THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERJNG: LEVEL Ill EXAMINATIO~( y ,

DEPARTMENT OF CNIL ENGINEERING

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING (CNL 1005)

MAY 28,2005 TIME: 9:30- 11:30 AM (2 hours)

INSTRUCTION ABOUT NUMBER OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED:

Answer ALL questions

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MARK VALUE OF QUESTIONS

Only one correct answer for each question.
Giving more than one answer to a question is considered a wrong answer.
Each question carries 4 marks. O?e mark will be deducted for each wrong answer.

Use ofElectronic Calculators:

Candidates may use any calculator, which fulfils the following criteria:
(a) it should be self-contained, silent, battery-operated and pocket-sized;
(b) it should have numeral-display facilities only and should be used only for the purpose
of calculation;
(c) it should not have any printing device, alphanumeric keyboard, or graphic display; and
(d) it should not contain any recorded data or program.

It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure that the calculator operates satisfactorily and the
candidate must record the name and type of the calculator on the front page of the
examination scripts. Lists of permitted/prohibited calculators will not be made available to
candidates for reference, and the onus will be on the candidate to ensure that the calculator
used will not be in violation of the criteria listed above.

1. A 1000-MW coal-fired power plant in Hong Kong has an efficiency of33.3% with 15% of
the waste heat being released to the atmosphere as stack heat and the other 85% taken away
in the cooling water. If the cooling water is allowed a rise in temperature by 8.0C, what
flow rate would be required, in m3/s: (a) 40.8, (b) 50.8, (c) 60.8, or (d) 80.8.
2. The same 1000-MW coal-fired power plant, without air pollution control, would generate
216 t/d of sulphur emissions. Assuming 85% efficiency of the sulphur emission control
system, how many cubic kilometres of clean air volume will be required daily for dilution
in order to meet the air quality objective of 80 J..Lg/m3 sulphur dioxide: (a) 8.1, (b) 81, (c)
810, or (d) 8100. (Atomic weight: S 32, 0 16).
3. In most marine waters, nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for the growth of algae, with 0.3
mg/L considered as the critical concentration. At what concentration would phosphorus
become the limiting nutrient: (a) 10 mg/L, (b) 1 mg/L, (c) 0.1 mg/L, or (d) 0.01 mg/L.
4. Eutrophication is a nutrient enrichment process of natural waters. Which one of the
following statements is false: Eutrophication may result in (a) increased growth of algae,

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 (b) increased water turbidity, (c) increased fish production, and (d) decreased dissolved
oxygen during night time on the water surface.
5. Dissolved oxygen, one of the most important water quality parameters, is greatly affected
by both eutrophication and stratification. Which one of the following statements is false:
Stratification in a water body is caused by (a) vertical temperature differences, (b)
acidification, (c) vertical salinity differences, or (d) inhibition of vertical mixing.
6. The purpose of water treatment systems is to bring raw water up to drinking water quality.
Which one of the following statements is false: A typical water treatment plant in Hong
Kong may include the following treatment processes: (a) flocculation, (b) sedimentation,
(c) filtration, and (d) desalination.
7. An important source of Hong Kong drinking water is the East River (Dongjiang) in
Guangdong. The recently discovered presence of Cryptosporidium in East River raw water
has caused Hong Kong Water Supplies Department to modify its disinfection process.
Which is the newly introduced disinfection process: (a) chlorination, (b) ozonation, (c)
ultraviolet radiation, or (d) reverse osmosis.
8. Drinking water quality is defined by physical, chemical and microbiological standards.
Which one of the following statements is false: The public of Hong Kong commonly
requests the following parameters of drinking water qualfty: (a) hardness, (b) chloride, (c)
iron, and (d) nitrogen.
9. An industrial wastewater (BODs = 1,000 mg!L, total nitrogen= 10 mg!L, flow rate= 1 Lis)
is discharged into a public sewer and mixed with domestic sewage (BODs = 200 mg!L,
total nitrogen = 40 mg!L, flow rate = 1,000 m 3/d). What is the ratio of BOD 5 to total
nitrogen ofthe mixture: (a) 4:1, (b) 5:1, (c) 6:1, or (d) 7:1.
10. Which one of the following statements is false: A conventional secondary wastewater
treatment plant in Hong Kong may include the following treatment processes: (a) primary
treatment, (b) biological treatment, (c) filtration, and (d) disinfection.
11. Activated sludge is a (a) physical treatment process, (b) biological treatment process, (c)
chemical treatment process, or (d) sludge treatment process.
12. The approximate effluent quality of a conventional secondary wastewater treatment plant
has been determined in the laboratory and reported as follows: (a) BODs = 30 mg!L, (b)
dissolved solids = 30 mg!L, (c) total nitrogen = 25 mg!L, and (d) total phosphorus = 5
mg!L. Where has the laboratory technician made a mistake?
13. Which one of the following descriptions of a Hong Kong municipal solid waste landfill is
false: (a) landfill gas consists mostly of methane and carbon dioxide, (b) the generated
landfill gas may be used to produce electricity, (c) landfillleachate may emit methane to the
atmosphere and contribute to global warming, and (d) landfilling municipal solid waste
requires more space than a municipal solid waste incineration plant.
14. Traffic noise at a location due to a nearby highway has a present value of 65.5 dB(A). In
two years time, the traffic volume in the highway will increase by 35%. What will be the
traffic noise level at the location? (a) 88.4 dB, (b) 76.1 dB, (c) 66.8 dB, or (d) 68.1 dB.
15. Which of the following statements are true?: (a) A 2 dB drop in sound pressure level
will be experienced for a doubling of the distance from the sound source, (b) A 3 dB drop
in sound pressure level will be experienced for a doubling of the distance from the sound
source, (c) A 2 dB increase in sound pressure level is caused by a doubling of the sound
power, or (d) A 3 dB increase in sound pressure level is caused by a doubling of the
sound pressure.
16. A concentration level for N02 is at 300 J..Lg/m 3 Given that one mole of an ideal gas
occupies 24.5 litres at 25C and 1 atm, and the molecular weights ofN and 0 are 14 and

