A Calendar showing lectures, recitations, and office hours is listed below.
Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 4 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Goals
We want you to learn about:
- Design of Batch Processes
- Use of Process Simulators, Including the Skills of Modeling, Coding, and Interpretation
- The Limitations of Mathematical Models, and What Really Happens in Process Equipment
Objectives
We plan to show you:
- Reaction Kinetics and Batch Reactor Analysis
- Batch Distillation
- The Use of the ABACUSS Simulator
- Scheduling of Batch Operations
- Safety Analysis in Process Design
- A Way to Analyze and Modify a Process During Design
Description
This course introduces chemical process design. The homework assignments familiarize students with ABACUSS simulations, batch processes, and separation systems. Students then develop a base case scenario as a first solution to the design problem. Students evaluate the economic feasibility of the base case solution. Through discussions with the instructors and TAs, students refine their model parameters to arrive at an optimized solution. Lastly, students communicate their solution by writing a report.
Prerequisites
The prerequisites for this course include 10.37, 10.32, 10.301, 10.213 and 5.60.
Meeting Hours
There is no formal restriction on which section you attend. The class will have three types of meeting: regular lectures, recitation sessions, and instructor office hours. Regular lectures will be held on campus and are indicated on the course schedule. Recitation sessions will also be held in the same room. No formal lecture material will be taught in recitation sessions; instead, students will be expected to bring questions and participate in a discussion of their design projects. Instructor office hour sessions will be held in the instructor’s office. During these periods, the instructor’s office will be open to any students with questions concerning their design projects.
Recommended Texts
King, C. J. Separation Processes. 2nd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1980. ISBN: 9780070346123.
Smith, J. M., H. C. Van Ness, and M. M. Abbott. Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics. 7th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2004. ISBN: 9780073104454.
Fogler, H. S. Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR, 2005. ISBN: 9780130473943.
Fix-its
We learn better if we examine the input as we receive it. At the end of each class, please submit the fix-it form. The fix-it asks (1) What was the most important thing you learned? (2) What topic or point was least clear? Of course additional comments, questions, and requests are welcome, as well. If you use fix-its earnestly, you will benefit.
Homework
Homework assignments should be completed individually, while all report assignments should be submitted as group contributions. Draft sections of the final report will be graded for style and technical content and will count towards the final report grade. It is course policy that students should not refer to either homework or final project solutions from earlier years. If it is discovered that reference has been made to earlier years, the students involved will receive no credit for the assignment in question. Note that we change the underlying models in ABACUSS from year to year, so the results generated by this software change.
Late Submission of Work
Assigned work is due at the beginning of class on the dates given in the schedule. Extensions cost 10 percent for each 24 hours beyond the deadline, up to a maximum of 30 percent. Medical and beyond-your-control problems will be dealt with individually. Plant trips and other scheduled activities are not beyond your control - allocate your time to meet all your obligations.
Grading
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
|---|---|
| Homework | 40% |
| Final Report | 60% |
ABACUSS II
ABACUSS II is an equation-based process simulator that has been developed at MIT. ABACUSS II can solve dynamic as well as steady-state problems. For example, it can model charging a batch reactor, reactions in a batch reactor, shutting valves, phase transitions, as well as continuous plant operation. ABACUSS II is not available from this site.
Calendar
The calendar below provides information on the course’s lecture (L), recitations (R), and office hours (OH) sessions.
| SES # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| L1 |
Course Goals and Requirements Introduction to Batch Processing |
|
| L2 |
Lucretex Project Project Team Assignments |
|
| L3 | Data Request for Reaction Kinetics | |
| L4 | Laboratory Kinetic Data and Curve-fitting | |
| L5 | Batch Reactor Modeling | |
| L6-L8 | Reactor Model in ABACUSS | Homework 1 due in Ses #L6 |
| L9 | Batch Distillation | |
| L10 | Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium Models | Homework 2 due |
| L11-L12 | Batch Distillation in ABACUSS | |
| L13 | Base Case Simulation | Homework 3 due |
| L14-L16 | Batch Process Scheduling | |
| L17 | Batch Process Economics | Base Case Simulation |
| L18 | Safety as an Industrial Concern | |
| L19 | Safety Assessment Methods | |
| L20 | Environmental Issues in Process Design | |
| L21 | Review Final Project, Discuss Optimization | Base Case Economics |
| OH1 | Office Hours | |
| R1 | Process Optimization | |
| OH2-OH4 | Office Hours | |
| R2 | Process Optimization (cont.) | |
| OH5-OH6 | Office Hours | |
| R3 | Process Optimization (cont.) | |
| L22 | Course Evaluation | Final report due |
