This course aims to excite first year engineering students about Environmental Engineering and the science and engineering principles that underlie Environmental Engineering applications. The course equips students with knowledge, critical thinking, computer-aid analysis, and practical experiences that are fundamental to Environmental Engineering. Basic environmental chemistry, microbiology, and hydraulics will be examined through a project-based learning. Thus, students will learn basic principles of chemical and biological processes and will be exposed to the concept of hydraulics. The lab-style teaching provides opportunities for hands-on experiences in 3D model design, digitalization, big-data analysis, and system analysis for environmental pollution control.

This course aims to familiarize students with basic principles in environmental chemistry and to provide a foundation for chemical concepts required in later years for Environmental Engineering. Topics covered include Thermodynamics and reaction kinetics, Equilibrium relations; Chemistry of Solutions; Acids and bases; Solution Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Electrochemistry and redox reactions; Basic Biochemistry; Nuclear reactions. Concepts will be emphasized with respect to environmental sustainability, drawing on applications and examples in environmental engineering (e.g. water reclamation, waste to energy, waste to resources, etc)

The Anthropocene is a proposed new geological era based on the scientific evidence that human impacts on natural environmental processes now rival geological forces in influencing the trajectory of the planetary system. This module provides an insight into contaminant transport and new complex physical interactions between human activities and natural processes. Major topics include energy fundamentals and need for new energy resources, depletion and contamination of natural resources (including minerals, groundwater, air), transport processes in the multimedia environment (advection, diffusion, dispersion, interphase mass transfer, reaction kinetics), as well as introduction to man-made climate change and its ecological and societal implications.

The course provides students with a strong foundation in environmental microbiology and its application to natural and engineered systems. The course addresses basic microbiological concepts and state-of-the-art environmental biotechnology. Microbial characteristics and function in terrestrial, aquatic environment and air are introduced to better understand biological processes. Microbial biogeochemical cycling of elements is examined with respect to nitrogen, carbon and sulphur. Aspects of molecular microbiology in environmental engineering are introduced with regard to applied biotechnologies. Also, urban microbiology and global emerging issues are introduced with respect to domestic and indoor microbiology, microbial contribution to climate changes, and current environmental issues.

This course introduces students to the unit operations and processes application for domestic water supply and wastewater treatment. Integration of physical, chemical and biological processes is the basis of current water and wastewater design practice. This module will enable students to understand the main treatment processes and engineering concerns of water and wastewater treatment systems. Students learn to identify the appropriate treatment system to address water and wastewater treatment needs and design basic processes of water and wastewater treatment systems.

The students are assigned a design project involving various environmental considerations. The module provides the opportunity for students to work as a team on an environmental project integrating knowledge they have gained from modules they have taken in earlier years. The module will also enhance their interpersonal, communication and leadership skills through group projects, report writing and oral presentations.

This internship course is for students who are admitted into the B.Eng. degree requiring a compulsory 12-week internship. The type of internship varies according to the programmes. Internships integrate knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skill development in a professional setting. It enables students to learn about the latest developments in the industries and to interact with engineers and other professionals as they join projects or tasks that help to develop or enhance their skills whilst contributing to the organization. Students can apply for approved internships publicised by the faculty or seek approval for self-sourced internships.

This project course is carried out by individual students and offers the opportunity for the student to develop research capabilities. It actively promotes creative thinking and allows independent work on a prescribed research project. Level 4 students undertake the project over two semesters. Each student is expected to spend not less than 9 hours per week on the project chosen from a wide range of environmental engineering-related disciplines. Topics include elements of research and experiments, analyse, and development. Assessment is based on the student’s working attitude, project execution and achievement, an interim report and presentation, dissertation and final oral presentation.

This internship course is for B.Eng. degree with a compulsory 20-week internship. The type of internship varies according to the programmes. Internships integrate knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skill development in a professional setting. It enables students to learn about the latest developments in the industries and to interact with engineers and other professionals as they join projects or tasks that help to develop or enhance their skills whilst contributing to the organization. Students can extend their internship course by another 4 weeks and earn additional 2 units by registering EG3611b Industrial Attachment.

