ChE 487: Chemical Process Simulation and Design
Course #: CHE 487 (5 credits)
Course Title: Chemical Process Design
Terms Offered: Fall, Winter
Prerequisites: CHE 360: Chemical Engineering Laboratory I, CHE 344: Reaction Engineering and Design, and MSE 250 or 220, or graduate standing
Textbooks/Required Materials: Towler, Gavin and Ray Sinnott, Chemical Engineering Design – Principles, Practice and Economics of Plant and Process Design, 2nd ed., Amsterdam, Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier, 2013.
Turton, R., Bailie R.C.,Whiting, W. B., Shaeiwitz, J.A., Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall
Instructor: Tadd, Casper, Wang
Cognizant Faculty: Tadd, Casper, Grimble, Hirshfield, Lesher-Pérez, Wang
Faculty Approval: 2022-08-24
CoE Bulletin Description:
Process conceptualization and design using chemical process simulators. A major team design project with progress reports, oral presentation, and a technical report with process drawings and economics.
Course Topics: (number of hours in parentheses)
- Team dynamics and interpersonal relationships (1)
- Conceptual design (6)
- Process drawings and analysis (4)
- Energy integration (1)
- Safety and environment (4)
- Process simulation (1)
- Equipment function and sizing (4)
- Equipment design (2)
- Materials of construction (1)
- Process economics (10)
- Intellectual property issues (1)
- Ethics (3)
- Team meetings with instructor (10)
- Technical communication (13)
Course Structure/Schedule: Lecture: 3 per week @ 1 hour plus 1 per week @ 2 hours
Course Objectives: Links shown in brackets are to course outcomes that satisfy these objectives.
- To provide a basis for students to function effectively in teams on a major project [a-i].
- To equip students to conceptualize and develop a chemical engineering process [a, d-h].
- To equip students to design the essential elements of a chemical engineering process (equipment sizes, material & energy balances, economics, environmental, safety) [a, d-h].
- To provide experience using commercial process simulation software as a design tool [e].
- To develop students’ skills in written and oral technical communication [b, c].
- To integrate and apply subject matter from previous courses to solve open ended problems [d-h]
- To provide opportunities to apply design concepts to biological systems [a-i]
Course Outcomes: Links shown in brackets are to ABET student outcomes 1-7.
A. Research chemically related technical and business-related information [7]
B. Write, edit, revise, and critique technical memos and formal written reports, including status reports submitted via e-mail [3]
C. Prepare and present effective oral reports [3]
D. Assemble a logical sequence of interconnected unit operations for an effective chemical engineering process, with consideration of global, cultural, economic, and public health factors [1,2]
E. Use, and interpret results from a commercial process simulation software package [1,2]
F. Determine sizes, materials, and capital and operating costs of equipment commonly used in the chemical processing industries [1,2,4]
G. Assess the profitability of a chemical engineering process [4]
H. Recognize professional situations requiring ethical decisions [4]
I. Incorporate environmental and safety concerns into a chemical engineering process design, with consideration of global and ethical factors [4]
J. Work in an industrial-type based team environment [5]
Assessment Tools: Links shown in brackets are to course outcomes.
- Regular team meetings with the course and project instructors including environmental and safety reviews, and status memos [a-j]
- Oral reports [a and c-j]
- Written reports [a, b and d-j]
- Written critique of other teams’ final design reports [b and d-j]
- Periodic self and peer evaluations [j]
- Ethics workshop participation and essay [h].