, 322 species have become extinct since 1500.
• 16-33% of all vertebrates species and ~40% of invertebrate species are
estimated to be globally threatened (closer to extinction).
• Species populations have declined ~28 to 45% since 1970!
• Data on Arthropods, fungi, bacteria is not complete but they make up 65,
11 and 7% of total terrestrial species richness!
• Some 86% of total estimated ~7 million species on earth, have not yet been
discovered.
• We might be losing species, even before they are discovered (so called
“Linnean Extinctions”).
Global maps of species richness for different categories of species.
Clinton N. Jenkins et al. PNAS 2013;110:28:E2602-E2610
©2013 by National Academy of Sciences
International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN)
• IUCN is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use
of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy,
and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world
to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically
sustainable".
• It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing
information and advice, and through building partnerships.
• The organization is best known to the wider public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.
• IUCN has a membership of over 1400 governmental and non-governmental organizations. Some
16,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It
employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 50 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland,
Switzerland.
• IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the
implementation of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity. It was
involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Monitoring
Centre.
• IUCN was established in 1948. It was previously called the International Union for the Protection of
Nature (1948–1956) and the World Conservation Union (1990–2008).
IUCN Red List Database
• https://www.iucnredlist.org/
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red
List or Red Data List), founded in 1965, has evolved to become the
world's most comprehensive database of the global conservation
status of biological species.
• It uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of
species and subspecies.
• Check out the status of Bengal tiger here:
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15955/50659951
• Habitat loss, invasive alien species, climate change, hunting/trade
IUCN species threat categories
• Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups specified
through five criteria - rate of decline, population size, area of geographic
distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation.
• Extinct (EX) – beyond reasonable doubt that the species is no longer extant.
• Extinct in the wild (EW) – survives only in captivity, cultivation and/or outside native
range, as presumed after exhaustive surveys.
• Critically endangered (CR) – in a particularly and extremely critical state.
• Endangered (EN) – very high risk of extinction in the wild
• Vulnerable (VU) – considered to be at high risk of unnatural (human-caused)
extinction without further human intervention.
• Near threatened (NT) – close to being at high risk of extinction in the near future.
• Least concern (LC) – unlikely to become extinct in the near future.
• Data deficient (DD)
• Not evaluated (NE)
• In India - 12 out of 430 mammals, 17 out of 12710 birds and 20 out of 292
amphibians are critically endangered
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
• WWF is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961,
working in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human
impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund,
which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.
• WWF is the world's largest conservation organization with over five million
supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around
1,300 conservation and environmental projects. They have invested over $1
billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1995.
• WWF is a foundation with 55% of funding from individuals and bequests, 19%
from government sources (such as the World Bank, DFID, USAID) and 8% from
corporations in 2014.
• WWF aims to "stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to
build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature."
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 20: Biodiversity conservation
Biodiversity Conservation
• Conservation efforts can be grouped into the following two
categories:
1. In-situ (on-site) conservation includes the protection of plants and
animals within their natural habitats or in protected areas. Protected
areas are land or sea dedicated to protect and maintain biodiversity.
2. Ex-situ (off-site) conservation of plants and animals outside their
natural habitats. These include botanical gardens, zoo, gene banks,
seek bank, tissue culture and cryopreservation.
1.1.
Protection of habitat
• The main strategy for conservation of species is the protection of habitats in representative ecosystems.
• India designated its first National Park, presently named Corbett National Park, in 1936. To date, officially
protected areas in India now consist of 104 National Parks (IUCN category II) and 551 Wildlife Sanctuaries
(IUCN category IV) covering ~5% of its total land area
• www.wiienvis.nic.in ; www.fsi.nic.in
• Conservation Reserves, on public land, and Community Reserves, on private land (IUCN Categories V and VI,
respectively) are established mainly on the basis of approved management plans. Of 214 such reserves
established by 2019 (4811 km2 in total), >70% are in just three states (122 Community Reserves are in
Meghalaya and Nagaland, and 34 Conservation Reserves in Jammu & Kashmir). which protect larger areas of
natural habitat (than a National Park or Animal Sanctuary), and often include one or more National Parks or
preserves, along with buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to
the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions,
and their ways of life. Animals are protected and saved here
• No bird or mammal is known to have been lost from India since the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) was
extirpated (regional extinction) in the mid-20th century
• Protected areas have clearly played an important role in this success. For example,>85% of the world's onehorned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) and>70% of the world's tigers live in India, largely a consequence of the
efficient functioning of India's Tiger Reserves.
• The Convention for Biological Diversity in 2011 set the well-known Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including the
goal that protected areas across the earth's land surface should increase from 13% to 17%.
https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/about/protected-area-categories
1.1.1.
National parks and sanctuaries
• India is unique in the richness and diversity of its vegetation and wildlife. India’s national
parks and wildlife sanctuaries (including bird sanctuaries) are situated from Ladakh in
Himalayas to Southern tip of Tamil Nadu with its rich bio-diversity and heritage. Wildlife
sanctuaries in India attract people from all over the world as the rarest of rare species
are found here.
• Some of the main sanctuaries in India are:
• The Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve- Uttaranchal, Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Park,
Ranthambhor National Park-Sawai Madhopur (Raj.), Gir National Park-Sasangir (Gujarat)
etc.
• Wildlife lovers eager to see magnificent Bird Sancturaty at Bharatpur, Rajasthan as it is
the second habitat in the world that is visited by the Siberian Cranes in winter and it
provides a vast breeding area for the native water birds, Great Indian bustard is found in
the Indian deserts which came very close to be names as India’s national bird.
• In western Himalayas, one can see birds like Himalayan monal pheasant, western
tragopanm koklass, white crested khalij pheasant, griffon vultures, lammergiers,
choughs, ravens. In the Andaman and Nicobar region, about 250 species and subspecies
of birds are found, such as rare Narcondum horn bill, Nicobar pigeon and megapode.
While the national parks and sanctuaries in South India, too. For e.g. Madumalai in Tamil
Nadu and Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Nagahole National Park in Karnataka.
1.1.2.
Biosphere reserves
• These are representative parts of natural and cultural landscapes extending over large areas of
terrestrial or coastal/marine ecosystems which are internationally recognized within UNESCO’s Man
and the Biosphere Programme. Thirteen biodiversity- rich representative ecosystems, largely within
the forest land ( total area – 53,000 sq. km.), have been designated as Biosphere Reserves in India.
• The concept of Biosphere Reserves (BR) was launched in 1975 as a part of UNESCO’s Man and
Biosphere Programme, dealing with the conservation of ecosystems and the genetic material they
contain. A Biosphere Reserve consists of core, buffer and transition zones.
• (a) The core zone is fully protected and natural area of the Biosphere Reserve least disturbed by human
activities. It is legally protected ecosystem in which entry is not allowed except with permission for some
special purpose. Destructive sampling for scientific investigations is prohibited.
• (b) The buffer zone surrounds the core zone and is managed to accommodate a greater variety of resource use
strategies, and research and educational activities.
• (c) the transition zone, the outermost part of the Biosphere Reserve, is an area of active cooperation between
the reserve management and the local people, wherein activities like settlements, cropping, forestry ,
recreation and other economic that are in harmony with the conservation goals.
• The main functions of the biosphere reserves are:
• Conservation: Long term conservation of representatives, landscapes and different types of ecosystems, along with
all their species and genetic resources.
• Development: Encourages traditional resource use and promote economic development which is culturally, socially
and ecologically sustainable.
• Scientific research, monitoring and education
Biosphere reserves of India
Year
1
2
Name
Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve
Nanda Devi Biosphere
1988
Reserve
1986
3
1989 Gulf of Mannar
4
5
1988 Nokrek
1989 Sundarbans
6
1989 Manas
7
8
Location
State
Waynad, Nagarhole, Bandipur, Mudumalai, Nilambur, Silent
TN, Kerala and Karnataka
Valley
Parts of Chamoli District, Pithoragarh District & Bageshwar
Uttarakhand
District
Indian part of Gulf of Mannar extending
from Rameswaram island in the North to Kanyakumari in the Tamil Nadu
South of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka
In west Garo Hills
Meghalaya
Part of delta of Ganges and Brahmaputra river system
West Bengal
Part
of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup and Darran Assam
g Districts
Part of Mayurbhanj district
Odisha
Part of Siang and Dibang Valley
Arunachal Pradesh
Parts of Betul District, Hoshangabad District and Chhindwara
Madhya Pradesh
District
1994 Simlipal
1998 Dihang-Dibang
Pachmarhi Biosphere
9 1999
Reserve
Achanakmar10 2005 Amarkantak Biosphere Part of Annupur, Dindori and Bilaspur districts
Reserve
Part of Kutch, Morbi, Surendranagar and Patan Districts. It is
11 2008 Great Rann of Kutch
the largest Biosphere Reserve in India.
Pin Valley National Park and surroundings;Chandratal and
12 2009 Cold Desert
Sarchu & Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary
13 2000 Khangchendzonga
Parts of Kangchenjunga
Agasthyamalai
Neyyar, Peppara and Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary and their
14 2001
Biosphere Reserve
adjoining areas
Type
Western Ghats
Key fauna
Nilgiri tahr, Tiger, lion-tailed macaque
Western Himalaya Snow Leopard, Himalayan Black Bear
Coasts
Dugong
Eastern hills
Gangetic Delta
Red panda
Royal Bengal tiger
Eastern Hills
Asiatic Elephant, Tiger, Assam roofed turtle, hispid
hare, Golden Langur, pygmy hog
Deccan Peninsula Gaur, royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant
Eastern Himalaya Mishmi Takin, Musk Deer
Semi-Arid
Giant squirrel, flying squirrel
Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh
Maikala Hills
Four-horned antelope, Indian wild dog, Sarus crane, Whiterumped vulture, Philautus (Sacred grove bush frog)
Gujarat
Desert
Indian wild ass
Sikkim
Western Himalaya
Snow leopard
s
East Himalayas
Snow leopard, red panda
Kerala, Tamil Nadu
Western Ghats
Nilgiri tahr, elephants
Himachal Pradesh
Area
(km2)
5520
5860
10500
820.00
9630
2837
4374
5112
4981.72
3835
12454
7770
2620
3500.08
15 1989 Great Nicobar
Southern most islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andaman and Nicobar
Islands
Islands
Saltwater crocodile
885
16 1997 Dibru-Saikhowa
Part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts
Assam
Eastern Hills
white-winged wood duck, water buffalo, black-breasted
parrotbill, tiger, capped langur
765
17 2010 Seshachalam Hills
Seshachalam Hill Ranges covering parts of Chittoor and Kadapa
Andhra Pradesh
districts
Eastern Ghats
Slender Loris
18 2011 Panna
Part of Panna District and Chhatarpur District
Catchment Area
of the Ken River
Tiger, chital, chinkara, sambhar and sloth bear
Madhya Pradesh
4755
2998.98
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.06.024
Biosphere reserves (BR) of India; Three zones of BR; Parks
and sanctuaries of India
1.2.
Species-oriented projects:
• Certain species have been identified as needing a concerted and specifically directed protection effort. Project Tiger,
Project Elephant and Project crocodile are examples of focusing on single species through conserving their habitats.
• Project Tiger – A success in species conservation: Tigers which were once abundant in Indian forests have been hunted.
As a result tiger population within the country declined drastically from estimate of 40,000 at the turn of century to 1200
by the 1970. This led to initiate the Project Tiger in 1973 with the objective of conserving and rescuing this species from
extinction. In 2007, there were more than 40 Project Tiger wildlife reserves covering an area of 37,761 km². Project Tiger
helped to increase the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the 1970s to 3,500 in 1990s. However, a 2008 census held
by Government of India revealed that the tiger population had dropped to 1,411. A total ban has been imposed on
hunting of tigers and trading in tiger products at the national and international levels. Elaborate management plans are
made for each of the tiger reserves for tiger habitat improvement and anti -poaching measures.
• Project Elephant: Project Elephant was launched in February, 1992 to assist states having free ranging populations of wild
elephants to ensure long-term survival of identified viable populations of elephants in their natural habitats. The project is
being implemented in twelve states viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu Uttaranchal and West Bengal.
• Crocodile breeding and management project: This project was started in 1976 with FAO - UNDP assistance to save three
endangered crocodilian species, namely, the freshwater crocodile, salt water crocodile and the rare gharial. The project
surveyed the crocodile habitats and facilitated their protection through declaration of sanctuaries and National Parks.
Captive breeding and reintroduction or restocking programmes involved careful collection of eggs from the wild.
Thousands of crocodiles of three species have been reared at sixteen centres and several of these have been released in
the wild. Eleven sanctuaries have been declared specially for crocodile protection including the National Chambal
Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
1.3.
Sacred forests and sacred lakes
• A traditional strategy for the protection of biodiversity has been in
practice in India and some other Asian countries in the form of sacred
forests. These are small forest patches protected by tribal
communities due to religious sanctity. These have been free from all
disturbances.
• Sacred forests are located in several parts of India i.e. Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Kerala, Meghalaya, Similarly, several water bodies for
example, Khecheopalri lake in Sikkim, have been declared sacred by
the people, leading to protection of aquatic flora and fauna.
2. Ex-situ conservation
(i) Botanical gardens, zoos, etc. To complement in-situ conservation efforts, ex-situ
conservation is being undertaken through setting up botanic gardens, zoos,
medicinal plant parks, etc by various agencies. The Indian Botanical Garden in
Howrah (West Bengal) is over 200 years old. Other important botanical gardens
are in Ooty, Bangalore and Lucknow. The most recent one is The Botanical Garden
of Indian Republic established at NOIDA, near Delhi in April, 2002. The main
objectives of this garden are –
• ex-situ conservation and propagation of important threatened plant species,
• serve as a Centre of Excellence for conservation., research and training,
• build public awareness through education on plant diversity and need for conservation.
• A number of zoos have been developed in the country. These zoological parks
have been looked upon essentially as centres of education about animal species
and recreation. They have also played an important role in the conservation of
endangered animal species such as the Manipur Thamin Deer (Cerus eldi eldi)
and the White winged Wood Duck (Cairina scutulata). Notable successful
examples of captive breeding are those of Gangetic gharial (Gavialis gangeticus),
turtles and the white tiger.
2. Ex-situ conservation
(ii) Gene Banks : Ex-situ collection and preservation of genetic resources is done
through gene banks and seed banks. The National Bureau of Plant Genetic
Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi preserves seeds of wild relatives of crop plants as
well as cultivated varieties; the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources at
Karnal, Haryana maintains the genetic material for domesticated animals, and the
National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow for fishes.
(iii) Cryopreservation: (“freeze preservation”) is particularly useful for conserving
vegetative propagated crops. Cryopreservation is the storage of material at ultra
low temperature of liquid nitrogen (-1960C) and essentially involves suspension of
all metabolic processes and activities. Cryopreservation has been successfully
applied to meristems, zygotic and somatic embryos, pollen, protoplasts cells and
suspension cultures of a number of plant species.
(iv) Conservation at molecular level (DNA level): In addition to above, germplasm
conservation at molecular level is now feasible and attracting attention. Cloned
DNA and material having DNA in its native state can all be used for genetic
conservation. Furthermore, non-viable material representing valuable genotypes
stored in gene banks can all be used as sources of DNA libraries from where a
relevant gene or a combination of genes can be recovered.
Other conservation measures
• Legal measures : Market demand for some body parts like bones of tiger, rhino horns,
furs, ivory, skins, musk, peacock feathers, etc. results in killing the wild animals.
• The Wildlife Protection Act (1972) contain provisions for penalties or punishment to
prevent poaching and illegal trade.
• India is also a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Convention entered into force on 1st July, 1975.
• In addition to this, India is also a signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
which it signed on 29th December, 1993 at Rio de Janeiro during the Earth Summit. The
Convention has three key objectives:
1. Conservation of biological diversity,
2. Sustainable use of biodiversity and
3. Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.
• The CITES and the CBD are international initiatives. Government of India have also
passed the Biological Diversity Act, 2002,
Human-wildlife conflict in India
• India’s population has more than doubled since the late 1970s, is growing by 15,000
people a day, and has a current density of ~330/km2.
• Major targets of conservation efforts, including elephants (Elephas maximus), tigers
(Panthera tigris), leopards (Panthera pardus), bears (Melursus ursinus), wolves (Canis
lupus), snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and prey species such as wild pigs (Sus scrofa),
nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), chital (Axis axis) and sambar (Rusa unicolor) pose
threats to humans, livestock and crops.
• Overall, 2% of the estimated 4.3 million people living within Indian PAs have moved out
in the past 30 years, highlighting the immense need for resources, and coordinated
efforts by responsible agencies (Narain et al., 2005). At present there are tens of
thousands of people seeking to be relocated from multiple PAs, yet many requests
remain unfulfilled
• India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) resettlement policy mandates that
families wishing to relocate (each adult family member over 18 years as a unit) from a PA
can either receive an amount of INR 1 million (~US$ 15,517), or a land-based package
where the funds are to be divided into agricultural land purchase (35%), rights
settlement (30%), house construction (20%), community facilities such as road,
electricity, and sanitation (10%), and incentives (5%).
Homework: Download these papers and read
• Harihar et al. (2019). Protected areas and biodiversity conservation in
India
• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.06.024
• Karanth et al. (2018). Compensation payments, procedures and
policies towards human-wildlife conflict management: Insights from
India
• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.07.006
• Karanth et al. (2019). Re-Building Communities: Voluntary
Resettlement From Protected Areas in India
• https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2018.00183/full
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 21: Mathematical modeling of biodiversity loss
Species area relationships (SARs) for modelling extinctions
•Classic model assumes species only survive in untouchced/primary forests.
•The countryside SAR takes into account the fact that some species can also survive
in human land uses.
𝑧
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤
𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑐
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 = 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ∙
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤 + σ𝑛𝑖=1 ℎ𝑖 ∙ 𝐴𝑖
𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠
= 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ∙
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔
Where i = 1 to n are number of human land uses such as agriculture,
pasture, urban, used forest etc.
- Note that the affinity to primary forest is 1 and thats why
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤 can be taken out of summation.
- Note that SAR model predicts species loss of a particular taxon
- Replace 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 with 𝑆𝑒𝑛𝑑 if one wants to calculate the
endemic (permanent) extinctions.
𝑧
Local impacts
Regional impacts
(Chaudhary et al. 2015, Environ. Sci. Technol.)
SARs predict species committed to extinction
• Important: The Sloss in SARs is the number of species ‘committed to extinction’
and not that have gone extinct. It will take decades before the new equilibrium is
reached and the remaining number of species then will be Sorg – Sloss.
• Once the humans replace a portion of primary forest with a particular land use,
the fate of certain species is decided, their population starts to decrease because
of lesser area/resources that can support them and its just a matter of time
before a certain number of them (= Sloss) will go extinct from that area.
• However, if humans abandon their land use before the last couple of species has
disappeared, it is possible to recover the species (e.g. what is happening in Gir or
Ranthambore or Sundarban National parks for Lions and Tiger populations)
Species affinity
• Passer domesticus: Tolerant to all human land uses
• Adenomera martinezi: pasture and agriculture only
• Arctocebus calabarensis: forests only
• IUCN habitat classification scheme database tells us which species can survive where
• ℎ𝑖 =
1 Τ𝑧
𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔,𝑖
𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔,𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦
• Suppose there are 100 amphibian species in a primary forest (i.e. Sorg = 100). Humans then cut off a part of it
and establish an agriculture farm. Now it was observed that out of 100 species, only 20 can survive in agriculture
field and the rest 80 are not tolerant to it and they only live in the remaining primary forest. Assume the z-value =
0.25 for the region. So we can calculate the affinity of amphibians in the region to agriculture land use type using
the equation above as:
• ℎ𝑖 =
20 1Τ0.25
=
100
0.0016
Example – Birds in ‘Sao Tome and Principe moist lowland forests’
(an island in West Africa)
𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒
• 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠
= 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ∙
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤 + σ𝑛
𝑖=1 ℎ𝑖 ∙𝐴𝑖
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔
𝑧
• Z = 0.44 (Island ecoregion)
• Sorg = 24 => Slost = 9.25
Aorg
Anew
967.3 131.6
A_agriculture
A_Pasture
114.5
173.9
h_agriculture h_pasture
0.028
17.05.2018
Chaudhary & Brooks (2017) World Dev.
0.000
A_Urban A_managed forests
8.3
538.9
h_urban
h_managed forests
0.009
0.344
Abhishek Chaudhary
5
Allocating total extinctions to individual land use to
derive biodiversity CFs for LCA
𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒
• 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠
= 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ∙
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤 + σ𝑛
𝑖=1 ℎ𝑖 ∙𝐴𝑖
𝑧
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔
• Allocation factor (𝑎𝑖 ):
•
•
𝐴𝑖 (1− ℎ𝑖 )
𝑎𝑖 = σ𝑛
𝑖=1 𝐴𝑖 ∙(1− ℎ𝑖 )
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 × 𝑎𝑖
𝐶𝐹𝑖 =
𝐴𝑖
• Note the CF gives us species loss per m2 of land use type i
• Once the land inventory is known (e.g. 40 m2 of agriculture land to produce
100 kg of potato), one can calculate biodiversity loss by multiplying
inventory with the CF.
𝑧
Example:
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤
𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑐
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠
= 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ∙
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤 + σ𝑛𝑖=1 ℎ𝑖 ∙ 𝐴𝑖
𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠
= 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ∙
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔
𝑧
• Imagine a primary (untouched) forest of 10000 ha in which a total of 150 species of
birds are living. Calculate how many bird species will get lost (𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ) go extinct from
the forest in the long run if out of 10000 ha of primary forest, 3000 ha is converted
into an agriculture land; 2000 ha into a pasture; 500 ha into urban area and 1000 ha
into a ‘managed forest’.
• Using classic SAR (assume z = 0.25)
• Using countryside SAR assuming the affinity of birds to agriculture, pasture, urban, and managed
forest is 0.005, 0.002, 0.001, and 0.01 respectively (assume z = 0.25).
• Calculate which land use type is responsible for how many extinctions (hint – use the
allocation factor).
• What if out of 150 species, 40 are endemic to this forest? What will be the global bird
extinctions?
• Calculate mammals extinctions assuming there were 80 mammals species originally
with half of the affinity to each land use type as birds.
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 22: Air Pollution – history, pollutants, monitoring & effects
The Earth’s great spheres
• Lithosphere: The lithosphere contains all of the cold, hard solid land of the
planet's crust (surface), the semi-solid land underneath the crust, and the
liquid land near the center of the planet
• Hydrosphere: The hydrosphere contains all the solid, liquid, and gaseous
water of the planet
• Biosphere: The biosphere contains all the planet's living things. This sphere
includes all of the microorganisms, plants, and animals of Earth
• Atmosphere: The atmosphere contains all the air in Earth's system
• It is a mixture of gases that forms a layer of about 250 miles thick around the earth.
• Divided into four zones: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere and Thermosphere
• The bottom 10-12 miles (Troposphere) is most important part in terms of weather and
other aspects of Biogeochemical cycle. The lowest 600 meters of Troposphere is where
the Air Quality Studies are conducted.
• Composition of Air: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% carbon dioxide, water, other gases
Air Pollution
• Transfer of harmful and/or of Natural/Synthetic materials into the
atmosphere as a direct/indirect consequences of human activity.
