The Asian environmental technology market is a multi-billion dollar industry that is projected to grow considerably in the coming years. Environmental technology is an area of vital and strategic importance to many countries and can improve the management and quality of precious land, air and water resources. With a well-managed environment, countries will be better positioned to attract valuable investments and fuel economic growth.

This programme is designed to equip graduate environmental engineers and other related professionals with advanced skills and expertise in a wide variety of environmental disciplines. The programme offers a comprehensive range of subjects on advanced water and wastewater treatment, air and land pollution as well as broader aspects of environmental management and planning. In addition, classroom teaching will build an in-depth understanding of fundamental physical, chemical and biological processes. There will also be opportunities to attend classes conducted by international experts on special topics such as membrane-based water purification and advanced sludge management.

Programme Structure

To be awarded the degree of Master of Science (Environmental Engineering), a candidate must complete satisfactorily ten courses. Six of the courses must be in Environmental Engineering. The remaining courses can be selected from a list of graduate courses approved by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The course may be taken either on full-time or part-time basis. For full-time students, the minimum and maximum periods of candidature are one year and three years respectively. For part-time students, the minimum and maximum periods of candidature are two years and four years respectively.

List of Courses

The current list of courses is as follows. Not all courses will be offered each semester:

• CV6501 Water Treatment & Process Design
  
• CV6502 Contaminated Site Assessment & Remediation
  
• CV6503 Wastewater Treatment & Process Design
  
• CV6504 Hazardous Waste Treatment & Recovery
  
• CV6505 Water Quality Modelling
  
• CV6511 Industrial Waste Management
  
• CV6512 Integrated Solid Waste Management
  
• CV6521 Air Quality Management
  
• CV6531 Environmental Biotechnology
  
• CV6532 Environmental Management Systems
  
• CV6533 Environmental Chemistry
  
• CV6551 Special Topics in Environmental Engineering
  
• CV6601 Contaminant Transport
  

Note : Curriculum is subject to changes.

Course Content

CV6501 Water Treatment & Process Design
Planning, design and construction of water treatment plants. Intake facilities. Treatment processes. Wastewater reclamation and reuse. Ion exchange and membrane processes. Desalination. Activated carbon adsorption. Ultra-pure water. Operation and control in treatment plants.

CV6502 Contaminated Site Assessment & Remediation
Site assessment and remediation issues. Hydrogeological and geochemical aspects of site characterisation. Contaminant fate and transport in the subsurface environment. Site remediation practice. Principles and application of remedial technology.

CV6503 Wastewater Treatment & Process Design
Selection and use of wastewater treatment processes leading to rational design of overall systems. Advanced processes in anaerobic treatment and nutrient removal. Wastewater reclamation and reuse. Sludge treatment and disposal.

CV6504 Hazardous Waste Treatment & Recovery
Definitions and legislation. Waste minimisation. Treatment technologies: stabilisation, thermal, physical, chemical and biological treatment. Application. Landfill and remediation.

CV6505 Water Quality Modelling
Historical development of water quality models. Fundamentals of completely and incompletely mixed systems. Physical aspects of aquatic environments. Modelling of water quality parameters in rivers, estuaries and lakes.

CV6511 Industrial Waste Management
Waste sources, characteristics, generation, collection and regulations. Source reduction and waste minimisation. Problems and future trends. Waste conversion and disposal technologies. Current industrial practice: solid, liquid and hazardous waste management. Case studies.

CV6512 Integrated Solid Waste Management
Integrated solid waste management and planning. Waste generation, characterisation and quantities. Reduction, reuse and recycling. Landfill: design, operation, closure, rehabilitation and remediation. Incineration: design, operation, air emission control and ash disposal. Biological and chemical technologies.

CV6521 Air Quality Management
Classification and legislation. Atmospheric properties. Meteorological conditions, pollutants distribution and interaction. Engineered systems for removal of particulate, biological and gaseous pollutants. Indoor air quality. Monitoring and models. Global warming.

CV6531 Environmental Biotechnology
Historical development. Microbial diversity and metabolism. Microbial ecology. Recombinant DNA technology. Molecular probes. Applications in oil spill bioremediation, wastewater and solid waste treatment. Bioaerosols. Biotechnology and sustainable development.

CV6532 Environmental Management Systems
Overview. The Environment and global problems. EIA, LCA and risk analysis methodologies. ISO 14000: general guidelines, environmental auditing, labeling, performance evaluation, LCA scope and impact assessment. Socio-economic impacts.

CV6533 Environmental Chemistry
Fundamental principles of mass transport. Chemical partitioning and transformation in surface waters, the subsurface environment and the atmosphere. Mass balance and reactions.

CV6551 Special Topics in Environmental Engineering
This subject introduces recent developments and advances in topics of current interest.

CV6601 Contaminant Transport

Fundamental equations of fluid flow and transport. Laminar and turbulent diffusion. Mixing and transport in receiving waters: advection, diffusion and dispersion. Conservative and non-conservative substances. Jets and plumes. Numerical techniques.