VOLUME XXIII • NUMBER 2 • SPRING 1989

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2 DAVIES _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.A Three-Stage Counter Current Leaching Rig

DOUGLAS, KIRKWOOD _ _ _ _ Design Education: Part 2 - Using Design Tools

HELFFERICH._ _ _ _ _ _Multiple Reaction Equilibria - With Paper and Pencil

HUDGINS, REILLY - - - - - ~ · D o Students Understand Experimental Error?

LANE_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Health, Safety, Environmental, and Ethical Issues

LAUKHUF, PLANK, WATTERS _ _ _ _Survey: General Education Requirements

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MALCATA _ _ _ _-CSTR's In Biochemical Reactions: Optimization Problem
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in McKEAN, HANZEVACK _ _ _ _ _ _The Engineer's Essential One-Page Memo
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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

with a donation of funds.

 EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS ADDRESS:
Chemical Engineering Education
Chemical Engineering Education VOLUME XXIII NUMBER 2 SPRING 1989
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
DEPARTMENT
5S Lehigh University, Hugo S. Caram, John C. Chen
EDITOR: Ray W. Fahien (904) 392-0857
ASSOCIATE EDITOR : T. J. Anderson EDUCATOR
CONSULTING EDITOR: Mack Tyner 64 Noel de Nevers of Utah, Vickie S. Jones
MANAGING EDITOR: Carole Yocum (904) 392-0861 RANDOM THOUGHTS
68 Meet Your Students: 1. Stan and Nathan,
PUBLICATIONS BOARD Richard M. Felder

•CHAIRMAN• CURRICULUM
Gary Poehlein 71') Incorporating Health, Safety, Environmental, and Ethical
Georgia Institute of Technology Issues into the Curriculum, Alan M. Lane

• PAST CHAIRMEN• 100 General Education Requirements and Chemical

Klaus D. Timmerhaus Engineering Curricula, Walden L. S. Laukhuf,
University of Colorado C. A. Plank, James C. Watters

Lee C. Eagleton 116 Heterogeneous Catalysis, R. Miranda

Pennsylvania State University
120 Design Education in Chemical Engineering: Part 2 -
• MEMBERS, Using Design Tools, J. M. Douglas, R. L. Kirkwood
South
Richard M. Felder CLASSROOM
North Carolina State University "IY> Multiple Reaction Equilibria-With Pencil and Paper: A
Class Problem on Coal Methanation,
Jack R. Hopper Friedrich G. Helfferich
Lamar University
82 An Alternative Approach to the Process Design Course,
Donald R. Paul Mark J. McCready
University of Texas
1m The Heart of the Matter: The Engineer's Essential One-Page
James Fair Memo, Rob Adams McKean, Emil L. Hanzevack
University of Texas
LABORATORY
Central 86 A Laboratory Experiment on Combined Mass Transfer and
J. S. Dranoff Kinetics, Stuart A. Sanders, Jude T. Sommerfeld
Northwestern University
92 Do Student Chemical Engineers Understand Experimental
West Error? R. R . Hudgins, P. M. Reilly
Frederick H. Shair
California Institute of Technology 96 A Three-Stage Counter Current Leaching Rig for the Senior
Laboratory, Wayne A. Davies
Alexis T. Bell
STIRRED POTS
University of California, Berkeley
100 The ChEGSA Symposium: A Continuing Tradition at
Carnegie Mellon University,
~
Angelo J. Perna Ajay K. Modi, Paul T. Bowman
New Jersey Institute of Technology CLASS AND HOME PROBLEMS
112 CSTR's in Biochemical Reactions: An Optimization
Stuart W. Churchill Problem, F. Xavier Malcata
University of Pennsylvania
75 Letter to the Editor
Raymond Baddour 111 Positions Available
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 67,91 BookReviews
Northwest 12.8 Books Received
Charles Sleicher
University of Washington
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION ( ISSN 0009-/!479) is published quarterly by Chemical
Canada Engimering Division, American Socwty for Engineering Education and is edited at the University of
Leslie W. Shemilt Florida. Correspondence regarding editorial matter, circulation, and changes of address should be sent to
GEE , Chemical Engineering Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Advertising mate-
McMaster University rial may be sent directly to E. 0 . Painter Printing Co. , P. 0. Box 877, DeLeon Springs, FL 32028. Copyright
C 1989 by the Chemical Engineerin~ Division, American Society for Engineering Education. The statements
and opinions expressed in this penodical are t hose of t he writers and not necessarily those of the ChE
Library Representative Division, ASEE, which body assumes no responsibility for them. Defective copies replaced if notified with
Thomas W. Weber 120 days of_publication. Write for information on subscription costs and for back copy cost and availability.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GEE, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Florida,
State University of New York Gainesville, FL 32611.

SPRING 1989 57
Jiff • department

New home of Chemical Engineering Department a t Mountaintop Campus.

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY
HUGO S. CARAM, JOHN C. CHEN
Lehigh University plines. The University takes pride in its highly com-
Bethlehem, PA 18015-4791 petitive curricula in science and technology, the arts
and humanities, and business and economics. Current
HE CHEMICAL engineering program at Lehigh enrollment is approximately 4,300 undergraduate and
T started in 1907 and followed the growth of Lehigh
University from a small undergraduate school to its
2,000 graduate students. The Chemical Engineering
Department has the largest graduate program of any
current research university status. The department single department at the University and accounts for
has been characterized by a creative and personalized approximately one out of every five PhD degrees
approach to undergraduate education, complemented granted by Lehigh.
by steady growth of its graduate and research ac- Lehigh University's educational philosophy is
tivities. It is currently among the larger chemical en- based on the premise that preparation for successful
gineering departments in the U.S., with 22 faculty living must combine the acquisition of knowledge and
members, approximately 150 undergraduate stu- skills necessary to the profession with the develop-
dents, 95 resident graduate students, and 30 part-time ment of humanistic values and ethics that enrich per-
graduate students. In the past three years the depart- sonal life. Thus, the University's emphasis for a liberal
ment has graduated an average of forty BS, twenty- education combines the professional with the cultural,
five MS, and fourteen PhD students per year. the practical with the ideal, and the functional with
Founded in 1865, Lehigh University is an inde- the esthetic.
pendent, co-educational institution dedicated to the The University is located in the city of Bethlehem,
advancement of knowledge in a wide range of disci- in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania. The
© Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989

58 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

area, with a population of half a million, supports a higher value-added products, concerns with quality
significant cultural life of its own as well as offering and safety, and intense competitiveness in develop-
easy access to the metropolitan environments of New ment and production. Our response as an academic
York and Philadelphia, and to the outdoor recreational department was to
opportunities of the Pocono Mountains, the Delaware
River Basin, and the New Jersey Shore. • Affirm the importance of fundamentals in science,
The University is situated on three adjoining cam- mathematics, and engineering basics for both under-
puses covering 1,500 acres of South Mountain and the graduate and graduate curricula
neighboring valleys. The Chemical Engineering De- • Nurture and develop students' "intellectual nimbleness,"
partment is now based in the Tower Building of the the ability to define problems, apply critical faculties, op-
timize solutions, integrate knowledge from multiple discip-
new Mountaintop Campus, a beautiful 700 acre site lines and work effectively in interpersonal relationships
along the summit of South Mountain.
• Develop the very best research capabilities of international
stature in a few selected areas of chemical engineering.
THE WAY WE WERE

Chemical engineering at Lehigh University In pursuit of the above goals, the following initia-
started as a program in the Department of Chemistry, tives were taken.
and the first chemical engineering degree was
awarded in 1907. By the early 1930's, some twenty to Along with the entire profession, our department
thirty Bachelor degrees and three to four Masters de- has undergone intense self-scrutiny and clarification
grees were being awarded each year in chemical en- of objectives in the past six years ... triggered
gineering. Distinguished faculty of the 1940's included by ... [the challenge] of rapid technical developments,
the variety of products and applications ... emphasis on
Darrell Mack, Vincent Uhl, and Harvey Neville. 1952 higher value-added products, concerns with quality
marked the beginning of the "new" program at and safety ... competitiveness in development ...
Lehigh. In that year chemical engineering was for-
mally recognized as an independent academic depart-
ment, and Leonard A. Wenzel and Alan S. Foust Undergraduate curriculum • A better-integ-
joined the faculty, the latter to serve as its first chair- rated curriculum has been instituted which more effi-
man. In short order, Curtis W. Clump, Bryce Ander- ciently covers the fundamentals of chemistry, physics,
son, and Louis Maus also joined the department and natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering sci-
together with Foust and Wenzel began building the ence, with room for a substantial amount of elective
modern department of today. That effort included options.
writing of the classic textbook Principles of Unit Op-
erations. In 1962, Leonard Wenzel became chairman Laboratory Instruction • The old "unit operations
and oversaw the move of the department to the new laboratory" had lost favor in the 60's and 70's for many
Whitaker Laboratory Building in 1965. By the time departments across the country. The importance of
Len left the chairmanship in 1983, the department had hands-on laboratory experience in an engineering con-
won a place among the well-regarded chemical en- text was reaffirmed, and we have just completed a
gineering programs in the country, graduating some four-year development effort, at a cost of over $1 mil-
sixty BS, twenty-eight MS, and two PhD's per year. lion, to enhance both the physical facilities and the
John C. Chen assumed the chairmanship in 1983 and, instructional content of our undergraduate process en-
with the current faculty, has continued to pursue en- gineering laboratories. The fifteen new experiments
hanced quality in both the educational and research provide students with experience in both classical
programs of the department. technology (heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics,
distillation, etc.) as well as some of the advanced
technologies (membrane separation, digital process
RECENT INITIATIVES
control, bioengineering, etc.).
Along with the entire profession, our department
has undergone intense self-scrutiny and clarification Undergraduate Research • With sponsorship by
of objectives in the past six years. This was triggered an educational foundation and a dozen companies, a
by a realization that today chemical engineering is new program called Opportunity for Student Innova-
challenged by rapid technical developments, a great tion (OSI) was started in 1987. Teams of senior stu-
variety of products and applications, emphasis on dents work with faculty advisors and industrial men-

SPRING 1989 59
 tors on research projects that arise from real needs of tivity is promoted by the Emulsion Polymers Insti-
the industrial companies. This attempt to foster the tute, co-directed by John Vanderhoff and Mohamed
students' critical faculty for problem definition and El-Aasser. Currently active projects pursue the prep-
solution has generated enthusiastic interest and active aration of special monosize polymer particles, the mor-
participation by students, faculty, and industrial phology of composite polymer particles, the kinetics,
partners. transport phenomena, and modeling of emulsion
polymerization processes, the absorption of various
New Facilities • Having outgrown its home of molecules on surface of latex particles, and the
twenty years in Whitaker Laboratory, the depart- phenomena of copolymerization and inverse emulsion
ment was moved to the newly acquired Mountaintop polymerization. The research activity in polymer col-
Campus in the Summer of 1988. Offices, classrooms, loids is strongly supported by an industrial consortium
seminar rooms, and laboratories are all integrated ir of over fifty companies. Research on polymer mater-
the 200,000 square feet Tower Building. An additional ials has concentrated on multicomponent polymers.
10,000 square feet of engineering laboratory space is Specific projects have studied interpenetrating net-
also available to chemical engineering in a neighboring work composites, neutron scattering characterization
pilot-plant building. For the first time in two decades, techniques, block copolymers, and the engineering
properties of polymeric materials.
Research in process modeling and control has the
Teams of senior students work with faculty
advisors and industrial mentors on research projects objective of using advanced computer science to de-
that arise from real needs of the industrial companies ... velop novel approaches for dynamic modeling, simula-
This ... has generated enthusiastic interest and active tion, and control of industrial chemical processes. Ac-
participation by students, faculty, and industry ... tive projects include the modeling and control of batch
reactors, the design of nonlinear and multivariable
nearly all of the chemical engineering faculty and their control structures, the design and control of energy-
research programs are located together at a single conserving distillation systems, the development of
site. Campus-wide communications were also signifi- improved numerical integration methods, the use of
cantly enhanced by a fiber-optic computer network. artificial intelligence in process control, and the appli-
cation of statistical control schemes. Activities in this
RESEARCH area are organized in a Center for Process Modeling
Research is the heart of our department's graduate and Control, co-directed by Christos Georgakis and
activity. With the intention of concentrating in William Luyben, and are supported by an industrial
selected areas, the faculty has developed focused consortium of a dozen companies.
thrusts in bioprocessing, polymer science and en- While technical specializations are highly varied
gineering, process modeling and control, and multi- within the multi-phase processing research activity,
phase processing. Approximately a quarter of the fac- the common theme is concern with interfacial
ulty members are involved in each of these four areas. phenomena as found in multiphase systems. Faculty
The research in bioprocessing is focused on the op- interests reflect the wide range of industrial processes
erations required for manufacture and isolation of dependent upon multiphase processing technology.
biological products. Faculty and students are cur- Active projects include the studies of plasma etching
rently investigating the fundamental kinetics of micro- of semiconductor materials, heterogeneous catalysts
bial, enzyme, and mammalian cell systems, the design for production of synthetic fuels, laser Raman spec-
and scale up ofbioreactors, the development of on-line troscopy to characterize surface oxides on substrates
instrumentation, and novel separation/purification for improved catalysts, phase equilibria of multicom-
schemes for recovery of biologically active species. ponent fluid mixtures, fluid mechanics of spouted beds
These activities are coordinated through the BioPro- and the flow of granular materials, fluid mechanics
, cessing Institute, directed by Janice A. Phillips, as a and heat transfer in both bubbling and circulating
part of Lehigh University's Center for Molecular Bio- fluidized beds, and multicomponent evaporation and
sciences and Biotechnology, directed by Arthur E. condensation. Much of the research is coordinated
Humphrey. through the Institute of Thermo-Fluid Engineering,
The polymer program at Lehigh is an interdis- the Zettlemoyer Center for Surface Science, and the
ciplinary activity pursuing research in polymer col- Energy Research Center.
loids and polymer materials. The polymer colloids ac- Due partly to the department's selective focus in

60 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 ~ Professor Fred Stein and
a graduate student measure
VLE of flu id mixtures.

't Professor Christos Georgakis

confets with a group of grad-
uate students.

tProfessor John C. Chen

Department Chairman.

• Professor Hugo S. Caram

inspects the research appa-
ratus of a graduate student.

the above four research areas, we are enjoying a major administrative responsibilities. In 1962 Len be-
period of growth and effervescent enthusiasm. Since came chairman of the department and held that posi-
1983, research funding has grown at an average an- tion for twenty-one years. Curt took on the respon-
nual rate of over 30%, resulting in a research budget sibilities of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Educa-
of $3 million per year. The department's graduate edu- tion in the College of Engineering over the period of
cational program has seen a shift from the MS towards 1975 to 1988. Both retired as distinguished emeritus
the PhD program. In a five-year span, the fraction of professors but remain active in the department.
resident students studying for the doctoral degree has The sixties brought additional new blood, with two
increased from 30% to 70%, and the average number former Lehigh undergraduates joining the depart-
of PhD degrees granted per year has increased from ment. William E. Schiesser came in 1960, followed
4 to 14, ranking us, on this basis, among the top ten by Fred P. Stein in 1963. Bill (now the R. L Mc Cann
departments in the U.S. Professor) obtained his PhD at Princeton under the
late Leon Lapidus and brought with him an interest
THE FACULTY
in numerical analysis and computer methods that has
In the spring of 1989 the department faculty con- continued unabated to this day. Fred came from
sists of sixteen full-time faculty, three faculty with graduate work at the University of Michigan and
joint appointments (with other departments), two ac- brought an abiding interest in thermodynamics. In ad-
tive emeritus professors, and one adjunct faculty. dition to the substantial responsibility of being the
What follows is a brief introduction to each of our associate chairman, Fred is now extending his work
colleagues, in the chronological order of their joining on thermodynamics into state equations for electro-
the Lehigh staff. lytes, reactive solution theory, and the effects of ther-
First on the scene were Leonard A. Wenzel and modynamic data uncertainty on process design.
Curtis W. Clump, who came from the University of Leslie H. Sperling and William L. Luyben came
Michigan and Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1951 from Duke and Delaware, respectively, via Buckeye
and 1954, respectively. Along with Alan Foust, Curt Cellulose Co. and Dupont, in 1967. The mechanical
and Len were instrumental in laying the foundation properties of polymers and composites are Les's core
for our department of today. In addition to their own research interest. He applies his results to interpene-
teaching and research efforts, each came to assume trating polymer networks, sound and vibration damp-

SPRING 1989 61
ening, and to novel adhesives and binders. This is biotech-biomed areas.
explored at the molecular level with such techniques The late seventies brought Hugo S. Caram (1977),
as neutron scattering. Bill brought process control to Cesar A. Silebi (1978), and Andrew Klein (1979).
Lehigh. He has been extremely active in the analysis Hugo was the first Minnesota PhD (studied under
of distillation processes and has added to the sophisti- Amundson) to join the department. With an initial in-
cated technology of what is currently the dominant terest in reactor analysis, he has now moved to study
separation technique in the chemical industry. Bill has the flow of fluidized and granular media. Flow visuali-
written a well-recognized process control textboo1 zation and fiber optic probes are some of the tools in
and more recently, in collaboration with Len Wenzel, these systems. Cesar is the only Lehigh PhD on our
a sophomore text reflecting their personal philosophy faculty. He has expanded the work he started under
on undergraduate teaching. Les has also just pub- developed and expanded the work he started under
lished a book on composites, reflecting the state of the Anthony McHugh (now at the University of Illinois,
art in this exciting field. Urbana) on the separation of colloidal particles using
Marvin Charles had completed his PhD research hydrodynamic chromatography and on the rheology
in rheology at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute when and coagulation of colloidal suspensions. Cesar's
he came in 1970. He joined forces with Bob Coughlin, basic research on separation and dispersion
now at Connecticut, and developed what would be the mechanisms has generated new analytical methods
initial roots of the biotechnology effort at Lehigh. that are now used commercially. Andy, who did his
While maintaining a New Yorker's attitude, Marvin doctoral work at North Carolina State, left research
worries, in his words, about "identifying problems in- at GAF for Lehigh. Andy's research interests are in
hibiting development and scale up of bioprocesses and the morphology of emulsion polymers and scale up of
solving them by understanding the basic biochemical mixing processes in colloidal systems. He is also in-
and engineering concepts." volved in the study of membranes with reduced gas
John C. Chen, our current department chairman, permeability.
left a successful career at Brookhaven National Labs Rapid changes took place in the eighties. Arthur
to join the Mechanical Engineering Department in E. Humphrey and Janice A. Phillips came in 1980
1970. John came to this department in 1980 as the from the University of Pennsylvania. Art, a former
Carl R. Anderson Professor of Chemical Engineering. student of Elmer Gaden at Columbia and Dean of En-
His original interests in heat transfer, started at gineering at Penn, became Lehigh's provost. A
Michigan where he worked under S.W. Churchill, member of the National Academy of Engineering, he
have cut a wide swath in radiation and multiphase pioneered the field of biochemical engineering with
processes. He has maintained a core activity in con- his well-known textbook, written with Aiba, being one
vective boiling, but heat transfer in circulating and of the first to link traditional fermentation technology
bubbling fluidized beds and the cooling of electronic with modern chemical engineering science. Having re-
circuits are also a significant part of his current in- turned full time to the department as the T.L. Dia-
terests. John's research contributions have been rec- mond Professor of Chemical Engineering, Art now
ognized by both the AIChE and the ASME , with the leads the Center of Molecular Biology and Biotechnol-
Melville Medal and the Kern Award, respectively. ogy. Art is interested in the "basics": fermenta-
Mohamed S. El-Aasser studied under Stan Mason tion modeling, monitoring and control, the new plas-
at McGill and came to Lehigh in 1970. Together with mid stability and plant cell culture; and in the
John Vanderhoff and Gary Poehlein, now at Georgia "applied": waste water treatment and waste utiliza-
Tech, Mohamed was instrumental in the development tion. Students should be aware that graduate work
of the Emulsion Polymers Institute and is currently with Art includes strenuous hiking about his mountain
its co-director. He is concerned with the formation, retreat in northern Pennsylvania. Janice, an avid run-
stability, and polymerization of mini-emulsions and ner and a former student of Art Humphrey at Penn,
the morphology of composite latex particles. With his coordinates the graduate activities of the department
co-workers, Mohamed was involved in the preparation and directs the Bioprocessing Institute. Her three key
of large monodisperse latex particles in the micrograv- research areas are the use of Fourier Transform In-
ity environment of the space shuttle. More recently frared Spectroscopy for continuous monitoring of fer-
he has become interested in the surface modification mentations, the chemical engineering of mammalian
of latexes and their new intriguing applications in the cell technology, and enzyme engineering. The FTIR

62 C HEMICAL ENGINEERING EDU CATION

work requires the use of statistical methods to extract
information on concentration of the desired compo- The only certa inty about the fu ture is that it will be
nents against the noisy backdrop provided by the cha lleng ing ... our emphasis on the fundamentals of
water spectrum. The mammalian cell work studies the education, combined w ith opportunities to experience
a ppl ied eng ineering as w e ll as innovative research,
environmental factors controlling the productivity of
will be of long-l asting benefit to our students.
mammalian cell cultures. Janice is not only an active
research scientist (PYI awardee), but also an excel-
lent teacher, receiving the university's Robinson
Award in 1983. chromatographic methods. More recently Jim has also
While Matthew J. Reilly's main activities are in become involved in vaccine technology. Israel brings
t he development of research programs at the univer- into the department the tools of modern surface sci-
sity level, he actively participates in the teaching of ence. After PhD work under Robert Maddix at Stan-
undergraduate design courses and assists in the ford, he joined Exxon Research before coming to
supervision of graduate students in process modeling. Lehigh in 1987. He has used, among other techniques,
A student of Roger Schmitz at Illinois, and a former Raman spectra to elucidate the character of surface
faculty member at Carnegie-Mellon, Matt occupied oxides on substrates that are finding increasing appli-
several positions with the National Academy of En- cations for metal oxide catalysts, ceramic materials,
gineering and the federal energy research program pigments, and electronic devices.
before coming to Lehigh in 1982. Important contributions to the depatmental oper-
ations are made also by Phillip A. Blythe and Eric
Christos Georgakis, another Minnesota student
P. Salathe, who hold joint appointments in mechani-
(having studied with Aris-Amundson) joined the de-
cal engineering and mathematics, respectively. Phillip
partment in 1983. His research interests in process
works in diffusion and reaction and in the fluid
control synergized with Bill Luyben's and blossomed
mechanics of melts used in the production of semicon-
into an University-Industry NSF Research Center for
ductor devices. Eric is interested in microcirculation
Process Modeling and Control. For all of the industrial
and in biomechanics. We could not close this descrip-
support, Christos' research remains thoroughly basic.
tion without mentioning William R. Hencke. Bill was
He is interested in nonlinear and multivariable control
associate laboratory director at Texaco and his experi-
and in the more exploratory tendency and expert con-
ence has been invaluable in the modernization of the
trol. Less traditional projects involve plant-wide con-
Unit Operations Laboratory, the teaching of the pro-
trol and statistical quality control in chemical proces-
fessional development courses, and in the advising of
ses.
both graduate and undergraduate students.
Harvey G. Stenger studied under Charles Satter-
field at MIT and joined Lehigh in 1984. Harvey's in-
THE FUTURE
terests are in reaction engineering. He is working on
a variety of heterogeneous reacting systems, includ- The only certainty about the future is that it will
ing the processing of electronic materials, the use of be challenging, both for our students and for our fac-
layered catalysts for NOx and sulfur removal in com- ulty. We feel that our emphasis on the fundamentals
bustion gases, and the modeling of food processes such of education, combined with opportunities to experi-
as the semibatch alkalinization of cacao products. Har- ence applied engineering as well as innovative re-
vey was given Lehigh's Robinson Award as the out- search, will be of long-lasting benefit to our students,
standing teacher in 1988 and currently chairs the de- both graduate and undergraduate. We think that the
partment's Undergraduate Affairs Committee. Last, four areas of research selected for special attention by
but not least, he contributes a solid batting average the faculty (polymers, biotechnology, multi-phase pro-
to the departmental softball team. cessing, and process modeling/control) are among the
The last three years have seen the addition of most significant and fertile in the broad spectrum of
James T. Hsu and Israel E. Wachs. Jim had exten- chemical engineering. Above all, we are convinced
sive industrial experience in separations and catalysis that the attention paid to engineering science will per-
and after doctoral work with Joshua Dranoff at North- mit our department to respond to evolving technolog-
western, came to Lehigh from Gulf Research and the ical challenges. As a department our collective objec-
NSF in 1986. His current research on bioseparations tive is to give our students the very best possible edu-
concentrates on the use of aqueous two-phase polymer cation and to contribute significantly to the advance-
systems, and on selective precipitation and ment of chemical engineering science and practice. D

SPRING 1989 63
[•nN educator

NOEL DE NEVERS
OF UTAH

VICKIE S. JONES
University of Utah states, "Two monologues do not make a dialogue."
Salt Lake City, UT 48112 Noel obtained his BS in chemical engineering in
1954 at Stanford University. Why chemical engineer-
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING professor a "Poet ing? Two of his uncles were engineers-one a civil
A Laureate of Jell-0"? Indeed! Witness the follow- engineer and one an electrical engineer. Noel was fas-
cinated by engineering but was also very interested
ing:
in chemistry. In looking through the general catalog
The skinny young lady said "Hello!,
for Stanford, he discovered the field of chemical en-
I'll fill my brassiere up with Jell-0! gineering and figured it could be a good combination
The jiggle and shake of those two interests. Noel, although very serious
Will certainly make about his studies, was moderately active in student
A lure for some gullible fellow!" affairs at Stanford, including one year as associate
editor of the humor magazine, The Chaparral.
Although most of Noel de Nevers' writing is seri- Noel met Klara Nancy (Klancy) Clark there at
ous and related mainly to chemical engineering, he Stanford when they were both undergraduates work-
recently made an exception. His children dared him ing as "hashers" in the dormitories. Klancy changed
to enter a contest for the title "Poet Laureate of Jell- her name from Klara Nancy to Klancy when shear-
0" at the Last Annual Jell-0 Salad Festival (Jell-0 is rived on campus and discovered there were already
very big in Utah), sponsored by the Utah Holiday three other Nancy Clarks there, and she would have
Magazine; he went along with them and won with been No. 4 (Klara was a family name which she never
three limericks and a quatrain. The above is the best used). They were married in 1955 and subsequently
of the limericks. He also has three "de Nevers' laws" produced three offspring: Their son Clark is a chemi-
in the most recent Murphy's Laws compilation, of cal engineer working for Hercules, Inc., making roc-
which the best is "de Nevers' law of debate" which ket motors for intercontinental ballistic missiles; one
© Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989 daughter, Renee, is finishing the PhD program at Col-

64 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

umbia University, seeking a career in arms control it is now.
and disarmament (those two cover both sides of the In 1954 and 1955, Noel had an opportunity to ob-
street!); their other daughter, Nanette, is a senior serve that civilization does exist beyond the Sierra; he
computer systems analyst for Burroughs/UNISYS. journeyed to Germany to study as a Fulbright ex-
Klancy has an MS degree in mathematics and works change student at the Technical Institute in
for Project Technology Inc., teaching computer Karlsruhe. Since he elected to hitchhike from San
software design. Francisco to New York (after a brief stop in Aber-
Noel and Klancy like to travel, and if they were to deen, Washington, to bid a temporary farewell to the
win a lottery that made them rich, the biggest change girlfriend who later became his wife), Noel saw A
in their lifestyle would be that they would take more, LOT of the United States. He further discovered that
longer, and more exotic vacation trips. Now that they there is civilization even in the Mid-West as a
are through paying for their childrens' educations, graduate student at the University of Michigan from
they do manage to take vacations to out-of-the-way
spots. They have trekked in the Himalayas, the
Andes, the Swiss and French Alps, and most recently
the Dolomites. In the past few years, Noel has
climbed Mt. Kilamanjaro and the Grand Teton. He
also enjoys hiking locally; he regularly leads hiking
trips for the Wasatch Mountain Club and the Salt
Lake Chapter of the Sierra Club. He has hiked exten-
sively in the nearby mountain areas-the Uintahs,
Wind Rivers, and Wasatch ranges-and in the deserts
of Southern Utah. One of the laws which Noel has
submitted for the next edition of Murphy's Laws is
"de Nevers' law of trail finding" which states, ''When
you come to an unmarked trail fork, the most heavily
travelled fork is the dead end. Everyone who went
that way had to come back!" Noel, entering into the spirit of things in Chincheros,
Noel is also a regular tennis player and skier. He Peru.
feels he is mediocre in these sports, but that does not
prevent him from enjoying them. ("On a scale of 1 to 1955 to 1958 where he received the MS and PhD in
10, my tennis is about 3; 3s can have a lot of fun and chemical engineering under the supervision of the late
get a lot of exercise playing other 3s.") Each spring Professor Joseph Martin.
Noel and Lamont Tyler, the department chairman, In 1958, Noel returned to the Bay Area and
challenge the senior class to a tennis match-not the worked for the research subsidiary of what is now the
whole class, but two or four of the students who be- Chevron Oil Company (then Standard Oil Co. of
lieve themselves good enough to beat the "old guys." California) in process development, process design,
Over the last ten years, the fearsome duo of de Nevers and secondary recovery of petroleum, at Richmond
and Tyler has beaten the students nine times. The and in La Habra, California, until 1963.
students insist that in spite of their receiving the "Let- In 1963, Noel felt the time was ripe to make the
the-Old-Men-Win-or-We'll-Never-Graduate" or "Old- move to academia. The only academic opening in
Age-and-Treachery-Will-Overcome-Y outh-and-Skill" chemical engineering in the Western US (where Noel
award at the senior luncheon in the spring, they do and Klancy preferred to remain) was at Utah, so he
give the tennis match their best shot. applied, and in the fall of 1963, he became a faculty
Noel was born and raised in San Francisco and member at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
lived in the Bay Area (except for his years at school) Except for three summers and one year on leave, Noel
until he was thirty. He was raised to believe that has been a full-time faculty member in the department
civilization extended from the Golden Gate to the crest ever since, making the normal progression from Assis-
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains; after that, all was tant to Associate to Full Professor. For two years he
void and waste until one got to Paris. Noel does not was the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering.
like to visit San Francisco these days because he re- That stint as Associate Dean proved to be an effective
members how beautiful the Bay Area was when he immunization against further academic administra-
was growing up and the population was a third of what tion; Noel finds the life of a non-administering profes-

SPRING 1989 65
 One of the laws which Noel has subm itted for the next edition of Murphy's Laws is "de Nevers' Law
of trail fi nding" wh ich states, "When you come to an unmarked tra il fork, the most heavily
travelled fork is the dead end . Everyone who went that way had to come back!,,

sor more enjoyable and rewarding than that of an terests are in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and
academic administrator. process safety and accident investigations. He has au-
In the summer of 1964 he worked at the Atomic thored two widely used textbooks, Fluid Mechanics
Energy site (officially "National Reactor Testing Sta- and Technology and Society, and has prepared widely
tion") west of Idaho Falls, Idaho, doing research on used teaching films entitled Phase Behavior. In addi-
technical problems concerned with reprocessing of tion to his academic work, he is regularly involved in
spent nuclear reactor fuels. And in the summer of 1968 environmental regulation, and in 1988 he served on a
he worked at a US Army research lab in Washington, Utah Legislative Hazardous Waste Task Force.
D.C., on a special weapons problem (apparently still In the summer of 1974, Noel was awarded a Ful-
classified). bright faculty fellowship to teach air pollution at the
In the spring of 1971, for various reasons, Noel Universidad del Valle, in Cali, Colombia. He and his
t hought it was a good time for him and his family to family drove from Salt Lake City to Panama (which
get away for a year. He thought he had a Fulbright one would have a hard time doing now) in a 1969
lined up, but it fell through at the last minute. So he Dodge station wagon, which was then shipped to Co-
wrote to all sorts of people looking for a one-year job. lombia where they travelled as widely as they could.
One of his letters found its way to the Air Pollution He developed his Spanish to a level at which he could
Technical Office of the EPA in Durham, NC. Noel give suitable lectures in Spanish. The host diplomati-
later found out that they had a long debate on the cally said those lectures were "understandable, if not
topic, "Question: Can you get any useful work out of grammatical." The de Nevers' family was able to
a pr ofessor?" They concluded that the answer was travel a great deal while Noel lectured, and Klancy
"No." But they were against their manpower ceiling learned to act dumb (to lapse into garbled "Spanglish")
(although not their budget ceiling) so if they hired him when asked for the appropriate papers on the car be-
as a one-year temporary employee, it would help them cause they had been dated incorrectly upon their ar-
spend their budget so they could get more money next rival in Cali.
year, which is absolutely necessary for federal bureau-
crats. The folks at EPA rationalized that even if Noel
OPINIONS ON "PROFESSORSHIP"
just sat in a corner and twiddled his thumbs for the
year, they were better off than if he didn't come and Noel feels that the permanent challenge in the profes-
they had to turn back, unspent, the equivalent of his sor business is to be broad without being shallow, and
salar y. to be deep without being narrow. The ideal professor
When Noel arrived at EPA, they had little idea of should be broad, but quite deep, in one or two areas.
what to do with a professor, so they indeed sat him in Compared to the ideal, he feels he is broader than
a corner with some reports to read. However, when most but maybe not deep enough in specific technical
t he boss asked him a simple technical question and areas, although his current consulting and research
Noel replied with a two-page memo with the answer, work in propane fires and explosions is making him
t he boss was electrified: "Professors write memos!" quite deep in that area.
In t he Federal Government, memos are important. Noel is considered an unconventional teacher; ifhe
So for the rest of the year, when something came in had his way, lectures would be banished outright from
the door t hat no one had any idea what to do about, universities. He never lectures if he can help it. "Lec-
they said, "Noel, write a position paper on this. " It turing is a sop to the ego of the faculty and the laziness
was an exceedingly interesting and stimulating year of the student. If I were dictator, I would forbid it
in which he delved into a wide variety of subtopics in outright and fire any faculty member who regularly
air pollution. Subsequently, he has written and con- did it." Putting five hundred freshmen in an au-
sulted on air pollution topics and has served for twelve ditorium and having some professor tell them what it
years on Utah's state air pollution control board (offi- says in the textbook is very inexpensive, but poor
cially, the "Utah State Air Conservation Commit- education, according to Noel's philosophy. "The best
tee"). thing we can do for the students is to help them be-
In addition to air pollution, Noel's research in- come self-teachers and lifelong learners." The best