• Types of air pollution:
• Personal air exposure: It refers to exposure to dust, fumes and gases to which an
individual exposes himself when he indulge himself in smoking
• Occupational air exposure: It represents the type of exposure of individuals to
potentially harmful concentration of aerosols, vapors, and gases in their working
environment.
• Community air exposure: This is most serious, complex, consists of varieties of
assortment of pollution sources, meteorological factors, and wide variety of adverse
social, economical, and health effects.
• https://nptel.ac.in/courses/105102089/
History of Air Pollution
•
1272 - King Edward I of England bans use of “sea coal”
•
1377 – 1399 - Richard II restricts use of coal
•
1413 – 1422 - Henry V regulates/restricts use of coal
•
1661 - By royal command of Charles II, John Evelyn of the Royal Society publishes “Fumifugium; or the Inconvenience of
the Air and Smoke dissipated; together with Some Remedies Humbly Proposed”
•
1784—Watt’s steam engine; boilers to burn fossil fuels (coal) to make steam to pump water and move machinery
•
Smoke and ash from fossil fuels by power plants, trains, ships: coal (and oil) burning = smoke, ash
•
1907 - Formation of the predecessor to the Air & Waste Management Association
•
1930 - 1950’s - Air Pollution Episodes
•
1955 First Federal Air Pollution Control Act - funds for research (USA)
•
1960 Motor Vehicle Exhaust Act - funds for research (USA)
•
1963 Clean Air Act (USA): Three stage enforcement and Funds for state and local agencies
•
1965 Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act (USA): Emission regulations for cars to begin in 1968
•
1967 Air Quality Act (USA)
•
1970 Clean Air Act Amendments (USA): National Ambient Air Quality Standards and New Source Performance
Standards
Modern History of Air Pollution
•
Early 1900s The City of Chicago, Illinois passes an ordinance to reduce the “smoke” emitted by local factories.
•
1940s Los Angeles, California becomes one of the first cities in the U.S. to experience severe air pollution problems then called
“gas attacks.” L.A.’s location in a basin like area ringed by mountains makes it susceptible to accumulation of auto exhaust and
emissions from local petroleum refineries
•
1948 Air pollution kills in Donora, Pennsylvania. An unusual temperature inversion lasting six days blocks dispersal of emissions
from zinc smelting and blast furnaces. Out of a total population of 14,000 people, 20 die, 600 others become ill, and 1400 seek
medical attention.
•
1950 A chemist at the California Institute of Technology proposes a theory of smog (or ozone) formation in which auto exhaust
and sunlight play major roles.
•
1954 An early public protest against air pollution takes place in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. Homemakers march on the town
council to demand that a local casket manufacturer be required to stop polluting. Their complaint is that clean laundry hung out
to dry became dirtier than before it was washed because of high levels of soot (or particulates) in the air.
•
1962 Silent Spring is published. Rachel Carson’s powerful book draws the attention of the American public to the potential
consequences of the increasing ability of human activities to significantly and even permanently alters the natural world.
•
1966 In New York City, a three-day temperature inversion over Thanksgiving weekend is blamed for the deaths of 168 people.
•
1969 Millions of Americans watch via satellite, as Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon. The same
weekend, a very different news story startles the nation. Sulfur dioxide pollution emitted by industries near Gary, Indiana and
East Chicago becomes potent acid rain that burns lawns, eats away tree leaves, and causes birds to lose their feathers.
•
1969 A vivid color photographs of Earth from space, widely distributed, shifts human perceptions of our planet. The Earth no
longer seems vast but is recognized as a small, fragile ball of life in the immense infinitude of cold, black space.
Modern History of Air Pollution
•
1970 The first Earth Day becomes part of American history. Millions of students and citizens attend rallies to learn about environmental
concerns and speak for environmental protection.
•
1972 Representatives of 113 nations, gather on 5th June at a United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm to
develop plans for international action to protect the world environment.
•
1978 Rainfall in Wheeling, West Virginia is measured at a pH of 2, the most acidic yet recorded and 5000 times more acidic than normal
rainfall.
•
1981 Air pollution enters international politics when the Quebec Ministry of the Environment notifies the U.S. that 60 percent of the acid rain
(sulfur dioxide pollution) damaging air and waters in Quebec, Canada comes from the U.S. industrial sources in the Midwestern and
Northeastern U.S.
•
1982 The National Center for Health Statistics releases a study indicating that four percent of all U.S. schoolchildren, including about 12
percent of all African-American preschoolers, have high levels of lead in their blood. About 675,000 children are at risk of kidney damage,
brain damage, anemia, retardation, and other ills associated with lead poisoning. It is recognized that children absorb this lead by breathing
air laden with lead pollution, primarily from leaded gasoline burned in vehicles.
•
1985 The U.S. EPA estimates 50,000 streams in the U.S. and Canada are dead or dying because of acid rain pollution.
•
1986 The National Academy of Sciences reports that the burning of coal, gasoline, and other fossil fuels is definitely linked to acid rain and
the death of trees, fish, and lake ecosystems in both the U.S. and Canada.
•
1992 The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is the most comprehensive international conference on the environment to date.
Representatives from 188 countries and 35,000 participants attend. Two treaties are signed by all except the U.S. One, on global warming
recommending curbing emissions of greenhouse gases. The second, on making inventories of plants and wildlife and strategies to protect
endangered species.
Air pollutants classification
Air pollutants can be classified into three broad categories:
• Natural Contaminants: Natural fog, pollen grain, bacteria and products of
volcanic eruption.
• Aerosols (Particulates): Dust, smoke, moist, fog.
• Gases and vapors:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sulfur compounds: SO2, SO3, H2S
Nitrogen compounds: NO, NO2, NO3
Oxygen compounds: O2, CO, CO2
Halogen compounds: HF, HCl
Organic compounds: Aldehydes. Hydrocarbons
Radio active compounds: radioactive gases
Sources of air pollution and types of pollutants
• Natural Sources –Volcano, forest fire, dust storms, oceans, plants and trees
• Anthropogenic Sources - created by human beings
• Stationary sources
•
•
Point sources (Industrial processing, power plants, fuels combustion etc.)
Area sources (Residential heating coal gas oil, on site incineration, open burning etc.)
• Mobile sources
• Line sources (Highway vehicles, railroad locomotives, channel vessels etc.)
• Air pollutants: Any substance occurring in the atmosphere that may have adverse effects on humans, animals,
plant life, and/or inanimate materials
• Criteria air pollutants: Based on health effects with measured air quality levels that violate the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). It includes CO, NOx, SOx, VOCs, Particulates, Lead (Pb)
• Hazardous air pollutants: Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 directed EPA to establish emission controls for 189
chemicals listed in the Act. These are NOT based on health criteria but based on Maximum Achievable Control
Technology (MACT)
• Non-criteria pollutants: In essence, all pollutants not included in the NAAQS and HAP lists (Examples: CO and
NaCl)
• Primary air pollutants: Materials that when released pose health risks in their unmodified forms or those
emitted directly from identifiable sources. It includes CO, NOx, SOx, HCs, Particulates
• Secondary air pollutants: Primary pollutants interact with one another, sunlight, or natural gases to produce
new, harmful compounds. It includes acid rain, Ozone, PAN (peroxy acetyl nitrate), Photochemical smog, Aerosols
and mists (H2SO4)
Primary Air pollutants
• Carbon monoxide
•
•
•
•
•
•
Produced by burning of organic material (coal, gas, wood, trash, etc.)
Automobiles biggest source (80%)
Cigarette smoke another major source
Toxic because binds to hemoglobin, reduces oxygen in blood
Not a persistent pollutant, combines with oxygen to form CO2
Most communities now meet EPA standards, but rush hour traffic can produce high CO
levels
• Sulphur dioxide
•
•
•
•
•
Produced by burning sulfur containing fossil fuels (coal, oil)
Coal-burning power plants major source
Reacts in atmosphere to produce acids
One of the major components of acid rain
When inhaled, can be very corrosive to lung tissue
London
-1306 banned burning of sea coal
-1952 “killer fog”: 4,000 people died in 4 weeks
• tied to sulphur compounds in smog
Primary Air pollutants
• Nitrogen dioxide
•
•
•
•
Produced from burning of fossil fuels
Contributes to acid rain, smog
Automobile engine main source
New engine technology has helped reduce, but many more cars
• Hydrocarbons
•
•
•
•
•
organic compounds with hydrogen, carbon
From incomplete burning or evaporated from fuel supplies
Major source is automobiles, but some from industry
Contribute to smog
Improvements in engine design have helped reduce
Primary Air pollutants – Particulates
• Particulates - small pieces of solid materials and liquid droplets (2.5 mm
and 10 mm)
• Examples: ash from fires, asbestos from brakes and insulation, dust
• Easily noticed: e.g. smokestacks
• Can accumulate in lungs and interfere with the ability of lungs to
exchange gases.
• Some particulates are known carcinogens
• Those working in dusty conditions at highest risk (e.g., miners)
• Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM)
-PM1 having size <= 1µm: effects in alveoli
-PM2.5 having size <= 2.5µm: effects trachea
-PM10 having size <= 10µm: effects in nasal part only
Secondary Air pollutants
• Ozone
• Ozone (O3) is a highly reactive gas composed of three oxygen atoms.
• It is both a natural and a man-made product that occurs in the Earth's upper
atmosphere (the stratosphere) and lower atmosphere (the troposphere).
• Tropospheric ozone – what we breathe -- is formed primarily from
photochemical reactions between two major classes of air pollutants, volatile
organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX).
• PAN: Smog is caused by the interaction of some hydrocarbons and
oxidants under the influence of sunlight giving rise to dangerous
peroxy acetyl nitrate (PAN).
Secondary Air pollutants
• Photochemical smog is a mixture of pollutants which includes
particulates, nitrogen oxides, ozone, aldehydes, peroxyethanoyl
nitrate (PAN), unreacted hydrocarbons, etc. The smog often has
a brown haze due to the presence of nitrogen dioxide. It causes
painful eyes.
• Aerosols and mists are very fine liquid droplets that cannot be
effectively removed using traditional packed scrubbers. These
droplets can be formed from gas phase hydrolysis of halogenated
acids (HCl, HF, HBr), metal halides, organohalides, sulphur trioxide
(SO3), and phosphorous pentoxide (P2O5).
Air Pollution Episodes
• Period of poor air quality, upto several days, often extending over large
geographical area.
• Winter: cold, stable weather conditions trap pollutants close to sources and
prevent dispersion. Elevated concentrations of range of pollutants build up over
several days
• Summer: hot and sunny weather. Pollutants emitted at one place transported
to long distances, reacting with each other in sunlight to produce high levels of
ozone, & other photochemical pollutants.
• Examples –
• Meuse-valley Belgium episode in 1930: 63 people died; SO2, H2SO4 mist; sore throat,
shortness of breath, cough, phlegm, nausea, vomiting
• Donora, Pennsylvania (USA) episode in 1948
• Poza Rico, Mexico episode 1950: High sulphur crude oil burned, H2S emitted; 22 deaths,
>300 hospitalized
• Great London smog episode 1952: coal burning and inversion conditions in December lead
to 5 days of smog; hundreds died
• Bhopal gas tragedy 1984
Ambient air pollution monitoring
• Most frequently occurring pollutants in an urban environment are particulate
matters (suspended particulate matter i.e. SPM and respirable suspended
particulate matter i.e. RSPM), Carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), sulfur
dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3) and photochemical oxidants.
• Gaseous pollutants: continuous monitoring; Particulates: once every three days
Station type
Description
Type A
Downtown pedestrian exposure station- In central business districts, in congested areas,
surrounding by buildings, many pedestrians, average traffic flow > 10000 vehicles per day. Location
of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
Type B
Type C
Type D
Type E
Type F
Downtown neighbor hood exposure stations- In central business districts but not congested areas,
less high rise buildings, average vehicles < 500 vehicles per day. Typical locations like parks, malls,
landscapes areas etc.
Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
Residential population exposure station – In the midst of the residential areas or sub-urban areas
but not in central business districts. The station should be more than 100 m away from any street.
Mesoscale stations – At appropriate height to collect meteorological and air quality data at upper
elevation; main purpose to collect the trend of data variations not human exposure.
Non-urban stations – In remote non-urban areas, no traffic, no industrial activity. Main purpose to
monitor trend analysis.
Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
Specialized source survey stations – to determine the impact on air quality at specified location by
an air pollution source under scrutiny.
Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
Ambient air pollution monitoring
• Number of stations:
• Minimum number is three. The location is dependent upon the wind rose diagram that
gives predominant wind directions and speed. One station must be at upstream of
predominant wind direction and other two must at downstream pre dominant wind
direction. More than three stations can also be established depending upon the area of
coverage.
• Components of ambient air sampling systems:
•
•
•
•
•
Inlet manifold
Air mover
collection medium
flow measurement device
Inlet manifold transports sampled pollutants from ambient air to collection medium or
analytical device in an unaltered condition. The manifold should not be very long. Air
mover provides force to create vacuum or lower pressure at the end of sampling systems.
They are pumps. The collection mediums are liquid or solid sorbent or dissolving gases or
filters or chamber for air analysis (automatic instruments). The flow device like
rotameters measure the volume of air sampled.
Stack air pollution monitoring
• Emissions Testing, otherwise referred to as Stack Sampling or Stack Monitoring, is the
experimental process for evaluating the characteristics of industrial waste gas
stream emissions into the atmosphere (e.g. fertilizer and pesticide plants, Iron & steel plants,
thermal power plants, oil refineries etc.).
• Where emission levels exceed limits set in licences or permits this would be considered a
non-conformance and the regulator would be keen to ensure that the matter is dealt with
appropriately. One option is to carry out that air dispersion modeling using AERMOD and
other software to ensure there is no detrimental effect on local air quality (sometimes
referred to as ambient air quality). Alternatively, abatement can be proposed such as bag
filters, cyclones, scrubbers or thermal oxidisers depending on the nature of the pollutant.
Experimental analysis of particulate samples
• Particulate monitoring
• Particulate monitoring is usually accomplished with manual measurements and
subsequent laboratory analysis.
• A particulate matter measurement uses gravimetric principles. Gravimetric analysis
refers to the quantitative chemical analysis of weighing a sample, usually of a
separated and dried precipitate.
• In this method, a filter-based high-volume sampler (a vacuum- type device that
draws air through a filter or absorbing substrate) retains atmospheric pollutants for
future laboratory weighing and chemical analysis. Particles are trapped or collected
on filters, and the filters are weighed to determine the volume of the pollutant. The
weight of the filter with collected pollutants minus the weight of a clean filter gives
the amount of particulate matter in a given volume of air.
• Chemical analysis can be done by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), atomic
fluorescence spectrometry (AFS), inductively couple plasma (ICP) spectroscopy, and
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy.
• AAS is a sensitive means for the quantitative determination of more than
60 metals or metalloid elements. Principle: This technique operates by
measuring energy changes in the atomic state of the analyte. For example,
AAS is used to measure lead in particulate monitoring.
Experimental analysis of gaseous pollutant samples
Method
Variable Measured
Gravimetric
PM10, PM2.5
Atomic absorption
spectrometry (AAS)
Principle
Particles are trapped or collected on filters, and the filters are weighed to
determine the volume of the pollutant.
more than 60 metals
This technique operates by measuring energy changes in the atomic state of
or metalloid elements
the analyte. Emitted radiation is a function of atoms present in the sample.
(e.g. Pb, Hg, Zn)
Spectrophotometry
SO2, O3
Measure the amount of light that a sample absorbs. The amount of light
absorbed indicates the amount of analyte present in the sample.
Chemiluminescence
SO2, O3
Based upon the emission spectrum of an excited species that is formed in the
course of a chemical reaction.
Gas chromatography (GC) flame ionization detector
(FID)
VOC
Responds in proportion to number of carbon atoms in gas sample.
Gas chromatography-mass
spectrometry (GC-MS)
VOC
Mass spectrometers use the difference in mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of
ionized atoms or molecules to separate them from each other.
Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy (FTIR)
CO, VOC, CH4
Sample absorbs infrared radiation and difference in absorption is measured.
Pollutant
Time Weighted
Average
Sulphur Dioxide (SO2),
µg/m3
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2),
µg/m3
Particulate Matter (size less than 10 µm) or PM10 µg/m3
Annual*
24 hours**
Annual*
24 hours**
Annual*
24 hours**
Annual*
24 hours**
50
80
40
80
60
100
40
60
20
80
30
80
60
100
40
60
8 hours*
1 hour**
Annual*
24 hours**
8 hours*
1 hour**
Annual*
24 hours**
Annual*
Annual*
100
180
0.50
1.0
02
04
100
400
5
1
100
180
0.50
1.0
02
04
100
400
5
1
Annual*
6
60
Annual*
20
20
Particulate Matter (size less than 2.5 µm) or PM2.5 µg/m3
Ozone (O3) µg/m3
Lead (Pb)
µg/m3
Carbon Monoxide (CO) mg/m3
Ammonia (NH3) µg/m3
Benzene (C6H6) µg/m3
Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP)- particulate phase only,
ng/m3
Arsenic(As),
ng/m3
Nickel (Ni),
ng/m3
NAAQS (Concentration in Ambient Air)
Industrial, Residential,
Ecologically Sensitive Area
Rural and Other Areas
Air pollution health effects
• Exposure to air pollution is associated with numerous effects
on human health, including pulmonary, cardiac, vascular, and
neurological impairments. The health effects vary greatly
from person to person. High-risk groups such as the elderly,
infants, pregnant women, and sufferers from chronic heart
and lung diseases are more susceptible to air pollution.
Children are at greater risk because they are generally more
active outdoors and their lungs are still developing.
• Exposure to air pollution can cause both acute (short-term)
and chronic (long-term) health effects.
• Acute effects are usually immediate and often reversible
when exposure to the pollutant ends. Some acute health
effects include eye irritation, headaches, and nausea.
• Chronic effects are usually not immediate and tend not to be
reversible when exposure to the pollutant ends. Some chronic
health effects include decreased lung capacity and lung
cancer resulting from long-term exposure to toxic air
pollutants.
• Both gaseous and particulate air pollutants can have negative
effects on the lungs. Solid particles can settle on the walls of
the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles.
• Continuous breathing of polluted air can slow the normal
cleansing action of the lungs and result in more particles
reaching the lower portions of the lung. Damage to the lungs
from air pollution can inhibit this process and contribute to
the occurrence of respiratory diseases such as bronchitis,
emphysema, and cancer.
Pollutant
Description
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Colorless, odorless gas
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Colorless gas that dissolves in
water vapor to form acid, and
interact with other gases and
particles in the air.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
Ozone (O3)
Lead (Pb)
Particulate Matter (PM)
Sources
Health Effects
Welfare Effects
Motor vehicle exhaust, indoor
Headaches, reduced mental
Contribute to the formation of
sources include kerosene or
alertness, heart attack,
smog.
wood burning stoves.
cardiovascular diseases, impaired
fetal development, death.
Coal-fired power plants,
Eye irritation, wheezing, chest
petroleum refineries,
tightness, shortness of breath,
manufacture of sulfuric acid and
lung damage.
smelting of ores containing
sulfur.
Contribute to the formation of
acid rain, visibility impairment,
plant and water damage,
aesthetic damage.
Reddish brown, highly reactive Motor vehicles, electric utilities,
Susceptibility to respiratory
gas.
and other industrial, commercial, infections, irritation of the lung
and residential sources that burn and respiratory symptoms (e.g.,
fuels.
cough, chest pain, difficulty
breathing).
Contribute to the formation of
smog, acid rain, water quality
deterioration, global warming,
and visibility impairment.
Gaseous pollutant when it is
formed in the troposphere.
Vehicle exhaust and certain
Eye and throat irritation,
Plant and ecosystem damage.
other fumes. Formed from other
coughing, respiratory tract
air pollutants in the presence of problems, asthma, lung damage.
sunlight.
Metallic element
Metal refineries, lead smelters, Anemia, high blood pressure,
Affects animals and plants,
battery manufacturers, iron and
brain and kidney damage,
affects aquatic ecosystems.
steel producers.
neurological disorders, cancer,
lowered IQ.
Very small particles of soot, dust, Diesel engines, power plants, Eye irritation, asthma, bronchitis,
Visibility impairment,
or other matter, including tiny
industries, windblown dust,
lung damage, cancer, heavy
atmospheric deposition,
droplets of liquids.
wood stoves.
metal poisoning, cardiovascular
aesthetic damage.
effects.
Pollutants
Aldehydes
Sources
Photochemical reactions
Effects on Vegetables
The upper portions of Alfalfa etc. will be affected to Narcosis if 250 ppm of aldehydes
is present for 2 hrs duration.
Ozone (O3)
Photochemical reaction of hydrocarbon
All ages of tobacco leaves, beans, grapes, pine, pumpkins and potato are affected.
and nitrogen oxides from fuel combustion, Fleck, stipple, bleaching, bleached spotting, pigmentation, growth suppression, and
refuse burning, and evaporation from
early abscission are the effects.
petroleum products.
Peroxy Acetyl The sources of PAN are the same as ozone Young spongy cells of plants are affected if 0.01 ppm of PAN is present in the ambient
Nitrate (PAN)
air for more than 6 hrs.
Nitrogen dioxide High temperature combustion of coal, oil, Irregular, white or brown collapsed lesion on intercostals tissue and near leaf margin.
(NO2)
gas, and gasoline in power plants and
Suppressed growth is observed in many plants.
internal combustion engines.
Ammonia &
Thermal power plants, oil and petroleum Bleached spots, bleached areas between veins, bleached margins, chlorosis, growth
Sulfur dioxide
refineries.
suppression, early abscission, and reduction in yield and tissue collapse occur.
Chlorine (Cl2)
Leaks in chlorine storage tanks,
If 0.10 ppm is present for at least 2 hrs, the epidermis and mesophyll of plants will be
hydrochloric acid mists.
affected.
Hydrogen
Phosphate rock processing, aluminum
Epidermis and mesophyll of grapes, large seed fruits, pines and fluorosis in animals
fluoride, Silicon industry, and ceramic works and fiberglass
occur if 0.001 ppm of HF is present for 5 weeks.
tetrafluoride
manufacturing.
Pesticides &
Agricultural operations
Defoliation, dwarfing, curling, twisting, growth reduction and killing of plants may
Herbicides
occur.
Particulates
Cement industries, thermal power plants,
Affects quality of plants, reduces vigor & hardness and interferences with
blasting, crushing and processing
photosynthesis due to plugging leaf stomata and blocking of light.
industries.
Mercury (Hg)
Processing of mercury containing ores,
Greenhouse crops, and floral parts of all vegetations are affected; abscission and
burning of coal and oil.
growth reduction occur in most of the plants.
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 23: Air Pollution Control and Modeling
Recap
• History – 1784 steam engine, industrial revolution, modern consumerism
• Types of air pollutants – primary (CO, NOx, SOx, HCs, Particulates), secondary (O3,
PAN, smog, aerosols & mists), criteria, hazardous, non-criteria
• Air pollution episodes – pollutants trapped near Earth’s surface due to weather
conditions for 3-4 days causing health problems/deaths
• Ambient air pollution monitoring – e.g. high-volume sampler (HVS) with four
components (Inlet manifold, Air mover, collection medium, flow measurement
device)
• Stack monitoring - for evaluating the characteristics of industrial waste gas
stream emissions into the atmosphere (e.g. fertilizer and pesticide plants, iron &
steel plants, thermal power plants, oil refineries etc.).
• Experimental analysis of collected samples – gravimetric analysis, atomic
absorption spectrometry (AAS), atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS),
inductively couple plasma (ICP) spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
spectroscopy.
• Air pollution health effects and NAAQS
Air pollution control – Mobile sources (automobiles)
• Reduced use of vehicles– odd-even, using public
transport/bicycles, congestion tax etc.
• Cleaner/Alternative Fuel
• Vaporization of Gasoline should be reduced.
• Oxygen containing additives reduce air requirement e.g.,
ethanol, MTBE (Hazardous).
• Methanol: (Less photochemically reactive VOC, but emits HCHO
(eye irritant), difficult to start in winters: Can be overcome by M85
(85% methanol, 15% gasoline)
• Ethanol: GASOHOL (10% ethanol & 90% Gasoline),
• CNG: Low HC, NOx high, inconvenient refueling, leakage hazard.
• LPG: Propane, NOx high
• Three-Way Catalytic Converter: It has three
simultaneous tasks:
• Reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen
• Oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide
• Oxidation of unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) to carbon dioxide and
water
Air pollution control – stationary sources
(Industrial plants)
• Pre-combustion Control
• Switching to less sulphur and nitrogen fuel
• Combustion Control
•
•
•
•
Improving the combustion process
New burners to reduce NOx
New Fluidized bed boilers
Integrated gasification combined cycle
• Post-Combustion Control
• Particulate collection devices
• Flue gas desulphurization
Initiatives taken in India for air pollution control
• National ambient air quality standards based on health impact evolved (1982,
1994, 2009).
• Emission standards for air polluting industries developed for major industries
• Implementation of standards in 17 categories of highly polluting industries and
other small/medium scale industries (stone crushers, brick kiln, re-rolling mills,
etc.).
• Action plan implementation and pollution control in identified 24 problem areas
• Coal beneficiation/clean coal technology –notification regarding use of
beneficiated coal in thermal power plant.
• Improvement in vehicular technology (Euro-1, Euro-2, Euro-3, Euro-4, CNG
vehicles, 4 stroke engines, etc.)
• Improvement in fuel quality -diesel with low sulfur content (0.25% in whole
country and 0.05% in metro cities)
• Gasoline-lead phased-out throughout the country since 2000.
Emerging areas of air pollution control
• Development of low-cost ash removal technology from coal and promotion of clean coal Technologies
• Technology for reduction of fluoride emission (primary & Secondary) from pot room of aluminium industries using Soderberg
technology
• Development of NOx control standard for thermal power plants and refineries
• Prevention and control of fugitive emission in cement industry
• Use of high calorific value hazardous waste including petroleum coke in cement kiln
• Low cost flue gas desulphurization technology for thermal power plants
• Technology development of fugitive emission control from coke oven plants of iron & steel industry [2].
