Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
MEC850: Environmental Impact of Thermal Systems
Course Outline (W2012)
Instructor
Dr. C. Ozgur Colpan
Office: EPH415
Phone: (416) 979-5000 Ext: 4097
E-mail: cocolpan@ryerson.ca
Office hours: Monday 14:00-17:00
Prerequisites
MEC722, PCS213, CMN432, ECN801, MEC309, MEC411, MEC430,
MEC431, MTH510
Compulsory Texts
MEC850 Selected Readings, Department of Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering, Ryerson University. Available for purchase at the Ryerson
Bookstore.
Course Website
Ryerson’s Blackboard system
Calendar
Description
The course describes the environmental impact of thermal systems such as
power generation, industrial processes and transportation. Air, soil and water
pollution. Pollution prevention, pollution abatement devices and equipment.
Legislation. Sustainable development solutions.
Learning
Objectives
At the end of this course, the successful student will have demonstrated that s/he:
1. Constructs effective arguments and draw conclusions using evidence (7a)
2. Writes and revises documents using appropriate discipline specific
conventions (7a)
3. Demonstrates accurate use of technical vocabulary (7a)
4. Considers economic, social, and environmental factors in decisions (9a)
5. Gains a working knowledge of the literature of the field and how it is
produced (12b)
Note: Numbers in parentheses refer to the graduate attributes required by the
Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. For more information, see:
http://www.feas.ryerson.ca/quality_assurance/accreditation.pdf
3 hours of lecture per week for 13 weeks, in 1 section
(Monday 9:00-11:00 and Tuesday 17:00-18:00, Room: ENG-LG13)
Course
Organization
Course Evaluation
Midterm exam:
Assignments:
Major Project:
Final exam:
Total:
25%
10%
25%
40%
100 %
Late submission of assignments and/or the project report will be penalized.
Examinations
Midterm exam in about Week 7, two hours, closed-book (covers Weeks 1-6).
Details of the midterm exam coverage will be discussed in lecture. Final exam,
during exam period, three hours, closed-book (covers Weeks 1-13)
Major Project
Students will be expected to produce a project report and make an in-class oral
presentation. This project is intended to allow students to study a topic related to
alternative energy technologies and their environmental impact in detail. The
topic chosen must be approved by the course instructor. A list of suggested
topics and guidelines on preparing the report and presentation will be provided.
The schedule of the presentations and the deadline of submitting the report will
be announced during the term.
Assignments
There will be two assignments. The details will be provided during the lectures
and the assignments will be posted on the website.
Attendance
One purpose of the student project presentations is to provide an important
educational experience for the rest of the class. Therefore, all students must
attend these presentations. Attendance will be taken and a mark penalty applied
for non-attendance. The material presented will also be eligible for inclusion on
the final exam.
Course Content
Chapter
1
2
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
6
Sections
1.1-1.6
1.3, 2.1-2.5
3.1
4.1-4.3
4.1-4.3
5.1
5.1
6.1, 6.2
6.3, 6.4
6.5
Hours
3
4
7
3
3
4
3
4
3
3
Topic, description
Sustainable development, Renewable and non-renewable energy
sources, Canadian and world energy overview and usage,
Introduction to environmental problems
Fossil fuels: Coal, Natural gas, Petroleum, Oil Sands, Oil shale,
Methane hydrates
Power generation from fossil fuels, Review of first and second law
of thermodynamics, Exergy analysis
Air pollution, Impacts on human health, Overview of pollutants,
Air pollution control, Clean coal technologies, General particulate
control
Evidence of climate change, Greenhouse gas effect, global energy
balance
Global warming potential, Stabilizing greenhouse gases, Impacts of
climate change, Stratospheric ozone depletion
Overview of alternative energy technologies, Renewable energy
Fuel cells
Nuclear energy
Important Notes
1. All of the required course-specific written reports will be assessed not only on their
technical/academic merit, but also on the communication skills exhibited through these reports.
