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Introduction

This document outlines the goals and organization of a course on chemical processes for energy and the environment. The goals are to learn fundamental concepts of chemical engineering and apply them to analyze important processes. Key concepts covered include mass/energy balances, thermodynamics, kinetics, reactor analysis and separation units. Assessed concepts include equilibrium, combustion, kinetics and separation processes. Students will complete group projects analyzing assigned processes and present their findings. The course aims to provide both theoretical foundations and applications to relevant energy and environmental processes.

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Eliot Kh
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74 views8 pages

Introduction

This document outlines the goals and organization of a course on chemical processes for energy and the environment. The goals are to learn fundamental concepts of chemical engineering and apply them to analyze important processes. Key concepts covered include mass/energy balances, thermodynamics, kinetics, reactor analysis and separation units. Assessed concepts include equilibrium, combustion, kinetics and separation processes. Students will complete group projects analyzing assigned processes and present their findings. The course aims to provide both theoretical foundations and applications to relevant energy and environmental processes.

Uploaded by

Eliot Kh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction

Fundamentals of Chemical Processes for Energy and Environment


Energy Engineering – Politecnico di Milano
Prof. Alessandro Donazzi
alessandro.donazzi@polimi.it
Goals

Goal 1: learn the fundamental concepts of chemical engineering concerning the most important unit operations

involved in chemical processes for energy conversion and for environmental protection. These concepts

include:

• mass and energy balances on reacting and non-reacting systems

• thermodynamic chemical equilibria

• chemical kinetics and catalysis

• analysis of ideal reactors

• physical equilibria, separation and purification units.

Goal 2: demonstrate the application of the concepts outlined above to rationally analyze selected chemical

processes relevant to the Energy and Environmental sectors, which include the conversion of energy

feedstock to fuels, the production of hydrogen, the manufacture of synthetic fuels and the abatement of

combustion polluting emissions from stationary and mobile sources.


Goal 1: Theoretical Concepts

1. Theoretical concepts

• Mass and Energy Balances in Reacting Systems. Macroscopic mass and energy balances for reacting
systems. Adiabatic temperature. Applications to combustion processes.

• Chemical Thermodynamics. Gibbs free energy. Chemical equilibrium: equilibrium constant and
equilibrium composition. Applications to mass and energy balances in reactive processes.

• Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis. Rate of reaction. Kinetics of homogenous reaction mechanisms.
Introduction to catalysis. Classification and characteristics of industrial catalysts. The steps of a catalytic
reaction. Kinetics of catalytic reactions.

• Chemical Reactors. Ideal reactors: batch, PFR, CSTR. Industrial catalytic reactors: descriptions and
analysis.

• Unit Operations for Separation and Purification. Multicomponent vapor-liquid equilibria. Flash.
Fractionation of multicomponent mixtures by distillation.
Goal 2: Projects

2. Special part
The following topics will be assigned to the students for preparation of group seminars in view of the final
examination.

• Processing of energy feedstock. Coal: gasification, liquefaction. Natural gas: desulphurization,


anhydrification, valorization. Oil refining: atmospheric and vacuum distillation, catalytic cracking, catalytic
reforming, isomerization, hydrotreating.

• Processes for hydrogen production. Syngas production via steam reforming, autothermal reforming and
partial oxidation of hydrocarbons. Shift conversion of CO.

• Processes for the production of synthetic fuels and fuel additives. Methanol synthesis. Production of
octane boosters for gasoline: MTBE, higher alcohols. Synthetic diesel fuels from natural gas, coal and
biomass via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

• Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers. Solid Oxide Cells (SOC), Proton Exchange Membrane Cells (PEM).

• Processes for the abatement of polluting emissions in flue gases. Abatement of emissions from
mobile sources: exhausts aftertreatment systems for Diesel and lean gasoline engines.
Assessment of Goal 1

The written examination includes both solving numerical problems and answering to theoretical questions. The
problems deal with the four main quantitative topics covered by the course:

• Chemical reactive equilibria.


• Combustion chemistry.
• Chemical kinetics.
• Separation processes.

The numerical problems will require the students to apply and solve mass and energy conservation balances,
multiphase and multi-reaction thermodynamic equilibria, non-reactive liquid-vapor and liquid-liquid equilibria,
dynamic and steady state balances which involve catalytic and non-catalytic chemical kinetics. Target of the
problems is the quantitative estimation of the dimensions, the energy duty and the main performance
parameters of basic process units (reactors, flash tanks, mixers, heat exchangers, separation units). The exam
is closed book. The numerical problems require the use of Excel. No other software can be used during the
exam. The exam will be taken in a computerized teaching room and/or on remote on the appropriate platform.

The theoretical questions can focus on any subject treated in the course and require the capability of
demonstrating equations and applying concepts to non-numerical problems, with special attention to the
equations that govern the basics of thermodynamic equilibrium and reaction kinetics.
Assessment of Goal 2

Project: the students form groups of max. 4 components. Each group is assigned a topic listed in the Special
Part. For each topic, the group is required to analyze the general scheme, the plant and the main units, by
examination of reference sources. The students are expected to:

• understand the fundamental concepts and the operational sequences of the process
• individuate the principal units
• explain the units features.

The project results will be summarized in a group presentation and discussed with the professor in a question
time (January). Clarity of communication, synthesis and capability of analyzing the consequences of the
plant design choices are the key points for the project evaluation. The project will score up to +2 points with
respect to the score of the written test.

The full grade of the exam is the sum of the score of the written test and the score of the project. The project
score is accounted for exclusively when the written test score is sufficient (> 18) and will not be used to reach
an overall sufficient exam grade. The written exam cannot be taken if the project has not been completed.

Oral exams are optional and can be requested only when a sufficient full grade is achieved. In the oral exam,
questions concern the theoretical part of the course.
Organization

Lectures: registrations of the lessons, results of the problems and additional notes will be available on the

Beep website (https://beep.metid.polimi.it/). Copy the blackboard.

Exercises: bring your laptop, use Excel. No notes about the exercise solution will be present on Beep, only

the numerical results. No Excel spreadsheet will be uploaded.

Textbooks: no mandatory textbooks, no specific textbooks. The course topics are broadly covered in the

following textbooks:

• R.M. Felder, R.W. Rousseau, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 3rd Ed., Wiley, 2000.

• H. Scott Fogler, Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, 4th Ed., Prentice-Hall, 2005.

Project: the following sources for process analysis and plant layouts are found in the library:

• Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH.

• Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology.

• J.A. Moulijn, M. Makkee, A. Van Diepen, Chemical Process Technology, Wiley, 2001.
Process Scheme

Process: a set of operations designed to transform raw materials into desired products.

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