• Development of technology and standard to control emission of VOC, methyl chloride, P2O5, HCl, etc. from pesticide industry
• Development of odor control technology for paper & pulp industry and standardization the method of odor measurement
• Fluidized bed combustion technology for solid fuel containing higher ash
• Development of improved design of Incinerators for Hazardous Waste.
• Control on emission of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from engine using LPG, compressed natural gas (CNG), low sulphur
diesel, low sulphur petrol, etc.
• Apportionment study for fine particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) in major cities
• Technology for mercury emission control from thermal power plants.
• Noise and emission control system for small DG sets (<200 kW)
• Development of stack height guidelines for thermal power plants and industries using ventilation co-efficient of different
regions in the country
Particulate emission control by mechanical
separation
• The basic mechanism of removing particulate matter from gas stream is
classified as:
• 1) gravitational settling, 2) centrifugal impaction, 3) inertial impaction, 4) direct
interception, 5) diffusion, and 6) electrostatic precipitation.
• Equipment presently available, which make use of one or more of the
above mechanisms, fall into the following five broad categories:
•
•
•
•
1) gravitational settling chambers,
2) cyclone separators,
3) fabric filters,
4) electrostatic precipitator
1). Particulate removal through gravitational
settling chambers
• Gravitational settling chambers are generally used to remove large, abrasive
particles (usually >50 μm) from gas stream. It provides enlarged areas to minimize
horizontal velocities and allow time for the vertical velocity to carry the particle to
the floor. The usual velocity through settling chambers is between 0.5 to 2.5 m/s.
• Advantage: Low pressure loss, simplicity of design and maintenance.
• Disadvantage: Requires larger space and efficiency is low. Only larger sized particles
are separated out.
2). Particulate removal through cyclone separator
• A cyclone separator consists of a cylindrical shell, conical base,
dust hopper and an inlet where the dust-laden gas enters
tangentially. Under the influence of the centrifugal force
generated by the spinning gas, the solid particles are thrown to
the wall of the cyclone as the gas spirals upward at the inside of
the cone. The particles slide down the walls of the cone and into
the hopper:
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Cyclone_separator
• Advantage: Relatively inexpensive, simple to design and
maintain; requires less floor area; low to moderate pressure loss.
Disadvantage: Requires much head room; collection efficiency is
low for smaller particles, quite sensitive to variable dust loading
and flow rates.
3). Particulate removal through fabric filters
• In a fabric filter system, the particulate-laden gas stream passes through a woven or felted
fabric that filters out the particulate matter and allows the gas to pass through. Small
particles are initially retained on the fabric by direct interception, inertial impaction,
diffusion, electrostatic attraction, and gravitational settling. After a dust mat has formed
on the fabric, more efficient collection of submicron particle is accomplished by sieving.
• Fabric filter systems typically consist of a tubular bag or an envelope, suspended or
mounted in such manner that the collected particles fall into hopper when dislodged from
fabric. The structure in which the bags are hanged is known as a bag-house. Generally,
particle laden gas enters the bag at the bottom and passes through the fabric while the
particles are deposited on the inside of the bag. The cleaning is done by shaking at fixed
intervals of time.
• Filter bags usually tubular or envelope-shaped, are capable of removing most particles as
small as 0.5μm and will remove substantial quantity of particles as small as 0.1μm. Filter
bags ranging from 1.8 to 9 m long, can be utilized in a bag house filter arrangement.
• As particulates build up on the inside surface of the bags, the pressure drop increases.
Before the pressure drop becomes too severe, the bag must be relieved of some of the
particulate layer. Fabric filter can be cleaned intermittently, periodically, or continuously.
• Fabric filter material may be woven fabric or felt cloth. The choice of fabric fibre is based
primarily on operating temperature and the corrosiveness or abrasiveness of the particle.
Cotton is the least expensive fibre, and is preferably used in low temperature dust
collection service. Silicon coated glass fibre cloth is commonly employed in high
temperature applications. The glass fibre must be lubricated to prevent abrasion.
• Advantage: Fabric filters can give high efficiency, and can even remove very small
particles.
• Disadvantage: High temperature gasses need to be first cooled before contacting filter.
The flue gasses must be dry to avoid condensation and clogging. The fabric is liable to
chemical attacks.
4). Particulate removal through electrostatic
precipitator
• The electrostatic precipitator is one of the most widely used device for controlling
particulate emission at industrial installations ranging from power plants, cement and
paper mills to oil refineries. Electrostatic precipitator is a physical process by which
particles suspended in gas stream are charged electrically and, under the influence of the
electrical field, separated from the gas stream.
• The precipitator system consists of a positively charged collecting surface and a high
voltage discharge electrode wire suspended from an insulator at the top and held in
passion by weight to the bottom. At a very high DC voltage, of the order of 50kV, a
corona discharge occurs close to the negative electrode, setting up an electric field
between the emitted and the grounded surface.
• The particle laden gas enters near the bottom and flows upward. The gas close to the
negative electrode is, thus, ionized upon passing through the corona. As the negative ions
and electrons migrate toward the grounded surface, they in turn charge the passing
particles. The electrostatic field then draws the particles to the collector surface where
they are deposited.
• Periodically, the collected particles must be removed from the collecting surface. This is
done by rapping or vibrating the collector to dislodge the particles. The dislodged
particles drop below the electrical treatment zone and are collected for ultimate disposal
• Advantage: Maintenance is nominal, contain few moving parts and can be operated at
high temperature up to 300-450 C.
• Disadvantage: Higher initial cost, Sensitive to variable dust loading and flow rates, they
use high voltage, and hence may pose risk to personal safety of the staff and their
collection efficiency reduces with time.
5). Particulate removal through wet gas scrubbing
• Wet scrubber removes particulate matter from gas streams by
incorporating the particles into liquid droplets directly on contact. The
basic function of wet scrubber is to provide contact between the
scrubbing liquid, usually water and, the particulate to be collected. This
contact can be achieved in a variety of ways as the particles are
confronted with so-called impaction target, which can be wetted surface
as in packed scrubbers or individual droplets as in spray scrubbers
• The basic collection mechanism is the same as in filters: inertial
impaction, interception and diffusion. Generally, impaction and
interception are the predominant mechanism for particles of diameter
above 3 μm, and for particle of diameter below 0.3μm diffusion begins
to prevail.
• There are many scrubber designs presently available where the contact
between the scrubbing liquid and the particles is achieved in a variety of
ways.
• The major types are: plate scrubber, packed-bed scrubber, spray
scrubber, venturi scrubber, cyclone scrubber, baffle scrubber,
impingement-entrainment scrubber, fluidized-bed scrubber.
• Wet scrubbers are effective in removing small particles, with removal
efficiencies of up to 99 percent.
• One drawback of them, however, is the production of wastewater.
Gaseous pollutants removal from stationary sources
• The most common method for controlling gaseous pollutants is the addition
of add-on control devices to recover or destroy a pollutant.
• There are four commonly used control technologies for gaseous pollutants:
- Absorption,
- Adsorption,
- Condensation, and
- Incineration (combustion)
• When a gas or vapor is brought into contact with a solid, part of it is taken up
by the solid. The molecules that disappear from the gas either enter the
inside of the solid, or remain on the outside attached to the surface. The
former phenomenon is termed absorption (or dissolution) and the latter
adsorption.
1). Gaseous pollutants removal by absorption
• The removal of one or more selected components from a gas
mixture by absorption is probably the most important operation
in the control of gaseous pollutant emissions.
• Absorption is a process in which a gaseous pollutant is dissolved
in a liquid. As the gas stream passes through the liquid, the
liquid absorbs the gas.
• Absorbers are often referred to as scrubbers, and there are
various types of absorption equipment.
• The principal types of gas absorption equipment include spray
towers, packed columns, spray chambers, and venture
scrubbers.
• In general, absorbers can achieve removal efficiencies grater
than 95 percent. One potential problem with absorption is the
generation of waste-water, which converts an air pollution
problem to a water pollution problem.
2). Gaseous pollutants removal by adsorption
• In adsorption process the contaminant removal is done by
passing a stream of effluent gas through a pours solid material
(adsorbent) contained in adsorption bed. The surface of porous
solid material attracts and holds the gas (the adsorbate) by either
by physical or chemical adsorption.
• The most common industrial adsorbents are activated carbon,
silica gel, and alumina, synthetic polymers because they have
enormous surface areas per unit weight.
• Activated carbon is the universal standard for purification and
removal of trace organic contaminants from liquid and vapor
streams.
• Adsorption occurs in three steps
• Step 1: The contaminant diffuses from the bulk gas stream to the
external surface of the adsorbent material.
• Step 2: The contaminant molecule migrate external surface to the
macropores, transitional pores, and micropores within each adsorbent.
• Step 3: The contaminant molecule adheres to the surface in the pore.
Following figure illustrates this overall diffusion and adsorption
process.
Air quality modeling – Gaussian Plume Model for
point source
Where,
C : concentration of emitted pollutant (g/m3) at any receptor
location at x (downwind distance from source, i.e. in the direction
of wind), y (crosswind), and z (vertical).
Q : source emission rate (g/sec)
U : horizontal wind velocity, m/s
H : plume centre line height above ground = hs + ∆h
hs = height of source above ground (m)
∆h = initial plume rise (m)
z : vertical standard deviation of emission distribution in meters
(vertical dispersion coefficient)
y : horizontal standard deviation of emission distribution in
meters (horizontal dispersion coefficient)
• The term with (z+H)2 represents pollution reflected once the plume hits the
ground. If no reflection is assumed, then this term is zero.
• See derivation of this equation at:
https://www.eng.uwo.ca/people/esavory/Gaussian%20plumes.pdf
GPM: Estimating wind speed and dispersion
Coefficients
Using ū, find category.
Using stability category & x, find y
Using stability category & x, find z
Box Model for area source
(i) It assumes uniform mixing throughout the volume of a three-dimensional box.
(ii) Steady state emission and atmospheric conditions.
(iii) No upwind background concentration.
Line source model
•
•
•
•
Application: motor vehicle travelling along a straight section of highway OR agricultural burning along
the edge of a field OR line of industrial sources on the bank of a river
Imagine that a line source, such as a highway consists of an infinite number of point sources
The roadway can be broken into finite elements, each representing a point source, and contributions
from each element are summed to predict net concentration
Assumption - Infinite length source continuously emitting the pollution, Ground level source and Wind
blowing perpendicular to the line source
Indoor air pollution
• Myth: Air pollution occurs only outdoors Or In industrial environment. What is more agreeable than
one’s home? Feeling safe ? Away from outside pollution? Air inside the conditioned space can be
substantially more polluted than outdoor air.
• First indication of indoor contamination – Asbestos pollution, a carcinogenic substance, discovered
by epidemiologists, used in almost all building materials about 35 years back. More recently, the
fumes from deodorant or asbestos in baby powder have been found to be toxic:
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/18/health/johnson-and-johnson-baby-powder-recall-bn-trnd/index.html
• https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/24/health/johnson--johnson-talc-asbestos-verdict-california/index.html
• IAQ stands for “Indoor Air Quality”. It refers to the quality of air we breathe most of the
time (almost 80 % of the time). Sick building syndrome causing red eyes, headache etc. is
illness felt while indoors (usually when CO2 concentration is >1000 ppm and high VOCs).
• Concept of IAQ first introduced among scientific community in 1980 due to some
occurrences of ‘episodes indoors’.
• Causes of indoor air pollution –
• Air tightness of buildings: after 1970s oil crisis, to save energy, small ceiling tight rooms in cold countries
=> inadequate fresh air, so no dilution and high concentration of pollutants
• Poorly designed air conditioning and ventilation systems => production of fungi, molds and other
sickness causing microbes
• Indoor sources of pollution or
• Outdoor sources of pollution
Sources of indoor pollution
Indoor air pollution
• Fresh air contains 21.0% (v/v) O2. Exhaled air contains 17.0% (v/v) O2 and
83.0 % (v/v) CO2
• An adult emits 45 gm sweat / hour containing bioaerosols. An adult produces
300 BTU of heat / hour.
• Carbon based VOCs indoors are 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors.
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/office-workers-may-bebreathing-potentially-harmful-compounds-in-cosmetics/
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 24: Solid Waste Management
Municipal Solid Waste
• Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is waste collected by or on behalf of a local authority. It
mostly comprises of household waste, although it may also include some commercial and
industrial wastes. MSW is more commonly known as trash or garbage, and it consists of
everyday items such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles,
food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, and batteries.
• In India, collection, segregation, transportation, and disposal of solid waste are often
unscientific and chaotic. Uncontrolled dumping of wastes on the outskirts of towns and
cities has created overflowing landfills, which have environmental impacts in the form of
pollution to soil, groundwater, and air, and also contribute to global warming
• About 0.1 million tonne of municipal solid waste is generated in India every day. That is
approximately 36.5 million tonne annually. Per capita waste generation in major Indian
cities ranges from 0.2 kg to 0.6 kg. Difference in per capita waste generation between
lower and higher income groups range between 180 to 800 g per day.
• The urban local bodies spend approximately Rs. 500 to Rs. 1500 per tonne (i.e. 1000 kg) on
solid waste for collection, transportation, treatment and disposal. About 60-70% of this
amount is spent on collection, 20-30% on transportation and less than 5% on final
disposal.
• http://homepages.hs-bremen.de/~office-ikrw/invent/elearning_Dateien/Handbook_chapters/chapter_5.pdf
Common problems associated with unsound
MSW disposal
• The disposal of solid waste has always been a huge problem throughout India. The overwhelming majority
of landfills in India are open dumps without leachate or gas recovery systems. Several are located in
ecological or hydrologically sensitive areas. They are generally operated below the standards of sanitary
practice. Municipal budgetary allocations for operation and maintenance are always inadequate
• Careless and indiscriminate open dumping of wastes creates unsightly and unsanitary conditions within
municipalities e.g. along the roads and highways
• Delay in delivery of solid wastes to landfills (which are infact dump sites), resulting in nuisance dumps and
unpleasant odours which attract flies and other vectors. Such dumps also lead to pollution of land/soils,
ground and surface water through leachate and air through emission of noxious and offensive gases.
• Open solid waste dumps can also be a public health risk. Direct contact with refuse can be dangerous and
unsafe to the public, as infectious diseases such as cholera and dysentery can spread through contact with
these wastes.
• In most municipalities, scavenging on refuse dumps is a common practice, and such people face danger of
direct exposure to hazardous waste.
• Open solid waste dumps can also provide suitable breeding places for vermin and flies and other disease
vectors, and can also contain pathogenic micro-organisms
• Some categories of solid wastes block permeability of soils and drainage systems, including water courses,
open drains and sewers, thus posing difficulties in the functioning and maintenance of such facilities;
• Due to the capital-intensive nature of solid waste handling and disposal operations, these can become an
economic burden and constrain service delivery in other areas such as medical care, education and road
construction.
Classification of MSW
• 1). MSW can be classified into recyclable waste, organic fraction, inert
debris and hazardous waste.
• 2). MSW can also be classified into "dry and "wet" materials on the basis of
their moisture content. From the perspective of energy recovery, the nonrecyclable "dry" fraction can be divided into combustible materials such as
paper, plastics and wood; and non-combustible or "inert" materials such as
metals and glasses.
• 3). Another way of classifying is biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable
• Biodegradable waste include mainly organic wastes such as peelings of potatoes,
bananas, saw dust and water hyacinth dumped within the municipal environs, etc.
• Non-biodegradable waste, e.g. polythene bags (buvera), plastic products, pesticide
residues, process wastes, highly flammable and volatile substances, furniture,
abandoned vehicles, used tyres; industrial wastes including metal scrap and medical
wastes such as used needles, plastic and glass bottles and syringes.
Standard processes to manage MSW
• Not disposal but management
• Concept of - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse & Recycle and segregation at source
• Recovery/recycling: Recovered paper, plastic, metal, and glass can be re-used. In the absence of formalized
waste segregation practices in India, recycling has emerged only as an informal sector using outdated
technology, which causes serious health problems to waste–pickers
• Composting: The natural organic components of MSW (Food and plant wastes, paper, etc) can be
composted aerobically to carbon dioxide, water, and a compost product that can be used as soil conditioner
(i.e. organic fertilizer). Anaerobic digestion or fermentation produces methane, alcohol and a compost
product.
• Incineration: Energy is stored in chemical form in all MSW materials that contain organic compounds i.e.
which can be used to generate electricity and steam.
• Land filling: MSW materials that cannot be subjected to any of the above three method, plus any residuals
from these processes (e.g. ash from combustion) must be disposed in properly designed landfills.
• Management of non-biodegradable wastes could include: incineration, recycling and reusing.
• Energy recovery can be achieved from different methods of managing waste including:
• Advanced Thermal Treatment - production of electricity and/or heat by the thermal treatment decomposition of the
waste and subsequent use of the secondary products (typically syngas)
• Anaerobic digestion – production of energy from the combustion of the biogas which is produced from the digestion of
biodegradable waste
• Landfill - production of electricity from the combustion of landfill gas produced as biodegradable waste decomposes
1). Recovery/Recycling
• See demo of a recycling plant here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Tr-U0nALM
2). Composting
• It is an aerobic, biological process which uses naturally occurring microorganisms to convert biodegradable
organic matter into a humus-like product. The process destroys pathogens, converts N from unstable
ammonia to stable organic forms, reduces the volume of waste and improves the nature of the waste:
http://compost.css.cornell.edu/MSWFactSheets/msw.fs.toc.html
• Organic waste is placed in the form of windrows, micro-organisms and water are then mixed with it and let
it decompose for ~30 days, after which large pieces are segregated and the fine compost is ready. Watch
the demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3bQPvVjuXc
• Advantages:
• Decreasing the need of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; thereby reducing GHG emissions from the use of fossil fuel
associated with their production and application
• Allowing for more rapid growth in plants, thereby increasing carbon uptake and storage within the plant. This is a form of
carbon sequestration which removes CO2 from the atmosphere
• Sequestering carbon in soil that has received the compost. It is estimated that approximately 50 kg carbon (183 kg CO2)
gets sequestered per ton of wet compost
• Improving tillage, nutrients and workability of soil (thereby reducing emissions from fossil fuel that would otherwise be
used to work the soil
• Disadvantages:
• Health risk from composting: MSW contains a number of chemical and biological agents, hence it contains a lot of
harmful substances. These contaminants may expose different populations to health hazards, ranging from the
composting plant workers to the consumers of vegetable products grown in soils treated with compost. Health risks are
due to occupational exposure to organic dusts, bioaerosols and microorganisms in MSW composting plants. Potential
health risks are due to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released during composting
• Carbon emissions: Aerobic decomposition from well managed composting results in the emission of CO2 and H2O. Due
to the heterogeneous nature of a compost pile, some CH4 may form
• High cost of setting up and running of composting plant and lack of proper collection systems
3). Thermal treatment of MSW (waste to energy plant)
• In recent decades, industrialized countries also included the thermal treatment (incineration, pyrolysis, or gasification) of MSW as an
important option for its management. This process notably reduces the space required for the disposal of the same amount of residues
in landfills (typically by a factor from 4 to 10). Energy recovered from waste can be used to boil water and produce steam which then can
be used to as heat or produce electricity
• (a) Incineration (combustion): The term ‘incineration’ is used to describe processes that combust waste and recover energy. In mass
burning systems, the refuse is burned in an "as received" condition. Generally, in mass burning systems all of the waste entering the
facility is dumped into a large storage pit, with bulky items being removed prior to entering the combustion chamber. To allow the
combustion to take place a sufficient quantity of oxygen is required to fully oxidize the fuel. Incineration plant combustion temperatures
are in excess of 850C and the waste is mostly converted into carbon dioxide and water and any noncombustible materials (e.g. metals,
glass, stones) remain as a solid, known as incinerator bottom ash (IBA).
•
•
The direct combustion of a waste usually releases more of the available energy compared to pyrolysis and gasification.
However, MSW incinerators (MSWI) have been questioned because of the atmospheric emissions of acid gases, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and especially by the emission of the potential carcinogenic agents polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs)
• (b) Pyrolysis: Pyrolysis is thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen. This process requires an external heat source to maintain the
pyrolysis process. Typically, temperatures of between 300C to 850C are used during pyrolysis of materials such as MSW. The products
produced from pyrolysing materials are a solid residue and syngas. The solid residue (sometimes described as a char) is a combination of
non-combustible materials and carbon. The syngas is a mixture of gases (combustible constituents include carbon monoxide, hydrogen
and methane) and condensable oils, waxes and tars. The syngas typically has a net calorific value (NCV) of between 10 and 20 MJ/m3.
For comparison, natural gas has NCV of around 38 MJ/m3. If required, the condensable (liquid) fraction can be collected, potentially for
use as a liquid fuel or a feedstock in a chemical process, by cooling the syngas. By manipulating the environmental conditions within the
reactor, the yield of any desired product (gas of low calorific value, liquid oil and carbonaceous char) may be optimized.
• (c) Gasification: When the heat for pyrolysis is provided by combustion of part of the waste in air or oxygen, the term "gasification" is
used. In gasification, air (oxygen) is added but the amounts are not sufficient to allow the fuel to be completely oxidized and full
combustion to occur. The temperatures employed are typically above 650oC. The process is largely exothermic but some heat may be
required to initialize and sustain the gasification process. The main product is a syngas, which contains carbon monoxide, hydrogen and
methane. Typically, the gas generated from gasification has a NCV of 4 – 10 MJ/m3. The other main product of gasification is a solid
residue of non-combustible materials (ash)
3). Incineration (waste to energy) process
• An incinerator with energy recovery comprises of the following process:
• [A] Waste reception, sorting and preparation: It requires pre-sorting of
MSW material to remove heavy and inert objects, such as metals, prior
to processing in the furnace. The waste is then mechanically processed
to reduce the particle size.
• [B] Combustion: The combustion is normally a single stage process and
consists of a lined chamber with a granular bubbling bed of an inert
material such as coarse sand/silica or similar bed medium. The bed is
‘fluidized’ by air being blown vertically through the material at a high
flow rate.
• [C] Energy recovery plant: The standard approach for the recovery of
energy from the incineration of MSW is to utilize the combustion heat
through a boiler to generate steam. Up to 80% of the total available
energy in the waste can be retrieved in the boiler to produce steam. The
steam can be used for the generation of power via a steam turbine
and/or used for heating.
• [D] Emissions control: The combustion process must be correctly
controlled and the flue gases must be cleaned prior to their release.
Generally, ammonia is injected into the hot flue gases for control of NOx
emissions. Lime or sodium bicarbonate is injected to control SO2 and
HCl. And finally, a filter bed consisting of adsorbents like activated
carbon, fly ash and other solids (lime or bicarbonate) is used to control
the release of heavy metals, CO, VOCs and dioxins.
• [E] Residue handling: Finally, bottom ash and air pollution control
residues should be properly handled and disposed off as per the
regulations (can be used to make bricks and construction materials).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcTKQnnYzAU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DROZUstnsnw
4). Land-filling
•
Landfills include any site which is used for more than a year for the temporary storage of waste; and, any internal waste disposal site, that is to say a site where a
producer of waste is carrying out its own waste disposal at the place of production. MSW landfills represent the most widely accepted option for waste disposal due
to its economic advantage over other methods. In USA, 54% of the 250 × 106 metric tons of MSW generated was landfilled in 2008, with recycling and composting
accounting for about 33% of MSW management
•
Construction & operation of land-fill: First the site must be lined from below to protect groundwater and surrounding environment with layers of clay, sand, stone,
plastics, leachate collection pipes etc. (must be >5 ft. above groundwater level). Each day waste is dumped into a different “cell” which is then covered with soil at the
end of the day. See land fill in Rhode Island of USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYhQQziYA3s
•