66 CHEMICAL E NGINEERING EDUCATION

way to do that, he feels, is to tell them to read the trist," which in Utah passes for liberal. He regularly
book and then to pose questions or problems based on wins election bets because most of his colleagues and
that reading and discuss them in class. This allows the friends are not as interested in politics as he is, and
students to do their own intellectual work instead of they will bet on what they think ought to happen,
relying on the faculty to do it for them. It is easy to against what Noel thinks will happen. "When Noel
teach that way in small engineering classes. serves on the University Senate, we can rest assured
In Noel's courses, the class hour begins with sev- that the opinions of the College of Engineering will be
eral students writing on the board their solutions to heard." He is not one to sit quietly and let things slide
the assigned homework problems, and the rest of the by.
class period consists of a discussion of those solutions. Of himself, Noel says: "I have, alas, passed the
When some of the students try unsuccessfully to work age at which I can be considered a child prodigy, or
the problems, there are lots of questions, and through even a promising young man. Two years ago, in the
the discussion they find out why they had trouble. If middle of a University budget crisis, a special commit-
the students can all work the assigned problems, then tee was elected to represent the interests of the entire
Noel changes the problems to more difficult ones and University faculty. By a coin toss following a tie vote,
sees if the students can figure them out on the spot. I became its chairman. It seems clear that my col-
It is harder to use this ("Socratic") procedure in leagues consider me an elder statesman. I still don't
humanities and harder with big classes, but, in Noel's think of myself that way." D
opinion, it can be done. "It is like the ancient Chinese
proverb, 'If you give a man a fish, you have given him
a meal. If you teach him how to fish, you have given
him a way to get his meals for the rest of his life.' IIDN book reviews
Making students into self-teachers is like teaching
them to fish. SCJENCE, ENGINEERING, AND ETHICS: State
"I believe that learning is an active process. One of the Art and Future Directions
Report on a AAAS Workshop and Symposium, (February 1988)
more ancient Chinese proverb (why are proverbs al- Mark S. Frankel, Editor
ways ancient Chinese? Are we not making up any new American Association for the Advancement of Science,
proverbs today?): 'Tell me, and I will forget. Show Washington, DC (1988)
me, and I will remember. Involve me, and I will un-
derstand.' Reviewed by
"Similarly, I think that learning goes on in the fol- Mark E. Orazem
lowing way: 'From the known to the unknown, from University of Florida
the simple to the complex, one step at a time.' I heard
that in a course for ski instructors, but I think it There is a growing awareness in our profession of
applies equally well to learning engineering or any- the need to expose students to the types of ethical or
thing else.'' moral decisions that they may face as professional engi-
neers. Our approach to introducing ethics at the Univer-
COLLEAGUES sity of Florida has been to make use of a series of case
studies published in Chemical Engineering.• We are al-
"Noel is a big-city guy who fell in love with the ways on the lookout for new material, and for this reason
great outdoors," says one of his colleagues. Others I agreed to review this report on an AAAS workshop on
consider him the designated traveler for the depart- ethics.
ment. Shortly after returning from his excursions, This book provides a report of a workshop, sup-
Noel prepares a slide presentation to share with in- ported by the National Science Foundation, held on the
terested persons who can then experience his travels Continued on page 74 .
vicariously. The slides are generally very good and • •Philip M. Kohn and Roy V. Hughson, "Perplexing Prob-
the narrative always lively. If he is interested in a lems in Engineering Ethics," Chemical Engineering, May 5,
particular subject, in any of several fields , i.e., travel, 1980; 97
history, geography, religion, he endeavors to learn •Roy V. Hughson and Philip M. Kohn, "Ethics," Chemical
Engineering, September 22, 1980; 132
enough about it to be conversant, if not an expert, on •J ay Matley and Richard Greene, "Ethics of Health, Safety,
the subject. Noel also keeps well informed on politics. and Environment: What's 'Right'?" Chemical Engineering,
Utah is practically a small city-state so that anyone March 2, 1987; 40
•Jay Matley, Richard Greene, and Celeste McCauley, "Health,
interested in politics can easily get to know all the Safety, and Environment: CE Readers Say What's 'Right',"
elected and party officials. His politics are about "cen- Chemical Engineering, September 28, 1987; 108

SPRING 1989 67
Random Thoughts . ..

MEET YOUR STUDENTS

1. Stan and Nathan

RICHARD M. FELDER
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
Richard M. Felder is a professor of ChE at
N .C. State, where he has been since 1969. He
TAN AND NATHAN are juniors in chemical en- received his BChE at City College of C.U.N.Y.

S gineering and roommates at a large midwestern

university. They are similar in many ways. Both enjoy
and his PhD from Princeton . He has worked at
the A.E.R.E ., Harwell, and Brookhaven Na-
tional Laboratory, and has presented courses
on chemical engineering principles, reactor
partying, midnight pizza runs, listening to rock, and design, process optimization , and radioisotope
watching TV. Both did well in science and math in applications to va rious American and foreign
industries and institutions. He is coauthor of
high school, although Nathan's grades were consis- the text Elementary Princip les of Chemical
tently higher. Both found their mass and energy bal- Processes (Wiley, 1986).
ance course tough (although they agree the text was
superb), thermodynamics incomprehensible, English
boring, and other humanities courses useless. Both detailed derivations or homework assignments he al-
have girl friends who occasionally accuse them of ready understands he gets bored and his attention
being "too logical." wanders.
For all their similarities, however, they are funda- When Stan takes a test he reads the first problem,
mentally different. If single words were chosen to de- reads it again, and if the test is open-book tries to find
scribe each of them, Stan's would be "practical" and an identical worked-out problem and copy the solu-
Nathan's would be "scholarly" (or "spacy," depending tion. If he can't find one, he searches for suitable for-
on whom you ask). Stan is a mechanical wizard and is mulas to plug into. He frequently rereads the problem
constantly sought after by friends with ailing cars and while working on it and repeats each numerical calcu-
computers, while changing a light bulb is at t he outer lation just to be on the safe side. When he has gone
limits of Nathan's mechanical ability. Stan notices his as far as he can go he repeats the process on the sec-
surroundings, tends to know where he put things, and ond problem. He usually runs out of time and gets
remembers people he only met once; Nathan notices class average or lower on the test. Nathan reads test
very little around him, misplaces things constantly, problems only up to the point where he t hinks he
and may not recognize someone he has known for knows how to proceed and t hen plunges in. He works
years. Nathan subscribes to Scientific American and quickly and usually finishes early and gets high
reads science fiction and mystery novels voraciously; grades. However, he sometimes blows tests because
Stan only reads when he has to. Stan has trouble fol- he makes careless errors and lacks the patience to
lowing lectures; Nathan follows them easily, but when check his calculations, or he fails to read a question
instructors spend a lot of class time going through thoroughly enough and misses important data or an-
swers a different question t han was asked.
The one place where Stan outshines Nathan
If single words were chosen to describe them, Stan's academically is the laboratory. Stan is sure-handed
would be "practical" and Nathan's would be scholarly."
and meticulous and seems to have an instinct for set-
Stan is a mechanical wizard and is constantly
sought after by friends with ailing cars and computers, ting up and running experiments, while Nathan rarely
while changing a light bulb is at the outer limits gets anything to work right. Nathan almost had a
of Nathan's mechanical abil ity. nervous breakdown in analytical chemistry: he would
repeat a quantitative analysis five times, get five com-
© Cowright ChE Division ASEE 1989

68 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 • REQUEST FOR FALL ISSUE PAPERS •
Each year Chemical Engineering Education publishes a special fall issue devoted to graduate education. It consists of 1)
articles on graduate courses and research. written by professors at various universities, and 2) ads placed by chemical
engineering departments describing their graduate programs. Anyone interested in contributing t.o the edit.orial content of the
1989 fall issue should write to the edit.or, indicating the subject of the contribution and the tentative date it can be submitted.
Deadline is June 1st.

pletely different results, and finally average the two eluding many engineering students and faculty mem-
closest estimates and hope for the best. Stan, on the bers. More than half of all undergraduate engineering
other hand, would do the analysis twice, get almost students tested have been found to be sensors while
perfect agreement between the results, and head for most engineering professors are intuitors. A mis-
a victory soda while Nathan was still weighing out the match thus exists between the teaching styles of most
reagents for his second attempt. professors, who emphasize basic principles,
Stan did well in only one non-laboratory engineer- mathematical models and thought problems, and the
ing course. The instructor used a lot of visual demon- learning styles of many undergraduates, who favor
strations-transparencies, pictures and diagrams, and observable phenomena, hard facts, and problems with
actual equipment; provided clear outlines of problem well-defined solution methods. Intuitive students
solution procedures; and gave practical applications of would consequently be expected to enjoy a clear ad-
all theories and formulas the students were required vantage in school, and indeed intuitors have been
to learn. Stan claimed that it was the first course he found to get consistently higher grades except in
had taken that seemed to have anything to do with courses that emphasize facts, experimentation, and
the real world. Nathan thought the course was okay repetitive calculations.
but he could have done with a bit less plug-and-chug For many sensing students, the disparity between
on the homework. the way they learn best and the way they are gener-
Stan is a sensor; Nathan is an intuitor1• Sensors ally taught is too great: they get poor grades no mat-
favor information that comes in through their senses ter how hard they work, become disillusioned, and
and intuitors favor internally-generated information drop out. Felder and Silverman 1 give several ways
(memory, conjecture, interpretation). Sensors are at- instructors can accommodate the learning styles of
tentive to details and don't like abstract concepts; in- these students without compromising their own teach-
tuitors can handle abstraction and are bored by de- ing styles or their ability to get through the syllabus.
tails. A student who complains about things having The accommodation is well worth attempting: sensors
nothing to do with the real world is almost certainly are sorely needed in industry and may do exception-
a sensor. Sensors like well-defined problems that can ally well there if they manage to survive school.
be solved by standard methods; intuitors prefer prob- Postscript: 15 years later. Nathan graduated
lems that call for innovation. Individuals of both types rrw,gna cum laude, went to graduate school and got a
may be excellent engineers: the observant and PhD, worked for several years in the research and
methodical sensors tend to be good experimentalists development division of a major chemical company,
and plant engineers, and the insightful and innovative got several important patents, moved to manufactur-
intuitors tend to be good theoreticians, designers, and ing, and ended up as a group leader supervising a
inventors. team of designers and systems analysts. Stan strug-
The degree to which someone favors sensing or gled through the curriculum, graduated in the bottom
intuition can be determined with the Myers-Briggs third of his class, and got a production engineering job
Type Indicator, a personality inventory that has been in the same company Nathan went to work for. His
administered to hundreds of thousands of people in- mechanical talents soon became apparent and he was
put in charge of a trouble-shooting team that came to
1
See R. M. Felder and L. K. Silverman, "Learning and Teaching
be in great demand throughout the plant. His manage-
Styles in Engineering Education," Engineering Education rial skills then led to a rapid series of promotions cul-
78(7),674(1988), and G. Lawrence, People Types and Tiger Stripes, minating in his becoming the youngest corporate vice
Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 2nd Edition, Gaines- president in company history. Among the thousands
ville, FL, 1982. Stan is a representative sensor and Nathan a repre- of employees in the branch he heads is Nathan, with
sentative intuitor, but not all sensors are just like Stan and not all
intuitors are just like Nathan. Sensation and intuition are prefer-
whom he gets together occasionally to talk over old
ences, not clear-cut categories, and all human beings exhibit charac- times. Stan thoroughly enjoys these meetings; Nathan
teristics of both types to different degrees. also enjoys them but perhaps not as much. D

SPRING 1989 69
l•d• curriculum

INCORPORATING HEALTH, SAFETY,

ENVIRONMENTAL, AND ETHICAL ISSUES
INTO THE CURRICULUM
ALAN M. LANE Alan M. Lane is an assistant professor
University of Alabama at the University of Alabama, where he
Tuscaloosa, AL 33487-0203 teaches the course "Health and Safety in
the CPI." He received two BS degrees, in
chemistry and chemical engineering , from
N CORPORATING HEALTH, safety, environmental,
Igineering
and ethical issues (HSE&E) into the chemical en-
curriculum has become an important topic
the University of Washington (1977) and a
PhD in chemical engineering from the Uni-
versity of Massachusetts (1984) . His re-
search is in the area of kinetics and hetero-
[1, 2), reflecting the chemical process industry's grow- geneous catalysis .
ing concern over these issues. This paper reports the
results of a survey of U.S. chemical engineering de-
partments on this matter and some details of what we compared to the other engineering disciplines could
are doing at the University of Alabama. be seen. However, the information wasn't very specif-
Most educators probably agree that HSE&E needs ic, and it did not cover environmental and ethical con-
to be taught. But what is the best way to do it? Many cerns. The present survey is an attempt to provide
schools include some of this type of training in the information for gauging the chemical engineering dis-
capstone senior design course (see ref. 3 for an exam- cipline's success in this area and to provide concrete
ple), but is there enough time to adequately cover the help for incorporating HSE&E into the curriculum.
topic there? Some offer an elective HSE&E course,
but with our overcrowded curriculums many schools SURVEY DESCRIPTION
cannot justify that approach. Also, when the course is The survey was designed to find out what chemical
an elective, not all ChE students will be trained. engineering programs are actually doing, or planning
Other schools prefer to coordinate HSE&E training to do, about teaching HSE&E issues. The questions
through examples and homework problems in the core were intentionally broad so that respondents could be
ChE courses, but coordination of any topic throughout free to define their own concept of HSE&E content.
a curriculum is very difficult and requires the diligent As a result, my interpretation of the data must be
effort of a designated coordinator and the full support somewhat subjective, and I will try to point out the
of the department. Another problem is that several subjective comments. An example is the question of
important HSE&E topics are unsuitable for inclusion what constitutes a coordinated effort to incorporate
in existing courses. HSE&E into the curriculum. Simple agreement at a
What are U.S. chemical engineering programs ac- faculty meeting does not guarantee any effort at all,
tually doing, or planning to do, at this moment? ABET but how do we know if a formal coordination plan is
recently polled all engineering programs concerning or is not in place? I had to interpret this based on the
their teaching of occupational, public, and product individual response.
safety and health [4). The results were broken down The survey was sent in the fall of 1987 to the 155
according to disciplines so that the status of chemical U.S. departments listed in the Chemical Engineering
Faculties Directory, and 54 (35%) of the schools re-
The majority of schools ... lean toward sponded. Since schools with an ongoing HSE&E con-
incorporating HSE&E into the existing core courses,
and the most popular courses seem to be the capstone
cern might be more likely to respond, and since my
design course and the laboratory. interpretation is subjective, I will make no claim as to
© Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989

70 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

a margin of error for this survey. I hope that the re-
sults do accurately reflect the general trends in chem- [HSE&E] is far too important a topic . .. [for] a "hit or miss"
ical engineering HSE&E education and that they pro- incorporation in the core curriculum ... the student must
be introduced to the concept of making socially responsible
vide some useful ideas for incorporating HSE&E into
professional decisions in addition to being trained ...
your curriculum. on how to design a properly-sized relief valve.

RESULTS

The questions are presented below as they ap- The majority of schools-whether by deed, plans,
peared on the survey. Only the fourth question was or simply opinion-lean toward incorporating HSE&E
multiple choice.
into the existing core courses, and the most popular
1. Does your department offer a ChE course with the major courses seem to be the capstone design course and the
focus being health, safety, environmental, or ethical is-
laboratory. Not many actually incorporate it through-
sues? If yes, please list the courses with a brief description.
out the curriculum. Only a handful offer or are plan-
36 (67%) claimed no ChE course focused on these issues. ning to offer a comprehensive HSE&E course.
18 (33%) offered separate courses on one or some Perhaps the most surprising result is that most
HSE&E issues with pollution control being the most
common. 7 of the 18 offered a comprehensive HSE&E departments do not plan to increase the HSE&E con-
course which appeared to cover at least three of the four tent of their curriculum. Of course, many already have
topics. some HSE&E content, but in my opinion at least half
of those which do not intend to increase HSE&E con-
2. Does your department have a coordinated effort to in-
clude health, safety, environmental, or ethical issues in tent currently have insufficient coverage to meet the
your ChE core courses (for example, through homework spirit of ABET HSE&E criteria.
problems or design experiences)? If yes, please briefy de-
scribe the program. SELECTED HSE&E IDEAS
31 (57%) have no coordinated effort, although 10 of The most popular option for teaching HSE&E is
these 31 indicated an informal attempt to incorporate
HSE&E topics. 23 (43%) do claim a coordinated effort to by incorporating it into the capstone design course.
incorporate HSE&E into various courses, with the cap- Several schools (for example, the University of
stone design course being the most common, followed
closely by the laboratory c ourse. Other co urses men-
Washington) dedicate several of the initial design lec-
tioned were seminar, reactor design, and separations. 5 tures to specific HSE&E topics, and at the University
of the 23 indicated a coordinated effort throughout most of New Mexico weekly 15-minute mini-lectures on
of the core courses.
HSE&E topics are interspersed in the design class
3. Does your department have specific plans to incorporate [3]. An HSE&E section is required in the design re-
these topics into the curriculum within the next five years? ports of other schools.
If yes, please briefly d escribe the plans. The unit operations laboratory is also a popular
class in which to teach safety. At one university, the
10 (19%) plan to modify their curriculum i n some way
to include some or more HSE&E content. The plans school's health and safety office lectures the students
ranged from inclusion of HSE&E in the capstone design on safety and then provides a competency test before
course to creation of an elective HSE&E course. 44
(81%) have no plans to do anything diffe rent, but many
the laboratory course can proceed.
of these already are making significant efforts. Probably the hardest option (but maybe the best)
is to incorporate HSE&E throughout the curriculum.
4. Is there a consensus within you r department whether At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans
such topics are best:
a. included as a separate course (requi red or elective)?
are being considered to reorganize several core
5 (9%) courses around case studies that place emphasis on
b. coordinated as problems within the existing courses? HSE&E concerns. The University of Arkansas, under
18 (33%)
contract with the Center for Chemical Process Safety,
c. left for industrial training?
2 (4%) has prepared a collection of. HSE&E problems for a
d. no real consensus. variety of ChE core courses. Marvin F leishman has
29 (54%) also recommended HSE&E topics that could be incor-
porated in several ChE core courses [2].
Some responses were split between two options A number of schools offer dedicated courses on
and were counted as half for each answer. Several HSE&E topics. Some of these are "single-topic"
participants expressed personal opinions but indicated courses like pollution control or engineering ethics.
that there was no departmental consensus. Several others offer a course which covers some com-

SPRING 1989 71
bination of HSE&E topics. The most popular topics dicated that most students were confronted with these
seem to be those that cover occupational health, per- issues for the first time in the course and that their
sonal safety, and loss prevention. Ethics is sometimes awareness was radically increased, indicating that the
included explicitly and is most probably implicitly co- course accomplished my primary goals.
vered. The course contents are not uniform, are The syllabus for the course is shown in Table 1. A
rapidly evolving, and several syllabi are being used. variety of teaching methods and materials are used,
An interesting technique used in the HSE&E course
at Rutgers University is the requirement of a term
paper analyzing a chemical process from raw materials TA BLE 1
Course Syllabus
handling through the chemical process itself, to prod-
uct distribution and to ultimate disposal. This reflects #
the current "cradle to grave" responsibility of chemi- Leet.
1. Introduction
cal producers for their products. A Introductory lecture: The Engineer and Society 1
Some schools have made use of guest lecturers B "Technology and the Law," OSHA lecture taped at 1
from industry or government agencies and have vid- West Virginia Urriversity: discussion
C Acceptable Risks, ABC movie; discussion 2
eotaped the lectures for future use. NIOSH and
OSHA lectures were videotaped at West Virginia 2. Safety
University [5], and five 2-hour lectures were telecast A Personal Safety
1. General discussion; HAZCOM and Kletz's ''What 1
to Wayne State University from BASF corporation Went Wrong?" as guides
on a variety of HSE&E topics [6]. The latter are being 2. Lecture by Safety Director from Hunt Oil 1
prepared as a study guide to be sold through the 3. Laboratory safety movies; djscu ssion 2
4. Actual laboratory inspection of University Labs; 2
AIChE. Many schools regularly include a speaker on discussion of inspection reports
HSE&E issues in their graduate seminar. B Loss Prevention
1. Types of accidents; Kletz's "What Went Wrong?" 2
2. Prevention technology - pressure relief devices, plant 1
ALABAMA'S PROGRAM layout, frul-safe systems, etc.
3. IChemE case study slide shows; di scussion; students 2
In the spring semester of 1988 we offered, for the try to figure out how accidents happened
first time, an elective course entitled "Health and C Hazard Analysis; Center for Chemical Process Safety 2
material; analyze chemjcal processes, predict potential
Safety in the CPI," a survey of safety (both personal problems, suggest preventative m easures
and loss prevention), health, environmental, and ethi-
cal issues. It is intended for chemical engineering and 3. Health
A Government regulations; OSHA and NIOSH lectures 1
chemistry students, although we also hope to attract taped at West Virginia Urriversity
students from other technological fields. The course B Toxicology; Carcinogens, Anticarcinogens, and Risk 1
description reads: Assessment, video tape by Professor Ames (UC-Berkeley)
for the Council for Chemical Research
C Prevention technology; process, isolation, protection 1
Historical, legislative, and technical aspects of safety, D Case studjes: asbestos, vinyl chloride, benzene, etc. 2
health, environmental, and ethical issues. Develop skills to E Wrath of Grapes, United Farm Worker's video on 1
assess, design to prevent, and mitigate health and safety pesticide abuse; discussion; critical analysis of
information given
problems in the chemical process industry.
4. Environment
A Governme nt regulations; EPA, Supcrfund, etc. 1
Why try to teach all this is one course? A student B Types of pollution; rur, water, ground water, land 1
should be introduced to all four subjects in order to C Pollutjon technology; aerobic digestion, incineration, 2
scrubbers, etc.
be prepared for responsible professional decisions, but D Case studies: Willamette river cleanup, Rhine River 1-2
the subjects weren't being adequately covered, and spill, Monongehela River spill
we only had room for one more elective course. The E Silent Spring I Silent Spring Revisited: discussion 1-2

subjects group together naturally, having a common 5. Ethics

feature; they all have aspects which are reasonably A Engineering codes of conduct and introduction 1
B Selected readjngs from The Ethics Reader; djscussion 1
hard to quantify and involve some subjective thinking. C Chemical Engineering ethics surveys; discussion 2
It is unrealistic to expect to develop expertise in
any specific topic and still cover such a broad array of 6. Term Project Reports Ji
subjects. For instance, we discuss hazard and opera- TOTAL 45
bility (HAZOP) analysis and go through a practice Note : As a second-time course this syllabus will certainly be modified
throughout th e semester: Please giue me input on the cou rse content. I
problem, but leave detailed training in HAZOP welcome your comments!
analysis for industrial employers. Student surveys in-

72 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 including traditional lectures, discussion groups, video
TABLE 2 tapes, slide shows, guest speakers, and field trips.
Course Reso urces Resources are widely scattered but available. Some
resources that I use are listed in Table 2_ Some of
INTR OD UCTION
Hearl, F. J., P. E., Technology and the Law, NIOSH seminar
them are traditional (from the AIChE, IChemE,
videotaped at West Virginia University, loaned by Professor CCPS, etc.), and some are more non-traditional. The
Wallace B. Whiting latter include the ABC movie, Acceptable Risks, and
• Acceptable Risks, ABC-TV movie originally broadcast on Sunday,
March 2, 1986
the United Farm Worker's documentary, Wrath of
Grapes . These films impose a dramatic and emotional
SAFETY element to safety and health discussions, as Silent
• Kletz, T. A., What Went Wrong: Case Histories of Process Plant
Disasters, Gulf Pub. Co., Houston, 1985 Spring, by Rachel Carson, does to the environmental
• Lees, F. P., Loss Preuention in the Process Industries, issue. This is entirely appropriate and results in re-
Butterworths, Boston, 1986 markable classroom discussions.
• "Guidelines for Hazard Evaluation Procedures," Center for
Chemical Process Safety by Batelle Columbus Division, AIChE, We cannot expect every student to receive
New York, 1985 HSE&E training with this effort alone since this is an
• Wadden, R . A., and P. A. Scheff, Engineering Design for the
Control of Workplace Hazards, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1987
elective course. Therefore, we initiated a coordinated
• "Loss Prevention," Chemical Engineering Progress Technical effort to intersperse HSE&E training throughout the
Manual, AIChE, New York, various issues entire chemical engineering core curriculum. The pri-
• Whitmyre, G., and R. L. Long, "Guide to Safety in the Laboratory
for Chemical Engineers," New Mexico State University, 1987
mary tool was the CCPS example problems compiled
• Stull, D. R., "Fundamentals of Fire and Explosion," AlChE at the University of Arkansas, but not many of the
Monograph Series, 10, (73), 1977 problems were actually used the first time around.
• Hazard Workshop Modules: Fires and Explosions, training slide
show prepared by lChemE, 1987
One benefit of this survey was obtaining new and di-
• "Loss Prevention Bulletin," [ChemE, various issues verse ideas from my colleagues for accomplishing the
HSE&E incorporation.
HEALTH
• A variety of standard industrial hygiene texts
• Fighting Workplace Cancer, United Auto Workers, slide tape OBSERVATIONS
show
• Silverstein, M., M.D ., "The Case of the Workplace Killers: A I sensed a general agreement that the university
Manual for Cancer Detectives on the Job," United Auto Workers, has a responsibility to provide some training in
1980
• "Current Intelligence Bulletin," NIOSH, various issues HSE&E issues. It is far too important a topic to rele-
• Ames, B., Carcinogens, Anticarcinogens, and Risk Assessment, gate to a few lectures in the capstone design course
videotape for the Council for Chemical Research, 1987
• Wrath of Grapes, videotape by the United Farm Workers
or a "hit or miss" incorporation in the core curriculum.
It is also more than a strictly technological topic; the
ENVIRONMENT student must be introduced to the concept of making
• A variety of standard pollution control engineering texts
• Hanna, S. R., and P. J. Drivas, Vapor Cloud Dispersion Models, socially responsible professional decisions in addition
Center for Chemical Process Safety, AIChE, New York, 1987 to being trained, for example, on how to design a prop-
• Myhre, R., Double Alkali Flue Gas Desulfurization: The ClPS erly-sized relief valve.
Experience, Engineering Case Library, Washington Internships
for Students of Engineering Program, 1983 I believe we will eventually see the need for a re-
• Carson, R., Silent Spring, Houghton Miffiin, Boston, 1962 quired HSE&E course. Most present HSE&E offer-
• Marco, G. L., R . M. Hollingworth, and W . Durham, Eds., Silent ings are elective and so by definition do not meet this
Spring Reuisited, ACS, Washington, DC, 1987
need for all students. The scope and content of the
ETHICS HSE&E course will evolve but there are too many
• Flores, A., ed., Ethical Problems in Engineering, Vol. 1, The Center
for the Study of the H uman Dimensions of Science and
important topics that cannot be adequately covered
Tech nology, Troy, NY, 1980 within another course. How this HSE&E course will
• Baum, R . J., ed., Eth ical Problems in Engineering, Vol. 2, The fit into a crowded curriculum will be a hotly debated
Center for th e Stu dy of the Human Dimensions of Science and
Technology, Troy, NY, 1980
issue!
• "Suggested Guidelines for U8 .e With the Fundamental Canons of Incorporating HSE&E topics within the core cur-
Ethics," Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, riculum should be a concurrent activity. This will
New York, 1985
• Vesilind, P. A., "Rules, Ethics and Morals in Engineering
gradually come as more faculty are impressed with
Education," Eng. Ed., 289, February, 1988 the need to teach HSE&E and as more resources spe-
• Berube, B . G., "A Whistle-Blower's Perspective of Ethics in cific to the various core courses become available. To
Engineering," Eng. Ed., 294, February, 1988
• Matley, J ., and R. Greene, "Ethics of Health, Safety and facilitate the incorporation, each department should
Environment: What's Right?" Chem. Eng., 40, March 2, 1987 identify a dedicated individual or committee to con-
tinuously coordinate the topics taught, collect and dis-

SPRING 1989 73
 seminate resource material to the faculty, and to deal primarily with problems of defining the structure of
monitor progress. this area, and therefore provide little of use to technical
personnel. It is interesting to note that the major chal-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS lenges in this field were identified to be: 1) the introduc-
tion ofEVS (Ethics and Values Studies) into technical ed-
I thank my department chairman, Dr. Marvin ucation; 2) the need to have EVS evolve from a passive
McKinley, for helping develop our HSE&E course and role to an active role (i.e., transition from conducting im-
providing enthusiastic support for this project. I also pact studies to influencing public policy); and 3) the need
thank my fifty-four colleagues who took the time to to obtain more funding for research. One of the laudable
complete the survey. goals identified for education by one contributor is the
collection of educational materials that would emphasize
REFERENCES development of critical thinking and that could be used
easily in grades K-12 as well as in universities.
1. Talty, J. T., "Integrating Safety and Health Issues into This is a profoundly disturbing collection of papers
Engineering School Curricula," Chem. Eng. Prog., 82, and working group reports because it reveals an entire
13 (1986)
field devoted to ethics in science and engineering, funded
2. Fleischman, M., "Rationale for Incorporating Health
and Safety into the Curriculum," Chem. Eng. Ed., 22, 30 by NSF, but dominated by a group of people who exhibit
(1988) no knowledge of engineering and science or of how tech-
3. Kauffman, D., "Health, Safety, and Loss Control Topics nical people work within the corporate structure. I found
in t he Senior Design Courses," Plant/Operations Prog., it disturbing that none of the participants addressed the
6, 73 (1987) extent to which decisions on application of technology
4. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology are made by people who do not have technical training, a
(ABET) Occupational Safety and Health Study, Sub-
critical omission when studying the ethics of technology
Task 3 ofNIOSHP.O. No. 84-2653, Sept. 11, 1986
5. Whiting, W. B., W. E. Wallace, J. F. Gamble, F. J. in a society so dominated by profit as "the bottom line."
Hearl, L. Piacitelli, E . Regad, and R. Ronk, The comments of some of the contributors reflect a sur-
"Introducing Engineering Students to Health and Safety prising bias against the technical fields they are studying.
Aspects of Their Profession," Proceedings of the 1986 The following excerpt from a section discussing the need
Frontiers in Education Conference, Arlington, TX., p. for new teaching methodology provides an example
30, October 1986 (emphasis is mine):
6. Crowl, D.A., and J. F . Louvar, "Safety and Loss Pre-
vention in the Undergraduate Curriculum," Chem. There needs to be more creative approaches to the dis-
Eng. Ed., 22, 74 (1988) 0 semination of EVS/STS (Ethics and Values Stud-
ies/studies in Science, Technology, and Society). One
of the most troublesome aspects ofEVS/STS dissemina-
tion has to do with college teaching. In many cases,
SCIENCE AND ETHICS philosophy departments send their youngest and least
Continued from page 67. experienced faculty to tell students in science and en-
state of the art and future directions of ethics in engi- gineering how to be good people. Often those faculty
have no idea what the real problems of the field are;
neering and sciences. There is very little of substance in worse, they proceed to brand the particular scientific or
this report that could be useful in teaching. One author engineering field as a social evil. They are
reports a brief personal code of ethics attributed to John unprepared to address the real ethical issues in the field
Last of the Canadian Journal of Public Health: or to help students with ethical problem solving. It does
no good to tell people that their field is bad without
Behonest. showing them practical ways to improve practice in
Be truthful. their field.
Be fair to collaborators. Of course, no field, including those in the sciences
Uphold the honor, dignity, and credibility of your field. and engineering, is inherently bad. Comments like these,
Act and write in the public interest.
Save trees.
made by a professor in a psychology department, reflect
a profound lack of understanding of the nature of engi-
This quote might provide an interesting springboard neering and science. Such comments also underscore the
for classroom discussions of the meaning and utility of need for a greater activity by our professional societies
engineering codes of ethics. Some vague suggestions (e.g., AIChE) in the area of public policy. The develop-
were made on changes needed in corporate or public ment of the field of ethics and value studies in science and
policy, but, in general, these comments were limited to engineering in departments of philosophy, psychology,
identification of the problems; specifics on what the and/or social sciences is, in part, a response to the vac-
changes should be and how such changes could be im- uum caused by the reluctance of technical people to get
plemented were not addressed. involved in ethical issues. It is vital that leadership in this
The majority of the material was written by partici- area be provided by engineers and scientists who can be
pants in this field, for participants in this field, and in the knowledgeable in both the technical and the managerial
jargon of this field. The symposium papers submitted aspects of the problem. 0

74 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

(llbN. . t_e_tt_e_r_s
. _ _ _ _ _ __ since $435.00 was the price of the 1987 volume, including the
December issue, this was the figure I used in my calcula-
LEVENSPIEL DEFENDS HIS POSITION tions. CES did raise its advertised price during the year to
$500/volume, but that would not affect the buyer of the 1987
volume. I think that $435 is the correct figure to use, however
To The Editor: even if one takes the higher figure this would mean the CEC
would cost about 10 times as much as CES, instead of 11
A while back (Summer 1988 issue), I wrote a letter to this times. Whether 10 or 11, the point of my letter remains un-
column which pointed out the wide difference in the cost of changed in that the pricing of technical journals is
two for-profit mainline chemical engineering journals, inexplicable.
CEC and CES. In your last issue (Winter 1989) Mr. Gordon, 3. Mr. Gordon brings up a number of other matters ... the
chairman of Gordon and Breach, publishers of CEC, in a color plates in CEC, my alleged connection to CES, the vol-
long letter said that my analysis was "incorrect in just about umes of CEC which contain as many as 1000 pages, etc. Reg-
every respect imaginable." I am sorry to have to return to ular readers of CEC may be as puzzled as I am about the
this matter but I am impelled to do so because I do not think above statements.
that I am wrong and I believe that the facts support my con- 4. Finally, on a more general note: it is evident that the
cerns. I have a few brief comments in response to Mr. Gor- forces of the marketplace do not apply when it comes to the
don's letter. pricing of technical journals. In the long run this is harm-
1. Of course Mr. Gordon's figures and mine are com- ful to our profession and this concerns me . The first step in
pletely different. He quotes 1988 prices but my comparison redressing this situation is to know the facts. Therefore, I
was not for 1988! In my letter I clearly stated that I was com- would like to propose that CEE make and publish a survey
paring December 1987 figures which were the only ones every now and then of the costs of the mainline chemical
available when I wrote the letter. The numbers given by Mr. engineering journals. I think that this would be worthwhile
Gordon are not pertinent and are not correct for the period since it would be most enlightening and helpful to us
referred to in my letter. consumers.
2. Only one of the numbers in my comparison of journals
may be in question, and that is the cost for the December 1987 Octave Levenspiel
issue of CES.Since journals are bought by the volume, and Oregon State University

CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING TIIERMODYNAMICS, 2/E

1989 Stanley I. Sandler, The University of Delaware
0-471-83050-X, 656 pp., Cloth, AvailableJanuary 1989
A fully revised new edition of the well received sophomore/junior level thermo -
dynamics text, now incorporating microcomputer programs.

