More and more problems related to engineering can be identified in our cities, many of them related to pollution and waste management:
· Reducing industrial pollution. The student receives information on the characteristics of the generated waste (solid, liquid or gas) by the industry.
In all cases nature and amount of the residues will be provided. In the case of water waste, volumes and composition. In the case of gases, approximate composition and amount (related to the city population). The student will know what the approved parameters are for the spill. With this information, the student must select he appropriate treatments to make the emissions comply with the environmental regulations either elimination the contaminants or recycling them.
· Purification of a natural gas field. The city needs a supply of energy from different sources. The recent prospections in the area have found a natural gas deposit that might provide enough energy to cover the city regular consumption. The analysis reflects a measurable content of sulfur-containing compounds, mainly SH2 and CO2, that makes the gas unsuitable in the present conditions. Gas purification involves the removal of the impurities from the gas streams. The primary operation of gas purification processes generally falls into one of the following plants: absorption into an alkaline solution, physical absorption, permeation through a membrane, adsorption. The student will have to select the more appropriate process depending on their capability to produce enough gas to cover the energy necessity of city, which is marked by the populations (m3 of gas consumed by habitant). The student can study too if the process selected can bring the level of contaminants to the needed values.
· Pollution control. The city has a large pollution problem. Players must identify the causes for the pollution and find strategies to minimize that problem. There are two possibilities. In the first one, students are provided with a built city scenario with a very high rate of pollution. They must identify the sources of pollution and find better alternatives with the given budget. City size must be the same or larger in the end. In the second option, students are given a blank scenario. They must develop their city for a given time with a certain size goal and show in the end that they have selected the best choices in terms of pollution.