Waste decomposition process in landfills: MSW contains a large proportion of organic materials that naturally decompose when landfilled. This decomposition
process initially is aerobic where the main byproducts are carbon dioxide, plus contaminated water. However, after the oxygen within the waste profile is consumed,
it switches over to anaerobic processes. In the anaerobic process, carbon dioxide and methane are produced as waste decomposes. Liquid byproducts contain a large
concentration of various contaminants that naturally move toward the landfill’s base. The decomposition process continues for many years. As this takes place, trace
quantities of materials that may have significant impacts upon the environment can be contained in both the landfill gas and in the leachate.
•
Landfill gas recovery: The waste deposited in a landfill gets subjected, over a period of time, to anaerobic conditions and its organic fraction gets slowly volatilized
and decomposed, leading to production of landfill gas which contains a high percentage of methane (about 50%). As the gas has a calorific value of around 4500
kcal/m3, it can be used as a source of energy either for direct heating/cooking applications or to generate power through IC engines or turbines. Disadvantage is that
the gas recovery is inefficient yielding only 30-40% of the total amount of gas actually generated (rest escapes to the atmosphere causing climate change). Also,
spontaneous ignition/explosions may occur due to possible build up of methane concentrations in atmosphere.
•
Landfill leachates: Landfill leachates are defined as the aqueous effluent generated as a consequence of rainwater percolation through wastes, biochemical processes
in waste’s cells and the inherent water content of wastes themselves. It contains many organic matters, minerals, heavy metals and has high concentration of
ammonia-nitrogen, all these lead to the low biodegradability. The removal of organic material and ammonium from leachate is the usual prerequisite before
discharging the leachates into natural waters. Conventional landfill leachate treatments can be classified into three major groups:
•
•
•
(a) leachate transfer: recycling and combined treatment with domestic sewage,
(b) biodegradation: aerobic and anaerobic processes and
(c) chemical and physical methods: chemical oxidation, adsorption, chemical precipitation, coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation/flotation and air stripping
•
Management of closed landfills: Aftercare management of closed landfills typically includes monitoring of emissions (e.g. leachate and gas) and receiving systems
(e.g. groundwater, surface water, soil, and air) and maintenance of the cover and leachate and gas collection systems. Closed sites can then be used as parks,
recreation spaces and biodiversity habitat.
•
Landfill Reclamation: excavation, soil separation and screening to increase the life-time of landfill and save space and recover materials or soil which in turn can be
recycled and thus help economically
Plastic waste management
• Big global problem: The first commercial plastic was developed over one hundred
years ago, but the plastic became major consumer material only after the growth of
the petrochemical industry in the 1920s and has replaced many wood, leather,
paper, metal, glass, and natural fiber products. Once hailed as a 'wonder material',
plastic is now regarded as a serious worldwide environmental and health concern
essentially due to its non-biodegradable nature.
• The growth of the Indian plastic industry has been phenomenal - the growth rate is
higher than for the plastic industry elsewhere in the world. Although, the per capita
consumption of plastic in India is less as compared to China and other high-income
countries.
• Packaging presents a major growth area where there has been a spiraling demand
for plastics.
• Among the commodity plastics, polyethylene and PET are predominantly used in
packaging. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is used in the manufacture of carry bags
and PET is used in packaging beverages like soft drink and mineral water. PET in
particular presents a major growth area in the years to come.
• Plastic wastes are generated from a variety of sources and can be broadly classified
as consumer, industrial, computer and other wastes.
Problems related to plastic waste in India
• Inadequate collection system: The plastic content of the municipal waste is picked up by
rag pickers (sometimes child labors) for recycling either at primary collection centers or at
dumpsites. Moreover, since the rag-picking sector is not formalized, not all the recyclables,
particularly plastic bags, get picked up and are found littered everywhere.
• Choking of drains: Littering is a very common phenomenon in India. One of the offshoots
of littering is the choking of drains, streams, etc. Plastic films, bags are not permeable, and
so they tend to hold other type of wastes thus blocking the way. This gives rise to flooding
of the streets in the urban low lying areas with wastewater emanating foul smell and
causing breakthrough of serious health hazards.
• Human Health hazard: Domestic and foreign dumped plastics are recycled without
adequate technologies exposing the workers to toxic fumes and unhygienic conditions.
Rag pickers exposed to toxins and pathogens. Dioxin, a highly carcinogenic and toxic byproduct of the manufacturing process of plastics, is one of the chemicals believed to be
passed on through breast milk of the mother to the nursing infant. Burning of plastics,
especially PVC releases this dioxin and also furan into the atmosphere
• Risk to biodiversity: plastics are a risk to >700 fish species and one in three fish now
contain plastics that enters human body. Recently, cow deaths have been reported due to
the consumption of scattered plastic bags.
Government statues related to plastic waste
• Plastic labeling: Responsibility to protect the environment and enforcing the existing regulation
lies within the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC). The MOEFCC
issued the criteria developed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with the
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for labeling 'plastic products’ as 'Environment - friendly' under its
'Ecomark' scheme. One of the requirements for fulfilling this criterion is that the material used for
packaging shall be recyclable or biodegradable.
• Food-grade plastic: The Prevention of Food Adulteration Department of the Government of India
issued directives to various catering establishments to use only ‘food-grade’ plastics while selling
or serving food items. 'Food-grade' plastics meet certain essential requirements and are
considered safe, when in contact with food. The intention is to preventing possible contamination,
and to avert the danger from the use of the recycled plastics.
• Carry-bag specifications: Recycled Plastics Usage Rules (1998) prohibits usage of carry bags made
of recycled plastics for storing, carrying and packing the food stuffs. It allows the usage of carry
bags, etc. if the following conditions are satisfied, namely: a) carry bags and containers made of recycled plastics conform to the specifications mentioned in the
Prevention of Food and Adulteration Act, 1954 and the rules made there under;
b) such carry bags and containers are not pigmented :
c) the minimum thickness of carry bags made of recycled plastics shall not be less than 25 micron; and
d) reprocessing or recycling of plastics is undertaken strictly in accordance with the Indian Standards, IS
14534:1998 and the end product made out of recycled plastics is marked as "recycled" along-with the
indication of the percentage of use of recycled material.
e) The minimum thickness of carry bags made of virgin plastic shall not be less than 20 micron.
Phases of Plastic Recycling
• Collection: Collection of plastics involves formal
(municipal) sector and informal sector comprising of
wastepickers, kabariwala, scrap dealers and bulk buyers.
The municipality derives its funds for waste management
either through funds designated by the Central
Government and funds derived from property taxes.
• Separation: It involves both formal and informal sector.
Plastics segregated from MSW include a variety of resins. It
is not necessary to separate plastics by resin type to allow
their recycling, but separation by resin allows the
production of the highest-quality recycled products.
• Processing/Manufacturing: here the collected waste
plastic is used to make new plastic products or degraded
into chemical constituents that can be used as fuel or
chemical feedstocks.
• Plastic cannot be recycled indefinitely. In continuous
recycling, plastic becomes too contaminated and degraded
for use as a secondary material. Secondary pollution
occurs during the recycling process. Some factories cannot
afford to install pollution control facilities and must
therefore discontinue production
Mitigation of plastic waste problem
• Environmental tax on plastic bags (e.g. in Switzerland etc.)
• Biodegradable plastics: Bioplastics are biodegradable plastics, whose components
are derived from renewable raw materials. These plastics can be made from
abundant agricultural/animal resources like cellulose, starch, collagen, casein, soy
protein polyesters and triglycerides. Large scale use of these would help in
preserving non-renewable resources like petroleum, natural gas and coal and
contribute little to the problems of waste management. Biodegradable plastics
degrade over a period of time when exposed to sun, air or microorganisms. Various
types of plastic degradation processes and reasons for degradation are given in
Table.
• Effective technologies/systems for collection, sorting, recycling, incineration with
energy recovery
• Extended producer responsibility
• Increasing educational initiatives
• One individual can make a difference:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRIA2WNszaA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtGsdiYdObQ
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 25: Solid Waste Management - videos
Videos
• Recycling video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Tr-U0nALM
• Composting video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3bQPvVjuXc
• Landfill video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYhQQziYA3s
• Incineration videos
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcTKQnnYzAU
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DROZUstnsnw
• Plastic waste videos
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtGsdiYdObQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRIA2WNszaA
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 26: Wastewater Management
Wastewater treatment
• Each wastewater treatment and disposal system consists of the following: collecting the wastewater (through pipes), transporting it to
treatment plant (through sewers), treating the wastewater (at plants or ponds), and disposing of the resulting effluent (in rivers/lakes).
• Generally, 75 to 80% of accounted water supplied to a household is considered as quantity of sewage produced. A peak factor of two and
population growth is considered while designing sewer lines/pipes (~150 LPCD). Add stormwater discharge, if the city has a combined system
• There are basically three types of stages or processes that take place to render wastewater for disposal. These processes are called primary
(physical), secondary (biological), and tertiary (chemical) treatment
• It takes 2 – 20 hours for the whole process
• Key pollutant to remove is organic matter (biological oxygen demand or BOD) because if it goes directly into the rivers, then microorganisms
there will eat it and produce CO2. However, in this process of respiration, all of river oxygen might be used which will cause all fish to die
• Organic matter + O2 -> CO2 + H2O + New Cells + Stable products
• Wastewater treatment reproduces these conditions in the secondary stage before they can take place in the rivers
• The final objective is that the effluent after treatment meets the discharge standards as decided by Central Pollution Control Board to ensure
that no nuisance condition or health hazard results because of its final disposal to rivers. For discharge of treated sewage in water body the
CPCB standard for BOD and suspended solids (SS) is 30 mg/L and for application on land for irrigation it is 100 mg/L.
• https://nptel.ac.in/courses/103/107/103107084/
• https://nptel.ac.in/courses/105105048/
1). Pre- and primary treatment
• Preliminary (pre)-treatment:
• Screening: Removes bigger size debris like bricks, glass, etc. that may damage later equipmets
• Grinding (includes shredding): Reduces the size of bigger size of solids to smaller size that can
be handled by the later equipment
• Grit removal: the grit chamber makes the gravel, sand, silt, settle down and prevents them from
going further
• Flow-equalization: helps in equalizing the hydraulic and organic loading to optimum values for
maximum efficiency and prevent system failure. It controls the short term, high volumes of
incoming flow (due to particular mansoon/festival etc.), called surges, through the use of basin.
• Primary treatment:
• Aeration/air floatation: removes odorous gases such as H2S, improves solids separation and
settling, increases DO levels through Henry’s law on solubility of gases in liquids
• Primary sedimentation or clarifier: separates settleable organic (protein, carbohydrates, fats
etc.) and floating solids
• Sludge removal/solid treatment: removes solids settled during primary sedimentation and
converted to biosolids for use as fertilizers or fuel
• Overall the pre and primary treatment removes 90-95% settleable solids, 40-60%
suspended solids and 25-35% biological oxygen demand (BOD)
2). Secondary treatment
• This mainly involves three steps:
biological treatment, settling, and
sludge removal.
• Biological treatment: remove
dissolved, suspended and colloidal
organic waste to more stable solids
in presence or absence of oxygen
• Secondary sedimentation: removes
the accumulated biomass after the
biological treatment
• Sludge removal/management:
removes solids settled during
primary sedimentation and
converted to biosolids for use as
fertilizers or fuel
3). Tertiary treatment
• This may include some or all of the following processes:
• Disinfection (Chlorination or ozone treatment or UV treatment): to remove pathogens
• Carbon absorption: to remove recalcitrant pollutants
• Nutrient removal: removes limiting nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that may
cause eutrophication (algal blooms) in the receiving water bodies
• Chemical oxidation: to remove recalcitrant pollutants
• Membrane processes: to remove inorganic and other pollutants based on size
• Electrodialysis: electricity is used for separation process and removal of charged particles
• Reverse osmosis: forcing water molecules to the cleaner side
• Ion exchange: to remove ionic pollutants
• Disposal: the treated wastewater is either used for some beneficial use such as irrigation
or directly discharged to water bodies
Pre-aeration of wastewater
• Aeration brings water and air in close contact in order to remove
dissolved gases (such as carbon dioxide) and oxidizes dissolved
metals such as iron, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic
chemicals (VOCs).
• Pre-aeration is sometimes used prior to primary sedimentation to
improve treatability, to provide grease separation, odour control,
grit removal, flocculation and more importantly to promote
uniform distribution of suspended solids. This can be achieved by
increasing detention time in aerated grit chamber (d.t. = 3 to 5 min)
instead of separate tank
• Aeration is often the first major process at the treatment plant and
can be of three types:
• Diffused aeration: Oxygen transfers to the water across the bubble interfaces as
the bubbles rise from the air diffusers (installed at the bottom) to the water
surface
• Surface aeration: Surface aerators push water from under the water’s surface up
into the air, then the droplets fall back into the water, mixing in oxygen.
• Packed tower aeration: In packed tower aeration (PTA), wastewater to be treated
in sprayed on the top of a tower. The tower is about 3-10 m in height and is
packed with various types of packing which provide high surface area to volume
ratio. Air is pumped simultaneously counter-currently through the packing from
the bottom and removes the VOC from wastewater which itself in trickling over
the packing. Air along with the VOC gets removed from the top while treated
water is collected at the bottom.
Coagulation-Flocculation
• Coagulation has been defined as the addition of a positively charged ions such as Al3+, Fe3+ or catalytic
polyelectrolyte that results in particle destabilization and charge neutralization
• The purpose of coagulation is removal of finely divided “suspended solids” and colloidal material from the waste
liquid. These contaminants cannot be separated by sedimentation alone except by the use of reasonably long
detention periods; truly colloidal particles cannot be removed by settling.
• If these suspended pollutants are organic, they can often be oxidized by biological means, as on trickling filter or
activated sludge tank. Biochemical oxidation, however, is slower for suspended matter than for ‘dissolved’ organic
contaminants. If the quantity of insoluble (i.e. suspended) organic matter is large, bio-oxidation equipment must
be increased in size to care for this added duty. In such cases, it is usually more economical to remove the greater
part of such matter by chemical coagulation instead of in a trickling filter or activated sludge tank.
• The colloids or many suspended solids contained in the water have very small size and are usually all negatively
charged and thus stable (i.e. they don’t settle) due to the repulsive forces between the negative charges.
• Coagulant chemicals (e.g. Alum, Ferric sulphate, Lime) with charges opposite those of the suspended solids are
added to the water to neutralize the negative charges on non-settlable solids (such as clay and color-producing
organic substances). Once the charge is neutralized, the small suspended particles are capable of sticking together.
These slightly larger particles are called microflocs, and are not visible to the naked eye. A high-energy, rapid-mix
to properly disperse coagulant and promote particle collisions is needed to achieve good coagulation. Over-mixing
does not affect coagulation, but insufficient mixing will leave this step incomplete.
• This is followed by flocculation, where gentle mixing accelerates the rate of particle collision, and the destabilized
particles and invisible micro-flocs are further aggregated and enmeshed into larger visible suspended particles
that can then be sent to sedimentation tank for settling
• Flocculation is not commonly used for sewage treatment; however, it may be required in treatment of industrial
wastewater where organic matter is present in high concentration in colloidal form. If flocculation is used, it is
provided before the primary sedimentation tank.
Biological treatment
• The physical processes that make up primary treatment are augmented with processes that
involve the microbial oxidation of wastes. Such processes are secondary treatment processes
that utilize microorganisms to oxidize the organics (protein, carbohydrates, fats etc.) present in
the waste. Main objectives of biological treatment are:
•
•
•
•
To oxidize dissolved and particulate biodegradable constituents into non-polluting end products.
To remove or transform nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous.
To capture non-settleable and suspended solids into a biofilm.
To remove specific trace organic compounds.
• Biological treatment can occur through two main processes:
•
•
Aerobic Processes: Aerobic treatment processes take place in the presence of air and utilize those
microorganisms (also called aerobes), which use molecular/free oxygen to assimilate organic
impurities i.e. convert them in to carbon dioxide, water and biomass.
Anaerobic Processes: The anaerobic treatment processes take place in the absence of air
(molecular/free oxygen) by those microorganisms (also called anaerobes) which do not require air
(molecular/free oxygen) to assimilate organic impurities. The final products of organic assimilation in
anaerobic treatment are methane and carbon dioxide gas and biomass
• Suspended growth treatment: In this process the microorganisms responsible for treatment
are maintained in liquid suspension by mixing methods
•
Example - activated sludge systems and aerated lagoons
• Attached growth treatment: In this treatment, the microorganisms that are used for the
conversion of nutrients or organic material are attached to the inert packing material. The
organic material is removed from the wastewater flowing past the biofilm or the attached
growth. Sand, gravel, rock and a wide variety of plastic and other synthetic material is used as
the packing material. They can be used both as aerobic when partially submerged in
wastewater or as anaerobic when fully submerged and no air space above it.
•
Trickling Filter: This is the most widely used attached growth process. It consists of a rotating
distribution arm that sprays wastewater above the bed of plastic material or other coarse material.
The spacing between the packing allows air to easily circulate so that aerobic conditions are present.
The media in the bed is covered by a layer of biological slime containing bacteria, fungi etc that
adsorbs and consumes the waste trickling through the bed.
1). Activated sludge system
• Activated sludge process is used during secondary treatment of wastewater. Activated
sludge is a mixture of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and rotifers maintained in suspension by
aeration and mixing.
• In this process, a biomass of aerobic organisms is grown in large aerated basins. These
organisms breakdown the waste and use it as their food to grow themselves. Activated
sludge processes have removal efficiencies in the range (95-98%) than trickling filters (8085%).
• It is the most widely used process for wastewater treatment and consists of two steps in
two sets of basins.
• In the first basin called “biological reactor”, air is pumped through perforated pipes at the bottom of the
basin, air rises through the wastewater in the form of many small bubbles. These bubbles provide oxygen
from the air to the wastewater and create highly turbulent conditions that favor intimate contact
between microorganisms (cells), the organic material in the wastewater and oxygen. The mixture of
activated sludge and wastewater is known as “mixed liquor”. It is necessary to maintain certain mixed
liquor suspended solid (MLSS) concentration in the aerated tank to maintain good removal efficiency.
• The mixed liquor is continuously discharged to the secondary settler (basin) where separation of solids
and liquid takes place. Here the water flow is made to be very quiet so that the cellular material
(microorganisms) is removed by gravitational settling. Some of the cell material collected at the bottom
is captured (called return sludge) and fed back into the first basin to seed the process. The rest of the
sludge is taken for anaerobic digestion.
Sedimentation tanks
• Grit chamber (pre-treatment stage): For removal of sand, grits, etc.
• Plain (primary) sedimentation tank: For removal of settleable solids.
• Chemical precipitation tank: for removal of very fine suspended particles by
adding coagulants, etc
• Septic tanks: For doing sedimentation and sludge digestion together in
households
• Secondary sedimentation tanks: After biological (activated sludge or trickling
filter) treatment systems.
2). Waste stabilization ponds and lagoons
• Other than activated sludge processes, ponds and lagoons are most common suspended culture
biological systems used for the secondary treatment of wastewater. They are cheaper
alternative than activated sludge system and are simple to design, build, operate and maintain
and thus can be used in villages/small towns. However, they require large areas and cannot
achieve very high removal of organics and barely remove nitrogen and phosphorus.
• A wastewater pond, alternatively known as a stabilization pond, oxidation pond, or sewage
lagoon, are shallow ponds with a depth of 1 to 3 m where primary treated wastewater is
retained long enough for natural purification processes (i.e. waste decomposition by the
microorganisms). The oxygen required for decomposition is derived from either surface aeration
or the photosynthesis of algae.
• Types: Waste stabilization ponds consist of man-made basins comprising a single or several
series of anaerobic, facultative or maturation ponds. The presence or absence of oxygen varies
with the three different types of ponds, used in sequence.
•
•
•
Anaerobic waste stabilization ponds have very little dissolved oxygen are deeper (~3 – 5m) than other two. The depth decreases the influence of oxygen
production by photosynthesis, leading to anaerobic conditions. Depending on loading and climatic conditions, these ponds are able to remove between
half to two thirds of the influent BOD. This significantly decreases the load of organic matter that goes to the facultative ponds, and thus decreases their
required size. Anaerobic stabilization ponds have the disadvantage of potentially releasing malodorous gases
The facultative stabilization ponds sustain an aerobic surface habitat above an anaerobic benthic habitat. Compared with anaerobic ponds, facultative
ponds are shallower (1.5 to 2.5 m deep) and have much larger surface areas. The surface area is important because it allows atmospheric oxygen to
dissolve and sunlight radiation to penetrate the water. This allows for photosynthetic activity to occur which produces more oxygen. In most ponds both
bacteria and algae are needed in order to maximize the decomposition of organic matter and the removal of other pollutants.
Maturation ponds offer aerobic conditions throughout, from the surface to the bottom. These ponds are only included in the treatment line when high
efficiencies of pathogen removal are required, either for discharge of the treated effluent in surface water bodies, or for use for irrigation or aquaculture.
They could also be placed after an activated sludge process. Maturation ponds must be shallow (around 1.0 m depth or less) with a great surface area so
that more oxygen can dissolve into the water giving the bacteria enough oxygen to properly function. Shallow ponds benefit from high photosynthetic
activity arising from the penetration of solar radiation. The pH values are high because of intense photosynthesis, and ultraviolet radiation penetration
takes place in the upper layers. Both of these factors promote the removal of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Given the high surface area of the
maturation ponds, protozoan cysts and helminth eggs are also removed, with sedimentation as the main mechanism
• Configurations: The main configurations of pond systems are: Facultative pond only; Anaerobic
pond followed by a facultative pond; Facultative pond followed by maturation ponds in series;
Anaerobic pond followed by a facultative pond followed by maturation ponds in series. Settled
sludge needs to be removed after some years and managed.
Sludge removal and management
• The polluted solid-liquid matter that is skimmed off or removed from wastewater during primary,
secondary and tertiary treatment is called sludge. It contains 0.25 to 12% organic to inorganic solid
content
• Sludge composition: Organic material, nutrients, pathogens, metals, toxic substances
• Goals of Sludge Management: Stabilize sludge, kill pathogens and decrease water content from 0.5 2% solids to 6 to 12% solids
• Sludge processing & management steps
(a) Thickening: to decrease volume and increase concentration of solids in the sludge. Can be done by gravity
sedimentation tanks or centrifuge. Here one can also use conditioning since the sludge particles are negative
(anionic) in surface charge that leads to electrostatic repulsive forces which hamper the settling process of
the sludge particles. Similar to flocculation/coagulation process, cationic conditioning agents are added to
minimize the electrostatic repulsive force and start floc formation that can settle down and thus giving a
more dense sludge
(b) Digestion: Here the thickened sludge is heated in presence of ‘anaerobic’ microorganisms in an anaerobic
digestor that removes pathogens, makes it more dense and also produce methane which in turn can be used
to run generators and thus produce electricity for the plant
(c) Dewatering: Mostly done in filtration type of units where solid particles from a fluid are retained on a
filtering medium which allows the water to pass through it. Other option is a centrifuge to remove water. This
reduces the volume that needs to be managed and we obtain the sludge in the form of a cake that can be
used as fertilizer/soil conditioner in agriculture and forestry or fuel in cement kilns, power plants and
incinerators or for top soil, landscaping, and landfilling use.
(d) Composting: this is optional step to further reduce the volume and can be used as fertilizers compost. It is
more hygienic than raw dry sludge application
