Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reduction

Course objectives

General outcomes The module is focused on the fundamentals of the environmental effects of greenhouse gases, the emission accounting methodologies and the prevention and control technologies. The general learning outcomes expected are included among the wider outcomes of the whole master programme in Environmental Engineering. To this regard, the module contributes to the educational background required for the graduate engineer to manage and design interventions for the preservation of the quality of environmental compartments and mitigation of climate change effects, with particular reference to the control of greenhouse gas emissions. Specific outcomes Knowledge and understanding: After passing the exam, students will be able to deal with issues related to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, with particular reference to the knowledge and understanding of the environmental impact of greenhouse gases and the methodologies for accounting and inventorying of the emissions into the atmosphere. Applying knowledge and understanding: After passing the exam, students will be able to undertake design duties with regard to the systems and plants for the prevention, control and treatment of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, mastering the competences and engineering methods for climate mitigation of and adaptation to climate change effects. Making judgement: After passing the exam, the students will also be able to make judgement with particular regard to assessing topics requiring further analysis and collecting suitable technical and scientific documentation, as well as to use adequate methods to investigate environmental engineering topics at their level of knowledge and understanding”, with particular regard to methodologies and technologies for greenhouse gas control and treatment. Learning skills: Solving practical numerical and design exercises will also provide the students with a tool to acquire autonomous learning skills, also with specific regard to the ability to make judgement and critical assessment of the faced problems in case of shortage or lack of the relevant information. The above mentioned skills will contribute to building a backbone that will allow the students to acquire updated information in a continuous, autonomous and in-depth manner, concerning both their professional abilities and the emerging environmental issues related to climate change

