C9596 - SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE PROCESSES

Learning outcomes

Students will understand the principles and practices required to ensure safety and sustainability in chemical processes, with a focus on safe and sustainable production methods in the chemical industry. They will gain knowledge of chemical reactivity hazards, the assessment and management of process safety, and the production of sustainable fuels and hydrogen. The student is expected to be able to: 1. Recognize and manage chemical reactivity hazards to prevent uncontrolled reactions, ensuring safety in chemical processes; 2. Apply thermal safety assessment principles to evaluate and mitigate risks in chemical processes, including flammability and explosion hazards; 3. Design and evaluate sustainable hydrogen and hydrocarbon production technologies, emphasizing environmental advantages and technological innovation.

Course contents

The CU is composed of three modules with the following contents.

Sustainable hydrogen and hydrocarbons production.

1. Introduction to hydrogen economy: colors of hydrogen, efficiency, environmental advantages, versatility and role in decarbonization.
2. The overview of the most important sustainable hydrogen production methods including: (i) water splitting (electrolysis, thermolysis, photocatalysis); (ii) thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis of biomass and gasification of biomass), and (iii) biological conversion (biophotolysis and fermentation)
3. The overview of the most important sustainable hydrocarbon fuels production by recycling CO2 and H2O with renewable or nuclear energy
4. Technology readiness level of the main sustainable hydrogen and hydrocarbons production pathways
5. Unique technology benefits of the selected sustainable hydrogen and hydrocarbons production pathways

Chemical Process Safety

The module will start with an Introduction of the risk assessment of a chemical process. There will be a Review of the 4 thermodynamic principles, thermochemistry, and chemical kinetics.
We will see in detail the following topics:
• Risk assessment of a raw material; literature approach, theoretical calculations, software and interaction matrix
• Thermal safety: what does it mean? Heat balance, pressure and temperature trend, Semenov diagrams, reaction enthalpy
• Risk assessment of a chemical process; adiabatic temperature rise, maximum temperature of the synthesis reaction and adiabatic induction time. Severity and probability assessment. Examples
• Reaction calorimetry with examples on batch and semibatch reactions.
• Differential scanning calorimetry with examples. Use of DSC to evaluate the adiabatic induction time and adiabatic temperature rise. Adiabatic and accelerating rate calorimetry.
• Powder explosion: MIE, MIT, LIT, MEC, resistivity, 20 litter test, mechanical tests
• Flammability: UFL, LFL, MOC and calculations
• Practical exercises for the final written assignment

Chemical Reactivity Hazards

Recognize and manage reactive chemical hazards and show how uncontrolled chemical reactions in the industry or laboratory can lead to serious harm and introduces key

Readings/Bibliography

Lecturer notes and slides

Sustainable Hydrogen Production Processes. Energy, Economic and Ecological Issues, J.L. Silveira (Ed), ISSN 1865-3529, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017

Teaching methods

The course unit is divided into three modules taught independently at different times in the academic year, each module is organized in theoretical classes where main concepts are introduced, as well as tutorial classes with discussion of case-study examples.

Assessment methods

Each module learning is evaluated independently, exploiting: i) written tests; ii) oral presentations or interviews; iii) written assignments or combinations of them. The Course Unit grade will be the arithmetic mean of grades from the three modules. ChIRS grades scale goes from 1 to 100, pass grade is 40, and will be translated into ECTS and different University scales. Criteria: knowledge on a very limited number of topics covered in the course and analytical ability that emerges only with the help of the instructor, using generally correct language → 40-45;
Knowledge on a limited number of topics covered in the course and independent analytical ability only on purely executive
issues, using correct language → 45-60;
Knowledge on a large number of topics covered in the course, ability to make independent critical analysis choices, mastery
of specific terminology → 60-80;
Essentially comprehensive knowledge on the topics covered in the course, ability to make independent critical analysis and
connection choices, full mastery of specific terminology, and ability for argumentation and self-reflection → 80-100.

Module I: Group project and presentation on a topic related to the module content

Teaching tools

Lectures slides and notes will be available on the course moodle https://emmcchir-learning.ualg.pt

Office hours

See the website of Adriana Karolina Zaleska Medynska

See the website of

See the website of Nuria Lopez Vinent