ECTS credits ECTS credits: 4.5
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 74.5 Hours of tutorials: 1 Expository Class: 28 Interactive Classroom: 9 Total: 112.5
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Chemistry Engineering
Areas: Chemical Engineering
Center Higher Technical Engineering School
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable
The general objective of this course is to provide students with the necessary knowledge about unit operations and processes used in the conditioning of urban and industrial water, wastewater treatment, and sludge treatment from wastewater treatment plants.
The specific objectives include: 1) Knowing the physical-chemical characteristics of water and the methods for characterizing the most common pollutants in water; 2) Understanding the legislation and regulations related to wastewater treatment and processes/potable water conditioning; 3) Knowing the different physical, chemical, and biological treatment systems; 4) Selecting the most suitable technology for water treatment or conditioning based on the characteristics of the streams to be treated.
This course complements the content on water characterization and treatment addressed in the compulsory course “Environmental Engineering”.
The program of this course is divided into 7 units, grouped into 3 thematic blocks, as detailed below:
Block I: Water properties and conditioning
Unit 1. Water properties and pollutants
Chemical properties of water. Physical properties of water. Water pollutants. Water management and treatment planning.
Unit 2. Water conditioning and consumption minimization
Water supply sources. Drinking water treatment. Boiler water treatment. Cooling tower water treatment. Minimizing water
consumption in industry. Water reuse.
Block II: Secondary wastewater treatment processes
Unit 3. Physicochemical processes
Introduction. Coagulation-flocculation. Chemical precipitation. Floatation. Oxidation-reduction reactions.
Unit 4. Anaerobic biological processes
Introduction to biological processes. Comparison of aerobic and anaerobic biological processes. Microbiological fundamentals of
anaerobic digestion. Importance of temperature and mixing. Anaerobic digestion of wastewater. Main anaerobic reactors.
Prediction of methane production and COD balances.
Unit 5. Biological processes for organic matter and nutrient removal
Organic matter removal. Activated sludge process. Biofilm processes. Nutrient removal. Biological nitrogen removal processes.
Design of nitrogen removal systems. Biological phosphorus removal processes. Design of phosphorus removal systems. Aeration
systems.
Unit 6. Tertiary treatments
Disinfection. Filtration systems. Adsorption columns.
Block III: Sludge line
Unit 7. Unit operations in the sludge line
Sludge thickening. Sludge stabilization. Sludge dewatering. Sludge management in wastewater treatment plants.
Basic books
• Metcalf & Eddy Inc. Wastewater Engineering. Treatment and reuse (5ª Ed.) New York: Editorial Mc-Graw Hill Higher Education, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-259-01079-8.
ETSE Signature: A213 13 F
Complementary books:
• Henze, M., van Loodsdrecht. M.C.M., Ekama, G.A. Brdjanovic, D. Biological Wastewater Treatment: Principles, modelling and design. London: IWA Publishing, 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-789-06037-9. Available online: https://iacobus.usc.gal/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991013383861307…
• Nalco Chemical Company. The Nalco Water Treatment Handbook. New York. McGraw-Hill, 2009. ISBN 978-0-07-154883-0. Available online: https://www-accessengineeringlibrary-com.ezbusc.usc.gal/content/book/97…
• Ramalho, R.S. Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales. Barcelona. Editorial Reverte S.A., 1996. ISBN 84-291-7975-5. ETSE Signature: A213 16.
• Speece, R.E. Anaerobic biotechnology for industrial wastewaters.
Nashville: Archae Press, 1996. ISBN 0-9650226-0-9. ETSE Signature: 213 9
• Sperling, M.V. Biological wastewater treatment. Vol. 5: Activated sludge and aerobic biofilm reactors. London. IWA Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84-339165-4
ETSE Signature: 213 51
• López Vázquez, C. M., Buitrón Méndez, G., García Delgado, H. A. & Cervantes Carrillo, F. J. (coords.) (2017). Tratamiento biológico de aguas residuales: principios, modelación y diseño. Londres: IWA Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78040-913-9. Available online: https://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book/707/Tratamiento-biologico-de-aguas-r…
In this course, the student will acquire or practice a series of generic competences, desirable in any university degree, and specific ones, related to engineering in general or Environmental Engineering in particular.
According to the competence framework designed for the degree, the following will be addressed:
General competences
CG 7. Capacity to analyze and assess the social and environmental impact of the technical solutions
CG 11. Knowledge, understanding, and capacity to apply the necessary legislation in the practice of Industrial Technical Engineering
Transversal Competences
CT 6. Solve problems in an effective way
CT 8. Team work
CT 11. Capacity to communicate with experts in other fields.
CT 16. Environmental sensitivity.
CT 16. Autonomous learning.
Specific Competences
CE 10. Basic knowledge and application of environmental and sustainability technologies.
The USC Virtual Classroom through Moodle will be used as a communication tool with students, providing them with information on the teaching schedule and complementary materials for studying the subject (lecture notes and scientific-technical articles), promoting autonomous study and the use of bibliographic sources in English.