Chemical PROCESS DYNAMICS AND CONTROL

Dale E. Seborg, University of California, Santa Barbara,
Thomas R. Edgar, University of Texas, Austin,
and Duncan A. Mellichamp, University of California,
Engineering Santa Barbara
0-471-86389-0, 840 pp., Cloth, Available February 1989
A balanced, in -depth treatment of the central issues in process control, including
numerous worked examples and ex ercises.

Texts from REQUEST YOUR COMPLIMENTARY COPIES TODAY

Contact your local Wiley representative or write on your school's stationery to
Angelica DiDia, Dept. 9 -0264, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York,
NY 10158. Please include your name, the name ofyour course and its enrollment,

Wiley and the title of your current text. IN CANADA: write to John Wiley & Sons Canada
ltd. , 22 Worcester Road, Rexdale, Ontario, M9W Ill.

Im
WILEY
JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
605 lhird Avenue
New York, NY 10158 sah/km

SPRING 1989 75
 l•bNI classroom
MULTIPLE REACTION EQUILIBRIA-
WITH PENCIL AND PAPER
A Class Problem on Coal Methanation

FRIEDRICH G. HELFFERICH
The Pennsylvania State University TABLE 1
University Park, PA 16802 Standard Free Energies and Enthalpies of
Formation of Gas e ous Pa r ticipants
from Elements at 298.15 K, in kcal/m o l
QUILIBRIA OF MULTIPLE and heterogeneous (from Hill [1], Appendix A)
E chemical reactions are accorded only a rather
cursory treatment in most textbooks on ther- t.G; t.H;
modynamics and reaction engineering. Yet problems
of this kind are frequent in practice. Moreover, the H2O - 54.6351 - 57.7979
textbook methods involve extensive calculations that co - 32.8077 - 26.4157
CO2 - 94.2598 - 94.0518
require a computer if three or more reactions are in- - 12.140 - 17.889
CI4
volved.
The purpose of this article is to point out a differ-
ent and much simpler approach that can be taken in leases as a hedge against the day when oil and gas
many practical situations. The problem is especially reserves will dwindle. However, to serve a technology
suited for the undergraduate classroom in that it ac- that has been nursed on fluid fuels, much of that coal
quaints the student not only with the topic im- will have to be liquefied or gasified. In the context of
mediately at hand, but also introduces him to a widely a preliminary feasibility study, our group receives an
applicable technique of problem solving in chemical assignment to evaluate the thermodynamics of coal
engineering practice which is largely unrealized in un- methanation. Specifically, the question of whether and
dergraduate textbooks. under what conditions 90% of the coal can be con-
In my experience, the message is delivered most verted to methane (as opposed to oxides of carbon)
effectively in a setting where the class plays the role should be answered.
of a development group in a fictional major industrial For the classroom the problem is simplified and
company. The description that follows is along such dressed up as follows. Coal is regarded as elementary
lines. carbon. Only the three main reactions are to be consid-
ered:
THE PROBLEM
C+H2O H CO+H2 (1)
The Vice President of Research and Development
explains that the company has acquired major coal co + 3H2 H CH4 + H 2 0 (2)

CO+H2OHCO2+H2 (3)

Friedrich G. Helfferich is professor

of chemical engineering at Penn State. He The starting materials are carbon, water, and, if
is a native of Germany and received chem- needed, hydrogen. All potential catalysts catalyze all
istry degrees from the Universities of Ham- three reactions, so they cannot be conducted in sepa-
burg and Gottingen . He is author of books
on ion exchange and chromatography , and rate reactors. All reactants except coal should be
is founder and editor-in-chief of the journal gaseous. A minimum temperature of 550 K is required
Reactive Polymers. Current interests at his for reasonable catalyst activity. High temperatures
are reaction kinetics, ion exchange, dy-
namics of multicomponent systems, and and pressures, as well as the presence of liquid water,
windsurfing, but his true love is teaching . are undesirable because of cost and corrosion prob-
<0 Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989

76 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

lems. For the purpose at hand, calculations which are
based on ideal gas behavior and temperature-inde- The task a t hand now is to find
what sets, if any, of operating variables ...
pendent standard enthalpy changes are acceptable. A will produce the desired 90% equilibrium yield to
strict and short deadline is set for the presentation of methane, basis carbon reacted ( i.e., 0 .9 moles of
conclusions to management. methane produced per mole of carbon reacted).

FIRST TRY

To obtain an idea of the system, an obvious first T

2000 1000 800 600 500 400 300 K
step is to calculate and plot the equilibrium constants 40
of the three reactions as a function of temperature.
This calls for the LlG and LlH values of the reactions,
0 0

30
readily calculated from tabulated thermochemical data
(see Table 1) by the standard procedure [1] (formation
20
values of products minus those of reactants). The re-
sulting values as well as the changes Llng in gas mole
number are shown in Table 2. The equilibrium con- 10

stants
E
0
"'E
Kl~ PcoPH 1PH o (4)
2 2

3 -10
K2=Pcu PH o 1PcoPH (5)
4 2 2

Ka= Pco Pu 1Pco Pu o (6)

-20
2 2 2

at any temperature T can now be obtained from the -30

Van't Hoff equation
0 0
ln K;(T)= -AG /R• 298 + (AH /R)(l/298- 1/T) (7) -40
0 I • I0- 3 2 • IQ-l 3 * 10 -l
1/ T
Plots of ln Ki(T) versus reciprocal temperature are
shown in Figure 1. In the absence of solid carbon, the
inequality in Eq. (4) may apply. FIGURE 1. Van't Hoff plot for equilibrium constants of reactions
The data reveal conflicting demands with respect 1 to 3.
to temperature and pressure. Both reactions 1 and 2
are necessary for methane formation from coal, but would seek low pressure at low temperature and high
reaction 1 is seen to be favored by high temperature pressure at high temperature, in order to have pres-
(positive LlH and low pressure (increase in gas mole
0
) sure favor the reaction discouraged by temperature.
number), while for reaction 2 the opposite holds. In- Obviously, we prefer low to high temperature and
tuitively, we may wish to seek conditions giving not pressure, and so we might start our search for condi-
too low an equilibrium constant of either reaction, and tions with temperatures in the vicinity of 600 to 700
thus be led to a temperature "window" of, say, 600 to K and pressures of perhaps a few atmospheres. This,
1200 K. If this line of reasoning were correct, we however, is no more than a working hypothesis, to be
carried on our fingertips so it can be blown away by
the slightest breeze of better insight (as indeed it
TAB LE 2 will).
Chan ges In S t a ndard Fr e e Ener g y, S tand ar d
E nthal py , and Gas M o le N u m ber The task at hand now is to find what sets, if any,
f o r Rea cti o ns 1, 2, a n d 3 of operating variables-temperature T, pressure P,
(~G· and &1° in kcal/mo), calculated from data in Table 1)
and H 2 :H2 0 mole ratio R in the reactor feed-will
AG" AH° Ang produce the desired 90% equilibrium yield to methane,
basis carbon reacted (i. e., 0.9 moles of methane pro-
Reaction 1 + 21.83 + 31.38 +1 duced per mole of carbon reacted). The most common
Reaction 2 - 33.97 - 49.27 -2
procedure [1-5] is to establish the relations between
Reaction 3 - 6.83 - 9.84 0
the mole fractions Yi of the gaseous participants at
equilibrium and the extents x, y, and z of the three

SPRING 1989 77
reactions, as shown in Table 3, and then to rewrite to establish the m1mmum of free energy. Both
the equilibrium expressions (4) to (6) in terms of the methods involve extensive calculation and would re-
extents of r eaction and mole fractions Yi = p/P. With quire more computer programming, although the
the mole fraction in Table 3, Eqs. (4) to (6) in terms Gibbs method has advantages if systems are more
of extents of reaction become complex and a packaged routine is available.

-1 YH 2 Yco (R+x-3y+z)(x-y-z) MISFORTUNE STRIKES

KIP ~ y (8)
H2 0 (1- x + y - z)(l + R + x - 2y)
Unfortunately for our group, we are informed that
2
2 YcH.YH 0
2 y (1 - X + y - z )(1 + R + X - 2y) the mainframe must be shut down to repair water
K 2P = (9) damage from Hurricane Fidel and that all stand-by
3
3
YcoY H2 (x-y -z}(R +x - 3y + z)
computing facilities have been reserved for tasks of
Yco.YH2 z(R+x-3y+z) higher priority. We are reduced to using our hand-
Ka (10)
y CO y H 0 (x-y-z)(l-x+y-z) held, programmable calculators. To meet the deadline
2
we shall have to streamline the problem.
Indeed, our approach as originally envisaged is in-
Sets of operating variables-temperature, pressure, efficient in that many chosen sets of variables will pro-
and feed mole ratio--can then be chosen for screening duce results that are useless because the methane
(temperature determining the equilibrium constants). yield falls short of our goal. Instead, we can choose
For each set, the simultaneous Eqs. (8) to (10) must that yield as one of our "design options," that is, as
be solved for x, y, and z, and the gas mole fractions one of the three variables we can specify. Desired is
must be calculated from the expressions for the Yi in
Table 3. This task involves a lot of calculation since
y CH / (y CO + y CO + Y CH ) = 0.9
ranges of three independent variables must be co- • 2 •

vered, but it can be performed without trouble on

a mainframe computer with a packaged routine for which amounts to
solving simultaneous algebraic equations. For the pur-
(11)
pose at hand, this is the method of choice.
Two other methods could be considered here. The
With the expressions for the mole fractions in Table
first is the relaxation method (also called the series-
3 this reduces to
reactor technique [3, 4, 6]; this is an iteration over a
large number of reactors in series, in each of which y = 0.9 X (12)
only one of the three reactions occurs. The other is
the method of minimization of Gibbs energy (also a result so simple as to be suspect. It makes sense,
called Lagrangian multiplier technique [3, 4]), which however: Carbon appears only in reaction 1, as reac-
operates with equilibrium equations (one for each tant; and methane, only in reaction 2, as product.
species) and material balances (one for each element), Therefore, y/x = 0.9 translates into 0.9 moles of
methane formed per mole of carbon reacted. With Eq.
(12), y can be eliminated from Eqs. (8) to (10), greatly
TABLE 3 reducing our calculation load. We still have three
In itial Mole Numbers ni · , Equilibrium Mole Numbers simultaneous equations to solve, but we can solve for
ni, and Equilibrium Gas Mole Fractions Yi of x, z and R and have only ranges of two variables, P
Ga seous Participants in Dependence on Extents
x , y, and z of Reactions 1 to 3 and T, to screen instead of three. Moreover, every
(procedure as in Hill [1)) successful calculation (i.e., giving a physically realiz-
able answer) will now produce a useful result as the
llj nj Yi demanded methane yield is guaranteed. A possible ap-
CI4 0 y y/(1 + R + x - 2y) proach is to fix temperature and pressure within our
co 0 x - y-z (x + y - z)/( 1 + R + x - 2y) window, select pairs of values of x and z, solve the
CO2 0 z z/(1 + R + x - 2y) three equations for R, and adjust the choice of x and
H2O 1 1 -x +y-z (1. x + y - z)/(1 + R + x - 2y) z until all three equations give the same value of R.
H2 R R +x - 3y ± z (R + x - 3y + z)/(1 + R +x - 2y) This will take time and our time is short, but with,
say, ten or twelve good programmable calculators in
TOTAL l+R+x-2y
our groups we might just be able to come up with at
least a few sets of conditions giving the desired result.

78 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 . . . in our days of easy access to computers and the temptation to use [them] on every occasion, it will be
educational for a student to see that the human brain still has a place in our world : That, in fact, a problem properly
thought through might possibly be solved long-hand in a shorter time than it would take to be fed to a computer.

BACK TO THE STONE AGE By simple algebraic manipulation, Eqs. (4) to (6)
are easily solved for Ptt2 and Pco in terms of Pc H4 and
Now the time has come to let misfortune strike
Pco2:
again. Fate (personified by the instructor), decrees
that we are running out of batteries and have no re- (14)
placements. Can our problem be solved in the few
hours left with just pencil and paper alone? (15)
On closer inspection we might realize that we have
not derived full benefit from our idea to start the cal-
PH2o is then obtained from Eq. (4)
culation with the desired result. There is no longer
any need to translate the simple, partial-pressure (16)
equilibrium Eqs. (4) to (6) into the more complex ex-
tent-of-reaction Eqs. (8) to (10). It is true that total
pressure does not appear explicitly in Eqs. (4) to (6) Eq. (13) allows us to choose a partial pressure of
and so can no longer be chosen as a design option. methane and one of CO2 one-tenth as large and calcu-
However, we are not held to calculate results for late the other three. In each case, we shall have to
specified total pressures and so can let ourselves be check whether the stipulated methane yield is indeed
surprised by what that pressure will turn out to be. attained or exceeded; if not, the calculation must be
Following up on this idea, we find that if we fix repeated with a slightly lower partial pressure of CO2 •
temperature, and thus the three equilibrium con- Time permitting, if the yield turns out to be signifi-
stants, we have five unknowns (the five partial pres- cantly better than needed, the calculation should also
sures), three equations (if for the time being we accept be repeated, with a slightly higher partial pressure of
the equality in condition (4)), and one constraint (the CO2 , for better comparison of conditions giving the
selectivity requirement (11)). Accordingly, we can desired result.*
choose one partial pressure and calculate all others. We still have to deal with the possible inequality
For instance the four other partial pressures can be in the equilibrium condition (4) for reaction 1 and with
expressed as functions of only Pctt4 and the equilib- the possibility that water may condense at equilibri-
rium constants and can be calculated once a value of um. It becomes immediately apparent that an inequal-
PcH4 (and of temperature) has been chosen. ity in condition (4), as would be produced by continued
Proceeding in this fashion we can obtain explicit reaction after all coal is consumed, leads to a higher
equations for our partial pressures, but at least one is water content of the product gas and thus is undesir-
a quadratic equation. Because the deadline is so close, able. As to water condensing, at temperatures below
we might want to streamline the problem even 647 K (critical temperature of water) the calculated
further. Experience with other projects and the very partial pressure of water must be checked against the
large decrease in LlG from CO to CO2 (see Table 1)
0 vapor pressure at that temperature. If it exceeds the
tells us that at all reasonable temperatures and pres- vapor pressure, the calculation is invalid and would
sures the amount of CO at equilibrium will be small have to be repeated with Ptt2o set equal to the vapor
compared with that of CO2 • We should thus be fairly
safe if we set
Note Added in PTYJOf:
PcH 1 Pco =1D (13) As pointed out to me by J.-M. Chern, the approxi matio n (13)
4 2
and the recalculations it may necessitate can be avoided as
follows: select a value of Pc O ; then calcu l ate
instead of Pco2=K3Pco 21K1[from Eqs. (6) and (4)], PCH4 = 9(Pco2 + Pco)
[from Eq. (9)], P1-12 = (PcniK 1K 2) 112 [from Eqs. (4) and (5)],
and P1-120 = PcoPH2/K1 [from Eq. (4)]. The only disadvan t age
of this more direct procedure is that it is harder to anticipate
what the total pressure will turn out to be when starting with
This still leaves some margin for CO and should bring CO, in most cases a very minor component, instead of CH 4 ,
us quite close to the desired result. the main component.

SPRING 1989 79
 pressure. Only one other partial pressure can now be and partial pressure of methane, a rather broad and
freely chosen, and the desired methane yield might thorough coverage of conditions giving the desired
not be attained. However we were instructed to avoid methane yield can be achieved, with just pencil and
such conditions because they would invite corrosion paper, in time for presentation to an impressed man-
problems, and so should rather discard the case. agement. (Slide rules would come in handy but are
As to information on the three operating variables: hard to find short of raiding the local science
Temperature was fixed to calculate the equilibrium museum-and rare is now the student who has
constants; total pressure is immediately obtained as learned to use one.)
the sum of the partial pressures; the H 2 :H2 0 feed mole
ratio still remains to be determined. This requires ma-
terial balances. Since water is the only source of oxy- R~UCTSANDCONCWS~NS
gen, the oxygen balance is
Results of nine calculated cases in the range of 600
molesH O in=(molesH O+C0+2*C02 ) out to 1000 K and 2 to 85 atm and with methane yield
2 2
(based on carbon converted) tuned to fall between
and the hydrogen balance is 0.900 and 0.902 have been collected in Table 4. The
table also includes the ratio of H 2 fed to CH 4 formed ,
a measure of the economically highly important hydro-
gen utilization.
It turns out that, contrary to our initial intuitive
giving idea, the desired methane yield is easily attained at
almost any temperature and pressure. Indeed, the
moles~ in yield is relatively insensitive to these operating vari-
R=----- (17 ) ables and can be tuned at will by changes in the
molesH2O in
H 2 :H2 0 feed ratio; the required feed changes are
minor except at high temperature and low pressure,
This completes the information needed. where much hydrogen is needed to force methane for-
With each member of the group calculating, say, mation. This serves to demonstrate that, in multiple
four or five cases in assigned ranges of temperature reaction equilibria, one reaction can fairly effectively

TABLE 4
Calculated Equilibrium Partial Pressures, Selectivities to Methane (Basis Carbon Reacted),
H2:H2<) Mole Ratios in Feed, and Mole Ratios H2 Fed to CH4 Formed, in Range 600 to 1000 Kand 2 to 85 atm
(Courtesy of L. C. Eagleton)

temnerature K 600 800 1000

total pressure, atm 1.97 9.68 95.7* 2.05 9.16 85.2 2.65 9.74 82.3
H2:H2O in, m/m 1.83 1.79 1.77 3.40 2.77 2.46 14.74 7.59 3.99

PCl-14• atm 1.00 5.00 50.0 1.00 5.00 50.0 1.00 5.00 50.0
Pc02 0.109 0.546 5.47 0.0836 0.490 5.24 0.0068 0.116 3.27
PH20 0.793 3.971 39.73 0.473 2.56 26.50 0.107 0.991 16.62
PH2 0.071 0.159 0.504 0.465 1.04 3.29 1.43 3.20 10.13
Pm 0.0004 0.0009 0.0029 0.0272 0.0659 0.216 0.104 0.429 2.28
(CH4 out):(C in), m/m 0.9014 0.9014 0.9014 0.9002 0.9000 0.9016 0.9003 0.9017 0.9002
(H2 in):(CH4 out), m/m 1.85 1.81 1.79 2.27 2.00 1.85 3.31 2.51 2.02

--------------------- ------------------------- ----------- --- - - --------- -------------------------

• Invalid case: Calculated partial pressure of water exceeds vapor pressure.

80 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

drive another, even if the latter's equilibrium constant take home the message that many practical problems
is quite unfavorable. It scuttles the hypothesis we in chemical engineering are more easily solved not by
started out with. stipulating conditions and calculating results, but by
In the broader context of the project, we might starting from the desired result and finding conditions
say that we have worked ourselves out of a job. Our that will produce it-just as, say, an equation such as
analysis has shown that thermodynamics does not im- x3 + x ln x = a requires a root finder to calculate x
pose serious limitations and that optimum operating (the result) for given a (conditions) but is solved di-
conditions will be dictated mostly by other considera- rectly in seconds for a if x is given. As our exercise
tions, such as catalyst chemistry, rates, corrosion and has shown, this approach is most effective if the relev-
materials of construction, solids handling, etc. ant equations are written in their simplest form and
the "design options" (that is, the variables that can be
HINDSIGHT chosen) are selected from the variables appearing in
these equations (in our case, the partial pressures).
Had we been more clever, we might have antici-
This "cart-before-the-horse" approach is rarely
pated these conclusions. We could have written an
found in elementary texts. However, there is one
overall stoichiometric equation approximately reflect-
well-established precedent in chemical engineering
ing our desired conversion:
education: the McCabe-Thiele construction for binary
fractionation columns. Here, the desired purities of
the tops and bottoms are specified, and reflux ratios
and numbers of trays to attain them are determined.
The mere fact that we can write such an equation I recommend to my students that they fill an hour of
should have made us realize that the methane yield boredom with an attempt to use the construction to
depends on the relative amounts of H 2 and H 2 O find the tops and bottoms purities for a given tray
reacted, while temperature and pressure play only an number and reflux ratio, just to see how much more
indirect role by affecting the extent of CO formation complicated and difficult the procedure becomes.
and the relative amounts of H 2 and H 2 O leaving un- Lastly, in our days of easy access to computers
reacted with the product gas. and the great temptation to use these wonderful
For reaction (18) we find machines on every occasion, it will be educational for
a student to see that the human brain still has a place
0
t.G = - 9.43 kcal/mo I
in our world, that in fact a problem properly thought
0
t.H = - 13.95 kcal/mo I
through might possibly be solved long-hand in a shor-
ter time than it would take to be fed to a computer.
L'>ng = - 0.8

We see that the reaction, constrained to roughly the ACKNOWLEDGMENT

desired methane yield, is somewhat favored by low
temperature (small negative .:iH and high pressure
0
)
I am indebted to R. L Kabel for his suggestion to
(small negative ling) and has a reasonable favorable use coal methanation as a class problem.
equilibrium (negative .:iG 298); Ki(T) by Eq. (7) turns
0

out to be larger than unity up to T = 920 K. The gist

REFERENCES
of the conclusions from our calculations could thus
have been foreseen on the basis of an even simpler, if 1. See, for example, C. G. Hill, Jr., An Introduction to Chem-
crude, reasoning. ical Engineering Kinetics & Reactor Design, Wiley,
Chapter 2 and Appendix A (1977)
2. S. R. Brinkley, "Note on the Conditions of Equilibrium for
QUI BONO?
Systems of Many Constituents," J. Chem. Phys., 14, 563-
Apart from having been placed in the atmosphere 564 (1946)
3. T. Daubert, Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics,
of an industrial development project and having McGraw Hill, Section 9.5 (1985)
gained some insight (even if superficial), into coal 4. S. M. Walas, Phase Equilibria in Chemical Engineering,
methanation equilibria, the student should have de- Butterworth, Section 10.6 (1985)
rived other benefits from this exercise. 5. E. B. Nauman, Chemical Reactor Design, Wiley, Exam-
ple 4.15 (1987)
Regarding reaction equilibria, the student will 6. H. P. Meissner, C. L. Kusik, and W. H. Dalzell,
have learned a much simpler approach that can often "Equilibrium Composition with Multiple Reactions,"
be used in practice. More importantly, he or she will l&EC Funds., 8, 659-665 (1969) 0

SPRING 1989 81
[•nil classroom

AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO THE

PROCESS DESIGN COURSE
MARK J. McCREADY 3. Improve written and verbal communication skills.
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556 4. Encourage students to form a viewpoint about science and
technology and to look beyond the current situation to see
the bigger picture.
COURSE WHICH many departments find trouble-
A some to teach is the senior level process design 5. Expose students to some of the issues which they will face
when they leave college for their chosen profession.
course. Problems may arise because there is no avail-
able faculty member with either significant design ex-
perience or who does research in the area of process Goals 1 and 3 are traditionally present in any de-
design or simulation, and the option of bringing in an sign course, but the other three, which are also impor-
industrial practitioner may not be possible because of tant in the education of students who will pursue a
geographical considerations. Even when an appropri- broad range of career paths, are not. To meet these
ate faculty member is available, a question which must goals, elements other than design projects and lec-
be addressed is: What goals should the course have, tures on topics related to design must be incorporated
given the continual evolution of technology and the into the course.
shifting of traditional positions of employment for BS The process design sequence at Notre Dame con-
chemical engineers? An additional consideration is: sists of two 3-credit courses which meet three times
How can these goals be realized when the course is a week for fifty minutes. In the fall course, basic de-
taken by second-semester seniors who can be ex- sign topics such as economic analysis, short-cut design
pected to lose intensity after spring break? methods, process synthesis, and flowsheeting are co-
In this article, the format of a senior design course vered. In addition, students are given instruction and
structured for the present economic and business con- practice (in the form of small projects) in the use of
ditions and for a group of students with diverse in- the process simulator Process™ [1]. Because many of
terests, is described. In addition, the content and for- the fundamentals of process design have been included
mat are such that an instructor who is not an expert in the fall semester course, great flexibility is possible
in design can still provide a useful and interesting in the content of the spring semester course. This al-
course for the students. lows for the opportunity of extending the curriculum
The primary goals of the course are to of the design course to address goals 2, 4, and 5.
The components of the second semester course are:
1. Develop the students' ability to "create" good solutions to
engineering problems for which many alternatives exist. • A process design project

2. Expand the above goal to include all types of problems for • A project which involves the invention of an original prod-
which a student's knowledge or experience could be use- uct
ful.
• Class discussions on pertinent moral/social/economic is-
sues
Ma rk J. Mccready joined the faculty
at Notre Dame as an assistant professor af- • "Problems of the week" (defined below)
ter receiving his BChE degree from the
University of Delaware and his MS and PhD • Lectures on various topics
degrees from the University of Illinois. His
research interests lie in the areas of fluid
mechanics and transport properties of mul-
Each of these features of the class will be described
tiphase flows . Current topics include inter- below in terms of the intended goal.
facial wave phenomena and turbulent
transport of solids. «:> Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989

82 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 It is worth noting our experience with the use of a process simulator which allows for the simulation of some rathe r
complex equipment configurations. The process for the separation of the light hydrocarbon stream required five
distillation columns, ten compressors, numerous heat exchangers, and various other equipment. While this could
all be simulated, the time involved in getting many separate pieces of equipment to work correctly was excessive.

