Water and Waste
Wasser und Abfall
6 CPSummerENno longer offered
Contents
Part Fundmentals of freshwater conservation, hydrology and freshwater ecology: Introduction to hydrology and water resources, definitions; hydrologic cycle; conservation equation, catchment; energy and water balance as a coupled system; water cycle as transport cycle, precipitation (types, measurement, areal analysis), water in the soil, soilwater characteristics, infiltration, evapotranspiration, (processes, determination) runoff (controlling factors, measurement, interpretation of runoff data), characteristics of streams and rivers, functional compartments, floodplain and riparian area, hyporheic zone, biota of streams and rivers, importance of lateral and longitudinal connectivity, typology of standing waters, genesis and importance of lakes and reservoirs as ecosystems and drinking water resource, limnic organisms, physical and chemical properties as presupposition for colonization and biogenic matter fluxes, impact of organisms on water quality, main water quality problems, sediments as sources for internal nutrient loads in standing waters, production and interaction of organisms with hydrophysical properties Part Solid Waste Management: Introduction, legal framework. Risks and potentials of solid waste. Classification of waste, generation rates, properties of solid waste. Strategies for avoidance, minimization, processing and recycling. The pathway from generation to final disposal: Waste logistics, systems & equipment for collection, transportation, transfer, storage. Fundamentals of waste processing and recycling technologies, landfill design, landfill operation.
Learning outcomes
Rationale The module will give an introduction and integrative overview in a) water science: hydrology of surface and surface water ecology and in b) basics of solid waste management. Students shall achieve understanding of the comprehensive water cycle with its abiotic and biotic processes relevant for the water quantity and quality and the water management. At the field of waste management the student will learn to analyse and to understand typical problems of disposal within the social, economical, ecological and technical framework. The basic options and methods of surface water conservation/management shall be understood. Part Fundamental of freshwater conservation, hydrology and freshwater ecology: Basic knowledge on hydrology and freshwater ecology; terms and methods related to water balance and the components of the water cycle; understanding surface waters as living systems, characteristics and principle ecological function of streams, rivers, and lakes; knowing the basic hydrological and ecological processes and their interaction relevant to water quantity and quality. Part Solid Waste Management: In the field of waste management, the student will learn to analyse and to understand typical problems of disposal within the social, economical, ecological and technical framework. They should learn to adapt technical and management solutions to the conditions of their home countries.
Assessment
Written exam (120 minutes) together for both parts at the end of the semester. Each part contributes 50 % to the total number of achievable points.
Literature (7)
- script list
- list of recommended literature
- catalogue of questions for self-organized work and preparation for the final exam
- Burke, Singh, Theodore: Handbook of Environmental Management and Technology, Wiley Interscience, 2000
- Tchobanoglous, Theisen, Vigil: Integrated Solid Waste Management, McGrawHill, 1993
- Vesilind, Worrell, Reinhart: Solid Waste Engineering, Brooks/Cole 2002
- Stessel: Recycling and resource recovery engineering, Springer, 1996
Source: BTU's module description · retrieved 19 Oct 2026Original