(e) Final Disposal: Can be used as fertilizers or simply disposed in land-fills
YouTube Videos
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW6GBciRHLg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRaptzcp9G4
• See all eight episodes of this series – Wastewater treatment series:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jrdTfXfY8g
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 27: Wastewater Management - videos
YouTube Videos
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW6GBciRHLg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRaptzcp9G4
• See all eight episodes of this series – Wastewater treatment series:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jrdTfXfY8g
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 28: Geo-environmental Engineering & Groundwater Pollution
Recap
• Wastewater treatment consists of three stages: primary (physical), secondary (biological),
and tertiary (chemical) treatment
• Preliminary and primary treatment consists of screening, grit removal, aeration, and
sedimentation
• The activated sludge system is the most popular secondary treatment to remove organic
load or BOD. Waste stabilization ponds and lagoons are used in towns/villages
• Tertiary treatment (e.g. Ozone/UV rays, chlorination, reverse osmosis, oxidation,) is done
for disinfection and to remove pathogens – to make it drinkable quality
• Sludge is collected from sedimentation tanks and then thickened, digested (heated to
produce methane), filtered/dewatered and composted
Scope of Geo-environmental engineering
• Any project that deals with the interrelationship among environment, ground surface and subsurface (soil, rock and groundwater)
falls under the purview of geoenvironmental engineering. The scope is vast and requires the knowledge of different branches of
engineering and science put together to solve the multi-disciplinary problems. Geoenvironmental engineering is more research
oriented and new concepts and methodologies are still being developed.
• Underground reactions & processes: For example, an underground pipe leakage may not be due to the faulty construction of the
pipe but caused due to the highly corrosive soil surrounding it. The reason for high corrosiveness may be attributed to single or
multiple manmade factors, which need to be clearly identified for the holistic solution of the problem. The conventional approach
of assessing the material strength of the pipe alone will not solve the problem at hand.
• Fate assessment of leaked pollutants underground: Another important issue is the reuse and recycling of waste materials, which
reduces the burden on our environment manifold. A very good example is exploring the possibility of mass utilization of fly ash for
geotechnical (road building) applications. However, there are issues such as short term and long-term negative impacts. The scope
of geoenvironmental engineering is to simplify the process of understanding the behavior and resort to reliable predictions.
• The frequent occurrence of landslides especially during rainy season has drawn the attention of researchers and practicing
engineers. The conventional slope stability analysis is partially helpful in understanding the problem. A wider perspective of the
problem would be to include factors such as infiltration and seepage of rain-water through the slope. Such factors are going to add
on to the instability of slope. The scope and challenge for the geoenvironmental engineer is to couple the geotechnical, geological
and hydrologic concepts to explain rainfall induced slope failure. Construction of flood protection works such as embankments and
levees also comes under the purview of geoenvironmental engineering.
• Containment or Site Remediation: In most parts of the world, damage has already been done to the geoenvironment and
groundwater reserves due to indiscriminate disposal of industrial and other hazardous wastes. Owing to the excessive demand, it
becomes important to contain, remediate and revive the already polluted geoenvironment and groundwater. A geoenvironmental
engineer has a great role to play for deciding the scheme of such remediation practice. A lot of concepts from soil physics, soil
chemistry, soil biology, multi-phase flow, material science and mathematical modelling, need to be taken for planning and
execution of an efficient remediation strategy. Since such projects are cost intensive one cannot afford to take too much of
chances.
Soil characterization
• Soil electrical properties:
• The electrical property of soil is defined in terms of electrical resistivity, conductivity, capacitance and dielectric property. Resistivity and
conductivity quantifies the flow of electric current through a medium. Electrical resistivity is the most common method for defining
electrical property of soil-water system. When the soil is fully dry the electrical resistivity is very high. Electrical resistivity box (ERB) or
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is used to measure resistivity and electrical properties.
• These properties are used extensively for oil and mineral exploration, subsurface exploration, to delineate contaminated land etc.
• There are a lot of literature that describe the use of resistivity or conductivity for indirectly assessing water content, soil contamination
extent or salinity, unit weight, porosity, frost depth, buried objects etc.
• Soil thermal properties: Thermal property of soil are of great importance in several engineering projects where heat
transfer takes place through the soil. These projects include underground power cables, high level nuclear waste
repository, hot water or gas pipes and cold gas pipelines in unfrozen ground, agriculture, meteorology and geology. These
include thermal conductivity (K= 1/ρ), ρ is the thermal resistivity, thermal diffusivity (D), and heat capacity (C).
• K is defined as the amount of heat passing in unit time through a unit cross- sectional area of the soil under a unit temperature gradient
applied in the direction of heat flow.
• The heat capacity C per unit volume of soil is the heat energy required to raise the temperature of unit volume of soil by 1°C. It is the
product of the mass specific heat c (cal/g °C) and the density ρ (g/cc). Thermal diffusivity is the ratio of thermal conductivity to specific heat.
It indicates how materials or soil adjust their temperature with respect to the surroundings. A high value of the thermal diffusivity implies
capability for rapid and considerable changes in temperature.
• Water content and permeability measurements
• Soil contaminant analysis:
• The soil need to be first brought into solution form by using suitable methods (water or acid digestion method).
• In the next step, analysis is done using instruments such as atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS), inductively coupled plasma mass
spectrometer (ICP MS), ion chromatograph, gas chromatograph, flame photometer, UV visible spectrophotometer. The choice of
contaminant analysis methodology would depend upon the type of contaminant and whether single or multiple contaminants need to be
analysed.
• The accuracy of all these methods would depend upon the precise calibration performed by the user. In the process of calibration,
instrument parameter is correlated to the contaminant concentration using standard contaminant solution of known concentration
Contaminated site remediation
• Soil contamination by organic or inorganic pollutants is caused by a number of industries such as chemical,
pharmaceuticals, plastics, automobile, nuclear industries, biomedical wastes, mining industries, municipal
solid waste.
• At times it becomes essential to decontaminate soil. Broadly the soil decontamination is done in two ways: (a)
pump and treat in which the pollutant is pumped out using external energy source, treated using methods
such as incineration, radiation, oxidation etc (b) removal of contaminated soil, treat it and then returning back
to its original place.
• Contaminated site characterization/assessment/monitoring: This step involves collection of a lot of data and is
done for determining the source, concentration, extent (spatial distribution) of harmful pollutants under
consideration and the risk to humans or environment. Data is collected for site history, land use pattern,
geologic, hydrologic, geotechnical (soil) and waste type. The collected data is analyzed on field or in lab.
• Risk assessment of contaminated site: required to decide the extent of contaminant remediation required for
a particular site. The factors influencing risk assessment are:
• Toxicity: Only when a contaminant crosses a particular concentration, it becomes toxic (acute/chronic). If the concentration
is within the prescribed limit, then no remediation need to be performed.
• Reactivity: It is the tendency to interact chemically with other substances. These interactions become hazardous when it
results in explosive reaction with water and/or other substances and generate toxic gases.
• Corrosivity: Corrosive contaminants degrade materials such as cells and tissues and remove matter. It is defined as the ability
of contaminant to deteriorate the biological matter. Strong acids, bases, oxidants, dehydrating agents are corrosive. pH < 2 or
pH > 12.5 is considered as highly corrosive. Substances that corrode steel at a rate of 6.35 mm/year is also considered
hazardous.
• Ignitability: It is the ease with which substance can burn. The temperature at which the mixture of chemicals, vapour and air
ignite is called the flash point of chemical substances. Contaminants are classified as hazardous if it is easily ingnitable or its
flash point is low.
• Based on the above four factors the risk (probability) of harm from hazardous or toxic contamination is calculated to
determine the extent of remediation required for the contaminated site. Appropriate remediation scheme is then selected.
Remediation methods for soil and groundwater
• The major focus is to bring the contamination level well below the
regulatory toxic limit. This is done by removing the toxic contaminants
and/or immobilizing the contaminant that prevents its movement
through subsurface geoenvironment.
• The remediation methods are broadly classified as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Physico-chemical methods,
Biological methods,
Electrical methods,
Thermal methods
Combination of these methods
1.1. Removal and treatment of contaminated soil
• One of the simplest physical methods for remediation is by removing the contaminated soil and replacing it
with clean soil. Essentially it is a dig, dump and replace procedure. Such a method is practically possible only if
the spatial extent and depth of the contaminated region is small. The dug out contaminated soil can be either
disposed off in an engineered landfill or subjected to simple washing
• However, washing procedure is mostly suitable for granular soils with less clay content and contaminated with
inorganic pollutants. For clay dominated soils, a chemical dispersion agent need to be added to deflocculate
and then chemical washing is employed to break the retention of contaminants with the clay surface.
Incineration is suggested for soils contaminated with organic pollutants. In case, it is necessary to remove
organic pollutants then certain solvents or surfactants are used as washing agents.
• The method is directly applied in situ where solvent, surfactant solution or water mixed with additives is used
to wash the contaminants from the saturated zone by injection and recovery system. The additives are used to
enhance contaminant release and mobility resulting in increased recovery and hence decreased soil
contamination.
1.2. Vacuum extraction
• This method is one of the most widely used in situ (on site) treatment technologies. The method is cost-effective but time
consuming and ineffective in water saturated soil.
• The technique is useful for extracting contaminated groundwater and soil vapour from a limited subsurface depth. The
contaminated water is then subjected to standard chemical and biological treatment techniques.
• Vacuum technique is also useful when soil-water is contaminated with volatile organic compound (VOC). The method is then
termed as “air sparging”. Sometimes biodegradation is clubbed with air sparging for enhanced removal of VOC. Such a technique
is then termed as biosparging. The vacuum extraction probe is always placed in the vadoze zone. The success of the method
depends on the volatilization of VOC from water into air present in voids. An injecting medium is used to extract soil-water and/
or soil-air. When oxygen is used instead of nitrogen as the injecting medium, it enhances aerobic biodegradation.
• Soil structure influences a lot on the passage of extracted water and vapour and hence on the success of vacuum extraction
technique. It is not only important that the injecting medium is delivered efficiently but also the extracted product reaches the
exit with less hindrance. Granular soils provide better passage where as the presence of clay and organic matter impedes the
transmission of both fluid and vapour. Organic matter provides high retention leading to less volatilization. High density and
water content also minimize transmissivity. Apart from soil, the VOC properties such as solubility, sorption, vapour pressure,
concentration etc. also influence the extraction process.
1.3. Solidification and stabilization (SS)
• This is the process of immobilizing toxic contaminants so that it does not have any
effect temporally and spatially. Stabilization-solidification (SS) is performed in
single step or in two steps. In single step, the polluted soil is mixed with a special
binder so that polluted soil is fixed and rendered insoluble. In two step process, the
polluted soil is first made insoluble and non-reactive and in the second step it is
solidified.
• SS process is mostly justified for highly toxic pollutants. In-situ SS process is mostly
influenced by the transmissivity characteristics of the soil, viscosity and setting
time of the binder. Well compacted soil, high clay and organic content do not
favour in-situ SS.
• In ex-situ methods, polluted soil is first grinded, dispersed, and then mixed with
binder material. The resultant SS material need to be disposed in a well contained
landfill.
• It is essential that the resultant SS product does not undergo leaching. The
common binders used in practice include cement, lime, fly ash, clays, zeolites,
pozzolonic products etc.
• Organic binders include bitumen, polyethylene, epoxy and resins. These organic
binders are used for soil contaminated with organic pollutants.
1.4. Chemical decontamination
• This method is mostly applicable for those soils which have high sorbed concentration of inorganic
heavy metals (IHM).
• The first process in this method is to understand the nature of bonding between the pollutant and
the soil surface. A suitable extractant need to be selected for selective sequential extraction (SSE) of
IHM from the soil mass.
• The extractants include electrolytes, weak acids, complexing agents, oxidizing and reducing agents,
strong acids etc. The use of these extractants in single or in combination will depend upon the
concentration of IHM and nature of the soil mass.
• In-situ application of extractants would remove IHM from the soil surface and enter into the pore
water. The pore water is pumped and treated (pump and treat method) on the ground. While
treating the pumped water, both extractants and IHM are removed.
1.5. Permeable reactive barrier (PRB)
• Another method is to allow the contaminated pore water to flow through a
permeable reactive barrier (PRB). Hence the placement of the barrier is
determined by the direction of flow of ground water. The material packed in
the barrier will retain IHM by exchange (sorption), complexation or
precipitation reaction.
• The transmission and the reaction time determine the thickness of the
reactive barrier to be provided. The material to be provided in the barrier is
influenced by the knowledge of IHM to be removed. This is mainly due to the
fact that the above-mentioned reaction occurs differently when IHM is
present as single or as multiple species.
• The successful use of PRB or treatment wall (TW) depends upon its location
such that majority of the contaminated groundwater flows through it. It is
essential to have a good knowledge on the hydrogeological conditions where
such barriers need to be placed.
• In some cases, sheet pile walls are used to confine the flow towards the
permeable barrier. Some of the materials used in PRBs are exchange resins,
activated carbon, zeolites, various biota, ferric oxides, ferrous hydroxide etc.
• Hydraulic conductivity of the PRB should be greater than or equal to the
surrounding soil for proper permeation to occur. The knowledge on reaction
kinetics and permeability of the barrier would determine the thickness of the
wall to be provided such that enough residence time is achieved for the
removal reaction to occur.
1.6. Phytoremediation
• It takes advantage of the ability of plants to concentrate elements
and compounds from the environment and to metabolize various
molecules in their tissues.
• It refers to the natural ability of certain plants called
“hyperaccumulators” to bioaccumulate, degrade, or render harmless
contaminants in soils, water, or air.
• Toxic heavy metals and organic pollutants are the major targets for
phytoremediation.
• A hyperaccumulator is a plant capable of growing in water with very
high concentrations of metals, absorbing these metals through their
roots, and concentrating extremely high levels of metals in their
tissues
• The genetic advantage of hyperaccumulation of metals may be that
the toxic levels of heavy metals in leaves deter herbivores and
improve its defense system, thereby increasing its survival chances.
• The plants also hold potential to be used to mine metals from soils
with very high concentrations (phytomining) by growing the plants,
Six types of processes during phytoremediation
then harvesting them for the metals in their tissues
• As many of the metals that can be hyperaccumulated are also
essential nutrients, food fortification and phytoremediation might be
considered two sides of the same coin
• Many plants such as mustard plants, alpine pennycress, hemp, poplar
tree, and pigweed have proven to be successful at
https://www.intechopen.com/books/environmental-risk-assessment-of-soil-contamination/phytoremediation-ofhyperaccumulating contaminants at toxic waste sites.
soils-contaminated-with-metals-and-metalloids-at-mining-areas-potential-of-nativ
• Cheap method but very slow and effective only till root zone
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945210002402?via%3Dihub
2. Biological methods (Bioremediation)
• Remediation by biological treatment is mostly applicable for soil contaminated with organic pollutants and the
process is termed as bioremediation.
• In this method, certain soil microorganisms are used to metabolize organic chemical compounds. In the
process these microorganisms degrade the contaminant.
• If naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria, virus or fungi is not capable of producing enzymes
required for bioremediation, then genetically engineered microorganisms would be required.
• The process of bioremediation is dependent on reactions such as microbial degradation, hydrolysis, aerobic
and anaerobic transformation, redox reaction, volatalization etc.
• 3-D Microemulsion (3DMe) is one example of a commercially used hydrogen releasing compound (HRC) used
in enhanced in-situ bioremediation (EISB) of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs).
• It is a pH neutral solution designed specifically to optimize anaerobic degradation of contaminants such as PCE or TCE in
subsurface environments.
• It consists of esterified lactic acid and esterified long chain fatty acids. The advantage of this structure is that it allows for the
controlled‐release of lactic acid (which is among the most efficient electron donors) and the controlled‐release of fatty acids.
Upon injection, the controlled release of lactic acid initiates and stimulate anaerobic dechlorination. The expected
single‐injection longevity of this product is 3‐5 years. This product has been on the market since 2005.
• This product is food grade material and there are no health and safety issues with this product:
• https://www.altaenviron.com/news--media/-remediation-of-chlorinated-solvents-in-groundwater-using-enhanced-in-situ-bioremediation-technology
• https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/losangeles/board_decisions/adopted_orders/WDR_Update/RegenesisProductforSubmission3DMe.pdf
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhosYdGErVY
3. Electro-kinetic methods
• Electro-kinetic methods are popular field method for decontaminating a
particular site by using electrical principles. The procedure is more effective for
granular type of soils.
• Two metal electrodes are inserted into the soil mass which acts as anode and
cathode. An electric field is established across these electrodes that produces
electronic conduction as well as charge transfer between electrodes and solids
in the soil-water system. This is achieved by applying a low intensity direct
current across electrode pairs which are positioned on each side of the
contaminated soil.
• The electric current results in electrosmosis and ion migration resulting in the
movement of contaminants from one electrode to the other. Contaminants in
the soil water or those which are desorbed from the soil surface are
transported to the electrodes depending upon their charges.
• Contaminants are then collected by a recovery system or deposited at the
electrodes. Sometimes, surfactants and complexing agents are used to
facilitate the process of contaminant movement.
• This method is commercially used for the removal of heavy metals such as
uranium, mercury etc. from the soil.
4. Thermal methods
• Thermal methods include both high temperature (>5000C) and low temperature (<5000C)
methods and are mostly useful for contaminants with high volatilization potential
• High temperature processes include incineration, electric pyrolysis, and in-situ vitrification.
Low temperature treatments include low temperature incineration, thermal aeration,
infrared furnace treatment, thermal stripping. High temperature treatment involves
complete destruction of contaminants through oxidation.
• Low temperature treatment increases the rate of phase transfer of contaminants from
liquid to gaseous phase there by causing contaminant separation from the soil.
• Radio frequency (RF) heating is used for in situ thermal decontamination of soil having
volatile and semi-volatile organic contaminants.
• Steam stripping or thermal stripping is another process useful for soils contaminated with
volatile and semi-volatile organic contaminants. It is an in-situ process in which hot air,
water or steam is injected into the ground resulting in increased volatilization of
contaminants. Sometimes vacuum is applied to extract air or steam back to the surface for
further treatment. The effectiveness of this method is increased by the use of chemical
agents that are capable of increasing the volatility of the contaminants.
• High cost and its ineffectiveness with some contaminants (with low volatilization potential)
make thermal method less attractive. Also, in some cases incineration process produces
more toxic gases.
Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs)
• Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs) are hazardous organic liquids such as dry cleaning
fluids, fuel oil, and gasoline that do not dissolve in water (ethenes). A significant portion of
contaminated soil and groundwater sites contain NAPLs, and they are particularly hard to
remove from the water supply. NAPLs are always associated with human activity, and
cause severe environmental and health hazards.
• Dense NAPLs (DNAPLs) such as the chlorinated hydrocarbons (TCE, PCE) used in dry cleaning and
industrial degreasing are heavier than water and sink through the water column. They can penetrate
deep below the water table and are difficult to find when investigating sites for contamination. They can
provide a long-term secondary source of the chlorinated solvent pollution to groundwater
• Hydrocarbon fuels and aromatic solvents are described as light NAPLs (LNAPLs), which are less dense
than water and float and thus easier to locate/remediate. These include lubricants and gasoline,
pollutants often associated with leaking gasoline or oil storage tanks.
• NAPL contamination can affect aquifers for tens or hundreds of years and 100% treatment
is very difficult/not possible till now.
• Following technologies exist to remediate:
•
•
•
•
•
Pump and treat method
In Situ Thermal Treatment (IST),
In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO),
Surfactant/Cosolvent Flushing
In Situ Bioremedation (Bugs have had millenia to adapt to petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) as
food/energy source food/energy source so they can used to break down such pollutants).
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/losangeles/board_decisions/adopted_orders/WDR_Update/RegenesisProductforSubmission3DMe.pdf
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 29: Groundwater Pollution – Chromium removal case study
Introduction
We are interested in a thin layer (10 km upwards and downwards) from the earth’s surface, known as the biosphere. This is
the region of the earth with supports life. Three abiotic components of biosphere are,
1) Atmosphere;
2) Hydrosphere;
3) Lithosphere (crust and the upper mantle basically the outer shell of earth);
Two major components of Hydrosphere (hydrosphere is the combined mass of water found on, under, and above the surface of a plane),
1) Fresh Water;
2) Saline water;
We are mainly concerned with Fresh Water (water that is not saline) i.e.,
1) Surface water, i.e., water found in rivers and lakes
2) Ground water, i.e., water found in the sub-surface
Human civilization is dependent of the quantity and quality of available fresh water. We will focus mainly on the quality of
fresh water.
Contaminants: Impurities present in fresh water, either in dissolved or suspended form.
Naturally available fresh water is always impure, i.e., they contain contaminants. Presence, of contaminants in fresh water is
not harmful to the health of human beings and other organisms.
Pollutants: When contaminants are present at concentrations high enough to adversely impact health of human beings and
other organisms, they are called pollutants.
World Water Balance
• Due to large availability of groundwater
and poor or no supply of surface water in
remote places humans use groundwater
extensively
• IIT Kanpur’s water supply is also
through groundwater
Sources of Pollution:
(i) Anthropogenic, caused by manmade
activities like, industries urban sewage and
waste landfills, mining, etc.
(ii) Geogenic, those occurring due to natural
causes
mostly
Geogenic
rock-water
pollution
groundwater.
occurs
interactions.
mostly
in
Natural fresh water becomes polluted due to direct or indirect anthropogenic (human) impacts. In some cases, such pollution
is also possible due to natural causes. Presence of pollutants in fresh water is harmful to the health of human beings and other
organisms.
Types of Contaminants / Pollutants
1. Dissolved / colloidal / particulate
2. Organic / inorganic
Environmental Standard
The threshold value between contamination and pollution is known as an Environmental Standard, which is generally
mandated by law.
The environmental standards are different for different substances and also location specific, depending on the most critical
activity (drinking, bathing, ecosystem maintenance, recreation, etc.) that the natural water is required to support in a particular
location. These standards are fixed through toxicological, epidemiological and risk assessment studies and through further
regulation-negotiation (Reg-Neg) process between stakeholders. In India IS 10500 serves as drinking water standards.
Similarly, there is standard for wastewater.
Ideal-Situation
Environmental standards for fresh water must be maintained at all places and at all times, to ensure that the presence of
contaminants in natural water is not harmful to the health of human beings and other organisms.
One of the main functions of Water Quality Scientist / Engineer
To monitor fresh water quality to see if the environmental standards are being violated; suggest, design and implement
measures to improve fresh water quality such that environmental standards are not violated.
Factors determining concentration of contaminants / pollutants in fresh water
1. Loading
How much of the contaminant is added to water
2. Physical, Chemical and Biological Transformation
Reactions in water leading to formation/destruction of contaminants
3. Physical Transport, i.e., Mass Transport
How the contaminant is spread in the water- diffusion (spreading due to concentration gradient in still water),
dispersion (spreading in flowing water due to laminar or turbulence), advection (translation due to velocity)
4. Mass Transfer
Transfer of contaminant from water to soil and air
General Properties of Water
−