PROCESS DESIGN PROJECT

date (early April). The task before each group was to
Given the success of our "team teaching" approach get the best possible solution as to the project's feasi-
in the undergraduate labs where four or five faculty bility and its associated economics before that date.
members are involved (each having complete charge Intricate details regarding equipment selection were
of two experiments), we decided to try a similar ap- not to be addressed.
proach to process design. For this semester, four fac- On the first day of class, and after being divided
ulty members (including the course coordinator) were into groups, students were given a short written de-
part of the course, with each directing two groups of scription of four projects and were asked to list their
three students on a single design project. The course choices in the order of their preference. Not surpris-
coordinator had overall responsibility for the course, ingly, reflective of the time (and with no knowledge
including lectures. With only one project to direct, of which of the faculty was going to supervise which
each faculty member could become quite familiar with project), six of the nine groups listed the whey utiliza-
the details of his design problem and its potential so- tion project as their first choice.
lutions. He was therefore able to provide suggestions Progress memos, specified as "on time or not at
to assist the group's progress as well as to evaluate all," were due every two weeks, which made it neces-
their performance. Two groups were assigned to the sary for the students to work on their pr ojects virtu-
same project. This allowed for competition as well as ally every day. This rate of progress allowed the
for comparison of final solutions, but did not result in major technical and computer-intensive work to be
the problem being overworked, with all its subtleties done before spring break. The progress memos were
"shared around," which often occurs when an entire the standard type, with the first one requiring that
class does the same project. The projects used were: the students examine the literature for answers to
separation system for a light hydrocarbon mixture such questions as: Is there any current need for the
(adapted from a CACHE problem, suggested by D. S. process? What are the uses, the selling prices, and the
Maisel, which was implemented at Carnegie Mellon world demand for the products? How are these ex-
University); design of a separation scheme to remove pected to change in the future?
dimethlyformamide from water (adapted from a prob- The groups met with their project supervisors
lem in the Washington University AIChE Series, au- each week for about a half hour. Depending on the
thored by Frank Rush and implemented at the Uni- skill of the group, the involvement of the instructor
versity of Delaware); design of a process to produce would range from making vague suggestions to ex-
ethanolamines (suggested and directed by J. T. Ban- amining specific details of the students' work. In gen-
chero, Emeritus Professor at Notre Dame); and a pro- eral, the faculty tried to provide as little guidance as
cess which involved a novel use for waste whey possible in hope that the groups would solve their
(suggested and directed by F. H. Verhoff, an adjunct problems independently.
professor of our department). It is worth noting our experience with the use of
The projects were chosen in consideration of a a process simulator which allows for the simulation of
nine-week time constraint for completion. While this some rather complex equipment configurations. The
period is shorter than those usually allocated for large process for the separation of the light hydrocarbon
projects, I have been a student recently enough to stream required five distillation columns, ten com-
know that the amount of time and effort spent work- pressors, numerous heat exchangers, and various
ing on a large project is not determined by the total other equipment. While this could all be simulated,
time interval (or the difficulty of the project), but by the time involved in getting many separate pieces of
the number of sub-parts (i.e., progress reports) neces- equipment to work correctly was excessive. Greater
sary for its completion. educational benefit would have resulted if the problem
The design project was introduced through a were simpler (in this case, fewer chemical compo-
memo from the instructor which specified that a go/no- nents). This would have allowed more time for the
go decision on a particular project was to be made by students to take full advantage of a process simulator,
the parent company on a specific and not-too-distant i.e., to propose and check numerous alternative

SPRING 1989 83
schemes and to spend more effort on optimization of but which does not already exist. The original inten-
the best scheme. tion that the product shoul.d be related to chemical
The memos provided an opportunity for the stu- engineering was loosely enforced. This allowed the
dents to practice their writing. We have found that students to consider any interesting ideas, and they
this is not an overwhelming necessity, however, since were not limited by a lack of technical knowledge. The
students at Notre Dame must take advanced first memo, due within a few days, had to describe the
humanities courses which require papers. In addition, reasons for their product and, more important to the
our seniors have by this time completed two semes- goals of the course, had to include a list of (at least)
ters of chemical engineering lab. Consequently, our ten ideas which were rejected. A wide variety of good
students can write well if they take sufficient care. I and bad ideas filled the lists, some of which may have
was less certain about the ability of students to com- patent possibilities. The second memo, due two weeks
municate verbally. To give them practice, groups had later, was to describe the technical aspects of the
to give twenty-minute oral presentations to the entire product, e.g., how it can be made, or what the exact
class, describing the results of their projects. The design or chemical formula is. A final memo had to
presentations were surprisingly good. All of the stu- contain a rough economic forecast and describe the
dents had given a similar report on at least one prior perceived market sector and corresponding marketing
occasion (in the fall chemical engineering laboratory), strategy. Again, oral presentations were given, de-
and a lecture/discussion on the mechanics and goals of scribing the product to the class.
such talks was held in the current semester. This time, however, a twist was included. As the
project was originally formulated, an advertising cam-
PRODUCT DESIGN PROJECT
paign was required if the product was intended for
Professor James Wei [2], expressing his concern use by consumers. When I included this in the original
for the future health of the chemical engineering pro- instructions, I did not anticipate that all the groups
fession, has made the statement, "We have to put a would pick consumer products. The consequence was
bigger share of our best brains into manufacturing; that we were subjected to two and one-half hours of
bring in people who can make the economic pie bigger presentations, interrupted by commercials. One group
rather than those whose job it is to divide up a pie made a video tape describing the technical aspects of
that is already baked." This general idea has been its product, but most of the commercials were "live."
expressed by many who worry that chemical en- While the strategy and style of the commercials were
gineers may become less valuable in society if they not really novel, the content was.
are limited to the design and operation of chemical Needless to say, the students found this aspect of
processes. Encouraging creativity in our graduates is the course quite enjoyable; but how can we rate the
certainly one way to prevent the decay of the profes- educational benefit? I believe that it provided an op-
sion. portunity for all students to use their creativity,
This part of the course, which occurred during the which is not possible when solving difficult design
last four weeks of the semester, began with a lecture/ problems. While design problems may lend them-
discussion inspired by James Christensen [3] and selves to creative solutions, only the very best stu-
Richard Felder [4,5]. At the beginning of one class dents who understand all of the technical aspects are
period I mentioned to the students that they should in a position to develop imaginative solutions. Weaker
not be limited by normal thinking, but should try students are left to struggle along and to get any an-
novel methods for solving problems. They were then swer they can.
left to work on some in-class exercises which I had When I mentioned (to anyone who would listen)
devised. Exercises which produced the most creative my plans to try such an exercise with a class of
solutions were: develop a homework problem in fluid seniors, the typical responses were that either it
mechanics which involves a priest, a swimsuit model, would work great or it would be a total disaster. The
and a sea creature; describe as many uses as possible verdict: It did work well. The students put in the time
(other than personal viewing) for a complete set of the necessary to ensure the success of the project; if they
episodes from the TV show M.A.S.H. on VHS tapes; had not exerted this effort, the idea would have failed.
and, devise an advertising strategy for a major Wall The product design project allows for obvious ex-
Street investment banking firm which wants to enter tensions if time permits. The ASEE summary of the
the consumer investment market. Quality of Engineering Education Project [6] men-
With this introduction, groups were asked to in- tions that, "Employers are generally satisfied with the
vent a product which they feel is needed by the world basic technical preparation of today's graduates, but

84 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

find them largely unaware of the steps needed to bring were adapted from his notes. Major topics included a
new products from the idea stage to the marketplace survey of the products and economics of the chemical
and of the vital roles that engineers play throughout." and petroleum process industries (particular emphasis
Groups could be required to examine the manufactur- was placed on specialty products), prediction of phys-
ing steps necessary to actually make the product, with ical and chemical properties, and optimization. Indi-
the goal of identifying operations which could cause vidual lectures were devoted to batch processing, pro-
problems with reliability. In addition, marketing fore- cess reliability and quality control, multiphase con-
casts could be done in greater detail. tacting, interpersonal relations, and fluid pumping. In
addition, an engineer from UOP Corporation gave a
PROBLEMS OF THE WEEK lecture on a specialized separation operation. One
topic which will be included in the future is the selec-
In an effort to improve the general problem solving
tion and evaluation of separation processes.
skills of the students, problems drawn from everyday
life, but which required engineering solutions, were
CLASS DISCUSSIONS
posed and then solved using suggestions by the stu-
dents. This was done at the beginning of class every One of the course goals was to encourage students,
Friday until time became too short to continue. The who are trained in science and engineering, to develop
premise behind this part of the course is that most opinions about technology and its use. To effect this,
students need to think about solving problems when some of the lectures had a definite point of view which
no clear subject (e.g., fluid mechanics or ther- could have been (and sometimes was) disputed. An
modynamics) or method is implied. My favorite prob-
lem concerned keeping a Big Mac® hot in a car on a One of the course goals was to encourage students, who
cold day. A simple heat transfer analysis demon- are trained in science and engineering, to develop opinions
strated that it is better to keep the bag on the seat about technology and it use . .. . An additional aspect
rather than under the heater. However, one particu- was to have class discussions on controversial topics ...
larly inventive student suggested that the glove com-
partment might be the ultimate solution. additional aspect of the course intended to achieve this
Initially, I found that very few students would goal was to have class discussions on controversial
venture even a guess as to how to solve the problem. topics, such as use/misuse of chemical pesticides and
However, after about the third time they warmed up herbicides, or the productivity of the American work
to the idea, and I subsequently got more than enough force (which was based on a preliminary release of an
suggestions to solve any problem. On the only test, MIT productivity report [7]). The relatively small
given at about mid-semester, responses to a question class size (twenty-eight) made this possible, and the
regarding the inevitable uneven cooking of a frozen format used was similar to a debate. Two teams of
pizza demonstrated that students were enjoying the students prepared arguments for opposing sides of the
challenge of solving such problems. The course evalu- issue. The rest of the class was free to join the discus-
ation questionnaires showed that students felt this sion after the opening statements were made. It was
was a very beneficial part of the class and that it not surprising that the students' ability to develop and
should be expanded. A good suggestion which will be express opinions was not correlated in any way to
implemented in the future was to provide students their grade averages.
with a summary of the solution after class so that no From the evaluation questionnaires it was possible
note-taking would be necessary. to get an assessment of this feature of the course.
Some students mentioned that it encouraged them to
LECTURES think of technology more broadly, but sometimes the
arguments moved on to tangential issues or became
The biggest problem which arises in teaching a
totally unfocused. Nevertheless, two or three will
process design course when the instructor does re-
probably be held next year, with an effort made to
search in a field far removed from design, is the selec-
correct the flaws.
tion of topics and the development of lectures. Profes-
sor J. C. Kantor had taught this course previously,
DISCUSSION
and during that time he had developed a set of course
notes and identified literature sources for important This course, which differs from traditional design
topics, with the intention of enabling other faculty to courses in several respects, was structured to meet
teach the course. Lectures for the present course Continued on page 99.

SPRING 1989 85
tlflfll laboratory
A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT O N
COMBINED MASS ·TRANSFER AND KI NETICS
STUART A. SANDERS and
JUDE T. SOMMERFELD
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332 Stuart A. Sanders received his
bachelor's degree in chemical engineering
in June of 1988 from the Georgia Institute
a senior-level under-
T HIS ARTI CL E D ESCRIB ES
graduate laboratory experiment on combined mass
transfer and kinetics. Specifically, the increase of pH
of Technology. He developed the
laboratory experiment described in this arti-
cle during his senior year. He is currently
employed as a composites engineer with
in an aqueous solution of acetic acid (such as vinegar) Pratt-Whitney in West Palm Beach, Florida.
is followed with a digital pH meter during neutraliza-
tion with commercial antacid tablets. This experiment Jude T. Sommerfeld is a professor in
was successfully implemented into the chemical en- the School of Chemical Engineering at
Georgia Tech . He received his BChE from
gineering laboratory curriculum at Georgia Tech dur- the University of Detroit and his MSE and
ing the winter quarter of 1988, at a total cost of $600. PhD degrees, also in chemical engineer-
ing , from the University of Michigan. His 25
The reagents can be purchased cheaply at a local years of industrial and academic experience
supermarket. have been primarily in the area of computer-
aided design , and he has published over
r '~1,tv articles in this and other areas .
BACKGROUND
The development of meaningful yet inexpensive
engineering laboratory experiments on chemical kine-
tics is a difficult task. The incorporation of mass trans- EQUIPMENT
fer concepts into such experiments renders this task The principal piece of equipment needed for this
even more formidable. laboratory experiment is a pH meter and electrode
The pH values of the gastric contents of human with a reasonably rapid response time, e.g., 5-10 sec-
stomachs can typically vary from 1.0 to 3.0. Similarly, onds. For this purpose, an Accumet Model 910 pH
the pH values for many foods, specifically fruits (ap- meter with digital readout was purchased from Fisher
ples, apricots, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, pears, Scientific for about $500. A glass-body combination
strawberries), are in the range of 3.0-4.0. Thus, dilute electrode (with automatic temperature compensation)
acetic acid (such as vinegar) with a pH of around 3.0 was also purchased from the same company (Catalog
is a reasonably effective and inexpensive representa- No. 13-639-285), as well as two buffer solutions (pH
tive of the weak organic acids present in a human = 1.0 and 7.0) for 2-point standardization of the pH
body. This acid may then be employed for'simple lab- meter. Total cost of these latter items was less than
oratory simulation of the biochemical processes as- $100.
sociated with neutralization by commercial over-the- Most of the remaining required equipment items
counter antacids to relieve gastric distress. are standard laboratory supplies, such as beakers,
graduated cylinders, and reagent bottles. A magnetic
stirrer and stirring bar are required, as well as a
... dilute acetic acid (such as vinegar) with a pH of
around 3.0 is a reasonably effective and inexpensive timer. A set of vernier calipers is also needed for the
representative of the weak organic acids students to measure the dimensions of the antacid tab-
present in the human body. lets studied. A photograph of the experimental setup
is shown as Figure 1.
10 Cowri{lht ChE Divis ion ASEE 1989

86 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 electrode tip. The 2-point standardization of the pH
meter is then performed with the two buffer solutions
in accordance with the procedure given in the man-
ufacturer's instruction manual. A copy of the latter is
provided (loaned) to the students at the beginning of
the experiment.
A fresh acid solution is prepared by mixing 25 ml
of distilled white vinegar and 500 ml of distilled water
in a I-liter reagent bottle. From the latter, 250 ml of
this fresh acid solution are transferred to a 500-ml
beaker, which is placed on a magnetic stirrer. This
beaker is then positioned below the electrode assem-
bly, and the latter is lowered into the acid solution.
Care is taken to ensure that the stirring bar will not
hit the electrode tip during operation. The initial pH
of the acid solution is recorded (typically 3.09).
The thickness (H) and diameter (D) of a tablet of
the test antacid are measured with the vernier cali-
pers. At time = 0, the suggested number of tablets
(m = 5 for brand R, 3 for brand T) are dropped into
the acid solution and the timer is started. The stirring
speed is adjusted to achieve a fair degree of
FIGURE 1. Experimental setup to study neutralization of homogeneity, and so that the tablets are just barely
vinegar with antacid tablets. lifted off of the bottom of the beaker. The pH values
for the solution are recorded at 30-second intervals
for the first five minutes, at I-minute intervals for the
PRELIMINARY TESTS next 15 minutes, and at 2-minute intervals for the re-
mainder of the run-until the tablets are completely
Some initial tests were performed on the neutrali- dissolved and the solution pH has levelled off at a
zation of distilled white vinegar with granulated or constant value (typically 40-50 minutes total).
powdered antacids. As one might expect, the neutrali- The above procedure is then repeated for the sec-
zation was completed within less than a minute. This ond antacid (R or T) to be investigated. Typical ex-
time frame is, of course, unacceptable for two reasons: perimental data from such an investigation of brand T
1) response time considerations of the electrode and are presented in Table 2.
2) duration of the experiment for data acquisition. It
was also found that very little vinegar was required
if one wished to avoid excessive consumption of the
antacid. TABLE 1
Thus, in all further experiments the distilled white Characteristics of Antacid Tablets Studied
vinegar was diluted with distilled water in the ratio
Antacid Brand
of 1:20. It was also decided to use antacid tablets as Property R T
the neutralization agents. Two such commercial prod-
ucts were chosen, and they are denoted as R and T Active (alkaline) ingredient Dihydroxylaluminum Calcium
soruum carbonate carbonate
throughout this article. The various properties and
Typical mass of tablet, g 1.42 1.33
physical characteristics of these antacid tablets are
Mass of active ingredient, mg 335 500
given in Table 1. Mass fraction active ingredient (xB) 0.236 0.376
Mol. wt. of active ingredient (MB) 144.0 100.09
PROCEDURE Typical thickness of tablet (H), cm 0.520 0.377
Typical diameter of tablet (D), cm 1.610 1.610
Following is a summary of the procedure for this
Aspect r a tio (o. = H/R) 0.646 0.468
laboratory experiment, as distributed to the students.
Density of tablet (p), g/cm3 1.341 1.733
The protective tip is removed from the pH elec- No. of tablets used in an experiment (m) 5 3
trode, and the latter is rinsed well with distilled water
to remove any residue which may have formed on the

SPRING 1989 87
THEORY
TABLE 2
Very simply, the overall ionic reaction for this sys- Experimental Data on the
tem is: Neutralization of Vinegar with Antacid Brand T
2H 0 + + CO ~ • 3H 0 + CO (1)
3 3 2 2 t,min pH t,min pH t,min pH

It is assumed that the instantaneous rate of the overall 0.0 3.09 8.0 4.47 29.0 5.63
reaction, measured as the rate of disappearance of the 1.0 3.19 9.5 4.70 31.0 5.67
hydronium ion, is proportional to the product of the 1.5 3.43 10.0 4.74 33.0 5.70
instantaneous remaining surface area of the tablets 2.0 3.57 11.0 4.82 35.0 5.74
2.5 3.69 12.0 4.90 37.0 5.77
and the hydronium ion concentration, with the order
3.0 3.80 13.0 4.97 39.0 5.80
for the latter as yet unspecified. Thus 3.5 3.90 14.0 5.09 41.0 5.84
4.0 3.98 15.0 5.20 42.0 5.85
1 dNA n 4.5 4.06 21.0 5.44 43 .0 5.87
---=-kaC (2)
V dt A 5.0 4.12 23.0 5.49 44.0 5.88
6.0 4.24 25.0 5.53 45.0 5.90
Now, the area of a given tablet (disc) is the sum of its 7.0 4.35 27.0 5.58
two faces plus its edge, or 21rr2 + 21rrh. Assuming
that the aspect ratio (a = height/radius) of a given
tablet remains constant throughout the dissolution terms of the single dependent variable r, is then ob-
process, the instantaneous surface area of a tablet is tained after substitution of Eq. (8) into Eq. (7).
21rr2 (1 + a). Eq. (2) then becomes, after assuming
constant reaction volume (V) REACTION ORDER

In the case of n = 1 (process is first-order with

(3) respect to the acid concentration), the substitution of
Eq. (8) into Eq. (7) yields
It is necessary to relate CA and r in the above
•nation. From the stoichiometry of Eq. (1) dr = _ k ( r3 + pa r3) (9)
dt

dN A dNB where
--=2-- (4)
dt dt
0
3
'Y3 _(1 a)_
_+_ Mn_CA__V 21tm ( 1 + a) R
Eq. (3) then becomes (10)
3apx 8 3

1 dNB n
and
- - - =- 1tkmr2 (1 +a)C (5)
V dt A

We further assume that the composition of an antacid pa= 21tm(l + a) (11)

3
tablet remains constant throughout the process. Thus

1tmr 2 hp~ a1tmpx 8 r 3 Eq. (9) can then be integrated between the limits of r
NB=----=---- (6) = R at t = 0 and r at t to yield
MB MB

Eq. (5) then becomes

_z_j1. 10
(1 +d(1
2 2
- ZR+R )
3y3 2 2 ( 2 )
dr -k(l+a)M 8 V n (l +R) l - lr+r2
-dt = CA (7)
3apxn

From an overall material balance

(8)
where

'Y
(13)
The final differential equation to be integrated, in - p

88 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 Thus, a plot of the left-hand side of Eq. (12), de- where r is again computed from Eq. (14), averaged
noted as f(r), versus time (t) would yield a straight over the time increment selected.
line if n were equal to unity. The slope of this straight The logarithm of the normalized rate
line would be the combined mass transfer and kinetic
rate constant, k. The function f(r) is computed at each
experimental data point by calculating r from rear-
zn[-_! . dCA]
dt
a
rangement of Eq. (8) was then plotted versus the logarithm of the hydron-
ium ion concentration. The result of this procedure is
shown in Figure 2. As Eq. (2) indicates, the slope of
this straight line in log-log coordinates should be equal
to the reaction order (n) with respect tp the hydro-
and invoking the definition of pH nium ion concentration. Least-squares regression
pH=- log(CA) (15) analysis of these data for the T tablets yielded a slope
of n = 1.5007, with a correlation coefficient of 0.980.
When the data of Table 2 were converted and plotted Similar results, i.e., n ~ 3/2, were obtained from ex-
in the indicated fashion, however, the results were perimental data on neutralization with brand R tab-
disappointing. Instead of a straight line, a smooth lets.
curve with a monotonically decreasing slope was ob-
tained, indicating that n # 1. DATA ANALYSIS
A differential analysis of the experimental data of
Thus, in the laboratory instructions to the stu-
Table 2 was next performed. For this purpose, the pH
dents, they are given the value of n = 3/2 in Eq. (2),
data of Table 2 were converted to CA, numerically
and then asked to experimentally determine the value
differentiated with respect to time, and the resulting
rate normalized with respect to the instantaneous of the combined mass transfer and kinetic rate con-
stant, k. This is accomplished by again numerically
total surface area of the tablets. The latter is com-
differentiating the data to obtain dC Aidt, and plotting
puted as
this result versus the product of 21rmr2 (1 + cx)C A312
a= 2itmr2 (1 + a) (16)
DETERMINATION OF RATE CONSTANT

DE TERMINATION OF REACTION ORDER -2.SBSe-26 - - - - - - - - - - - - ~

- 16

-1.000e-7
y"' 4.3691 • I 5007)( R.2 • 0980
D
- 1B

-2.000e-7 D

- 20

y • 3 2837e - 9 - 79.469x R·2 • O 984

-3.000e-7
~
. -22
0 0
~ 0 0

-24
-4.000e-7

-26 -S.OOOe-7

-2B + - ' - - - - - - ~ - - ~ - - ~
-22 - 20 -1 8 -1 6 - 14 -6.000e-7 + - - - - - - ~ - - ~ - - . . . . , . _ _ _ ,
2.000e-9 4.000e-9 6.000e-9 8.000e-9

LN (H•]

FIGURE 2. Plot of reaction rate, normalized to the instan-

taneous surface area of the tablets, versus the hydro- FIGURE 3. Plot of reaction rate to obtain rate constant
nium ion contentration, in log-log coordinates. from Eq. (3).

SPRING 1989 89
[see Eq. (3)]; r is again calculated from Eq. (14). The may also be postulated for consumption of the acetic
result of this procedure is shown in Figure 3 for the acid. The bicarbonate ion, of course, is formed from
data of Table 2 on brand T tablets. Least-squares re- the ionic dissociation of CO 2
gression analysis of the data in this case yielded a
value of the slope for this straight line (equal to k) of (21)
79.5 (liter/gmole) 112/(cm2 min).
(22)
DISCUSSION
No reasons for the apparent process order with There are two implicit assumptions underlying
respect to the hydronium ion concentration of n = 3/2 reaction (19) as the sole consumption sink for the ace-
are provided to the students. They are not expected tic acid: 1) most or all of the CO2 is evolved as gas
to come up with an explanation, either. The develop- from the reaction solution; 2) the amount of HCO 3-
ment of a more complete and accurate mechanism for formed from any residual CO2 present in solution is
this process would certainly be an interesting exer- negligible. Indeed, some gas evolution is observed
cise, but is beyond the scope of a single undergraduate during the experiment. The ionization constant for
laboratory experiment (one of four during a 10-week carbonic acid (Kc equal to 4.3 · 10-7 at room tempera-
quarter). ture) may be used to estimate the amount of bicarbo-
Thus, in addition to the single heterogeneous term nate ion present, i.e.
of Eq. (2), incorporation of the homogeneous aqueous
dissociation of acetic acid (23)

Thus, at the beginning of the reaction (when very

little CO2 should be present in the first place) when
would be a more complete representation for the rate
the pH is 3.09, from Eq. (23) the ratio of the concen-
of hydronium ion disappearance. In this case, Eq. (2)
trations of bicarbonate ion to carbonic acid is about
would become
4 · 10-4, and hence the former is truly negligible. At
1 dNA n the final pH of 5.90, however, this ratio is equal to
y·~=kaCA - klCHAc+k2CACAc - (18) 0.34. Reaction (20) may thus have an impact on the
overall process under these conditions. The fact that
The reverse reaction rate constant (k2) in Eq. (18) can this latter reaction is unimolecular in acetic acid,
be eliminated by introduction of the dissociation con- whereas the assumed sole consumption reaction (19)
stant for acetic acid (KA), but the forward rate con- is bimolecular with respect to the same species, may
stant (k 1) would have to be estimated or determined. conceivably be related to the apparent intermediate
In writing Eq. (2), it was implicitly assumed that reac- reaction order of 3/2 observed.
tion (17) is always at equilibrium, and thus its net rate
is equal to zero. In principle, this reaction can be in- NOMENCLATURE
corporated into the model through usage of appropri-
ate material balance equations, but processing of the a instantaneous total surface area of the antacid
experimental data then becomes practically intract- tablets, cm2
able. C concentration, gmole/liter
Another consideration pertains to consumption of D initial diameter of an antacid tablet, cm
the acetic acid. In writing Eqs. (1) and (4), it was also f(r) function ofr, defined by Eq. (12)
implicitly assumed that the only mechanism for con- H = initial thickness of an antacid tablet, cm
sumption of the acetic acid was the following overall h instantaneous thickness of an antacid tablet,
reaction cm
KA ionization constant for the aqueous dissocia-
2CH3COOH+co; • H20+C02 +2CH3coo- (l9) tion of acetic acid
ionization constant for the aqueous dissocia-
where CO3 - is the common anion in the two brands of
tion of carbonic acid
antacid tablets studied. However, since CO 2 is formed k combined mass transfer and kinetic rate con-
as a product of reaction (19), the following additional stant, (liter/gm mole) 112/(cm2 min)
reaction forward reaction rate constant for the aqueous
dissociation of acetic acid

90 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

k2 reverse reaction rate constant for the aqueous ization including an analysis of droplet mechanisms and
dissociation of acetic acid influence of dispersants, and slurry combustion including
l constant ( = -y/13), cm an assessment of mineral matter transformation and re-
action kinetics. Most of the CWM combustion programs
M molecular weight, g/gmole
in Europe are carried out on converted utility and indus-
m number of antacid tablets present trial boiler plants. Whereas most USA CLM programs
N moles of a substance, gmoles have emphasized the use of premium grades of coal, the
n order of process with respect to hydronium ion European program gives considerable emphasis to the
concentration use of low-grade fuels of h igh ash content where local
pH -log(CA) economic factors are favorable including coal washery
R initial radius of an antacid tablet, cm fines . Commercial applica tion of slurry to steam genera-
r instantaneous radius of an antacid tablet, cm tion, to aggregate cement kiln firing and to open hearth
t time, min furnaces are discussed in considerable detail reflecting
V volume of reaction solution, liters the technological ma turity of the use of CWM.
x mass fraction Economic and m arketing aspects of coal liquid mix-
tures are nicely summarized in Chapter 27 by N. Lood on
a aspect ratio of an antacid tablet ( = H/R)
"Coal Water Fuel (CWF) in a Changing Market." He
13 constant defined by Eq. (11)
points to the increases of oil prices in 1973 and in 1979
'Y constant defined by Eq. (10), cm which focused attention on the need to develop alterna-
p density of a tablet, g/cm3 tives to oil and to the recent emergence of CWF as the
[ ] concentration of, gmole/liter leading candida te . He discusses CWM fuels advantages
in terms of high coal reserves, m arket stability, the
Subscripts
preservation of the fluid infrastructure, the safety and
A acid (H 3 0 +) environmental cleanliness, and the fact that existing oil
B = base (C03 - ) boilers could be utilized with minimal changes and low
retrofit costs.
Superscript The oil price collapse of 1986 from the $30 per barrel
range to the $10 per barrel range had a major impact on
0 = initial condition (t o) • CWF. The reaction in the USA where market forces are
predominant was almost immediate, and most develop-

rift • book reviews

COAL LIQUID MIXTURES: Proceedings of the
ment projects were shelved or drastically scaled down.
This conference proceedings suggests that Europeans
have taken a longer range perspective and are giving
somewhat greater attention to the security of energy
supply upon the stability of European economies uis-a-
Third European Conference uis actions of the OPEC cartel. Of the member states in
the European Economic Community, Italy is making the
edited by T. J. Pierce, et al
greatest progress in the use of CWF. From the continued
Hemisphere Publishing Corp., 79 Madison Aue., advancement of CWM technology in Europe it would
New York, NY; 409 pages, $82.50 (1988) appear that the technological lead which the US had in
1985 might have been transferred abroad. The recent
Reviewed by Alex E. S. Green Clean Coal Technology program might, however, restore
University of Florida the US posi tion.
This reviewer fi nds it difficult to understand why co-
Published by the European Federation of Chemical combustion of coal water fuel with natural gas has re-
Engineers (EFCE Publication Series No. 64, EFCE Event ceived practically n o attention in Europe. Natural gas is
No. 372), this book is a report on a two day symposium available from the USSR, North ern Africa, and the North
held in Malmo, Sweden, 14-15 Oct 1987 (ISB No. 85295 Sea, and its price ten ds to track the price of oil. Co-com-
2139). CLM-2 the 2nd European conference on this topic bustion of coal water fuel wi th n atural gas (CWG fuel)
held in London (1985) reflected optimism on the future of provides advantages in th e form of emission reduction,
CLM as well as a consolidation of works on the stability, energy enhancement, flame stabilization, and other tech-
atomization, and combustion characteristic of slurry nological benefits (see An Alternative to Oil: Burning Coal
technology. On the other hand, CLM-3 recognizes that with Gas, University Presses of Florida, 1981, and Co-
the 1986 fall of world oil prices has generally delayed the Combustion ASME FACT, Vol 4, 1988, HOO443). In this
commercial realization of CLM. The papers presented reviewer's opinion , wh en oil prices climb above $20 per
provide mostly an update of technological developments barrel again, CWG fuel will be the most competitive al-
on coal water mixtures (CWM). They cover slurry ternative to oil from environmental, energy, and eco-
preparation at pilot and commercial scales, slurry atom- nomic standpoints. •

SPRING 1989 91
tlb• Iaboratory

DO STUDENT CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

UNDERSTAND EXPERIMENTAL ERROR?
R. R. HUDGINS, P. M. REILLY
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1

o PROFESSORS PAY lip service to teaching mathe-

D matical statistics but leave the philosophy of the
"scientific method" unlearned? We provide our stu-
dents with example after example of "sanitized" mod-
els in the form of mathematical correlations obtained
from "dirty" data after a liberal application of scien-
tific hygienics. Such filtering of information requires
a mature understanding of error analysis, even though
we treat the variability of our data as if it should be
suppressed. MATHEMATICAL
WORLD
Most chemical engineers have used empirical equa-
tions like the Sieder-Tate relationship and, after
checking that the variables are in the per missible
range, they tend to ignore the accuracy of the pre-
dicted values. If pressed, most would admit that some
level of uncertainty is present that is hopefully toler-
able. However, if asked about E = mC 2 , many would
say, "That's not an empirical equation: it represents
physical reality," and they might be reluctant to agree
that there is any uncertainty in it.
Engineers, however, must work in the real world
FIGURE 1. Measurement-the Precarious Bridge
Bob Hudgins is a professor of with measured quantities. We, as engineers, are also
chemical engineering at the University of forced to recognize that no communication exists be-
Waterloo and holds degrees from the Uni-
tween the real and the mathematical worlds except
versity of Toronto and Princeton University.
He teaches reaction engineering, staged through some sort of measurement (see Figure 1). Al-
operations, and laboratories that go with though we can make all sorts of flights of fancy about
them . His research interests lie in periodic E = mC 2 , they have no meaning in the world of things
operation of catalytic reactors and in the im- that we touch and manipulate except through the
provement of gravity clarifiers.
single bridge provided by measurements. Further-
Park Reilly holds an appointment as more, measurements (except in trivial cases) are al-
professor (retired) of chemical engineering ways contaminated by error. For example, if we set
at the University of Waterloo. He graduated out to check how closely E = mC 2 corresponds to
from the University of Toronto in 1943 and
worked in industry until 1967 when he reality, we find insurmountable difficulties in defining
joined the faculty at the University of Wa- the symbols so they can be perfectly verified in the
terloo. He studied statistics at the University real world. One of these concerns the concept of mass.
of London and received a PhD in Statistics How can it be determined except by comparison and
in 1962. His research and publications are
in the area of applied statistics. how can that comparison be made on an indefinitely
fine scale?
© Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989 To step from this into the real world of chemical

92 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

experiments is to meet error head-on. Students in an
undergraduate laboratory have spent most of their Above all, we believe that each experiment can be a
scientific lives on the abstract side of the measure- learning experience in experimentation as such , so that
the students gain some skill and knowledge which
ment bridge. They tend to think that there are only will help them in any future experiments.
two options if the results do not agree nicely with the
theory: 1) there is something wrong with the equip-
ment or its value in elucidating the theory, or 2) the
real and the mathematical worlds cannot be bridged,
so theory is of little value in the real world. 0 .8
A critical examination of undergraduate labora-
tories reveals that most of the experiments are cont-
rived to illustrate one or more points of physical or
chemical theory. Statistical design and analysis are
usually considered nuisances at best. "Error 0 .6
analysis," when it is carried out, consists most often
of an examination of what the maximum error might
be, without regard to any evaluation of what typical E
errors could have occurred. (!)

