Syllabus
Process Engineering Economics and Design II
Spring 2017
Instructor:
- Nam Sun Wang
- Class Hours: Wednesday 3:00pm-5:40pm (Section 0101), Friday 12:00noon-2:40pm (Section 0102)
- Office Hours: W 12:00pm-2:00pm, Rm 1208 Chemical Engineering Bldg.
- Phone: 301-405-1910 (call for appointment outside the office hours)
- Email: nsw@umd.edu
Teaching Assistants:
- Niti Rameshkumar Agrawal
- Office Hours: Tuesday 3:30pm-5:30pm, TA room (CHE1124).
- Email: nitiagr@umd.edu
- Kanan Ghaderzadeh
- Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday 12noon-1pm, TA room (CHE1124).
- Email: kanan@umd.edu
Required Textbooks:
- None, but the textbooks from previous chemical engineering courses
contain useful information, including the texbook in CHBE444:
"Chemical Engineering Design," 2nd ed.,
Gavin Towler and R.K. Sinnott, Elsevier (2012), ISBN: 978-0-08-096659-5
Prerequisites:
CHBE444.
Course Description:
Application of chemical engineering principles for the design of
chemical processing equipment. Representative problems in the
design of chemical plants will be the focus of this capstone
design class. Comprehensive reports are required.
Course Objectives:
This is the chemical engineering capstone design course, where we
put together all students have learned previously into a
coherant project(s).
This class consists of student teams working on two
major design projects during the semester; the students will
reinforce their teamwork and communication skills and will
integrate all previous Chemical Engineering course material in
the detailed design and costing of complete chemical plants and
in the context of product design problems.
Contribution of the Course to Meeting Professional Component
This course contributes heavily to the professional component of
the Chemical Engineering undergraduate curriculum - it is the
capstone design class with projects chosen from chemical process
plants that currently are under construction or being studied in
the chemical processing industry, and chemical product design
problems chosen from state-of-the-art chemical products. Sources
of projects include: projects developed in conjunction with an
industrial partner; annual AIChE design contest problems and
projects of current industrial interest. In the past, the
projects have included biofuel refining, hydrogen production from
landfill gas, and solar-grade polysilicon production, syngas,
ammonia, sweetening of sour gas, ...
For Spring 2017, the list of projects include (TBA):
- TBA... several industrial process/product design projects /w industrial mentors/contacts
- AIChE design problem (nylon 66)
- Students' own design project, including further utilization
of methanol to produce methanol-derived products (dimethyl ether
DME, acetic acid, dimethyl terephthalate, formaldehyde,
methanethiol, 1-step oxidation coupling of methane-to-ethylene,
olefins-propylene, methyl chloride, methyl methacrylate, methyl
tert-butyl ether MTBE, methylamines, etc).
Relationship of Course to Program Objectives
In this course, the program objectives that are most relevant are
the ability to apply knowledge of chemical engineering
fundamentals to identify and solve chemical engineering problems
(Outcome 1), a broad knowledge necessary to understand the impact
of engineering solutions in a global and societal context
(Outcome 4), an ability to perform step-by-step design of
engineered systems and chemical processes (Outcome 5), an
awareness of safety and environmental issues as an integral part
of the chemical engineering profession (Outcome 7), the ability
to successfully participate in teams (Outcome 8), the ability to
communicate effectively through oral presentations and written
reports (Outcome 9), professional and ethical responsibilities
(Outcome 10) and current technological issues (Outcome 12).e
List of Topics Covered
Chemical process design, building on material and energy balance
computations, understanding phase equilibrium and thermophysical
property estimation, short-cut design techniques, process
optimization, process economics, safety and environmental issues,
and energy integration.
Application of other fundamental chemical engineering concepts
in transport, separation, reaction
equilibrium and reactor design, and various chemical process unit
operations.
You are expected to know:
Since this is a capstone design course, you are expected to
have mastered fundamentals of core chemical engineering concepts
in: material/energy balance, computation, thermodynamics,
transport, separation, reaction equilibrium and reactor design,
process control, and various chemical process unit operations.
In addition, you are expected to know the following specific
topics covered in CHBE444 (based on Dr. Ehrman).
- Flowsheet synthesis, simple material and energy balances, rapid
evaluation of design alternatives
- Shortcut distillation, absorber column, flash drum, and other
separations unit operations calculations
- Separation sequences using simplified distillation columns,
column hydraulics considerations
- Shortcut reactor sizing using space velocity
- Reactor and pressure vessel, distillation/absorber column,
heat exchanger, pump, and compressor sizing and costing
- Process utility calculations, heat exchanger networks, pinch
design
- Operating and capital costs, return on investment, discounted
cash flow calculations, net present value
- ChemCAD simulation, selection of thermodynamic models,
detailed designs, elements of process optimization
- Process safety concepts
- project planning (gantt charts, critical path)
Grading:
The outcomes will be measured by individual assignments,
team assignments (i.e., interim reports),
team presentations on assigned
topics relevant to the project(s), and written project reports (a
few interim reports and one final written report for each
project), and final oral report|presentation for each project.
There will be no in-class sit-down examinations. The semester
grade will be based on the following assessments.
| Assessment | Weight
|
|---|
|
| homework assignments (individual effort) | 15%
|
| homework assignments (team interim project reports) | 15%
|
| presentations (team effort, peer evaluated) | 10%
|
| final project presentations+reports (team effort) | 40%
|
| end-project peer evaluation (by team members) | 20%
|
|
| total | 100%
|
Homework|reports are due electronically at ELMS at the beginning of the class
(or at the individual group meetings with the instructor) on the
specified due date; no late homework|reports will be accepted
unless individually arranged with the instructor before
the due date with a valid excuse. To help facilitate discussion
during individual group meetings with the instructor, bring a
hardcopy of most relevant materials (e.g., process flow diagrams)
to the meeting; in addition, you may present your latest results
on a laptop. Discussion among classmates (within each group or
outside) is allowed in solving individual homework
assignments, but each student must do his/her own work (no
copying!). On the other hand, project reports (both interim and
final) represent a team effort, and the entire team collectively
receives the same grade for each team assignment. How each team
divides up its members' responsibilities within is each team's
own perogative. Likewise, the team interim/final reports must be
the team's own work -- no copying of other team's work nor work
from beyond this class (e.g., project reports from previous years
or from another school). Adjustment for different team members
is through peer evaluation conducted at the end of each of the
two projects.
Plagiarism and academic dishonesty absolutely will NOT be
tolerated, and suspected incidence will be referred to the
Student Honor Council of the Judiciary Programs. It is
your responsibility to consult the instructor whenever there is
any doubt on the definitions of these terms or on the allowable
materials on each specific homework assignments or reports.
See Policy on Academic Integrity.
Whether or not you sign explicitly in each assignment or exam, it
is assumed that you adhere to the following University of
Maryland's Honor Pledge.
"I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any
unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination."
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic
accommodations with the instructor, please do so as soon as
possible.
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Process Engineering Economics and Design -- Syllabus
Forward comments to:
- Nam Sun Wang
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
- University of Maryland
- College Park, MD 20742-2111
- 301-405-1910 (voice)
- 301-314-9126 (FAX)
e-mail: nsw@umd.edu
©2017 by Nam Sun Wang
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