57892 - Fundamentals of Process Engineering

Learning outcomes

Aim of the course is to introduce basic elements in order to perform material and energy balances on single units as well as on multi-units processes.

Course contents

The course is an introduction to the basic calculations related to chemical industry processes. The chemical plant is assumed as a network of mass and energy streams connecting process units which are modeled as “black boxes”. The basic elements will be introduced to perform material and energy balances on single units as well as on multi-units processes.

1. The chemical plant: flowcharts. Process classification: batch, continuous, semi-batch; steady-state and transient operational modes.
2. The state of material and energy streams. Process variables: composition variables, flow rate variables, relationships, units.
3. The integral balance equation of an extensive quantity: accumulation, generation, input and output.
4. Material balances for a single unit, for reactive and non reactive systems, in steady-state and transient conditions, in batch processes. Limiting and excess reactants, fractional conversion, extent of reaction, selectivity and yield. Basis of calculation and process scale-up variables. Degree of freedom analysis. Calculations for typical chemical industry units. Combustion reactions: calculation of flue gas composition for various fuel classes and excess air.
5. The integral balance equation of energy: synthesis and application to the solution of typical process engineering problems.
6. Energy balances on a single unit, for reactive and non reactive systems. Enthalpy calculation for pure substances: choice of the most useful reference state for calculation, depending on the available data. Calculations for multicomponents systems in the case of ideal mixtures. Heat exchange in reactors. Heating value of a combustible material and adiabatic flame temperature. Calculations.
7. Simultaneous material and energy balances on multiple-units processes in steady-state conditions. Main streams of the process: fresh and combined feed, purge, recycle. Single-pass and overall conversion. Main units; mixing and splitting points. Degree of freedom analysis. Calculations for typical chemical plants on simplified flow-sheets.

Readings/Bibliography

F.P.Foraboschi, Principi di Ingegneria Chimica, UTET, Torino ( cap.I)

R.M.Felder, R.W.Rousseau, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, , 3rd ed., 2000.

O.A. Hougen, K.M. Watson, R.A.Ragatz, Principi dei processi chimici, vol.1, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana, 1967.

Teacher's notes.