PREREQUISITES: In order to sign up for this course, students must have been enrolled, at least once, in the following subjects:

- Fluid mechanics

- Heat transfer

- Kinetics of chemical processes

- Applied thermodynamics



SPECIFIC SKILLS:

M03CM01. Analyze, using material and energy balances, facilities, equipment or processes in which the material undergoes changes in composition.

M03CM02. Integrate the basics of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology with the basic and common fundamentals of engineering.

M03CM04. Analyze, model and calculate chemical and biochemical reactors based on applied thermodynamic and kinetic fundamentals.

M03CM06. Manage techniques of the Chemical Industry, measuring and calculating properties of raw materials, process units and products.

M03CM07. Materialize, making visible in the laboratory, fundamental principles of chemical engineering concerning mass transfer, energy and amount of movement.

M03CM09. Compare theoretical models and simulation results with real results obtained in real units.



CROSS-CURRICULAR SKILLS:

M03CM11. Skilfully manage the information and communication technologies applied to learning, information sources and specific databases of Chemical Engineering, as well as tools to support oral presentations.

M03CM12. Communicate and transmit, effectively in writing and basically orally, the knowledge, results, skills and abilities acquired in a multidisciplinary and multilingual environment.

M03CM13. Organize and plan activities in working groups, with recognition of diversity and multiculturalism, critical reasoning and constructive spirit, beginning in the leadership of groups.

M03CM14. Development of the leadership of working groups, with assignment of tasks, establishing structures with recognition of the diversity of the group.

M03CM15. Solve problems of the subjects corresponding to Chemical Engineering, raised with criteria of quality, sensitivity for the environment, sustainability and ethical criteria.

1. HYDRAULICS: Operation of a hydraulic system. Evaluation of pressure drop in a hydraulic installation.

2. PNEUMATICS: Operation of a pneumatic system. Evaluation of pressure drop. Calibration of flow meters in a pneumatic circuit.

3. CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS. Operation of two-pump-systems, in series and in parallel. Power. Performance. Characteristic curves.

4. TURBINES: Operation of a turbine to obtain mechanical energy. Calculation of the performance curve, brake horsepower and engine torque.

5. FILTRATION: Filtration at constant pressure. Filtering kinetics. Resistance of the medium and the cake. Compressibility of the cake.

6. FLUIDIZED BEDS: Study of the fluid flow through beds of fixed and fluidized solid particles. Pressure drop in a fixed bed: Ergun equation. Calculation of the minimum fluidization velocity.

7. SEDIMENTATION: Study of the basic physical processes related to sedimentation.

8. HEAT EXCHANGERS: Newton's Law. Convection coefficient. Overall heat transfer coefficient. Heating efficiency. Heat transfer units.

9. HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION IN ONE AND TWO DIRECTIONS: Fourier's Law. Conductivity. Stationary state. Microscopic balance of heat. Solving systems of equations.

10. KINETIC EQUATION OF HOMOGENEOUS REACTIONS IN ISOTHERMAL DISCONTINUOUS REACTORS: Saponification of ethyl acetate. Integral and differential method of data analysis. Activation energy.

11. KINETIC EQUATION OF CATALYTIC HOMOGENEOUS REACTIONS IN DISCONTINUOUS REACTORS: Bromination of butanol catalysed by a protonated acid.

12. HYDRAULIC ANALOGIES OF COMPLEX REACTIONS: First-order complex reactions are simulated by means of the arrangement of test tubes fed by water, in continuous regime, in series, parallel and series-parallel modes, regulating the flow rate independently with needle valves, whose aperture simulate the value of the kinetic constant.

The subject is organized on the basis of three main activities: i) planning an experiment, ii) conducting the experiment in the laboratory, iii) making a report on results and conclusions. Students will work in groups of three, in order to properly distribute the tasks. The tasks are designed so that all the constituents of the group must work in all the practices.

