Short training courses

Chemical Process Design

This is a core module training chemical engineers to translate industrial chemistries into chemical process flowsheets. The module requires prior knowledge of thermodynamics, heat/mass transfer, and unit operations. The module consists of two sections. The first explains the hierarchy of process design, process economics, stages to integrate the chemical process, and methods to select and allocate recycle and purge streams. Lectures are supported by a set of working sessions and flowsheeting labs. The second section addresses process integration and means to improve efficiencies with energy integration and the appropriate allocation of chemical reactors, distillation columns, evaporators and pumps. The section further explains the design of the utility systems (boilers, steam turbines, gas turbines) as well as principles of Total Site Anal ysis. A variant of this course is currently available with an emphasis on biorefineries.

Process and energy integration

This is a particularly popular course that can be taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The course builds skills in process integration with material that contains 20 lectures covering principles of Pinch Analysis. Lectures introduce Pinch Anal ysis and its use to set energy targets for energy recovery. They present targeting for heat transfer area and the number of heat exchanger units, further explaining Supertargeting for selecting economically appropriate heat recovery temperatures. The material continues with the presentation of Grand Composite Curves, their use to select utilities, the integration of heat pumps and heat engines, the integration of chemical reactors, the integration of distillation columns and evaporators, as well as the application of the plus/minus principle to guide for process modifications. Lectures conclude with process-to-process integration (Site Analysis) and practical tips to extract data in real-life industrial applications. All lectures are adjoined with practical sessions and workshops. A variant of this course is available with specific emphasis on biorefineries.

Advanced optimization and process synthesis

The module explains principles of optimization technology and engineering applications in process design, synthesis and process operations. Optimization bears emphasis on deterministic methods explaining principles of optimality, KKT conditions, numerical methods in nonlinear optimization, Lagrange formulations, and mathematical programming. Optimization lectures explain the use of binary variables and mixed-integer linear and nonlinear programming formulations as well as solution methods in B&B, cutting algorithms and, apparently, decomposition methods (Benders, outer approximation, parameter relaxation). Lectures finally cover multi-objective formulations and multiple criteria. Applications include a wide range of problems in energy integration, water minimization, process synthesis of flowsheets, utility network design, separation sequencing and environmental applications. Lectures are supported by workshops in GAMS where students learn to formulate and solve problems, select solvers, handle difficult problems and translate optimization results. Recommended textbooks: Systematic Methods of Chemical Process Design”, L.T. Biegler I.E. Grossmann A.W. Westerberg

Water reuse and wastewater management systems

The course covers principles of Water Pinch and how they are used in practice to minimize water use and the design of wastewater treatment processes. The course is designed in two sections. The first section addresses the economic use of water classifying industrial water consumers then principles of water re-use. Water Pinch is presented as technology to target fresh water consumption and to develop water re-using networks that meet targets. Targeting technology is extended to study regeneration and water recycle offering a systematic methodology to scope potential benefits without a need to develop network designs. The second section addresses wastewater treatment processes first explaining the use and the capabilities of individual treatment technologies. Lectures first explain targeting methods to optimize the efficiency of each treatment process. Next, the integration of treatment technologies is addressed with methods that target efficiencies and develop networks to match the desired performance. The work highlights important practical problems that relate to retrofit designs and re-engineering applications as they arise from process modifications and tighter environmental regulations. A variant of this course is currently available with an emphasis on biorefineries.

Process Control, Safety and Layout

The course covers basic principles in process system dynamics also the analysis of single- input-single-output systems. The material reviews Laplace transformations and first and higher-order systems with examples selected from the chemical industry. Basic principles of feedback control are introduced and extended with the presentation of cascade control, auctioneering, split range control and practical issues in unit operations (level control, flow control, pressure control, heat exchanger control, distillation control, reactor control). Lectures contain advanced material in model-based control, IMC controllers, concepts in multivariable control, as well as tools for MIMO analysis (relative gain analysis, condition numbers, MRI) and principles of perfect control, and integrated design and control. Recommended textbooks: Textbooks by G. Stephanopoulos & W. Luyben

Biorefinery process design

The ourse combines material from chemical process design, process integration, process synthesis, water re-use minimization bringing clear emphasis on the design of biorefineries. The latter is challenged by the need to select products (synthesis), integrate them into the chemical flowsheet, cost and scale-up the flowsheets as well as to coordinate analysis and results with experimental groups that study the industrial chemistries available. The course has been developed as part of the biorefinery summer school.

Design of utility systems

The course is essentially an extension of Process and Energy integration, bearing particular emphasis on thermal and power units. Lectures review operation principles of basic units (boilers, steam turbines, passout turbines, gas turbines) and their efficiencies (Wilan lines). Process integration is extended with exergy analysis and is applied to select units, size, and operational characteristics. The material includes optimization techniques to design and operate the utility network as well as cogeneration applications increasingly useful to upgrade thermal operations.

Advanced distillation

The course covers techniques to design thermally integrated processes, simple and complex sequencing, and azeotropic distillation. The methods presented include conceptual methods (residue curves, conceptual programming), superstructure based synthesis, and energy integration. The course concludes with the presentation of industrial problems and real-life applications.

Environmental design and LCA

The course explains environmental challenges that are due to atmospheric emissions. It further explains methodologies and techniques to de-bottleneck fuel burning systems and utility networks. Methodologies include screening and targeting methods with capabilities to integrate processes and industrial sites. A separate section relates to life-cycle engineering concepts for sustainability (metrics, indicators and an outline of industrial ecology concepts) principles of LCA and examples of LCA calculations for industrial processes. An course extension addresses commercial databases and modelling environments.