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RAFFAELLA POMI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
● Types of GHGs and related effects. GWP, time horizons and equivalence factors. ● Methodologies for GHG inventory: o Concepts and principles of GHG quantification and reporting. o The GHG accounting frameworks: attributional vs. causational approach; entity-level and facility-based frameworks. o Developing a GHG inventory: definition of the system boundary, source identification, direct vs indirect emissions, emission scope, emission calculation, emission reporting. How to avoid double counting. o Developing a GHG inventory quality control process o Producing a greenhouse gas report and prepare for third-party verification. ● CO2 emissions mitigation strategies: CCS technologies; chain elongation processes. o GHG prevention and control. Scopes and implementation. o Emission targets and international regulations. o Pre-combustion and post-combustion technologies for minimization of CO2 and NOx emissions (oxy-fuel firing, gasification, chemical looping) o Technologies for the abatement of GHGs. o Theoretical principles of carbon capture technologies (membrane separation). o Theoretical principles of carbon sequestration technologies (geological storage, ocean storage, chemical absorption, mineral carbonation). o Carbon capture and storage (CCS) options. Practical Exercise (organized so as to foster the team working capacity. A report on the practical exercise has to be prepared by the students at the end of the course)
Prerequisites
To successfully attend the module and pass the final exam, basic knowledge of the following subjects is essential: • maths (with specific regard to differential and integral calculus) • physics (with specific regard to the basics of thermodynamics) • chemistry (with specific regard to the stoichiometry of chemical reactions, the concepts of chemical equilibrium in aqueous solutions and specific types of chemical reactions [acid-base, redox reactions]) • sanitary and environmental engineering (with specific regard to the pollution indicators and the principles of effluent treatment) • fluid mechanics and hydrology (with specific regard to porous media hydraulic, processing of hydrological data and rainfall-runoff transformation) • geotechnics (with specific regard to soil geotechnical and mechanical properties) No compulsory prerequisites to access the final exam are required.
Books
GHG protocols and standards (https://ghgprotocol.org/)
Frequency
non obbligatoria
Exam mode
The knowledge acquired by the students on the course topics will be evaluated through both mid-term tests (on selected topics during the lecturing period) and a final exam. The latter will involve an oral discussion of the main subjects of the course (as a rule, 3 subjects selected by the teacher during the exam), out of which one will be specifically focused on the practical/design projects implemented during the classroom sessions. The final evaluation will take into account mainly (70-80%) the acquired knowledge and understanding and the ability of their application, and for the remaining 20-30% the demonstrated making judgements abilities and autonomous learning skills. Each of these aspects will be judged on the 3 topics selected by the teacher during the exam.
Lesson mode
The module consists of a combination of lectures and classroom exercises for GHG accounting. The knowledge and understanding abilities defined in the module objectives will be mainly acquired through conventional lectures; applying knowledge and understanding will be acquired through both conventional lectures and classroom exercises; soft skills (making judgements and learning skills) will be acquired through the preparation of the final technical report as well as private study.
RAFFAELLA POMI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
● Types of GHGs and related effects. GWP, time horizons and equivalence factors. ● Methodologies for GHG inventory: o Concepts and principles of GHG quantification and reporting. o The GHG accounting frameworks: attributional vs. causational approach; entity-level and facility-based frameworks. o Developing a GHG inventory: definition of the system boundary, source identification, direct vs indirect emissions, emission scope, emission calculation, emission reporting. How to avoid double counting. o Developing a GHG inventory quality control process o Producing a greenhouse gas report and prepare for third-party verification. ● CO2 emissions mitigation strategies: CCS technologies; chain elongation processes. o GHG prevention and control. Scopes and implementation. o Emission targets and international regulations. o Pre-combustion and post-combustion technologies for minimization of CO2 and NOx emissions (oxy-fuel firing, gasification, chemical looping) o Technologies for the abatement of GHGs. o Theoretical principles of carbon capture technologies (membrane separation). o Theoretical principles of carbon sequestration technologies (geological storage, ocean storage, chemical absorption, mineral carbonation). o Carbon capture and storage (CCS) options. Practical Exercise (organized so as to foster the team working capacity. A report on the practical exercise has to be prepared by the students at the end of the course)
Prerequisites
To successfully attend the module and pass the final exam, basic knowledge of the following subjects is essential: • maths (with specific regard to differential and integral calculus) • physics (with specific regard to the basics of thermodynamics) • chemistry (with specific regard to the stoichiometry of chemical reactions, the concepts of chemical equilibrium in aqueous solutions and specific types of chemical reactions [acid-base, redox reactions]) • sanitary and environmental engineering (with specific regard to the pollution indicators and the principles of effluent treatment) • fluid mechanics and hydrology (with specific regard to porous media hydraulic, processing of hydrological data and rainfall-runoff transformation) • geotechnics (with specific regard to soil geotechnical and mechanical properties) No compulsory prerequisites to access the final exam are required.
Books
GHG protocols and standards (https://ghgprotocol.org/)
Frequency
non obbligatoria
Exam mode
The knowledge acquired by the students on the course topics will be evaluated through both mid-term tests (on selected topics during the lecturing period) and a final exam. The latter will involve an oral discussion of the main subjects of the course (as a rule, 3 subjects selected by the teacher during the exam), out of which one will be specifically focused on the practical/design projects implemented during the classroom sessions. The final evaluation will take into account mainly (70-80%) the acquired knowledge and understanding and the ability of their application, and for the remaining 20-30% the demonstrated making judgements abilities and autonomous learning skills. Each of these aspects will be judged on the 3 topics selected by the teacher during the exam.
Lesson mode
The module consists of a combination of lectures and classroom exercises for GHG accounting. The knowledge and understanding abilities defined in the module objectives will be mainly acquired through conventional lectures; applying knowledge and understanding will be acquired through both conventional lectures and classroom exercises; soft skills (making judgements and learning skills) will be acquired through the preparation of the final technical report as well as private study.
  • Lesson code10620816
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseEnvironmental Engineering
  • CurriculumIngegneria per l'Ambiente e il Territorio - Protezione del territorio
  • Year1st year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDICAR/03
  • CFU6