Main activities:

i) Planning of the experiments

It consists of establishing a work plan for the execution of each experiment (the number of experiments required, the experimental conditions: temperature, concentration, pressure, volume, flows, etc.) based on the objectives determined by the teachers. The planning will be presented to the teachers of the subject orally. What is established in the planning, once received the approval of the professor, is what is going to be executed in the laboratory.

ii) Laboratory experimentation

Once the approval of the planning has been achieved by the teacher in charge, the laboratory practice will be carried out to obtain and validate experimental results.

iii) Report on results and conclusions

The final report requires the treatment and obtaining of results (according to the established objectives) from the experimental data acquired in the laboratory, from which the pertinent conclusions will be obtained.



Throughout the course there are 2 sets of experiments (one during the first semester and in the second one). Each group has to perform 4 experiments in the first round and 5 in the second. There are in-class activities (in the classroom or in the laboratory) and other out-of-class ones.

In each laboratory session, the next procedure is going to be followed:

1. Planning

1.1. Once the required information to carry out the planning of the experiments of that set has been gathered, the laboratory is visited in order to make the first contact with the experimental equipment and the products and reagents to be used.

1.2. Students have approximately 2 hours to exercise with each practice, in order to see the operation intervals, sizes, specifications of the reagents, etc., with the presence of the teacher (2 hours / practice, in-class, group work, 6 hours).

1.3. Carry out the planning of each practice (6 hours / practice, out-of-class, 18 hours, group work).

1.4. Oral presentation of the planning to the teacher in charge in the established day.



2. Carrying out the laboratory experiment.

2.1. Once the planning has been approved by the teacher in charge, the laboratory experiment will be carried out to obtain and validate experimental results. Each group has a session of 4 laboratory hours to perform the corresponding experiment, according to a timetable. In each laboratory session, there will be a teacher in charge, who will evaluate the work of the students in the laboratory through a rubric that will be included in the final assessment.



3. Preparation and delivery of the results and conclusions report.

3.1. The final report requires the treatment and obtaining consistent results and conclusions (according to the established objectives) from the experimental data obtained in the laboratory. There will be a week to deliver the results report via e-gela.



4. Presentation of results.

4.1. There are several sessions during the second semester in which the results obtained will be presented. Each group will make an oral presentation (with the help of tools to support oral presentations such as Power Point or similar) explaining the results obtained in the experiments.

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

The minimum work requested is specified in the outlines delivered for each experiment. As described in the methodology section, in each experiment 3 tasks are to be performed, which in chronological order are: planning, execution in the laboratory and report. The three tasks will have the same weight in the assessment of each experiment and each experiment will have the same weight in the final assessment. The accomplishment of the 9 practices will suppose the 90% of the final evaluation. The 10% of the final evaluation will be the corresponding to the presentation of works at the end of the course.

In case of not passing the continuous assessment, a written examination will be carried out with questions related to the experiments carried out during the course.

Students that would like to renounce the continuous assessment system will have to present a written notification to the teacher in charge before week 18 of the academic year.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Students who have renounced the continuous assessment will be entitled to a final written exam in which questions related to the experiments carried out during the course will be formulated. The requirements to take this final exam are to have done the laboratory practices and deliver all the corresponding reports.

To renounce this evaluation system, it is sufficient not to go in for the exam.



In the event that the sanitary conditions prevent the realization of a face-to-face evaluation, a non-face-to-face evaluation will be activated, of which the students will be informed in due course.

e-gela virtual classroom

Basic bibliography

The one corresponding to the subjects Fluid mechanics, Heat transfer, Kinetics of chemical processes, Applied thermodynamics and Numerical Methods in Chemical Engineering.

Kirkuk, L. "Experimental Methods: An Introduction to the Analysis and Presentation of Data", Wiley, Melbourne, 1994.

In-depth bibliography

Guiteras, J., Rubio, R. eta Fonrodona, G. "Curso Experimental en Química Analítica", Síntesis, Madrid, 2003. Perry, R.H. eta Green, W. "Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook", 7. ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1997.