+
+
Formula: H2O
Molecular Mass: 18 g / mole
Density: ~1000 kg/m3
Polarity of Water
Water is a polar molecule.
The
extremity of the molecule having
oxygen atom has an excess negative
charge. The other two extremities have
excess positive charge.
Water as a Solvent
Due to its polarity, hydrogen bond forming
ability and also due to the presence of large
void spaces between molecules, water can
dissolve a large variety of ionic and polar
compounds.
Hydrogen Bonds
The negative parts of a water molecule are attracted to the
positive parts of other water molecules, i.e., they form
hydrogen bonds.
Each water molecule can form up to 4 hydrogen bonds. This is
the reason why water molecules stick to each other and form
droplets.
Structure of Water
Three-dimensional depiction of the
structure of water shows large void
spaces between molecules.
Seven Main Pollutants in Indian Groundwaters
• Nitrate• Affected areas - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa.
Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
• The highest value being 3080 mg/L found in Bikaner, Rajasthan. NO3- occurs in groundwater due to heavy usage of nitrogenous
fertilizers like urea, NH2CONH2 and from human and animal excreta.
• Nitrate is extremely mobile and soil does not have the ability to hold it. So, excess NO3- percolates into groundwater.
• IS10500 limits NO3- to 45 mg L-1.
• Diseases caused are methemoglobinemia, gastric cancer and goiter.
• Ways to treat - Reverse osmosis, ion-exchange, bioremediation, blending
• Fluoride•
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• Fluoride occurs in groundwater due to precipitation/formation of dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) and calcite (CaCO3) and simultaneous
dissolution of fluorite (CaF2) to maintain equilibrium. Occurs as F-.
• F- is an essential nutrient in human diet and is required for development of tooth enamel, dentin and bones. Acceptable limit is 1 mg L-1, if
F- concentration increases more than 1.5 mg L-1 fluorosis of tooth and bone occurs.
Ways to treat - Adsorption, ion-exchange, precipitation, RO
• Iron• Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka. Localized pockets are observed in states of Bihar, UP, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and North Eastern States.
• Rainwater as it infiltrates the soil and underlying geologic formations dissolves iron, causing it to seep into aquifers that serve as
sources of groundwater for wells. Other sources of Fe include industrial wastes, iron construction of borewell and tube-well parts, and
acid-mine drainage.
• Drinking water limit of Fe is 1 mg L-1. Although a low level of iron cannot do much harm, iron in water is considered as a contaminant
because it also contains bacteria that feed off it.
• In addition to this, high iron content leads to an overload which can cause diabetes, hemochromatosis, stomach problems, nausea, and
vomiting. It can also damage the liver, pancreas, and heart. Water with high iron does not rinse off the soap residue from the body, causing
clogged skin pores and buildup of oil in the skin, resulting in a variety of skin problems such as eczema or acne.
Ways to treat - Chemical oxidation, aeration, ion-exchange, RO
• Arsenic• West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam.
• In Bangladesh and West Bengal, alluvial Ganges aquifers used for public water supply are polluted with naturally occurring arsenic,
which adversely affects the health of millions of people. Arsenic also finds usage in herbicides and insecticides. But in our country and
Bangladesh it is mostly due natural occurrence.
• Drinking water limit for As is 0.05 mg L-1. As occurs in groundwater in +III and +V oxidation states, both of them are toxic. Causes
cancer in skin, lungs, kidney and bladder, also skin thickening and pigmentation.
• Treatment methods: Adsorption, precipitation, RO
• Lead•
Maharashtra, Haryana, MP, UP.
•
Attributed to improper hazardous waste treatment and industrial pollution. Pb(II) and Pb(IV) are most common oxidation states.
•
Pb is a naturally-found element, is used in the production of lead acid batteries, alloys, cables and ammunition, etc. Landfills where
hazardous waste — mostly used batteries — pile up for years or collected waste near industries are not being recycled properly. Both
leach into the ground during rains, polluting the groundwater.
•
Drinking water limit for Pb is 0.01 mg L-1.
•
Causes anemia, weakness, kidney and brain damage.
• Chromium• UP, TN,……. .
• Cr is present in the earth as chromite ore (+III state). Stable oxidation states that can exist in environment are +III and +VI.
• Cr(III) serves as a micronutrient (can be toxic in very high doses) while Cr(VI) is a Group A carcinogen (WHO).
• Human activities like chromite ore mining, leather chrome-tanning, electroplating industries, etc. release wastes rich in Cr(VI). Improper
disposal of these wastes without proper treatment leads to Cr pollution. Drinking water limit of Cr is 0.05 mg L-1.
• Treatment methods – electro-cougulation
• Salinity• Inland salinity in ground water is prevalent mainly in the arid and semi arid regions of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat and to a
lesser extent in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra, Karnataka , Bihar and Tamil Nadu
• Inland salinity is also caused due to practice of surface water irrigation without consideration of ground water status. The gradual rise of
ground water levels with time has resulted in water logging and heavy evaporation in semi arid regions lead to salinity problem.
• Leads to heavy loss in crop productivity
Case study: How to deal with Cr pollution from leather tanning
sector
•
Tanning is a multi-step process that changes raw animal hides into durable leather from which consumer
products are made. Animal skin is made of a substance called collagen, which is skin’s main structural
protein. Stabilization of these proteins is necessary in order to prevent the skin from breaking down and
naturally decomposing.
•
Tanning changes the protein structure of the hides, making it durable and less susceptible to damage.
•
Cr(III) salts known as basic chromium sulphate (BCS) are used for tanning.
•
Production of BCS from raw chromite ore (FeCr2O4 or MgCr2O4) produces as solid waste called chromite
ore processing residue (COPR) which is rich in both Cr(III) and Cr(VI). Cr(III) is a micronutrient and is
toxic in only very high doses while Cr(VI) is a group A carcinogen.
•
COPR is dumped in illegally on barren lands which contaminates the soil. During monsoon Cr(VI) which is
highly mobile and dissolves readily in water at circumneutral (6.5-7.5) and acidic pH percolates into
groundwater. Finally ending up in human body due to use of such groundwater causing cancer.
Cr Flow in the Environment Due to Leather Tanning
Chromite oar
COPR dumped illegally
Cr(VI) leaches in
groundwater during rainfall
Cr(VI) in
groundwater
Leather
BCS
Raw hides
Steps in Cr removal from contaminated sand and groundwater
Step 1. Treatment of
contaminated soil and COPR
Step 2. Treatment of
contaminated groundwater
Step 3. Taking care or recycling
of residue or sludge produced in
the treatment processes to
prevent secondary pollution
Step -1: Cr Extraction from COPR and Contaminated Soil
• It is a process that involves passing direct current
through fine grained soils by appropriately distributed
electrodes
• It separates and extracts heavy metals, radio nuclides
and organic contaminants from soils, sludge and
sediments.
• When a DC electrical voltage is applied across a
saturated soil specimen the various ions, suspended soil
particles and water move in some specific direction
depending upon the charge of ions and particles. This
movement of particles, ions and water in wet soil
medium is known as electrokinetics.
• In our case charged Cr(VI) ions, CrO42-, accumulates in
the anode chamber.
Electro-Kinetic (EK) remediation
3
2
4
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
2
1
3
4
Soil column
Perforated graphite electrodes
Electrode chambers
Electrodes
Step -1 Cr Extraction from COPR and Contaminated Soil
Step -1 Cr Extraction from COPR and Contaminated Soil
at anode
at cathode
After 3 days,
Next step: Treatment of this high
Cr(VI) containing solution. And also
groundwater containing Cr(VI)
This orange color is due
to high CrO42concentration
Step -2: Cr Removal from contaminated water using Electrocoagulation
Mild steel electrodes
Sacrificial
Fe electrodes
Magnetic stirrer
1rotating
L volume
of electrolyte
@250 rpm
DC
supplier
DCpower
supplier
• Electrocoagulation involves dipping
electrodes into polluted water. Electrode
material from the anode dissolves into the
solution as ions due to application of direct
current.
• These ions react with the pollutant (in this
case Cr(VI) ions) to form precipitates, this
part is known as coagulation, since it is
aided by application of electric current the
process is called electrocoagulation
•
Multimeter for measuring voltage
Multimeter
•
Fe(II) is released from Fe anode
which reacts with Cr(VI) in the
water. In the process Cr(VI) is
reduced to Cr(III) and Fe(II) is
oxidized to Fe(III).
Fe(III) and Cr(III) form a colloidal
precipitate which remain suspended
in the solution. These flocs can be
removed by sedimentation and
filtration. Thus arresting further
transport of Cr in environment
Step -2: Cr Removal from contaminated water using Electrocoagulation
A Decentralized Treatment Unit to Remove Cr(VI) from Water
-
+
B1 → Top bucket for electrocoagulation
B2 → Bottom bucket for collection of water
containing Cr(III)-Fe(III) solids
B3 → Final bucket for collection of chromium free
water
1,2 → Connecting valve
3 → Sand bed
4 → Iron electrodes
5 → Tap (to allow flow of water from B1 to B2 after
all Cr(VI) is reduced to Cr(III))
4
B1
5
B2
1
2
3
B3
Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory, IIT Kanpur
Sand
grains
Step -2: Cr Removal from contaminated water using Electrocoagulation
Step - 3: Safe disposal or recycling of Cr caught in the sand filter
• The contaminated filter sand from step 2 contains Cr(III) which is
much less harmful. This sand can be used for construction (say for
concrete) if it meets the structural properties.
• Hazard analysis has to be done to be done to assure that Cr does not
come back to the environment form this final stage. For this a test
called TCLP (toxicity leaching characteristic procedure) is carried out
to check how much Cr leaches out of the sand. It ensures that this
amount is very small and within acceptable limits of calling the sand
(waste) hazardous.
Summary of Cr removal from sand – three step process
1. Now, Cr(VI) has been extracted
from COPR and contaminated soil
into a solution
2. Cr(VI) containing solution and
groundwater were treated using
electrocoagulation. Cr was arrested
in a sand filter.
3. The contaminated sand from step 2
contains Cr(III) which is much less
harmful. This sand can be used for
construction (say for concrete) if it
meets the structural properties.
Hazard analysis has to be done to be
done to assure that Cr does not come
back to the environment form this final
stage. For this a test called TCLP
(toxicity
leaching
characteristic
procedure) is carried out to check how
much Cr leaches out of the sand. It
ensures that this amount is very small
and within acceptable limits of calling
the sand (waste) hazardous.
An Alternate to Chrome-Sulphate Tanning
• The oldest and most intricate process is vegetable tanning.
Vegetable tanning is the traditional method of tanning leather, it
dates back to approximately 6000 BCE.
• Like the name suggests, veg-tanning is an organic method relying on
natural vegetable tannins from bark or other plant tissues. Tannins
(kind of biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins) from
trees such as oak, chestnut, or mimosa are popular, but hundreds of
tree types and other plants are known to have been used.
• Chromium sulphate based leather tanning is a much newer process
and was invented during the mid-19th century, but now 80% of
leather production worldwide is done through chrome-tanning due to
very fast production.
YouTube Videos
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb2CS4VMJfM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkNksoqPlmA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXCxsR5jGsI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CQ11fxAAi8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rFsE2pSXWw
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 30: Environmental audit/ethics/laws/justice
Part – IV: Environmental Management Tools
• Environmental audit (EA)
• For an existing company/industry
• Environmental ethics, justice, laws, movements
• Life cycle assessment (LCA)
• For a product/process associated with company/individual
• Environmental impact assessment
• Before a proposed new project/development
• National/International/NGO mechanisms
• Paris Climate/Clean development mechanism (CDM)
• Payment for ecosystem services (PES)
• India’s national missions
Environmental audit
• Environmental Audit is a management tool comprising a systematic, documented,
periodic and objective evaluation of how well an organization, management systems
and equipment are performing with the aim of assessing compliance with company
policies as well as meeting the regulatory requirements.
• The audit basically checks how well the company/factory is performing with respect to
environmental standards
• Carried out internally or through an environmental consultancy firm
Less Exposure to
Litigation/Regulatory
Risk
Timely Warning on
Potential Future
Problems
Evaluation of
Possible Impacts on
Surroundings
Better control
Of Process & Pollution
Control Systems
Environmental
Auditing
Benefits
Environmental
Awareness
Waste
Minimization
Cost Savings
through
Recycle/Recovery
Help in
Sustainable
Development
Emerging Driving Forces for Environmental Audit
Banking Industry
Landing institutions may become concerned with environmental status of corporate
clients if they have to assume liability for contaminated land held by bankrupt
clients.
Board of Directors
Directors may find themselves personally liable for the environmental problems of
the company.
Industry Association
Companies that conduct audits may want a “level the playing field” by having all
companies within the industry conduct audits. Industry associations may also want
to promote “good corporate citizenship” of members.
Governments
Government may make audits in the form of an environmental statement
compulsory for both public and private sector companies.
Investors/Shareholders
Cleanup costs are serious losses for companies. Investors want to ensure good
return on investments. Regular environmental audits of companies will retain
investor confidence.
Common Barriers to Environmental Audits
• Costs of environmental audits vary considerably depending on type of facility,
scope of audit, first time audit versus follow up audits and other factors. Fines,
lost production time and clean up costs could be significant if there is serious
contamination and external demands for prosecution that exceed the cost of
the audit. Cost here does not include lost consumer or investor confidence.
• Some companies may fear that audit information may be used against them by
regulators as evidence of noncompliance. However, a company engaged in
noncompliant activities will face heavy fines and clean up costs if caught.
Environmental audits will help reduce noncompliance, and can also be used to
show due diligence should an environmental incident occur.
• Some companies may feel that there would be adverse publicity if audit results
were released. However, greater adverse publicity will result if an environmental
incident occurs and the company is not prepared to respond.
• Uncertain/unaware of audit benefits: This may have been a valid reason few
years ago, as information is increasingly being published, companies can not
claim ignorance or lack of evidence of benefits of auditing.
Applications
•
•
•
•
•
Assessment of Environmental Impacts and Risks
Preparation of Environmental Management Plan (EMS)
Evaluation of Pollution Control
Verification of Compliance with Laws
Assurances to Staff, Management, Investors, Insurers, Regulatory Authorities and
General Public
• Budgeting for Pollution Control, Waste Prevention, Reduction, Recycling and Reuse
• Cost Recoveries and Savings
• Enhancement of Loss Prevention, Manpower Development and Marketing
YES bank CSR case-study
• REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS VIA CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
INITIATIVES IN MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
• The micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector plays a vital role in India’s economy. It
contributes 45 percent of industrial output, 40 percent of total exports, and provides
employment to over 100 million people.
• The Say YES to Sustainable MSMEs in India initiative aims to promote environmental
sustainability and occupational health and safety (OHS) within this sector
• This initiative, launched by YES BANK in FY 2014-15, is a multi-faceted intervention to help the
sector become globally competitive.
• The Bank identified sectors that have an energy intensive manufacturing process, and had a
significant impact on the environment owing to the use of rudimentary technology and
practices.
• The OHS conditions in these sectors were also not optimal and support was needed to bring
them at par with acceptable standards.
• Based on an evaluation of these parameters and a needs assessment, the project was
implemented with six sectors: foundry, dyeing, rubber, plastic, general engineering, and rice
mills.
• https://www.indiaghgp.org/case-studies
Social return on investment (SROI)
• While the first year was entirely funded by the Bank, phases two and three has a partfunding model. This is to ensure that the Bank can exit once sufficient participation from
individual units and MSME associations are built up.
• The project depends heavily on implementation and coordination, and the Bank has
strategically tried to source expertise locally, wherever possible.
• For example, in Rajkot, the energy audits are carried out by an expert team, headed by a
professor from a local engineering college. This adds value in multiple ways, including
region-specific solutions, leveraging local networks, and cost optimisation.
• SROI = (Social Impact Value - Initial Investment)/(Initial Investment)
• The SROI score for this project was calculated to be 2.87, which depicts that for every
one rupee invested by YES BANK, there is a social return of 2.87 rupees.
• The parameters considered in calculating social impact value were: units of fuel saved,
metric tonnes of carbon emissions reduced, reduction in energy efficiency consultation
charges, increase in productivity, and attribution factors.
• Social cost of carbon (SCC) represents the economic cost associated with climate damage
(or benefit) resulting from the emission of an additional ton of CO2. US EPA estimated
the SCC at 42$ per ton of CO2 using a 3% discount rate but the range varies a lot
depending upon the region or case.
From audit/EMS (ISO 14001) to action/results: case-studies
Some specific cases of firms that have benefited from the establishment of EMS conforming to ISO 14001 are:
• The case of an international electrical and electronic goods giant. It has a very comprehensive and ambitious EMS programme for more than 200 of its
factories worldwide supported by the parent body. It produces different types of capacitors; manufacture of lamps along with their components and
manufacture of audio products, PCBs and electronic and electromagnetic ballast. The most important motivation factors were directions from the
headquarters; enhancing the organisation’s image; resource conservation benefits and ensuring better compliance with legal requirements. After the
implementation of EMS, the organisation identified some intangible benefits, which had not been included in its original goal. These benefits were better
interaction among suppliers, employees and authorities; improved waste management practices; improved employee awareness and enhanced staff
morale; better working conditions and greater domestic share. The major tasks the organisation accomplished after implementation of EMS included 50%
reduction in water consumption; 12 - 25% energy saving depending upon the plant; reduction in packaging mass and reductions in emissions by 95%.
• The case of an organisation: It was certified to the ISO 14001 protocol. The organisation achieved cost savings from pollution prevention, energy
conservation and waste minimisation. The savings included recovery of various products (Rs. 5,55,000), reduction in water, fuel, electricity consumption
(Rs. 17,10,000), reuse (Rs. 7,00,000), and others.
• The case of a mining organisation that maintains the heavy hydraulic machinery/vehiclesused for its excavation work in a workshop situated on top of a
hill. As part of the maintenance, oil changes were made and oil was carelessly being thrown on the land, thus contaminating it. Through the EMS, an
organisation-wide oil balance study was initiated and it was found that there was a large gap between the oil received and the waste oil generated by the
workshop. On a closer study, it was found that the gap accounted for the oil spill on the land. Consequently, the operating practice was changed and trays
were installed to collect the waste oil. From the trays, the waste oil was transferred to drums and were sold. This sale resulted in a revenue flow of Rs. 36
lakhs in the first year of the organisation’s EMS implementation.
• The case of a paint-manufacturing firm. At this time, there was no monitoring of the amount of water consumed, and different estimates of water
consumption ranging between 250 to 400m3/day were available. Through the EMS, the organisation actually found that it was 490 m3/day. It decided to
make a significant resource saving by reducing water wastage. After plugging the water leakage points and controlling the overflow in the cooling tower,
water consumption was reduced to 210 m3/day, i.e., a saving of 270m3/day.
• The case of an electrical cable manufacturing organisation. This organisation makes aluminum core cable with an XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene)
coating, which is a black hard plastic material. In the process of making this aluminum core, there was the mechanical drawing of the wire from a metal
block. This operation generates fine aluminum dust and was inhaled by the workers in the plant (as this metal dust was not contained), which caused
respiratory problems and further led to the absenteeism of the workers. Through the EMS, the organisation decided to contain this waste generation by
encasing the metal drawing operation. The aluminum dust generated was properly collected and sold to a local paint manufacturer who used it to
manufacture silver paint.
• The case of a leading cloth mill. This organisation is the largest denim-manufacturing firm in India. It was the first denim manufacturer in India to gain the
ecologically optmised fabric (EOF) trademark an eco-tex certification. It exports nearly 75 – 80% of its total denim production. The most important
motivating factors for the firm were enhancing the organisation’s image; augmenting management systems culture from quality to other areas of social
concern and ensuring legal compliance and achieving higher environmental performance standards. During the implementation phase, the organisation’s
main focus was on resource conservation. The benefits that the firm realised after the implementation of ISO 14001 include graduation from ad hoc
arrangements to using systems approach for environmental management that is consistent with the overall operations of the unit, incorporation of
environmental parameters in the corporate decision-making process and enhancement of the organisation’s image and greater worker motivation.
Three ethical worldviews
Considers the integrity of ecological
systems – not just individual animals
(or species). Recognizes the need to
preserve not just entities, but also their
relationships with each other.
All life has ethical standing,
and any actions taken consider
the effects on all living things,
or the biotic world in general. .
A human centered view of
nature. Anything not
providing positive benefit
to people is considered of
negligible value.
The History of Environmental Ethics
Expansion of ethical consideration over time
Classical economics (capitalism) & environment
•
Adam Smith: Competition between people free to pursue their own
economic self-interest will benefit society as a whole (assuming rule
of law, private property, competitive markets). This idea is a pillar of
free-market thought today.
•
It is blamed by many for economic inequality and the source of
environmental degradation.
•
Example - India traditionally had ‘Aranaya Sanskriti’ (Forest culture),
i.e. living in symbiosis with trees/animals. Indian forest act of 1878 by
British was a watershed moment leading to widespread clear cutting
and scientific management of forests for commercial exploitation –
total control of forest resources to the State.
What is Environmental Justice (EJ)?
• "EJ is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race,
color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
• A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active
potential for redevelopment or reuse.
• Many areas across the country that were once used for industrial and commercial purposes have
been abandoned--some are contaminated.
• Due to fear that involvement with these sites may make them liable for cleaning up contamination
they did not create, developers are more attracted to developing sites in pristine areas, called
"greenfields.“
• The result can be blighted areas rife with abandoned industrial facilities that create safety and health
risks for residents, drive up unemployment, and foster a sense of hopelessness.
• These areas are called "brownfields."
Examples of environmental
movements/laws/justice in India
• Protest against hydroelectric dam in the silent valley (Western Ghats) Kerala – 1970s
• Chipko movement in Garhwal 1973 – forest resources for local people not the sports
company, causing big flood
• PIL in SC for protection of Taj from pollution (no SO2 from coal in industries, use CNG)
• Many NGOs and environmental laws passed in last years
• Environmental protection act (1986); Air act; Public liability insurance act (1991); Biodiversity act (2002);
Noise pollution rules (2000) ; ST & other traditional forest dwellers act; NGT etc.
• MOEFCC; CPCB; State pollution boards
• ISO standards and global voluntary agreements such as Paris climate, CBD etc.
• E.g. Andhra Pradesh river polluting industries case in SC (Rs. 20 million to farmers for
damage to river/irrigation).
• PIL in SC against setting up of hazardous chemical storage in Antop Hills (Bombay) –
successful
• Delhi ridge (to protect reserved forest) & Delhi sewage treatment plant (to protect
Yamuna) cases in SC
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 31: Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) may be defined as a formal process used to
predict the environmental, social, economic, and cultural consequences of any
development project ensuring that the likely effects of new development are fully
understood and taken into account before it is allowed to go ahead (National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969).
• Plans to mitigate any adverse impacts resulting from the proposed activity can be
made.
• A decision about whether to go ahead with the project, and under what conditions
approval may be granted is then taken, balancing these environmental considerations
against economic, social and other benefits of the project in question.
• Rio Declaration, Principle 15: EIA is a Precautionary Approach
• "Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific
certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to
prevent environmental degradation."
EIA - Steps
Screening
Impact Evaluation
Does the project require EIA?
- Only if it might have ‘significant’ adverse impacts.
Interpreting the impacts
Scoping
Mitigation
What issues, impacts should the EIA address?
- Only the significant ones
What can be done to alleviate negative impacts?
Baseline Studies
EIS Preparation/Review
Establish the environmental baseline i.e. how the environment will look
like in absence of the proposed development.
Document the EIA findings; external review
Alternatives
Public Consultation
‘Heart’ of EIA; consider the different locations, scales, designs
Consult general public, stakeholders and NGOs
Impact Identification and Prediction
Monitoring
Forecast the environmental impacts
Monitor impacts of project
Parameter included in EIA
Type 1 Physical Resources
• Water resources (surface and groundwater hydrology and quality)
• Air quality & Meteorology (climate)
• Land Resources
• Soil Erosion/sediments
• Fertility
• Geology/seismology
• Mineral resources
Type 2 Ecological Resources
•
•
•
•
Aquatic resources (e.g. Fisheries)
Terrestrial resources (e.g. medicinal plants)
Forests (for woodfuel)
Biodiversity (Endangered (rare) species)
Parameters included in EIA
• Type 3 Human Use Values
•
•
•
•
•
•
Water Supply
Transport
– Highways/Railways
– Navigation (e.g. more congestion; IITK - village)
Agriculture
– Aquaculture
– Irrigation
– Deforestation
Flood Control/Drainage
Power Generation/Transmission
Industry (e.g. existing Mining, Manufacturing, Agro
based, Mineral processing affected)
Parameter included in EIA
•
Type 4 Quality of Life Values
• Socio-economic
– Resettlement (e.g. a tribe needs to be shifted due to
mining)
– Public health (e.g. noise or cancer cases might increase
due to pollution)
– Public safety (migration workers come, crime increases)
– Economic and social structure (e.g. racial fabric changes;
pressure on public resources such as library, employment
centers)
• Cultural
– Historical (e.g. temple needs to be removed)
– Archaeological (e.g. Taj Mahal gets corroded)
• Aesthetics
– Recreation (e.g. pollution can impact joggers)
– Aesthetics (e.g. lake or mountain view obstructed, high
rise vs. classic architecture)
Impact Identification example questions
• Will the action contributes to a significant depletion or
degradation of ground or surface water?
• Will the action introduce toxic or hazardous substance or
solid wastes into bodies of water?
• Will the action significantly increase sedimentation in a
body of water?
• Will the action significantly alter the temperature of a body
of water?
• Will the proposed action create heat, noise, energy waves,
electrical or radioactive effects, physical vibrations, or other
thermal, electrical, or microwave activity that will be
disturbing or a nuisance or create interference in the
immediate and outlying areas?
Impact Identification
Descriptive Checklist
1. The activity might affect the quality of water resources within, adjacent to, or near the activity area.
Water resource
Direct
Indire
ct
Syner
gistic
Short
term
Long
term
Rever
sible
Irrever Severe Moder Insign
sible
ate
ificant
(1) River water quality
(x)
()
()
()
(x)
()
(x)
(x)
()
()
(2) Ground water quality
(x)
()
()
()
(x)
()
(x)
(x)
()
()
2. The activity might result in deleterious effect on the quality of any water resource or watersheds.
(1) Water suppiy d/s irrigation
(x)
()
()
()
(x)
(x)
()
()
()
(x)
(1) Human and animal
(x)
()
()
()
(x)
(x)
()
()
()
(x)
(2) Recreation
(x)
()
()
(x)
(x)
()
()
()
()
(x)
Possible substances causing effects:
Impact Identification
Scaling Checklist
Factor
Definition or explanation
Rating Alternative
1
2
Comments
3
1
Ground water quality
0
0
0
Little if any effect
2
Air quality
-1
-2
-2
Little effect
3
Noise level
0
0
-1
Little, if any effect
4
Health
-3
-3
-2
Moderate effect
5
Education
+1
+1
+2
Little effect
6
Surface water quality
-2
-1
-1
Little effect
7
Biota
-1
0
0
Little, if any effect
Impact Identification
Systematic Approach for Impact Identification
  Water quantity   Water quantity  

