OVERVIEW

The faster the world's resources and available energy are consumed, the less time remains for our survival. Starting from this assumption, Environmental Physical Chemistry aims to reformulate the traditional concepts of classical thermodynamics and to provide the tools for the modeling of ecosystems and the determination of environmental sustainability indicators through an assessment of energy and entropic parameters that affect the non-equilibrium chemical processes. The course will help students to develop systemic, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary thinking, introducing more advanced, specialized knowledge that will allow them to address environmental and energy related problems with a new approach, which takes into account the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the tools for modeling ecosystems and determining indicators of environmental sustainability through an assessment of the energetic and entropic parameters that influence non-equilibrium processes of anthropic origin. They will develop the ability to conduct group experiments in the laboratory and in the field, to write test reports on diagnostic activities in the environmental field, and to prepare and present reports on assigned topics and on the results of experiments conducted in the laboratory.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

6 CFU course

The active participation in the training activities proposed by the course of Environmental Physical Chemistry will allow the student:

- To describe the main steps concerning the development of environmental awareness, through the first experimental evidences and international agreements;

- To defend the sustainable development goals thanks to the systemic approach, typical of the "environment" topic, identifying the concepts related to sustainability, considering with new tools and new approaches (emergetic and exergetic indicators, the concept of Transformity) the anthropic impact on ecosystems, understanding how to monitor it, prevent it and evaluate it;

- To define the concepts of advanced thermodynamics applied to complex systems, irreversible and non-equilibrium transformations, which describe natural and anthropic chemical-physical processes;

- To generalize the thermodynamic concept of entropy as a function of time, to extend it as a parameter for measuring the quality and the evolution of energy;

- To describe the characteristics of terrestrial ecosystems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere) as a function of matter and energy exchange processes, with particular reference to the main pollutants and their environmental fate;

- To justify and understand the need for the mathematical modeling of some phenomena occurring within ecosystems, exploiting chemical-physical prediction tools, and distinguishing their limits and their potential;

- To list the main energy production technologies, in relation to individual sources, distinguishing the concepts of renewability, and identifying strategies suitable for the challenges of the future;

- To examine scientific literatures knowingly, selecting only significant sources among the main available tools;

- To apply analytical procedures in practical laboratory activities;

- To develop a theme of environmental interest with critical and clever thinking, learning to manage social interactions with a collaborative and constructive attitude, communicating the projects in different environments, in a scientifically correct way. The project is carried out in a small group but it’s disseminated in front of colleagues and the commission, who interact and give an evaluation; this project will also allow the students to identify and refine their skills first individually, later with the group, and eventually the class, in relation to the development of the assigned task, testing one's own organization and also evaluation strategies.

4 CFU Course

The active participation in the training activities proposed by the course of Environmental Physical Chemistry will allow the student:

- To defend the sustainable development goals thanks to the systemic approach, typical of the "environment" topic, identifying the concepts related to sustainability, considering with new tools and new approaches (emergetic and exergetic indicators, the concept of Transformity) the anthropic impact on ecosystems, understanding how to monitor it, prevent it and evaluate it;

- To define the concepts of advanced thermodynamics applied to complex systems, irreversible and non-equilibrium transformations, which describe natural and anthropic chemical-physical processes;

- To generalize the thermodynamic concept of entropy as a function of time, to extend it as a parameter for measuring the quality and the evolution of energy;

- To describe the characteristics of terrestrial ecosystems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere) as a function of matter and energy exchange processes, with particular reference to the main pollutants and their environmental fate;

- To justify and understand the need for the mathematical modeling of some phenomena occurring within ecosystems, exploiting chemical-physical prediction tools, and distinguishing their limits and their potential;

- To examine scientific literatures knowingly, selecting only significant sources among the main available tools;

- To apply analytical procedures in practical laboratory activities;

- To develop a theme of environmental interest with critical and clever thinking, learning to manage social interactions with a collaborative and constructive attitude, communicating the project in different environments, in a scientifically correct way. The project is carried out in a small group but it’s disseminated in front of colleagues and the commission, who interact and give an evaluation; this project will also allow the students to identify and refine their skills first individually, later with the group, and eventually the class, in relation to the development of the assigned task, testing one's own organization and also evaluation strategies.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of lectures, for a total of 32 hours (16 hours for 4 CFU Course), and a part of 26-hour exercises that may consist in addressing practical problems with experts, making guided tours to industrial plants, carrying out specific laboratory tests, critically analyzing the scientific literature; these hours include students’ seminar activities, developed in groups and focused on environmental issues, presented at the end of the course, to an audience of students and experts. In particular, confirming and structured Inquiry-Based Learning educational activities are proposed to students, to encourage them to ask questions, explore new ideas and carry out scientific research. Attendance to all exercise acitivties is mandatory, as per the Didactic Regulations. The practical exercises are held by the teacher in charge of the course, assisted by laboratory tutors, or by experts and technicians. The organization and dates of practical activities are provided directly by the teacher at the beginning of the lessons.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

