ERE 596 Section 02 Ecological Engineering for Waste Management

Instructor: Dr. Wendong Tao
Office: 422 Baker
Phone: 470-4928
Email: wtao@esf.edu
Office hours: Monday and Friday 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Lectures: Wednesdays 1:50 – 4:50 pm @437 Baker Lab

Field work/Assignments: Old Greenhouse

Course Description

A design course with hands-on construction, operation and monitoring of ecological treatment systems. Focusing on constructed wetlands and ponds for wastewater treatment and reuse, with minor topics selected by students among biofilter, bioretention, and bioremediation. Design exercises for treatment of sewage, stormwater runoff, landfill leachate, or dairy wastewater.

3 hours of lectures or field/lab exercises per week.

Semester offering: Spring (#40360)

Credits: 3

Level: Graduate and senior undergraduate

Prerequisite: ERE 440/643 Water Pollution Engineering, or equivalents.

Textbook

Crites, R.W., E.J. Middlebrooks, and S.C. Reed. 2006. Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems. CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL. Available from Follett's Orange Bookstore at Marshall Square and the Syracuse University Bookstore at Schine Student Center, 303 University Place.

Suggested Readings

    1. Kadlec, R.H., Knight, R.L. 1996. Treatment Wetlands. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.
    2. Ecological Engineering (ejournal).
    3. Water Research (ejournal).
    4. Water Science and Technology (ejournal).

Lecture Topics:

  1. Overview of ecological engineering and constructed wetlands;
  2. Medium/soil, hydrology, hydraulics, plants, animals, microorganisms, and ecology of constructed wetlands;
  3. Treatment mechanisms and modeling of constructed wetlands;
  4. Design considerations for constructed wetlands, ponds and hybrid ecological treatment systems;
  5. Design exercises and case studies for treatment of dairy wastewater, stormwater, municipal wastewater, landfill leachate, and acid mine drainage;
  6. Monitoring and performance assessment of constructed wetlands and ponds;
  7. Construction, operation, and management issues of constructed wetlands and ponds; and
  8. Selected minor topics.

Course Outcomes

After completing this course, the students will be able to:

  1. Recognize the importance of constructed wetlands and ponds as ecotechnology for wastewater treatment and reuse;
  2. Design constructed wetlands, ponds and hybrid systems for various applications;
  3. Build and operate ecological treatment systems, evaluate treatment performance, and design tests for improvement; and
  4. Realize limitations and management issues.

Grading

  1. Participation in group activities       20%
  2. Report on lab-scale treatment system operation       25%
  3. Group presentations on operation and design        30%
  4. Design report      25%

 

Late reports will not be accepted.