Office of Academic Affairs
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur

EES 305 : Environmental Chemistry  (3)

Prerequisites::CHM and EES 100 and 200 level courses

Learning Objectives:

To understand the chemistry that governs natural and polluted environments by utilizing and building on the tools acquired in general chemistry, chemical kinetics, and thermodynamics. The chemistry of species in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and their interactions will be examined. Additionally, concepts of ecotoxicology will be introduced.

Course Contents:

Unit-1: Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
Natural processes in the biosphere and processes associated with pollution; Review of chemical equilibria, acid-base reactions, redox parameters, chemical kinetics including photochemistry and radiochemistry.

Unit-2: Atmosphere
Composition of tropospheric air, sources, transport, and sinks of important trace gases (O 3 , CO, OH, SOx, NOx, and VOCs); Tropospheric aerosol, sources, composition, chemistry, transport, residence times, and sinks; Urban pollution episodes and smog formation; Overview of stratospheric chemistry, Chapman mechanism for O 3  formation/destruction, NOx cycle, and halogen cycles; Ozone hole; Stratospheric aerosols.

Unit-3: Hydrosphere
Natural waters and their composition, aquatic chemistry – Henry’s law, dissolved O 2 , CO 2 , physico- chemical processes – acid base reactions, redox reactions, complexation in natural and polluted waters, photochemical reactions.

Unit-4: Lithosphere
Weathering – physical and chemical, dissolution and precipitation of solids, dissolution of natural oxides, stable and metastable processes, biological weathering; Soil composition and characteristics; Acid-base and ion-exchange reactions; Micronutrients and macronutrients.

Unit-5: Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Carbon cycle – short and long term carbon cycles, atmospheric and marine Carbon; Carbon cycle in the terrestrial biosphere, human influences on the cycle; Nitrogen - forms of nitrogen, Nitrogen biochemistry, microbial processes, other natural Nitrogen processes, fertilization, human influences on nitrogen cycling; Sulfur - forms, natural processes, Sulfur reservoirs, natural Sulfur cycles, cloud and gas phase processing in the atmosphere.

Unit-6: Ecotoxicology
Toxic chemicals in the environment, carcinogens, and biochemical effects of some species, including As, Cd, Pb, Hg, SO x , NO x , O 3 , and pesticides.

Suggested Readings :

1. Manahan, S. E., 2009, Environmental Chemistry, CRC Press.
2. Andrews, J. E., Brimblecombe, P., Jickells, T. D., Liss, P. S., and Reid. B. J., 2004, Introduction to Environmental Chemistry, Blackwell Publications.
3. Schlesinger, W. H., 1997, Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change, Academic Press.
4. Jacobson, M. C., Charlson, R. J., Rodhe, H., and Orians, G. H., 2000, Earth System Science: From Biogeochemical Cycles to Global Change, Elsevier.
5. Sawyer, C. N., McCarty, P. L., and Parkin, G. F., 2003, Chemistry for Environmental Engineering, McGraw-Hill Inc.

Previous

Back to Course List

Next