Environmental Chemistry

Considering that this is an introductory Curricular Unit, no relevant prior knowledge is required.

The course comprises:

– 1 lecture of 2 hours per week where are exposed the syllabus content and also applied the chemistry concepts to practical examples related to the field of Environmental Health professionals, showing to the student how to apply these concepts in problem solving;

– 1 theoretical-practice lesson of 2 hours a week, where students are invited to solve practical exercises and case studies with the support of their teacher. These exercises and case studies, related with the field of Environmental Health, can be used to clarify these phenomena from a scientific view. They are also important to develop effective analysis and problem solving skills.

This curricular unit aims to provide students with the acquisition of a global view of the Chemistry study and of its interaction with other sciences, in particular with the area of occupational safety and environmental health.

Knowledge to acquire:

Students should be familiar with the fundamental concepts of Chemistry in order to understand and solve problems relating it to the interpretation of physicochemical phenomena, with particular emphasis on the content and skills associated with occupational and environmental health field;

Skills to acquire:

– recognize the structure of organic compounds and calculate their respective concentrations;
– know the basis of the most relevant conventional and instrumental chemical analysis techniques;
– Identify hazardous substances and risks associated with these, as well as good practices for their safe use;

Competencies to acquire:
– Gain practical experience in handling and use of laboratory equipment respecting safety rules.

1. Constitution of Matter – Fundamental Concepts (4h)

2. Solutions (6h)
2.1. Concentration of solutions and the various ways of expressing it
2.2. Solution dilution

3. Inorganic chemistry (10h)
3.1. Nomenclature in inorganic chemistry
3.2. Acid-base reactions
3.3. Oxidation-reduction reactions

4. Chemical bonding in carbon compounds: atomic and molecular orbitals (4h)

5. Organic Chemistry (16h)
5.1. Families of organic compounds and their functional groups
5.2. Nomenclature of organic compounds
5.3. Isomerism
5.4. Organic synthesis – Main reactions
5.5. Identification of organic compounds

6. Chemical safety (20h)
6.1. Types and forms of chemical hazards
6.2. Classification and labelling of hazardous chemical products
6.3. Chemical compatibility and storage rules
6.4. Fundamentals of instrumental chemical analysis
6.4.1. Spectroscopic Methods
6.4.2. Electroanalytical Methods
6.4.3. Chromatographic Methods

NAO

Main bibliography:

Goldsby, K. e Chang, R., Chemistry, McGraw Hill-Education, New York (2012).

Mahan, Química, um curso universitário, Ed. Edgard Blucher, São Paulo (1972).

Russel, Química Geral, McGraw Hill, São Paulo (1982).

Rosenberg, Química Geral, Ed. McGraw Hill, São Paulo (1982).

Vogel, Análise inorgânica quantitativa, Ed. Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro (1981).

Aléxiev, Análise Qualitativa, Ed. Lopes da Silva, Porto (1983).

Secondary bibliography:

Manahan, S.E. Environmental Chemistry: Eleventh Edition (11th ed.). CRC Press (2022).

Scientific articles that should be selected according to the contents of the lectures and students scientific interests.