88384 - Technology for Energy and Environmental Depollution

Learning outcomes

Integral balance of matter and energy, transport of heat and matter and their application to thermochemical and catalytic processes. Technologies for the treatment of gaseous emissions, and liquid effluents. Separation operations with low environmental impact. Operating principles, construction features and equipment equations.

Course contents

• Material and energy balances: nonreactive and reactive processes, continuous and batch operations. Applications to the design of sustainable processes and chemical plants.
• Computational laboratory on selected problems.
• Heat and mass transfer in chemical and biochemical processes.
• Design and scale-up of chemical reactors, gas-liquid bioreactors to optimize the operations and to increase the process efficiency.
• Design of traditional and innovative equipment for process intensification based on integrated (bio-)reactors and separation units.
• Membrane separation processes: working principles, module design, focus on reverse osmosis.
• Traditional and innovative technologies for water treatments
• Traditional and innovative unit operations for polluted gas treatments.
  

Readings/Bibliography

Recommended readings for further study

Richard M. Felder, Ronald W. Rousseau, Lisa G. Bullard, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-118-43122-1.

Adisa Azapagic, Slobodan Perdan, eds., Sustainable Development in Practice: Case Studies for Engineers and Scientists, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2011. ISBN: 9780470718711; online ISBN: 9780470972847; DOI: 10.1002/9780470972847.

The books are recommended to broaden students’ knowledge of the main topics of the course. They are not followed in detail during the lectures.

The teaching material used during the course, including lecture notes, exercises and supporting material for the computational laboratory, will be made available on the UNIBO Virtuale platform.

Teaching methods

The lessons are held in class according to the standard format.

During the lectures, students will be involved in solving exercises and analysing case studies, individually or in small groups. In this way, they are guided to gradually acquire the skills needed to apply the knowledge gained in the course, improve their ability to work in groups, and prepare for the final examination.

Lecture notes and exercises presented in class will be available on the UNIBO Virtuale platform.

The laboratory will be based on PC exercises, using process simulation software (ASPEN Plus) and spreadsheets (MS Excel).

In view of the type of activities adopted in this teaching unit, the laboratory activity requires all students to complete Modules 1 and 2 of safety training in the workplace in e-learning mode.

[https://www.unibo.it/en/services-and-opportunities/health-and-assistance/health-and-safety/online-course-on-health-and-safety-in-study-and-internship-areas ]

Assessment methods

The aim of the final examination is to evaluate the achievement of the main goals of the course, specifically:

• the ability to adopt suitable analysis and calculation techniques, presented during the course, in order to understand the working principles of the equipment and the basic design rules, as well as the chemical and physical phenomena occurring in equipment and processes of the (bio-)chemical industry.

• the ability to use the results obtained from the above analysis to improve equipment performance.

The final assessment will consist of an oral exam of about 40 minutes. It is aimed at ascertaining full understanding of the basic principles and design rules of the equipment considered during the course.

At the beginning of the exam, a short presentation (~10 minutes MAX) on a relevant topic of choice must be presented.

The level of knowledge acquired by the student on the topics covered in class, their ability to present them clearly, with command of language, and to discuss them critically will determine:

higher grades, if the student demonstrates full and deep understanding of the subject, critical analysis of applications and command of language in the presentation.

a passing grade, if the student demonstrates basic knowledge of the main topics of the course, sufficient critical analysis and acquisition of basic technical language.

a failing grade, if the student demonstrates gaps in the fundamental concepts of the subject and, consequently, insufficient ability to analyse case studies.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities are recommended to contact the responsible University office in good time (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ). The office will propose possible adaptations to the students concerned. These adaptations must in any case be submitted, at least 15 days in advance, to the lecturer for approval, who will assess their appropriateness also in relation to the learning outcomes of the course.

AI can be a useful tool to support individual study through further investigation, summaries and self-assessment activities. As far as assessment is concerned, the use of AI during the in-person exam is prohibited. Any use constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Teaching tools

Whiteboard and PowerPoint presentations

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Maluta