Spring Semester

This module is one of a suite of modules covering all aspect of chemical engineering process and equipment design.  The design of a unit operation paying appropriate consideration to sustainability, economic and operational feasibility and engineering practicality is a key skill for chemical engineers and requires a robust understanding of all aspects of Chemical Engineering.  Working either alone or with another BEng student from the Chemical Engineering programme you will design and optimise a specified item of equipment.

To provide students with;

·       a comprehensive understanding of equipment design and optimisation methodology

·       a critical awareness of the importance of properly integrating equipment design with the optimisation of a process design

·       a critical awareness of the need for accurate and independently verifiable physical property data

·       the experience of completing the optimised design of a process unit to satisfy a Design Specification and in so doing integrating their learning of design methods taught in earlier modules of the Chemical Engineering programme

Upon successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

·       confidently generate an unambiguous equipment specification based on the process flow diagram arising from a process design project  

·       identify and confidently analyse the fundamental chemical and physical phenomena associate with the equipment being designed and propose logical mathematical models which may be used to characterise such phenomena

·       confidently collect/generate the physical property data necessary to carry out the design making the appropriate judgement to reconcile conflicts 

·       use the above to propose a logical design procedure which will including the appropriate iterations and optimisation steps and then to critically analyse the result

• efficiently use the procedure to design and optimise the specified item of equipment and generate the appropriate equipment data sheets including the materials of construction, method of fabrication and testing

Essential Reading

Sinnott RK, Coulson & Richardson’s Chemical Engineering, vol 6, 3^nd ed, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003. (ISBN 0 7506 4142 8)

Coulson JM, Richardson JF with Backhurst JR and Harker JH, Chemical Engineering, vol 1, 6^th ed, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999. (ISBN 0 7506 4444 3)

Coulson JM & Richardson JF with Backhurst JR and Harker JH, Chemical Engineering, vol 2, 4^th ed, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996. (ISBN 0 7506 2942 8)

Richardson JF and Peacock DG, Chemical Engineering, vol 3, 3^rd ed, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003. (ISBN 0 0804 1003 0)

Required Reading

Perry RH and Green DW, Chemical Engineer’s Handbook, 7^th ed, McGraw-Hill, 1997. (ISBN 0 0711 5448 5)

Ludwig EE, Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants, 1-3, 2^nd ed, Gulf Pub, 1977.  (ISBN 0 8720 1755 9, ISBN 0 8720 1753, ISBN 0 8720 1754 0)

Ulrich GD, Guide to Chemical Engineering Process Design and Economics, Wiley, 1984 (0 4710 8276 7).

Leva M, Tower Packings and Packed Tower Design, 1953.

Morris GA & Jackson, Absorption Towers , Butterworth, London , 1953.

Other essential reference material will be recommended by the supervisors

Recommended Reading

Kern DQ, Process Heat Transfer, McGraw-Hill, 1950.

Kern DQ & Kraus AD, Extended Surface Heat Transfer, McGraw-Hill, 1972.

Stringle RF, Random Packings and Packed Tower Design & Application, Gulf Publishing Corporation, 1987.  (ISBN 08720 16692)

A comprehensive set of Design Notes will be made available when necessary

20 October 2009