280012 Environmental Technology for Treatment and Management of Bio-waste

Details
Department of Agriculture and Ecology
Earliest Possible YearMSc. 1 year to Post experience Master´s Programme
DurationOutside schedule
 
Credits5 (ECTS)
Course LevelMSc
The course may be taken at both MSc (post-graduate) and PhD level
 
ExaminationContinuous Assessment

written examination and oral examination


All aids allowed

Description of Examination: The assessment of each participant will be based on: 1) a short essay on home country animal waste management and regulation of animal waste use, submitted before the course start, 2) a written report on the small project carried out in the course and 3) an oral examination in course curriculum at the end of the course.

Weight: Assessment will be based equally on all three parts.



7-point scale, internal examiner
 
Organisation of TeachingLectures, theoretical and practical exercises (laboratory), case-study work, excursion. Course is offered in collaboration with Univ. of Southern Denmark. NOTICE: Course location will be Dept. of Chemical, Bio- and Environmental Engineering, Odense.
 
Block PlacementSummer Course
Week Structure: Outside schedule, 2 week summer course, in 2009 17 - 28 Aug, but dates for 2010 will be announced in Course presentation page
 
Teaching LanguageEnglish
 
Optional Prerequisites280002 
A BSc degree in Natural Res., Biology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Chem. Eng., Env. Eng. or similar. Basic knowledge of statistics and simple mathematical modeling, corresponding to "Environmental and Ecotechnology" (KU-Life). Some lab experience is mandatory
 
RestrictionsCourse participation will be coordinated with SDU, total maximum number of students is 30.
 
Course Contents
The course is about the management and treatment of bio-waste, with a major focus on animal manures (slurry, solid farmyard manure, deep litter etc.) from livestock production.

Specific themes of the course will be:
- Separation of phosphorous and dry matter from bio-waste through application of mechanical separation with or without additions of coagulants (iron and aluminium salts) and flocculants (polymers)
- Reactor technologies for biogas (methane) production from bio-waste materials
- Technologies for the reduction of the emission of odour, ammonia and greenhouse gases from stored bio-waste
- Bio-waste land application techniques to reduce ammonia emissions
- Sampling and analysis of bio-waste - for the assessment of nutrient mass balances and losses to the environment
- System analysis of bio-waste management options with the use of mathematical models
Within each theme, students will work actively with case-studies and theoretical as well as practical exercises, incl. lab-work.

The course gives important competences for jobs in private or public advisory service, environmental technology industry research and development, public administration and international organisations, as well as teaching and research at college and university level.
 
Teaching And Learning Methods
Before the course commences (at least two weeks before), each student must write and submit a short essay on home country animal waste management and regulation of animal waste use. The on-campus part of the course will in the first week consist primarily of lectures, case-based exercises and hands-on laboratory work in teams of 3-5 persons. Through these activities the participants will be introduced to the available environmental technologies for treating bio-waste, to systems analyses and mass balance modeling. In the second week, the primary teaching format will be group work, in which the students define and carry out a project to analyse a particular bio-waste treatment problem. The project may include experimental work (but not necessarily) and should include a system analysis of the identified problem and suggested solutions. Excursions to farms and environmental technology industries will also be included.
 
Learning Outcome
The objective of the course is to give advanced and applicable knowledge on the biological, chemical and technological aspects of bio-waste treatment, and competences in analyzing and developing environmentally friendly technologies and whole system solutions for organic bio-waste utilisation and recycling to land.

Participation in the course will give MSc. and PhD. students a fundamental understanding of technologies for treatment of bio-waste that can alleviate the potential damage to the environment caused by livestock production, and an ability to analyse and present technological solutions. The course will give practical insight and hands on experience in the functionality of environmental technologies for the treatment of bio-waste, in particular animal manures.

After participating in the course students are expected to be able to:

Knowledge:
- Describe the biological, chemical and technological processes involved in bio-waste management
- Identify mechanisms for bio-waste gas emission (ammonia and greenhouses gases) and overview possible control measures
- Summarise various bio-waste management regulations and their possible effect on environmental impact

Skills:
- Carry out appropriate sampling, preparation and standard analysis of typical bio-waste materials
- Conduct laboratory measurements to assess the effects of a given bio-waste treatment technology
- Apply mass balance analysis of bio-waste element flows, including sensitivity analysis.
- Apply mathematical models for whole system analysis of bio-waste management options

Competences:
- Analyse, discuss and develop concepts for environmentally friendly technologies and whole system solutions for organic bio-waste utilisation
- Propose optimal utilisation of specific bio-waste materials, including selection of appropriate technologies for separation, energy conversion and recycling to land at the scale of the livestock farm
 
Course Litterature
Handouts and a compendium will be distributed at the start of the course.
 
Course Coordinator
Lars Stoumann Jensen, lsj@life.ku.dk, Department of Agriculture and Ecology/Plant and Soil Science, Phone: 35333470
 
Study Board
Study Committee NSN
 
Course Scope
lectures15
theoretical exercises15
practicals10
project work35
Excursions15
preparation40
examination7

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