16-Civ-A3 Elementary Environmental Engineering · December 2018
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
Paper format. National Exams, December 2018 — 16-Civ-A3 Elementary Environmental Engineering. Three hours; closed book with one candidate-prepared 8½ × 11 double-sided aid sheet; approved Casio or Sharp calculator only. Seven problems are printed, each worth 20 marks, and any five constitute a complete paper (maximum 100 marks). All seven are solved here, because the set is intended as a study resource rather than an exam script. Section marks are shown in brackets at the left margin of each question and are reproduced from the final-page Marking Scheme.
Reference texts.
Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.
Each growth driver stresses the environment along two axes — the air emissions it releases and the additional water it demands. The 2 × 3 matrix below pairs the two dominant impacts of each driver with a matching environmental-engineering solution, on the assumption that strict (best-available-technology) requirements apply.
| (i) Increase in energy use | (ii) Industrial expansion | (iii) Urbanization expansion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air emissions (impacts & solutions) |
Impacts: CO2/GHG and criteria pollutants (SO2, NOx, PM) from fossil combustion → smog, acid rain, climate change. Solutions: shift to renewables/efficiency; flue-gas controls — scrubbers (SO2), low-NOx burners/SCR, ESP/baghouse (PM). |
Impacts: point-source VOCs, toxics and PM from process stacks → local air toxics, odour. Solutions: process substitution & cleaner production; capture-and-treat (thermal oxidisers, carbon adsorption, fabric filters) with continuous emissions monitoring. |
Impacts: dispersed traffic and area-source emissions (NOx, PM, CO) → urban smog, heat island. Solutions: transit-oriented planning, EV/active transport, vehicle emission standards, urban green space. |
| Water quantity (impacts & solutions) |
Impacts: large cooling-water withdrawal and thermal loading for thermoelectric plants. Solutions: closed-cycle/dry cooling, water reuse, and low-water renewables (wind/solar PV). |
Impacts: high process-water demand and competition with other users; aquifer drawdown. Solutions: water-use minimisation, process-water recycling/closed loops, and treated-effluent reuse. |
Impacts: rising municipal demand and stormwater volume from impervious surfaces. Solutions: demand management/metering, leak reduction, water-efficient fixtures, low-impact-development stormwater capture and reuse. |
Across all three drivers the recurring engineering themes are the same: reduce the load at source (efficiency, cleaner production, demand management), then capture and control what remains (flue-gas treatment, closed-loop water), and finally reuse and offset. Meeting strict requirements pushes each cell toward best-available technology and toward closing material and water loops rather than end-of-pipe dilution.
