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CODE 118002
ACADEMIC YEAR 2025/2026
CREDITS
SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR ICAR/03
LANGUAGE Italian
TEACHING LOCATION
  • GENOVA
SEMESTER 1° Semester

OVERVIEW

The course deals with issues related to environmental protection, pollution prevention, environmental restoration and the reuse of materials, water and energy, addressing issues related to eco-design, circular economy and remediation processes.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the notions and tools for the inclusion of engineering aspects in environmental protection, pollution prevention, environmental restoration and reuse of matter, water and energy. Particular attention is paid to the ecological footprint, circularity, remediation processes, methodologies and technologies for environmental treatment and restoration.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with knowledge in environmental protection, pollution prevention, environmental restoration and reuse of matter, water and energy systematically incorporating environmental considerations into the design process.

On successful completion of this study, through lessons attendance and training activities such as oral lessons and exercises, the student should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the key steps of:

  • ecodesign
  • environmental restoration
  • remediation processes
  • ecological footprint

PREREQUISITES

The course has no specific prerequisites. However, for a successful learning, basic knowledge on mathematics, chemical and physics are required.

TEACHING METHODS

The course foreseen oral lessons, exercises, educational field trips, use of simulation software.

As part of the innovation learning project adopted by the Degree Course in Chemical and Process Engineering, novel tools will be used for the active learning of students. The goal is to increase students' skills via interactive, experience-based, learning methodologies (e-learning, teamwork, etc.) for enhanced student participation, using an advanced level of communication that makes the student more aware and indipendent.

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 Federico Scarpa (federico.scarpa@unige.it), the Polytechnic School's disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

  • Ecodesign: Incorporating of environmental considerations into the design process. Life Cycle Thinking. Sustainability in process engineering design. Environment as an additional design requirement.
  • Circular Economy fundamentals: Introduction to the circular economy: theories, definitions and principles; tools and metrics used for assess circularity at business level; overview of business cases and best practices of circular processes
  • Pollution of environmental matrices: analysis of soil characteristics and principles of geochemistry; pollutantdiffusion in soil, subsoil, and aquifers; risk analysis
  • Environmental restoration: introduction to the remediation procedures and related regulatory aspects; permanent and emergency safety measures and in-depth study of the main remediation techniques, through biological and physicochemical treatments; analysis of case studies on sites undergoing remediation

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Teaching material and exercises will be available on Aulaweb platform.

The following book and standards could be useful a follow-up.

  1. Gerardo Ruiz Mercado, Heriberto Cabezas. Sustainability in the Design, Synthesis and Analysis of Chemical Engineering Processes. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2016
  2. D.lgs 152 Testo Unico Ambientale

  3. Bonifica dei terreni contaminati - CTTC - Comitato Tecnico Terreni Contaminati

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of an oral examination covering the topics covered during the course.​

Three exam sessions will be foreseen during the winter session (January, February and during the Easter didactic stop of the Polytechnic School) and four exam sessions will be foreseen during the summer session (June, July, September and during the fall stop of the Polytechnic School). No extraordinary further exam sessions will be issued outside the regular Polytechnic School periods, with the exceptions of students without didactic activities in their current academic year curriculum.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The learning outcomes are assessed through an oral exam. The exam aims to evaluate skills to apply the learning to specific case studies and to critically analyze processes from a comprehensive and holistic point of view. Quality of the presentation, correct terminology, and critical thinking skills will also be evaluated.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Working students and students with SLD, disability or other special educational needs certification are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning modalities.

Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goals

Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goals
Affordable and clean energy
Affordable and clean energy
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Sustainable cities and communities
Sustainable cities and communities
Responbile consumption and production
Responbile consumption and production
Climate action
Climate action