In this vein, the most powerful method of assess- _,o OA

:r:
ing what errors are likely to occur is that of replication
of experimental trials. In the atmosphere of the labo- D
ratory, students regard this as a waste of time.
We believe that it is possible to design under- D
0 .2 D 0
graduate experiments in such a way that the true re- 6 0
lationship between theory and practice can be re-
spected, the presence of error can be accounted for in
a rational manner, and at the same time the physical
or chemical point can be made. Above all, we believe 0.0'-----'---.,____ _,__ _.,____~_ _.,____~
that each experiment can be a learning experience in 0.0 0 .2 0.4 0 .6
experimentation as such, so that the students gain
-rnG/L
some skill and knowledge which will help them in any
future experiments. FIGURE 2 . Height of a transfer unit (based on overall
gas) vs. mG/L for acetone absorption from air into water.
GAS ABSORPTION : AN EXPERIMENT Three different symbols represent three different ses-
WITH MEASUREMENT ERROR sions of data collection. Least-squares line is shown for
all points.
As an example of an experiment with considerable
scatter in the measurements, let us examine a gas six points in a day's work. These usually represent
absorption experiment, specifically the one used in the the sole basis the group has for an entire report on
undergraduate curriculum in the Department of gas absorption.
Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo. In Scattered data like those in Figure 2 are usually
this experiment, air picks up a predetermined quan- subjected to a scathing sort of error analysis by stu-
tity of acetone vapour and enters the bottom of a dent groups. Verdict: "bad data" or "defective exper-
packed tower of Raschig rings where it meets fresh iment" or "waste of time." Recommendations: "re-
water entering from above. The water leaving the gas place the gas chromatograph" or "check the pumps"
absorber is sampled and analyzed chromatographi- or "put controllers on all the flows." The word about
cally for acetone. The results are worked up (see Fig- the gas absorption experiment soon reaches incoming
ure 2) into a plot of the height of an overall gas trans- classes, with the result that students new to the
fer unit vs. the mG/L quotient, in which m is the laboratory have to be coaxed or coerced into selecting
Henry's Law coefficient for acetone in water, G is the gas absorption as an optional experiment. After all,
air flow in moles/time, and L is the water flow in who cares about error analysis in the face of what is
moles/time. The final data sets of three different known via the grapevine? Replicate shmeplicate-the
blocks of seven experiments each are plotted in Figure experiment's a dud. Everyone knows that!
2. Ordinarily, a student group will obtain only about In their defense, our students have a point. The