At the beginning of the course, students will be provided with the following material on the virtual campus:
• TEACHING GUIDE: the approved teaching guide for the course (Galician, Spanish, English).
• DAILY PLANNING: a guide indicating the detailed daily schedule of activities.
• PRESENTATIONS: presentation guides used by the professor in lectures (pdf format).
• PROBLEMS: pdf file with a set of problems and, in some cases, their solutions.
• COMPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: for each topic, such as relevant legislation, scientific articles, links to websites with relevant content (products, companies, etc.)
Teaching activities
• Lectures and interactive classes: The classes will combine both traditional lectures (presentation and discussion of topics) and seminars (exercises), emphasizing key aspects of the state of the art and verifying students' assimilation of content. Therefore, it is very important that students work through the available material to encourage student-teacher interaction.
• Team project: Students are expected to carry out a team project, which they will present orally in the final tutorial session.
• Group tutorial: A group tutorial will be held focusing on the preparation of the team project.
• Individualized tutorials: Will be held upon student request, in-person or eventually via MS Teams platform.
In cases of fraudulent completion of exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulation on the assessment of academic performance and grade review will apply.
In this subject, Continuous Assessment (CA) accounts for 60% of the final grade, while the remaining 40% corresponds to a final exam. The student’s grade will be a weighted average of performance in the assessed parts: exam and performance in classroom (participation and cooperative work).
Activities included in Continuos assessment (CA)
The Continuos Assessment inlcude the following activities:
• Assessment questionnaires: Short quizzes after completing a group of units, to be done individually.
• Team Project will consist of a brief presentation (approximately 3 – 4 minutes per person) presenting a water treatment train. Quantitative information will be particularly valued.
• “Proactive behaviour” aims to assess each student’s daily attitude in class, specially: a) evidence that they are keeping up to date with the subject and classroom discussions; b) relevant comments on the topics covered; c) motivation and positive attitude in class, among others. This will be assessed individually.
Final Exam (In-person)
• The exam is mandatory and consists of two differentiated parts: theoretical questions and numerical problems to solve, for which the use of a calculator and formula sheet may be allowed. A minimum score of 3 out of 10 is required in both parts.
Students will be considered as “not presented” if they do not attend the final exam.
Students who need to take the second opportunity will keep the grades obtained in the continuous assessment. In case they have not participated in the team project, they may choose to answer additional questions.
Grade distribution
Continuous assessment 6 points
- Quizzes 3
- Team project and group tutorial 2
- Proactivity 1
Final exam 4 points
- Theory (min. 30%) 2
- Problems (min. 30%) 2
TOTAL 10 points
Repeating students may retain the grades obtained in the continuous assessment if they wish. In case they have not participated in the team project, they may choose to answer additional questions.
Competence assessment
The competences to be developed are:
• General: CG7,CG11
• Transversal: CT6, CT8, CT11, CT16, CT19
• Specific: CE10
Their assessment is planned as follows:
• Lectures: CG7, CT16, CE10
• Interactive classes: CG7, CG11, CT6, CE10
• Group tutoring and teamwork: CG7, CG11, CT6, CT8, CT11, CT19, CE10
• Quizzes and exam: CT11, CT19, CE10
The course has a workload equivalent to 4,5 ECTS (112,5 h of total student work), distributed as shown in the Table. In-person hours indicate the number of teaching hours for the course through various activities. The factor estimates the number of hours the student needs to dedicate per hour of activity. The autonomous work hours result from multiplying this factor by the activities, giving the total workload for each activity.
Distribution of training activities in total hours and ECTS
Activity Class (h) Student workload (h) ECTS
Lectures______________28___________34,0_________________2,5
Seminars______________9___________11,0_________________0,8
Group tutorials__________1____________4,0________________ 0,2
Individual tutorials_______1____________2,0________________ 0,1
Exam and review________5___________17,5________________ 0,9
Total_________________44___________68,5________________ 4,5
It is highly recommended that students have previously taken the Environmental Engineering course.
It is important that students study in advance the texts, documents, or articles indicated in the teaching guide. A basic command of English is essential.
The use of the virtual campus is recommended as the backbone of all activities related to the course.
The course will be taught in Spanish and Galician, although part of the material provided will be in English.
Francisco Omil Prieto
Coordinador/a- Department
- Chemistry Engineering
- Area
- Chemical Engineering
- Phone
- 881816805
- francisco.omil [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Professor
Alba Pedrouso Fuentes
- Department
- Chemistry Engineering
- Area
- Chemical Engineering
- alba.pedrouso [at] usc.es
- Category
- Researcher: Ramón y Cajal
| Thursday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom A3 |
| Friday | |||
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom A3 |
| 13:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Spanish | Classroom A3 |
| 01.08.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom A6 |
| 01.08.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Classroom A6 |
| 05.29.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 05.29.2026 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 06.30.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom A1 |
| 06.30.2026 16:00-20:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Classroom A1 |