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 16, respectively. Express the concentration level ofN0 2 in ppm: (a) 0.16 ppm, (b) 0.15
ppm, (c) 0.18 ppm, or (d) 0.24 ppm.
17. Which one of the following meteorological conditions will most likely promote vertical
mixing and leads to clear skies: (a) a cold front approaching, (b) a cold front arrived for
a while, (c) a warm front approaching, (d) a warm front arrived for a while.
18. Car engines are designed to have combustion at higher temperatures. This will lead to
more environmentally acceptable emissions. However, which air pollutant in the
following will be emitted in higher concentration: (a) hydrocarbons, (b) C0 2 , (c) NOx, or
(d) ozone.
19. Which of the following statements is most likely to be false: (a) building ventilation and
air conditioning are two different indoor environment engineering systems, (b) indoor air
quality can be more significant than outdoor air quality in terms of impact on our health,
(c) ventilation is just about supplying fresh outdoor air into a building, or (d) indoor air
quality in offices affects to the productivity of workers.
20. Commercial kitchen exhausts are important air pollutant emitters in Hong Kong. Which
one of the following is the commonest device used to control these exhausts?: (a)
kitchen hood with powerful exhaust fan and oil drip, (b) cyclone collector; (c) absorption
tower; or (d) scrubber. -
21. A pure glucose solution contains 200 mg!L of glucose (C6H 120 6 , atomic weight: C 12, H
1, 0 16). The theoretical oxygen demand ofthe solution in mg 0 2/L is (a) 174, (b) 190,
(c) 202, or (d) 214. . . -\ fii
22. Ammonia (NH3, atomic weight: N 14) dissolves in water forming NH/ and OH". The
equilibrium constant for this reaction is 1.82 x .1 0~ ]?he sewage of Hong Kong contains
28 mg!L of total NH3-N (sum of NH3-N an"aNH/-N) at pH=7.26 and T=25C.
According to Henry's law (KH = 26.6 mole/L-atm for NH3), the concentration ofNH3 in
the sewer atmosphere (1 atm, 25C) in ppm by volume is around (a) 0.55, (b) 0.62, (c)
0.75, or (d) 0.83.
23. The initial growth of fish in a new pond had a doubling time of 100 days. When the fish
population reached a density of 301m2, its doubling time of growth extended to 250 days.
The carrying capacity (1m2) of the pond for growing fish is (a) 40, (b) 50, (c) 60, or (d)
80.
24. A wastewater is discharged into a river and mixed immediately with the river water. The
river is rather flat and straight with an average flow velocity of 0.1 m/sec. Just
downstream from the discharge point, the river has an ultimate BOD of 12 mg/L and a
DO of 6 mg!L. The BOD degradation reaction rate (mg 0 2/L-d) can be described by
dlfctt = -0.5L (L = BOD). If re-aeration and other processes are neglected, from the
discharge point the DO of the river would decrease to zero after about (a) 10,000, (b)
11,000 (c) 12,000, or (d) 13,000 m.
25. In marine waters, organic nitrogen (Org-N) from sewage disposal would normally go
through the transformation of (a) Org-N-+ Arnmonia-N-+ Nitrite-+ Nitrate, (b) Org-N
-+ Arnmonia-N-+ Nitrite-+ N 2, (c) Org-N-+ Nitrite-+ Arnmonia-N-+ Nitrate, or (d)
Org-N -+ Ammonia-N -+ N2 -+Nitrate.

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