Chemical Engineering with Environmental Engineering with an industrial year MEng

Content for this module will be confirmed later in 2022 - please keep checking back on this page.

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the fundamental material and energy balances that underpin process engineering. You'll study material balances incuding:

• once-through and recycle systems
• flowsheets for continuous processes
• batch processes
• steady and unsteady state operation
• reacting and non-reacting systems
• energy balances
• combustion calculations
• heat balances in chemical and physical systems
• enthalpy/composition diagrams

You'll spend three hours in lectures and have regular practical workshops for this module.

Content for this module will be confirmed later in 2022 - please keep checking back on this page.

This module provides a basic understanding of geology and includes topics such as:

• introduction to the main rock types and minerals
• rock forming processes
• the composition of the Earth
• geological structures
• natural hazards including volcanism and earthquakes
• geological map interpretation

This module is an introduction to chemical thermodynamics and its applications to chemical, vapour/liquid/liquid and solid/liquid equilibria, and correlation and prediction of data. You'll spend two hours in lectures and one hour in a practical session per week studying for this module.

Content for this module will be confirmed later in 2022 - please keep checking back on this page.

Content for this module will be confirmed later in 2022 - please keep checking back on this page.

Coming soon

Coming soon

Content for this module will be confirmed later in 2022 - please keep checking back on this page.

Content for this module will be confirmed later in 2022 - please keep checking back on this page.

This module will introduce you to a range of knowledge and skills applicable to water and wastewater treatment. You'll gain an understanding in water availability, sources of pollution and the legislative framework for water quality from an EU perspective.

Municipal water and wastewater treatment processes will be covered, focusing on key unit processes including sedimentation, filtration and disinfection. You’ll spend three hours per week studying for this module. Teaching is also complemented by site visits.

This section is made up of eight topics, which are detailed below.  Each topic covers a fundamental principle in reactor design, also how students can combine those principles to derive/optimise the reactor design equations. The textbook Fogler, H. Scott "Elements of chemical reaction engineering", 4th ed., Prentice Hall, 2005 is closely followed. The main topics are:

• mole balances
• conversion and reactor sizing
• rate laws and stoichiometry
• collection and analysis of rate data
• isothermal reactor design
• multiple reactions
• steady-state non-isothermal reactor design
• catalysis and catalytic reactors

In this module you'll be given a laboratory-based problem and you'll need to plan experiments to collect the data required to solve the problem. You'll work in groups but write individual reports covering process assessment, experimental procedure and the description and discussion of the experimental results.

By solving a laboratory-based problem, you should gain the confidence in making decisions in a technical/scientific environment and adopt a rational, efficient approach to problem solving. You'll also become more familiar with the operation of commonly-encountered chemical engineering equipment and improve your skills in collecting, analysing and interpreting experimental data.

In this module you’ll look in detail at the process of mass transfer in multi-component separation equipment and multicomponent separation processes. You’ll learn principles of design for distillation and absorption columns and use computer applications. You’ll spend two hours in lectures and one hour in workshops per week studying for this module.

This module aims to provide an in depth knowledge of heat, mass and momentum transport that is necessary in assessing, analysing and developing chemical, biochemical and environmental processes.

Furthermore, this module fills the gap between first year transport phenomena and the fourth year CFD module while introducing the multi-physics aspect of the discipline. You’ll spend three hours in lectures and three hours in practicals each week studying for this module.

In this module, you’ll undertake a combined design and research project in a team of two to four students. In addition, you’ll gain detailed knowledge in the specific topic of study.

The aim is for you to gain skills in planning, executing and reporting on an individual research study thereby developing their powers of analysis, independence and critical judgement. You’ll spend one hour in tutorials and make use of group-study sessions each week studying for this module.

This module covers:

• the formation and location of petroleum hydrocarbon reserves
• drilling and completion engineering including well control techniques
• basic reservoir physics and evaluation
• production management and enhancement
• primary separation

You’ll spend two hours in lectures every week.

This module develops the student's ability in directed group work to synthesising and designing sustainable chemical processes.

The group project will involve teams of three to four students. Two projects covering flow-sheet synthesis and resource conservation will be undertaken.

Delivery

Assessment method

The intent of this module is to help the student master advanced concepts in chemical reaction engineering. You’ll study topics such as: advanced reactor design; chemical reaction mechanisms and rate theories, transport effects in reactive systems, and rate expressions for complex and heterogeneous catalytic reaction system. You’ll spend three hours in lectures per week.

This module will identify the industrial occurrence of the simultaneous flow of more than one phase and highlight the implications for design. It will establish the principles of flow and heat transfer in gas/liquid systems and the principles of design methods. You’ll spend three hours in lectures per week.

