Advanced environmental Chemistry

The course deals with organic and inorganic substances in the environment with respect to their chemical structure and function, sources and emissions, remediation, distribution, transformation and fate in the environment, as well as their health and effects on biota. Critical environmental chemical processes in biota, soil, sediment, water and air are studied experimentally and theoretically. The course also introduces risk assessment with relevant methodologies, processes and legislation. The course gives examples on how sampling and subsequent analysis can be used to study and follow processes in the environment, as well as how these processes can be modelled theoretically using computer software. It covers analytical methods such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), liquid chromatography (LC), gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometry (MS), as individual techniques or in combination. The course ends with an independent project where the students, in smaller groups, perform an environmental study including sampling, sample pretreatment, analysis, data treatment, report writing and oral presentation.