 

  in area before  −  in area after

  project
  project

 


 Water quantity 


 in area before 
 project



100
  Local wildlife
  Local wildlife


 

  (vegetatio n)
  (vegetatio n)

  habitat in hectares −  habitat in hectares 

 

  after project

  before project





 100
 Local wildlife



 (vegetatio n)

 habitat hectares 


 before project 


Impact Evaluation
• Impact assessment involves evaluating the
significance of the impacts identified
• Significance can be determined through professional
judgement, reference to regulations, etc.
• Potential for bias in determining what is significant
• The conclusions of the impact assessment can
ultimately be used by decision-makers when
determining the fate of the project application
Impact Evaluation: Importance
Weighing of Decision Factors
Techniques/Methods:
• Ranking techniques
• Nominal-group process
• Rating techniques
• Pair-wise comparison techniques
• Delphi method
Impact Evaluation: Importance
Weighing of Decision Factors
Ranking Techniques
• These techniques involve the rank
ordering of decision factors in their
relative order of importance.
• E.g. If there are n decision factors, rank
ordering would involve assigning value of
1 to the most important factor, 2 to the
second most important factor, and so on,
until n is assigned to least important
factor.
Impact Evaluation: Importance
Weighing of Decision Factors
Delphi Method
This method is related to taking the judgment of several people
and to obtain the consensus from their judgment. Following steps
are involved in the use of Delphi Method of importance weighing.
(1) Select the group of individuals for conducting evaluation, and
explain in detail the weighing method and the use of this ranking
and weighting.
(2) Obtain the judgement and calculate mean and variance of the
data.
(3) Return the list again along with the mean and variances of
decisions to each participant.
(4) Iterate the steps (2) and (3) until the consensus is reached.
This is used in ‘water quality index’ (WQI) development.
EIA - Steps
Screening
Impact Evaluation
Does the project require EIA?
- Only if it might have ‘significant’ adverse
impacts.
Interpreting the impacts
Scoping
Mitigation
What issues, impacts should the EIA
address?
- Only the significant ones
What can be done to alleviate negative
impacts?
Baseline Studies
EIS Preparation/Review
Establish the environmental baseline i.e. how
the environment will look like in absence of
the proposed development.
Document the EIA findings; external review
Alternatives
Public Consultation
‘Heart’ of EIA; consider the different locations,
scales, designs
Consult general public, stakeholders and
NGOs
Impact Identification and
Prediction
Forecast the environmental impacts
Monitoring
Monitor impacts of project
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 32: Payments for ecosystem services (PES)
Environmental Management Tools
• Life cycle assessment (LCA)
• For a product/process associated with company/individual
• Environmental audit (EA)
• For an existing company/industry
• Environmental impact assessment
• Before a proposed new project/development
• National/International/NGO mechanisms
• India’s national missions
• Paris Climate/Clean development mechanism (CDM)
• Payment for ecosystem services (PES)
Valuing Ecosystems/Environment
Identifying Goods and Services
Evaluating in Economic Sense
Approach
Benefits
Costs/Expenditure on Damage Control or Remediation
Examples - Cost of Clean-up
Soon after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground on the Bligh Reef -off
the coast of Alaska in 1989, it spilled approximately 11m gallons of crude
oil,
The Exxon Corporation (now Exxon Mobil) accepted the liability for the
damage caused by the leaking oil.
This liability consisted of two parts:
the cost of cleaning up the spilled oil and restoring the site
compensation for the damage caused to the local ecology.
Approximately $2.1b was spent in cleanup efforts and Exxon also spent
approximately $303m to compensate fishermen whose livelihoods were
greatly damaged for the five years following the spill... and more $$
In the spring of 2010, a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and spilled
more than 200 million gallons, almost 20 times greater than the Exxon
Valdez spill.
Cost of Clean-up and Assessment of Damage
Interestingly, the Exxon Valdez spill triggered focus on providing monetary
estimates of environmental damages, setting the stage for what is today
considered standard practice for non-market valuation.
While the costs of cleanup are fairly transparent, estimating the damage is more
complex.
While it is difficult, if not impossible, to place an accurate value on certain
environmental damages, not doing so leaves us valuing them at Zero.
Valuing Environmental Services: Pollination as an Example
Pollination is one example of a valuable ecosystem service with multiple benefits, including
non-market impacts,
A direct economic impacts of increasing the productivity of agricultural crops.
Many agricultural crops rely on bee pollination.
Beekeeper surveys suggest that 33% of honeybee colonies in the United States died in the
winter of 2010.
What would be the global cost of losing or reducing this valuable ecosystem service?
Possible future shortages are likely to have quite different economic impacts around the
globe
Valuation
• Damage caused by pollution, and the services provided by the environment
• The damage caused by pollution can take many different forms.
• The first, and probably most obvious, is the effect on human health: Polluted air and water can
cause disease when ingested
• E.g. the movie: Erin Brockovich: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993
contaminated GW/ponds with Cr-VI used to fight corrosion in pipes.
• Other forms of damage include loss of enjoyment from outdoor activities and damage to vegetation,
animals, and materials.
• Assessing the magnitude of this damage requires:
• Identifying the affected categories;
• Estimating the physical relationship between the pollutant emissions (including natural sources) and
the damage caused to the affected categories;
• Estimating responses by the affected parties toward limiting some portion of the damage;
• Placing a monetary value on the physical damages. (All often difficult to accomplish).
Assessment of Damage
After identifying whether a particular effect results from pollution, the next
step is to estimate how strong the relationship is between the effect and the
pollution concentrations.
estimate how much reduction in illness could be expected from a given
reduction in pollution.
Once physical damages have been identified, place a monetary value on them.
Economists have decomposed the total economic value conferred by
resources into three main components:
1. Use Value,
2. Option Value, and
3. Nonuse Value
Total Willingness to Pay (TWP)
TWP = Use Value + Option Value + Nonuse Value
Typically, the goal is to estimate the TWP for the good or service in question.
For a market good, this calculation is relatively straightforward. However, nonmarket goods and services, require the estimation of WTP through examining
behavior, drawing inferences from the demand for related goods, or through
responses to surveys. Capturing all components of value is challenging.
Use Value
Use value reflects the direct use of the environmental resource: ex. fish
harvested from the sea, timber harvested from the forest, water extracted
etc.
Pollution can cause a loss of use value, such as air pollution, an oil spill
adversely affects a fishery,
Option value
Option Value reflects the value people place on a future ability to use the environment.
Option value reflects the willingness to pay to preserve the option to use the environment in
the future even if one is not currently using it.
Whereas use value reflects the value derived from current use, option value reflects the
desire to preserve the potential for possible future use.
Are you planning to go to Yellowstone National Park next summer? Perhaps not, but would
you like to preserve the option to go someday?
Non-use values
Nonuse Value reflects the common observation that people are more than
willing to pay for improving or preserving resources that they will never use
(for your children and grandchildren)
Since nonuse values are derived from motivations other than personal use,
they are obviously less tangible than use values.
Example: The nonuse value of the Northern Spotted Owl was not directly
observable. Hence, the scientists attempted to derive this value by using a
survey that attempted to elicit the respondents’ willingness to pay (their
“stated preference”) for the preservation of the species.
Natural capital
• Forests, mountains, wetlands, land, river/lakes, biodiversity—provide
a variety of services to humans that are economically valuable:
• E.g. irrigation and power generation; or storm protection and
pollination
Four types of ecosystem services
1. Provisioning services (the products obtained from ecosystems such as
food and fresh water);
2. Regulating services (the benefits obtained from the regulation of
ecosystem processes such as air quality and pollination);
3. Cultural services (the nonmaterial benefits that people obtain such as
spiritual enrichment, recreation and aesthetic experiences) that directly
affect people; and
4. The supporting services needed to maintain the other services (such
as photosynthesis and nutrient recycling).
Estimates of various Ecosystem Services
Value in trillion $
• Soil Formation
17.1
• Recreation
3.0
• Nutrient cycling
2.3
• Water regulation & Supply
2.3
• Climate regulation
1.8
• Habitat
1.4
• Flood & storm protection
1.1
• Food and raw materials
0.8
• Genetic Resources
0.8
• Atmospheric gas balance
0.7
• Pollination
0.4
• All other services
1.6
• Total value of ecosystem services
$33.3 Trillion dollars (average)
• Global GNP is ~ $18 Trillion/year
Costanza et al. 1997. Nature
Payments for Ecosystem Services
• Payments for ecosystem services (PES) occur when a beneficiary or
user of an ecosystem service makes a direct or indirect payment to
the provider of that service.
• It involves a series of payments to land or other natural resource
owners in return for a guaranteed flow of ecosystem services or
certain actions likely to enhance their provision over and above what
would otherwise be provided in the absence of payment.
Examples of PES
• For example, a beverage company can pay farmers to reduce the use of chemical pesticides instead of
paying higher fees for water treatment facilities. The payments to the landowner may be financed either
• 1. Directly by the payments of (private) beneficiaries, for example by Nestle (formerly Vittel) to stop
farmers using chemicals in northeastern France or by the City of New York to protect watersheds in the
Catskill mountains; or
• 2. Indirectly by the intermediation of the public authority which—on behalf of the wider public—
disburses the compensation for conservation such as in the China’s Conversion of Cropland to Forest and
Grassland Programme or in the Costa Rica’s Environmental Services Payment Programme.
• To fund these expenditures, countries can either access the general budget or introduce PESlike taxation with special purpose
taxes and fees, targeting the tourism, water, electricity, transport and extractives sectors (i.e. the implied beneficiaries).
• E.g. Costa Rica financed its programme with the resources generated from gasoline taxes.
PES case studies
• Lessons learned from 20 years of PES, Costa Rica
(http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/16514IIED.pdf)
• New York City watershed, USA (http://www.nycwatershed.org/)
• Vittel (Nestlé Waters), France (http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G00388.pdf)
• Bolsa Floresta, Brazil (http://mapas.fasamazonas.org/)
• Socio Bosque, Ecuador (http://sociobosque.ambiente.gob.ec/)
The Vittel payments for ecosystem
services
• Vittel mineral water originates in ‘Grande Source’ (‘Great Spring’) located in
the town of Vittel at the foot of the Vosges Mountains in north-eastern
France.
• The properties of this water – reputed to cure kidney ailments – have been
well known since Gallo-Roman times.
• Selling ‘natural mineral water’ is the activity where the legislation is the
most constraining and the reputational risk is especially high.
• To be labelled ‘Vittel’, the water cannot contain more than 4.5 mg of
nitrates per litre and must not contain pesticides.
• French legislation dictates that, if mineral concentration changes, the right
to use the ‘natural mineral water’ label (and therefore the business
associated with the brand name) is lost.
Strict legislation
• In France the legislation is very strict. Apart from elimination of
natural unstable elements such as iron and manganese, no treatment
is allowed for ‘natural mineral water’ and stability has to be achieved
naturally. Water quality is so crucial to business operations that every
day over 300 tests of water quality are carried out in the central
laboratory.
• In other countries (e.g. UK, USA), the treatment is authorised, which
significantly reduces business risk. (How water is treated depends on
the type of water and the local legislation of each country.)
Agriculture poses risk to WQ
• In the early 80s, the de la Motte family, then owners of the Vittel
brand, realised that the intensification of agriculture in the Vittel
catchment posed a risk to the nitrate and pesticides level in Grande
Source and consequently to the Vittel brand.
• The artesian spring for Vittel’s Grande Source is located in the thermal
park and all farms in the catchment are located upstream from the
spring.
Methods
• Extensive hydro-geological modelling was conducted in the perimeter
and showed that ensuring a nitrate rate of 4.5mg/l in Grande Source
required maintaining nitrate levels at the root zone (up to 1.5 meters
below the surface) at 10mg/l.
• Give up maize cultivation for animal feed (land under maize production shows
nitrates rates of up to 200mg/l in the root zone).
• Adopt extensive cattle ranching including pasture management (hay and
alfalfa rotation so that farms produce all animal feeds themselves).
• Reduce carrying capacity to a maximum of one cattle head per hectare.
• Compost animal waste and apply optimally in the fields.
• Give up agrochemicals (chemical fertilizer replaced with composted manure,
no pesticides).
• Balance animal rations to reach optimal milk productivity and farm
profitability.
• Modernise farm buildings for optimal waste management and storing.
Incentives
• Ultimately, a package of incentives was developed in collaboration with farmers
and agreed upon.
1. Long term security through 18- or 30-year contracts.
2. Abolition of debt linked to land acquisition
3. Subsidy of, on average, about 200 euros/ha/year over five years. This is to ensure a
guaranteed income during the transition period and reimburse the debt contracted before
entering the programme for the acquisition of farm equipment. The exact amount is
negotiated for each farm.
4. Up to 150,000 euros per farm to cover the cost of all new farm equipment and building
modernization.
5. Free labour to apply compost in farmers’ fields. This is to address the labor bottleneck
and ensure optimal amounts are applied on each plot. These amounts are calculated for
each plot for each farm every year, and individual farm plans are developed every year.
6. Free technical assistance including annual individual farm plans and introduction to new
social and professional networks. This is particularly important as giving up the intensive
agricultural system alienated farmers from traditional farming networks and support
organisations such as the Farmers Federation and the Chamber of Agriculture.
Lessons learned
More importantly for practitioners, the Vittel experience provides many
useful insights and
lessons.
• Establishing PES programmes is a very complex undertaking.
• Primary reasons for success are not necessarily financial.
• The experience could be replicated.
• PES alone may not be sufficient to guarantee environmental services
are provided.
• There is a business case for private sector participation in PES.
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 33: Life Cycle Assessment
(DIL Bioeconomy 2013)
Life Cycle Assessment History
The First LCA was performed in Coca-Cola in 1969.
The Midwest Research Institute evaluated the overall
impact of the packaging (bottles).
MRI and Basler & Hoffman (Switzerland) in 1974 also
performed an analysis of beverage container alternatives.
By the end of the century – development and
standardisation.
2006 ISO standards – 14040, 140444
Databases development, software, methodologies,
consulting companies.
Future Development is seen in evolution of LCA into
LCSA.
Check out the full course/s on:
https://nptel.ac.in/courses/120108004/8
Neglecting all life-cycle stages may lead
to false results
Life Cycle Assessment – System boundaries
Cradle-to-Gate
Cradle-to-Grave
Gate-to-Gate
Gate-to-Grave
Or whatever you may think of… Cradle-to-Installation, Farm-to-Fork
(Pictures from Smetana, Mathys et al. 2016)
Functional Unit
• LCA is a relative approach, which is structured around a functional unit. This functional
unit defines what is being studied. All subsequent analyses are then relative to that
functional unit, as all inputs and outputs in the LCI and consequently the LCIA pro-file
are related to the functional unit.
• E.g. Impact per kg beef and chicken or Impact per kg protein
(Pictures from Smetana, Mathys et al. 2016)
Previous environmental assessments
limited to single impact category but it
might have trade-off with other
categories
Life Cycle Assessment Steps
Inventory->Environmental model-> Mid-point impacts->End-Pt. Model->Damage
Inputs/emissions
• Land use (m2)
• Water use (liters)
• Carbon dioxide (into air)
• Ammonia (into water)…
Mid-pt. Characterization
factors
• °C/kg CO2
•
•
0.35 𝑘𝑔 𝑃𝑂4 −3 −𝑒𝑞
𝑘𝑔 𝑁𝐻3
1.88 𝑘𝑔 𝑆𝑂2 −𝑒𝑞
𝑘𝑔 𝑁𝐻3
𝑆𝐴𝑅 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑙
•𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡,𝑔,𝑗
= 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔,𝑗 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔,𝑗 ∙