Sustainability is the key to economic growth in the twenty-first century. With increasing global demand for energy, growing energy insecurity, and adverse impact of fossil fuel consumption on climate change, it is necessary to focus efforts toward bioenergy production from renewable, low-cost and locally available feedstock such as biomass and biowastes. This course introduces the various theories and technologies for production of bioenergy from various feedstocks. Topics include anaerobic technology for production of methane, bioethanol, methanol, hydrogen and biodiesel from biowastes and biomass, and microbial fuel cell for direct electricity production. Other processes such as pyrolysis of biomass shall also be introduced. Students will gain a comprehensive knowledge on the various options and challenges facing the production of bioenergy.

This course explores appropriate technologies to combat environmental issues in lesser industrialized countries, with a focus on sustainable technologies for water and sanitation. It also incorporates technical, socio-cultural, public health, and economic factors into the planning and design of water and sanitation systems. The fieldwork is carried out to implement appropriate technologies being discussed and developed in a classroom. Students will develop sustainable technologies for solving real life problem to adopt appropriate solutions independently as well as teamwork. The student will understand appropriate technologies at the household and small community level, and develop/design sustainable solutions for specific international problems.

This course covers the legal requirements, professional and scientific practices in chemical hazards management. It includes (1) the workplace safety and health, environmental protection. Fire safety, and public security legislations in Singapore as well as the Globally Harmonization System, (2) the hazardous chemical properties of toxicity, flammability, explosiveness, environmental biodegradability and bioaccumulation, (3) the chemical exposure standards, (4) the control of chemical risk through the hierarchy of control principles, (5) the mitigation of their impact through incident management with proper mitigating systems, emergency response planning. (6) procedure of response during terror attack.

This course provides the information regarding application of advanced unit operations and processes for enhancing the quality of treated effluent and rendering the product water suitable for reuse applications. The module will enable students to understand the fundamental principles of advanced wastewater treatment. Students are taught to identify and design the appropriate advanced treatment system to enhance the quality of the treated effluent and exploit the option of reuse application.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made. The objective of EIA is to ensure that decision-makers consider environmental impacts before deciding whether to proceed with new projects. Participants are introduced to the concept of EIA, its historical evolution and the terminologies that are used worldwide. Lectures will cover the organizational aspects of EIA, the EIA framework and the procedural methods to conduct an EIA, with special emphasis on water and water related issues.Participants will carry out a mini EIA study using the various approaches covered in the module.

The investment in urban water quality enhancement systems represents a large and important segment of the total public expenditure for any nation concerned about water resources management and water quality enhancement. It is important that the planning and implementation of water quality enhancement system be carried out in a manner that could maximize cost-effectiveness in meeting the desired objectives in a sustainable manner. Being in an ‘energy-climate’ era, it is important that environmental engineers are equipped with practical skills to analyze the needs for protecting our scarce environmental resources from a systems perspective so that technologies and resources could be deployed in a proactive manner. This course will facilitate students to analyse design implications of a given water quality enhancement system as well as formulate appropriate model(s) for managing water infrastructure and water quality systems.

All energy sources have some impact on our environment. Fossil fuels do substantially more harm than renewable energy sources by most measures. It is essential for environmental professionals to improve their awareness of energy, understand and minimise its impact on the environment. It is also important for them to understand the science and technology behind energy generation, distribution and use, based on which effective environmental control programs can be built to mitigate climate change. Overall, this module provides an insight into the relationship between integration of renewable energy systems and “decarbonisation”, and a broad vision for a sustainable energy future.

This course covers historical perspective of environmental management and the basics of environmental management systems (EMS), including an introduction to environmental management, EMS models and key elements, environmental review, environmental policy, identifying and evaluating environmental aspects and impacts, legal requirements, objectives, targets and management programmes, implementation of EMS requirements, monitoring and measurement, EMS audits, management review and continual improvement. Practical sessions will be included covering identifying and evaluating environmental aspects and impacts.