Chemical Engineering for Non-Chemical Engineers

Introduction

This course identifies the areas of chemical engineering that are most commonly encountered by the non-specialist with examples that will be drawn from a range of process industries including oil and gas processing, petrochemicals, chemical manufacturing. In this course you will:

• Learn to interpret flow sheets and process flow diagrams
• Develop and understand mass and energy balances in process design
• Learn about fluid flow, pumps, and compressors, and mixing
• Discuss heat transfer equipment and their design, including heat exchangers
• Understand distillation and separations used in oil and gas processing
• Discuss effluent minimization and treatment
• Learn how to control processes
• Perform basic economic analysis of a project
• Understand the safety and environmental responsibility on process engineers

Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Learn to interpret flow sheets and process flow diagrams
• Understand the use of mass and energy balances in process design
• Gain a basic understanding of fluid flow, including pumping and mixing
• Study examples relevant to the oil and gas industry
• Design a heat exchanger and know the advantages and disadvantages of different types
• Understand distillation and separations used in oil and gas processing
• Appreciate the need to control environmental pollution from industry
• Learn how to control processes
• Perform a basic economic analysis of a project

Target Audience

All those working in the chemical, petrochemical, oil and process industries with a need to understand and discuss issues with the chemical engineering specialists

These will include geo-scientists, petroleum engineers, production engineers, trainee process engineers, R and D chemists, plant chemists, plant operators, and economists

Chemical Engineering Outline

The course covers the following topics:

Process Engineering Fundamentals

• Introduction
• Basic Concepts to remember
• Flow diagrams
• Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams
• Process equipment
• Introduction to mass and energy balances
• Batch VS Continuous
• Risk Assessments and Hazard Studies
• Workshop Session

Fluid Flow

• Pressure and Head
• Bernoulli’s Theorem
• Flow of Liquids
• Reynolds number, the pressure drop in pipes
• Compressible flow
• Introduction to Thermodynamics
• Two-phase and Multi-phase Flow
• Pumps and Compressors
• Mixing and Mixers
• Workshop Session

Heat Transfer

• Thermal conductivity
• Conduction and convection
• Insulation
• Heat transfer coefficients
• Heat exchangers, type and sizing
• Chemical reactions
• Reaction kinetics
• Introduction to catalysis
• Workshop session

Introduction to separation processes

• Distillation basics
• Phase behavior and vapor-liquid equilibria
• Gas-Liquid Separation
• Absorption and adsorption
• Solid Liquid separation
• Air and water pollution control
• Workshop Session

Process Control, Utilities, and Economics

Process Control basics

• Measured variables
• Simple feedback control

Process Utilities

• Air
• Water and cooling water
• Steam
• Electricity and power generation

Process Economics

• Preliminary economic analysis
• Fixed and variable costs, break-even
• Calculating raw materials usage
• Scale-up and six-tenths rule