2. All assignment and lab/tutorial reports must have the standard cover page which can be
completed
and
printed
from
the
Department
website
(see
links
at
www.mie.ryerson.ca/documents/index.html). The cover page must be signed by the student(s)
prior to submission of the work. Submissions without the cover pages will not be accepted.
3. Should a student miss a mid-term test or equivalent (e.g. studio or presentation), with appropriate
documentation, a make-up will be scheduled as soon as possible in the same semester. Make-ups
should cover the same material as the original assessment but need not be of an identical format.
Only if it is not possible to schedule such a make-up may the weight of the missed work be
placed on the final exam, or another single assessment. This may not cause that exam or
assessment to be worth more than 70% of the student’s final grade. If a student misses a
scheduled make-up test or exam, the grade may be distributed over other course assessments
even if that makes the grade on the final exam worth more than 70% of the final grade in the
course.
4. Students who miss a final exam for a verifiable reason and who cannot be given a make-up exam
prior to the submission of final course grades, must be given a grade of INC (as outlined in the
Grading Promotion and Academic Standing Policy) and a make-up exam (normally within 2
weeks of the beginning of the next semester) that carries the same weight and measures the same
knowledge, must be scheduled.
5. Medical or Compassionate documents for the missing of an exam must be submitted within 3
working days of the exam. Students are responsible for notifying the instructor that they will be
missing an exam as soon as possible.
6. Requests for accommodation of specific religious or spiritual observance must be presented to
the instructor no later than two weeks prior to the conflict in question (in the case of final
examinations within two weeks of the release of the examination schedule). In extenuating
circumstances this deadline may be extended. If the dates are not known well in advance because
they are linked to other conditions, requests should be submitted as soon as possible in advance
of the required observance. Given that timely requests will prevent difficulties with arranging
constructive accommodations, students are strongly encouraged to notify the instructor of an
observance accommodation issue within the first two weeks of classes.
7. The results of the first regularly-scheduled test or mid-term exam will be returned to students
before the deadline to drop an undergraduate course in good Academic Standing.
8. Students are required to adhere to all relevant University policies including:
• Undergraduate Grading, Promotion and Academic Standing,
http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol46.pdf
• Student Code of Academic Conduct, http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol60.pdf
• Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct, http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol61.pdf
• Academic Integrity Office for additional policy information,
http://www.ryerson.ca/academicintegrity
• Undergraduate Academic Consideration and Appeals
http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol134.pdf
• Examination Policy, http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol135.pdf
• Accommodation of Student Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual Observance,
http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol150.pdf
• Establishment of Student Email Accounts for Official University Communication,
http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol157.pdf
9. Students are required to obtain and maintain a Ryerson Matrix e-mail account for timely
communications between the instructor and the students.
10. Any changes in the course outline, test dates, marking or evaluation will be discussed in class
prior to being implemented.
11. Students in this course may be required to submit electronic file versions of their
lab/design/assignment/project to an electronic plagiarism detection service such as
www.turnitin.com. Students who do not want their work submitted to this plagiarism detection
service must, by the end of the second week of class, consult with the instructor to make alternate
arrangements. Please note: Even when an instructor has not indicated that a plagiarism detection
service will be used, or when a student has opted out of the plagiarism detection service, if
instructor has reason to suspect that an individual piece of work has been plagiarized, the
instructor is permitted to submit that work in a non-identifying way to any plagiarism detection
service.
12. Attendance at scheduled Laboratory sessions is compulsory. Lecture attendance is optional.
13. Posting of grades for projects, labs, tests, and exam is normally done using Blackboard
Gradebook. However, your final grade (numerical or letter) will not be posted. In some cases
grades may be posted by hardcopy in a non-identifying way. Students who wish not to have their
grades posted in hardcopy format must inform the instructor in writing.
Prepared by:
Date:
(Dr. C. Ozgur Colpan)
Approved by:
Date:
(Dr. J. Friedman)