Chemical Engineering

Introduction to chemical engineering processes and modeling them with material balances.

Thermodynamics of single component systems: applications of first and second laws, steady-state energy balances, equations of state, thermodynamic properties of fluids, thermochemistry.

The fundamental property relation, thermodynamic properties of single and multiple pure phases, homogeneous multicomponent phases, ideal and non-ideal liquid solutions, phase equilibria, chemical reaction equilibria, problem solving techniques, applications.

Fluid statics, fluid properties, flow of incompressible fluids in conduits, friction factors, meters, pumps, external flow, drag, flow in packed and fluidized beds.

Principles of heat flow, mechanisms of conduction, convection and radiation, correlations for heat transfer coefficients, heat transfer equipment and process applications.

Introduction to the software and computational tools necessary for chemical engineers, including MathCAD, MatLAB, ASPEN, and others.

Oral and written communication skills, reporting and analyzing results of experiments and/or literature investigations, graphical reporting.

Fundamentals of interphase mass transfer: mechanisms, driving force and resistance to transfer, design and analysis of continuous and staged contacting processes, gas absorption and stripping, binary distillation, liquid extraction.

Principles and methods of chemical kinetics and reactor design. Introduction to heterogeneous systems. Stiochiometry and rate laws for simple and complex reactions, analysis of reaction rates, isothermal reactors, introduction to temperature effects.

Application of differential equations, linear algebra and conservation laws to model complex chemical processes (including non-steady state, and multi-dimensional examples).

Application of chemical engineering principles to laboratory and pilot scale equipment. Oral and written reporting of results.

Design and analysis of chemical engineering experiments using laboratory and pilot scale equipment. Oral and written reporting of results.

Application of fundamental principles of chemical engineering to design of industrial chemical processes; use of process simulators (such as Aspentech ASPEN PLUS) for process design.

Introduction to process control concepts and applications, computer simulation of processes during transient change, real-time and LaPlace domain analysis of controlled systems.

Independent investigation of a chemical engineering problem, under supervision of a faculty advisor, or industry sponsor, including a written comprehensive report. (Nine hours per week of independent study).

Continuation of CHE 4831. May include further investigation of same problem or a different topic.

Industrial waste management: nature and sources of waste streams, principles underlying chemical and physical treatment methods, case studies of treatment technology.

Causes, effects and control of air pollution, emphasizing abatement technologies: classification and sources of airborne pollutants, particulate control devices, VOC abatement technologies, NOx and SOx abatement, and meteorological effects.

Equipment design and specification based on theoretical and practical knowledge of unit operations. Analysis and design of several types of process equipment. Mandatory tours of chemical process facilities will be scheduled on Friday afternoons based on student interest.

Methods of economic evaluation & decision making, applied to engineering problems. Cost estimation & indexing, time value of money, depreciation, comparison of alternatives.

Unified study of heat, mass and momentum transport: underlying physical laws, mathematical representation of transport laws, analogies between different transport modes, estimation of transport properties, applications.

The science in the suds: the course covers the science of malt, hops, and fermentation, flavor chemistry, and the technology of brewing beer. This course requires an understanding of organic chemistry.

Principles and methods of chemical kinetics and reactor design applied to heterogeneous reactive systems of industrial importance: catalysis and catalytic reactors, catalyst deactivation, diffusion effects, design of heterogeneous catalytic and non-catalytic chemical reactors.

Selected topics in chemical engineering: recent developments, new technology, applications of other disciplines to chemical engineering problems.

Lectures on common cloning methods and DNA sequencing/ analysis techniques, along with labs that require students to design/construct a mammalian gene expression plasmid and evaluate it in animal cells.

Production of commercially useful materials by living organisms, emphasizing emerging technology: biologically important compounds, their relationships to genetics and metabolic pathways, controlled growth of microbes, separation and purification of products.

Factors underlying physical and chemical separations of natural (biological) products: centrifugation and filtration, cell Breakage, precipitation, extraction, adsorption, chromatography and crystallization; process-scale equipment and operations.

Materials for use in medicine and in/on the body, material bulk and surface properties, biological responses to materials, applications, manufacturing processes, cost, sterilization, packaging and regulatory issues.

Fundamental concepts of current biotechnology techniques; demonstration and application of laboratory methods encountered in industry or academia, including genetic engineering, bacterial/mammalian cell culture, and protein expression, purification, and characterization.

Analysis techniques applied to process biochemical data, including basic R programming, hypothesis testing, regression and ODE modeling, and multivariate statistical data analysis. Practical term projects to analyze literature data using learned techniques.

An overview of genome editing, manipulation, and sequencing techniques. Various applications of genetic engineering in microbes, plants, animals, and humans are also discussed.

This course introduces students to tissue engineering methods that apply physical, mechanical, and chemical manipulation of materials to direct cell and tissue function Students will learn about stem cells, material-cell interactions, and problem-solving in biomedical engineering to enhance human health.

Synthetic Biology is the generation of novel biological systems that serve a purpose in society. In this course, you will learn how to use iterative design-build-test-learn cycles to optimize biological systems in a project-focused format with lab and lecture meetings.

Basic principles of polymer science: nature and structure of organic high-polymers, polymerization reactions, physical and chemical properties, mechanical testing, viscoelasticity, flow and processing applications.

Factors underlying interfacial phenomena and nano-material formation; thermodynamics of surfaces; emulsification, foaming, detergency, nucleation, wetting adhesion, surface films; particle growth, micelles, self-assembled monolayers; unique nanoscale characterization and properties.

Comprehensive introduction to structure/property relationships of engineering materials; atomic & molecular structure of materials; means to control structure; mechanical behavior; electronic behavior; effects of treatment history on properties; effects of usage conditions on properties; material selection.

Technical, economic, and social evaluations of alternative and sustainable energy sources focusing on liquid fuels as well as other energy sources.

Overview of the upstream petroleum industry, including technical aspects of finding, producing and refining petroleum products; issues related to fossil fuel usage; the role of petroleum-based fuels and related products as a key driver in world development.

This course explores opportunities to reinvent the utility and petrochemical industries to address climate change and decarbonization by learning and applying a suite of new technologies and sustainable engineering practices at a at a scale that could be commercialized.

This course explores the application of green engineering principles to process and product design. Green engineering metrics will be a central focus, providing methods to quantify the sustainability and environmental impact of different chemical technologies, processes, and products.

CBE Co-Op is an optional technical elective to be completed with a company for 6 months during a student's final summer and fall semesters. The Co-Op must be chemical engineering-related and provide real world experiences. RESTRICTION: Must have chair's permission.