Description
Description
Investigate a recent environmental event or environmental scenario. Examples can include an
incident such as an oil spill, the discovery of a long-time release of a toxic-waste in a watershed,
an explosion at a chemical plant, or the accidental release of a banned substance in the
atmosphere. An environmental scenario can consider the solids generated in a coagulation
process, the transport of a contaminant such as PFAS in an agricultural field, the transport of a
nutrient in a lake setting.
You will discuss the scenario you have chosen and use a mass balance to describe the situation
considering the following details:
1. How did you decide on the scenario you have chosen? Is it of interest to you personally,
part of a recent news story, a current event concern or some other idea?
2. Draw a detailed, annotated mass balance for the situation defining clearly the following
a. The control volume
b. The material of focus
c. The transport mechanisms
d. The details you know, the details you are assuming and the details you may have
to research to develop a full picture
3. Research the topic:
a. Find three relevant resources that provide you some background information on
the issue
b. Who is impacted by the scenario you are focusing on?
c. What is the current approach to address this scenario. For example – it is a
scenario that is commonly used and dealt with for individual treatment plants, it
is an area of current research and different mass balance approaches are used,
no one has looked at this area at all…
4. Use information from your research with modeling information we learned in class to
create a quantitative mass balance for your scenario. Use your mass balance to calculate
a meaningful concentration of the mass of concern. Include a detailed discussion of
what you are calculation, the assumptions in your model and why this calculation is
important.
Deliverable:
A written report with the detailed information as described in sections 1 through 4. Include
your references. Grading will be based on the individual answers to the questions and the
completeness of your responses. Note that the project does not have a ‘right’ answer but
requires you to illustrate clear and complete thinking about a topic with respect to mass
balance concepts.
The report does not need to be a particular length, but should be complete in its assessment of
the topic.
Grading will be as follows:
Part 1: 10 points
Part 2: 20 points – it is best to use a program to create the drawing and provide supplemental
discussion to consider all details in as thorough a manner as possible.
Part 3: 20 points.
5 points for the reference listing in the correct format
5 points for the discussion of who the topic impacts
10 points for the current approach that should include some mathematical constants
you can use in your model.
Part 4: 20 points: The focus here is the clarity of the calculation you are performing with the
detailed discussion of the values you are using. You do not need to use a high level model, but
need to show completeness in the modelling procedure you are using.
Please discuss with the instructor to develop your idea thoroughly.