SPRING 1989 93
 100
Ht oG values in the centre of Figure 2 scatter over
~
~
ne;rly a three-fold range. Also, students take only
about six points in a single lab period, often giving the
appearance of incoherence to their already sparse
(/)
t: DATA
~~
~
z 10 - CLUSTERS
data. However, they almost always fail to notice that :J
~"";. ~~
the data they have taken are not much, if any, worse w ~~ ~
~~@
~
than what appears in the chemical engineering litera- t-
<l:
ture. For example, Figure 3, sketched from the
w
...J
~~~ C
Chemical Engineers' Handbook (Perry and Chilton, a: I- ~
1973), shows that the mass transfer coefficient (i.e., ~
(!)

height of a transfer unit) has a two- to three-fold vari-

I I
ation at a given liquid flowrate (i. e., constant 10 100 1000
Reynolds number). Except for a little inexperience
G ( RELATIVE UNITS)
with the equipment, undergraduate students probably
do almost as well in experimental technique as those FIGURE 3. Mass transfer coefficient kG vs. gas flow rate
who have contributed to posterity's data pool in the G for gas absorption (after Perry and Chilton, 1973).
handbooks. Nevertheless, somewhere in our con-
sciousness the myth persists that data points must lie students a chance to see something real. For example,
on a clean line of the sort that we plotted in physics acetone is a material that has a high affinity for water,
lab the day we measured current against voltage. so water is a logical medium for use in removing
Thus, we conclude that student engineers who find acetone vapours from the air. Also, a glass column is
themselves confronting scattered measurements re- used to display the intermingling of the gas and liquid
ally don't understand experimental error. Changes flows over the packing. This provides a sense of real-
are needed to help them appreciate more fully the ity to the experiment. The only contrived aspect of
structure of the data they are encountering in such this experiment is its scale, which is kept small for
experiments. Unfortunately, laboratory experience reasons of convenience.
can fortify those durable prejudices about "good ex-
2) The major block to students' perception that
periments" and "bad experiments" as well as encour-
scatter is the rule in complex chemical engineering
age an informed interpretation based on statistical
systems is probably the fact that in most of our teach-
error analysis. Much depends on the experimental de-
ing we tend to use deterministic models without men-
sign and the way students are encouraged to regard
tioning the associated error. Therefore, the student
their results.
who discovers a lot of scatter in an experiment may
Specific ways to encourage clear thinking about
conclude that experiments are less trustworthy than
error analysis are: models.
1) Design into the undergraduate labs some opportunities to The misunderstanding of scatter is aggravated by
view "real" rather than "contrived" phenomena in chemical the fact that students are able to obtain relatively lit-
engineering experiments.
2) Design out the features that shield students from confronting tle data on the gas absorber during a single laboratory
the large variability which is common in complex chemical session. Often, if only two of, say, six runs are done
engineering systems. Instead, promote replication and other under replicate conditions, and the two observations
statistical devices which help deal with variability as it exists. are quite different, students will view the equipment
3) Require students to become familiar with the chemical en- as behaving capriciously.
gineering literature that shows the kind of variability that is
common to various systems.
A further difficulty occurs in the gas absorption
4) Teach students to resist the temptation to try to explain "ev- experiment because of the fact that a GIL ratio tends
erything" about complex engineering systems. to compress the range of the data. For example, if
both G and L are doubled, the mG/L ratio thus re-
MAKING LAB EXPERIMENTS MORE INSTRUCTIVE mains constant. This tends to reduce the experimental
In view of the above statements, it is clear that data base.
the gas absorption experiment referred to previously One helpful idea in redesigning this undergraduate
needs redesigning. The various items in such a rede- experiment is to reduce the number of variables by
sign are numbered in keeping with the above four one; for example, by maintaining G constant and
points. varying L. This will eliminate the compression of the
data base by the use of the G/L ratio as well as reduce
1) The gas absorption experiment already offers Continued on page 119.

94 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 International Chemical Engineering
25 th ANNIVERSARY
ISSUE 1961-1985
Celebrating the first 25 years of INTERNATIONAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, AIChE presents this special volume
highlighting major contributions by internationally recognized and acclaimed researchers who have had a decided
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This collection presents a selection of translations of important papers previously published in INTERNATIONAL
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING which have contributed to advances in research in such areas as combustion and detonation,
transport theory, catalysis, and mass transfer. They reflect the changing character, broadening scope and international
nature of chemical engineering research.

SAMPLE CONTENTS INCL0DE: On the nature of thermal motion in liquids.

A.S. Preduoditeleu (USSR)
The kinetics of steady-state complex reactions.
Ml. Temkin (USSR)

Continuous expression of slurry in a screw press.

M Shirato, I Murase, M Iwata, N. Hayashi, 5 Y. Ogawa (Japan)

Electrochemical determination of liquid-solid mass transfer in a fixed-bed

irrigated gas-liquid reactor with downward cocurrent flow.
Ch.B. DeLaunay, A. Storck, A. Laurent, 5 J. -C. Charpentier (France)

Catalytic reduction of nitric oxide with hydrocarbons.

S. Kasaoka, H. Tsumaki, 5 I Kitamura (Japan )

Stability and dynamics of heterogenous catalytic reaction systems.

G. Eigenberger (Fed eral Republic of Germany)

Deactivation of catalysts. I. Chemical and kinetic aspects.

P. Forzatti, G. Buzzi-Ferraris, M Morb_idelli 5 S. Carra. (Italy)

Microbial processing of petroleum for the production of food.

J. Bathory 5 E. Vam os (Hungary)

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AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

rift. laboratory
A THREE-STAGE COUNTER CURRENT
LEACHING RIG FOR THE SENIOR LABORATORY
WAYNE A. DAVIES
University of Sydney The new rig was intended to overcome the problems of
previous models which were beset by poor performance
N.S.W. Australia, 2006 and frustrating breakdowns. Its design contains a
number of attractive features which help to make the
TABORATORY WORK IS regarded as a vital part of laboratory both satisfying and instructive.
~ the unit operations course at the University of
Sydney. Exposed to the real world of the laboratory,
students discover the importance of concepts other
than the mathematical models that tend to be taken
as the be-all and end-all of understanding. Students
apply their ideas to a complex plant which must be
approached with preparation and respect. In planning
and executing their activities, they are inculcated with
a sense of discipline and leave the sessions with a feel-
ing of accomplishment. Properly done, the laboratory
can also be a lot of fun.
With this in mind, the department has built a
three-stage counter current leaching rig designed by
the author. The new rig was intended to overcome the
problems of previous models which were beset by poor
performance and frustrating breakdowns. Its design FIGURE 1. The whole rig. Three sets of mixer/settlers are con-
contains a number of attractive features which help to nected by tubing to create countercurrent solid/liquid flow.
make the laboratory both satisfying and instructive. Feed slurry enters the bottom mixer (RHS). Leached solids are
pumped from the base of the top settler (LHS). Feed water
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY enters the top mixer and the strong product solution emerges
from the overflow of the bottom settler. Underflows are con-
Previous models of the leaching rig had several veyed upwards by pumps mounted behind the acrylic panel.
unattractive features. Motors and bearings suffered
from exposure to wet and dusty conditions around each mixer could not be restarted if they were sub-
the mixers and settlers. Underflow was removed by merged under sedimented solids, and there was virtu-
valves which were either fully on or fully off, with the ally nothing instructive to see because the vessels
resultant discontinuity of flow leading to frequent were opaque. The new rig is designed around a trans-
blockages. The conventional overdriven impellers in lucent acrylic panel which separates both mixers and
settlers (the "wet side") from the motors, pumps,
Wayne Davies spent two years as a
bearings, and electrics (the "dry side") (see Figure 1).
lecturer in the department where he had This panel also acts as a convenient diffuser for a back-
previously received both his bachelors and light so that the behaviour of the slurry in the vessels
PhD degrees. Apart from his interest in un-
dergraduate teaching using the practical
can be clearly seen. The vessels are a "flat cell" design
"hands-on" approach, he is also interested in order to simplify construction and to simulate the
in applications of both conventional and usual cross-sectional view of such apparatus seen in
novel unit operations to the processing of
biological products and their long-term texts and on the chalkboard. Mixers employ exter-
storage and stability. nally mounted centrifugal pumps situated on opposite
sides of the acrylic panel (see Figure 2). When the
ii:> Cowright CltE Division ASEE 1989 pumps are started with settled solids in the vessel,

96 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 the same volumetric flowrate. The excellent pumping
characteristics obtained allow the underflow pumps to
do dual service, and they also convey the underflow
up to the next mixer stage (Figure 1). All other flows
can gravitate from one vessel to the next by tubing
whose angles of fall were chosen to avoid blockages
by solids build-up. Thus the solids-rich streams from
mixer to settler are angled at 28° while the solids-poor
settler overflows are angled at only 8.5°. Instrumenta-
tion includes an electronic tachometer on the under-
flow pump shaft in order to reproduce flowrates and
a variable area flowmeter for the feed water which is
delivered from a constant head tank.

OPERATION

Routinely, feed consists of a slurry of alumina (av-

erage particle size 65 µm) in water containing about
40 ppm fluorescein as the solute. The slurry is continu-
ously mixed in a 200 litre tank, and a peristaltic pump
delivers the feed to the first stage mixer where it
meets the overflow from the second stage settler.
Overflow from this mixer moves to the first stage set-

FIGURE 2. Stage 2 mixer showing pentagonal shape. Slurry to

the external pump agitator leaves the vessel about halfway
up on RHS. Slurry returns from the pump via the angled tube
at the bottom. Incoming overflow is via the top tube {LHS),
incoming underflow is via top tube (RHS) and mixed slurry
leaves the vessel via overflow tube {LHS).

clear supernatant initially enters the pump and the

return flow fluidises the sediment. After a short time
the entire contents are fully resuspended. The pen-
tagonal shape of the mixers encourages turbulent con-
ditions everywhere in the vessel and the motors are
overrated in order to cope with concentrated slurry
(up to 35% v/v settled solids). The settlers are de-
signed similarly. Natural consolidation of the sedi-
ment occurs in the steep V-bottomed shape of the ves-
sel (see Figure 3) and the inclined parallel plates in-
crease the effective surface area by a factor of about
three over that of the air/water interface. A perfo-
rated plate delivers feed to the parallel plate settling
section to help smooth pulsations in feedrate.
Almost continuous removal of the underflow is
achieved by peristaltic pumps situated on the dry side
of the acrylic panel. These are driven by a common FIGURE 3. Inclined plate settler showing wedge-shaped inlet
shaft from a variable speed gearbox and motor. Be- chamber {LHS), underflow removal tube (bottom) and over-
cause timing belts connect the shaft to the pumps, flow (RHS) as well as vertical tube conveying underflow to
there is no slip, and each pump delivers almost exactly next mixer stage above.

SPRING 1989 97
 tler, which separates the solids-rich underflow which
moves to the second stage mixer. The proces~ is re- TABLE 1
peated over three identical stages. A stream of solute- Performance Data
poor solids emerges from the third stage settler, and
RUN! RUN~
the strong product solution emerges as overflow from Feed
the first stage settler. The leached solids are collected Solids Concentration (% v/v) 22 19
in a 200 litre receiver tank. When full, this tank is Flowrate (ml/sec) 7.0 13.4
simply interchanged with the now-empty feed tank Dye Concentrationl (ppm) 40 44

and extra dye is added. Feeding slurry instead of solid Water Flowrate (ml/sec) 10.6 6.5
avoids the need to dry the material between labora-
tory sessions, which was far too laborious and time- Underflow
consuming. Solids Concentration (% v/v) 72 72
Flowrate (ml/sec) 2.9 5.9
Set up this way, the operation is strictly described Dye Concentration (ppm) 0.86 6.1
as counter-current washing since the solute dye is al-
ready in solution and not combined with the solid. Product Stream
True leaching can be performed by feeding real min- Flowrate (ml/sec) 13.5 13.5
Dye Concentration (ppm) 15.7 34.7
eral solids directly. Dye concentration is simply deter- Recovery2 (%) 99 95
mined from its absorbance at 491 nm. Solids concen-
trations are most conveniently expressed as the vol~ Mixers
~e fraction of the wet sediment after centrifuging (5 Solids Concentration (% v/v) 13 32
mm, 1000 xg). A correlation between mass fraction 1. Dye concentration is expressed in the supernatant.
and volume fraction is obtained experimentally by stu- 2. Based on a balance of the dye in the feedrate less the a mount in the
dents. underOow.

Choosing the operating parameters follows a set

logic which is determined by the design limits of the
without any problems. Most experimental runs are
equipment. The best way to start is to select the feed-
b_ased on conditions of constant flowrates and composi-
rate of slurry and its concentration, which may be in
t10ns, the performance of the rig being determined at
the range 3 to 26 mVsec and 20% to 60% (v/v wet
ste_ady_state. For most runs starting with no dye or
solids), respectively. The feedrate of solids then dic-
sohds m the system, this takes about fifty minutes to
tates the minimum underflow rate from the settlers.
achieve within reasonable error, much less if run
The absolute upper limit of solids in the underflow has
parameters are allowed to change dynamically.
~e~n found experimentally to be 85% (v/v), as any
Table 1 shows the results of two runs which dem-
limit greater than this will stall the pumps. For reli-
onstrate typical extremes of operation. In Run 1 the
able operation, a practical limit of 75% offers a margin
feed flowrate is modest and the water flowrate is
of safety.
fairly generous, whereas Run 2 operated close to the
The minimum water flowrate is determined as the
d~sign limit of both mixer and underflow pumps, with
amount necessary to prevent solids concentration ex-
high feed flowrate and minimal water flowrate. Run
ceeding the design limit of the mixer pumps, which
1 achieved almost total (99%) recovery of the solute
has been found to be about 35% (v/v). This is done by
but at relatively low concentration (15. 7 ppm). In Run
a mass balance around the third stage mixer. Once
2 the recovery was less (95%) but the product concen-
these minimum requirements have been found
greater values for water flowrate may be set without'
tration was more than double (34. 7 ppm). The solids
concentration in the underflows was fairly thick in
problem and the underflow rate can be increased to
?oth runs (72% v/v), and the settlers were still produc-
the point where its volumetric flowrate just equals
mg a workable underflow with sedimented solids up
the combined volumetric flowrates of the feed water
to 150 mm deep. In Run 2 the mixers were close to
a_nd the feed slurry. Naturally enough, optimal condi-
the~ design limit for solids concentration (32% v/v),
tions usually mean that the underflow is as thick as
but m Run 1 the mixers were hardly stressed at only
possible.
13% (v/v). Because of its greater water flowrate Run
1 achieved a relatively clean washed solid with only
PERFORMANCE
0.86 ppm solute in the accompanying solution. Under
In the two years that the rig has been in service nearly all conditions studied so far, the rig returns
it has logged over one hundred hours of operatio~ better than 2.5 ideal stages, or 83% stage efficiency.

98 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

DISCUSSION ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
The leaching rig described here offers students a Continued from page 85.
worthwhile laboratory experience due to its reliable
and predictable performance. As long as a few prelim- the needs of a diverse group of students given the
inary calculations are done to set the operating present economic and social climate. A survey of the
parameters correctly within design limits, the run can students who took this course reveals that while six
be expected to proceed without a hitch. Failure to have jobs related to product development, only four
observe a simple set of logical rules will inevitably of the twenty-eight (four are undecided) have ac-
lead to disaster, with wasted hours of misery in un- cepted jobs which directly involve work on chemical
blocking underflow tubes awaiting the unprepared. processes. One has accepted a job as a financial
Experimental tasks using the rig can be made sim- analyst with a major New York investment bank. The
ple or sophisticated to suit the ability of the group. As rest are either going to graduate school (three in
most experiments attempt to demonstrate perform- chemical engineering, one in law, and one in business),
ance at steady state, one task set can be to show that the naval officer program, or will work for firms that
steady state has been achieved within experimental specialize in business systems and consulting. Clearly,
error. More advanced questions involve adding the present format offered more to this particular
economic constraints, e.g., students may be told that group of students than would a course which included
the solute stream is the valuable product and that only topics traditionally considered as process design.
overall profitability of the operation is improved by All indications are that the course was successful
the total recovery of the solute but is diminished as in meeting the intended goals. However, it must be
the stream becomes more dilute. Additional con- noted that this was due in large part to the effort of
straints may be that the operating costs of the opera- the students. They worked hard for the first part of
tion increase as some function of the feedrate. With the semester to finish the design project. They also
these considerations in mind, students are asked to exerted significant effort through the end of the
perform an optimisation of the operation and then to semester to make the product design project worth-
make the rig work accordingly. while, even though most of them had already accepted
jobs.
CONCLUSIONS The structure of the present course may break too
far from tradition for the personal taste of many chem-
The apparatus described here represents the re- ical engineering faculties. However, the time could be
sult of an integrated approach to design with an em- right to reconsider the content and structure of pro-
phasis on teaching. The rig is functional, fits well with cess design courses which were conceived when the
theory, and needs little maintenance. Its ultimate util- majority of chemical engineers were employed in de-
ity is limited only by the imagination of the user. veloping and operating large chemical processes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES
I would like to thank the staff of the department,
especially Mr. D. Trevaskis, who helped with many 1. Process™ Simulation Program, Simulation Sciences,
invaluable suggestions during the design and con- Inc., Fullerton, CA
2. Wei, J., in the special supplement to Chemical Engi-
struction of the rig. I am also indebted to Mr. P. Kam- neering Progress, page 3, January (1988)
lade for the experimental results which he obtained as 3. Christensen, J. J ., "3M Award Lecture" presented at the
part of his graduation thesis and to Associate Profes- 1987 Chemical Engineering Summer School, Southwest-
sor D. Bagster for critical review of the manuscript. ern Massachusetts University
4. Felder, R. M., "The Generic Quiz: A Device to Stimulate
Creativity and Higher-Level Thinking Skills," Chem.
FURTHER READING
Eng. Ed., 19, 176 (1985)
Coulson, J.M., and J. F. Richardson, Chemical Engineering, 5. Felder, R. M., "On Creating Creative Engineers," Eng.
Vol. 2, Pergamon Press (1978) Ed., 77, 222, (1987)
Kelly, E.G., and D. J. Spottiswood, Introduction to Mineral 6. Executive summary of the final report: "Quality in En-
Processing, Wiley and Sons (1982) gineering Education Project ASEE," Eng. Ed., 77, 17,
Taggart, A. F., Handbook of Mineral Dressing, Wiley & (1986)
Sons (1944) 7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Commission on
Wills, B. A., Mineral Processing Technology, Pergamon Industrial Productivity, Michael L. Dertouzos, Chair-
Press (1979) 0 man. Interim report (1988) 0

SPRING 1989 99
klbPI stirred pots
THE ChEGSA SYMPOSIUM
A Continuing Tradition at Carnegie Mellon University

AJAY K. MODI and PAUL T. BOWMAN encountered at professional meetings, but without the
Carnegie Mellon University associated pressures. Furthermore, due to the prox-
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 imity of the event to the annual AIChE meeting,
many students take advantage of the symposium to
ACH YEAR THE graduate students in the chem- practice their talks in a formal setting under a pre-
E ical engineering department at Carnegie Mellon
University prepare for the Annual ChEGSA (Chemi-
scribed protocol.
Another objective of the symposium is to provide
cal Engineering Graduate Student Association) Sym- a means for interaction between industry and the de-
posium, a unique event among major universities in partment. Fall is the recruiting season for many com-
the United States. It was held for the tenth time in panies, and recruiters often try to schedule their cam-
1988. pus visits to coincide with the symposium. For com-
During the symposium, which takes place over two panies, the event provides an opportunity to hear
days each fall, the graduate students present papers about current research in the department, while for
based on the research they are conducting in the de- the students it is a chance to create a favorable
partment. The symposium covers a broad range of impression on the industrial representatives.
topics in chemical engineering, reflecting the varied For the incoming graduate students who have just
research interests of the graduate students and their joined the department, the symposium provides an
thesis advisors. The presentations allow the students opportunity to hear some of the more senior students
to exchange ideas, develop communication skills, and speak about their research. This aids them in selecting
compete for awards. Students and faculty within the an advisor (usually a month later) and also illustrates
department attend the event along with industrial to them that research must be presented as well as
representatives and other guests. Although it is sup- conducted.
ported by faculty and industry, the symposium is plan- Perhaps most important of all, especially in an age
ned, organized, and run entirely by the students, of increasing specialization, the symposium allows the
which, we believe, makes it exceptional.
A report of the first symposium, held in 1979, ap-
peared in the winter 1981 issue of Chemical Engineer-
ing Education. The purpose of this article is to explain
how the event has evolved since then, what its present
objectives are, how it is planned and organized, what
its current format is, and how it has contributed to Ajay Modi is in the PhD program at
the educational goals of the students. We hope that Carnegie Mellon University. He obtained
his BSc(Eng) at Imperial College , London ,
some of this information may be of use to others who and his MS at Northwestern University. He
wish to initiate a similar event. was the 1987 Symposium Chairman.

OBJECTIVES

The primary purpose of the symposium is to pro-

Paul Bowman obtained his BS at Vir-
mote good communication skills among the graduate ginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni-
students. A panel of judges evaluates the presenta- versity and is presently in the PhD program
tions and the accompanying written papers. This ex- at Carnegie Mellon University. He was the
1986 Symposium Chairman and was the
perience in presenting talks and in writing technical r, inner of the Parfitt Award in 1986 and the
papers is obtained in an environment similar to that First Awards in 1986 and 1987.

0 Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989

100 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

students to gain a perspective and appreciation of gineering at Carnegie Mellon since 1980, and to honor
what is being done outside of their own fields. The his memory, ChEGSA established this award which
research topics of our graduate students are ex- is presented to the student judged to have the best
tremely diverse and cover such areas as colloid sci- oral presentation. The award differs from the tr adi-
ence, semiconductor processing, catalysis, reaction tional First Place Award in that it does not involve
engineering, computer-aided process design, bioen- the judging of a written paper.
gineering, process optimization, polymer rheology, The foregoing are the major changes in the sym-
and electrochemical engineering, to name just a few. posium since it began. Numerous minor refinements
Most students will at some point in their lives be- and modifications have also been made.
come involved in the administration of a major event.
The symposium provides the kind of experience that
The idea of a symposium was first suggested in 1979
will be useful to them, including tasks like fund-rais- by Tomlinson Fort . ... Due to the strong enthusiasm
ing, budgeting, scheduling, designing a program book- generated by that first symposium, ChEGSA
let, chairing sessions, and organizing a reception and turned it into an annual event.
banquet, in addition to the more mundane activities
such as memo-writing and correspondence. Consider-
able skills in administration and leadership are de- PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION
veloped in coordinating the symposium. Preparation involves a lot of work and begins at
least six months prior to the symposium. The chair-
HISTORY person starts by assembling a committee of student
The idea of a symposium was first suggested in volunteers and then setting a date for the program.
1979 by Tomlinson Fort, who was then head of the Various companies are then invited to participate in
chemical engineering department. Due to the strong the event, either by sending representatives or by
enthusiasm generated by that first symposium, making a contribution, or both. An invitation to the
ChEGSA turned it into an annual event. Its format potential keynote speaker is also made at this time.
and organization, however, have undergone a number A call for papers is posted about three months be-
of changes. fore the symposium. To facilitate the design of the
Industrial participation in the event, which was program booklet, all participants are asked to send
first sought at the second symposium, has been most their titles and abstracts via electronic mail according
encouraging. An average of fifteen companies has par- to a specified format. This enables the booklet to be
ticipated each year. Their reaction to the symposium compiled without rewriting since all of the entries con-
can best be illustrated by the words of James form to the same style.
Aderhold of the Amoco Oil Company: A communications workshop is conducted a few
weeks before the symposium. The workshop covers
I found this annual event to be very beneficial, and I ways to improve presentations, gives hints about ef-
would recommend it strongly to others. Not only did it give fective public speaking, and presents information
me the opportunity to see what is being done in the several about slides and audio-visual equipment.
research areas at CMU, but it also allowed me to see some of The two weeks before the symposium are hectic,
the students who I would later interview in recruiting for the
Amoco Research Center. Both times I attended, I found the with many last-minute arrangements having to be
proceedings to be very well organized and the speakers to be made. A wine and cheese reception is hosted at the
well prepared. end of the event, and an awards banquet is held a
couple of weeks later. Speech making (especially by
The students' presentations were first com- the faculty) is kept to a minimum, and the event is a
plemented by a speech given by a keynote speaker in enjoyable conclusion to the symposium.
1984. The speakers have included Edward Gussler
CURRENT FORMAT
(University of Minnesota), Dan Luss (University of
Houston), Alexis Bell (University of California, Ber- The symposium is divided into four sessions, with
keley), Eduardo Glandt (University of Pennsylvania), a morning and afternoon session on each day. Each
and George Keller (Union Carbide Corporation). talk is restricted to fifteen minutes, with an additional
The 1986 symposium. marked the awarding of the five minutes for questions and audience discussion.
first "Geoffrey D. Parfitt Memorial Award for Excel- The keynote speech lasts an hour and has traditionally
lence in Oral Presentation." Dr. Parfitt, who passed been given at the end of the morning session of the
away in 1985, had been a professor of chemical en- Continued on page 105.

SPRING 1989 101

l•n• classroom

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

The Engineer's Essential One-Page Memo

ROB ADAMS McKEAN, EMIL L. HANZEVACK Rob Adams McKean is president of

University of South Carolina Chart Communications, a consulting firm
specializing in executive and technical
Columbia, SC 29208 communications and computer training . As
a consultant to industry and government,
OST UNDERGRADUATE engineering students he has led over two hundred training
M believe that technical excellence is the ~ole
measure of a good engineer. The belief is nourished
seminars for such companies as Honeywell
Bull, Gillette, Duracell Research Center, MIT
Lincoln Laboratory , and Dynamics
Research Corporation .
by academic schedules that promote technical training
almost exclusively and it is frequently carried over to
a student's first industrial position. Once on the job,
however, new engineers find (much to their surprise) Emil L. Hanzevack is an associate
professor in chemical engineering at the
that managers rate their performances not only on University of South Carolina. He teaches
technical expertise but on how well they communicate the senior design course and process
that expertise. They find themselves, in short, writing control and does research in computer
applications to chemical engineering . He
... and writing often. Some statistics we have seen was responsible for generating and
(for senior engineers) show that engineers spend an administering R&D programs at Exxon
Research and Engineering, where he
average of 24% of their time writing [1]. worked for ten years.
Fortunately, engineering educators have begun to
recognize that communication skills play a major role
in a new engineer's success in industry, and many en- ment we have used in our senior design classes and
gineering professors regularly include practice in professional development seminars.
writing in unit operations and senior design courses.
However, this writing experience all too often focuses DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
on major reports while industrial experience has
Purpose. Organizations spawn multiple forms of
shown that almost ninety percent of the writing an
communication, from hallway conversations that end
engineer produces is in the form of brief (often one
in handshakes through formal, deliberative docu-
page) memoranda or memos.
ments. Within this wide range, memos play the role
It cannot be taken for granted that a newly-hired
of interim coordination and agreement. Memos sub-
engineer will automatically know how to compose con-
stantiate and confirm; at other times they crystallize
cise, organized, and effective memos. In this paper
important positions or attempt to persuade. But in
we will describe the essential elements of memos,
almost all cases, memos are critical to the orderly
suggest a basic format for organizing memos, present
coordination of an organization, and they often result
two problems that technical specialists' memos seem in action.
particularly susceptible to, and include a memo assign-
A few uses of the memo are

• To request information
... engineering educators have begun to recognize that • To give quick trip reports
communication skills play a major role in a new • To present preliminary findings
engineer's success ... , and many engineering professors
• To suggest new product proposals
regularly include practice in writing in unit operations
and senior design courses. • To formalize internal agreements
• To realign internal policy
• To crystalize positions in a succinct form so that
I!:> Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989 management may formulate policy.

102 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

The list could be much longer. It has been our experi-
ence that many companies ask that employees not tie A ll workers fee l a constant demand on their time. So
up their time by composing long reports, even in sit- when readers pick up a memo, they are usually
purposeful , action-oriented reade rs. The want to know
uations that traditionally call for reports. Instead, right away how this particula r memo affects them
employees are more often encouraged to adopt the or affects items under their jurisdiction.
shorter memo format [2].
Audience. Memos are primarily read by an inter-
nal audience. Indeed, they are sometimes nicknamed
"in-house letters." In practical terms, the "in-house" zation-indeed, of organizing any technical presenta-
portion of the nickname implies that, because they tion-is to help students to recognize that information
are talking within the family, memo writers can let alone is not always the answer, and that any format
their hair down and express themselves with a degree is meaningless if the writer merely pours raw informa-
of candor and informality not possible in communica- tion into it.
tions designed for external audiences. It also means Technical specialists often assume that their mate-
memo writers may employ (within reason) com- rial has a built-in structure and logic, a chronological
pany shorthand and commonly understood abbrevia- imperative, a necessary level of detail, an implicit
tions. meaning. But that is not true. Facts are usually best
The "l!;!tters" portion of the nickname implies that, not presented chronologically, and technical and re-
because they are not formal reports, writers can per- search material has no intrinsic structure and logic,
sonalize their memos and reach out to the reader. In no necessary level of detail, no implicit meaning. It is
fact, as we shall see, the "human touch" is an impor- the writer who adds all that, based on the needs of
tant element in successful memos. the document's intended audience.
Level of complexity. We roughly equate level of In a technical environment, for instance, things are
complexity with length, and the most useful compari- sorted and evaluated, explained, demonstrated, ar-
son to make is between memos and full-blown techni- gued for or against, requested, denied, promised, and
cal reports. Because memos are perceived differently so on. But all this activity takes place against the
backdrop of another person or persons. We sort and
than reports, readers approach them differently.
Memo readers expect less complexity, fewer details, evaluate for others, we explain, demonstrate, argue
for or against, request, deny, and promise--all, again,
and a summarized discussion. In essence, a memo best
with a definite audience in mind [3, 4].
serves its purpose when the writer pares discussion
With the reader in mind then, we share with our
to the essentials, reserving an involved treatment for
the larger canvas of a report. students a basic memo format--the three-layer ap-
proach: beginning, middle, and end. Most other memo
formats are just variations of this basic format.
Timeliness. Memos are "speed documents." They
are usually written under immediate stimulus for im-
mediate consumption. They are not meant to be de- Beginning-the big picture. The corporate com-
liberative, elaborately crafted documents. This does munications marketplace is a busy one. All workers
not, however, excuse poorly-organized or poorly feel a constant demand on their time. So when readers
phrased memos; it only underscores their absolute pick up a memo, they are usually purposeful, action-
need to go out under deadline. A late report may be oriented readers. They want to know right away how
accepted; a late memo is (almost always) of no use to this particular memo affects them or affects items
anyone. under their jurisdiction.
In fact, if nothing else, the time-sensitivity of The first sentence or paragraph of the memo
memos-in which an engineer might need to write should state explicitly and concisely the objective or
several memos in a given day and still take care of purpose of the memo. Every reader-whether con-
business-further points out the need to furnish en- sciously aware of it or not--brings a skepticism to the
gineering students with memo-writing practice before memo that might be expressed idiomatically as, "Why
graduation. am I reading this memo?" Instead of fighting that
built-in negativity, we urge our students to confront
A SUGGESTED FORMAT
it directly. Answer that question; tell your reader
exactly why he or she is reading the memo. Establish
Although there are many memo formats, we have context, significance, overall reference, and stay away
found that the most important aspect of memo organi- from details.

SPRING 1989 103

 Middle-developing your topic. In the body of
the memo the writer sets forth the discussion, accom- FIGURE 1
Hand-Out Memo
panied by a moderate level of explanation or detail.
Remember that managers and supervisors do not
want just information; they want that information dis- U£
Inter-Office Memo
tilled to important facts and presented in a rational
structure that makes it accessible and significant. Date October 16
We tell students that there are two basic methods To ECHE 465 Class
From Emil L. Hanzevack
of presenting a discussion: the traditional "building Subject Writing Memos
your case" approach, and a decision-making "bottom-
line first" approach. In the first method, the writer
THIS MEMO HAS TWO PURPOSES
presents facts and develops them gradually, leading
to conclusions and recommendations. In the second • To present your next homework assignment
method, the writer states conclusions and recommen- • To serve as a model for writing your own concise and
effective memos
dations first and then presents the supporting facts
and discussion. Your homework assignment, due Thursday 10/30, is to
Either method is an effective rhetorical model. The wiite me a memo concerning the selection of your topic for the
Final Design Project. Your memo should contain the follow-
first is better if the writer anticipates a cautious or ing information: title of proposed project, a briefreason why
skeptical reaction, while the second is better if the you chose this project (e.g., you would like to work in that in-
reader is less interested in the supporting details and dustry, you were able to find interesting sources of information
on that topic, etc.), and the particular aspect of the topic you plan
wishes to go straight to the heart of the matter. to emphasize (e.g., an evaluation of economic trends over the
last decade, a comparison of two processes or companies, a
End-passing the ball to the reader's court. In recommendation for improving future performance, etc.).
Also include a second choice topic in case several people choose
the final paragraph the writer brings the memo to a the same topic.
fitting conclusion. Ordinarily, this should include the
writer's suggestion for an appropriate follow-up. In a You may use this memo as a model for your own. The
first sentence should state explicitly and concisely the objective
memo that gives information, the final paragraph or purpose. Then a moderate level of explanation or detail
might, for instance, state where more information is should be given. Supervisors and managers want information
available; or, in a memo that requests information, distilled down to important facts, not merely a list of every-
thing you know or have done on the topic. Finally, there is
state the date the information is needed by. usually a brief closing as described in the next paragraph.
An important element of the final section is the Note that a good memo is limited to one page (or less). The tone
''human touch." Because memos can be regarded as can be informal. but obviously grammar and spelling must be
correct. It can be done on the computer, by typewriter, or by
personal documents, it is entirely appropriate (and ef- hand (if clearly legible).
fective) for the writer to reach out to the audience.
This does not imply that memos should be anything If the memo is intended to give information, it should
close by stating where more information is available, if
other than businesslike, but sentences such as, "I en- needed. If the memo is intended to request information, it
joyed our meeting yesterday and look forward to should make the request and the date it is needed explicit.
working with you in the future," or "Let me know if Please ask me at the end of this class if you have any ques-
tions. Your memo is due Thursday, October 30.
I can be of any further help," are ways to bring the
memo around to a personal level and to establish a
someone else's thoughts. But in the professional
productive working connection between writer and
world, readers don't have the time or the inclination
reader.
to follow a torrent of tumbling thoughts. On the con-
trary, they demand focused, well-organized discus-
TWO COMMON PROBLEMS
sions that come to the point and inform them what
"Stream-of-consciousness" writing. Too many action, if any, they must take in response.
memos we have seen read as if the writers used Readers of stream-of-consciousness memos get
"stream-of-consciousness" writing. The term comes partway through the text and begin asking, ''Why am
from literature and is characterized by a continuous I reading this memo?", ''What is the writer's point?"
and seemingly unedited flow of thoughts meant to rep- or ''What am I supposed to do about this memo?" We
resent the way a character's mind might really work. advise our students to avoid stream-of-consciousness
For fiction writers this is fine. Readers enjoy memos. Writers should think before they write. They
eavesdropping on the scattered and jumbled flow of should plan, organize, outline, draft, and revise.

104 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 Overly-technical language. Commonly called SYMPOSIUM
"technical affectation," this is unnecessarily technical Continued from page 101.
and jargony language. It is often marked by an imper-
first day.
sonal, passive voice style (e.g., 42-word sentences that
The presentations are judged by a panel of judges.
begin "It has been found ... ") and sentences so heav-
The students are judged on a number of criteria based
ily laced with jargon that they are nearly unreadable.
both on their speaking ability and the technical con-
When readers pick up a report, they expect in-
tent of the presentation. In addition to giving a talk,
volved discussion, profuse detail, and heavily techni-
the student may also submit a written paper on the
cal language, and they bring that degree of commit-
same topic. The paper is judged on criteria similar to
ment to their reading. But memos are considered to
those used for the presentation.
be speed documents, and readers are reluctant to de-
Awards are given to the top three participants.
vote any more time than necessary to their reading.
These awards are determined by combining the pre-
It is very important then that memos be written in an
sentation scores and the paper scores. The top three
understandable language-language the intended
awards each consist of a cash prize, an individual
reader will quickly grasp.
plaque, and a trip voucher which enables the student
to present the work at a professional meeting. The
ONE-PAGE MEMO ASSIGNMENT FOR
names of the three winners are engraved on a plaque
SENIOR DESIGN CLASS
located in the ChEGSA lounge. The winner of the Par-
A major report, on a topic of the student's choice fitt Award is presented with a cash prize and a certifi-
with the professor's approval, is required for the cate of recognition, and the winner's name is also en-
senior Chemical Process Analysis and Design course. graved on a plaque located in the ChEGSA lounge.
This written and oral report is due at the end of the
CONCLUDING REMARKS
semester in lieu of a final examination. Near the mid-
dle of the semester the memo in Figure 1 is given to We believe that the Annual ChEGSA Symposium
the students. The memo is self-explanatory and is is an excellent vehicle for attaining a number of objec-
handed out without comment to emphasize that point. tives important in the education of graduate students.
It typically results in very few questions, but since It promotes good communication skills, both spoken
reasonable-to-good memos are turned in two weeks and written, through the presentation of talks and the
later, it is considered to be successful. submission of papers. It provides a means for interac-
The memos are discussed in the following class. tion between industry and academia through the par-
Some are ~eturned for revision, and a few of the best ticipation of company representatives. It also allows
ones are read aloud. This assignment, then, exposes the students to learn more about the work of their
each senior to the concept of memos before he or she fellow students; this is especially important when so
is asked to produce one in industi-y. much research in chemical engineering is shifting
away from the traditional areas into other disciplines.
REFERENCES One feature that we consider to be most important
1. Davis, Richard M., "How Important is Technical Writ- is that the symposium is a professional-quality event
ing? A Survey of the Opinions of Successful Engineers, " run entirely by students. Although the faculty are
J. of Tech. Writing and Communication, 8(3), 1978, p. 207
2. Although the passage is too long to quote in its entirety, available for guidance and support, all the decisions
Thomas J. Peters and Robert H . Waterman, Jr., in In concerning the planning, organization, and execution
Search of Excellence (New York, Warner Books, Inc., of the symposium are made by students. This sort of
1984) pp. 150-151, vividly describe the importance one-page
memos have at Procter & Gamble: "The tradition [of the experience will undoubtedly be useful in their future
one-page memo] goes back to Richard Deupree, past careers and lives. We would strongly suggest that any