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤,𝑗
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔,𝑗
𝑧𝑗
Impact Categories
• Climate Change
• Ozone depletion
• Land stress
• Water stress
• Acidification
• Eutrophication
• Minerals Use
• Fossil Fuel Use
• Carcinogens
End-pt. CFs
• DALYs/°C
• …..
55
9
Damage Categories
• Human Health
• Natural Resources
• Ecosystem Quality
• Or one single score
26
6
(Pictures from Smetana, Mathys et al. 2016)
Inventory collection – through actual field monitoring studies
Inventory for producing 100 kg barley grains
Materials/fuels
Energy, from diesel burned in machinery
Manure, from pigs, at pig farm
Manure, from poultry
Potassium chloride
NPK compound
PK compound
Potassium sulphate
Di ammonium phosphate
Triple superphosphate
Ammonium sulphate
5880.55
3112.08
255.11
20.2
19.48
8.94
1.68
21.19
6.31
35.74
MJ
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
Calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), (NPK 26.5-0-0)
275.34
kg
Liquid urea-ammonium nitrate solution (NPK 30-0-0)
63.59
kg
Urea, as 100% CO(NH2)2 (NPK 46.6-0-0)
Lime fertilizer
81.27
400
kg
kg
Emissions to air
Dinitrogen monoxide
Dinitrogen monoxide
Ammonia
Ammonia
Carbon dioxide, fossil
Dinitrogen monoxide
Dinitrogen monoxide
Dinitrogen monoxide
Dinitrogen monoxide
0.476
0.202
7.35
17.61
235.59
1.16
2.28
0.26
0.741
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
kg
Emissions to water
Nitrate
Cadmium
Chromium
Copper
Mercury
40.2
36.53
18510.35
3544.18
0.695
kg
mg
mg
mg
mg
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
%
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Water resour
ces
Energy
resources
Mineral
resources
Land use
Global
warming
Barley grain, at farm/DE Economic
Manure, from poultry, at poultry farm/RER Economic
PK compound (NPK 0-22-22), at regional storehouse/RER Economic
Ozone layer
depletion
Main air pollu
tants and PM
Carcinogenic
substances
Heavy metals
into air
Water polluta
nts
POP into
water
Energy, from diesel burned in machinery/RER Economic
Potassium chloride (NPK 0-0-60), at regional storehouse/RER Economic
Potassium sulphate (NPK 0-0-50), at regional storehouse/RER Economic
Heavy metals
into water
Pesticides
into soil
Heavy metals
into soil
Radioactive
substances
Radioactive
substances
Noise
Non radio
ve waste
Manure, from pigs, at pig farm/RER Economic
NPK compound (NPK 15-15-15), at regional storehouse/RER Economic
Di ammonium phosphate, as 100% (NH3)2HPO4 (NPK 22-57-0), at regional storehouse/RER Econ
ISO Definition:
Compilation and evaluation
of the inputs, outputs and the
potential environmental
impacts of a product system
throughout its life cycle
(Hellweg & Canals, 2014)
LCA Advantages
• the only tool that examines the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its
life cycle (cradle to grave) – enables hotspot identification and a comprehensive overview of
a product
• ISO standardized method
• can be used at multiple levels: company's decision-making process (micro-economic level);
governments public policy (macro-economic level)
• LCA challenges preconceived notions (distinguishes the relevant information for quantification
and the issues that pertain to policies, priorities, and social choices – multi-disciplinary
approach)
(Smetana, Mathys et al. 2016)
LCA challenges and disadvantages
•
a detailed LCA requires inventory data of all of the elementary processes included within the
parameters of the system (huge time, efforts, money…)
•
the results are geographically dependent but data not always available
•
all the data must be analysed before used in LCA (databases, software, quality, quantities
etc.)
•
assesses potential impacts and not real impacts
•
the results of two LCAs might not match precisely (impact assessment methods used,
objectives, processes, data quality)
•
very expert dependent and might have huge uncertainties
(Smetana, Mathys et al. 2016)
Life cycle impact
assessment
Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methodology
•Set of characterization factors (CFs) for converting inventory flows into
environmental impacts
•
•
•
•
Environmental impact = inventory × CF
E.g. species or population loss per m2 of cropland use
E.g. Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per kgCO2 emitted
Derived from environmental/ecological models and empirical/laboratory/field
monitoring studies (Outside LCA, different scientific fields)
• LCA puts them all together to assess comprehensive environmental damage
(LCIA Guide)
Models/data behind characterization factors Example
• Field monitoring counting number of species in
100m2 of natural forest and nearby agriculture
land
• 𝐶𝐹𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦,𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 =
𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡
= 0.4
Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methodology
• Many methods exist within LCA depending upon source of models,
characterization factors
• Some midpoint, some endpoint, some both,
• Some methods include normalization and weighting schemes
• to enable comparison across environmental impact categories
• arrive at single score by aggregating human health, ecosystem and resource
impacts
Impact Assessment Methodology- Example Calculation
• Characterization factors:
• Eutrophication characterization factor =
• Acidification characterization factor =
0.35 𝑘𝑔 𝑃𝑂4 −3 −𝑒𝑞
𝑘𝑔 𝑁𝐻3
1.88 𝑘𝑔 𝑆𝑂2 −𝑒𝑞
𝑘𝑔 𝑁𝐻3
• Inventory:
• 1kg milk => 2 kg Ammonia emitted
• Environmental impact – midpoint categories
• Eutrophication impact = 2 × 0.35 = 0.70 𝑘𝑔 𝑃𝑂4 −3 − 𝑒𝑞
• Acidification impact = 2 × 1.88 = 3.76 𝑘𝑔 𝑆𝑂2 − 𝑒𝑞
Impact Assessment Methodology
(ReCiPe Guide)
Impact Assessment Methodology-example GHG
(ReCiPe Guide)
Impact Assessment Methodologies- updated structure (UNEP, 2017)
(UNEP, 2016)
LCA- Examples Food - cradle to store for 1 kg product
8.5
8
7.5
7
6
5.5
5
4.5
mPt
Weighted Eco indicator (milli-Points mPt)
6.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Potatoes
Global warming (GWP 100)
Land use
Wheat Bread
Acidification
Eutrophication
Cheese
Photochemical smog
Ecotoxicity water chronic
Butter
Ecotoxicity water acute
Chicken
Ecotoxicity soil chronic
Human toxicity air
Pork
Human toxicity water
Human toxicity soil
Produktphasen vergleichen; Methode: EDIP, LCA Food V1.00 / EDIP World/Dk / Einzelergebnis
(Mathys, 2013)
Applications of LCA
• Product comparisons
• E.g. wheat vs. pulse bread; dryer vs. towel; paper vs.
polyethylene bags;
• Process analysis and benchmarking
• determination of the contribution of each stage (e.g.
transportation or cooking) to different impact categories
such as GHG, water, land, biodiversity etc.
• Comparison of improvement options for a given
product or process
• E.g. replacing coal with natural gas as a fuel in paper
production factory
• Evaluation of new products
Unit processes in LCA
• Crude oil
•
•
•
•
•
•
Carbon content = 0.846 kgC/kg oil
Calorific value = 0.0423 GJ/kg
Carbon content = 20 kg C/GJ
Carbon oxidation factor = 1
CO2 emission factor = 20 x 1 x 44/12 = 73.33 kg CO2/GJ
CO2 emission factor = 73.33/277.778 = 0.264 kg CO2/kWh
• https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.html
• https://www.ipccnggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/pdf/2_Volume2/V2_1_Ch1_Introductio
n.pdf
Inventory for 1 kg of wheat production
Input
Amount
Unit
Nitrogen fertilizer
86
Kg/ha
Phosphorus fertilizer
30
Kg/ha
Pesticide
1.53
Kg/ha
Seed
60
Kg/ha
Limestone
300
Kg/ha
Water
1.757
Mega L/ha
Diesel tractor use
20 hours @ 15 liter/hour
Liters of diesel/ha
Wheat
2671
Kg/ha
Nitrous oxide
0.0157 x N-input
Kg N2O/kg-N
Output
Inventory and carbon emissions from per kg of feed crops
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i8275e.pdf
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i8276e.pdf
Characterization factors
Input
Amount
Unit
Nitrogen fertilizer
3.48
Kg CO2e/kg
Phosphorus fertilizer
1.62
Kg CO2e/kg
Pesticide
25.5
Kg CO2e/kg
Seed
0.64
Kg CO2e/kg
Limestone
0.396
Kg CO2e/kg
Water
89
Kg CO2e/Mega liters
Diesel tractor use
0.3
Kg CO2e/l
Example of how LCA results look like: Note the functional
unit here is 1 meeting
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 34: Food Sustainability
A Great Acceleration in the Global Food System
The scale of the challenge
And the world is off track to meet
all global nutrition targets
Target 1 – Healthy Diets
2500 kcal/day
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31788-4/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page#
Changes in diets are key in achieving SDGs
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31788-4/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page#
Current Intakes vs Planetary Health Diet
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31788-4/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page#
Substantial Health Benefits
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31788-4/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page#
Food items CFs
Comparing wheat based and pulse based
bread using LCA
• Nutrition combined LCA
• https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/4/490
Application of LCA - From product to national
footprint management
• Dietary data from FAOSTAT (94 food items in gram/capita/day)
• CF of each food item from existing literature – Springmann et al.
(2018)
• Calculate environmental footprint under current and ideal diet:
Willett et al. (2019) EAT-LANCET report:
• https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)317884/fulltext?utm_campaign=tleat19&utm_source=hub_page#
• Calculate health, nutrition and environmental consequences
simultaneously - SDG
National ‘Foodprints’
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03308-7
Chaudhary et al. (2018) Multi-indicator sustainability assessment of global food systems. Nature communications, 9(1), 848.
Global planetary boundaries
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/1259855/tab-pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0594-0?WT.feed_name=subjects_sustainability
Per capita planetary boundaries
Environmental
domain
Unit
gCO2eq./capita/day
Carbon
liters/capita/day
Freshwater
m2/capita/day
Cropland
gN/capita/day
Nitrogen use
gP/capita/day
Phosphorus use
Value
1866.2
786.2
5.0
27.4
6.4
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0594-0?WT.feed_name=subjects_sustainability
Scenarios
Key messages
• Sustainable food consumption behaviors (demand-side interventions) can
contribute significantly towards improving global nutritional/health
standards while reducing anthropogenic environmental footprint
• This can compliment supply side and other interventions such as
improvements in agricultural production technology, closing yield gaps,
reducing food losses and waste, plant breeding/genetic advancements
• Underscores the importance of holistic (multi-indicator) analysis
• Each country has unique priorities (high score in one but low in other)
• Adulterated Paneer: https://www.firstpost.com/india/appetising-in-tasteadulterated-in-content-your-paneer-may-be-gourmets-delight-but-itmight-just-be-spurious-5423131.html
Environmental CFs per kg of food item
Grams per capita per day
Food item
Beef
Dairy/Milk
Eggs
Fish
Fruits
Maize
Lamb
Nuts & seeds
Oil crops
Other Grains
Pork
Poultry
Legumes/Pulses
Rice
Roots & Tubers
Sugar
Vegetables
Wheat
China India
7
79
45
69
258
17
18
12
28
5
62
23
14
217
139
20
660
137
2
222
6
6
101
18
2
10
27
41
1
3
38
194
64
64
176
158
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0594-0?WT.feed_name=subjects_sustainability
Homework: Application of food CF to calculate
national footprints
• Calculate national footprint for China and India (per capita per day)
and discuss results.
• Use daily per capita food consumption data and the food item
environmental footprints from previous slide
• Which planetary boundaries are transgressed for each country and by
how much?
• Which food items contribute the most to environmental damage in
each country?
• How will environmental footprint change if portion of meat intake is
replaced by legumes?
CE 241A
Sustainable Built Environment
Lecture 34b: Course review
Course review
• What is environment and why we need to study the environment?
• A brief history of anthropogenic environmental degradation
• Underlying reasons/engines driving environmental degradation –
Population, poverty, life-style
•
•
•
•
•
our current globalized world (agriculture, industry, urbanization, disconnect)
popular global narratives (e.g. Liberal vs. Socialist Humanism),
beliefs/religions (e.g. Monotheism vs. Animism),
businesses & consumers,
human psychology
• Modern human life-style is threatening the life on Earth and hence need
to become sustainable (modern ≠ intelligent and traditional ≠outdated)
• Consider impact on all domains of the environment – air, water, land,
climate, biodiversity, resources, ecosystem services and human health
History
•
•
•
•
Cognitive revolution (started 70,000 -30000 years ago)
Agricultural –religious revolution (started 10,000 years ago)
Capitalist -Scientific -Colonization revolution (started 500 years ago)
Capitalist –Scientific-consumerism/humanism revolution (started about 100 years ago ongoing)
• Each revolution (religion) has plus and minus sides
• Language + Cooperation in large numbers was key to early human success
• Success came to Europeans because:
•
•
•
•
they could cooperate,
were open to technology (printing press banned in Turkey),
were open to leave their home (comfort zone)
and were willing to take high risks (through loan, dangerous sea journeys)
• Capitalism (greed), humanism (individualism), medical advancements, population increase are
driver of modern environmental degradation
• Major factors to save the environment are: economics and/or human behavior, human
cooperation (interdisciplinary cooperation) – Delhi Smog example (farmers, policy makers,
politicians)
• Rural sector: Agriculture/forestry/grazing
• Urban sector: Construction, sewage, stormwater, waste handling due to housing, business, industry, transportation, recreation
(both point & non-point pollution)
• Energy sector: Coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower (high-income nations have huge demands)
• Transportation sector: Air, road, train, water
• Industrial sector: Metal ores and minerals, Iron/Steel, textile & leather, pulp & paper, petro-chemicals, chemicals, microelectronics, biotechnologies etc.
• Remedial solutions exist in each sector that can improve the sustainability
Land degradation and Climate Change
• Climate is weather averaged over time
• Climate change is changes in temperature, precipitation and
wind patterns
• Global warming due to increase in CO2 and GHG emissions
• Adaptation and mitigation strategies in different sector
Biodiversity loss – even bigger problem than climate
change as it is key in ecosystem resilience
•
𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠
• ℎ𝑖 =
= 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 − 𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔 ∙
𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔,𝑖
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑤 + σ𝑛
𝑖=1 ℎ𝑖 ∙𝐴𝑖
𝑧
𝐴𝑜𝑟𝑔
1Τ𝑧
𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑔,𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦
• Allocation factor: 𝑎𝑖 =
• 𝐶𝐹𝑖 =
𝐴𝑖 (1− ℎ𝑖 )
𝑛
σ𝑖=1 𝐴𝑖 ∙(1− ℎ𝑖 )
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 × 𝑎𝑖
𝐴𝑖
• Note the CF gives us species loss per m2 of land use
type i
Air pollution
• Types of pollutants – primary and secondary
• Pollution episodes (Delhi)
• Monitoring, lab analysis
• Pollutant removal techniques (mobile and industrial) – gravitational,
centrifugal, electrostatic, fabric filters, wet gas scrubbing
• Air pollution modeling
• Indoor air
Solid waste management
• Not disposal but management
• Concept of -Refuse, Reduce, Reuse & Recycle and segregation at source
• Recovery/recycling: Recovered paper, plastic, metal, and glass can be re-used. In
the absence of formalized waste segregation practices in India, recycling has
emerged only as an informal sector using outdated technology, which causes serious
health problems to waste–pickers
• Composting: The natural organic components of MSW (Food and plant wastes,
paper, etc) can be composted aerobically to carbon dioxide, water, and a compost
product that can be used as soil conditioner (i.e. organic fertilizer). Anaerobic
digestion or fermentation produces methane, alcohol and a compost product.
• Incineration: Energy is stored in chemical form in all MSW materials that contain
organic compounds i.e. which can be used to generate electricity and steam.
• Land filling: MSW materials that cannot be subjected to any of the above three
method, plus any residuals from these processes (e.g. ash from combustion) must
be disposed in properly designed landfills.
Wastewater treatment
Soil and Groundwater remediation
• The remediation methods are broadly classified as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Physico-chemical methods,
Biological methods,
Electrical methods,
Thermal methods
Combination of these methods
EIA and PES
Screening
Impact Evaluation
Does the project require EIA?
- Only if it might have ‘significant’ adverse
impacts.
Interpreting the impacts
Scoping
Mitigation
What issues, impacts should the EIA
address?
- Only the significant ones
What can be done to alleviate negative
impacts?
Baseline Studies
EIS Preparation/Review
Establish the environmental baseline i.e. how
the environment will look like in absence of
the proposed development.
Document the EIA findings; external review
Alternatives
Public Consultation
‘Heart’ of EIA; consider the different locations,
scales, designs
Consult general public, stakeholders and
NGOs
Impact Identification and
Prediction
Forecast the environmental impacts
Monitoring
Monitor impacts of project
Life Cycle Assessment – modern tool to calculate all
environmental impacts at all stages of product life
Characterization factors
Input
Amount
Unit
Nitrogen
fertilizer
3.48
Kg CO2e/kg
Phosphorus 1.62
fertilizer
Kg CO2e/kg
Pesticide
25.5
Kg CO2e/kg
Seed
0.64
Kg CO2e/kg
Limestone
0.396
Kg CO2e/kg
Water
89
Kg
CO2e/Mega
liters
Diesel
tractor use
0.3
Kg CO2e/l
Food Sustainability – nutrition + environment + cost