6 CFU course

The teaching program is divided into four sections. The introductory part takes the students toward the history of the development of environmental awareness, which uses the main environmental events of the last century as a starting point for International Agreements, COPs, and eventually the identification of the Sustainable Development Goals. The first part provides the tools for the definition of advanced thermodynamics, as a description of irreversible non-equilibrium processes, which, starting from the concepts of Energy and above all of Entropy of the First and Second Laws of classical Thermodynamics, leads to the concepts of production and flow of Entropy as a function of time. Entropy, therefore, assumes the role of measuring the quality of energy and the transformation of energy over time, considering open systems and irreversible processes, which lead to the formulation of the Fourth Law of Thermodynamics. In the second part, the terrestrial ecosystems (hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere) will be described, in relation to the possibility of applying mathematical models for the treatment of emissions into the atmosphere, the transport of pollutants in water systems and soils, and the connections involving all the different spheres. The concepts of Emergy, Exergy, and Transformity will then be formulated as Environmental Sustainability Indicators, that allow us to understand the potential of the emergy analysis of a Territorial System. In the third part, the various renewable and non-renewable energy technologies will be examined, in relation to consumption, needs, available reserves, and environmental costs, with which the concept of Circular Economy will finally be introduced.

4 CFU Course

The program for this course includes participation in the lessons related to two of the four sections described above (although participation in the other lessons is allowed and recommended). The tools for the definition of advanced thermodynamics as a description of irreversible non-equilibrium processes, which, starting from the concepts of Energy and above all of Entropy of the First and Second Laws of classical thermodynamics, leads to the concepts of production and flow of Entropy as a function of time. Entropy, therefore, assumes the role of measuring the quality of energy and the transformation of energy over time, taking into account open systems and irreversible processes, which lead to the formulation of the Fourth Law of Thermodynamics. The terrestrial ecosystems (hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere) will be described in relation to the possibility of applying mathematical models for the treatment of emissions into the atmosphere, the transport of pollutants in water systems and soils, and the connections involving all the different spheres. The concepts of Emergy, Exergy, and Transformity will then be formulated as Environmental Sustainability Indicators, that allow us to understand the potential of the emergy analysis of a Territorial System.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Students are not provided with a basic reference text because the topics covered in the course can be reported in various texts, which are suggested directly by the teacher at the beginning of the lessons or in conjunction with the deepening of a specific topic. Lecture notes can be considered sufficient for exam preparation.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course lessons will begin concurrently with the start of the second semester of the Chemical Sciences Master Course.

The date of the first lesson will be communicated shortly before the start, via the aulaweb platform.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of a written test, in which the achievement of the educational objectives set regarding the theoretical part, will be verified, and in an oral test carried out partly in seminar form, where a topic (previously agreed with the teacher) among the practical activities carried out during the whole course is deepened and developed by a group of students.

The oral exam is in common for both courses (4 CFU and 6 CFU).

The written test is differentiated according to the credits of the course; specifically, for 4 CFU, the written test will be related only to the topics covered in the theoretical part covered by the 4 CFU program; for 6 CFU, the written exam will be related to the whole program.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The educational objectives in detail, which correspond to the learning outcomes, expected for the students, listed in the dedicated section, are verified according to the examination methods described above. In particular, the written exam as it is structured, provides that the part carried out in traditional form is dedicated to verifying the achievement of an adequate level of basic knowledge related to all the sections in which the program is divided and the understanding of the covered topics, with a distinction based on the credits that can be acquired (4 CFU - 6 CFU), which translates into a written test specifically dedicated to the part of the program addressed by those who follow the 4 CFU course, or to the whole program for those who follow the 6 CFU course. The part carried out in seminar form will instead allow to verifying that a higher level of critical analysis, re-elaboration, and collaborative construction has been reached in relation to the group presentation developed on a chosen theme. Eventually, the experimental laboratories will be concluded with the writing of laboratory reports/tests, that will be evaluated to verify that the application of analytical procedures in practical activities has been achieved. More generally, it will be possible for the students to self-verify their own preparation through feedback given by the teacher, by actively participating to the exercises carried out in the classroom and in the laboratory or on the field.

More details on how to prepare for the exam and the seminar, in- depth analysis of each topic, and the evaluation criteria will be provided during the lessons.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The course may undergo some changes in the period of time between the publication of the present Teaching Card and the beginning of the lessons, in particular concerning the exam program, the teaching methods, and consequently the assessment methods, in the light of the analysis of the teaching evaluation questionnaires that are filled in by the students of previous years and on the basis of the teacher's updating on innovative and quality teaching methods that prove to be most appropriate for active, constructive, and interactive learning of the topic. Any change made will be promptly communicated in the classroom and via aulaweb.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Sergio Di Domizio (sergio.didomizio@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.