president .... Deupree strongly disliked any memoran- school planning to start a similar event should ensure
dum more than one typewritten page in length .... When
an interviewer once queried him about this, he explained, that it is run by the students.
'Part of my job is to train people to break down an involved The symposium has undergone a number of
question into a series of simple matters. Then we can all changes, large and small, since it was first held ten
act intelligently.'"
3. McKean, Rob Adams, "Taking Aim: How to Target Your years ago. We foresee it undergoing more changes in
Audience," microEconomics (a publication of The Boston the future, although they will probably be minor in
Computer Society, Boston, MA), 6, 2, 1987, p 10. nature. The objectives for which it was first con-
4. McKean, Rob Adams, "Coming Through Loud and Clear:
How to Write So Others Will Read You," microEconomics
ceived, however, remain the same and will continue
(a publication of The Boston Computer Society, Boston, to do so. Further information concerning the sym-
MA) 6,4, 1987, p 16. 0 posium can be obtained by contacting the authors. D

SPRING 1989 105

Jiff • curriculum

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CURRICULA
WALDEN L. S. LAUKHUF, C. A. PLANK and
JAMES C. WATTERS ... other published works have suggested that engineers
University of Louisville need to be more articulate and better grounded in
humanities and social studies . ... As a result, courses
Louisville, KY 40292 in literature, composition, social studies, etc., have
been inserted into engineering curricula.
,t s FAR BACK as 1939, a report entitled "Aims and
.1-l.. Scope of Engineering Education," [1] (also
known as the Wickenden Report), prepared by the
Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, TABLE 1
called for fundamental changes in American engineer- Minimum Guidelines for University-Wide
ing programs. The report called for more basic sci- General Education Requirements
ence, more humanities, and less shop work in the cur- University of Louisville
riculum. These ideas were reiterated in "Report of INTRODUCTION TO UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE (1 hour,
the Committee on Engineering Education after the ofTered by the academic um ts)
(The engineering school was er.empted from this hour)
War" (1944) [2]. Most engineering educators reacted
positively to these suggestions. Since then, other pub- AREA A: Written and Oral Communication (3+ hours)
lished works have suggested that engineers also • English 101 plus three "WR" (with writing) courses at least two
of which are 300-level or above
needed to be more articulate and better grounded in • Oral communication: Completion of a program designated by
humanities and social studies [3, 4, 6]. Most notable each undergraduate college or school and approved by the
of these was the "Grinter Report" [4] which recom- General Education Committee

mended that approximately 20% of the curriculum AREA B: Quantitative and Logical Reasoning (6 hours)
should be devoted to the humanities. As a result, • One college-level mathematics course and either statistics or
logic
courses in literature, composition, social studies, etc.,
have been inserted into engineering curricula. It is AREA C: Natural Sciences (7+ hours)
interesting that one author [5] advocated removing • One laboratory course (4 hours) providing a substantial
introduction to the fundamental principles of matter and
humanities requirements. There have also been sug- energy in physical or biological systems. One additional
gestions that many liberal arts curricula are not science course in a second discipline ..
adequately preparing their graduates for the science
AREA D: Humanities (9 hours)
and technology of today's society. Consideration of • A minimum of three hours of Arts and three hours in Humani-
these ideas has frequently led to the concept that ties plus a third course in either area One course at the
there be a certain basic level of general education re- 300-level or above.

quired of all college graduates. AREA E: Social and Cultural Studies (12 hours)
• A minimum of three hours in each of the following categories
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS plus a fourth course in any category. Two courses at the
300-level or above (except students taking 6 hours of a
foreign language are not required to take 300-level courses
The University of Louisville recenty underwent an in the social cultural studies area).
accreditation process by the Southern Association of • Historical studies
Colleges and Schools. In that process, a very strong • Cross-cultural studies/Foreign language
• Social and behavioral sciences
recommendation was made that a General Education
(Gen Ed, for short) requirement be implemented for The minimum guidelines require a minimum of 31 credit hours unless a student opts
not lo use double-counting and cross-counting provisions (in which case 38 hours
all students. After much discussion by the various col- are required). No more than seven credits (excluding WR courses) can be fulfilled by
the double -counting and cross-counting provisions except for programs that
exceed these requirements. Only three credits from the major may be applied to any
double- or cross-counting.
© Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989

106 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

leges, the University produced a Minimum Guidelines date it or did they compromise their programs to keep
Document for a university-wide Gen Ed Requirement. from adding hours? The questionnaire is shown in
This is presented in Table 1. The Gen Ed program Table 2. Table 3 provides a brief summary of the re-
stipulates 38 hours of course-work to be taken by all sponses. Most programs are on a semester system;
students at the University of Louisville, regardless of however, those on quarters have the quarter hours
their anticipated majors. If that major course of study required followed by a "Q" in Table 3. Carnegie Mellon
can fit the Gen Ed requirements into its current pro- requires 386 units to graduate; thus there is a "386 U"
gram, then no additional courses need to be taken. in their degree hours column. In like manner, "QU"
However, if the degree program does not meet all of at Northwestern refers to quarter units and "CC" at
the Gen Ed requirements, some additional courses Tufts means course credits required for graduation.
will be needed, automatically increasing the number Because of these examples, a common basis of semes-
of hours required to earn the degree. Alternatively, ter hours was not chosen. The total hours set by Gen
to keep the total number of credit hours the same, Ed, at those schools which sent their Gen Ed require-
some other courses must be dropped. ments, are listed in the last column of Table 4.
As a result of the recent implementation of the
Gen Ed program at the University of Louisville, the TABLE 2
chemical engineering program will have to add six General Education Requirements Questionnaire
extra hours. These six hours must be added to keep
Please take a few minutes from your busy schedule and fill this in. Return
from compromising the current program deemed to Dr. W. L. S. Laukhuf, Chemical Engineering Department, University of
necessary to produce a quality engineer. Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, no later than 1 November 1987. Please
include a copy of your requirements if they are written down.
A questionnaire was generated and sent to all
chemical engineering departments in the U.S. to de- 1. Does your University/Engineering School have a General
termine Gen Ed trends nationally. If the school has Education requirement of all students other than those
required by ABEi'?
Gen Ed, was it necessary to add hours to accommo- YES___ NO____ Of NO, go le #6 below)

2. If the answer to question 1 was YES, then what body has

specified the requirements? In what year were they
implemented?
Walden L. S. Laukhuf is a professor u ~--------------
aate_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
of chemical engineering at the University of Other(Specify,___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Louisville, where he had taught for fifteen Yearlmpenented._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
years. He received his BChE, MSChE, and
PhD from the University of Louisville . He
spent four years in the Air Force at the 3. Did your "ideal" program as structured prior to Gen Ed
Rocket Propulsion Laboratory and at the contain more hours than required by ABET?
Materials Laboratory. He is currently Asso- YES_ NO__ If YES, how many more? _ _
ciate Chairman of the chemical engineering
department. 4. With the addition of Gen Ed, how many extra semester
hours were added? _ _ __
C. A. Plank is a professor of chemical
engineering and Distinguished University 5. In the Gen Ed implementation process, were any hours of
Teacher at the University of Louisville, your 'ideal" program lost to keep from adding extra hours to
where he has taught for over thirty years . the total hours for graduation?
He received his BSChE, MS, and PhD
YES NO_ If YES, how many were removed?_
degrees from North Carolina State . He has
also served as director of Interdisciplinary
Studies for the Engineering School and as 6. How many semester credit hours are required to receive a
chairman of the chemical engineering chemical engineering degree from your school and what is
department. His industrial experience has the name of the degree?
been with Olin Corp. HOURS_ _ DegreeName _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

7. If you do not presently have Gen Ed, is there any movement

James C. Watters is an associate in that direction at your university?
professor of chemical engineering at the YES_ NO_ NIA
University of Louisville. He received his BE
in chemical engineering from the National 8. Name ofresponding school
University of Ireland, University College,
Dublin, and his MS and PhD degrees from
the University of Maryland. His research in-
terests are in novel separation processes
9. Name of person responding
(particularly membrane-based), polymer
synthesis, and education techniques.

SPRING 1989 107

 QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS This high response (almost 60%) is, by itself, very
encouraging. Four of the responses are from unac-
One hundred and fifty-five questionnaires were credited programs. Of the 89 schools, 59 (or 66.3%)
sent to chemical engineering departments in the are operating under some form of Gen Ed require-
United States. Eighty-nine replies were received. ments. Fourteen of the remaining schools are consid-

TA BLE 3
Questionnaire Results

v.,,e,, Think Total GenEd v.,,e,, Think Total GenEd

Have Who Set Started About GenEd Deg %of Have Who Set Started About GenEd Deg %of
~ AaEI~flil.~flil. ~ flil. ~ flil. .l::l2m .lic.5.~Jic.5. SCHOOL ME.I~ fQ_ Gen fQ_ ~.!;Q_ GenfQ. Hours Hrs ~Hrs

Akron yes yrs Univ 1965 n/a 28 136 20.6 Ohio State yes yrs Univ yes 2200
Alabama yes yrs Univ 50 138 36.2 Ohio Universny yes yrs Univ 1980 n/a 2120
Arizona yes yrs Univ 1987 n/a 12 137 8.8 Ollarorra yes re yes 132
Arkansas yes re re 132 Oregon State yes yes Univ yes 204 Q
Brigham Young yes yes Univ n/a 136 Pittsburgh yes re n/a 131

Brown yes re re Polytechnic (Brooklyn) yes re re 136

California-Berkeley yes re yes 120 Princeton yes yes Univ ? n/a 108
California-Davis yes yrs Univ 1984 n/a 18 1930 9.3 Purdue yes re n/a 131
Carnegie Mellon yes yes Univ 1985 n/a 108 386 U 28.0 Rhode Island yes yes Univ pre-1970 n/a 36 131 27.5
Christian Brothers yes yes Univ ? n/a 138 Rice yes yes Univ 1970 n/a 36 137 26.3

Cincinnati yes re yes 2010 Rochester yes yes Univ-Eng pre-1957 n/a 132
Clarkson yes yes Univ 1980 n/a 39 120 32.5 Rose-Hulman yes yes Univ pre-1 967 n/a 1950
Clemson yes yes Univ 1984 n/a 144 South Carolina yes re yes 127
Cleveland State yes yes Univ 1964 2140 South Florida yes yes Univ 1980+ yes 136
Colorado yes re yes 128 Southern California yes re yes 132

Colorado State yes yes Univ F 1986 n/a 37 128 28.9 Southwest Louisiana yes yes State 1987 n/a 47 141 33.3
Connecticut yes yes Univ 1988-89 n/a 134 Stevens Instit ute yes yes Faculty 1987 n/a 144
Cornell yes re (I) 137 SUNY-Buffalo yes yes Univ 1982 n/a 29 138 21.0
Drexel yes re (I) 1920 Temessee yes yes Univ 1988 n/a 56 203 Q 27.6
Fla A&M/Fla State re yes State n/a 142 Tennessee Tech yes re (I) 2000

Fla Inst of Tech yes yes Univ 1979-80 n/a 134 Texas yes yes Univ n/a 132
Georgia Tech yes yes Univ-St Long ago 2060 Texas A&I yes yes Univ 1982 n/a 46 138 33.3
Hampton re yes Univ Pre-Eng n/a 19 138 13.8 Texas A&M yes yes Un,St, Eng 1988 n/a 51 138 37.0
Howard Univ yes re (I) 135 Texas Tech yes re yes 140
ldaro yes yes Univ 1983 n/a 128 Tufts yes yes Eng Sch 1986 n/a 38 cc
k:Ma yes re yes 128 Tulsa yes yes Univ 1984 n/a 48 132 36.4
JohnsH~ins yes re (I) 128 Tuskegee yes re yes 139
Kentucky yes yes Univ 1966 n/a 133 UCLA yes yes Foc 1950 n/a 32 124 25.8
Lafayette College yes re yes Vanderbilt yes re (I) 126
Louisiana State yes yes Univ F 1987 nla 39 Villanova yes re yes 143

Louisiana Tech yes yes State 1987 n/a 45 138 32.6 VPI yes yes Univ 1985 n/a 136
Louisville yes yes Univ 1988-89 n/a 38 128 29.7 Washington yes yes Un.Dept 1986 n/a 120
Lowell yes yes Univ. F 1983 n/a 36 138 26.1 Washington Univ yes re n/a 126
Maryland yes yes Univ 1980 n/a 39 130 30.0 Wayne State yes yes Univ F 1987 n/a 138
Massachusetts yes yrs Univ n/a 39 130 30.0 West Vir. Inst. Tech. yes yes Univ 1966 yes 40 140 28.6

McNeese State re yes State F 1987 n/a 43 137 31.4 Widener yes yes Univ pre-1981 n/a 143
Michigan yes re (I) 128 Wisconsin yes re (I) 133
Michigan State yes yes Univ long ago n/a 1880 Worcester Poly yes re (I) 138
Michigan Tech yes yes Univ n/a 2020 Wyoming yes re (I) 137
Mrrnesota yes yes Univ pre-1967 yes 2000 ............................................................................................
Missouri-Rolla yes yes Eng Sch 1986 n/a 134 Tuble Nomenclature ·
Montana State yes yes Univ 1986 n/a 1990 School Name of school responding.
Nebraska yes yes Univ F 1987 n/a 135 ABET Is the ChE program accredited?
New Jer. Inst. Tech yes yes 48 132 36.4
HaveGenEd Does the school c:perate under Gen Ed?
New Mexico yes re yes 133
W'lioSetGenEd W'liat body required Gen Ed i,rp/errentation?
New Mexico State yes re yes 136 When Started Gen Ed W'lien was Gen Ed i,rplerrented
N Carolina A&T St re yes Univ ? n/a 134 Thirl< About Gen Ed Is a school considering Gen Ed?
North Dakota yes yes Univ 1982 n/a 38 137 27.7 Tota/ Gen Ed Hours The hours specified by Gen Ed.
Northwestern yes ITla')lie Univ yes 48 OU Deg Hrs Total hours required /or the ChE degree.
Notre Dame yes yes 39 Gen Ed % of Deg Hrs Gen Ed hours as a percent of total degree hours.

108 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

ering Gen Ed. This means that 82% of the schools administration had imposed Gen Ed. It is assumed
replying either have Gen Ed requirements or are con- that the Gen Ed requirements for these 50 schools are
sidering implementing such a program. then similar to the situation at the University of
Even though the Gen Ed concept is very new to Louisville: that is, a university-wide requirement.
the University of Louisville, such is not the case at Seven schools stated that the engineering school had
several other schools. Of those schools which replied imposed Gen Ed. It is quite possible that these 7 may
to the question on date of implementation, 14 had Gen in fact be acting under university-wide requirements.
Ed before 1980, 15 began the program between 1980 If that is the case, then 96.6% of those schools replying
and 1985, while 17 have initiated the process since as having Gen Ed had these requirements imposed at
then. Of the 14 before 1980, some had Gen Ed as early the university level. In correlating the replies, it also
as 1957. Gen Ed was a way of life at some universities seems that the states of Texas, Florida, Louisiana,
before engineering was started at those schools. In and Georgia have imposed some Gen Ed requirements
these cases, the engineering program was built with on their various schools. It cannot be determined from
Gen Ed in place. At other schools, Gen Ed was started the questionnaires whether the schools in those states
before any of the current faculty were employed, so have additional requirements beyond those specified
that an implementation date was not specified. by the state or if the state requirements are more
Who imposed Gen Ed requirements at the particu- stringent than might have been prescribed by the
lar university was one of the questions asked. Fifty of schools.
the 59 with Gen Ed (84.7%) stated that the university The number of hours specified by the several

T ABLE 4
General Education Requirements
GEN ED DEG
SCI MATH LABS COMP !'.E. FOR LANG COM WRCOUR HUM/SS OTHER TOTAL .t:!fil
AKRON 11 16 28 136
ALABAMA 8 6 (2+) (6) 6 6 6 18 50 138
CALIFORNIA, DAVIS yes 18 18 1930
CARNEGIEMELLON 18 9 9 (9) 72 108 386 U
CLARKSON 6 6 3 18 6 39 120
COLORADO STATE 7 6 1 lab 2 5 17 37 128
HAMPTON 4 9 yes 6 19 138
LOU ISIANA STATE 9 6 6 18 39
LOUISIANA TECH 9 6 yes yes 6 24 45 138
LOUISVILLE 7 6 1 lab 3 (6) 21 38 128
LOWELL 7 3 (1) 2 6 18 36 138
MARYLAND 6 3 yes 6 18 6 39 130
MASSACHUSETTS 9 6 1 lab 6 18 39 130
MCNEESE STATE 9 6 3 6 18 1 43 137
NEW JERSEY INST TECH 7 6 1 lab 2 2 courses 3 21 9 48 132
NORTH DAKOTA 6 6 yes 5 21 38 137
NOTRE DAME 6 6 6 (6) 21 39
RHODE ISLAND 6 3 3 6 (3) 18 36 131
RICE 6 6 2 courses yes 24 36 137
SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA 8 6 9 24 47 141
SUNY BUFFALO 3 3 2 3 (3) 18 29 138
TENNESSEE 8 6 (6) 6 24 12 56 203 a
TEXAS A&I 6 6 4 9 21 46 138
TEXAS A&M 8 6 1 lab I course 4 2semes 6 24 3 51 138
TULSA 6 9 3 9 (9) 12 9 48 132
UCLA 4 24 4 32 124
WEST VIRGINIA INST TECH 8 6 yes 2 6 18 40 140
SCI Credit Hours for Science Courses PE Physical Education Requirements HUM!SS Humanfties ancVor Social Science Requirements
MATH Credit Hours for Math Courses FOR LAN Foreign Language Requirements OTHER Other Course Requirements
LABS Laboratory Course Requirements CXJM Communications Course Requirements GEN ED TOTAL Gen Ed Total Credft Hours Required
COMP Computer Literacy Requirements WRCOUR With Writing Emphasized Course Requirements DEG HRS Credit Hours Required for the Degree

SPRING 1989 109

 schools to meet their Gen Ed requirements varies The University of Alabama requires either 6 hours in
widely. Of the 27 schools which sent copies of their computer programming or 6 hours in a foreign lan-
Gen Ed documents, 2 specify 20 or less hours, two list guage. Therefore, in Table 4, 6 hours were placed in
between 20 and 30 hours, 13 from 30 to 40 hours, 7 the foreign language column and a (6) inside of
between 40 and 50 hours, and 3 require more than 50 parentheses was entered in the computer column to
hours of Gen Ed courses. The average number of Gen keep from double-counting the credit hours. Any time
Ed credit hours is 39. The last column in Table 3 rep- a number of hours appears in the table in parentheses,
resents the percentage of the total degree hours which those hours are also shown somewhere else in Table
are associated with Gen Ed requirements. These per- 4 for that school.
centages range from a low of 8.8% (Arizona) to a high Ten of the schools require physical education
of 37% (Texas A&M) of the total degree hours; the courses. All but 5 require some combination of oral
majority of those schools that provided the required and written communications courses, the average
data have more than 25% of the entire program as- number of hours being 6.4. Many of the schools permit
sociated with Gen Ed. Even though the number of a student to test out of these hours by making a par-
hours associated with Gen Ed is rather large, and the ticular score on a placement test. In addition, at least
resulting percentages of the total degree require- 11 schools formally require "with writing (WR)"
ments is also large, only 23 schools added hours to courses. Often, these are in addition to the hours in
their existing program when implementing Gen Ed. communication courses already mentioned.
Only 4 of the 23 added more than 9 credit hours. Most All of the schools sending their Gen Ed plan re-
added 3 to 6 hours to the existing program. The quire humanities and social science courses. The aver-
number of hours required for Gen Ed varies widely age number of hours is 19.3, which is greater than the
from school to school because the definition of what is one-half year (16 hours) required for ABET accredita-
required in Gen Ed also varies widely from school to tion. Based on 3 credit hour courses, 18 hours are
school. required to get the 16 hours for ABET. However, 12
The manner in which the hours for Gen Ed are schools require more than 18 hours. These humanities/
broken up by the various schools is also interesting. social science hours are specified in various ways at
Table 4 presents how the various schools, which sub- different schools. All schools require some courses in
mitted their Gen Ed plan, specify the makeup of the each area. Most schools also require some depth in the
hours, as best as can be determined. The major re- selection process. They either specify two-course se-
quirements appear to be (and are reflected in the col- quences or require courses which are normally beyond
umn headings in Table 4) science, math, laboratory, the introductory level.
computer literacy, physical education, foreign lan- Nine of the schools require courses which were
guage, communications, writing courses, and human- placed in an "other" category. These include manage-
ities and social sciences. ment, technology and society, and engineering
All but three of the schools require Gen Ed courses courses, among others. These courses fulfill one aim
in science. Many of the schools require that at least of Gen Ed-that of exposing non-technical students to
one course be in the physical sciences while a second the other side of the fence.
must be in the life sciences. In addition, at least 10 of
these schools require some laboratory experience in REFERENCES
the science area. For the 24 schools requiring sci- 1. Hammond, H. P ., "Aims and Scope of Engineering
ences, the average number of credit hours required is Curricula," J . of Eng. Ed., 30, 555-556 (1939-40)
7. This would typically indicate 2 courses, one of which 2. Report of Committee on Engineering Education After
had a 1 hour lab component. the War, J. of Eng. Ed., 44, 589-614 (1943-44)
3 . Burdell, E. S., "General Education in Engineering," J.
Twenty-two schools require math courses. The av- of Eng. Ed., 46, 619 (1956)
erage number of hours required is 5.6. In some cases, 4. Grinter, L. E ., Chairman, "Report of the Committee on
Gen Ed required combined hours of math and science Evaluation of Engineering Education," The American
with no split indicated between the 2 areas. In these Society for Engineering Education, June 15, 1956
cases, the hours were split evenly between the two in 5. Wing, R. H ., "Are Engineers Selling Their Birthright
for a Place in the Ivory Tower?" Chem. Eng. Ed., 2, 41
Table 4. (1968)
Eight of the schools require computer literacy to 6. Sleicher, C. A., "Humanities and Social Science in En-
be determined by a test or by taking required courses. gineering Curricula, " Chem. Eng. Ed., 2, 66 (1968) 0

110 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Use CEE's reasonable Rates to advertise.
Minimum rate, 118 page $80;
each additional column inch $25.

VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Michigan State is located in close prox imity to a large
AND STATE UNIVERSITY number of polymeric and compos ite materials industrial
concerns providing many consu lting and collaborative
The Chemical Engineering Department at Virginia
research opportunities. Appl ications will be accepted
Tech is seeking appl icants and nominations for the
until April 1, 1989 or until the position is fi lled. Interested
Alexander F. Giacco Presidential Professor in Chemical
individuals should apply to Dr. L. T. Drzal, Chairperson,
Engjneerjng Applicants for th is endowed professorship Search and Selection Committee, Department of
should have a national/international reputation in an Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University, East
area of chemical engineering research. Duties include Lansing, Ml 48824-1226. Appointments may be made at
teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, any level. Salary and Rank are commensurate with
conducting funded research, and departmental and experience and accomplishments. Michigan State
university service. This appo intment is at the Full University is an Affirmative Action-Equal Opportunity
Professor level at a salary commensurate with the Employer and welcomes applications from women and
endowed nature of the professorship and the applicant's members of minority groups.
qualifications. Virgin ia Tech has approximately 18,500
undergraduates (5,000 in the College of Engineering,
including 150 in Chem ical Eng ineering) and 4,180
graduate students (1 ,200 in the College of Engineering, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
including 50 in Chemical Engineering) . Send CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
nominations or applications to Chairman , Giacco
Professorship Search Comm ittee , Chemical Engineering Tenure system faculty position. Doctorate in
Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State Uni- Chemical Engineering or closely related field . A strong
versity, 133 Randolph Hall, Blacksburg , VA 24061. commitment to teaching and the ability to develop a
Deadline for applications is May 31 , 1989. Virginia Tech quality research program is expected. The area of
hires only U.S. citizens and lawfu lly authorized al ien research interest is open . The department will provide
workers. Virg inia Tech is an Affi rmative Action/Equal start-up funds and offers opportun ities for collaboration
Opportunity Employer. with other faculty in a variety of areas. Teaching and/or
industrial experience desirable but not essential.
Michigan State Univers ity is an affirmative action/equal
opportunity employer and welcomes applications from
women and minority groups. Appl ications will be ac-
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY cepted until April 1, 1989 or until the position is filled . To
FACULTY POSITION IN apply send curriculum vitae, a statement of research
POLYMERIC AND COMPOSITE interests, and names of at least three references to
MATERIALS PROCESSING Chairperson , Search Comm ittee, Department of
Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University, East
Applications are invited for appointment to a tenure
Lansing, Ml 48824-1226.
track position in the Department of Chemical
Engineering at Michigan State University. This position
is jointly supported by the Composite Materials and
Structures Center (CMSC) and provides an excellent
opportunity for an individual with research and teaching
interests in polymeric material science and engineering,
polymer processing and/or composite processing.
Candidates should have a doctorate in Chemical En- Woyne State University
gineering or Polymer Science/Eng ineering. The desired
qualifications include an established record of research
in an academic or industrial environment, and a vigorous CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
interest in undergraduate and graduate education . Anticipated Position , Assistant or Associate
Michigan State has recently made a strong commitment Professor with research interest in hazardous waste
to composite materials with the establishment of the management engineering preferred. Salary competitive .
CMSC in the College of Eng ineering. This provides Start January, 1990. Send resume to: Dr. Ralph H.
faculty with the opportunity to conduct ind ividual and Kummler, Chairman, Department of Chemical and
joint research pr_ograms· and to teach in an academically Metallurgical Eng ineering, Wayne State University,
rich and well-supported environment containing state- Detro it , Ml 48202 . WSU is an equal
of-the-art resea·rch equ ipment and facilities. In addition, opportun ity/affirmat ive action employer

SPRING 1989 111

l•dN class and home problems l
The object of this column is to enhance our readers' collection of interesting and novel problems in chemical
engineering. Problems of the type that can be used to motivate the student by presenting a particular principle
in class, or in a new light, or that can be assigned as a novel home problem, are requested as well as those that
are more traditional in nature, which elucidate difficult concepts. Please submit them to Professor H. Scott
Fogler, ChE Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.

CSTR's IN BIOCHEMICAL REACTIONS

An Optimization Problem
F. XAVIER MALCATA
Universidade Catolica Portuguesa F. Xavier Malcata is currently a PhD
Escola Superior de Biotecnologia student at the University of Wisconsin ,
Madison . He earned a BSc in chemical en-
4200 Porto, Portugal gineering from the Portuguese State Uni-
versity (Oporto) in 1986. He is a member of
NZYMES ARE THE functional units of cell metabo- the teaching staff of the College of
E lism. They are specialized globular proteins with
an extraordinary catalytic power and with orders of
Biotechnology of the Portuguese Catholic
University. His research interests are mainly
focused on the application of the principles
of chemical engineering to the solution of
magnitude greater than . most of the synthetic problems in the food technology field .
catalysts [1]. Enzymes are remarkable catalysts due
not only to their powerful activity, but also to their
high specificity and versatility. These characteristics
have emphasized their industrial application for the the kinetic rate and the substrate concentration [6).
catalysis of a great number of reactions within the The simple sequential interaction model [7, 8) has
food, medical, and cleaning fields [2]. been throughly reported in literature as yielding good
Many enzymes are oligomers composed of distinct fits to experimental data. This model introduces a
subunits or monomers. If the sites are identical and number of interaction parameters, or factors by which
completely independent of each other, then a classical the intrinsic binding constants are increased as the
Michaelis-Menten kinetic equation results [3]. If the substrate molecules bind to the active sites. Assume
presence of substrate on one site influences the bind- that the enzyme contains n equivalent binding sites,
ing of the substrate to vacant sites, or the rate of and that the cooperativity in substrate binding is very
product formation at other occupied sites, then a situ- marked; in this situation the concentrations of all en-
ation arises where the substrate itself acts as a mod- zyme-substrate complexes containing less than n
ifier or effector yielding substrate activation or sub- molecules of substrate are negligible at any appreci-
strate inhibition [4). Such enzymes are called allosteric able substrate concentration compared to the intrinsic
enzymes, and their catalytic activity can be substan- dissociation constant for the substrate/enzyme com-
tially increased or decreased in response to such sub- plex. The kinetic equation then reduces to the Hill
strate molecules acting as control signals. The be- equation [9]
havior of these regulatory enzymes can be modeled by The Hill kinetic equation can be used even if the
assuming a concerted transition of protein subunits: cooperativity of the binding is not very high; however
the first substrate molecule bound to the enzyme al- in this case parameter n loses its physical meaning
ters the enzyme's structure so that the remaining sites and is commonly referred to as the apparent number
have a stronger, or weaker, affinity for the substrate of substrate binding sites [4]. Such adjustable
[5]. parameters can be easily obtained from a graphical
This paper concerns a particular interest in posi- logarithmic construction based on Eq.(1), known as
tive cooperativity for the homotropic enzyme [1]. This the Hill plot [4].
phenomenon leads to a sigmoidal relationship between
(1)
© Copyright GILE Division ASEE 1989

112 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 For homogeneous enzymatic catalysis taking place of substrate at any intermediate stream is equal to
in an aqueous solution of substrate, the continuous the arithmetic mean of the upstream and downstream
stirred tank reactor (CSTR) possesses a number of consecutive concentrations.
relevant features for industrial operation. Besides the 5. Derive the following equation
lower construction costs when compared to classical
tubular reactors, the efficient stirring of the reactor
ensures uniform temperature (thus avoiding hot _1 0[1-[~(]
spots), coupled with ease of access to the interior sur- n-1 [ n-lJ
c• =[ _!_] nN c• (5)
face for manutention and appreciable residence times l,q,t n N
[10]. Extensive literature is available on the optimiza-
tion procedures leading to a minimum in the overall from Eq. (1), on the assumption that N and C*N are
reactor volume of a series of CSTR's performing a small, and n is large.
chemical reaction described by a given kinetic equa- 6. Consider the conversion of fructose-1,6-diphos-
tion [11-15]. The main goal of this paper is to apply phate to fructose-6-phosphate catalyzed by the en-
the classical approach for optimization of reactor de- zyme phosphofructokinase. Assume that the reaction
sign to a slightly involved home problem in the is carried out under such conditions that it can be con-
biochemical field. Although the general solution can sidered approximately irreversible. Compute the vol-
be graphically obtained, a number of analytical asymp- ume of each reactor in a series of CSTR's leading to
totic solutions are developed. These solutions enable a minimal overall volume where the foregoing reaction
one to obtain a quick estimate of the size profile of the will take place. The following data are available:
series of CSTR's.
N=3, n = 2, C 0 =2.6x10 -2 mol-m,
-3

3 4
PROBLEM STATEMENT CN=5.5x10 - mol•m-,3 vmax=l.3x10- mol • m- 3 -s-,
I

Consider a system of CSTR's in series which is I

K =4.6x10
-5 2
mo! - m-, Q=3.6x10
6 -3
m
3
-s-
1
currently being designed to perform a homogeneous,
enzyme-catalyzed reaction in the liquid phase de- PROBLEM SOLUTION
scribed by the Hill equation. Isothermal and steady
state conditions of operation are assumed. The charac- 1. A mass balance to the substrate for each CSTR
teristic time scale associated with the enzyme deacti- takes the form
vation is very large when compared to the time scale 0

associated with the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. c• - C~ { K* + c•i

Da . =(~-i-_l _ ~A___ _ )
_ (6)
1. Show that the minimum overall reactor volume I n
is obtained when the following condition applies
c· I

The minimum volume for the whole reactor system is

ana. ana . l obtained when the following condition applies
--'+ I+ =0 (2)
ac: ac~
I I
N
_a_~ Da. =0 (7)
2. Prove that the foregoing condition leads to ac·i L,
1:l
•

Since C*i appears only in the ith and (i+ l)th terms of
n
c~1-l , q,t
•
[ c•.1, q,t
=n-1+ --,-
• -
ln (3) the foregoing summation, one finally obtains Eq. (2)
Ci,opt Ci+l,opt from Eqs. (6) and (7).
2. Using Eq. (6) in Eq. (2), one obtains
for the case where Eq. (1) is used as the kinetic equa-
tion describing the behavior of the reactive system. • • n • 2n n-1
3. Show that Eq. (3) leads to K ( n -1) C . - C. - n K* c• c•
l,opt I,q>t i-1,q,t i,opt

c•i,q,t = c·N
i IN
(4)
c· 2n
i, q,t
n
when n equals unity. K* + c·
+ _ _ _i_+_1,_q,i_ = 0 ( 9)
4. Show that the optimization condition for large
c· n
N and C*N, and small n is met when the concentration i+l,q,t

SPRING 1989 113

Some algebraic manipulation can now be performed 1. 0 - -- - - - - - ~ - ~ - ~ ~ - - . - - - - , ,
on Eq. (9), yielding Eq. (3) as the resulting equation.
n=l
Eq. (3) is graphically plotted in Figure 1 for a number
n =2 / /
/.
,,.
n =4 /
/
/ /
of values for parameter n. 0 .8 / /

n =6
/

,,.,.,,.. ,.....,.. ,,, .//

3. Eq. (3) can be easily transformed to ...., /

/
/
/
/
/

0.
0
c•. 2 u 0 .6 /
/

1,q,t
c• (10) -.......
...., /
/

i+I,q>t c· 0.
o_
/
i-1 ,q,t /

. I ,
~

+ I ,
0.4
when n = 1. Applying the foregoing recursive relation u I I
/

from i = 1 up to a generic i, one gets I

/
/

/
I
i I

c·i = c·I (11) 0 .2

I
1

I
I
I
In particular, Eq. (11) gives the following result
0 .0 IL___L_ _.._L__..J.____I_ _ _ L _ - - ' - - ~ ~- ~ ~
• • N 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0.6 0.8 1.0
C =C (12) C* / C*
N I i.opt i- 1.opl

for the case where i = N. Combination of Eqs. (11) and FIGURE 1. Relation between C*; + 1,op/C*;, 0 pt and C*;, 0 p,I
(12) finally enables one to obtain Eq. (4). C*-,_ 1,op, yielding the minimum overall reactor volume,
4. Eq. (3) can be written in a slightly different for a number of values for parameter n.
form, namely

n c•
i-1 opt
C~ ' = n - 1 + ex n ln
1,q,t
i[ c•
C~
i,opt

1+1,opt
]] (
13
)
then Eq. (3) reduces to

c· = c· c•i,opt ]* (17)
Taking advantage from the fact that the fractional
i+l,opt i,q>t [ n c•
i-1,qt.
change in concentration between consecutive stages
is small due to the large N and C*N, one can expand Applying the foregoing recursive relation from i = 1
the exponential term in Eq. (13) as a MacLaurin series up to the current i, one obtains
[16) and truncate it after the linear term in order to
obtain i-1 .. [l]j 1I.-1[I]J

c·i-1,q,t
c·i,q,t
= l+ ln [ c·i,opt
c·i+l,q,t
l (14)
c:,opt =[ ; ]
I.c•-Jl.,
j=l
[ c•1,qit
]j=O
.,
(IB)

The first exponential summation in Eq. (18) can be

Rearranging Eq. (14), one obtains rearranged as follows

C•
i+l,opt
= c·i,q,t exp 1 -
[
c·i-1,q1
c•
i,q>t
l (15)
(19)

Eq. (19) can be transformed into

The exponential term in Eq. (15) can be similarly ex-
panded as discussed previously in order to give i-1
~ ("1 ") 1
[ ]j 1 ~
i-1 1-[-1-Jj
n (~)
£_, -J n =nL.., 1
c• + c• j=l J=l 1-Il
i-1,qt. i+l,q>t d
c·i ,q>t = 2 'q.e. . (16)
with the aid of the summation property of the geomet-
ric series [17). Eq. (20) can be again rearranged to
5. If n-1 is small compared to (C\ opt/C*i +I,opt)", give

114 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 the iterative procedure converges to roots with no
physical meaning. Therefore, a graphical iterative
construction on Figure 1 similar to the stagewise cal-
culation known as McCabe-Thiele method for binary
systems undergoing distillation [18] proves safer and
which is equivalent to
faster. The major steps of such graphical procedure
are as follows: (i) arbitrate C* i,opt; (ii) draw a horizon-
f (i-j)[¾r
j=l
= _i__
n-1
n
(n-il
[1 -[~r] (~) tal line from the point of coordinates (C* 1 ,opt,C*2,opt/
C* l,opt) until intersection with the main diagonal; (iii)
draw a vertical line from the foregoing point until in-
tersection with the line corresponding to the assumed
The second exponential summation in Eq. (18) can be
n; (iv) iterate steps (ii) and (iii) until C*N,opt is ob-
written as
tained; (v) if C*N,opt is larger than expected, arbitrate
a smaller C* 1 ,opt; if C*N,opt * is smaller than expected,
arbitrate a larger C*i,opt; in both cases, repeat from
(23)
step (ii) until convergence is achieved according to a
user-defined criterion.
The result denoted as Eq. (10) was initially re-
where a similar reasoning was followed. The combina-
ported by Luyben and Tramper [14] for the case of
tion of Eqs. (22) and (23) with Eq. (18), coupled to the
single-sited enzymes following simple Michaelis-Men-
condition i = N leads, after some manipulation, to Eq.
ten kinetics. It is interesting to note that the optimal
(5).
intermediate concentrations of substrate as given by
6. Using the definition of normalized variables and
Eq. (3) do not depend on the kinetic constant K*.
dimensionless parameters as given in the nomencla-
Therefore, for any two consecutive CSTR's with
ture, one gets C*N=0.212 and K* =0.0680. Use ofEq.
known inlet concentration to the first reactor and out-
(3) for i = 1 and i = 2 gives
let concentration from the second one, the inter-
• • 3
mediate concentration leading to a minimal overall
C
1,q,t
= 0.50000 c*2, opt + 11.130 C
2,opt
(24) reactor volume is uniquely defined.
The minimization of the objective function chosen
corresponds to the minimization of the total capital
and
investment if a scale-up factor of unity is assumed for
7 • 5 • 3 the equipment cost. Currently, however, such expo-
1376.9 c*2,q,t + 185.65 C
2,q,t
+ 19.473 C nent factor tends to be lower, as in the general-pur-
2,q,t

+ o.62500 c· - 2.0000 = o (25) pose six-tenths-factor rule for geometrically and

2,opt mechanically similar reactors [19]. Moreover, the total
number ofreactors remains arbitrary after the optimi-
A trial-and-error method applied to Eq. (25) gives zation procedure on the concentrations has been per-
C*2 ,opt = 0.3224 as the only solution with physical formed. As suggested elsewhere by Malcata [15] for a
meaning. Application of this result in Eq. (24) yields similar system, the best compromise is found when
C*i,opt=0.5342. Eq. (6) can now be used with the two objective functions are combined, a hierarchical
foregoing results in order to obtain Dai.min= 0.5768 order being defined on the basis of intrinsic costs. The
and D½,min = 0.3504. These values correspond to the minimization of the total holding time ensures that
volumes of V l,min = 0.4150 m3 and V 2,min = 0.2521 m3, the thermal degradation of substrate is kept at a
respectively. minimum for any given overall conversion (first prior-
ity, or higher intrinsic cost); the actual number of
CONCLUSIONS reactors required is then found by applying a suitable
fractional-exponent law for equipment scale-up (sec-
The optimal intermediate concentrations can in
ond priority, or lower intrinsic cost).
general be obtained from a numerical trial-and-error
The asymptotic expressions developed for the opti-
solving procedure based on Eq. (3), as outlined previ-
mal intermediate concentrations, Eqs. (16) and (18),
ously. The total number of solutions of the correspond-
are useful for a direct calculation whenever the as-
ing polynomial in C*N-l,opt is, nevertheless, a strong
sociated limiting conditions are satisfied. In practice,
increasing function of N. This fact may lead to numer-
ical instability, coupled to extra numerical work when Continued on page 128.

SPRING 1989 115

ma• curriculum

HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS
R. MIRANDA
University of Louisville In response to employment opportunities, and
Louisville, KY 40292 closely following popular perception, the glamour of
catalysis among chem istry-oriented engineering
students has declined in favor of more exciting
catalysis is a key technology in
H ETEROGENOUS
the chemical industry, and it has produced
dramatic developments, but these developments have
and more visible technologies.

often gone unnoticed or are little understood by the it is the only course that exposes students to surface
public, including people who are technically educated. technologies.
For example, few university graduates know what a The course outline shown in Table 1 clearly re-
zeolite is, and even fewer perceive the relationship sponds to the multidisciplinary character and breadth
between healthy air, unleaded gasoline, and catalysts. of catalysis. The instructors must attain the proper
In contrast, the public is well aware of sophisticated depth into each topic, realizing that it is not trivial to
materials, such as superconductors, and relationships find in a one-semester course the synergic combina-
such as communications and optical fibers. tion of solid state, surface science, organic chemistry,
In response to employment opportunities, and and catalysis practice needed to initiate the student of
closely following popular perception, the glamour of catalysis. The students interested solely in catalysis
catalysis among chemistry-oriented engineering stu- may have ambivalent feelings about this outline since
dents has declined in favor of more exciting and more the time dedicated to topics of catalysis is reduced to
visible technologies. Our once-popular yearly catalysis allow for general topics of materials science. On the
course is now a bi-yearly course attended by about other hand, however, the broader knowledge acquired
ten graduate students from engineering and chemis- about the solid state may actually benefit their re-
try. This drop in attendance prompted us to change search careers.
the perspectives of the course to make it more palat- The first seven topics contain traditional material
able to the incoming graduate student. The new of catalysis, and the last four topics contain elements
catalysis course has elements of materials processing of solid state and surface chemistry, and of materials
embedded in the classical format of catalytic processing such as dopant diffusion, CVD, and sol-gel
mechanisms and surface chemistry. This approach technology. In practice the topics are never covered
opens up avenues for those beginning graduate stu- sequentially. Our practice has been to dedicate two
dents who are interested in a general understanding days every week to topics one through seven, and one
of surface technology, while still preparing those stu- day every week to topics eight through eleven. Each
dents whose main research objectives are in catalysis. of the topics is covered in two to five class periods.
This approach is necessary at this university, where The fifteen-week three-credit course is based on
current textbooks and journal publications, as listed
in the references. The graduation requirements in-
clude two literature review papers, a midterm, and a
final exam. The literature review papers are of semi-
nal importance to the preparation of the students, who
Raul Miranda, assistant professor of grade this activity as the most valuable of the course.
chemical engineering at the University of
Louisville, rece ived his engineering degree
It lets them acquire depth in at least two topics, and
fro m the Universidad de Cuyo (Argentina) it also gives them the chance to improve their writing
and his MS and PhD deg ree s from the Uni- ability. The first paper allows them to polish both
versity of Connecti cut. His current interests
include heterogeneous catalysis and solid- their writing and their literature searching skills. Two
state technology. separate drafts are read by the instructor before the

© Copyright CltE Division ASEE 1989

116 C HEMI CAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

final version is graded, giving the student a chance to course. Balance between detail and generality must
focus the emphasis in response to the instructor's be provided by the instructor, especially for the first
reactions. The second paper must be on a different paper, which tends to be either a collected summary
topic, to avoid specialization in a narrow subject area of a large number of publications or an organic chemis-
and to force the student into a new literature search. try approach to catalysis with little insight into the
The degree of quality improvement from the first to catalyst itself. In this course, much of the emphasis is
the second paper is generally large, justifying the dou- placed on the description of structural, surface, and
ble paper requirement. Several students have later electronic transformations undergone by the solid
stated that they used the second paper, without catalyst and the adsorbed reactants, to the extent of
changes, as a chapter in their theses. Some even claim current knowledge. Papers on an instrumental
to have attached the papers to their resumes to show technique and interpretation of data from case studies
their communication skills! using such techniques are also accepted. Peer student
Examples of recent topics in catalysis chosen by evaluation of the papers is required according to the
students are listed in Table 2, which may serve as a form shown in Table 3 and is enforced by including in
guide to new instructors who are implementing this the final exam some conceptual questiops related to

TABLE 1
Course Outline
Prer~isites: Elementary steps, rate determining step, forming. Hydrocarbon synthesis. Catalytic conversion of