The module is designed to give you experience of advanced software applications in chemical engineering, and their potential application to research projects. You will learn how to use advanced features of HYSYS, including:

• the optimiser for (a) a two-stage compressor (b) an economic assessment of a refrigeration process
• the dynamics package to simulate (a) fluid flow in tanks in series (b) the control of a separator drum

You’ll spend three hours per week in computing sessions.

The following topics are covered:

• fossil fuels, occurrence, use and world-wide availability
• fossil power generation, conventional and advanced technologies
• current environmental/climate change issues in power generation using fossil fuels
• emission problems and reduction technologies
• climate-forcing carbon emissions and fossil energy de-carbonisation
• co-firing of fossil fuels and biomass
• carbon (CO2) capture and storage (CCS)

The challenges in tackling climate change call for a sustainable re-structuring of our energy infrastructure, particularly the fossil fuel fired power generation sector. The primary aim of this module is to address the major issues and challenges facing the power generation sector using fossil fuels. This will be related to emissions problems and their abatement technologies and will address both conventional and advanced power generation technologies.

There will be a particular focus on various aspects of CCS technologies and their application in a range of fossil energy sectors, from the technical and deployment status of CCS to related financial and environmental challenges and opportunities. You’ll have two hours of lectures a week for this module.

Delivery

Assessment method

This module covers the following:

• Risk assessment principles (source, pathway, receptor) including conceptual frameworks, Greenleaves III, risk based regulation and environmental protection
• Risk characterisation, hazard identification, consequences, significance, handling uncertainty
• Tools and techniques: Qualitative risk assessment. Quantitative risk assessment, ie hands-on risk assessment modelling
• Risk management
• Fate and transport of contaminants, speciation of contaminants, environmental partitioning (fugacity)
• Health impact assessment: Public health, occupational health studies, toxicology, perception, exposure, causality, odds ratios, epidemiological studies, scientific evidence for landfill versus energy from waste (comparative assessment), odour

This module focuses on providing high quality teaching materials on renewable energy from different waste streams. The module will look at the potential of various waste streams in industry, domestic sources, and agriculture, as well as the different combustion technologies available.

The module includes a strong international focus, particularly on small to medium scale renewable energy schemes in developing countries. The module will also have dedicated socio-cultural, socio-economic, policy and guidance and techno-economic seminars to introduce students to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject.

The module looks at:

• Indigenous fuels around the world
• Fuel Types Characterisation of Fuels
• Supply Chains for the Energy Sector
• Small Scale Energy Production
• Alternative Small Scale technologies for fuels production -
• Future Energy Sources
• New Technologies
• Ethics, Engineering and Waste Management
• Life Cycle Assessment, CCALC (Carbon Calculations over the Life Cycle of Industrial Activities)
• Techno, Socio and Economic Considerations

This module aims to provide students with a comprehensive and in-depth introduction of the major existing and emerging technologies/proof of concepts and underlying physical and chemical principles for the low-carbon manufacturing of fuels and vital chemicals and materials, which underpin the required low carbon transitioning of chemical and energy process industries to combat climate change for sustainable development.

The module will enable students to gain advanced knowledge and understanding of key low-carbon technologies/concepts and to develop key conceptual skills needed in assessing related sustainability, economic, societal and ethical aspects.

Delivery

Assessment method

This module will concentrate on water treatment technologies covering those applicable to both the treatment of wastewater and the treatment of water for potable (drinking water) use. The first part of the module will review current practice and scientific principles in water treatment.

Case Studies across the water industry will be utilised to demonstrate problems and potential solutions and gain an understanding of design considerations and operation of water treatment processes. You’ll study emerging issues in water treatment and how developing technologies are addressing them. Guest speakers from industry and two site visits will support the module delivery. You’ll spend three hours in lectures per week.

The aim of this module is to give students an in depth understanding of the physical and chemical principles behind the selection and design of various processes that may be employed to control atmospheric pollutants.

Students will be introduced to the scientific and engineering principles behind the design, costing, commissioning and operation of particulate and gaseous control devices. Students will study the application of these principles to the design of pollution control devices, and stack designs for a range of engineering processes.

The module covers two main topics:

Topic 1: Control of Particulates, including

• Cyclone design 
• Electrostatic Precipitator Design 
• Fabric Filter Design 
• Particulate Scrubbers

Topic 2: Design of Auxiliary Equipment, including:

• Hoods
• Ducts
• Fans
• Coolers

Delivery

Assessment method

This module develops a risk based framework for the assessment of contaminated land based on the characterization and modelling of contaminant sources, pathways and receptors and the remediation of such linkages.

Case studies are used to illustrate the application of this approach, the typical uncertainties and the management of risk. A range of physical, biological, chemical and thermal in-situ and ex-situ remediation technologies are covered. The application of these technologies is demonstrated by case studies including design studies based on the emerging concept of sustainable remediation.