Skills:

- To understand how the different pieces of equipment work and the phenomena that take place in the units of the process that are analyzed, as well as becoming familiar with the data collection and their posterior treatment in order to determine the effect of the parameters of interest or to analyze the influence of specific variables on the process.

- The application of the experimental results obtained for the design of process installations.



Results:

- Design and management of applied experimentation procedures regarding mass transfer, chemical reactors, separation processes, and control of processes.

- Write reports professionally

List of topics:



Section A) Mass Transfer

Experiment 1. Calculation of the diffusivity: Winkelman’s experiment.

Experiment 2. Calculation of the individual mass transfer coefficient: Air-water mass-transfer in a wet wall and in a dripping column.

Experiment 3. Calculation of the overall mass transfer coefficient: ion-exchange in a stirred tank.



Section B) Reactor design

Experiment 4. Study of the operation variables on gas-solid catalytic reactions over an acid catalyst.

Experiment 5. Design of an isothermal continuous reactor (continuously stirred tank, battery of reactors, and plug flow) for a second order reaction in liquid phase.

Experiment 6. Non-ideal circulation in homogeneous reactors. Measurements of residence time distribution. Application of the dispersion model and that of tanks in series.



Section C) Separation Processes

Experiment 7. Ammonia stripping from an aqueous solution.

Experiment 8. Distillation of a binary mixture.

Experiment 9. Liquid-liquid extraction.

Experiment 10. Ion-exchange in a fixed bed.



Section D) Control of chemical processes

Experiment 11. Identification and dynamic modelling of a single-loop controlled process. Analysis of several PID controllers’ tuning methods. Application of the models.

Experiment 12. Analysis of a cascade control system. Tuning of controllers. Tuning right on the installation.

Experiment 13. Multivariable control of a double-loop control system. Analysis of the interaction. Tuning of the controllers.

Students are organized in groups of 3 or 4 people to carry out the experiments and to complete the reports. Nevertheless, the exam is individual.

The students carry out the experiments corresponding to two sections in each midterm: Mass-Transfer and Reactor Design in the first midterm and Separation Processes and Control of Chemical Processes in the second one.

In each midterm, master classes are given to explain the theoretical concepts related to the corresponding experiments. Subsequently, explanations of the specific procedures for each experiment are given in seminar classes. These seminars include viewings of the laboratories for checking the pieces of equipment that will later be used. After the experiments of each midterm are completed, more seminar sessions take place to clear up possible questions that may arise during the preparation of reports. The students have around two more weeks to finish their assignments and upload their final reports.

Exam: 40%

Completion of written reports (lab report): 40%

Laboratory practice (attendance, equipment handling, laboratory notebook, etc.): 20%



Continuous assessment:

There will be two midterm exams during the school year. Students will be exempt from the final exam if they obtain at least a 5/10 in each of the exam sections of the midterm exams. During the final exam, students will have to answer the questions related to the sections that they did not pass on the midterm exams. If the mark obtained in each of the sections of the final exam is higher than the one previously obtained in the corresponding midterm exam, the mark of the final exam is the one that will be taken into account to calculate the mean mark. On the contrary, if the mark obtained in a section of the final exam is lower than the one obtained in the midterm exam for that section, the average value of the two marks will be considered for that section in order to calculate the overall mean value of exams. In order to pass the subject, a minimum mark of 3.5/10 will be required in each of the exam sections after the final exam. Moreover, the mean value of the exam mark will have to be at least 4.5/10. Furthermore, the completion of all the laboratory experiments, to be an author or coauthor of the lab reports of all experiments, and to have obtained at least 5/10 on the parts corresponding to laboratory reports and lab practice will also be necessary.



Final assessment:

Students will have 18 weeks from the beginning of the school year to deliver by means of a written message their refusal of the continuous assessment to the professors of the subject. Hence, students will be allowed to be evaluated by the final exam. In order to pass the subject, the following will be required: at least a 3.5/10 in each of the sections of the final exam; and at least an average mark of 4.5/10 on the exam. Moreover, the mean value of the exam mark will have to be at least 4.5/10. Furthermore, the completion of all the laboratory experiments, to be an author or coauthor of the lab reports of all experiments, and to have obtained at least 5/10 on the parts corresponding to laboratory reports and lab practice will also be necessary



Renunciation:

Both in the case of continuous and final assessment, since the weight of the final exam of this subject is greater than 40% of the subject's grade, it will be sufficient not to go in for that final exam so that the final grade of the subject is << not presented >>. (Art. 12.2 Text approved in the Degree Committee of May 16, 2019 and applicable in 2019/20)



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.

Manual of experiments
Laboratory notebook

Basic bibliography

Lide, D.R. Ed. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 89th Edition, CRC press, London, 2008

Perry, R.H., Manual del Ingeniero Químico, (4 vol), 7ª Ed, McGraw Hill, México, 2002.

Treybal, R.E., Mass Transfer Operations, 3ª Ed., McGraw Hill, Nueva York, 1980.

Levenspiel, O., Ingeniería de las Reacciones Químicas, Reverté, Barcelona, 1990.

Stephanopoulos, G., Chemical Process Control: An Introduction to Thery and Practice, Prentice Hall Int., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1984.

In-depth bibliography

Seader, J.D., Henley, E.J., Separation Process Principles, John Wiley & Sons, Nueva York, 1998.
Jacobsen, H.A., Chemical Reactor Modeling, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, 2008
Seborg, D.E., Edgar, T.F., Mellichamp, D.A. "Process Dynamics and Control", John Wiley and Sons, Nueva York (1989). (2º Ed 2004)

Journals

Chemical Engineering Education,
Ingeniería Química