Langmuir adsorption, heterogeneous reaction kinetics, mass auto exhaust gases. (Refs. 33, Ch. 1 and 3-5; 6, Ch. 10; 34; 35)
and heat transport in porous catalysts, physical characteriza-
tion techniques: BET surface area, mercury porosimetry and !).,..~arl:y: Generalizations in Q.ataj.~.\ Polanyi and Bronsted
densitometry, experimental techniques and reactors. (These relations. Compensation effect. Sabatier's principle in met-
are part of the contents of the required graduate reaction en- als and nonmetals. Geometric factor. Balandin's multiplets,
gineering course and are not duplicated in the catalysis Kobosev's ensembles. Electronic factor. Band theory. Va-
course.) lence bond theory. ( R efs. 7; 12; 33, Ch. 3; 36; 37; 50; 51)
~
I. Introduction. Heterogeneous catalysis in industry. Eco- 7. Modern Generalizations in Catalysis. Surface acidity.
nomic importance. Definition of catalysis. Activity, Surface compounds. The surface states. Quantum mechani-
selectivity and life. Classification of catalysts. Materials cal approximation methods. Metal alloying. Mono and
science aspects of catalysis. Overview of other materials sci- bimetallic clusters. Structure sensitivity. Metal and non-
ences and their degree of development relative to catalysis. metal support interactions. Practical examples. (Refs. 7; 12;
Role of surface science in catalysis. (Refs. 1-5; 6, Ch. 1; 7, 33; 38-41; 43; 50)
Ch.I; 8, Ch. 1; 9-11)
8. Solid State Chemistry. Metals. Interstitial, ionic, layer
2. Adsorption of Gases on Solids. Ideal (Languir) and non- compounds. Alloys. Oxides, single and mixed. Sulfides.
ideal adsorption on solids. Chemisorption. Application of Semi and Superconductors. Structures, some electronic fea-
statistical and quantum mechanics to adsorption and desorp- tures, general crystallization techniques, and phase dia-
tion. General results on metals and non-metals. Agreement grams. Amorphous solids. (Refs. 42; 37; 44-45)
with theory. (Refs. 6, Ch. 2; 7, Ch. 2; 12-18) 9. Sol-Gel Chemistry. General principles. Detailed applica-
tion to synthesis and modification of silica, alumina, silica-
3. Selected Instrumental Analysis Techni@es. Bulk analy- alumina. Catalyst supports. High-purity fused silica materi-
sis: x-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, electron spin als. Applications to optical materials. Hydrothermal synthe-
resonance. Surface analysis: x-ray photoelectron, auger, sis. Zeolites. Catalyst synthesis by impregnation or precipi-
secondary ion mass spectrometry. Electron microscopy. tation. (Refs. 46; 47)
Selective chemisorption. (Refs. 6, Ch. 5; 19-28; 29, Ch. 2; 30)
10. Defect Structure- Reversible and irreversible defects. De-
4. Kinetics. Collision theory, transition state theory, and fect clusters. Shear structures. Diffusion and conduction in
steady state approximation, applied to catalytic kinetics. the solid state. Coordinatively unsaturated sites. (Ref. 48)
Temkin's formalism for uniform and nonuniform surfaces.
Examples: Ammonia synthesis kinetics. Chemical vapor 11. Surface Structures. Relaxation and reconstruction. Ad-
deposition of SiO2. (Refs. 7, Ch. 3 and 4; 31, Ch. 4 and 7; 32,
sorbate-induced reconstructions. Modification of surface
Ch. 8)
electronic properties by adsorption. Catalytic promoters. De-
activation and regeneration of catalytic sites. Doping and
5. Major Chemical Processes. Their chemistry and cata- carrier density. Dopant-induced reconstruction. Thin -film
lysts. Catalytic Cl'acking, Reforming. Partial oxidation of generation. CVD, vapor-phase epitaxy, molecular and ion
hydrocarbons, Hydrotreatment and demetalation. Steam re- beam epitaxy. (Refs. 29; 32; 49)

SPRING 1989 117

 13. Adamson, A. W., Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, 4th
TABLE 2 ed., Wiley (1982)
14. Gasser, R. P . H., An Introduction to Chemisorption and
Examples of Recent Review Papers Catalysis by Metals, Clarendon Press (1985)
• Catalytically Promising Structures of Ternary and 15. Schrieffer, J. R., "Theory of Chemisorption," J. Vac. Sci.
Quat.ernary Compounds Technol., 9, 561 (1972); Physics Today, 4, 24 (1975)
• Scheelit.e-Structured Catalysts 16. Weinberg, W . H ., "The BEBO Model of Chemisorption,"
• Properties of Small Metal Clusters J. Vac. Sci. Technol., 10, 89 (1973)
• Thin Film Model Catalysts 17. Niemczyk, S . J., "A SCF-X a-SW Investigation of
• Im.mobilization of Transition-Metal Complexes Chemisorption Bonding," J . Vac. Sci. Tech., 1, 246 (1975)
• Asymmetric Syntheses on Heterogeneous Catalysts 18. Doyen, G., G. Ertl, "Semiempirical Theory of
• Shape-Selective Catalysis Chemisorption on Narrow d-Band Metals," J . Chem.
• XRD of Zeolite Materials Phys., 68, 5417 (1978)
• Preparation of Metal Clusters in Zeolites 19. Klug, H. P., L. E. Alexander, X-Ray Diffraction
• Synthesis of Gasoline-Range Hydrocarbons over Zeolites Procedures for Polycrystalline and Amorphous
• Designing Hydrodesulfurization Catalysts Materials, Wiley (1974)
• Hydrodenitrogenation Catalysis 20. Little, L. H., Infrared Spectra of Adsorbed Species,
• Catalysis by Single Crystals of Mo Chalcogenides Academic Press (1966)
• The Active Phase in Hydrodesulfurization Catalysts 21. Anderson, R. B., Experimental Methods in Catalysis
• Sintering of Supported Metal Catalysts Research, v. 1-5, Academic Press (1968-on)
• Catalyst Poisoning by S Compounds 22. Anderson, J. R., K. C. Pratt, Introduction to
• Coking of Zeolites Characterization and Testing of Catalysts, Academic
• Oxidative Decarboxylation Catalysts Press (1985)
• Nitrobenzene Hydrogenation 23. Somorjai, G. A., M. A. Van Hove, "Methods of Structure
• Methanation Catalysis Analysis," Ch. 4 of Structure and Bonding, v. 38 (1979)
• Benzaldehyde Hydrogenation 24. Jiru, P. , "Experimental Techniques for the Study of
• Catalysts of Coal-Char Gasification Surface Phenomena in Heterogeneous Catalysis, " La
• Methanol Synthesis Chimica e L'Industria, 52, 128 (1970)
• Promotion by Potassium 25. Gopalaraman, C. P. , "Role of Surface Science in the
• Temperature-Programmed Desorption and Reaction
• Electrocatalysis TABLE 3
• Photocatalytic Solids
• Auger Electron Spectroscopy
Manuscript Evaluation Fonn
• Low Energy Electron Diffraction Title: Author:
• Infrared Spectroscopy of Adsorbates
• X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Assign a grade on a scale of O to 25 in each of the following
four categories, and briefly explain your grading criteria in
the space provided.
the papers written by the class. Students become im-
placable judges of a classmate's writing when they Points
must answer questions on it in a final exam. 1. Scientific Relevance. Author Understanding of
the Topic, Does the author express clearly the
REFERENCES importance of the topic? Could another aspect of it
have been more important? Does the author under-
1. Nelson, W. L., Petroleum Refinery Engineering, Ch. 2, stand the topic?
"Composition of Petroleum," McGraw-Hill (1958) (Space)
2. Farah, 0. G., et al., Ethylene, Ch. 1, "Ethylene Industry
and Sources of Supply," Ann Arbor Science (1980) 2. Depth of Treatment. Was a reasonable amount of
3. Witcoff, H ., ''How is it Really Done," CHEMTECH, 12, work put into the paper? Is the paper unclear because
753 (1977); 4,229 (1978) not enough, or too much, information was
4. Chemical and Engineering News, "Key Chemical" considered?
sheets, ACS. One-page description of tech. and econ. data (Space)
on each indust. important chemical. Updated yearly.
5. Chemical and Engineering News, "Top 50 Chemicals" 3. Bibliography. Is the number of reference articles
tables, ACS. Prod. and eco. growth data. Updated yearly. enough to treat the topic in sufficient detail? Are the
6. Satterfield, C. N., Heterogeneous Catalysis in Practice, references current?
McGraw-Hill (1980) (Space)
7. Bou dart, M ., G. Djega-Mariadassou, Kinetics of Hetero-
geneous Catalytic Reactions, Princeton Un. Press (1984) 4, Style, Are the objectives, body of the paper, and
8. Smith, W. F., Principles of Materials Science and En- conclusions clearly exposed? Is the paper easy to
gineering, McGraw-Hill (1986) read? Is the paper sufficiently divided into sections?
9 . Psaras, P. A., H. D. Langford, eds., Aduancing Materi- Is each section completely developed before the next
als Research, National Academy Press, (1987) section? Is the grammar or spelling poor? Is the
10. Maugh II, T. H., "Industry Steps Up Quest for Catalysts " writing succinct?
High Technology, 8, 55 (1984) ' (Space)
11. Somorjai, G. A., S. M. Davis, "The Surface Science of TotalPoi,nts: 1100
Heterogeneous Catalysis," CHEMTECH, 8, 502 (1983)·
Scienc~227,902(1985) '
12. Bond, G. C., Heterogeneou s Catalysis: Principles and Confidential: Reuiewer's Signature
Applications, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press (1987)

118 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 Study of Catalysis," Chemical Age of India, 32, 307 (1981) analysis. One way out of this difficulty is to pool the
26. Zaera, F., et al., "Surface Science Studies of Catalysis:
Classification of Reactions," Acc. Chem. Res., 19, 24
data obtained in several sessions before allowing the
(1986) various student groups to analyze it. Also, they should
27. Riggs, W. M., R. G. Beimer, "How ESCA Pays Its attempt to get the largest range of L possible with the
Way," CHEMTECH,11, 652 (1975) equipment and concentrate on replication. At each
28. Davidson, D. L., "How to Use SEM," CHEMTECH, 11,
670 (1983) session, a student group will carry out duplicate ex-
29. Somorjai, G. A., Chemistry in Two Dimensions: periments, for example, at just three values of L:
Surfaces, Cornell University Press (1981) highest, lowest, and at the mid-point to permit a test
30. Albert, M. R., J. T. Yates, Jr., The Surface Scientist's
Guide to Organometallic Chemistry, ACS (1987) of the linearity of the correlation. After three or four
31. Laidler, K. J., Chemical Kinetics, 3rd ed., Harper & Row groups have completed their experiments, the data
(1987) can be pooled and analyzed. Students who have taken
32. Ruska, W. S., Microelectronic Processing, McGraw-
Hill (1987) statistics courses that teach experimental design
33. Gates, B. C., et al., Chemistry of Catalytic Processes, might wish to plan a single factorial experiment to
McGraw-Hill (1979) include several student groups. In any event, the be-
34. Hegedus, L. L., J. J. Gumbleton, "Conversion of
Automobile Exhaust Pollutants," CHEMTECH, 10, 630, tween-group variation can be analyzed to see if this is
(1980) a contributing factor to the error.
35. Wei, J., "Toward the Design of Hydrodemetallation
Catalysts," Ch. 8 in Catalyst Design, Progress and 3) Students should be encouraged to go directly to
Perspectives, ed. L. L. Hegedus, Wiley (1987) the original literature data and examine the actual
36. Chianelli, R., "Catalysis by Transition Metal Sulfides," measurements without citing a correlation for the
in Surface Preoperties and Catalysis by Non-Metals, ed.
J.P. Bonnelle, et al., Reidel (1983) least-squares fit of the data or some other determinis-
37. Kittel, C., Introduction to Solid State Physics, 6th ed., tic model. They should be asked to note the scatter in
Wiley (1986) the data through a variance or coefficient of variation
38. Examples from Strong Metal Support Interactions, ed. R.
T. K. Baker, et al., ACS Symp. Ser. 298 (1986) or some other measure of variability.
39. Bell, A. T., "Support and Metal Support Interaction in 4) Because our educational system pays high re-
Catalyst Design," Ch. 4 in Catalyst Design, Progress
and Perspectives, ed. L. L. Hegedus, Wiley (1987) wards for explaining phenomena, there is a great
40. Baetzold, R. C., "Applications of Molecular Orbital temptation for students to try to explain "every-
Theory to Catalysis," Adv. Catal., 25, 1 (1976) thing." Without the restraint learned from error
41. Bullett, D. W., "Electronic Structure Calculations Using
Atomic Orbital Methods: Applications to Transition analysis, some students will try to explain random
Metal Compounds and Surfaces," in Surface Properties error, given the opportunity, and of course, the oppor-
and Catalysis by Non-Metals, ed. J.P. Bonnelle, p. 47, tunity seems very tempting when the data are so few
Reidel ( 1983)
42. Cotton, F. A., G. Wilkinson, Advanced Inorganic that the scatter is not obvious. Thus, the notion of
Chemistry, 4th ed., Ch. 1,2; Wiley (1980) caution and even of reluctance to explain can be one
43. Examples from Catalysis by Acids and Bases, ed. B. of the important by-products of error analysis.
Imelik, et al., Elsevier (1985)
44. Ardon, M., et al., Solid State Chemistry, Wiley (1987)
45. Examples from Solid State Chemistry in Catalysis, eds. CONCLUSIONS
R. K. Grasselli, J. F. Brazdil, ACS Symp. Ser. 279 (1985) While we do pay lip service to teaching mathemat-
46. Chapters of Applied Industrial Catalysis, v. 3, ed. B. E.
Leach, Academic Press (1984) ical statistics, its use in experimental design is often
47. Breck, D. W., Zeolite Molecular Sieves, Krieger (1984) neglected. Therefore, student engineers, faced with
48. Mrowec, S., Defects and Diffusion in Solids, Elsevier experiments with large variability in the measure-
(1980)
49. MacLaren, J. M., et al., Surface Crystallographic ments, do not understand experimental error. They
Information Service: A Handbook of Surface Structures, tend either to despair or to explain too much. Statisti-
Reidel (1987) cal analysis of error plus good experimental design
50. Sinfelt, J. H., Bimetallic Catalysts, Wiley (1983)
51. Excerpts from Heterogeneous Catalysis, Selected can help students account for error and become in-
American Histories, eds. B. H. Davis, W. P. Hettinger, formed about the relationship between theory and
Jr., ACS Syrnp. Ser. 222 (1983) 0 practice.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
EXPERIMENTAL ERROR Veva Reilly kindly created the scene that is Figure
Continued from page 94. 1. Wm. Dale contributed the data of Figure 2.
the complexity of the experiment by one dimension. REFERENCE
Next, it is evident that because of the variability Perry, R. H. and Chilton, C. H. (editors). 1973. Chemical En-
in the gas absorption experiments, a single laboratory gineers' Handbook, 5th edition, section 18, McGraw-Hill, New
session generates too few data for a meaningful error York. D

SPRING 1989 119

 l•ft • curriculum

DESIGN EDUCATION IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Part 2: Using Design Tools

J. M. DOUGLAS and R. L. KIRKWOOD*

University of Massachusetts TABLE 1
Types of Designs
Amherst, MA 01003
• Order of magn~ude estimate (Error about 40%)
• Factored estimate (Error about 25%)
of a chemical process
T HE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
involves the invention of the process, i .e., the
•
•
•
Budget authorization estimate (Error about 12%)
Project control estimate (Error about 6"/o)
Contractor's estimate (Error about 3%)
selection of the process units, as well as the intercon-
nection between the units. The problem is large, open- very structured approach to inventing petrochemical
ended, and has a very low success rate associated with processes that can be taught to undergraduates. In
it. Experienced designers in industry normally com- addition, this systematic procedure can be used as the
plete a conceptual design in two days to a week, look basis for a hybrid expert system that can complete a
at possible alternatives for another two days to a conceptual design in one to three hours.
week, and then use these results to evaluate whether
additional design effort can be justified. A HIERARCHICAL APPROACH TO PROCESS SYNTHESIS
In order to teach undergraduate students (with no
experience) how to complete a conceptual design, it The tools described in Part I* of this paper are an
was necessary to develop several new tools: 1) How important part in the evaluation part of flowsheet syn-
to use order-of-magnitude arguments to simplify prob- thesis. However, we still need to generate these dif-
lems, 2) how to derive design heuristics, and 3) how ferent flowsheet configurations. In order to ac-
to decompose very large problems into a set of small, complish this goal we adopt a hierarchical planning
simple problems. With these it is possible to use a procedure, similar to that used by Sacerdotti [1] in
ABSTRIPS.
J. M. Douglas is a professor of chemi- With Sacerdotti's approach, we break the problem
cal engineering at the University of Mas-
sachusetts, Amherst. He received his BS down into a hierarchy of abstraction spaces where
from Johns Hopkins University and his PhD more detail is added to the solution at each level in
from the University of Delaware, both in
chemical engineering. He worked at ARCO
the hierarchy. Thus, we develop an initial solution
and taught at the University of Rochester that considers both the starting point and the final
before coming to U. Mass. His research goal, but not the details of how we achieve that goal.
interests include conceptual design,
control system synthesis, and reaction
Then, we improve the solution by considering the next
engineering . most important set of details, and we continue to add
layers of detail in this manner until we obtain a com-
plete solution. This is the same approach described in
Table 1, except now we will define a hierarchical plan
Robert L. Kirkwood, a research en- for Level 1 only. A hierarchical approach of this type
gineer in the Polymer Products Department has also been used by Meade and Conway [2] for the
of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., has
been involved with process design and design of VLSI chips.
synthesis since 1982. He received his BS In order to develop a hierarchical plan we can look
degree in chemical engineering from at a number of typical solutions and then consider
Lehigh University in 1982 and his PhD from
the University of Massachusetts in 1987. what happens if we systematically remove detail from
the solution. If we can find a general framework for
*Current Address: E .I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, stripping away these layers of detail, then we can re-
Polymer Products Department, Experimental Station, E262/314,
Wilmington, Delaware 19880-0262 *Published in GEE, 21 No. 1 (Winter 1988)
©Copyright ChE Division ASEE 1989

120 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 The tools described in Part 1 of this paper are an
important part in the evaluation part of flowsheet
synthesis. However, we still need to generate th~se
different flowsheet configurations. In order to accomplish
this goal we adopt a hierarchical planning procedure . . .

Vapor Purge
Recovery
System

H2
Feed
Flash
Reactor D,um

Toluene

FIGURE 1. HOA process flowsheet (maximum energy re- f eed

covery)
Toluene

Recycl e Benzene
verse the order of the levels and obtain the desired Liquid
Separation
hierarchy. System Oiphenyl

Energy Integration
FIGURE 3. HOA process (separation system flowsheet)
Suppose we consider an energy integrated flow-
sheet for the hydrodealkylation of toluene to produce
benzene (see Figure 1). If we remove all of the heat
exchangers and simply indicate which streams need Distillation Column Sequencing
to be heated or cooled, we obtain the much simpler Normally, there are a large number of alternative
flowsheet shown in Figure 2. There is a systematic distillation sequences that can be used to separate a
procedure available for designing a large number of mixture into a series of products. We could use heuris-
heat exchanger network alternatives if we have a tics (see [3]) to decide which alternatives to consider,
flowsheet such as Figure 2. or we could rapidly generate and evaluate all the pos-
The particular heat exchanger network that we sibilities and then consider only those alternatives
select normally will affect the optimum values of the which are economically feasible. Suppose we remove
process flows, which may affect the best choice of the the distillation train from the flowsheet shown in Fig-
distillation train. Hence, there may be a weak cou- ure 2 and replace it with a black-box (see Figure 3).
pling between the design of the heat exchanger net- For ideal mixtures, it is always possible to accomplish
work and the remainder of the process, and we may a set of distillation separations, and the details will
need to backtrack to our selection of the distillation have no effect on the equipment remaining in Figure
train in order to find the best solution. 3. Hence, we strip away the details of the distillation
train to simplify the flowsheet.
Purge
H2
14--- - - - . - - - - -•
Vapor Recovery System

Figure 2 does not include a vapor recovery system,

but in some cases it may be desirable to include one.
There are a number of types of units that we could
use as a vapor recovery system (e.g., a gas absorber,
a condensation process, an adsorption process), and
there are several locations that we could consider and
all must be evaluated. If we replace any vapor system
in Figure 2 by another black-box unit (see Figure 3),
we do not affect the structure of any of the remaining
units on the flowsheet and we have further simplified
FIGURE 2 . HOA process flowsheet the structure.

SPRING 1989 121

General Structure of the Separation System A HIERARCHICAL DECISION PROCEDURE
FOR PROCESS SYNTHESIS
Not all processes include both a vapor and a liquid
recovery system. For vapor-liquid process, there are If we add layers of detail to a conceptual design in
only three types of situations that can arise, depend- the opposite order that we stripped them away in the
ing on the phase of the reactor effluent (i .e., all liquid, previous discussion, we obtain the hierarchical deci-
a two-phase mixture, or all vapor). Suppose we lump sion procedure presented by Douglas [4) (Table 2). (A
all of the details of the separation system into a single decision concerning the choice between the design of
black-box (see Figure 4), and we specify the details of continuous and batch processes has also been in-
what to put into this box later. Now we see that we cluded.)
The procedure uses a depth-first, least-commit-
Compressor
Purge ment strategy that attempts to complete a base-case
design before we consider any alternatives, because
we might encounter some decision at a later stage in
H2
Feed Benzene
the design that will make all of the process alterna-
Re acto r
Separation tives unprofitable.
System
Toluene System Within each level of the hierarchy the decisions
Feed Diphenyl
that need to be made have been identified and prece-
dence ordered, so that the problem of conflicting sub-
Toluene
Recycle goals is avoided. In addition, in Douglas' procedure,
FIGURE 4 . HOA process (recycle structure flowshee t)

have stripped away another level of detail, but we TABLE 2

still preserve the recycle structure of the flowsheet. H ierarchy of Deci sion Levels

0) Input Information
Overall Picture of the Process 1) Batch vs . Continuous
2) Input - Output Structure
Removing layers of detail from the flowsheet has 3) Recycle Structure
4) Separation System
led to significant simplifications, but now suppose we a) Vapor Recovery System
draw a black-box around the complete process. We b) Liquid Separation System
5) Energy Integration
will be left with the input and output streams (Figure 6) More Detailed Alternatives
5). This picture of the process is still significant, be-
cause the raw material costs are usually in the range
from 33 to 85% of the total processing costs. We can heuristics (i .e., qualitative knowledge) are used to fix
start to focus on the design variables that affect the the structure of the flowsheet, to identify the domin-
product distribution and the optimum process flow- ant design variables and to fix some of the secondary
rates without having to consider any of the other com- design variables, while algorithms (i .e., quantitative
plicating details. From our earlier discussions we knowledge) are used to calculate the process flows,
know that the optimum values of the process flows the utility flows, the equipment sizes, and both the
will change as we add additional layers of detail to the capital and the operating costs as a function of the
process, and t herefore we must develop the design as design variables.
a function of the design variables that affect the pro- We use cost calculations to ensure that the process
cess flows . is profitable over at least some range of the design
variables before we continue on to the next level in
Purg e the hierarchy. If the process is unprofitable over the
- complete range of the design variables, then we use
H2
~ I the previously identified backtracking points to
Feed Benzen e examine the process alternatives. If a profitable alter-
- -- native cannot be found, then we terminate the design
l oluene Ben zene Pro cess project.
Feed Diphe_nyl
- An initial evaluation of this hierarchical decision
-
procedure was undertaken by teaching seventeen
three-day short courses at various industrial sites.
FIGURE 5 . HOA process (input-output flowsheet) Normally twenty-five students with three to twenty

122 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 Level O In ut Information to be able to evaluate the synthesis procedure on their
Pr~~!~~r,_e_ ___r'---'_,,,L-=e"-'v~e'I_J1:_•B,,,_,-::-.a'--"t::;c=h(~
v,_,,s=;:_.~c-::o
=n~t::::in~u=o:-;;,u-;:s~-_J own processes. The companies that have participated
in this effort are: American Cyanamid, Du Pont,
lternative _ _ __, Level 2 Input-Output
Heuri1Uc1 Quit Exxon Chemicals, General Electric, Imperial Chemi-
cal Industries (UK), Mobil, Monsanto, and Tennessee
Eastman. The evaluations have been generally favor-
able, with the main complaint being that the concep-
tual designs that were currently under investigation
Quit
in those companies were for multiproduct plants, ag-
ricultural processes, or other processes that were
beyond the scope of the code.
lternative'IE-------1
PIP-PROCESS INVENTION PROCEDURE
Quit
The availability of the PIP program removes the
Refine
Alternatives tedious computational effort from the development of
a conceptual design and the evaluation of process al-
FIGURE 6. Flowchart of PIP operation
ternatives. Some additional details concerning the
code are presented below, and more information con-
years of experience in design participated. The feed-
cerning the structure of the code is given in a paper
back obtained from these courses was used to modify
by Kirkwood [5].
the hierarchical procedure, but all of the students be-
lieved that the course was much better than the un-
Level 0--lnput Data
dergraduate course that they had taken. Many of the
experienced designers had previously used some of The menu where the user enters the input data is
the short-cut techniques that were presented, but all shown in Table 3, and a set of responses for a process
of them were surprised that such a systematic proce- that will produce benzene via the hydrodealkylation
dure could be developed. of toluene are given in Table 4. Help screens are avail-
An interactive computer code called PIP (Process able for the appropriate formats for the input data.
Invention Procedure) based on Douglas' procedure for The available physical property data can be verified
process synthesis has been described by Kirkwood [5]. and default data for the utilities can be changed.
The structure of the program is given in Figure 6, and
the relationship between the qualitative knowledge
bases and the quantitative knowledge bases, as well TABLE 4
Required Input Data for the HDA Process
as the backtracking points, is indicated. This software
makes it possible for an experienced user to complete The Primary Produd is BENZENE
a conceptual design in one to three hours and to find The Production Rate in Ll>-mol/hr is 260.00
Its Purity in Mole Fraction of Product is 0.99
the best flowsheet alternative in about one day, for Does tt form an Azeotrope? (Y or N) N
the limited class of processes considered. The Value of the Produd Stream in $ / I1>-mol is 9.04
The code was written for an IBM-PC/XT in order
to make it simple for a variety of industrial companies REACTION INFORMATION
Readion # Readion Phase Temperature Pressure
(Deg. F.) (Psia)
H2 +TOLUENE= BENZENE+ CH4 VAPOR 1150.00 500.00
TABLE 3 2 2.0 BENZENE= DIPHEN + H2 VAPOR 1150.00 500.00
Input Information Menu

F1 (HELP) Type the desired option and RETURN FEEDSTREAM INFORMATION

F3 (SAVE) F4 (NEWSAVE)
INPUT INFORMATION Feedstream 1
Review Component Name Mole Fradion
1) Process Name H2 0.96
2) Primary Product CH4 0.040
3) Reaction Information VAPOR Pres= 500.00 Cost= 1.32
4) Feedstream Information
5) Physical Property Date Feedstream 2
6) Process Constraints Component Name Mole Fradion
7) Plant and Site Data TOLUENE 1.00
8) Review All Input Information LIQUID Pres= 15.00 Cost= 6.40
9) Continue on to Decision Level Menu

SPRING 1989 123

Level 2-lnput-Output Structure of the Flowsheet
TABLE 7
For a continuous process, we then proceed to Recycle Structure Decision Menu
Level 2, the Input-Output Structure of the flowsheet.
The menu is shown in Table 5. For the process under Type the desired option and RETURN
F3 (SAVE) F4 (NEWSAVE)
consideration, the heuristics included in the code indi- RECYCLE STRUCTURE
cate that it is not desirable to purify the hydrogen Review and Results
1) Reactor Specifications
feedstream (the program noticed that the gaseous 2) Recycle Component Classificat ion
feedstream is not pure and a heuristic indicates that 3) Molar Ratio Specification
4) Process Constraints
usually it is too expensive to purify gaseous 5) Review Recycle Structure Information
feedstreams), that the feed of an excess of one reac- 6) Results of Calculations
7) Return to Decision Level Menu
tant to the process would not normally be desirable,
that the reversible by-product (identified by PIP as
diphenyl) will be removed (this is a default decision),
and that a gas recycle and purge stream is required product, pollution treatment cost, etc.) of each stream.
(the code recognizes that the hydrogen reactant can- Finally, information about the product distribution for
not be recycled without methane building up in the the reaction system is required. Either a correlation
gas recycle loop). The user is required to verify these of the extents of the reactions as functions of the de-
decisions, and a function key is available to explain sign variables or as a kinetic model may be specified.
the appropriate heuristic. Once this information has been entered, the user
Heuristics are then used to determine the number can proceed to the result menu for Level 2 (see Table
of product streams and which components are in each. 6). Using option 2.2, the value of the design variables
The user is then asked for the values (i.e., fuel, by- are specified and then the code will generate a picture
of the flowsheet with the total flows of each of the
process streams (Figure 7). For option 2.3, after
TABLE 5 specifying values for the design variables, a flowsheet
Input-Output Structure Decision Menu that shows the stream costs can be generated. Each
Fl (HELP) Type the desired option and RETURN F2 (HEURISTIC)
of these calculations takes less than one second.
F3 (SAVE) F4 (NEWSAVE) It is possible to examine the complete range of the
INPUT - OUTPUT STRUCTURE
Review and Results
design variables and see where the process is profit-
1) 1.1) Feedstream Purification able by choosing option 3.1. Assuming that profitable
(NIA) 1.2) Excess Reactant Specification operation is obtained over some range of the design
1.3) Reversible Byproduct Destination
1.4) Light Component Destination variables, the program will proceed to the next level
2) Component Classification in the hierarchy of decisions. A list of the process al-
3) Product Distribution Data
3.1) Ex1ents of Reaction
-OR-
3 .2) Reaction Rate Equations
4) Process Constraints
HDA FLOWSHEET
5) Review All Input-Output Information lnpul-0ulpul Slruclure: Streu Flo1s (Lb-101/br)
6) Results of Calculations COHV•. 633 PURGE•. 400
7) Return to Decision Level Menu

TABLE 6 82 481.
Input-Output Result Menu

Fl (HELP) Type the desired option and RETURN

RESULTS: LEVEL 2 INPUT - OUTPUT STRUCTURE

1) Design Variable Ranking
2) Flowsheet Picture H2 479 . BEN 265.
2.1) Simple Structure
2.2) With Flowrates Process
2.3) Wtth Stream Costs
3) Case Study Optimization of Design Variables DIP 2.18
3.1) Graphical Output
4) Process Alternatives
4.1) Alternatives to Consider
4.2) Current Process Decisions
5) Return to Level 2 Input Menu

FIGURE 7. Input-output f/owsheet with stream flows

124 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

ternatives that could be considered, e.g. , recycling the HDA FLO WSHEET
Recycle Slruclm
reversible by-product to extinction, can also be IOLM .00
examined.
c I
Level 3-Recycle Structure of the Flowsheet
The menu for Level 3 is given in Table 7, and the
user is required to verify the number of reactor sys- i 0
C D
tems selected, the number of recycle streams gener- 5
- .550
p
ated, and both the limiting reactant conversion and
0 0 - .812
the molar ratio of reactants will become new design l f
variables (if applicable). e
D I -1.07
The result menu for Level 3 is shown in Table 8. l /
The new flowsheet with annualized capital and operat- i y -1.34
a r
ing costs (option 2.3) can be generated (see Figure 8). I
-160
Option 3.1, a two-variable plot of the profit (economic .100 . 188 .275 .362 .450 .538 .625 .71 3 .BOO
potential) with the recycle costs included, is shown in TOLUENE Conversion

Figure 9. Note how the range of the design variables FIGURE 9. Recycle structure economic potential plot
where profitable operation is obtained has decreased

significantly, simplifying the task of synthesizing a

TABLE 8 separation system. In addition, sensitivity studies of
Recycle Structure Result Menu
the effect of changing the gas recycle pressure drop
Type the desired option and RETURN (if any) and the reactor heat effects can be made (op-
tions 4.1 and 4.2).
RESULTS: LEVEL 3 RECYCLE STRUCTURE
1) Design Variable Ranking
2) Flowsheet Picture Level 4--Separation System
2.1) Simple Structure
2.2) With Flowrates
2 .3) With Stream Costs
The menu for the synthesis of the separation sys-
3) Case Study Optimization of Design Variables tem is given in Table 9. The phase of the reactor
3.1) Graphical Output
4) Recycle Structure Process Unit Analysis
effluent stream is determined at the current optimum
4.1) Reactor System 1 of the design variables where profitable operation is
4.2) Recycle Compressor
5) Process Alternatives
observed in Level 3, and a heuristic is used to fix the
5.1) Alternatives to Consider general structure of the flowsheet (see Figure 10). A
5 .2) Current Process Decisions
6) Return to Level 3 Input Menu
flash calculation is then used to determine the compo-
nent flows in the flash vapor stream (if one is present)
and the value of materials lost in the purge stream. If
HDA FLOWSHEET these losses are significant, or if there are components
Recycle Slruclm : Slren Cos ls (DI/J r)
in the gas recycle stream that would be deleterious to
CONY• .633 PUiGi• .400 IOLM .00

H2 12 .000 TABLE 9
Separation System Menu

Type the desired option and RETURN

F3 (SAVE) F4 (NEWSAVE)
H2 5. 15 Separa lioo SEPARATION SYSTEM
Cos l Review and Results
TOL 14.1 DIP .096 1) Separation System Structure
.026
Sys lei 1.1) Reactor System 1
2) Separation Split Block
2.1) Reactor System 1
OLU 3) Vapor Recovery System
4) Liquid Separation System
4.1) Glinos-Malone-Nikolaides,
Ecooo1ic Fenske-Underwood-Gilliland Model
(i.e. short-short-cut)
Polen li al 4.2) Fenske-Underwood-Gilliland Model
.211 iiS/,r 5) Return to Decision Level Menu

FIGURE 8. Recycle Flowsheet with economics

SPRING 1989 125

 HOA FLOWSHEET cess alternatives, and we attempt to find a better
Separation Sy,lei Structure
flowsheet. We first consider alternatives that corres-
CONY PURCE IOLR
pond to decisions where there were no heuristics
available (e .g., the recycle ofreversible by-products),
Yapor
82
iecomy
82 and then we consider alternatives that change the
Systei structure of the flowsheet at the early levels in the
hierarchy.
By proceeding to Level 6 we can also evaluate the
82
TOLU
Reactor
Sy, tei t l effects of alternate reactor configurations (plug flow-
CSTR combinations, temperature profiles, and feed
distributions), complex distillation column alterna-
tives, and alternative heat exchanger networks.
TOLUENE Hence, we can explore a number of alternatives with
Liq1id relatively little effort.
Separation
Sysle1 CONCLUSIONS
Teaching Process Synthesis

FIGURE 10. Separation system flowsheet In the undergraduate design course, we describe
each of the decision levels in detail, we discuss the
the reactor performance, the user can install a vapor
heuristics that are available for making the decisions,
recovery system (Table 10). Several types of systems
and we derive the short-cut design equations that are
and locations can be selected. In our example we do
used to calculate the costs. The base-case design for
not include a vapor recovery system.
one process is developed in this way and a list of pro-
Next we consider the synthesis of a liquid separa-
cess alternatives is generated. Then the alternatives
tion system (see Table 11). Currently, distillation is
the only separation process considered. We determine
the best sequence by exhaustive enumeration (it takes TABLE 10
Vapo r Recovery System Result Men u
about five seconds to complete this calculation). A
flowsheet showing the best distillation sequence, the Type the desired option and RETURN
process flows, and the equipment sizes for the design
RESULTS: LEVEL 4 VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM
variables indicated is presented in Figure 11. Detailed 1) Evaluate Vapor Recovery System Flows
design information for each piece of equipment and 2) Choice of Vapor Recovery System
2. 1) Adsorption
each of the process streams is available by pressing a 2.2) Condensation
function key. The results of a one variable optimiza- » 2.3) No Vapor Recovery System
3) Flowsheet Picture
tion study are shown in Figure 12, and again we see 3.1) Simple Structure
that the range where profitable operation is possible 3.2) With Flowrates
3.3) With Stream Costs
is significantly reduced. 4) Case Study Optimization of Design Variables
4.1) Graphical Output
Level 5-Heat Exchanger Network Synthesis 5) Process Alternatives
6) Return to Level 4 Menu
We use the procedure described by Hohmann [6],
Umeda et al [7), and Linnhoff and Flower [8] to calcu- TABLE 11
late the minimum heating and cooling loads for the Li qu id Separation System Res ult Men u
process, and we use the surface area targeting proce- Type the desired option and RETURN
dure of Townsend and Linnhoff (9) to estimate the
RESULTS: LEVEL 4 LIQUID SEPARATION SYSTEM
heat exchanger area required. With this information 1) Design Variable Ranking
we can estimate the capital and operating costs of the 2) Flowsheet Picture
2.1) Simple Structure
heat exchange system. In addition, we add the 2.2) With Flowrates
minimum approach temperature to our list of signifi- 2.3) Wtth Stream Costs
3) Case Study Optimization of Design Variables
cant design variables. 3.1) Graphical Output
4) Distillation Train Eval uation
Evaluation of Process Alternatives 4.1) All Possible Sequences
4.2) Best Sequence vs . Design Variables
At this point we have completed a base-case design 4.3) Define Liquid Separation System
5) Process Alternatives
and obtained a reasonable estimate of the optimum 6) Return to Level .4 Menu
design conditions. Hence, we return to our list of pro-

126 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

 HDA FLOWSHEET reinforce an understanding of the procedure.
Liquid Separation Syste, : Streu Flm (Lb-101/ir)
Now that PIP is available we would introduce
COIY• .567 PUICi• .400 IOLM.00
another set of homework assignments, which would
be given in parallel with the development of the stu-
H2 4774 . H2 479 . dents' base-case design, that would explore process
alternatives. This would allow students to focus their
thinking on the physics and the economic trade-offs
involved in the process and to minimize the amount of
B2 477 .
725 time they spend on calculations. Near the end of the
IOLU 268 . lol,481 . "'=~· _ _ ____, 480 .8
course we would then give other assignments where
the students would be expected to design new plants
in a two-day time period. The focus in the class discus-
TOL 195 .
sion would be on the similarities and differences be-
tween various types of processes.
SUMMARY
The current version of the software is applicable
FIGURE 11 . Liquid separation f/owsheet with stream
to a limited class of petrochemical processes, and we
flows hope to extend it to solids processes, polymer proces-
are considered in an attempt to find the best process ses, bio-processes, and batch processes. Research is
flowsheet. Moreover, the results of the short-cut cal- underway to develop the necessary procedures. How-
culations are compared to a rigorous computer-aided- ever, even in its present form we expect that it should
design solution in order to evaluate the accuracy of provide a useful teaching tool.
the approximate calculations. We believe that it is possible to teach the concep-
The homework assignments in the course focus the tual design of chemical processes to undergraduates.
student effort on developing a base-case design for a Their lack of experience can be overcome to a great
different process in a step-by-step manner by hand, extent by providing new design tools and software
at least for the early levels. Stand-alone software (a which make very rapid calculations possible, so that
program developed by Glinos and Malone [10], is used even when they explore alternatives that experienced
to ~ynthesize and evaluate the distillation sequences, designers know would not be profitable, the time pen-
while data for the synthesis of a heat exchanger net- alty will be small. The availability of the software also
work is generated in part by hand and in part using a makes it possible for them to gain experience more
CAD package. The goal of these assignments is to rapidly.
REFERENCES
HOA FLOWSHEET
1. Sacerdotti, E. D., "Planning in a Hierarchy of Abstraction
Liquid Separation Sysle1
Spaces," Artificial Intelligence, 5, 115 (1974)
PURGE, .400 IOLM .00
2. Mea_dc, C., and L. Conway, Introduction to VLSI Systems,
E -. 074 -.---------::,....._=------- Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Reading, MA (1980)
cI 3 . Nis~ida, N., G. Stephanopoulos, and A . W. Westerberg, "A
0 i Review of Process Synthesis," AIChE J., 27, (3), 321 (1981)
D I -.114
4 . Douglas, J . M., "A Hierarchical Decision Procedure for
o I
Process Synthesis," AIChE J., 31, 353 (1985)
I i ·. 153
i 0
5. Kirkwood, Robert L., James M. Douglas, and Michael H.
C n Locke, " A Prototype Expert System for Synthesizing
I •. 193 Chemical Process Flowsheets," Compt. and Chem. Eng.,
p 12, 4, pg. 329-343 (1988)
0 0 - .232 6 . Hohmann, E. C., "Optimum Networks for Heat Ex-
l f change," PhD Thesis, University of S. California (1971)
e 7. Umeda, T., J. ltoh, and K. Shiroko, "Heat Exchange Sys-
n I -.272
tem Synthesis," CEP, 74, (7), 70 (1978)
l /
8. Linnhoff, B., and J . R. Flower, "Synthesis of Heat Ex-
i Y - .312
a r changer Networks," AIChE J., 24, (4), 633 (1978)
I 9 . Townsend, D. W., and B. Linnhoff, "Surface Arca Targets
-. 351 -t--.--r-T~~~~----~-....J for Heat Exchanger Networks," Annual Meeting of the
.450 .494 .538 .581 .625 .669 .713 .756 .800
Inst. of Chem. Engrs., Bath, UK, April (HJ84)
IOLUEHE Conversion
10 Glines, Konstantinos, "A Global Approach to the Prelimi-
FIGURE 12. Liquid separation system economic potential nary Design and Synthesis of Distillation Trains " PhD
plot Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1984) O

SPRING 1989 127

PROBLEM: CSTR's Q volumetric flow rate through the reactor
Continued from page 115. system, m3·s-1
volume of the ith reactor, m3
if the standard graphical construction based on Figure volume of the ith reactor leading to
1 starting with C*1 not less than 0.85 (say) leads to a minimum overall reactor volume, m3
final value for C*N lower than required, then Eq. (16) V kinetic rate, mol·m-,'J ·s-1
can be used as a good approximation of Eq. (3). This maximum kinetic rate of the enzyme under
approximation gets better as N increases and/or C*N study, mol·m-,'J·s-1
increases and/or n decreases. If, on the other hand,
the reverse graphical construction based on Figure 1 REFERENCES
starting with C*N/C*N-l not greater than [20(n-1)]-11"
(say) leads to a final value for C* 0 larger than unity,
1. Lehninger, A. L., Principles of Biochemistry, Worth
then Eq. (5) can be used as a good approximation for Publishers, New York (1982)
C*i,opt as obtained from Eq. (3). This approximation 2. Arima, K., in Global Impacts of Applied Microbiology
gets better as N decreases and/or C*N decreases and/ (M. P. Starr, Ed.), John Wiley and Sons, New York, p.
or n increases. 278 (1964)
3. Michaelis, L., and M. L. Menten, Biochem. Z ., 49, 333
(1913)
NOMENCLATURE 4. Segel, I. H., Enzyme Kinetics: Behavior and Analysis
concentration of substrate, mol·m-,'J of Rapid Equilibrium and Steady-State Enzyme Sys-
C tems, John Wiley and Sons, New York (1975)
co concentration of substrate at the inlet 5. Bailey, J. E., and D. F. Ollis, Biochemical Engineer-
stream of the first reactor, mol·m-,'J ing Fundamentals, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York
Ci concentration of substrate at the outlet (1986)
stream of the ith reactor, mol·m-,'J 6. Atkinson, D. E., Ann. Rev. Biochem., 35, 85 (1966)
7. Adair, G. S., J. Biol. Chem., 63, 529 (1925)
C*-I normalized concentration of substrate at
8. Pauling, L., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S., 21, 186 (1935)
the outlet stream of the ith reactor 9. Hill, A. V., Biochim. J ., 7, 471 (1913)
C\opt normalized concentration of substrate at 10. Hill, C. G., An Introduction to Chemical Engineering
the outlet stream of the ith reactor leading Kinetics and Reactor Design, John Wiley and Sons,
to the minimum overall reactor volume New York (1977)
11. Aris, R., The Optimal Design of Chemical Reactors,
Da, = Damkohler number for the ith reactor,
Academic Press, New York (1961)
(Vma,,V/Q·C0 ) 12. Levenspiel, 0., Chemical Reaction Engineering, John
Da,,min Damkohler number for the ith reactor lead- Wiley and Sons, New York (1972)
ing to the minimum overall reactor volume, 13. Bischoff, K. B., Can. J. Chem. Eng., 44, 281 (1953)
(Vma,,Vi min/Q·Co) 14. Luyben, K. C., and J. Tramper, Biotechnol. Bioeng.,
24, 1217 (1982)
j dummy ' integer variable for the summa- 15. Malcata, F. X., Can. J . Chem. Eng., 66, 168 (1988)
tions 16. Stephenson, G., Mathematical Methods for Science
K' kinetic constant, mol"·m-,'J" Students, Longman, London (1973)
K* dimensionless kinetic constant, (K'/C 0 ") 17. Spiegel, M. R., Mathematical Handbook, McGraw-
m dummy integer variable for the summa- Hill Book Co., New York (1968)
18. McCabe, W. L., and E. W. Thiele, Ind. Eng. Chem.,
tions 17, 605 (1925)
n apparent number of substrate binding sites 19. Peters, M. S., and K. D. Timmcrhaus, Plant Design
per enzyme molecule and Economics for Chemical Engineers, McGraw-
N total number of reactors in the series Hill Book Co., New York (1980) 0

kid• books received New Membrane Materials and Processes for Separation,
edited by Kamalesh Sirkar and Douglas Lloyd. AIChE, 345
East 47th Stre., New York, NY 10017 (1988). 177 pages, $20
Carbon: Electrochemical and Physicochemical Properties, by members, $40 others.
Kim Kinoshite. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1 Wiley Drive, Som-
erset, NJ 08875-1272 (1988); 533 pages, $75.00 Organic Chemistry, 4th Edition, by T.W. Graham Solomons.
John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158-0012
Mixing Equipment (Impeller Type); AIChE, 345 East 47 Street, (1988). 1186+ pages
New Yor, NY; (1988) 40 pages, AIChE members $12, others $18
The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual: A Student's Guide /,o
Petrochemicals: The Rise of an Industry, by Peter H. Spitz. Techniques, by James W. Zubrick. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158 One Wiley Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873 (1988). 322 pages, $15.60
(1988); 588 pages, $29.95 cloth soft cover

128 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION

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