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Environmental Organic Chemistry
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:06:41
Abstract
This course is focused on environmental transformation reactions of organic chemical contaminants. An overview of important fate processes of organic pollutants will be given, along with a discussion of the factors that determine pathways and rates of transformation reactions. Special emphasis will be given to redox transformations, photochemical reactions, and enzyme-catalyzed processes.
Objective
The students will - further their knowledge of important classes of environmentally relevant organic compounds - become familiar with the tools for studying reaction mechanisms - learn the fundamentals of environmental photochemistry - obtain a detailed understanding of redox reactions of pollutants and biogeochemically important species - get a survey of important enzymatic transformations - learn to critically evaluate published data
Content
- Methods and tools used in the study of reaction mechanisms and kinetics - Environmental photochemistry, including direct and indirect photolysis - Redox properties of important environmental phases and redox reactions of organic pollutants - Enzyme-catalyzed reactions involved in environmentally important enzymatic processes
Resources
Lecture Notes
Materials that are needed beyond the required text will be distributed in the lecture.
Literature
Schwarzenbach, R.P., P.M. Gschwend, and D.M. Imboden. Environmental Organic Chemistry. 3rd Ed. Wiley, New York (2016).
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- session examination
- Mode
- oral 30 minutes
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Environmental Organic Chemistry |
|
2 h weekly |